Blog....how important is it and where the heck do you start?

[lynweber]

So I have originally thought I wouldn't do a blog just because I don't KNOW HOW TO! So I'm looking for tips. What do you put in the blog how do you start one, and where for that matter, I'm currently toying with Blogger just because its free. How often do you update your blog and can i see it for ideas? Thanks!

[OsmosisStudios]

Start with a theme. There's no sense in blogging if it's stories from absolutely everything.

[lynweber]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Start with a theme. There's no sense in blogging if it's stories from absolutely everything.

so just blog about one area like advertising or recent photo shoots but not both?

Mine is a way to vent sometimes. I could care less if anyone reads mine. It's often times just a place to put stuff that's on my mind and I don't want to write it out long hand.

[wulf]

Originally Posted by lynweber

so just blog about one area like advertising or recent photo shoots but not both?

Not quite. It should have a purpose though. For example, if you are running a business then a blog might be a place where you talk about the interesting shoots you have done and share some tips you have learned. That would be advertising, enhanced if you included links to your relevant photo packages and awful if you couldn't resist the tempatation to spill the beans about how frustrating some of your clients are.

Personally I blog partly for myself (so I can look back in a few years time and remember what I was interested in) and particularly for friends and family (so they can see I am alive and well without me having to send individual emails). Therefore, I can happily cover a range of subjects with no qualms.

Wulf

[tuxcomputers]

I use Ipernity to share my photos, it has a blog built-in but I doubt it would suit your purposes.

[Ari77]

I blog to see my images in a different way - they always seem to look different after they have been to flickr, and then finally get linked to the blog. It gives me a bit of distance.
Just really starting out at them moment, so it gives me a visual record of my mistakes and the good things I've done. I tend to update mine at least once a week - if not more. But really I only do it for myself.
I found wordpress really easy to use and update.

[lynweber]

Thanks everyone for the great comments. I don't think I want a blog for my business at this time but thinking of getting one going for my personal life that would be just for me, after all i keep wanting to write a journal but never find the time and plus i type faster than I can right.

[wulf]

Do remember that, unless you keep your online persona very anonymous, people may still make a link back to your business. Nothing wrong with that (it can give you an edge because of the human touch) but it does mean that you still need to exercise a fair amount of discretion over what you do or don't write.

Wulf

[private]

Also, you should do a blog for your busness (if you want it to grow) - you get a higher ranking in google. Its all about SEO these days. Just make sure to link it back to your website - or make the BLOG your website... I of course do not practice what I preach, but I will...To me I compare it to quitting smoking. One keeps doing it again and again - LOL

I am a casual blogger and I need to do it more often, at least once a week....grrrr