Cole Thompson – Cole built his online business with a ton of hardwork and some SEO!

Thomas D. Mangelsen – A little bit of a stretch when you’re just getting started, but it’s something to shoot for!

Many of the images we create never see the light of day, so let’s start “putting our photographs to work”.  Here’s my idea, first, don’t change a thing, continue to shoot what you like, and process the images as you do right now, but classify each and every image (I know what you’re thinking) in one of the following categories,

Portfolio Images
These are your prized possessions, the images that you think about daily, and are really proud of.  Add these to your portfolio bucket and get them up on your portfolio site today!

Photoblog images
These are images that 1) just missed the portfolio grade, or 2) were taken in an effort to learn a new technique,etc.  Get them processed and queued up to be published on your photoblog.  Make sure you add a sufficient amount of text for each image.  Although “images speak 1,000 words”, Google is easily distracted and likes nice easy to digest text.

Microstock
These are still good images, but maybe you just don’t want to post them on your photoblog for whatever reason.  These are the ones that are destined to live out the rest of their digital lives somewhere deep within your hard-drives.  Let’s put them to work, why not setup an account on your favourite microstock site,

iStockPhoto
Shutterstock

I know what you’re thinking why would I sell my images for $1 and get a 20% cut they are worth more than that!  Well you’re probably right and those images aren’t the ones you’re posting to the microstock site(s), those images are in your portfolio or on your photoblog (for sale as limited edition prints).  You might as well get these photographs working for you now.  We’re all gear fanatics, so maybe you can soften the costs associated with that new VR lenses you have your eyes on.  You don’t have anything to lose right?

“What was I thinking” Images
Like it or not, we all have a few of these images in our library, the ones that for one reason or another just didn’t turn out like you had expected.  Whatever you do, don’t delete them!  You just never know when or where these images could come in handy!  Storage is getting cheaper by the minute, go buy another external drive and go crazy!

So the first question that’s on everyone’s mind is – can you create a “career” via photoblogging?  Deep down, I believe that you can, is it the easiest thing that you are ever going to undertake?  Not by a long shot.  Here is a short-list on my thoughts on creating a career from your photoblog

It’s a numbers game

Quite simply, the more eyes you have on your work, the more chance that you have to turn your adventure into a career.  Pick the most successful photoblogs out there and look at the traffic that comes to these sites on a monthly basis, its simply massive.  So, be honest, how does your photoblog compare to these two champs?  If it’s not in the same ballpark, start thinking about why not and what’s your game plan on getting it up there.

How are people finding your photoblog?

It’s great that someone clicked on one of the comments you left on another photoblog, but are these they type of folks who are interested in buying what you’re peddling?  My gut tells me not so much.  Go into your website analytics software package (if you’re not sure what website analytics is, shame on you!) and see how people are finding your site.  Here are the top 10 keyphrases that people used to find my photoblog

I purposely decided not to post numbers due to an overwhelming feeling of shame based on shear neglect and a feeling in inadequacy when compared to the two sites above!

In a perfect world you would like to see keyphrases here that show intent, and by intent I mean these folks want to (no, need to) buy what you’re selling!  You can clearly see that the keywords in my list show a lack of intent.

Indirect vs. Direct

I know what’s going through your head – huh?   Basically this refers to how you are going to use your photoblog as a career builder – either

Indirect: Selling your services, you use your photoblog as a means to drum up and promote your photography services business.  A few great examples of this would include Jasmine Star, and Becker.

Direct: Selling your work directly to your fans: prints, cards, calendars, etc.

Both methods have merits, and I think that the indirect method would be the easier of the two, but that’s not saying much.

So there you have it, the content that fell out of my brain after looking at my weblogs, anyone care to share their thoughts?

Some ideas for add-ons might include,

Discounts on prints
Nothing helps to move product like a discount. Maybe a monetary incentive could be just what your work needs to get it introduced into the marketplace.

Limited print editions
Make ‘em feel special, this print edition is made available only to my fans, etc.

What I am really talking about here is the introduction of permission marketing to your photoblog. Build a deeper picture of who’s coming to your photoblog and what they are most interested in all while getting their permission to keep them in the information loop when it comes to whats happening on your site and with your photography. I think that many photographers who build their own photoblog have a “build it and he will come” attitude and that simply just dosen’t cut it anymore.

