I was recently asked for blogging tips by a photographer who had set up a wordpress.com blog separate to his website. Although his photographs are incredible, his blogging could be much more effective to generate more traffic and increase conversions. As the tips could be used for almost any blogger, I thought I’d share them here with you.
Aims of Photography Blog
I started by asking why he was blogging, what was he trying to sell and what did he want to achieve, particularly as the blog wasn’t integrated into the website.
- To sell limited edition photograph prints
- To sell workshops and photography tour places
- To show his expertise – both as a photographer and as a teacher
Blogging Tips for Effective Blogging
- To use the Google keyword research tool to ensure the blog is well optimised.
- To use chosen keywords occasionally throughout the blog post but particularly in the first and last paragraphs.
- To use appropriate tags and categories.
- To name the photograph with a keyword (rather than it being named IMG87609y40.jpg
- To include a title, alt title and description in the upload process of the photograph
- To include a call to action to the relevant page on the website in order to increase traffic to the website and increase conversions. This is particularly important when the blog isn’t integrated into the website – readers need to know you have a website so they can visit it.
- Include at least one image on every blog post – to provide variety, visual interest and hook the reader.
- Don’t forget to change the standard phrasing in the top right of the free wordpress.com blogs, the standard text is usually something like ‘just another wordpress blog’. Change it to a description of your blog and include at least one keyword. You can change it in the settings area of your dashboard.
- Create a popular topic that you can post about weekly – this means that some readers will check it out regularly (such as this Find It Friday post) and include tips that show your expertise. In the case of the photography blog, it could be ‘Tuesday’s Photography Tips’ and the topic could be an explanation on how to edit in Photoshop, use Instagram or tips on how to take particular photographs – remembering to include a call to action to a photography class or workshop. Foto Friday tends to be a popular slot on photography blogs.
- Don’t forget to create an ‘About Me’ page and include a photograph – this helps readers to engage with you when they can see your appearance.
Do get in touch if you would like us to analyse your blog and suggest improvements for more effective blogging, we can do that by meeting up with you or we can do so online.
