Should You Outsource Your Photography Blog?

by Aaron on April 21, 2010

A new service could have photographers asking if outsourcing their blogs is the right thing to do. GhostRighters is a new business from some photo professionals that allows a photographer to outsource some marketing efforts. Among GhostRighters’ services, you’ll find that they will write your blog. For $500 each month, you’ll get 12 articles for your website.

Is it the right choice for most solo or small studio photographers? I don’t think so.

Your blog should be your voice. It should be written by someone who not only has seen your images, but has created them. Your stories of clients should from your perspective, since a ghostwriter wasn’t there.

You might be wondering how to write a useful blog for your clients and potential clients. You might be concerned that writing your own blog posts could consume too much time. You might not know what to write about.

There are better solutions than outsourcing to a third party. Next Wednesday I’ll dive into such a solution. Be sure to come back to find out the details.

Photo by ian ransley, used under Creative Commons licensing

These other posts might be of interest to you:

Tagged as: blogging, ghostrighters, outsourcing

http://steveeshom.com/ Steve Eshom

I'm not sure outsourcing is the right choice ever. When I read a blog part of my expectation is that some form of personality comes through. If I'm searching for a photographer to take an important photo for me I would want to know something about them and if they are going to be able to produce the image(s) for me. The personality they show in their writing and photo selections gives me some indications if they are a match for me or not.
http://www.mcihaelvandertol.com Michael Van der Tol

Definitely a bad idea. I think there are many other things a small business photographer can outsource, but that is not one of them.
http://www.rogeroverall.net/blog Roger Overall

Hi Aaron,

Great post that raises a very good point.

If you can work closely with a writer who goes through an interview process with you and produces copy that you vet as being accurate, it can work. Problem is finding the right writer. You need to be able to work with them and they GENUINELY need to be interested in you and your business. If they're not, their copy will reflect that. If they are, it is possible that they can produce compelling copy.

That said, Gary Vaynerchuk makes a good point in his book “Crush It!”. If blogging isn't the right social media platform for you, find another. YouTube video for the extroverts who don't like to write. AudioBoo for those who can speak fluently. Flickr for photographers who can write captions to their work. Facebook for those who like to engage. We're really spoiled for choice right now. Which is fantastic.

I'm tuning into you next Wednesday, that's for sure!

Roger
http://perlacopernik.wordpress.com Perla Copernik

What would be the point on having a blog then?
http://www.englishclass.com.tw/toeic/ 新多益

Interesting post. I have made a twitter post about this. My friends will enjoy reading it also.
ahockley

That's a great point Steve that is really important for those shooting “people” photos – portraits, weddings, events, and so on. Folks will shop around to find the right wedding photographer, and a huge part of that decision is finding someone who has a personality that's a good fit.

Not having that personality in one's blog could keep clients away who might otherwise be a good fit.
ahockley

Well stated.. it's a balancing act. Most folks aren't comfortable or at ease producing content for all of the various platforms so we tend to focus on the ones that are easiest. That said, consumers of the information are the same way… there are people who never look at YouTube videos. There are people that never read blogs. There are folks that will never browse Flickr. If you're a marketing powerhouse, you'll be in all places, but the reality is that for a small business, that's not always practical.
http://www.sunidesigns.com suvie

Thanks so much for the mention! It is interesting how many
people don't think of simply being kind as acting in our own
best interests – most of the time, we feel that acting with kindness is
giving others the upper hand, especially at work. But when I look back on
the most important relationships I have in my career, they're often based on
mutual respect and kindness.
outsource

out source is use full to promote our site.outsource
http://www.directorysubmissionservices.net Nick

Very nice tips. Outsourcing SEO services is one such way that helps in making online presence for your. Outsourcing SEO services has become a trend and many businessmen follow it to get more return from their investment. India is one of the most preferred destinations for outsourcing services. It has become the most popular destination for outsourcing services among the others globally. One reason behind this is availability of large technical expertise and innovative, low cost business solutions
http://www.grantstringerart.co.uk grantstringer

It depends on where your at. If you have the time, keep it in house. If your time is a premium and your making good bucks, you need to prioritize.
http://www.howdoiselfbuild.com/blog/ Jenny

If all you want to do is make money, then outsourcing makes perfect sense. However, you do have to relax your quality control, even though it may be by a very small bit.

Samir

what u say by photo outsourcing we can make money but its right way to help each other.

Samir

hi……………… i want photo outsource work . i am from India

http://www.monessonphotography.com/ photo studio los angeles

there are many sites available which offer work as a freelancer

http://www.christopherprins.com Christopher Prins Photography

Yeah, I don’t think i could justify spending $500 on 12 articles. But hey… like you mentioned, it may be of a benefit to some people.
Anonymous

Hey, that is really a great piece of art and very useful and helpful to the one who is gonna to enter in this co-operate market.

I am really glad that I’ve come to know about such informative post.

That’s like an honor to me, and I appreciate it.

Thanks…
photography in toronto

I recently came across this article and have been reading along. This is a greate site and contains fantastic contents. Your site contains a lot of valuable information as well.
Photography in toronto
http://www.mymemory.com/en/products/photobooks photo book

asasasas
http://www.littlefishsupport.com/it-outsourcing Louise Wilks

Wow. You are really brilliant. I just got the talented idea whatever you mentioned very impressive. Actually photography outsourcing is another great way to earn. Keep up coming info!