Blogging for pet photographers - is it still worth it in 2023
and what to even write?
You’re already managing Facebook- perhaps even a group too, and Instagram which is getting more and more time consuming thanks to Reels, and that’s just social media. Then you likely dedicated a whole lot of time to a bunch of other marketing avenues too. Blogging is pushed down that to-do list and soon enough you start to wonder if it’s even needed at all. Sound familiar?
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I’m here to tell you that the answer is most likely yes.
When analyzing the numbers, most photographers I know, myself included, will see that their highest spending and most valuable customers typically found them through an organic Google Search.
ESTABLISHED PET PHOTOGRAPHY MARKETS
For those of you in an area where pet photography is already a thing, people are searching “pet photographer” and so of course you want to be close to the top of search results for that keyword. A well written website will help with that- but blogging will help further. You can stick to posting recent sessions that are written to attract the local client who is looking for a specific type of photographer (eg. on-location/natural/fun etc), but I also recommend you get creative with your topics- see below!
WHAT IF “PET PHOTOGRAPHY ISN’T A THING HERE”?
If you’re in an area with an emerging pet photography market and your ideal client is yet to even know they can hire a professional pet photographer? On the surface it may seem like a waste of time, but in my experience that’s in fact more of a reason to rank highly on Google- it’s just that the keywords are different!
For example, an obsessed pet guardian will be searching for other pet related things local to you like “Handmade luxury pet collars”, “Raw dog food delivery”, “Local pet-friendly events”. By blogging about these same topics, you can rank for those keywords and lead your ideal client to your website- introducing pet photography for them and your brand! This approach probably has a fancy name, but I simply call it the “backdoor” approach and it is also really helpful for photographers with an established market to get in front of even more people.
So what to blog about as a pet photographer?
Make a list of all the things your ideal client might be searching for in relation to being a pet-parent who spends either time or money or both on luxuries for their pet. That’s a list of blog posts right there!
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Local activity series, eg. “Local pet friendly walk: Our city river walk”
Pet friendly events: “Upcoming pet friendly event - The Adelaide Million Paws Walk”
Local business shout out, eg: “Freddy’s favourite dog walker” or “New pet-friendly cafe”
Product feature, eg. “Freddy’s new bowtie: Dog collar handmade in our town”
Top tips for keeping your dogs mind active this winter
Ask a local expert to guest post. Eg: “Tips to manage your dogs arthritis in the Californian summer heat”
You’ll also find these already listed in our bonus FREE blog planner!
Hint: I recommend doing an individual post for each topic to create a series, and then creating a new Top 5 post to link back to the old posts. This works particularly well in bigger cities.
And of course you can blog about your own business too. An easy way to start is by answering FAQs in more detail. Think things like:
Showcase client sessions and orders including their testimonials
What to wear to a pet photography session at the beach
What to expect at your professional pet photoshoot
Location feature
Feature a product: albums, wall art etc.
The benefits of blogging
My primary reason for blogging is to help drive traffic to my website by ranking for particular keywords on Google, but that’s not the only benefit of blogging! Here are a few more:
Blogging is also great for creating enquiry and client resources.
Enquiries and clients often have the same questions. If you’ve answered these in a blog post, you can simply send the link. Not only does it save you time, it also sends traffic to your website (good for SEO), and showcases your work and professionality once again to reassure them that they’re making the right choice hiring you! You can send your “what to wear suggestions” post to every new booking, or send the location feature to an enquiry to assist them in making a decision.
The content can easily be repurposed
A blog post will likely be the longest piece of content you write for your business on a topic. With that you can copy and paste bits and pieces to create Instagram and Facebook posts and newsletters. You can also create Pinnable graphics for your post and Pin them to your account with a click of a button!
A professional reason to expanding your portfolio
If you’re looking to expand your portfolio, a blog can give the perfect excuse to offer a free, or discounted session without impacting your status as a professional. For example, you can say “I’m looking for a dog to photograph at Largs Bay to add it to my location suggestion blog series! If your dog is a beach-lovin’ babe (or dude), this is for you!..”.
