To Blog or Not to Blog..

I very much doubt that brides care who blogs. I don't think I've ever gotten a gig because of my blogging.

To blog BADLY—which is what 99% of bloggers do—takes some effort. To blog well takes a lot of effort, and I would add, a fair amount of skill as well. And to blog effectively, that is, to blog in a way that helps to promote your business, takes very dedication and discipline, because you have to post regularly or its hardly worth doing at all.

You can get a free blog from many different services. Then you can give it a try. But if you do this, be sure to do a couple other things, to make your trial meaningful. First, give yourself a schedule and stick to it. For example, decide that you're going to post something twice a week, and then make sure you do. The second thing you must do is get some close personal friends or clients you are on good terms with to review your site (privately) and let you know how you're doing. You have to try to find people who will actually tell you the truth.

Finally, you have to figure out what you want to say in your blog. Do you have anything to say about photography? Do you want to talk about technique, like Neil van Niekirk at Planet Neil? Are you more of a critic, like Mike Johnston at The Online Photographer? Do you just want to toss up short comments every time you take a photo, like many photographers do?

My basic comment would be, if you don't feel the uncontrollable urge to do this, then don't. Concentrate on doing something else well. But others may (certainly will) disagree.

You say you're "not a Facebook person," which I take to mean you don't much care about what you get out of Facebook on a personal level. I get that. But how you use tools, such as Facebook, a blog, a web site, or printed promotional materials, is a business decision you'll make based on your goals for expanding your business. It is less a matter of personality than of using the right tools for the right purposes, and if you lack the skill to use them, of learning how to use them well.

5. I find the photography bloggers out there are constantly in touch by facebook groups and their blog site, would I be missing out alot if I don't jump in the blog thing?

Your question demonstrates that you understand the potential value of Facebook and blogs. So, you already know the answer is yes. I sense that you are aware that you face two challenges: 1) you don't think you enjoy this form of marketing, and 2) you don't quite know how to make it work for you.

I say you "don't think you enjoy it" because you seem never to have tried it. Sometimes something you think you'll hate doing becomes quite rewarding when you enjoy positive results.

And I think you don't quite know how to make it work for you because you describe Facebook as a place where people post things like "I'm sleepy, going here, doing that...." Which, for some (mostly boring, annoying people), it is. But not for you. As a business owner, you know that the primary purpose of any marketing activity is to communicate your value proposition to potential clients. To help them see how they would benefit from using your services.

Posting "I'm sleepy" and other drivel not only fails to communicate any value proposition, it strongly implies that the poster has no value to offer, is a boring person, and is too lazy even to come up with something more creative than "I'm going to the store now!!!!! Dang!!! My exclamation mark is stuck!!!!"

You also face another challenge you might not have considered. If you read over your original post, you'll see a dozen spelling and grammatical errors, several of which make your post very difficult to understand. Perhaps English is not your first language, but will you post in English? Hindi? If you're posting in English, you should take care not to create the impression that you are poorly educated or, worse, sloppy. (Well, you should do this in any language, but perhaps English is a weak point for you -- I don't know.) I would take what William said a step further: poor blogging is not just hardly worth doing, it is far worse than no blogging.

The question behind your question is something like, "Aww, do I have to do that stuff?" In other words, you're not asking whether Facebook and blogging are "necessary" from a merely technical view. These are modes of self-promotion that appear to be quite successful from what I've read of others' experiences in these forums. Are they "necessary?" If WW finds this thread, I think he will tell you instead to print some business cards with a blank backside, carry 50, get a nice pen, and jab people in the neck with it if they don't take your card. Or maybe I've distorted his customary advice. Anyway, no, they're not "necessary," but some form of effective self-promotion is, and these are useful tools.

You mention that you've been "getting serious about wedding photography for three years." To me, this means you really don't enjoy the business of this business. Consider whether you really want to have a business, or just to take pictures. If you don't want to do what it takes to have a business, which includes a lot of hard work promoting yourself and bringing in clients, and communicating with them regularly in a way that is valuable to them, then just offer to shoot at weddings of friends and family and quit burdening yourself with a false vision of a successful business. Because that is a burden if you are never going to follow through -- it just creates a psychology of failure.

I would argue that there's no such thing as "getting serious about wedding photography" for three years.

If you are serious, then do the things necessary to make a business succeed. And--hear this in a gentle voice, not a mean one--stop asking for permission from yourself and others not to do those things.

Hi Ian & William, wow that was allot thanks!...

I guess yep I'm looking for permission but at the same time I want to know how effective this is, as I said I don't want scuander my resources/time on ineffective marketing, plus with only 5 bookings currently therefore not updating as much as my fellow photographers ( remember the indian bridal show has only a handfull of good photographers which the brides make rounds to by foot and fingers) I would seem less busy, therefore maybe less attractive. The Blogs would expose this and I know that this shouldn't matter if your work is at calibre but some brides want what everyone other bride wants or can't have regardless of quality, I've seen this many times. It's as opening up your year calendar at your booth and say I've got no bookings in Aug.

I only post my opinion, which runs completely counter to most, and yes, I haven't tried it either. However, I know I would hate blogging because I don't like blogs--I don't like reading them (even my closest friends' blogs) unless I am getting really useful information in a highly condensed format, such as from a strobist blog. So my thinking is--if I hate them, would not that dislike show up in any efforts on my part? It would definitely be a forced effort.

I also think the venue for blogs, like websites, is fast becoming oversaturated (not just saturated) in the minds of prospects. Facebook advertising will become saturated (if not already) and oversaturated soon, no doubt. Used to be that blogging was a way to differentiate. Now, not so much. If these don't definitely impact your bookings, why do them, and badly (in my case).

On the other hand, you could try them, doing your best to adjust your attitude and give it your best, and see if it does impact your bookings. Then you'll know.

I blog all the time and no one ever comments or probably even reads it. And it takes me forever to blog a wedding too. I guess I'll keep trying it for this season but may not do it in the future.

Missy, would you tell us why you blog? Why did you start blogging?

I can imagine a blog that successfully drives business yet accumulates no comments. For example, I would not comment on photos of another couple while shopping for a photographer, but I would expect to learn about how various photographers relate to their clients from their blogs. And I would be more likely to contact and to hire a photographer who demonstrated in his or her blog an understanding of each couple's story and an individual connection with each client.

Do you have any viewership stats, Missy? You obviously know when someone has commented. You say no one "probably" even reads it, so I would be interested to know whether you have people at least viewing the blog, and whether you are able to track how many of those people end up booking you?

I find blogs are great for showing prospective clients some of your work. You just forward them a link to a specific entry and they get some narrative of the day and photos to view from a particular wedding. I typically post around 20 photos from each wedding that covers getting ready to ceremony to reception, so they get a feel for my work over the course of the day. It's been a great marketing tool for me.

I'm teaching a class, with another photographer friend on social networking in a few weeks. We are going to help our students set this up with a blog that also sends information to the various social network sites. Our class is full. I believe it's important to those of us who are earning money from photography to live.
Fun!
Check this video out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8&feature=player_embedded#

Ian, I do have stats and it says I get 40-70 per day on analytics but the bounce rate is high and there are no comments. It's probably just my mom visiting it 40 times a day lol ;)