Blog promotion...

[loretta_stephens]

<p>Hi again!</p>

<p>I have a photography blog, and I was wondering how I go about getting people to view it?<br>

Not that I am looking to have the most famous blog out there but it would be nice if people could see it. I've seen that some blogs get quite a lot of attention and I would just like to know how to get that for my own blog.</p>

<p>As always, thank you for you help,</p>

<p>Loretta</p>

[Jeff Lear]

<p>Posting here is obviously a good idea (lots of photographers)... <del>Maybe in the General Photography Conversation forum, I see lots of self-promotion there.</del> <i><b>[Moderator's note: NOT a good idea. See followup comment. -- Lex]</b></i> I would also recommend appending your photographer biography or personal information on your PN profile page to include a link.</p>

<p>Beyond PN, most blogs become popular by word-of-mouth so do what you can to get your name out there. If you're offering something that people want they'll tell their friends.</p>

<p>Also! If you can figure out how to create an over-saturated HDR of the female form as your blog mascot, you'll have them beating down your doors ;-)</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>First of all, don't be offended by what I have to say. My goal is to help you avoid being suspended or banned. I'm not criticizing you or anyone else personally.</p>

<p>Avoid engaging in activity on photo.net that could be construed as <strong><em>blog-spamming</em> </strong> . We get so much of that on photo.net that any new members who immediately post links to their blogs or personal websites on discussion forums are generally banned. (Just a little while ago a persistent blog-spammer was banned yet again for signing up under another alias to give it another shot at pimping his blog.)</p>

<p>There's a little more leeway shown to established photo.net members who have demonstrated a history of constructive, selfless activities. Positive contributions on discussion forums, helping others with critiques and advice, all are considered positive, selfless contributions.</p>

<p>Even tho' you've been a photo.net member for a year, you have very little activity with only 16 forum posts, including this one. So if you begin posting URLs to your blog, or asking in photo.net discussion forums for visits to your blog, it may be interpreted as blog-spamming.</p>

<p>If you have a very specific request, such as asking for feedback about whether the blog or website is easy to navigate, works on various browsers for PCs and Macs, etc., that may be considered an appropriate request on the <a href="../casual-conversations-forum">Casual Photo Conversations forum</a> . A single such request may be accommodated.</p>

<p>However, keep in mind that there may be millions of blogs now. And there are hundreds of thousands of photo.net members. If we permit every photo.net member to promote their blogs on discussion forums, the forums will quickly be rendered useless.</p>

<p>You may add a hotlink to your blog on your photo.net member profile page. You may mention it in your bio. You can privately ask others to review your blog and send feedback via e-mail. Beyond that, the usual method for getting blog hits is to visit other people's blogs. Usually comment section on their blogs will include a space for your own blog URL. If you find like-minded people, you may ask for cross-links. But it's usually not good form to engage in blog promotion on discussion forums such as photo.net. I know it's widely accommodated elsewhere - actually, ignored or overlooked, not necessarily welcomed - but is not a good idea here.</p>

[Jeff Lear]

<p>Sorry Lex, I didn't notice the lack of participation just that Loretta had been a member of PN for a year. By self-promotion I was more referring to photo contests and exhibition stuff, not necessarily blog-spamming. I also noticed that you simply asked a question, without posting a link. I apologize for leading you astray with my advice... all but that last suggestion, because it's brilliant!</p>

<p>I've been here about the same amount of time as you and have three times the visits to my profile (still not significant, compared to other members). The only thing this traffic can be attributed to is participation because I'm certainly not an exemplary photographer. Being involved in the photo community, whether here or elsewhere, is the best way to promote yourself and your offerings.</p>