PHOTOGRAPHERS. The Photography Blog Handbook (2012) is the newest addition to the library of educational guides that can be downloaded free from PhotoShelter. The 40-page e-book offers tips on how blogging can help you market your business, grow a following, and attract more potential clients to your websites.
“If you treat your photography blog as a marketing tool, there’s a good chance that you can bring more visitors to your site, and increase your sales and business opportunities,” says PhotoShelter CEO, Andrew Fingerman. “But it starts with a smart strategy to produce interesting content that people want to read and requires the consistent delivery of fresh content to your network.”
The guide emphasizes that “Writing a blog can help you generate new work, both indirectly and directly.” In addition to telling the story behind your images, your blog also helps affirm the story of your brand. “Your tone, sense of humor, and the style in which you write can all indicate to a potential client the kind of person you are to work with.”
A client may find a particular blog post interesting, and ask you to write a proposal based solely on that post.
This 2012 handbook talks about how to target and audience. manage a blog workflow, establishing categories, and integrate social media.
The section on blogging to build a community emphasizes the important of participating in social networks: “Don’t always use your platforms to promote your own work. Take time to make intelligent observations on other content and conversations. Potential clients and followers can find you this way, too.”
The book also includes a list of engaging blog topics that can attract readers and analytics tips to understand how your blog is performing vs. your goals.
While it’s important to be consistent on your blog, it’s also smart to be realistic and come up with a schedule and routine that works for you: “Standardizing your blogging routine will cut down on the time it takes, and significantly ease the stress of maintaining a blog.”
The first half of the handbook presents tips, Part Two features profiles of four Photographers who blog: Lisa Devlin, Lauren Major, Jared Wickerham, and Greg Basco. Each photographer blogs for different reasons and has benefitted in different ways. But as you read through the profiles, you’ll discover dozens of practical tips on how to master a blogging routine that works for your schedule and create content that keeps readers coming back.
The Photography Blog Handbook is one 20 free business guides that can help photographers learn more about email marketing, search engine optimization, and starting a photography business.
PhotoShelter is a leader in portfolio websites, photo sales, marketing and archiving tools for photographers. Over 72,000 photographers worldwide use PhotoShelter to power their success online, with customizable website templates, searchable photo galleries, e-commerce capabilities, and bulletproof image storage. Photographers can create a professional PhotoShelter website in under five minutes, or customize the design of PhotoShelter to power their existing photography website.
LINKS
PhotoShelter Library of Business Guides