Business blogging - DPChallenge Forums

09/03/2008 07:32:12 PM · #1

So I've seen many business's starting to blog... does anyone else do this? I've started one Here what do you all think of the concept of business blogging? desperate attempt to seem more personable to clients or do you think it's more valid than that?

and hey... share your blog while you're at it

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

09/03/2008 07:46:47 PM · #2

It's probably a great way to connect with customers although I don't do it myself. Good luck keeping content fresh! :)

09/03/2008 07:57:23 PM · #3

While I am mainly participating in Stock photography as of now, I do keep a blog which I attempt to keep fresh :)

I really feel it's a great way to connect with people. I guess I'm overly honest, but I figure if I can help others with my ramblings, it's worth while.

DigitalNotions

Let me know what you think!

amathiasphoto

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO IF for Nikon

09/03/2008 08:06:11 PM · #4

just set mine up, but have yet to blog. It will be coming soon, I swea :)

I think its a great way to keep in contact with clients and past customers. Also, its something else the search engines can pick up on! Keywords galore in a blog!

09/03/2008 08:29:20 PM · #5

Amathiasphoto makes a really good point.

I took great pains to properly setup my blog. It's been live for around a month and I'm already ranking really high in google rankings for this post about Lightroom Camera Presets. Also, over 40% of my traffic is organic (found via search engines). Close to 50% is from links (thanks people who click in my signature)!

Great generation of traffic for me. Perhaps they'll explore my gallery when they come to read about something tech related?!

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

09/03/2008 08:33:59 PM · #6

Oh my gosh, do you have to write tech related stuff? I'll never make it! Is that what most people do? When I was thinking of starting it, I was thinking more of exploring the story behind the image, but now I dunno.

09/03/2008 08:38:06 PM · #7

You can write whatever you want. Since that's where my interest lies (computer science guy at heart), I find it interesting.

Telling the story behind the images would be awesome. I'd read it! The one thing to be careful of is the usage of your photos on your webpage "advertising". Would you need a model release? Just a thought.

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM

09/03/2008 09:07:47 PM · #8

I think I plan on using the blog as a more informal way of informing and showing in a more personal way what we do (ie blogging about weddings, shoots, etc). I've seen this done a few times, and it seems to me to be a good idea...

lentil

Canon EOS-5D

09/03/2008 09:20:08 PM · #9

I also blog for business. I want future clients to be able to see current weddings or events I have done. I also have a website but the blog is updated regularly. I am not sure if anyone reads it lol.. I very rarely get comments.

its here is anyone wants to look wedding and events blog

trnqlty

Nikon D90

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

09/03/2008 09:28:39 PM · #10

I run a business called Memory Lane Portraits, specializing in heirloom quality family portraits, weddings, and a bit of commercial photography. We are just about to start one at the moment. We've looked and noticed that most of the big time photographers, all have some sort of blog. And as was mentioned, the amount of text and information to be found through the search engines is the most valuable. We plan to put up a variety of information to help stilmulate the searches.

09/03/2008 09:42:58 PM · #11

Originally posted by lentil:

Nice images!

Question: Do you need permission from the people to use their images on the blog? I'm always afraid to post people shots on my blog -- less it be construed as advertising for my website / business...

Prof_Fate

09/04/2008 10:39:37 AM · #12

Why blog? Everything need a purpose and if you're running a business then whatever you do should have a positive impact on your business.

So to post client pics and talk about the exciting things you do can indeed bring you more business. To talk about gear, LR, etc might be good for your ego, unless you're running a school that doesn't really bring you more paying business. If it drives your website up the google list then it is serving a purpose, but if you're giving away your trade secrets or training your competition then it's perhaps going to hurt you in the long run.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

09/04/2008 10:44:55 AM · #13

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

My hope is that it will drive up traffic, and also be another avenue to give information, and relate to my clients in a more personal way... sortof like a fireside chat...

robs

Canon EOS R6 Mk II

09/04/2008 11:01:38 AM · #14

I think that blogging about tech stuff is not what you want to do (unless as Prof says you are selling training or similar)..... Blogging about what's happening and other jobs and the story behind them is more useful for prospective clients IMO. Whatever you do - post regularly and make sure there is an RSS feed that the tech savy people can use. Google ratings are unimportant if they are all out of your area and will never be a client :shock:

lentil

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM

09/04/2008 05:28:55 PM · #15

Originally posted by mjwood0:

Originally posted by lentil:
I also blog for business. I want future clients to be able to see current weddings or events I have done. I also have a website but the blog is updated regularly. I am not sure if anyone reads it lol.. I very rarely get comments.

its here is anyone wants to look wedding and events blog

Nice images!

