Are you passionate about photography? Are you interested in starting a photography blog and making good money? If yes, you have come to the right place. Here in this post, we will guide you step by step on how to start a photography blog and make money easily.
Firstly you must be very clear about why you want to start a website on photography. Broadly two types of websites are popular. One is by professional photographers and the other is by recreational photographers.
Whether you are a professional or an amateur photographer, it is important to have your own photography blog.
Here are the 10 Steps to Start a Photography Blog
1. What type of Photography Blog would you like to Start?
If you want to be really successful and make good money in photography blogging you must focus on a niche. You must either be passionate about that niche or have sufficient experience in that subject. You must also check whether people have an interest in the subject.
Check your niche is not too narrow. In that case, you will not have a larger audience following your blog. Some of the popular types of photography websites are as follows:
- Film Photography
- Food Photography
- Travel Photography
- Fashion Photography
- Maternity Photography
- Lifestyle Photography
- Aerial Photography
- Wildlife Photography
- Event Photography
- Wedding Photography
- Sports Photography
2. Finding the Right Domain Name for your Photography Website
This is the most important step in the process of starting a photography blog. Try to devote as much time as possible before deciding on the domain name.
Firstly, the domain name should relate to the content of the photography blog. Try to make your domain name as short and catchy as possible. We recommend you take a .com domain unless your blog is region-specific.
2. Set up Hosting & Install WordPress on Your Photography Blog
Visit Hostinger. Check our detailed step-by-step guide to hosting and installing WordPress.
3. Find a Proper Photography Theme
Now you can move on to the fun stuff like finding a good theme. There is plenty of free themes available in WordPress.
Download the theme as instructed. Log in to the WordPress blog you just created. Click on Appearance – Themes – Upload, and upload the zip file. You will know your way of creating a fully functional photography blog.
4. Design your Photography Blog/Website
If you are starting your blog with less budget, I will not advise you not to think much or invest initially. However, if you want to have a nice-looking logo and a bit of customization of the theme, I will recommend going to Fiverr. You will find plenty of designers according to your budget who will do the job. Just check the reviews and examples of the designer you choose.
5. Essential Plugins for Photography Website
Mention below our recommended 10 essential plugins:
- Akismet
- Google Analytics
- Yoast SEO
- Sumo me
- Better Click to Tweet
- W3 Total Cache
- Geo Mashup
- Contact Form
6. Create Pages for Your Photography Blog
The first part of starting a blog is to create some basic pages. Before you start writing articles, make sure to create an About and Contact Page. The About Page is the place where you provide information to the readers about yourself and the content of the blog. You also must have a Contact page for readers to connect with you.
Another important page for a photography website is the landing page. We highly recommend using a page builder to create your home page.
7. Start Blogging
Content is king. Try to write three articles a week initially till you reach 100 articles published. However, it is not mandatory. Never ever write posts for quantity’s sake. Finally, it is the quality of the post and not the quantity which will matter. Decide on the topics and just write. You will find out which one is working and which one is not. Just be honest with yourself while writing.
Some examples of content:
- Camera/equipment reviews
- The story behind each photograph
- Photography tutorials
- Photographers you admire
8. Upload Pictures for Your Photography Blog
Always remember visual aspect is very important in photography blogs. People come here to see good-quality images.
Things to remember while uploading pictures for your Photography Blog:
- Never upload your originals to your blog. Upload your pictures as JPEG files (probably the best format for viewing photos on the web)
- Never forget to save your original files. Always edit after you save the files.
- Make sure to resize images so that they’ll fit the page
- Use photo editing software to resize photos. Check the photos fit comfortably on the page. Some options for photo-editing programs are GIMP, Pixlr, etc.
9. How to Make Money with Photography Blog
You can make money by selling your own uploaded photographs. You can also make money through affiliate marketing by writing reviews of different cameras, equipment, and photographs of other persons.
a) Adsense
Apply for Google Adsense after writing some posts. If approved, Google Adsense will start putting advertisements on your blog. A lot of bloggers make 5 figure money with Google Adsense only.
b) Sell Ad Space
You can try websites like BuySellAds. They will get a cut of every ad space that you sell through them. You can contact ad space-selling companies directly.
There are plenty more ways to make money like writing an ebook, creating a membership option, etc. As your traffic grows a lot of companies will offer you deals that will grow your income.
Photography Sites you can get inspiration from:
- PhotoFocus ( http://photofocus.com/)
- Joe McNally ( http://portfolio.joemcnally.com/ )
- Sprouting Photographer ( http://www.sproutingphotographer.com/ )
- Shutterstock Blog ( https://www.shutterstock.com/ )
- Jasmine Star ( jasminestarblog.com )
10. Where to get Traffic to your Photography Blog
Concentrate on getting traffic organically from search engines. Writing quality articles is the key to getting traffic from search engines. Take the help of Google Keywords in finding popular topics that readers are searching for.
Try to write good-quality posts. If your posts get attention from search engines, traffic will automatically start visiting your photography blog.
Don’t forget to create a page on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc., and promote your photography blog from those pages.
About the Author: 99businessideas.com led by Rupak Chakrabarty is committed to helping beginners, entrepreneurs, and small business owners in starting, managing, and growing their businesses.
