How to Grow Your Photography Business with a Blog
To grow a photography business, or any business for that matter, you need to spend a good amount of time building a solid marketing strategy, developing a plan to roll it out, and creating the content and materials to actually get the word out there about your business. If you perform a quick Google search on how to market your photography business, you will likely find list after list of potential marketing outputs, each touting their own benefits. As many photographers are solopreneurs, it is almost impossible to to utilize every single possible marketing channel, whether it’s a social media platform, advertising opportunities or email marketing. With such finite amount of time to actually market your business in between photo shoots, the key is to find a few marketing channels that not only help your business grow, but are also in-line with your strengths. You also need to focus on marketing channels that you can consistently utilize for the long run. That’s why I started focusing a lot of my efforts on my photography blog.
I love photography, but I also love writing. In fact, I went to school for writing. Because of this, I decided to start writing a blog about my travels, while also sharing photography and video tips with my readers. When I first started the blog, however, I didn’t see it as a marketing tool for my photography services. But, as the years went on, I started to realize that, even though a blog is very focused on writing and not necessarily photography, my articles were starting to drive potential customers to both my website, my portfolio and, of course, my photography services.
Before realizing this, my main focus for marketing my photography skills was always Instagram. Other than a few posts that performed fairly well, I’ve never really had much success with the platform. As Instagram used to be a place to showcase your photos, it made sense to try and market my photography work there. But, as my Instagram grew at a snail’s pace and my blog steadily started to develop page views, I realized that blogging was, perhaps, the marketing channel that worked the best for me.
Now, a photography blog has helped me stay consistent with my marketing efforts, but that may not be the case for you. Maybe Instagram works better for you, or even just good old fashioned networking. The key is to find the marketing output that, again, plays into your skillset so that you can both enjoy the marketing process, and stay consistent for the long run. If you like writing though, a photography blog could be the answer. Before you start drafting articles, however, there are a few things you should consider when trying to grow your photography business with a blog:
Harness Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
If you’ve ever Googled anything about blog writing or building a website, you’ve definitely come across search engine optimization, which essentially means optimizing your content so that it can be found by search engines. I won’t dive too far into this, as there are already tons of great resources out there discussing this topic, but the key to good SEO for a photography blog is identifying and utilizing keywords that your potential clients are searching, and then building articles around them. There are a ton of great keyword research tools online, but just start to think practically about what your potential clients would be searching for online. I like to get in the mindset of thinking, if I were looking for a particular type of photography services, what exactly would I be searching for before making that decision?
The other key component of SEO for a photography blog is alt text. Alt text is the text that appears if an image doesn’t load on your blog. It’s very important, though, because alt text can act as additional keywords for your site, and help your posts rank higher in Google Images. As a photography blog, you will likely have lots of images on your site, so make sure you add detail rich alt text to each one!
For both keywords and alt text, however, make sure that the words you are using are both relevant to your article and your overall blog. The more familiar search engines become with what your blog’s about, the easier it will be for them to rank your articles and get them in front of the potential clients that are seeking your solutions.
Solve Your Client’s Problems
Remember when I said you should try and figure out exactly what a potential client would be searching for before making a decision on purchasing photography services? Well, when a potential client goes to Google to search, they’re typically trying to solve a problem or understand something better. The best way to draw potential customers to your website and then, ultimately, to your contact form so they can inquire about your services is to solve their problems in your articles.
It may seem counterintuitive, but, if you show your potential clients how they can take the types of photos they need in your articles, you will actually start to position yourself as a thought leader / expert in your photography field. So, when a potential client does eventually decide they need to outsource photography services, they will remember that you are the expert in that particular niche, and will become more likely to reach out to you.
In addition, some potential clients know right off the bat that they need to outsource photography services, but they just simply have no idea how to get started. To help them along with the process, you cold provide articles outlining how photography pricing works, what to expect on a photoshoot or how they can prepare for a day in the studio. Again, as potential clients start to learn more about how the photography process works, they will start to see you as the thought leader in the space, and will be more likely to connect with you when they’re finally ready to move forward with a photo shoot.
Build Out Your Brand’s Story
The photography space is very crowded these days. And I mean very crowded. One of the best ways to stand out is to develop a unique value proposition, identify a strong “why” and incorporate both into your brand’s story. Once you have that figured out, you can start to develop marketing content that always drives that story, ensuring potential clients know what you’re all about and what separates you from the competition.
The great thing with a blog is that you can continuously showcase your brand’s story and what you stand for through all of your articles. Again, the key is to identify your why as a photographer, determine what your potential clients care about, and then try and solve their problems through your articles. The more potential clients see your articles pop up as they search for answers to their questions online, the more they will start to recognize you as the go-to person in your photography niche, and, ultimately, start to become more familiar with your brand’s story and what you’re all about.
Conclusion
There are countless ways to market a photography business, but, if you enjoy writing in addition to taking photos, a photography blog could be for you. When writing photography blog articles, find the keywords that your potential customers are using to search for the services you offer, and then develop articles around them. Next, create articles that solve your potential clients’ problems and provide resources to help guide them through the decision making process. Finally, determine a strong “why” for your photography brand and ensure that it resonates throughout your writing, helping build out your brand’s story online. Over time, a photography blog will help you grow your photography business and position you as a thought leader in your photography niche.