Blogging

[sydney_ricks]

<p>I've been advised by many photographers to start a blog. I'm interested in doing so, but I don't even know how to start one! Any <strong>tips</strong>,<strong> suggestions</strong>, or<strong> how to's</strong> would be very helpful! I'd also love links to anyone's blog to get ideas on how to get started!</p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>First question: Do you have something to say that other people want to read? That's what blogging is all about. Having a blog doesn't guarantee readers. Having readers doesn't guarantee sales.<br>

As far as the mechanics go, check out Wordpress, they have lots of styles and templates and their software is easy to use.<br>

<Chas><br /><br /></p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Since you're just getting started I'd recommend a freebie Blogger blogspot account. Very easy to set up. Being a Google product you'll get the advantage of Google's ranking bias toward its own blog platform (this won't translate to Bing or other search engines, however). Google favors fresh, original content, which pretty well takes care of the most important SEO strategy. And Blogger accounts handle spam very well - I'd guesstimate 99% of spam attempts are filtered out of my blogs.</p>

<p>Also, stick with the standard templates supplied by Blogger, at least until you're familiar with the process. Some third party designs are stuffed with SEO/spam for "male enhancement" products and other crap. They may also leave your blog vulnerable to hacking.</p>

<p>The Blogger platform works well enough that <a href="http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/">Strobist</a> is still on a blogspot account.</p>

<p>Wordpress offers more flexibility, but maintenance is much more demanding. You'll spend more time weeding out spam. And you'll need to work harder on SEO.</p>

<p>Same warning regarding choosing a Wordpress template. Many free third party templates are designed to promote spam and may leave your blog vulnerable to hacking or defacing.</p>

<p>Whichever platform you choose, the key is fresh, original, timely and topical updates. A common trick/tactic is to post a riff on a recent headline-grabbing article. For example, if there's a recent spate of stories about some controversial Photoshopping of a celebrity to make her appear 30 lbs thinner, or unethical editing by a photojournalist to win a competition, adding an article to your blog with your opinion or alternative point of view on the same topic will help promote your blog toward the first page or two of Google hits. Links to relevant articles elsewhere will help.</p>

<p>It doesn't need to be controversial. Photo technique articles go in trends. One influential writer/blogger posts a "new" article about -- you name it, use of flash, emulating the film look digitally, backup media, whatever -- and half a dozen "Me too!" articles will appear within a month on Peterpickles, 121Cliches, Plagiarized Panda and other sites with social media clout. Your take on the same topic will help your blog ride the wave.</p>

<p>But beware of merely quoting other articles verbatim, and adding only a single sentence of original material such as "Me too!" After awhile Google picks up on this trick and punishes repeat offenders by burying the blog or website in Google rankings.</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>The mechanics are irrelevant. It's the content that matter. The most important question is who is your audience. Strobist, for example, is written for photographers but would be of no interest to a photographer's client. If you're trying to drum up business, then you probably want to be writing about the work you've done recently so potential clients can see what you are capable of. Write, but also include photos from the shoots. Make sure the clients you are writing about are OK with being in the blog.<br /><br />Keep in mind that good photographers are not necessarily good writers. If your blog is full of typos, bad grammar, incomplete or run-on sentences, etc., it will look unprofessional and hurt your reputation.</p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>Oh yeah, "If you build it, they will come" doesn't apply to blogs, especially photography blogs. You have to make it interesting and you have to let people know there's content they want to read.</p>

 

[mwmcbroom]

<p>If I can add a question to this, how do you promote your blog? Do you just depend on search engines picking it up and ranking it favorably based on the blog's content? Or is there something else that works without being intrusive?</p>

<p>I've had my own Wordpress-based log for over five years. My biggest problem is keeping it up -- posting to it on a regular basis. It would be a lot easier to do that if I had some feedback or traffic. I'll list my blog in my sig at some forums I'm a regular at and I'll occasionally mention it if I've an article there that is topical to a discussion that I'm participating in, but that's about it, and it doesn't bring in a noticeable amount of traffic.</p>

<p> </p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Promoting a blog depends on a few primary approaches. The golden era of blogging has passed, so it takes a bit more effort nowadays to catch readers' attention.</p>