Question: Do you need permission from the people to use their images on the blog? I'm always afraid to post people shots on my blog -- less it be construed as advertising for my website / business...

I always get permission by way of my agreement. It states that I can use 10-15 images for promotional purposes. I havent had one person say no yet. If you are upfront with clients they are usually more than happy to be "famous" as one of mine stated lol.

09/04/2008 05:36:22 PM · #16

Originally posted by lentil:

Originally posted by mjwood0:

Originally posted by lentil:
I also blog for business. I want future clients to be able to see current weddings or events I have done. I also have a website but the blog is updated regularly. I am not sure if anyone reads it lol.. I very rarely get comments.

its here is anyone wants to look wedding and events blog

Nice images!

Question: Do you need permission from the people to use their images on the blog? I'm always afraid to post people shots on my blog -- less it be construed as advertising for my website / business...

I always get permission by way of my agreement. It states that I can use 10-15 images for promotional purposes. I havent had one person say no yet. If you are upfront with clients they are usually more than happy to be "famous" as one of mine stated lol.

I also get a model release for most clients as a matter of course, in the release it covers use for promotional purposes, that way I don't have to worry too much when it comes time to make a brochure or, revamp my website, etc... I'm covered to use most of the photo's I take in which ever manner I need.

09/05/2008 11:08:24 AM · #17

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

You're entirely correct if I were selling portraits. I'm not. As of right now, I'm mainly selling stock. I figure that as I continue to grow my business, my blog will reflect that. I see it as a great way of relating with people who share similar interests.

With regards to trade secrets -- I don't buy into that. With the advent of the internet and the sharing of information, trade secrets are available all over the place -- but nothing replaces experience. Besides, I've found that I can learn a lot from people's personal experiences so I hope I can continue to share that knowledge.

To each their own.

09/05/2008 11:11:39 AM · #18

Originally posted by robs:

Good points. RSS feeds are great if setup correctly but many are not. There are easy ways to validate them to ensure they are readable by the majority of RSS readers.

I agree -- the blog posts should be relevant to what is currently your business focus. My focus right now is improving my skills, starting a portfolio and beginning to sell to stock agencies.

Google ratings are not unimportant if the majority of your business is over the internet. For a portrait studio or a wedding shooter, you're absolutely correct.

Olympus 12-45mm f/4.0 Pro

09/05/2008 11:36:02 AM · #19

So I started off with wordpress.com, and I liked how it looked and worked... but wht I really wanted was something that had my domain etc (i really don't like having people leave my site completely to go and see my blog (or anything else for that matter)... What I found was wordpress.org! this is the open source version of wordpress that you can integrate into your own site... I haven't got a change to tinker with the style sheet or anything yet... but I like having everything for the blog inhouse (or indomain anyway).

If you're looking for such a solution I would recommend wordpress.org.

btw my new blog can be found at blog.prairiewindsphoto.com

OdysseyF22

Panasonic DC-G9

09/05/2008 12:16:37 PM · #20

My girlfriend is a SEO specialist at a company that does internet marketing & stuff. She's on top of all this stuff - when I set up my new website she told me to get a blog and use it. Part of it is link building - getting links to your website out there for people to find and trace back to your site.

The other part is making yourself search-able through the engines. Far from writing about just anything in your blog, the trick is to figure out what keywords are often searched for and then use them in your posts. Basically you're catering your content to what people want to know about, in order to make yourself more visible. It's a free method of boosting your rank on the web.

Each post title in my blog, Brent Pennington Photography, links back to my website. The address is also on the blog title bar. The idea being that someone finds the blog (since they're one of the most often updated pages on the net - especially Blogger, since Google owns it), likes the info I provide, and heads back to my site to look around - and hopefully book a session.

Of course, it would help if I posted to the blog more often :-P

hanneke

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/05/2008 12:53:50 PM · #21

I started one on Uber, in English (yeah!) so everyone can read with me. It's not related to my site though, because my site is plain Dutch ;)

here it is! Planning on writing something about the workshop past sunday, too.

My blog on Uber