My Newest Role: Exclusive Content Creation Photography For Bloggers
Have you missed me? I've been a busy little bee!
Want to hear all about my newest role as a content creator for bloggers? If you've been following my Facebook posts, then you have seen some samples of this work. I've been getting a lot of questions about what I'm doing and how it works. So I thought I might give you a little rundown about this new direction I've taken.
I'm not even sure how I ended up here, LOL, but I can tell you one thing - I am LOVING it! This is such a creative outlet for me that combines crafting and food photography. I've even been dabbling in craft creations a bit, but so far my strength is in food photography. I started by learning how to shoot in manual mode on my DSLR camera, upgraded some equipment (camera, lenses, accessories) and started my own business of family photography. It's been slow going and I love it, but in my research of learning family photography I stumbled upon food photography shortly after. Food photography is something you can do at home with a DIY studio setup. This allows for more flexibility in my time management and family life. I built up an online portfolio, joined some Facebook groups for food photography, and was led to the idea of recipe development photography for bloggers. Not all bloggers know how to (nor have the time to) photograph their recipes or creations, and not all food photographers want to run a website or blog. Both types of jobs are actually very time consuming and that's why we need each other : )
What exactly does it mean to be a recipe or content creator for bloggers, you ask? Well in general, it means that I supply recipes, instructions, and images to people who run blogs and websites. These people are constantly searching for (and buying) new content. Sometimes they create and photograph it themselves, but sometimes they buy it to save time and fill in their gaps for content needs for their particular niche. That's where people like me come in. They need original, exclusive, unique ideas and when you throw in a bunch of content creators into a closed Facebook group to buy and sell this, you get such a wonderful melting pot of creativity and content available.
The main question I'm getting from people is, "well that's great that you're able to make $ supplying this - but how are the bloggers making $ after they buy it from you?". Well it's all about traffic for them. They need the clicks! All the websites and social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) make $ through advertising. They get $ per (x) amount of clicks that go through their website and are able to get sponsored by bigger brands and use product placement or advertisements, but only if they have enough traffic. So the more clicks, the more $! Plus they need beautiful images to make their website or blog page look professional and worth visiting again for the audience.
The best way to get those clicks is through the use of visual imagery. Photography plays such an important role in recipes now that the only way to get a click is with an amazingly appetizing looking photo. It's actually harder work than you would think to make food look so delicious that someone feels they MUST click because they just HAVE to see more or get that recipe.
So far, I have two main ways that I am asked to supply my content. The first is through Facebook groups for buying and selling content. I will come up with a creative recipe or idea, physically create it at home and take photographs every step of the way. Then I edit them and present them to the group for sale with instructions, some 'in-process' photos of me making it, and some final images that will be the images that makes the audience click on the post to click through to their website or blog post. Usually these are "semi-exclusive", meaning that it is sold to several bloggers and they all share some images but have unique final images so that not everyone has the exact same thing on their website. Then the bloggers snatch it up and usually their work is still not done just by purchasing it. They then have to create a post that plays to their niche and audience, choosing which photos to tell the story with, sometimes editing the photos, and sometimes writing long winded stories with the recipe that includes affiliate links to products that they get a kickback from for linking to.
The second avenue of sale is through private exclusive recipe shoots or re-creations. So usually the blogger contacts me, supplies me with a recipe of theirs and I then physically make it at home and supply all those same types of in-process and final images. Sometimes it's a recipe that hasn't been shot yet at all, and sometimes it's an old recipe that needs new, better photos to go with it so they can re-post it and get new clicks. This costs more for them since it is totally exclusive and no one else will ever have those same images. Both can net about the same amount of pay and the same amount of work for me, so I am enjoying both types of sales.
So now you have a little insight into the world of a content creator. I will wrap this post up with some examples of content that I have supplied. I cannot show you the recipes or use big beautiful images, as I have sold these and it is now their content. Also, most of the things I have sold have not yet been posted to a blog. But see if you feel like the images tell a story of the recipe and you can click through to the bloggers websites I did post below to see how they then turned them into an actual blog entry including a story with the images.
Here are some "semi-exclusive" recipes:
Here's two examples of what some bloggers did with the orange drink sets:
https://sheblogsit.com/orange-creamsicle-almond-milkshake-recipe/
Here's an example of an exclusive recipe that no one else has:
Here is the link to the blog post about this sorbet:
https://jennakateathome.com/raspberry-lemonade-sorbet/
Here are 2 more examples of exclusive recipes that have not been published yet:
I get such an amazing thrill seeing my ideas come to life in my images and I particularly love telling a story through my images. I hope you gained a better understanding of what I'm enjoying doing : )
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