Planning a Blog Post | Boston Maternity & Newborn Photographer

Back when I was a newer Boston maternity & newborn photographer, I knew very little about blogging, but I knew I was “supposed to.” I’d usually start by picking a session I wanted to share, and then select a few images and write something about them. Typically, I’d blab about how much I loved the family, the light, the clothing, etc. Plenty of photographers take this approach, and there’s certainly no rule that you *can’t.* Over the years, however, I’ve tweaked my blogging process and I thought I’d chat about it here today!

Pick a Topic Relevant to Your Audience

For me personally, I am almost never inclined to read a blog post about a random family that I have no personal investment in. However, if the topic is something that interests me, I’m far more likely to open the link and go check it out. Soooo, when blogging, I always start by thinking about WHO my audience is. For the most part, my audience on social media is other photographers and other parents. With that in mind, most of my blog posts are written to appeal to one or both of those audiences. This one, for example, is not likely to be of any interest to the average parent. My guess is if you’re reading it, you’re a photographer, or maybe another small business owner.

Pick a Session That Works for the Topic

If I’m writing about tips for an outdoor newborn session, then obviously I will choose a recent outdoor newborn session, or even two. If I’m writing about tips for toddler sessions, then I’ll of course share a session with toddlers. Sometimes, if it’s not a very nuanced topic, I’ll share from a variety of sessions like I did for my client superlatives blog post and my favorite fatherhood photos blog post. Today’s post is also one that totally could have showcased several sessions, but I chose to stick to one in the interest of time (because I don’t have much!).

Select and Re-Size Images

After thinking about what session(s) I’d like to use, I then select my favorite images. My goal is always to pick a variety, and usually include at least 10 and no more than 30 (but even that is on the high end for me). With fewer than 10, I find that blog posts can look text-heavy which isn’t visually appealing, and having too many can distract your audience from your actual content, and also make your post too long.

Publish and Share

Before publishing, I always make sure that I’m checking off some backend SEO things so that my posts make Google happy ;). It’s a competitive world out there for each and every Boston maternity & newborn photographer, so I like to dot my i’s and cross my t’s. Once I’ve done that, I publish my post! Simply publishing isn’t enough though. You have to let the world know you’ve published and direct them to your post! Traffic is your friend (unless we’re talking actualllll traffic, which is decidedly NOT your friend).

_____________________________________________________________________________________Melissa Rabbitt is a Boston maternity & newborn photographer who is now booking for May through August. You can get in touch here!

WELCOME

Oh hey! I’m Melissa, a Boston family & newborn photographer, but I like to refer to myself as a toddler-whispering, child-taming, photographic ninja.