Anyone have any thoughts?

“…folks who visit my photoblog regularly and comment are generally those whose blogs I previously visited and commented on first.”

I interpret this as meaning that the main source of traffic for a photoblog is referral traffic?  I have done some testing with my own photoblog in the past and I would agree 100% with this statement (and Google Analytics backs it up).  If I comment on another photographer’s blog I will see a spike in traffic which will quickly dissipate when/if I stop making comments regardless of how useful those comments may be.

In my own mind this simply means that people are either not searching for photoblogs or their search engine queries are not returning the results they want so they resort to using their favourite photoblog to find new photographers.

So, is this something that SEO could fix?  I would bet that it could only help for sure, but it depends on what your stated goal is for you photoblog.  Are you trying to make money by selling your prints or services, or as Bob states in his email,

“I’ve learned to view my postings as an exercise in personal satisfaction,…”

There is something to be said for photoblogs as a source of personal growth in your hobby, and I don’t for a second feel that if that’s what you want to do with your photoblog that you’re making an incorrect decisions.  Your answer to this question will help you decide how much time and effort you should be putting into improving the SEO of your photoblog.

“If I were doing this for a living I would have starved the first week.”

You’re not alone in this statement.

“…and have totally sublimated any expectations for outside recognition. It’s not a good business model, but realistic at this point.”

This got me thinking if there is actually an effective business model for a photoblog?  To some extent business model(s) (with varying degrees of success) do exist for blogs.  Here’s my quick summary of the models that exist for conventional blogs,

1)    Monetize with Adsense
2)    Sell an e-book
3)    Sell advertising space, by this I mean banners

Can any of these apply to a typical photoblog, my first reaction is to say no, they would typically distract from the main purpose of a photoblog, which after is the photography itself.  I am sure that with some creative brainstorming someone out there could adapt on of these models to work on their photoblogs.

The most successful example of photoblog monetization that I have been able to find up to this point would have to be David Nightingale’s tutorial and training services on his Chromasia photoblog.  If you think about the type of visitors that are typically visiting a photoblog i.e. other photographers, then David’s hit the jackpot.  What do most photographers want?  Collect another photographer’s work?  Probably a few, but I would bet that the majority of them want to improve their skills, and this is the service that David is offering through his tutorial program.

After quite a bit of thought I’ve started to think of my blog as an extension of my photography business and as more of a “living website” rather than a direct path to monetization.  A great example of a photographer who is using this type of indirect monetization from her photoblog would be Jasmine Star.  She builds connections with her visitors who then become customers over time.

I would be interested in getting other peoples thoughts, and I want to thank Bob of Associated Pixels for his insightful comments!  Why not send Bob some click love and check out his excellent body of work.

And make sure that you check out the Photrade website.

**UPDATE #2:  My friends over at Photrade were kind enough to send along more invites.  Contact me if you would like one **

**UPDATE: Thanks for everyone that sent me an email – all invites are gone **

When I first started my own photoblog, I would have said that there was no need for separate websites for your blog and your portfolio site (a.k.a commercial venture), but after quite a bit of reading and talking to other photobloggers out there, I now feel it’s not only a good way to go, but vital to your long-term success.

Before I get into my reasoning, let me just state one thing – if you don’t have any intentions of trying to commercialize your photography then you do not need separate sites, but if your ultimate goal is to turn your passion of photography into a commercial venture, than you really do need multiple sites. Here are my reasons,

• Photoblogs are personal: They give you a place to experiment and have a little fun with your photography. This is great, and it allows you to perfect your skills, but I am not convinced that it’s something you should be promoting to your prospective clients.
• Photoblogs give you a place to network with other photographers: I’ve said it in an earlier post, it’s my opinion that the majority of the visitors who come to your photoblog are other photographers and while there’s nothing wrong with that they probably are not going to be paying your bills.
• Protect sensitive clients: If you enjoy one type of photography let’s say, Boudoir, but you earn the majority of your income from Family portraits you may be putting off potential clients that come across your personal work. “Word of mouth” can be a very effective method of advertising, but it can also be deadly, more people talk about their bad experiences than their good ones – you need to be very careful not to offend potential paying clients.
• Specialization: Nowadays, everyone has a digital camera which is more than capable of taking very nice digital photographs. In order to separate yourself from the crowd you need to specialize! Have fun on your photoblog, but your portfolio site should be highly targeted!

