Blogging - Something Different?

[MichaelHenson]

Hey all!

I'm still in that super newbie marketing phase and am always trying to come up with ways to market myself successfully. As such, I do some social media marketing and have a begun "beating the streets" with some postcards that I hand out to business that I think might potentially be interested in my services or have employees that would be interested in my services.

In addition, I have a blog but have been hit and miss with it. Mostly, I don't want a blog that's just a gushy couple paragraphs about the people I photographed with some images of them. I want it to be something that is valuable to people on a broader scale. I've considered blogging about topics that might be of interest to people looking for a photographer, trying to write fictional (or more story-like) descriptions of my photoshoots with people in an attempt to be more interesting and "share-able," and I've considered trying to aggregate stories from other sources that would be interesting and valuable to my target market.

But none of these ideas seem to "click" with me and I was hoping to get some feedback from some of y'all that might be doing something different or have some insights that I don't?

Any response is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Derrel]

I think that blogging as a value-added proposition is a very,very dubious concept. The way I see this is that you're seeking something that cannot be done on the same, single blog or site. You wrote that, " I don't want a blog that's just a gushy couple paragraphs about the people I photographed with some images of them. I want it to be something that is valuable to people on a broader scale." Okay...here's one guy's opinion. FIRST, the main use for blogs has indeed been providing clients who have payed with an acknowledgement of their session and also, provides them with a permalink-type URL where they can refer other people to a nice display of the highlights of their session. SO, I think you might be missing the whole concept behind the way photographer blogs have come to be viewed: its a small, yet significant, part of the whole product you have sold them...they get some props, and it's handy for them to have a place on-line that they are proud of.

Second...blogs that are valuable to people on a broad scale: I dunno what that means, really. The web is a huuuuuge place! What does value mean? Are you going to provide weather forecasts and news updates and shopping tips? What **is** value from a web page, really? Photographers looooove gear talk...as Kirk Tuck mentions, gear talk posts are basically, all they read. Regular people have apps on their phones to get weather,directions,news, and infotainment...not sure what a blog can actually provide that has any real value.

 

[MichaelHenson]

Thanks for the response!

You are correct in your assessment that I would like a blog that serves a bit more purpose than the "session write-ups." I understand your description of the blog as part of the product and I haven't actually thought of the blog in that light. I've always considered it more a marketing/SEO tool than anything, so thanks for challenging my perspective!

Allow me to clarify my "broader scale" statement...I mean that I would like for my blog to attract readers other than clients (or their family/friends) looking at photos and a gushy description from their last session. Ideally, I'd like for it to be something where people go because it provides a photographically related value to them and, eventually, they come to me when they need a photographer. Some of my brainstorms have included articles about how to present yourself best for photos, how to dress, how to pose to look better in photos, what a model portfolio consists of, etc.

I'd like my blog to essentially be a sales funnel and marketing tool, not just a recap collection. I realize that might not be the norm, but I don't think that's a bad thing.

Finally, in regards to your last statement, "not sure what a blog can actually provide that has any real value," I think there are a lot of blogs that provide real value. David Hobby's, Strobist, is incredibly valuable, for instance. There are countless others...The Huffington Post is actually classified as a blog, as is BusinessInsider and others. But, I guess it all comes back to your point, value from a webpage is subjective and relative to each individual reader.