If you’re a photographer, you know that your work is more than just a hobby – it’s your passion. And if you’re like most photographers, you also dream of making money from your photos.
Luckily, there are many ways to do just that!
In this article, we’ll share some tips on how to monetize your photography blog but in ways that have the quickest turn-around. So whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been blogging for years, read on for ideas to help you make money from your blog and photos as quickly as possible.
1. Transactional Content
Transactional content is content that helps to facilitate a transaction between you and the viewer, usually via an affiliate offer, which generally gives the best return. Transactional content can be done on any medium, from written blog content to a YouTube video.
Transactional posts usually have a clear call to action, and they often include some kind of incentive for the reader to take action.
E.G. “Click here and try our product or service”
(with an affiliate link to a course)
While transactional posts are effective in driving sales or leads, it’s important not to go overboard with them, as they can quickly become annoying or spammy.
When used sparingly and with tact, however, transactional posts can be an effective way to boost your blog’s bottom line.
Successful Transactional content needs 3 elements:
- An affiliate link that can earn you a commission from
- A low competition / high volume keyword
- Optimized content using a free tool like RankMath inside of WordPress
Review Content
Review content is probably the most popular type of transactional post. In the photography niche, review content could be giving your opinion on cameras, equipment, info products, or anything else you can think of. For example, “Cannon EOS 9D Review.”
While popular cameras may be difficult to rank for, using a tool like Ahrefs can help you check your competition and search volume before you commit to content.
Once you find something with low competition, you can better ascertain how much traffic your own content will get.
“Best of” Content
Best of content is another popular type of transactional content. With this type of content, you generally create a list, such as: “The Best 5 Budget Cameras For Travelers,” or similar.
The beauty of these posts is that you can include multiple affiliate links in a single article, so no matter which one a viewer clicks, you stand to make commissions.
2. Launch Jacking
Launch jacking is a term used in the affiliate marketing world. It refers to the process of capitalizing on the launch of a new product, service, or trend. This can be done by creating content that promotes the product and then publishing it at the time of the launch.
Launch jacking can be an effective way to generate sales and commissions, but it requires careful planning and timing. If done correctly, launch jacking can be a great way to quickly boost your affiliate earnings.
Launch jacking is an advanced form of transactional content due to the timing required.
For example, If you can be the first person to review a new Nikon camera, you are able to “jack” or jump on the launch traffic that the company is paying for and have a review video ready for the surge in buyer traffic.
3. Create an MVP Information Product
A minimum viable product (MVP) is a version of a product with just the essential features needed to satisfy early customers and provide feedback for further development. The key here is “minimum,” as in, the barest amount of work that can be done to create something functional.
The goal is not to develop a fully realized product, but rather to get feedback as quickly as possible so that future development can be informed by real user data. There are plenty of successful minimum viable product examples available for inspiration.
This approach can be especially useful when developing info products or training, as it allows for rapid iteration based on user feedback.
On your photography blog, you could build an online course on a site like Udemy, Skillshare, LearnWorlds, Gumroad, or other learning platforms. Create a few overall lessons, then update them as you garner more students and feedback.
Integrate the program with a free telegram group, so you can quickly and frequently get feedback for fleshing out your program.
A Sneaky Way To Get Traffic
A sneaky way to send traffic to your info product/course is to do something similar to launch jacking. However, instead of reviewing your own product, you review a competing product and redirect viewers to your own.
This is best done ethically to avoid making enemies, so be honest with your reviews, give the product a score, and then give a better recommendation (your product).
Example:
Your product is called “Photography For Beginners”
There is a competing product on the market called “Ultimate Photography”
You create an “Ultimate Photography Review,” give it a 7 out of 10 score, but also add a recommendation at the end of the review directing traffic to your product, which is a 9.5 out of 10.
4. Influencer Marketing
As a photographer wanting to make money, you not only need to have knowledge of photography but also of running a business.
One of the number one rules of business is, “Always lead with value.”
A lot of people who get into business/selling are often looking for how quickly they can make money and build up the mentality of taking when they should focus on giving.
Effective influencer marketing is based on this very concept, and while you can lead with monetary value and make a deal that way, you can often get free exposure without even paying.
One way is by simply sending something of value to influencers in your niche so they drop a thank you or share what you sent.
The most crucial part of this is researching the influencer and figuring out exactly what they’d actually like and feel they want to share, whether that be free prints, equipment, or consultation.
Be creative!
5. TikTok, YouTube Shorts, And IG Reels
There’s no doubt that social media has changed the way we consume content. These days, people are far more likely to watch a short video on their phone than sit down and watch a traditional TV show. And there’s a good reason for this: our attention spans are shorter than ever before.
With so much information available at our fingertips, it can be difficult to focus on any one thing for very long. That’s where TikTok videos, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels come in.
These short-form videos are designed to be quick and engaging, making them perfect for today’s busy lifestyles. In addition, they often feature creative editing and catchy music, which makes them highly shareable.
As a result, these types of videos have become extremely popular with social media users. And there’s no sign of this trend slowing down anytime soon.
Why ‘Shorts’ platforms are so powerful
Currently, these platforms are the easiest to build up traffic on, and being seen is easier than it’s ever going to get. It was like Instagram in the early 2010’s when hashtags actually got you tones of views.
As a photographer, it’s easy to put together a slide show of images, put some music over it, add effects, and quickly upload it to all 3 platforms straight from your phone.
If you’re looking for quick exposure on social media, you should be focused on TikTok videos, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels as they are currently getting much more views than their traditional counterparts.
Remember to put relevant links in your bio to where you want to funnel the traffic to.
BONUS: Long-Term Monetization Methods
As a bonus, you can start getting into some more advanced ways of monetizing your photography blog after you start getting more views.
Advertising
When it comes to advertising, most people think about Google Adsense, but there are actually Networks that pay you a lot more and will accept you as an advertiser once you start getting more views to your blog.
A few of these are:
- Ezoic (Needs 10k/views a month)
- MediaVine (Needs 50k/ sessions a month)
- AdThrive (Needs 100k/ views a month)
A good way to get more views is to continue to produce transactional content, but also value content.
Value content could be instructional on how to use camera equipment. These posts don’t attract buyer traffic as a review would, but they still get your overall traffic numbers up as people are still looking for this information.
It’s recommended that you run ads on your value content, but keep your transactional content free of ads since you want people clicking on your affiliate links, which generally give you higher returns.
Selling Space
Understand that while you’re entire blog/website should be treated like a business, each individual blog post should be treated like a business, too. It’s not unheard of for singular blog posts to generate 6-figures from a combination of affiliate sales or advertising.
You can also sell space on certain posts, such as “best of” posts. For example, if you have a “best of” post generating 100,000 views a month, this is worth something.
You can often monetize this traffic by contacting companies that would love that kind of viewership on their product and adding their product to your “best of” of list for a monthly fee. All you need to do is offer better CPC (cost per click) than Google ads, and you could be in business with multiple nice retainers.
Wrap Up
So there you have it – a few tips to help you start monetizing your photography blog. It’s not an easy task, but with a little effort and some creativity, you can definitely find ways to bring in some extra income.
Author
Chris Hardy is a full-time content marketer running several niche blogs and a growing YouTube channel. A teacher at heart, Chris spent 10+ years as a professional dance and English teacher before diving into the world of online business where he made a name for himself on YouTube exposing “make money” scams. To learn more, visit: Self Made Newbie
