As creatives, especially photographers, it’s easy to get caught up in the desire to share personal stories and portfolio highlights on our blogs. But there’s a crucial point that many overlook—your blog isn’t supposed to be about you. It’s about educating and providing value to your audience.
Here’s why you need to shift your mindset and how to strike the perfect balance between storytelling and SEO through education.
Focus on the Reader, Not Yourself
When photographers blog, it’s often filled with detailed stories of shoots, weddings, and the people they meet along the way. While this may be interesting to you (and the couple you’re writing about), it doesn’t offer the value that most blog readers are looking for.
People search for blog posts to answer specific questions or solve problems. If they land on your site expecting venue details or tips on how to prepare for a shoot and instead find a lengthy personal story, they’re likely to leave.
Why Education Is Key
Today’s blog readers are looking for helpful, informative content. Think about what your audience is searching for. Are they looking for wedding inspiration, venue reviews, or photography tips? Answering their questions is the key to keeping them on your blog.
For example, if someone is searching for a wedding venue in Las Vegas and stumbles upon your post, they’re not interested in the story of how you met the couple. They want to know details about the venue itself. What does it look like? What should they know before booking it?
By offering these insights, you’re not only helping your audience but also improving your SEO ranking, which can drive more traffic to your blog.
Striking a Balance
This doesn’t mean you need to stop sharing personal stories altogether. It’s about finding the right balance. Aim for 80-90% educational content, with the remaining 10-20% being personal stories that add color to the post without distracting from its value.
You can still share personal anecdotes, like why you prefer lifestyle family shoots over studio sessions. Just make sure the focus is on educating your audience and providing them with a clear path to their goals.
Create Content That Ranks
The goal is to help readers solve a problem, answer a query, or make a decision. To do this effectively, you need to know what people are searching for.
Do keyword research using tools like KeySearch or Ubersuggest to uncover what your audience is actually searching for on Google. This ensures your blog post meets their needs and has a better chance of ranking.
Provide Value Early
It’s also important to answer your readers’ questions sooner rather than later. Don’t make them sift through five paragraphs of personal storytelling before getting to the information they need. Google’s algorithms now prioritize content that gets to the point quickly, so make sure you’re providing value within the first few paragraphs of your post.
Final Thoughts on Storytelling and SEO
The takeaway? Shift your mindset from seeing your blog as a diary to viewing it as a platform to educate and inform your audience. By providing the answers people are looking for, you’ll not only improve your SEO but also build trust with your readers, turning them into potential clients.
And, if you want some help along the way creating this content for your business, check out Back Pocket Blogger where we will take your ideas and information and transform it into an SEO optimized blog post in no time!
Check out these posts next:
- Benefits of Increasing Website Traffic for Your Photography Business
- Best Article Length for SEO on Your Photography Blog
KP’s design journey began in book publishing, but she fell in love with the truly limitless possibilities that web design presents. Since then, she’s been helping photographers and creatives become the no-brainer option for their dream clients before they even get on a call.
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9/05/24
Published On:
Krystianna Pietrzak
