Organizing a Business Begins with a Domain Name and Hosting. A Cheat Sheet for Photographers

Nowadays almost any prominent artist – or the one with a desire for prominence – needs to be appropriately represented in the online world. Glamour photography niche doesn’t make an exception – look at dozens of sites, info-products, coaching programs, forums, blogs and so on. So what makes guru and novices alike to establish their own sites and blogs? There are several reasons for that:

Everyone is going online now – the demand for cyberspace is growing daily, as it is a perfect field to build up one’s credibility, market oneself and gain recognition. Offline self-PR is often costly and inefficient, unlike its Internet version. With all those fancy technologies you could establish your site or blog and be up and running in no time at all;

Like any other professional community, glamour photographers need to establish communication, exchange experiences, show off their latest works, find prospective customers, learn and teach. Online world makes all of it doable with little expense from the photographer’s side;

With glamour images actively exploiting digital format, it has become much easier to host them in electronic format, skipping the stage of actual printing. There’s no need to involve film any longer – ergo, digital photos can be conveniently stored on one’s hard drive, showcased in online galleries and easily displayed in one’s Internet glamour portfolio.

Considering this trend, you might as well want to establish your little online haven to market your expertise, trade your skills, share your knowledge and boost your proficiency. While I wholly approve of this decision, I recommend you to try blogging format before building an actual Internet site. There are six basic why’s for doing so.

Firstly, the blog is easy to set up and use – you don’t have to be good at HTML, CSS and other formidable abbreviations that give many users the creeps. Instead, you only need to register a domain name, sign up for web hosting and install the blogging platform of your choice (e.g. WordPress).

Blogs are highly customizable, so you would be able to create both unique design and layout for your online home. New content can be added lightning-fast and with little effort, which makes blogging an ultimate choice for most people.

Secondly, do you know why photographers and marketers often tend to stick to blogs rather than sites? It’s just because they are more responsive. Blogging is a conversation, where the reader can comment, ask questions, evaluate and feel involved in the whole process. If you let people know you care about their opinion and their thoughts, your venture is bound to succeed.

Thirdly, there’s a growing demand for blogging. More and more people realize the advantages and join this growing trend. You can also jump in – provide some wise insight, create valuable content, market yourself and communicate with your readers. This will make you stand out of the crowd, gain credibility and establish a firm foothold in the online world.

Fourthly, blog possesses many functions you could utilize for your different needs. It can be your own article directory and collection of useful tips on glamour photography.

It can also be a “glamour gallery”, where your works are showcased, your personal market of different products that you have created, your home-based business platform, where your clients will learn about your expertise and proficiency. To put it simply, your blog could be anything.

Fifthly, the blog has a great potential for monetization. A good glamour photographer with considerable expertise in their niche could make decent money from blogging alone – either by ad revenue, or promoting products, or trading their skill, or providing personal coaching, or whatever you could possibly imagine. Blogging is a very flexible and perspective tool.

Finally, your blog is your identity distilled and poured online. There is no better way to conduct self-promotion than by means of blogging. The glamour photography world is the world of competition, yet you have resources to successfully overcome it and find the right place there – if not in the hall of fame, then in the rapidly growing market.

The fact we live in an informational society is often under-estimated. Information is at the same time a resource, a product, and a tool. Any glamour photographer can make great use of the online world for themselves.

Blogging is merely one of the ways available to create both reputation and revenue. Art becomes digital; the Internet offers a world of opportunity – it would be unwise of you to miss this chance.