5 Blogging Mistakes That Could Cost You Your Business

Everyone is a blogger nowadays and with good reason. Because small business owners know the importance of being online, many look for the least expensive route to get there. And that often leads them into the blogging realm. It’s easy. It’s affordable. Why not?

Yet just because something is easy and affordable isn’t a reason to jump in headfirst and go full force unless you understand what you are doing and have a plan in place. Blogging, like any other marketing tool, has certain characteristics that make it a great tool. But if you don’t use it in the proper way, it can do more harm then good.

Here are the top blogging mistakes I see photographers make, and how you can avoid them.

Bad Writing

Some of us are writers. And some aren’t. While a blog needs to be personal in nature, and express your business style, you do need to be careful about what your message conveys. Are you writing complete thoughts? Do you have spelling and grammar errors? Are your posts interesting? Customers won’t come back if they can’t see beyond glaring errors that occur on a regular basis. Concentrate on writing great posts. And if you need help, hire a ghost blogger. [Read more…]

How To Add Your First Employee

This post is Day 25 of 30 Ways In 30 Days To Redesign Your Life With Photography. This series seeks to provide you with practical steps to get you from wherever you are today, to exactly where you want to be – this year! If your goal has always been to take your photography to a whole new level, hang on and start enjoying a new lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of.

One of the most magical points of running a business is when you realize you can’t do it all yourself; the only way to move forward is to take on an employee.

“My challenge is how to grow from a one-woman show to the next step. Do I just hire an office/production manager? I have found that networking and shooting and selling are my favorite things and could let the rest go. Am just having trouble with making it happen.”
Laura

Document Your Month

As a solo business owner, the first step is realizing you need help and are willing to let some things go. The second step is determining what is practical to let go.

Instead of guessing at things, the best way to make this determination is to track what you do in a typical month.

Grab a binder, and enough paper to last you for 30 days. Keep the binder open and on your desk or work station, and record everything you do for a month. Include everything. If you spend 10 minutes talking to a client on the phone, record it. If you spend 30 minutes with customer support over phone charges, record it. If you spend 45 minutes doing data entry for your accounting, record it.

After a one month period, you can gain a pretty good idea of where your time is going every month. With your 30 day binder in hand, list out different tasks, and then add up the number of minutes or hours you put in. Don’t lump things together – be detailed at this point. [Read more…]