Odds are a blog is the last thing you’ve thought of as a photographer, if it’s even ever crossed your mind. But it’s a great addition for your business!
I’m going to give you more specifics, but I promise it won’t be that hard to add in.
Ready!?
We’ll break down:
- Why a blog is beneficial
- Simple topics for your blog
- Scheduling and planning your blog
- How to share your blog
- The financial benefit of having a blog
Why a Blog is Beneficial
I know what you may be thinking, that blogs are for recipes you find on Pinterest, full of ads that slow your computer and phone down, and it’s just a waste of your time because who would read it.
A lot of people. That’s who!
So here’s why a blog is super beneficial as a photographer. Not only does it go hand-in-hand with your Pinterest strategy, but it’s an easy way to optimize your website to help boost your SEO and score higher on Google.
Like Google, Pinterest is a search engine. I know a lot of people think of it as social media, but it really isn’t. People are going there for ideas, vibes and planning out their wedding.
And what do you search for when planning your wedding?
Venues, bouquet, dresses, colors, locations, place settings, vibes, themes, etc.
And what have you photographed as a wedding photographer? All of that.
With the right keywords and optimizing the blog you write, people will be finding YOUR content and, ideally, reach out to book you if you’re what they’re envisioning for their wedding.
Same with family, senior and couple sessions. They’re looking for certain keywords, wanting the best locations in an area, looking for the styles and themes. And if you write a blog, even once a month covering one of those topics? With the correct content and strategy, you can start setting your business up for continued success long term.
Simple Topics For Your Blog
Now that’s all fun and well, but you may be asking where do you even start? You’re “just” the photographer, not the planner or creator or certain things, what do you write about?
Everything.
What I recommend is going over the schedule you received at your last wedding, and writing a couple sentences going over the vibe, experience, fun and love of the day. Then include 5-8 pictures from the day to go with it.
If you don’t have one, or it doesn’t make sense, you can only find an example on Pinterest too.
For other areas like families, couples, seniors, etc, you can do something similar. If you do fall sessions, write a quick one on your top (ok to share ;)) spots to take pictures and include 3-4 families with 4-5 pictures for each location.
You could write more broad topics about “What to Expect at Your First Photoshoot”, “5 Essentials for the Best Pictures”, “5 Cities in Minnesota for the Best Engagement Pictures”, or even a topic you get a lot of questions on when people inquire about bookings.
The goal of your blog is to answer people’s questions, show them your work, give them ideas, and ultimately book you. Plus, it’s an easy way to share your new favorite content that people can keep finding.
Social media is good for real-time sharing. But blogs and Pinterest are evergreen. So an 18 year old may not be engaged yet, but she loves your content, has you saved on a board and will be the first one she contacts when the ring’s on her finger.
It’s supporting you now and in the future to keep clients coming! Plus, as long as your clients are ok with it, who doesn’t want an entire blog post about their special day to come back to over and over again!?
Scheduling and Planning Your Blog
Now, most photographers I know are super busy. Either doing it on the side, working on making it full time, or have 1-3 weddings a weekend. So how are you supposed to fit in blogging too!?
First, even to get started, if you can create a blog post for each photography focus you do like weddings, families, couples, seniors, etc, that’s a great place to start! So once a quarter, then moving up to once a month would be awesome.
That’s just picking one of your favorite sessions from the month and writing about it.
Now, there can be a bit of strategy around this too. Follow the seasons and trends like on Pinterest. I explain that in The Importance of Keywords and Trends on Pinterest, but the goal is to gain traction for more people to see it. And then when that season or trend comes back around, more people will find you again and reach out.
But the goal with seeing the trends is coming up with topics for each month and then you just choose what photo session you want to use for it. You can literally schedule out your entire year in an hour with blog topics! And want to do more than one a month, just add more topics.
Also, with scheduling out and checking the trends, if Wedding Ideas spikes in January, I would write it for December, start posting it all month and into January on Pinterest, and then cycle through it that way.
How to Share Your Blog
Of course, the simple answer is Pinterest. It’s literally made for blogging! And the pins you share can be just the pictures, then some pins with the title of the blog, etc. Each blog post could have 8+ images easily to share.
Below is an example of what 60 days in a newer Pinterest account can look like with consistent daily posting.
It’s also easy to share on other social media. You have the pictures already, just add to the description to “check out the latest blog post to see the full day” or “learn more”. If it’s Facebook, you can add the link in the comments, if it’s Instagram you can add the link in your description, etc.
You can also send it out to your newsletter. This way you have content to share with them each month, and it’s not just trying to sell them into your next opening. It’s a mixture of nurture and selling, which will result in more bookings.
You can also easily let the couple/family/people you wrote the blog about or added that you did it or the blog is ready. I can’t think of anyone that wouldn’t want to share that with friends and family, as it’s also an easy way for them to show the pictures they took.
And just with your blog existing on your website, there’s a bigger chance of it showing up in Google when people are looking for the exact topic you talked about. And with all the sharing you did above to promote the blog, there’s a higher chance of it ranking higher in the search.
Google cares about people going to websites and staying on them. The more that happens and with certain topics, it will decide that you’re an expert in that area and share your website more.
So your blog could allow you to show up more on Google! And if you’re a local photographer, that’s exactly what you want.
The Financial Benefit of Having a Blog
This may seem simple as the goal is to get people to hire you, but there can be other benefits too.
Of course your main focus is for people to book you when they find you, or join your email list to find out when you do mini sessions. But another simple way to make money is having affiliate links.
Now, hear me out! This can be specific to your industry or blog post.
If you recommend your favorite fall outfit from a photo session and link it all on Amazon or whatever storefront you have for that, people can choose to purchase it there while reading your blog.
If you have a referral program with a wedding planner, venue, caterer, etc. You can add them into your blog post. It could literally list ALL the vendors from the wedding at the top, and any affiliate link you have can go right there.
Of course you need to disclose it, but the less people have to search for things, especially after finding a style or idea they really like, the better!
I know if I’m looking into something specific, I get a lot of good information from the blog, and they have links for the helpful tools they talked about? I’m clicking it!
The fewer steps someone has to take, the better.
Of course don’t just share anything and everything. Make sure it’s beneficial and you know it would help people to have the option.
But that’s pretty much it!
Blogging can really help your business gain and keep traction for years to come.Even just a year of it would be helpful.
Now, if this is something you really want to do, but can’t or don’t want to take the time to get everything done in order to start, I’d love to help!
Whether it’s getting your Pinterest Account Set Up, or Managing your Pinterest account to schedule content out AND come up with blog topics for you to write, I’m here to help!
Check out both options, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!
I just want to see more photographers able to grow their business as much as they want it to. And this is a simple addition that can have massive benefits!
Happy pinning!