<p><strong>1.</strong> The original method was for like minded bloggers to promote each other's blogs via blogrolls. This works best when done selectively, with a relative handful of carefully picked blogs. It doesn't work to scattergun by listing a bunch of popular high traffic blogs that aren't related to your blog. Eventually Google picks up on tricks like that and there's a risk of downgrading Google ranking.</p>

<p>And reciprocity is essential. If fellow bloggers and social media participants take the time and trouble to comment on your blog, do return the favor. Ditto posts on Facebook, etc. Acknowledge the commenters, even if it's just with a "Like" or +1. Respond to questions and acknowledge carefully written, considerate opinions.</p>

<p>Equally important, ignore the junk posters, trolls and consider carefully weeding out the toxic posters. If the toxic posts are directed only at you and your original posts, it's probably best to ignore them. But if the trolls begin to attack your high value posters, weed 'em out. It takes only one or two trolls and toxic people to discourage everyone else, especially if the trolls are using pseudonyms while your valued readers are using real identities.</p>

<p>The other toxic poster isn't a troll, but the self-appointed filibusterer and refuter. The guy who cannot resist refuting every point made by every other poster, even when they actually agree on the essentials but differ only in irrelevant details. This type usually isn't abusive. They're just gasbags. These types haunt every web discussion forum. But they can be toxic to comment sections on blogs and social media platforms, which may lack the selective tools to ignore certain posters (for example, Amazon reviews enable ignoring annoying posters).</p>

<p><strong>2.</strong> The other popular method is giveaways to entice and reward readers. These may be physical products, including novelty items such as t-shirts and coffee mugs with branding logos; free or discounted photo books or photo prints; or virtual products such as free or discounted ebooks (usually Amazon Kindle but there are others), music, etc.</p>

<p><strong>3.</strong> But nowadays you're in competition with social media platforms, which have a shorter attention span. Most bloggers I've followed for years are also using Facebook, Google+, Twitter and others to promote their blogs. For example, social media may be used to post a summary of a new tutorial, review or project update, with the bulk of the content on your website or blog. This is routine for sites ranging from Peta Pixel to 121clicks and Bored Panda, to many popular photographers/bloggers.</p>

<p>This must be done with restraint, as there's a risk not only of prospective viewers regarding this as spam, but also having your Facebook account closed for overt spamming. It also depends on whether you're posting directly to Facebook, or using Facebook to link to your blog. Policies vary, but once a week or once a month should be safe. Daily "looky me blog, maties" posts are risky. It's tricky, because some bloggers have been banned despite not having violated any Facebook policies - notably the photographer behind <a href="http://milasdaydreams.blogspot.com/"><em>Mila's Daydreams</em></a>. She never got a satisfactory answer to why her Blogger URL was blocked by Facebook, but one rumor suggests a troll kept reporting her posts as spam, presumably because he/she didn't like cute baby photos. Who knows. Forget it, Jake, it's the internet.</p>

<p>Some folks who used to blog now use social media extensively and almost exclusively. Unlike the early days of limited post length, Facebook now allows full length text posts. But it's not really a great platform for true blogging, for various reasons. Tread carefully and follow lots of folks who use social media for blogging about political and cultural issues before wading in. In my experience, occasionally writing lengthy posts on Facebook, few people bother to read them. The social media vibe tends to favor blurt posts from commenters who want to say something about an issue without actually having read the article they're reacting to. It's a good platform for disseminating brief thoughts and summaries. It's a tricky and usually mediocre platform for engaging folks in meaningful conversation. On your own blog you can carefully moderate and curate comments to encourage the sort of discourse you prefer. But doing the same thing on Facebook tends to seem like heavy handed censorship and alienates prospective readers.</p>

[mwmcbroom]

<p>Geez, Lex, thanks for such a thorough and insightful post. It gives me much to ponder. I'm a bit surprised to read that there is/was such a thing as the "golden era" of blogging. But what you've written makes sense. Like most of the world I too have a Facebook account, but I seldom do anything with it. All this social media schmoozing sounds like it could be a full time job. I know some folks who love it, but I'm definitely not one of them. I just see it as an enormous waste of time, but I guess I should get over that view, especially if I want to gin up some interest in me and my work.</p>