A review of the 30 day blog challenge

As many of you know, my 30 day blog challenge came to an end last Monday.  For those who don’t: I decided to update my blog once a day for 30 days to challenge myself to create new and interesting content that would help potential clients get to know who I am and what Kate Crabtree Photography stands for.  Although I have my master’s degree in English and can write essays in my sleep (well, at least the 3-4 page essays I had my College Composition students write for me– the longer ones require a little more dedication), blog posts are a whole new ballpark for me.  So many people believe that if you have an English degree that you must be able to write well in every genre, but that’s not true.  I may be able to easily structure and write an essay, but I struggle a little with blog posts; I’m never sure quite what to say or how to say it.  And I knew this challenge would force me to work on this weakness, so I decided that it was a worthwhile use of my spare time.

I faced a few challenges during the 30 days.  What made it difficult was that I didn’t have a ton of portrait or wedding work during that month, so I couldn’t do a lot of easy blog posts about sessions.  I had to get creative, so I thought about what I’d like to share about me and about my business.  At times, I wondered if anyone would care about what I had to say, but I kept on going, because when I set a challenge for myself, I always finish it out.  I’m rather determined like that.

So here’s the big question– was the challenge worth it?

YES!  It was hard, and took an hour or two a day (which was a pain during weekends), but it brought new traffic to my site, and, even better– people cared about what I had to say.  Several of my clients and other photographers contacted me to tell me they were following my challenge, or to comment on something I said on one of my posts.  And, best of all, I felt like I was finally representing myself on my website in a way that I felt was right for me and my business.

I’m not going to continue posting every single day.  I like my weekends.  My goal is to try and post 3 or so times a week from here on out to share current work, the latest great book I’ve read, and some little insights into my personal life and my business.

Interested in knowing which posts were the most popular?  If you haven’t checked them out already, you should look at Grace’s Brewer High School senior portrait session and my post on why wedding photography is so expensive.

So, here’s to more blogging!  Thank you to everyone who kept up with the challenge and supported me along the way.  Your comments helped me out during the evenings where I had absolutely no interest in posting, but I did because I didn’t want to fail.

Because I always believe in including a photo in my posts, here’s another preview of my shoot with Lauren, a John Bapst senior who will be graduating in less than a month!  Check out my Facebook fan page to see a few more previews from the portrait session in the UMaine ornamental garden!