When I first started university back in 1999, the possibility of being a professional blogger just didn’t exist. It wasn’t a job yet. Now blogging has infiltrated daily life. People use blogging for marketing, as personal diaries, to discuss social commentary, etc. Embedded in daily life blogging is ritualistic just as reading the morning newspaper is for older generations.
I think this quote from The Income Diary best sums up the importance of blogging in today’s society.
“When blogging first became popular, many thought that it was just a passing trend. But it has stuck around – and more than that only strengthened over time. Social media is around for the long haul because we value our relationships with one another above just about everything else. A blog entry isn’t just a block of text, but a slice of humanity and an opportunity to begin a real conversation.”
Each profession, each person will have their reasons for blogging but as photographers blogging offers us some pretty unique opportunities. Here are our top 5 reasons why photographers should start a photography blog.
1. It’s a great way to showcase your work for clients
Having an attractive and comprehensive blog that highlights your best work is a great way to create a sort of online portfolio you can use to educate and attract clients. Many times photographers will receive queries from potential clients looking to see the work they’ve done. A blog is an opportunity to have a conversation with the possible customer. They can view your images as well as read about the work and gain insight into your skills and what you can offer them as a photographer. The beauty of a blog is that the client can peruse your blog at their pace and on their own in time instead of playing phone tag during busy business hours.
Photograph by: Martina Spoljaric Pracaic
2. It may lead to other opportunities you didn’t expect. Blogging helped me to begin my freelance writing career.
You never what opportunities or experiences blogging may lead you to discover. I began a blog for my website. I wanted to build my site and attract more customers. The writing became very popular, and a side career as a freelance writer was launched based on these humble beginnings. Blogging can lead to business partnerships, opportunities to connect with others in your industry and all sorts of other opportunities. Some photographers have turned their blog entries into published books. Some have even begun their publishing companies and now support the writing of other photographers along with their work. Every entry is an opportunity to grow. Blogging is never a waste of time.
Photograph by: Christine Lai
3. It will help you to build a following on social media
Creating informative and insightful content is a great way to build a following on social media. Blog entries that discuss the human side of your work and help readers to connect with you on a personal level will help to improve your popularity on social media. It’s not just about creating random blogs though. Your photography blog should follow a cohesive story line. Create an image and a story that draws in readers. This story should match your photography. For instance, a food photographer shouldn’t blog about the trials and tribulations of photojournalism. Instead, find your niche, talk about it and share on social media. Be wise and offer great content for readers. You’ll soon find yourself with a loyal following of potential customers.
Photograph by: Moving Mike
4. Blogging helps to establish your personal brand
Blogging is a method of creating and establishing your personal brand. Clients are always looking for a certain look. Your blog is a way of communicating your brand. Are you a lifestyle photographer, or a studio photographer? Do you post-process images using soft pastel colors, or do you create images with bold colors? These questions are all a part of your personal brand and what you offer your customers. A blog is a way to discuss and share your brand with potential clients.
5. Blogs can help build SEO
Blogging is an important tool for photographers because it helps us to build SEO. Our images are the heart and soul of our work, but the problem is they are visuals. We can tag our images and share them on social media, but the potential to build SEO comes from the descriptions and words we use to discuss our images. Google cannot read our images but it can scan our words, and this is how we can drive traffic to our sites more effectively.
Photograph by: Philip Cleminson
6. Posting entries regularly will force you to reflect upon your photographs and intentions for each shot
It’s time to discuss the most important benefit of blogging; it’s reflective nature. Blogging about your work gives you that opportunity to reflect upon it. You can look back and analyse your images. Good, honest and gentle self-critique is a way to progress and move forward with your work. It’s a way to find new directions when creating work. It’s also a way to grow as a photographer and to improve. Being honest with your readers can also be inspirational for them. They can see that even the best photographers are not perfect and that they learn each day. Just like a diary, a blog is a way to measure growth and change over time.
Blogging is here to stay. It’s become another form of self-expression as well as a method of marketing and curating information. The evolution of the blog continues to fascinate many of us. We see the benefits of sharing our content with the world. In the past, only those with a publishing contract were able to express their ideas and thoughts. In today’s amazing society anyone with an internet connection can share how they feel with the world.
Try blogging for free today by joining Photoblog.com. A Canadian-owned community of photographers that take blogging seriously.
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