This week on the photography business and marketing blog has been focused on the subject of blogging for working photographers. Part 1 looked at Blogging Basics, part 2 dealt with Setting Up A WordPress Blog, and part 3 revealed a great way to Use Blog Pages To Generate Killer Referrals.
However, a question I’ve been asked several times this week has been:
“I really want to start a blog, but I’m not a writer, or I just don’t know what to write.“
So, I thought that would make a good subject for today’s post. Here are six tips (and a bonus tip for Zenologue Insiders) that I hope will help some of you overcome these hurdles, to get you on your way with writing a blog for your business.
Read more…
Free Content
This content is free
Photography Website SEO
blog, blogging, photography business, photography marketing
We’ve all heard it before… The idea that word of mouth marketing is the best type of marketing we can get for our business. Occasionally, we’ll even get a new client who is already raving about our photography simply because one of her friends introduced her to us and our work, which is great.
But are you getting anything like the number of referral clients you really need or want? Would you like to see more?
Do you rely on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter to help drive the marketing buzz for you and your studio, only to find that it’s mediocre at best?
Or, like many photographers, do you have a client referral system designed to help your clients get rewarded for referring their friends and family, only to see it fizzle and die?
Read on to learn how to fix that!
Read more…
Free Content
This content is free
Photography Website SEO
blog, blogging, client referral, photography business, photography marketing
Welcome to part 3 of this series on blogging for photographers. Once you have a blog going, it’s important to keep posting on a regular basis. Too many blogs are started with the best intentions in the world and then left to stagnate because the blog owner ran out of ideas or enthusiasm.
Don’t’ Let That Happen To You
It is quite probable that the search engines will take post frequency into account when indexing your site, so it’s a great idea to make sure that your blog is updated on a regular basis, whether it’s every day or just once a week. It takes time and effort to write posts, which is one of the reasons many blogs languish not long after they’re started.
For a photography business, having a blog that hasn’t been updated in 3 months can be a clear signal to prospective clients that the photographer might not be very busy, even if (ironically) the photographer is so busy that they don’t have time to keep their blog up to date! Prospects are less keen to work with someone they think isn’t busy; it’s a little like looking into a restaurant with mostly empty tables – it just doesn’t look inviting.
So, take the time to write a post, even if it’s just a short message to let people know how busy you are and that you’ll post something significant soon.
Free Content
This content is free
Photography Website SEO
blog, blogging, photography blog, photography business
Last week (see part 1), I began a series of short articles on the benefits of blogging for photographers. This week, I want to take a look at what is probably the most obvious way for a photographer to use their blog – Showcasing New Work – but with a couple of extra things that may not be quite so clear cut.
Your Blog Is Your Own Gallery
Posting your photographs and portraits is a pretty obvious way of using your blog – essentially, this is now your own gallery, and it’s a great way to generate buzz about you and your business.
But, how do you feel about “sneak peek” posts? This is where we post images online before the client has had a chance to see them during a projection sales session. There’s some debate on whether or not this is really the best idea.
On one hand, it creates some excitement for the client, and a sense of anticipation; at least, that’s the intention.
On the other hand, it could cannibalize the portrait sale by fixing in their mind a “small” version of their images, thereby creating a mind set where a “small” finished portrait is all they might buy. From that point, it makes the investment in a larger wall portrait more difficult, since we’re now trying to sell “up” rather than “down”.
Free Content
This content is free
Photography Website SEO
blog, blogging, photography blog, photography marketing
Despite the fact that I blog almost every day, either here or elsewhere, I realized that I haven’t touched on the subject as it relates to photographers. So, I thought a post about blogging for professional photographers might be in order for today, and would be an interesting way to start off the week.
Then I started writing and further realized that it was getting rather long, so I’ve decided to make this the first in a series of brief articles on the subject of blogs for photographers, and why they are as important today as they’ve always been.
Why Blog?
There are a LOT of new blogs created every day, yet the first question some photographers might ask is, “Why should I write a blog? It sounds like a lot of work.” I definitely agree on that point, but there are several great reasons why you should still do so, one of them being that successful photographers force themselves to do the things the rest won’t do. If your competitors are not writing a regular blog then you could enjoy a significant advantage pretty darn quickly.
Read more…
Free Content
This content is free
Photography Website SEO
blog, blogging, professional photographer, wordpress
I encourage anyone working as a photographer to check out the new blog by Mr. Charles J. Lewis. I have been a student of Chuck’s now for about two years and have found his teachings to be solid and based soundly on proven experience. One thing is certain - I would not be in business as a photographer right now if it wasn’t for Chuck, and I know of many others who can say the same.
If you’re looking for information on the latest gear, the newest Photoshop tip or what f-stop to use, Mr. Lewis’ blog may not be for you… but, if you’re interested in the business of being a photographer, marketing & selling then I would advise you to hurry on over to http://www.cjlewis.com/blog/ as fast as your mouse will get you there…
Free Content
This content is free
Photography Business Ideas
blog, charles lewis, education, marketing, professional photographer, selling
Recent Comments