So here it is… Post 31 of my Blogtober quest to blog every day in October. I did it!
So I thought I’d do a Best Of post and write a little about what I learned over the past 31 days of doing this little challenge for myself. October has still been busy for me with four weddings, a proposal shoot, a few concerts, an engagement shoot down in Boston and various other shoots so finding the time to blog hasn’t always been easy. A couple of blogs were scheduled ahead of time when I knew I wasn’t gonna have time on the day but almost every post was done on the day and then posted immediately.
One thing I realised from this was how many great weddings were never making it onto the blog. I don’t blog everything I shoot by any means but there were some really great weddings that I was proud of that I’m sure I would’ve forgotten to blog if it weren’t for the fact that this challenge forced me to go back and find content that I hadn’t already posted. Most were from 2018 but there were some from 2017 too.
Another thing I realised is that hardly anyone comments on blog posts any more. A few years ago I’d be getting quite a few comments for each blog I posted on the site. I recently noticed that Emma & Pete’s wedding from 2011 had 53 comments whereas many of the posts from this month received zero comments. Of course, comments aren’t really that important. It’s always really nice to get great comments when you share images online but it makes me assume that actually fewer people are even bothering to check out blogs these days. I know other photographers, and great ones too, seem to have also had fewer comments on their recent posts. So are people not reading blogs anymore or are they just less likely to comment?
And that leads to a very important question: If nobody is bothering to read the blog, is it even worth blogging? And this is where I can give you an enthusiastic (and in capital letters) YES!
Yes, because of SEO (search engine optimisation for the non-nerds).
Almost all the weddings I’ve posted this month are already showing up on Page 1 of Google when somebody searches for weddings at that venue. And that is a big plus. Couples almost always look for their wedding venue before their photographer so making it easy for people to stumble across my photos from a venue they’re interested in means I’m on their radar early into the planning of their wedding. Bonus! Kate and Dave’s wedding was posted 3 days ago and is already ranking on page 1 for the phrase “Galway G Hotel wedding“. Results may be different for you depending on where you are.
So, even if not that many people are reading blogs in 2018, it still makes a lot of sense for me to post content. It also gives the couples something to share on Facebook which brings their friends to my website. All good.
For every post this month I’ve been using Narrative to design the blog layout. I was unsure to begin with (I’ve always used BlogStomp) but am now loving the way I can make quirky layouts rather than the standard even blocks of photos that you normally see on photography blogs. It’s really fast and intuitive and every time they issue an update it gets even better.
I know some other photographers who have also decided to do something similar to my Blogtober mission. Check out my friend Gary who’s doing 31 days of blogging too. If you did something similar please leave a link in the comments.
So, thanks to anyone who’s been keeping up with the blog posts, especially those that took time to comment. Thanks to all the people in the photos for trusting me to be their photographer. I love my job and all the adventures I get to experience along the way.
Here are my faves from all the Blogtober posts.
Kari & Pat’s Notre-Dame Basilica Wedding
Arianne + Simon’s Portrait Shoot
Sarah & Matt’s wedding at Château St-Antoine
Surprise Proposal at Botanical Garden in Montreal
A Wedding at Canvas in Lachine
Deep Purple + Judas Priest live in Montreal
Maggie + Rod’s Cabane a Sucre Constantin Wedding
Becca + Lee’s Wedding at Maison Publique
Kailee + Matt’s Wedding at Fazeley Studios
Preeti + Tavis’s Wedding at the Forest & Stream Club
Billie Eilish live at Corona Theatre
Marie-Claude + Dan’s Wedding at Esterel Resort
Vanessa + Filipe’s Wedding at Vignoble Le Mernois
Surprise Wedding Proposal at Parc de Dieppe
Maeg + Joel’s Backyard Wedding in Hudson
Francesca + Mike’s Wedding at the William Gray Hotel
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats at MTelus
Kyll Valley Players Club Portrait Shoot
Daeun + Youngchan’s Korean Wedding
Melanie + Matthew’s Wedding at Le Grand Lodge in Mont-Tremblant
Kate + David’s Wedding at the G Hotel in Galway
Yukari & Henry’s Intimate Wedding at Hotel Nelligan
Lauren & Matt’s Family Shoot in Cornwall
Hey Evelyne! I did it! 🙂
7 Responses
Hey Steve. Great article. It’s certainly interesting to consider how many people are reading/scrolling through pictures or really digesting anything properly.. Quite a challenge to set yourself with plenty of other stuff going on!
Yeah it was a challenge but I’m definitely glad I made the effort. Cheers mate.
How interesting. I might have to try a Blogvember although I am unsure how you found the time to write 31 posts! Hat off to you. I’ll have to check Narrative out too.
Thanks a lot Maria. Definitely take a look at Narrative. It has a ton of new features coming soon too.
Cool read, massive challenge
Thanks a lot Thomas.
It’s inspiring to see how much you gained from Blogtober! Your reflections on the importance of consistency and community in blogging are spot-on. It’s also impressive how you applied those lessons to grow your blog. Thanks for sharing your insights—they’re super encouraging for anyone looking to up their blogging game!