Or perhaps you want to start offering commercial photography but don’t have any images to promote it? By reaching out to a local business offering to feature them, you’ll start a lovely relationship with them (more on that below), get content for your blog, plus create images for your portfolio! Just remember to get a Model and Property Release signed!Build or nurture a relationship
Personally I see this as the biggest benefit to creating a local business shout out series. It’s an excuse to introduce yourself to local business owners, show them that you truly respect them and what they do, and be gently introduced to their audience (because for sure they’ll share the post). Later on when you’re wanting to implement a third party promotion, you’ll have a whole list of businesses to approach with the idea. Oh and you’ll likely receive backlinks from their page to if they link to it from their website. You can see that business shout outs are my favourite type of blog posts!
Extra hints for making the most of your blog posts
Use AI with caution
Google has recently announced that they don’t penalise you for using ChatGPT or any AI platform for writing copy, however they do penalise for bad content and plagiarism. In my experience, you really need to fact check the AI generated content so at least for the moment, I find it quicker to write my own.
What you can use it for is to help come up with a list of topics and to create a framework for your post.
If you do choose to use AI, be sure to install the “Copyleaks” Chrome extension.
Word count
The more words your blog has, the longer people spend on your page, and the more words Google can notice and potentially rank, so typically, the longer the better when it comes to word count. I typically aim for 1000 words, minimum of 600, although I’ve read that anything over 300 is okay.
Format
1000 words is a lot. After all, you don’t want that effort to go unnoticed (nor do you want a high bounce rate!). Break it up with images (with your logo) to avoid overwhelm and use different fonts to help your reader find the information they’re looking for.
External links
External links will take your readers to another website. If you’re post should be backed up by another source, then an external link may be useful for building trust (eg. link to a medical journal), but given your goal is to keep readers on your site, you’ll want to use external links sparingly.
Internal links
Use internal links throughout the content to strategically direct the reader to your other posts or different pages of your website. Google likes this, but it will also help with your ultimate goal- to turn these readers into clients! What do I mean by strategically? Basically each link should be getting them closer to wanting to book and definitely not the other way. For example, if a reader is on the “What to wear to your photoshoot” post, there’s no need to send them to a post that is highlighting another business. Instead you might want to link to your “How it works” page or to a post that showcases a client shoot.
On the other hand, if a reader has landed on your “Tips to manage your dog's arthritis in the Californian summer heat” straight from a Google search, you probably want to introduce them to the idea of photography- with you! Since it’s potentially their first visit to your site, and the first time they’ve seen your brand, asking them to “book a shoot” might be a bit too much (you wouldn’t ask someone to marry you on the first date right?!). A great internal link in this case would be to a post that showcases a senior dog photoshoot.
Internal links should be subtle. Here’s how I’d link that example:
Let’s say the guest author, a vet, has included a line like “.. it can be heartbreaking to see our best friends age..”, the “best friends age” is a perfect place for your link.
Call to Action
A Call-to-Action is a prompt that encourages the audience to take into your sales funnel, eg. “Book a consultation call”. Try to summarize your posts by linking back to photography and your services where possible, with a direct call to action such as “learn more about a pet photography shoot” or “book a photoshoot for your senior”.
Author block
An author block at the end of each post (see mine at the end of this one!) can be a great way to let your reader know where they’ve landed, without being salesy! Remember, if your post is part of the “backdoor” approach, your readers may not even realise they’re on a pet photography website! Letting them know where they are, and introducing yourself, establishes you as the expert, and should encourage your reader to check out the rest of your site.
No one can deny that blogging takes time, but the long-term SEO benefits alone make it worth the effort for me. And with a strategic approach you can also see short to medium term results through blogging too which absolutely makes it worth the effort.
So, what’s the first topic on your list, and when will you publish it?
BONUSES!
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Author
Kirstie McConnell |
Founder
The Pet Photographers Club
When Kirstie launched her pet photography business in Australia in 2012, the genre was barely a thing. She spent the next years at the forefront of this niche, marketing not just her own business, but the concept of pet photography. Each year she photographed around 100 dogs, cats and horses per year to create wall art and albums for pet-parents.
Now based in Italy, she continues to offer pet photography to her clients back in Australia on return trips, but otherwise spends her energy helping other pet photographers build a business which will allow them to follow their dreams.
Internationally recognized as a leader in the industry, she hosts the podcast, workshops, courses and business events for The Pet Photographers Club which she co-founded.
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