Blogging tips no one is telling you about

You have to have a blog.

Blogging is far from dead.

Blogging is imperative for SEO.

Blogging is one of the MOST important things you can do for your small growing photography business.

You’ve heard this all before, right?

If you have done any sort of research or education on blogging for your business I am quite positive you have. I mean, in all honestly, I would be saying all of these things (and have been for years now) as well because…..well, they are all true!

But what If I told you there were some super important tips about blogging that no one is really talking about. And to top it off, these tips will actually help you elevate your blogging so that you can actually ENSURE that all of the hard work you are putting in actually pays off.

Well now, that would be pretty interesting wouldn’t it? Welp, keep reading!!

1 | You don’t have to blog.

Ahem. Wait. What?

Yep! I know that is totally not what you were expecting to read here in a blog post all about tips for blogging, but imma go ahead and just say it…..

Blogging isn’t the perfect choice for every single photography business.

For most, yes. For newer businesses who are growing and looking for some less expensive marketing, blogging allll the wayyyy.

But if you have a photography business that is doing well and you are booking clients out the wazoo from word of mouth referrals and things don’t look to be slowing any time soon...blogging may just not be all that necessary for you.

Of course, I think blogging can benefit every photography business, but that’s different from being a necessity. For some newer or growing photographers blogging is ESSENTIAL to build the brand and get the word out in all of internet land.

Bottom line, if you are on track to meeting your goals and you are booking off of other advertising streams and you are stressed about blogging because you feel like “you have too and everyone else says you should be doing it”....stop. Focus your efforts on the things that are already working and if at some point in the future you feel blogging would start to really provide a benefit, come see me and we will get you set up the right way from the beginning!

2 | Quality content is 1000x more important than quantity.

I keep hear people talking about how blogging regularly and on a consistent schedule is still highly recommended and necessary when it comes to blogging.

It’s not.

If you are pumping out content once a week on Monday’s because you were told that’s ideal and that content is not helpful or informative, not hitting SEO standards and is rushed and randomly put together...you are hurting yourself more than helping.

Google is getting really, really serious about content. Putting out content that is not providing the solution to what people are looking for on the internet is getting closer and closer to being a big ‘ol waste of time.

You might think that this means you have to really step up your writing game in order to blog...and you would be right.
But what that doesn’t mean is that you have to go back to school to get an English degree. You just have to care. Probably more than you do now. You don’t have to write “proper” ----goodness knows I don’t. I write like I talk. And that’s OK...as long as what you are saying matters to the person reading (and they can understand you) then you are GTG! (good to go for all you peeps who aren’t hip to the acronym lingo just yet!)

3 | A large audience and consistent readership isn’t always a top priority.

Blogging is different these days. Sure, when it comes to lifestyle or influencer blogs, large audiences and consistent daily readers are a priority. They have to be because they are getting paid by companies to advertise their products. That is not the case with most small business owners.

Most likely, you aren’t blogging for affiliate income. You are blogging to connect with potential clients, let them know how you can help solve their problem and hopefully book their services. None of the translates into thousands of daily views and hundreds of comments on your blog posts. Yes, high levels of traffic will help your SEO, but if your blog converts the readers who do find it...you are miles ahead of the game.

Going back to #2….if you are writing quality content that is helping and resonating with readers, you are making progress. You do not need to stress and worry a ton about lack of crazy high page views or never ending blog comments. If you focus on the right content for your client, Google will have your back. Pinky swear.

4 | Add video. Now.

If you can, add video content to your blog posts. Seriously...video is hot, hot hot. Adding video is a fantastic way to vary up your content as well to appeal to multiple types of readers. I know that even though I am personally prone to reading content FIRST, sometimes, depending on the subject matter, I do appreciate a video to show me as well.

What I don’t want you to do is ONLY post videos in your blogs without any sort of copy/text to go along with it. That is a huge pet peeve of mine (and I’m sure lots and lots of others) when I am maybe in a place where I can’t watch a video at the moment, I click over to a post and there is nothing for me to read...just the option to hit play. I really, really dislike this and 9 times out of 10 will end up never seeing that video because I have to click out of it and won’t remember to go back.

But a video AND words. That’s the sweet spot. Something for everyone. Not every post necessarily needs a video and that’s ok, but if you have opportunity to add some now and then, take it!

5 | If you don’t know and understand why you are blogging you will always be frustrated with it.

I say this to every single person who I talk with about blogging. You HAVE to really hone in and understand what purpose your blog is meaning to fulfill.

It may seem so simple, but in reality, there is a LOT that will mess with your head when you write something and then PUBLISH IT ON THE INTERNET. We really don’t know who might end up reading it and so in our minds we try to write for everyone. Of course, that is impossible so it feels crazy, ridiculously hard.

So getting super clear about who you are actually writing the content FOR and having a pretty clear idea about what you want to tell them and then STICKING WITH IT, is really the only way for you to feel really super good about the content that you are putting out there. It may be hard for us to know that what we are publishing doesn’t really resonate with our friend that we knew in high school or your Aunt Sally’s best friend (both who might actually read your blog) but you aren’t writing the content FOR them so in the end, that shouldn’t affect how you craft your content.

Before every single post, remind yourself about who you would ideally love to read that post and what you want them to get out of it. That will help you stay on track!