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A Dedicated Blogging Strategy – How to

October 17, 2011

Blogging can be a fundamental part of your business. But when it is done haphazardly and infrequently it can actually hurt your business. Here is a blogging strategy that can be done for portrait clients (wedding clients are similar, and I’ll repeat this blog post with more specifics next month for weddings).

Blogging serves many purposes in your business. I feel that some of these purposes are often ignored. We are going to concentrate on five specific purposes: reassuring our clients after the shoot, creating anticipation before ordering, encouraging other bookings, encouraging after sales and reassuring purchases.

Here are four distinct blog posts you can do with one client. With a constant stream of clients, this steady stream of ‘strategic’ posts can be a significant part of your business.

1. The Post-Shoot Post

After the shoot, the client is really excited about it. This is the time to capitalize on the excitement. One of the biggest mistakes I see in blogging is when photographers post too many images. The more images you post, the more “used to” those images a client will become. This is a sale “killer.” You should choose one awesome image, just one, and post it. This will create excitement and also keep people excited to see more. Movie trailers are just 2 min. long, not 1 hour. Don’t give away all the goods. Key items to note: used my SEO terms in the title, one image that is branded, and a direct call to action for her friends to book a session.

2. The Pre-Sale Teaser

This is a very tricky one. You want to create more excitement but not give away too much. Here is a blog post with just one collage of part of the shoot, to show her that her choices will be difficult. :)

Here are the important points. This is a Blog Collage  that shows we can tell a story (think selling portrait albums) and this is just one series from the shoot. The client is going to be stoked to see the other series. Again, we are getting interest from the client without showing too much. A key point: if the client reschedules the viewing at the last moment, I’ll take down the blog post. :) Also, note the “Book Your Own Story” button at the bottom. That will take you to my contact page.

3. The Order

Clients are very excited when they make an order. So are we! This is when we want to share what the client has ordered, encourage relatives to order and also reinforces their choices.

The key points here are: I’ve only uploaded photos that the client has ordered themselves in their package. If they have not ordered anything, NOTHING goes up on the blog. Additionally, all images have been branded with Image Brander. As a closing I invite friends to book their session and also invite relatives to order prints. Online galleries only go up if people have ordered in house. Big sales happen in person.

4. The Product

One key blog post that many people forget to do is the product shot. High-end photography studio’s make their revenue by selling product, not by taking pictures. Don’t forget to show off the products.

The key points here is that I show off the actual album, in addition to the album layout. People want to buy a physical product to go on their coffee table, not some digital layouts to view on their screen.  The keys here are the product shots along with the layout. If you do 4-5 product shots of the album, forget about the layouts, just show the product. The psychological benefit of showing the products is that you’ll attract more customers who want to purchase your products. People buy what they see. Show a bunch of digital files, that’s what they’ll buy. Personally, I’d rather show some expensive albums and gallery wraps.

Facebook

It is no secret that Facebook is a power house of marketing. But, if people are only viewing your work on Facebook, you are not in control of your branding and audience. I prefer to draw people to my website via Facebook, then be in charge of my message and make it easier for them to contact/book me.

Here is a sample Facebook post. I’ve tagged the subject in the post and I’ve attached the link, which will pull in a photo. I haven’t uploaded the photo directly. I will upload a photo or two directly, so they can be tagged, but it is very important to get people to click off of Facebook and onto your site, also so they can see more of your work and become more familiar with your brand.

In Summary

I’ve laid out four separate blog posts that are possible from one shoot. Additionally, I’ve tried to touch on the psychological aspect of how and when to post. Based on your work flow you can create your own blogging strategy. The key is to have a strategy and to do it every time. We are busy people, keep it short and sweet and full of pretty pictures. :)

Fundy

All images copyright Andrew Funderburg and Fundy Software

 

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