Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

Blogging Leads to Bookings for Barrie Photographer Jennifer Klementti

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Jennifer KlementtiIn a recent post about the eight types of business blog posts, I used a client showcase blog post example from a local wedding videography company, Honey and Dear.

Another local business owner who blogs successfully is photographer Jennifer Klementti, who uses her blog to showcase her clients in a way that also demonstrates her beautiful photography.

We recently had a chat about her blogging experience, and how it’s expanded into a whole new venture (you’ll hear more about Sunday Crush in a separate post).

Why did you start blogging?

JK: The main purpose of my blog at jenniferklementti.net is to give photography clients insight into who I am personally. From reading my regular blog posts, they get a vision of who I am, my philosophy of photography, and how I work with people.

The blog gives my photography brand a personal life. People want to know their photographer as a person before hiring them. When someone’s going to be taking photos of you, that’s an intimate connection and you need to be able to click with that person. It’s equally as important as liking the photographer’s work.

As I recently wrote in a blog post, “If you are relaxed and enjoying the process and have built a trusting relationship with your photographer in the meetings and events leading up to your wedding day, the result will be an amazing collection of natural, beautiful and real photographs filled with honest emotion that truly capture the story of your day.”

The other important reason that I blog is because search engines love blogs. By using relevant keywords in my posts, such as locations where I’ve photographed weddings, people with specific interests can find me more easily.

What types of blog posts do you write?

JK: Aside from telling my clients’ stories and displaying samples of my current work, I provide helpful tips (e.g., how to get the best headshot or choose the best locations for portraits) for individuals as well as other photographers.

I also love to highlight things that inspire me, including showcasing master photographers’ work, which gives people a deeper glimpse into who I am as an artist, and gives me the chance to celebrate masters in the industry. I also think that it is important to share my knowledge of the history of photography with my clients and readers.

Great photographers and great images tell stories about us and about the world we live in. In this fast-paced digital world where there is an overload of snapshots posted to social media, I feel it is important to share these master photographers and their images. I am deeply inspired by great photography and it is always my goal to create images for my clients that inspire and that will be cherished for a lifetime.

[Note from Linda: You can read more about Jennifer’s philosophy in her Artist Statement at the bottom of her About page.]

I also try to be strategic with my topics, for example right now I’m posting all about portraits and weddings, because we’re in that season and people are booking ahead for next year.

Wedding photo by Jennifer Klementti

How often do you post new content to your blog, and how do you keep up with your blogging schedule?

JK: My editorial calendar is one post per week, but I sometimes miss the mark. [Note from Linda: We all do!] What works well for me is to block segments of time to develop a number of posts at one sitting. I draft my posts right in WordPress, so I can quickly go back in and do the formatting for better search engine optimization (I use the All in One SEO Pack plugin).

What do you love about blogging?

JK: By sharing a little about myself, and writing in my own voice, I can really find the connection and community that I love. Business is a conversation, and blogging brings that conversation to life. I hear from people all the time who love reading about my brides and families, those relationships, and hearing my insights as a photographer.

Do you have any words of advice for other business bloggers?

JK: If you speak from the heart, and speak authentically, people connect with you and that becomes interesting for them to read. In my experience, blogging has led directly to clients booking me.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about business blogging with us, Jennifer!

Check out Jennifer’s blog at http://jenniferklementti.net, and stay tuned for another post about her newest blogging adventure, Sunday Crush [Update: Sunday Crush is now closed].

Blog Before You Tweet: Lessons from Tweetstock 8

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Though blogging is a form of social media, many business owners jump onto Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn long before they even consider blogging. And while it seems as though it will be easier to write a 140-character tweet than a 500-word blog post, the most common concern I hear about social media is, “I never know what to say!”

I often use the expression that blogging is what turns social networking into business networking. Blog posts demonstrate your expertise and tell your story to the people in your social networks. You can accomplish this with various types of content, from “how to” articles, to industry observations, to behind-the-scenes tours of your business.

