Piewacket
Established
Hi Y'all...I have gotten a lot of questions recently about my blog in relation to my professional site. I also posted some info about my take on it on another forum in response to a users post and I thought it might make a good post for this forum. For those that don't know me, I have been a fairly established commercial photog for over 20 years. I worked for many years in NY, then moved to Atlanta and just recently moved home to So Cal. I began my blog while in Atlanta trying to put a twist on the typical "photo blog".
Your blog can drive traffic to your regular photography website and if you make it interesting can give people a reason to keep an eye on you. Your site should update every time you produce new work, ideally once a month or more. A blog should be updated a minimum of once a week to stay relevant.
But here's the thing, most photogs just post more about jobs they have been doing or more edits from work already on their site and so most of the people who look at it are friends, family and possibly other photogs looking for leads... 😱
I took a different approach to my blog, rather than just posting more of my commercial work, I shoot specifically for it... I made it more like a little magazine about stuff I find interesting. It has gained its own following and I have not only gotten a lot of work because of it. I have grown a lot creatively and have gone from shooting mostly fashion, kids & portraits to also shooting food, lifestyle & interiors.
It was a bigger undertaking than I had imagined in the beginning and after being approached by a few companies, I did have advertisers for awhile... However it did not bring in much and I felt an obligation to post at least 4 times a week. So after a recent move west I changed that and now post just once or twice a week. I only promote clients (at no charge) and products through amazon which I get a tiny kickback for as an Amazon associate (which you must disclose on your blog) it does not even cover my operating cost but it is something...
I started with Wordpress but moved it to Squarespace which allows for a lot more customization. I designed everything on my blog in photoshop! 😉 I also have it linked from my website and designed them to be cohesive but separate.
"How do you promote your blog?" this is the question I get most... I have had over 300,000 visitors since I first launched it in 2009. Networking and good word of mouth! Honestly I use to almost spend as much time promoting a single post, as I did creating. I then discovered through google's feedburner & Facebook's Network Blogs you can automate some of that.
Personally, I tweet, Pin (very big) and if I am featuring a product or person I send them a link and encourage them to do the same. I have also done giveaways and have had some great companies participate.
At this stage the net is saturated with blogs of all types so you really have to think out of the box to make an impact. However, even if you are the only person who ever looks at it, it can give you an outlet as an artist that if you really challenge yourself will help you grow.
Happy to answer any questions or critique any of your blogs if you like...🙂
Your blog can drive traffic to your regular photography website and if you make it interesting can give people a reason to keep an eye on you. Your site should update every time you produce new work, ideally once a month or more. A blog should be updated a minimum of once a week to stay relevant.
But here's the thing, most photogs just post more about jobs they have been doing or more edits from work already on their site and so most of the people who look at it are friends, family and possibly other photogs looking for leads... 😱
I took a different approach to my blog, rather than just posting more of my commercial work, I shoot specifically for it... I made it more like a little magazine about stuff I find interesting. It has gained its own following and I have not only gotten a lot of work because of it. I have grown a lot creatively and have gone from shooting mostly fashion, kids & portraits to also shooting food, lifestyle & interiors.
It was a bigger undertaking than I had imagined in the beginning and after being approached by a few companies, I did have advertisers for awhile... However it did not bring in much and I felt an obligation to post at least 4 times a week. So after a recent move west I changed that and now post just once or twice a week. I only promote clients (at no charge) and products through amazon which I get a tiny kickback for as an Amazon associate (which you must disclose on your blog) it does not even cover my operating cost but it is something...
I started with Wordpress but moved it to Squarespace which allows for a lot more customization. I designed everything on my blog in photoshop! 😉 I also have it linked from my website and designed them to be cohesive but separate.
"How do you promote your blog?" this is the question I get most... I have had over 300,000 visitors since I first launched it in 2009. Networking and good word of mouth! Honestly I use to almost spend as much time promoting a single post, as I did creating. I then discovered through google's feedburner & Facebook's Network Blogs you can automate some of that.
Personally, I tweet, Pin (very big) and if I am featuring a product or person I send them a link and encourage them to do the same. I have also done giveaways and have had some great companies participate.
At this stage the net is saturated with blogs of all types so you really have to think out of the box to make an impact. However, even if you are the only person who ever looks at it, it can give you an outlet as an artist that if you really challenge yourself will help you grow.
Happy to answer any questions or critique any of your blogs if you like...🙂
