Photoblog is a great way for a photographer to express themselves on the Web: it allows visual creatives to speak by means of things they do best of all - pictures. While “regular” bloggers have to spend countless hours searching for the right words that will bring them to top lists of the blogosphere, photobloggers can take advantage of a visual language, using minimum of text message. What once started as a journal of daily photo submissions, now has turned into a powerful way of online self-promotion and even money making. A fair potential of photoblog as a web medium was quickly caught up by the evolving technology, thus wide distribution of inexpensive digital cameras, global adoption of broadband Internet connections and the advent of mobile devices with in-built cameras led to the fantastic popularity of photoblog activity.
Let’s take a closer look at why you might need a photoblog and how you could make it get noticed in the field which is pretty much crowded today (one of the major photoblog directories Photoblogs.org lists over 32,000 photoblogs!).
Why photoblog?
- It’s an easy way to share your art with others.
- Running a photoblog you can track your progress at ease.
- It will keep you in tone. Photoblog is a way to challenge yourself as in order to keep visitors you have to post photos regularly and thus, shoot regularly. Besides, nothing can motivate better than admiring response of your readers.
- It’s a place for feedback and testimonials.
- It’s a platform for your own community: photoblog is a great way to build strong relationships with your fans, potential clients and fellow photographers.
How to promote a photoblog
Each promotion step should be based on a careful analysis. First of all, you need to set some goals that will determine the further strategy. Decide whether you want to use your photoblog as a tool for an indirect promotion of your photography services, or you gonna make it a direct profit source, selling prints, commissions, cards etc. right from the blog site. Once you decided how you want to use your photoblog, analyze numbers: look at traffic rates of some photoblogging titans. Compare the rates with those of your own blog and don’t worry if the gap is too big - this will help you realize your goals and develop a plan of their fulfillment. When the tasks are set and you are ready for action, go on and put some effort into making your photo website a popular online resource. Here are some tips and suggestions you might consider while promoting your photoblog.
1. Quality, quality and quality.
The rule “Content is the king” is true for all kinds of web mediums, and photoblog is not an exception. Always pay attention to the quality of the images you post. You may put thousands of dollars in advertising, but if you post low-res images you taken at uncle John’s birthday, neither will anybody buy them, nor become a fan of your art.
2. Be an active member of the community
Connect with other bloggers, exchange links, comment on other blogs leaving links to your site and don’t forget about submitting your blog to photoblog directories, like coolphotoblogs.com, photoblogdirectory.net, photobloggies, photoblogs.org and others. Try to put your site in front of as many eyeballs as possible. And of course, don’t forget to share the love back, linking to other blogs and photographers.
3. Remember about SEO
Making your photoblog appealing to search engines is quite important. Do a keyword research as picking the right keywords is one of the most important parts of your SEO plan. Be sure, all the pages of your website have titles, same goes for the images. Write fair descriptions, because if there is no text on your website, users will have a hard time finding you. Try not to put one post into several categories in order to avoid content duplication. Don’t forget about image tags: once each image has ALT and TITLE tags, it will be easier for people to find you. And the last, but not least, get an analytics program for your site so that you could monitor the statistics and make necessary changes in time.
4. Give it away!
Giveaway is a powerful way of attracting people to your website. Plus, this is a good way to thank your constant readers and fans of your photography. People love gifts and occasional give-away contests conducted on your photoblog can be most rewarding for all parties involved. Don’t be afraid to trade gifts for something you need from the visitor, an e-mail address, for example. This way you can build a data base of “quality” audience and send them email updates, as well as pleasant surprises. However, email communication is something that can’t be abused, so be careful and don’t spam your readers anyway.
5. Take the best from social networks
Today ignoring social media means being not serious about getting successful on the web. Besides some usual ways of promoting your photoblog on social networks (these are posting blog updates, sharing interesting links, connecting and communicating people), there are a few things that will help you get more from networking. For instance, you can make some special offers for your Twitter followers and Facebook fans: give discounts, conduct comment giveaways, make exclusive releases and create other cute ways to show your love to those who are with you.
6. Combine a word of mouse with a word of mouth
Although Internet gives us unbelievable opportunities in terms of communication and sharing, offline promotion is something that you shouldn’t overlook. Going for a photographic assignment, take a stack of cards or flyers with you. It will work even better if you combine an informational value of the card with some material benefits. For instance, you can type a special URL on the backside and give a discount or free print to those who go through that URL, or register on your website, or follow you on Twitter or do whatever else to join your community. Try to submit your works to galleries, any kind of exhibitions will have a beneficial effect both on your photography branding and photoblog popularity.
Recap: there are many reasons for a photographer to set up a photoblog. It’s a good tool for both spreading your vision and boosting your photographic career. Today promotion methods tend to concentrating on networking personal approach rather than on sear-engine optimization. It’s people whom you do all this, right? So finding and extending your audience and sharing the best with it should be your number one priority.
Related resources and articles:
- How to promote a photography website
- Blog on Photoblogs
- How Photographers Are Making The Internet Work for Them
- 20 Amazing Photoblogs to Love
- Introduction to Photoblogs and MoBlogs
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mark_Jerry: Promoting A Photoblog: Tips and Resources http://bit.ly/bGDIVv...
Wow, great ideas. I have only just launched my site but would have loved to have read this first. I had no idea there were photoblog directories!
Great, thanks a bunch for putting it up!