L-R: Mitch Joel, C.C. Chapman, Rebecca Harris, Dave Delaney, John Morgan - Tweetstock - May 29, 2013
L-R: Mitch Joel, C.C. Chapman, Rebecca Harris, Dave Delaney, John Morgan

At last week’s Tweetstock 8 conference in Brantford, Ontario, I heard many examples of blogging as a component of effective social media marketing.

Here are five reasons to blog before you tweet:

  1. Blogging helps you to be more useful. Mitch Joel spoke about the urgent need for “utility” and how businesses must put out content that’s useful, rather than purely promotional or biographical. When you blog about topics that interest your customers, you provide value. You can then share that value via social media with teasers and links back to your blog.
  2. Blogging helps you build a community of like-minded people. In his presentation about business networking strategies, Dave Delaney pointed out that when like-minded people meet, great things happen. Blogging expands on your social media profiles to help both customers and colleagues learn more about you – as a business and as the people behind the business. Just be sure to write authentically and express your unique views and opinions.
  3. Blogging helps you listen to your community. Rebecca Harris took us behind the scenes of the social media command centre at GM, where staff monitor all of GM’s social media channels as well as more than 90 car enthusiast forums. When you share your blog posts on social media, you’ll get an enormous amount of feedback about what was and wasn’t useful. You’ll also get plenty of ideas for your future blog posts.
  4. Blogging starts a discussion with your community. According to Mitch Joel, social media is there to help facilitate real interactions between human beings. Whether people have posted a comment at your blog, or shared or endorsed your post via social media, respond as quickly as possible to show your appreciation and build that relationship. When your company has made a mistake or received negative feedback, a prompt response is even more important. Rebecca Harris illustrated this with the example of a GM ad that was pulled after people voiced complaints on social media.
  5. Blogging can have a profound impact – both on your readers and yourself. Concerned that you’re repeating yourself on your blog, or convinced that your information is common knowledge? Remember that there is someone out there who has never heard your message. John Morgan reminded us that you never know whose lives you’ve changed – when you’ve said exactly what someone needs to hear. As for what blogging does for the blogger, Mitch Joel noted that it allows us to continually explore and develop new ideas, and to keep learning.

So if you’ve been struggling to add to the conversation on social media, consider starting a business blog!

Photos courtesy of Tae McIntosh of Tae Photography.

P.S. I was just as inspired by the other Tweestock 8 presenters (I was tweeting all day long!):

Linda Dessau tweeting from Tweetstock 8, May 29, 2013 in Brantford Ontario

 

Five Things You Need to Know Before Starting a Business Blog

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Business blogging is a proven way to keep your website fresh, which will satisfy both the potential customers who are looking for information and help, and the referral sources that are looking to send those customers your way.

The referral sources could be friends, family members or business associates of your clients-to-be, your own network of professional contacts, or search engines. The more you blog about the topics that are important to your customers, the more credibility you will gain with these referrers.

To help you get started on the right foot with your business blog, here are five key things I like people to understand:

five leaves

  1. You must blog consistently. The biggest mistake you can make with blogging is to start and then stop. An inactive or outdated blog – I call it a “ghost town” – creates a negative impression about you and your business. So however often you decide to post, stick with a schedule that shows visitors they can count on you.
  2. A small effort brings a big reward. According to Hubspot, companies that blog just 1-2 times per month generate 70% more leads than companies that don’t blog at all. I recommend you start with that frequency and then eventually work up to once a week. Give people a reason to keep coming back to see what’s new.
  3. Blogging is marketing. Blogging and social media aren’t separate from the rest of your marketing plan, they’re additional ways to implement that plan. Ultimately a blog is another place to express who you are and what you do, in ways that also provide concrete and practical information for your visitors.
  4. Blogging can be fun. There are many different kinds of blog posts you can write – they don’t all have to be 500-word feature articles. You can incorporate other content that is enjoyable and easy for you to produce, and appealing to your audience, such as videos, interviews or book reviews. Hint: Aim to include at least 250-300 words of text in each post, even if you’re featuring an audio, video or graphic.
  5. One blog tree can produce multiple types of fruit. Once you get the hang of keeping your blog active, you can re-use that same content to have other meaningful conversations with your audience (email newsletters, social media, slideshow videos, reports, e-books, books, presentations, training, etc.). The reverse is also true; there are many way to “blogify” existing content that you already have on hand.

