Your Blog Post Checklist – Make Your Photography Blog Attractable

Do you blog on a regular basis? If so, you’ve probably posted a few that were anything but complete. You forgot to spell check. You didn’t include the link you planned on using. Or you simply made it a short post because you didn’t know what else to write.

Writing posts on a regular basis takes more than talent; it takes a checklist to make sure all of the pieces are included.

Even if writing isn’t your “thing”, here is an easy way to make sure every post you create is perfectly targeted towards your readers.

1. Start with a great title

Titles are more than a quick note about the photography you are including in this post. If your titles have ever looked like this – “Jack and Amanda” – its time to rethink your titles. Titles should be a perfect balance to attract your readers that come to your site, and entice people that find your titles through Google, Facebook, Twitter and more to want to head over and actually read what you have to say.

Dig Deeper: How Do You Find Your Titles For Your Blog

2. Is the post complete?

When you are finished with your post, read through it. Is it a post many others would find interesting and useful? Would they want to share it with their friends? Do you get a complete story by reading through it? While posts should never be complete novels, they still need to have complete thoughts. Make sure you have a beginning, middle and end, and your reader gets the complete story by the time they read your last word. [Read more…]

11 Things You Must Do To Be More Effective At Blogging

Do you blog? What does your blog mean to you?

If you’ve been blogging for any length of time now, hopefully you’re beginning to realize the importance of content on a blog. It can truly be the tool you need to catapult your business to a whole new level.

I started blogging years ago, and now use my blog on a daily basis to connect and build relationships with my customers. Along the way, I’ve discovered 11 things you must do to be more effective at blogging. Take a look at my list, and let me know what I’m missing. What do you do regularly that helps you build a strong web presence with your blog?

1. Talk To Your Visitors

When people come to a blog, it’s to learn more about you. If you offer great information, they will be back. As a photographer, they love to see your photographs. But that doesn’t mean they don’t want to learn more about you too. Instead of creating a post, titling it “Amanda’s Senior Photos”, and placing 10 of her best images in a row, do something more. Tell the story of Amanda. Tell what it was like working with Amanda. Pictures may pull us in; but if you have a story with the photographs, we’ll quickly feel that much closer to you.

2. Consistency

If you blog, you have to blog regularly. Doing it only when you feel like it, and only when you have time doesn’t cut it. To be recognized, you have to build a schedule and stick with it. If you blog once a day, make sure you get it in once per day. If you create a blog post on your recent senior portrait setting, make sure you create a blog post for every senior you photograph.

3. Use Plugins

Right now almost 1 in 5 websites online uses WordPress as its design platform, and with good reason. Nothing is easier than being able to load a plugin in to make your job easier, and give you even easier access to create great content for your readers. Here’s my list of 10 WordPress Plugins For Photographers – what are your favorites? [Read more…]

The Photographers Guide To Getting Things Done On The iPad

When I originally got the iPad a year ago, I knew I would love it. Yet I really had no idea how much use I would find in the apps available, and how I can take it anywhere and get things done.

I’ve given you tips on apps to use to work on your photographs, but with an iPad, its so much more.

Yesterday, I spent the day sitting in doctors’ offices with my mom. And with hours of time on my hands, I started using a variety of apps on my iPad, and started thinking about how easy it is to take your business everywhere.

Here are some apps

OverDrive

If you are a regular follower, you know I live at the library – I literally couldn’t afford my book habit if I didn’t rely on the library too. Now I don’t even have to make a weekly stop at the library – I simply open up the library on my iPad. With OverDrive, you have access to your library account from your iPad, and can browse through your local library’s ebook list. If it’s available, download it and start reading. If its “checked out”, reserve it and have access to it at a later date. [Read more…]

Using WordPress For Your Photography Site

Still using a traditionally designed website? You are missing out on one of today’s top tools to help you gain traction online. A few years ago we started designing all of our sites using WordPress, and today they are completely integrated into our online business. With the tools and plugins available, there really isn’t a reason to use anything else. Here are some of the top tools we use every day, and highly recommend to anyone getting started with WordPress.org

A Site Of Your Own

People ask all the time why they can’t stick with Blogger or WordPress.com as a free alternative to a site. My answer: You get what you pay for. Free sites offer very little details or customization. You only have access to a small amount of storage space – which means very few photographs. And do you really want to risk having your site shut down because they have ultimate control, not you? (I hear stories all the time of large sites being shut down, and you have very little recourse. It’s free after all, and they really don’t provide a lot of customer service for free.) Get your own domain name – you can do so for around $10 per year. Get your own cpanel hosting and use Fantastico to quickly install WordPress is 3 steps, or download WordPress, and load up your own theme. With thousands out there, there is something for everyone. And you can customize along the way.

Themes

WordPress is the platform that makes it easy to add content. And in order to customize your look and feel, and create a brandable site online, you’ll need a theme. With thousands available, you’ll find one that’s perfect for you. Then customize it to your hearts desire.

[Read more…]