9 Blogging Tips for Wedding Photographers

As a photographer and visual creative, you’re handy with a camera and you can navigate Adobe Lightroom like a pro. But when it comes to blogging, it feels like a chore. Dread consuming your soul, you shuffle your ‘update the damn blog’ task down the to-do list, procrastinating for as long as you can.

Whether you lack confidence in your writing skills or have no idea where to begin, just remember this – you have to start somewhere practice makes perfect! The more you research the type of content your ideal audience is looking for and the more you practice, the better and faster you’ll get with whipping up those blogs.

Rather than churning out endless recent wedding recaps or writing random articles for the sake of it, you first need to decide on the goal of your blog and who you’re writing it for. Once you’ve tackled those two steps, you’ll then have the clarity you need to outline and write the rest of the article.

Here are 9 tips on how you can approach writing your next blog

1. Decide on the goal of your blog article.

You need to make sure that all your efforts are aligned with your goals. From promoting a new photography package to sharing your expertise on all things wedding planning, your blogging approach is no different. Take the time to identify what you’re trying to achieve by publishing this new blog.

Here are some examples of blogging goals:

• Increase brand awareness and attract a new audience
• Increase traffic to your website
• Introduce and/or explain your products and services
• Answer popular questions and solve pain points
• Contribute to a current hot topic
• Share important news that’s relevant to your audience
• Nurture your mailing list and serve your existing audience
• Improving your overall SEO performance by ranking for specific terms and building backlinks

2. Determine WHO you’re writing the blog for

You should always spend time studying who your target audience is! Don’t fall into the trap of writing for the masses because you’ll end up attracting no one. Reflect on who your ideal client is,  what pain points they have, and why they want to solve that problem, so you can provide a solution.

This then helps you to create content that’s impactful and worth sharing.

3. Choose your blog topic and identify the SEO keywords you’re targeting

Now that you’ve established your blog’s goal and who you’re targeting, you can concentrate on brainstorming the topic and identifying the SEO keywords you want to rank for. But remember, just because a search term has high search volume, it doesn’t mean you should go for it. High search volume likely means increased competition to rank.

The more selective and tailored your target search term is, the more opportunity you have – For example, rather than titling your blog “Best Wedding Venues in Mexico”, you could opt for “Top 10 Intimate Wedding Venues in Tulum, Mexico”. Before you settle on your target keywords, make sure you do your due diligence by Googling the terms to check which articles are currently ranking and why. Then use those high-ranking articles as inspiration!

4. Map out your blog article’s headings and subheadings.

This will help you to structure your entire blog, knowing where you need to dig into and what to cover in each section. As a copywriter, I can’t stress enough how important this step is!

If you’re planning to write the ultimate guide on planning a wedding in Mexico, you can look to Google’s “People also ask” section in the search results for further SEO guidance and inspiration. Select the most relevant questions and related topics and use them as subheadings.

For example, besides talking about top wedding venues in Mexico, you can also address these popular questions:

• “What is the average cost of a wedding in Mexico?”
• “How much does a luxury wedding cost in Mexico?”
• “What is the best month to get married in Mexico?”
• “Can you legally marry in Mexico?”
• “Can foreigners get married in Mexico?”

5. Write the blog!

Here’s an important thing to note, make sure that your blog is easy and enjoyable to read! According to HubSpot, 73% of people admit to skimming blog posts, while only 27% will read them thoroughly. So make sure that you break up your blog article with headings and keep each paragraph short and digestible.

You’ll also want to weave a selection of images, videos, infographics, and any other relevant visuals, to ensure an overall aesthetic flow.

As a general rule, blogs with 1000+ word count will also have a better chance of ranking.

6. Optimise your blog for SEO before publishing

You’ve poured so much effort into researching and writing your blog post…now give it its best chance to rank in Google and maximise those eyeballs!

• Use keywords in headings and sub-headings, and weaved throughout the copy – but remember, DON’T mindlessly spam your blog with keywords. Write for humans first, Google second.
• Write optimised page title and meta-descriptions
• Optimise images with alt tags
• Check page speed
• Check mobile and desktop user experience
• Link to other relevant blogs on your site and other people’s websites – these links should always ‘open in a new tab’ so they don’t leave your page/ site altogether

To wrap up your post, always include a clear call-to-action at the end (and throughout the content where relevant) that aligns with your blog’s goal.

7. Time to distribute your blog post

You want to drive as much traffic to your new blog post as possible, so don’t be shy – announce it to the world! You can do so organically by sharing it via your social feed, social stories, newsletter, Facebook groups, forums, etc.

If you’ve given other vendors shout-outs, be sure to share the blog with them too! You can also tag them in your social posts/stories to bring their attention to it.

8. Repurpose your blog

You’ve invested a whole heap of time into writing this blog so make sure you effectively maximise its potential. You can easily repurpose your blog by breaking it down into an IG carousel, filming a YouTube video, turning it into a lead magnet…etc.

9. Track your blog’s performance

You need to track the results of all your efforts to make sure you’re constantly identifying new areas of opportunity.
If it’s performed well, make time to regularly update it with fresh, relevant information.

 

Aim for consistency – practice makes perfect!

If you want your blog posts to complement your marketing efforts, you need to be diligent. This means no more writing blogs willy-nilly and sticking to a consistent publishing schedule. Whether it’s publishing a new blog fortnightly or monthly, turn it into a business-as-usual habit rather than a “when I have time” task.

Don’t be disheartened if your blog posts don’t perform as well as you hoped for – this just gives you an opportunity to assess the gaps and apply takeaway learnings for your next article!

With all that being said, if you simply don’t have the time or desire to commit to a regular blogging schedule, you can always outsource to the professionals! Check out Pepperstorm Media here.

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