Do you know the origin of the word ‘Photography’? It was created from the Greek root words “photo”, which means light, and “graph”, which means writing. As a photographer, you “write with light” on a daily basis to create stunning images. The question is: can you strike people just as strongly with your words?
Even if you’re not a ‘words’ person, having a blog on your photography website is essential for your success in the online world. Whether you’re an established professional or a newbie to the world of shutterbugs, you should consider becoming good friends with your keyboard.
Blogging not your forte? Let us convince you otherwise: with the right tips and tricks, anyone can become a terrific blogger. Luckily, all the info you’ll need to write a blog for your photography website is right here below!
Why you should have a blog
Before we start talking about how to create a blog, let’s take a look why you should create one. You might have heard (just a couple of sentences ago) that having a blog is important, but how will a bunch of words contribute to the success of your photos? Here is the list of benefits that will come with a successful blog on your website:
Keep your community (and clients) informed, and engage with them in a new way.
Enjoy a good SEO boost for your online portfolio and get more visibility on Google (read more in our SEO for photographers guide).
Establish yourself as an expert in your field.
Get more exposure via guest blogging.
Wait, how do I create a blog?
While there are many free blogging platforms out there, it is highly recommended to make the magic happen on your own website. Why? Because you want that “organic SEO juice” to flow like rivers directly to your domain. Luckily, Wix has a super convenient solution to start a blog within your existing site. Simply go to your Wix photography website, choose ‘Add’ > ‘Blog’, and a dedicated page will appear on your website before you can say the word “press”. Your newly added blog comes with a well-thought-out design and all the must-have features: blog post editor, comments, shares, recent blog posts, tags, drafts, scheduling, and many more. The only thing missing now is your engaging content!
Search for inspiration
In writing, just like in photography, finding your inspiration is the first step to any successful project. And, if you don’t have it off the top of your head, then you’ll need to search for it. But where? Follow some major photography blogs (Fstoppers, PetaPixel, Digital Photography School and yours truly – the Wix Photography Blog, just to name a few), subscribe to your favorite photographers on Facebook and Instagram, browse some large-scale photography magazines… and simply open your eyes and look around, inspiration is everywhere!
Once your creative juices are flowing, stream them to the right direction with the following list of possible topics:
A new photography technique you experimented with.
An exceptional event or photoshoot you were part of.
“Behind the lens” – a description of your day as a photographer.
A photo report from a recent trip you’ve been on.
Your story of how you decided to become a photographer.
A list of photographers that inspire you.
Interesting clients that you’ve worked with.
The funniest things that happened to you at work.
The magical moment you’ve always dreamed of capturing.
The pros and cons of being a photographer.
A personal photography project you’ve just completed.
A digest of recent photography news (a new camera release, an inspiring photoshoot, and so on).
Your personal hacks that will make any fellow photographer’s day.
Truth is, we could go on and on – the options are practically endless. As they say, appetite comes with eating: the more you read and write, the more inspired you will be to come up with original topics for your photography blog. Just pair it with a catchy title (see ya in two paragraphs), and you got yourself a hit.
Your typical blog post is…
Starting your own blog can be fairly intimidating. Do I have something valuable to say to the world? And if I do, will I get the message across? Will people like what I write in my photo blog, will they come back for more? These are just a few out of many questions that can deprive a newbie blogger of a good night’s sleep. Well, good thing you’ve reached this section, because we’ll let you in on a secret: writing is – oh, so much easier, when you follow a certain structure.
A generic structure will help you focus whenever you’re in need for a quick writing fix, no matter the topic. Are you ready? (drumming pens in the background…) The magical structure is:
Problem Making your readers a little insecure in the beginning does the trick. Yes, just like in the beginning of the section you’re reading now.
Suggested solution Got your readers a little worried? No problem, here’s the solution! Which also serves as the end of your introduction.
Detailed solution This will be the main body of the article. The introduction got your readers engaged, now tell them how your photography services can gracefully guide them to a better tomorrow.
Summary Short, sharp, and preferably with a call to action that leads to a booking of your services.
How long, you might ask? As you probably already know, the Internet today is overflowing with content, making it hard to keep up even with your grandmother’s Facebook updates, never mind another blog to read…. That’s why your posts can be brief, as long as it’s precise and valuable for your readers. If the topic isn’t digging deeply into techy descriptions, you can definitely manage within 300-700 words.
Title is queen
If content is king, then the title is definitely queen. They’re bound together for life, and thus cannot succeed (or merely exist) without each other.
While trends for writing a good title may come and go, some key guidelines are here to stay: 01. Be short & catchy. For example: Photography Logos: How to Stand Out
02. Grab readers’ attention with a question mark. For example: Photographer? These 10 Things Will Drive You Crazy 03. Trigger their curiosity with numbers. For example: 7 Instagram Tips Every Photographer Should Know
04. Demonstrate the added value of reading your post. For example: Step-by-Step Guide: How to Create a Complete Photography Website
05. Be witty when possible. For example: Shoot The Wedding, Not The Client: Negotiation Tips For Photographers
This mind blowing article will provide you with all the ins and outs of creating a catchy title. For every photography blog post you write, scribble down a few titles, and then choose the one that would catch your attention.