Is there anything you would add to this list? If you’re already blogging for your business, what’s something you wish you had known before you started?

Photo credit: Flооd via photopin cc

Blogging Encourages Longer Website Visits

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Woman-fascinated-by-blog.jpgWhen people are getting value from reading your blog posts, they will stick around longer to read more. The longer someone spends reading your blog, the more likely they will:

  • Associate your company with that topic (your area of expertise)
  • Remember the value you provided
  • Visit other pages on your website to learn more about your business and its products and services

That's why I encourage people to make a blog part of your business website - so that prospective customers are always only one click away from taking the next step to doing business with you.

Here are five blogging practices that will encourage longer website visits:

  1. Post consistently – How you do anything is how you do everything, and keeping up with your blogging shows people they can count on you. 
  2. Invite readers to explore – There are tools such as YARPP and LinkWithin that will automatically display links to your related articles at the bottom of each post.
  3. Craft compelling titles – When readers see those links, you need to quickly capture their attention by summing up what they will find if they click.
  4. Embed links within your posts – If you mention an idea that you've covered in a previous blog post, provide permalinks that lead back to your goldmine of archived content.  
  5. Provide clear and relevant topics - Display your blog post categories in the sidebar and use these to tell your readers exactly what topics you're knowledgeable about. 

People will also stay on your blog longer if your posts are relevant, readable, relatable and varied, and if there are interesting visuals to go along with your text.

Ultimately, when you provide valuable content and make it easy to find more of the same, you're creating goodwill with your blog. People will remember that when they need help later.

Five Ways Blogging Gives You More Confidence as a Business Owner

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“Introverts have natural advantages to finding clients and making money online . . .” – Denise Wakeman

The above quote comes from the sign-up page for Denise Wakeman’s Visibility for Introverts program. We chatted briefly about the enthusiastic response to her offer, and how it really seems to have struck a nerve with so many business owners.

In my July 2010 blog post, Blogging: Passive marketing, or an introvert’s dream come true?, I discuss how even though blogging seems like a passive activity, for an introvert it’s actually an ideal way to actively engage with prospective clients and a wider network.

For introverts and other shy networkers, the benefits of blogging don’t stop there. The skills and practices you apply to be an effective blogger will help you build confidence in all aspects of your business.

Here’s how:

Confidence-meter

  1. You’ll feel like an expert – Once you start compiling a collection of relevant and valuable blog posts, you’ll be able to see your expertise in black and white.
  2. You’ll have (and be) a conversation starter on social media – Best of all, by sharing your blog posts with links and “teasers,” you’ll be starting or joining conversations about the exact topics your ideal clients are interested in.
  3. You’ll know that your website is always on call – With blog posts available on your website, prospective clients can always learn more about you – and how you can help them. As long as you keep your blog up to date with relevant information, you can trust that your website is making a good first impression.
  4. You’ll clarify your ideas and marketing messages – As Jeff Korhan points out in this blog post about the business of professional speaking, “When you aren’t speaking [marketing/networking], you should be writing,” because “blogging polishes your ideas.” Blogging can give you sound bytes to use for media, networking or talking to prospective clients. This will be a really helpful head start if you’re usually shy in these situations.
  5. You’ll have the seedlings of a book – You can put your blog posts together to create a book, special report or other writing project. It’s no accident that the word authority begins with author. Having your ideas in print is a great confidence booster and will also bring higher respect and credibility from others.

So while you’re revelling in the new ideal clients you’ll attract with your blog content, be sure to also enjoy these confidence-boosting benefits of blogging.

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