Is your photography website reaching a rocky point?

Is your photography website reaching a rocky point in its development? Thousands of photography sites are abandoned each year because the creative satisfaction one gets behind the camera are lost when it comes to updating a website.

How many times have you visited a website only to find it was last updated a year ago? Creating art or a successful website with your photography skills takes hard work and the ability to maintain updates when the road gets rocky.

We’ve all had that feeling before we start a new project, an endless stream of creative ideas. We jump into the project with good intentions, only later to realize those ideas weren’t as much or as creative as we first thought! The ability and stamina to update on a regular basis will eventually hit a rocky point. Interest in updating or uploading new images feels more like work or worse a “chore”.

This is the point where most photography sites die and are abandoned. If you feel your site is at this critical point, I’ve got a few suggestions to take your online photography site to the next level.

1. Change it up! Photograph something completely different than your normal “work” photography. For example, a wedding photographer might go on a nature photo walk. By enjoying a different form of photography genre, sharing it’s results becomes more enjoyable. Plus it might just lead to new work you didn’t think of before!

2. Add a “blog” section to your site if it doesn’t already have one. This means you need to update more often, but use it to your advantage, update after you have a paid project. If it’s a wedding, showcase samples of the event and write two paragraphs about the process. People hiring photographers love to see how you work. Allow your projects to dictate what you add to your site.

3. Reach out to other photography websites. Consider writing and submitting an article to a different website. Allowing a different site to share an article you wrote will give you more exposure and feedback. I for example encourage other photographers with websites to submit articles to outletphography.com. A simple 400-600 word original article about photography can be submitted using the About contact page.  I can’t guarantee the article will be published, but I would consider all submissions. Of course no compensation is given to the submitter except a link back to their own website.

4. Start a 360/day photo project. Open a free account on blogspot.com, flickr or other free blog site and upload a picture a day for an entire year. This puts the focus on consistency and forces you to do something that within a few months will become second nature. The habit easily transfers to your photography site and before you know it, you’ll be updating your main site on a regular basis as well!

5. Use Google’s Wonder Wheel to spark new ideas for your site. This is a little known tool that many website owners use to get ideas for articles within their niche. Sometimes looking at what others do can help spark new ideas and interest for a dwindling website.

So if you’re stuck in the rut and need something to get you through that rocky point, use these tips and take action now. Sharing your photos skills online should be more than just work, it can be rewarding too!