Piece of mind
Did you notice how the massive amount of information in this blog post is served in bite sized chunks of content? Once you have a perfect title, you need to find a way to break up your text into pieces. Subtitles will help make the text more readable for all types of visitors: including the ones who want to know everything and the ones who just skim the text to get the main idea. So the next time you write a blog post, make sure not just to take a break, but also make a few.
100 grams of grammar
The importance of being grammatically correct cannot be stressed enough. Think about it: would you buy a loaf of bread if the package said “BRAD”? Probably not. Same thing applies to the way you present yourself online. Your blog is the package, and your photography services are the bread (and butter). If you’re not a natural-born linguist, make sure to review each piece of content carefully, either with the help of a Chrome extension, or a gifted friend you trust.
Timing is everything
Do your muses pay you regular visits at 6 am? You’re on fire with inspiration at precisely 23:03 every Friday night? Whatever your writing schedule may be, you need to set it apart from your posting schedule. And yes, both schedules should be intertwined.
In general, it is recommended to update your blog once a week (you can post more, but you may find that to be quite time-consuming for a busy photographer). Once in two weeks will also do the job. Mondays and Thursdays are great days for publishing content. If your target audience likes browsing on the weekends, then Saturdays and Sundays in the late morning can also create high engagement.
When it comes to the time of day, you should try to analyze your target audience. If your potential readers happen to have a common denominator (for example, working from 9 to 17), you can adjust your posting schedule accordingly. In general, between 10AM -11 AM is a popular time for browsing the web on a workday. 16 to 17-ish in the afternoon, when people are commuting back home, is also a good time to publish your masterpieces.
Visual = Visible
We wanted to say that an image is worth 1,000 words, but it’s a classic photography cliché, and blog readers don’t like cliches. What they do like are images that break up the “sheet” of text into nice bite sized chunks of content. Take the time to create or find high quality images for every post, as people will automatically associate them with the quality of your services. This is where being a photographer gives you a great advantage over other types of bloggers out there – you know what a good picture looks like, and actually enjoy the process of creating one.
As for quantity, we recommend sticking to two to three illustration images per medium sized post. Unless it’s a report about a personal project, a photoshoot, or traveling – that’s where you can post all you can fit. But only the good ones!
Keep those search engines happy
As you (hopefully) know by now, SEO is an inseparable part of every piece of content you publish online. Your blog is a great opportunity to climb to the top of those ranks! Try to use as many relevant keywords as possible in your articles, especially in the titles. For example, if you’re a wedding photographer, you might want to squeeze in the keyword “Wedding photographer” wherever you can. Here are just a few ideas: “How to Choose a Wedding Photographer for Your Big Day”, “What a Wedding Photographer Really Does” or “Tips From a Wedding Photographer Who Has Seen It All”. Just don’t go overboard – keywords should look as natural possible (search engines are extremely sensitive to overstuffing).
Also, make sure to add an SEO title and description to every single post (in addition to the Blog page itself). This way, not only will your website get a chance to rank for your keywords, but also every blog article. And the more soldiers you’ll send to the battlefield, the greater your chances are of winning the online visibility war. You’ll find all the details and many more SEOcrets in our SEO guide for photographers.
Time to spread the word
If a tree falls in a forest and nobody’s around to hear it, does it make a sound? We don’t know. But if a blog is published on a website, and nobody’s around to read it, there’s no point to it at all. How do you spread the word(s)? Start by adding an RSS button so visitors who use RSS feeds can easily keep up with your latest blog posts. Since there’s a good chance they have a serious addiction to reading emails (don’t we all?), make sure your articles are sent straight to everyone’s inbox. Just install the Wix Get Subscribers app that collects your visitors’ email addresses, and update your subscribers every time you publish a new post hot off the press.
Another absolute must is spreading the word via social media. Add social sharing buttons to your posts so that your readers can share your content with a simple click. Since you want to set the example, make sure you share every single new blog post on all of your own social profiles.
Put some thought and time into promoting your content at the beginning, and prepare for “that escalated quickly” number of subscribers.
Get yourself on track
Tracking your stats will keep you in the know. Once you’ve published a few blog posts, you’ll have enough data to start analyzing your blogging enterprise. Some numbers are worth paying attention to if you’re using Google Analytics:
“Audience” – to learn about your visitors
“Behaviour” – to understand what type of content engages your readers
“Acquisition” – to see your traffic sources.
If you’re using Wix, these insights will help you track everything from the hours in which the blog is read the most, to the devices your blog is most visited from.
Analyzing regularly will help you optimize your list of topics, posting schedule, posting times, titles, topics, and basically every other aspect of your exciting affair with the written word.