Blogging as a Marketing Tool

P

Piewacket

Established
Local time
9:42 PM
Joined
Feb 25, 2010
Messages
68
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... :eek:

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...:)
 
Piewacket said:
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... :eek:

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...:)
Click to expand...

very interesting marketing,
and interesting blog!

Stephen
 
very informative! I'm a hobbyist but I'm in that stage in figuring out how I want to present my work...via blogging and such.
 
Piewacket said:
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... :eek:

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...:)
Click to expand...

Inspiring and interesting read!

I've been looking at ways to display my work. I've only been using tumblr and Flickr all these while. Perhaps I should start a blog for myself.
 
Very informative!

I started my own Wordpress self-hosted blog earlier this year - not to promote me as a busines but just in a effort to get my work out there a bit more. I struggled at first coming up with regular posts but have found that I do enjoy the process of writing my thoughts down and having my own little space outside Flickr etc.

My hosting deal will last until January and I have to say I'm very tempted by Squarespace to move on to after my year of hosting is up. How have you found making the switch?
 
It was a bit of work but I am glad I did it... ! It really allowed me to customize the look of my blog. I redid it all recently when I re-did my site and it was pretty painless now that I understand it all more.

They introduced a new version but I have not upgraded to that, really happy with what I have and I am reaching my new tech learning limit... ;)!
 
Supernatural influences at work, obviously.

I vaguely recalled it from way back when. Having now read it again (to keep the record square, for a third time) I find a fair few good points in it.

I did a bit of sleuthing, and discovered his last posts are a decade old.

Archiver , you posted that Piewacket "is no more". Have we lost another RFF member?
 
The best marketing tool for me was having clients happy for what I did for them and informing their family and friends to hire me when they needed a photographer. I was primarily hired as a wedding photographer. However, many hired me after their wedding as they built their family. After a couple of years, I quit advertising. Certain advertising venues I found were people looking for a cheap photographer. And I wasn’t cheap.

A friend was a sales director for Mary Kay and she hired me to photograph the ladies attending a sales event held at a Marriott Hotel.

Lots of fun. And my attitude and smiles were picked up by the people I photographed.

I have a pretty good knowledge of various computer tools with Photoshop being one of them.

A large number of weddings take place in the twin cities each year.

I did attend a bridal show at the beginning but I soon quit attending.

I always had another photographer at each event for various reasons.

My advice is to find some one who is successful, outside of your territory, and would be willing to serve as your mentor. I did find him and he got me charged up. Potential clients could tell it. I loved the business but I’m retired now.

I did have a blog but person to person discussing me I found was the best. That is the reason for this post.

It was a great business and very good for me.
 
Last edited:
Archiver said:
Hahaha, necromancy through appreciation! But I still don't understand how it suddenly appeared in the latest posts. That's crazy!
Click to expand...
My guess is that your “Like” listed the thread under the “Latest Activity” stack, then @DownUnder may have seen that, then responded with a post thus reviving the thread - placing it in the “New Posts” stack.

Just my hunch…
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top