In order to effectively tell your clients about the print products you sell, you have to somehow showcase them. Be it your blog, Instagram, or on your Facebook page, they need something visual. If it’s a blog, you want to make sure you’re doing it successfully.

First things first. Before you jump into the blogging ring, remind yourself, you need to know HOW TO blog successfully, let alone blogging with your products in mind. It will take some practice. You also need to consider your couples/families/newborns/subjects etc. and how you can tell their story, incorporate their purchased products and capture every moment of the process.

Crafting the Perfect Blog around Print Orders

1. Be Purposeful with your Intent & Master the Topic

This is how you introduce prints and why they are an essential part of your business. Your clients need to have an understanding of why tangible heirlooms have so much meaning to you and how these heirlooms will soon have incredible meaning to them. You also cannot sell products on your website or even your blog if you have not mastered what exactly they are. KNOW your stuff, know your pricing. If you forget something and tell them a price you’re unsure about, stick to it and say it with confidence. It’s better to adjust a price than come off as confused.

Pull from previous inspiration. If you don’t already have tangible items, create them. Do you have canvas wall art of your own family? Hang them up in your studio or whatever space you’ve created within your home. If you’re stuck, look to other photographers who promote prints to see what they’ve crafted.

2. Draft an Outline & Plan Before Each Sales Session

Organized chaos, may, in fact, be beneficial – what type of planner are you? If you have an outline, you’ll have some direction. You don’t necessarily have to fill out the outline chronologically if you’re able to answer the questions out of order. As long as you have a general idea of what answers you’ll need and how to connect the dots in the end. Also remember that if you restrict yourself, you’re inhibiting your creativity, don’t give yourself writer’s block by trying to maintain complete organization, sometimes the best ideas are epiphanies, right?

If you’re blogging about a specific sales session, be sure to describe each part of the experience. If it was in person, you want to explain the look on your client’s faces when they first laid eyes on their album or their expression when they held their luxury framed photos for the first time. And more importantly, DOCUMENT IT!

Be sure to ask your clients beforehand if you can document their experience and better yet, if you have an assistant – have them do it. Even ask them HOW they felt and what emotions they were feeling. If you think it’s going well, take the next step and kindly ask them to provide a testimonial. If it’s a good one, include it right on your blog. By doing this, you’re ensuring that you’ve captured raw emotion throughout the entire experience and future or prospective clients will have an emotional pull toward your work.

3. You Need to Have a Draw That’ll Connect with your Readers

In order to generate interest, there has to be a draw. As a photographer, people are drawn to your work. With that being said, why can’t they ALSO be drawn to the products you’re selling. If you just showcase photos, it’ll be very challenging to sell wall art. Your client will just want the digitals. Instead, show them a mock-up of their image(s) in a wall gallery. We use Fundy to create mock-ups.

photo by Ashley Wilbur

In addition, it’s important to remind yourself that even if you’re interested in this topic, it does not necessarily mean your readers will be – find a common ground. Be sure that if you’re working with a family, you’re showing them products of families, same for couples/newborns and even businesses if you have commercial clients.

60+% Of Content Is Considered Poor Or Irrelevant (searchenginepeople.com) – Don’t let your content be poor or irrelevant!

4. Consider the Details

It’s better to use your own photos, but if it’s absolutely necessary, you can use stock photos. Most of our products are from Miller’s and we try to credit them when it’s appropriate! We’ve included five free stock photos here. One thing about blogging is that it can be INCREDIBLY time consuming and you can find yourself wasting a ton of time if you lose focus. Know what details you NEED. Be sure to repurpose content you already have as not to waste your time. What have you already posted on your social pages? Can you pull from there? Always try to be consistent with your brand – this is especially important on your blog as well. You don’t want to lose your brand voice as you transition from platform to platform.

Also consider, it’s possible to have too many details. For instance, say your couple/subject purchases 20 8×10 matted prints and each image is different. Maybe you want to blog about this successful sales session – you don’t need to show every. single. matted. print. in your blog. It would be extremely overwhelming from a visual standpoint.

We’ve included a document on the Benefit of Professional Prints to use as you plan your blogs around print products. For a free blog template on how to draft your blogs, join our Facebook community.