Meet Bethany O’Connor, a photographer who, before Blog that Converts, had no idea how to make her blog work for her business. When I asked her how Blog that Converts helped her to stand out in a saturated market, this is what she said:
Let’s be frank: most photographers’ blogs are rather… uninspired. They are built for SEO purposes and for SEO only, sharing recent sessions using cookie-cutter post titles, tags… even the bodies of the posts are very predictable.
That may work for building SEO but it does little for helping the photographer stand out in what is inevitably a very competitive market. You can’t “swing a cat” (as they say) without hitting a half dozen photographers these days.
To compete with market saturation, many photographers are resorting to offering their services at what amounts to be below minimum wage. It’s bad for business and bad for the photographer’s self-respect.
If you take pride in your photography and you want to be paid what you are worth, you need to distinguish yourself from everybody else with a camera, a talent, and an SEO-optimized website. You need to offer a unique brand and to show that when someone invests in you, they are receiving value that transcends your pretty photos.
This is where Derek comes in. Through BTC, you zone in on what differentiates you from every other photographer on the market and you learn how to become known for that.
Before BTC, my blog, I am proud to say, was far from cookie-cutter. Unfortunately, I also really had no idea how it was serving my business. The two appeared to be separate entities, and as one friend and not a few family members remarked, “a blog is not a business.”
Because of the BTC exercises, I finally know how the deeply personal topics I cover on my blog (and on others) are directly connected to my SPS as a photographer.
My readers see it now, too.
It’s hard to quantify the difference this has made for me, as I’m still in the first year of my photography business. That being said, I now receive client inquiries almost every day, whereas prior to BTC I was lucky to receive one per month. I’m currently making arrangements to take my business from part-time to full-time and I have a few projects in the works which would have seemed like an impossible dream just a year ago.
Would I recommend BTC to all photographers? Honestly, no. It strikes me that many photographers do not take the business end of photography seriously and therefore would probably not use Derek’s knowledge to their fullest advantage. They want to focus on photography alone and not the long-term sustainability of the business of photography. It’s the same reason why so many photographers go out of business within two years.
But for any photographer who does take his or her business seriously and does want to set themselves up for long-term success? Yes, BTC is a great investment. I think the only time we regret investing in ourselves is when we try to cut corners on expenses by investing in hacks. Derek is no hack. He knows his stuff, is generous with his knowledge, and is surprisingly accessible via email for BTC members.
Personally, I find his enthusiasm contagious. I’m very glad I enrolled!
Bethany O’Connor
Photographer & Life Enthusiant
BethanyO.com