So there you have it – my first four reasons why you should separate your blog from your portfolio site…

Anyone have any additional thoughts/comments?

A while back, I came across a great post by Kevin Kelly at the Technium about how you can make a living in the arts by having 1,000 true fans. I think that extending the reach of your photoblog by doing exhibitions is a key contributor to gaining your required number of true fans.

So I thought why not use the blog to help photobloggers publicize their exhibitions or help them to connect with galleries who are able to help them out.

So if you’re a photoblogger with an upcoming exhibition post the details in the comments, and if you’re a gallery why not post some contact details.

Think about multiple income streams
The term “multiple income streams” is used quite a lot in other businesses, and it means that you’re earning income from multiple sources. So basically, don’t think that you’re going to be able to create a blog, and presto-magico: customers are going to start to come out of the woodwork and buy up your photography. If it was that easy, more photographers would be much better off than they really are. So don’t forget about more old-school methods of promoting your work, get your work up in some local coffee shops or other businesses, donate some of your work to silent auctions, etc. Just make sure that whatever non-Internet based marketing you do, that it directs those customers back to your blog.

Create an online portfolio
Create a separate section on your blog for your best work, and when I say “best work” I really mean your best work. Be ruthless, just like you’d be if you were building a conventional portfolio. Make the images in your portfolio section larger than the work that shows on your regular blog, and make sure that there’s no text whatsoever, people that are taking the time to look at your portfolio want to see your work, not read about your latest techniques.

Post regularly
Don’t just post an image once a month, post as often as you can, but again make sure that it’s good stuff. Think of your blog as the Internet equivalent of the more conventional promo card. You have to make sure that your potential customers don’t forget about you – what’s the easiest way to do this? Stay in their minds by posting regularly. Make sure that your blog has an RSS feed, this is a great way for your fans to see your latest work quickly.

NOTE: Be careful, the Internet is a powerful tool, but not the only tool.  You’re still going to need to use traditional marketing tools as well

Collect email address (but keep them private!)
Try to get your regular visitors to register on your site, this way you can use some push marketing as well, and send them informative targeted email once a month, or quarter. Don’t SPAM!

Use Flickr
On some photography forums Flickr is frowned upon as a place where second-class, non-professional photographers post their work. If you don’t already have a Flickr account get one, and have a look at the work that’s up there, some of it’s great, some of it not so much. Here’s what I suggest you do: first do some research and find those Flickr groups which relate to your body of work and are popular, then start publishing your work to those Flickr groups and make sure you mention your blog and provide a URL in the description of each image – you’ll end up getting lots of traffic to your blog. You may even consider making some of your work available for others to use via the Creative Commons license. This will also give you some exposure.

Here’s what I suggest you try,
1. Use Flickr in order to get your work in front of a lot of eyes,
2. Choose higher quality images that follow your niche (i.e. portraiture, fashion, etc.) for your blog,
3. Create a portfolio section (maybe using SimpleViewer?) which follows your speciality.

Specialize, Specialize, Specialize
Decide on what type of photography that you want to work on, and specialize in it. The days of being a “jack of all trades” are long gone. A blog that’s made up of all types of work just looks like a collection of snaps – (I am guilty of doing this). Come up with a vision and a style all your own, and make sure that your work speaks to those two things and keep the blog on that thread.

Self-Publish a book
Don’t you just love the Internet? It has managed to level the playing field to such an extent that even the smallest of players can now do things like publishing their own coffee table books. Sam Javanrouh of DDOI fame has done this numerous times and has sold out each time! What a great way to publicize your work. Check out Blurb and see if it’s something that interests you. Just be sure that you have enough traffic on your blog to support a book!

Create a limited supply
Sell multiple sizes of your work, but limit the number of prints that are available in the larger formats, say 20×30, etc. Maybe even have a sliding scale for the pricing of your limited edition prints so their prices increase as the number of prints sold increases.

The service is worth a look.