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Content is king

Artist Willem Vermandere delicately uses a small file to express himself through his marble sculpture
In my previous two posts I covered the topic 'the real value of social media to photographers'. These articles explored why and how you should use social media to engage with a specific audience.

The thing that I did not cover in great detail was content, which, as the title of this blog implies, is the most important element to attract people to your work. Once people have found your website or blog you have to give them a reason to return. The simple logic is they have to find something of value in what you write about.

There are many blogs that attract readers by simply being curators of content. In other words they find great content and then link to it and by doing this become a good resource, a one-stop-shop for people wanting to find valuable content.

I prefer to create original content. This does not mean that I never link to anyone else. It just means that I choose to publish my own thoughts and ideas. After so many years of writing Beyond the Obvious I've covered hundreds of topics and it's a challenge to keep coming up with original stuff. I really don't want to repeat myself.

It delights me to see how many of my old articles continue to be read. That means that people find real value in them. Of course other stuff I've written has been left dusty on a forgotten shelf in the great storage cupboard of the Internet. The barometer of how successful an article is over time is directly related to whether I've written about a subject that is regularly searched for on the Internet. It's a difficult thing to predict, however here are some subjects that people always want to find out more about:

  • Technology and gadgets
  • Camera reviews
  • Software articles
  • Techniques and tricks of the trade
  • How to articles
  • Personal experiences of professional photographers

If you write well about the above you'll probably grow an audience.

Although I do cover many of the above topics my focus on aesthetics, philosophy of photography and the attitude required to succeed as a photographer is certainly not mainstream. But then again I just write what I feel rather than what I think will make my blog popular.

Thanks again to all my regular and loyal readers. It's because of you I keep on writing.

I recently launched a new portfolio site of my photographic work (www.paulindigo.co.uk). Please take a look and let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Paul
www.indigo2photography.co.uk



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