Hey friends! Are you comfy telling people you’re really good at something? I’m not. Mama raised me not to brag… much. But today, I’m gonna toot my own horn.

Did you know I’m an expert in photography? Had you asked me a couple weeks ago, I might not have said so. I’m just a gal who loves animals, using my camera as an excuse to hang out with them. Then somebody asked for my input about photography. And it hit me, maybe I am an expert.

So I crunched some numbers. The data never lies.

Bad reviews = 1

Magazine covers = 1

Times bitten = 3

Years in business = 6

Positive reviews = 24

Volunteer sessions = 53

Paid sessions = 65

Animals photographed = 124

Images taken = 23,990

With all that under my belt, maybe it’s true! If you believe that doing something ten thousand times, as Malcolm Gladwell wrote about in Outliers, makes one an expert–looks like I got that part covered.

But who asked for my input? Honestly, it came out of the blue. Redfin is an online real estate company.  They reached out and asked me to contribute to their blog. They wanted a 2-3 sentence tip that homeowners may want to try if they are wanting to create a photography studio in their home. I’ve created TWO in home studios, so perhaps I do know a little about this.

In exchange, they said they’d link to my website, and asked that I link to their blog post on MY blog. I know what this is. It’s reciprocal linking, also called ‘link backs’.  A website looks better SEO-wise (Search Engine Optimization) if external sites are linking to it. It’s a win for them. They get content, AND a link from my blog post. It’s a win for me. They refer to me as a photography ‘expert’ AND link to my webstie from their blog post. Everybody’s SEO improves and we all move up higher in the ranks of internet searches, and ideally, more people find us and use our services. Woohoo! Everybody winning is a pretty good thing. 

Here’s their post! If you’re interested in building out your own in-home photography studio, definitely read through all the tips they’ve collected, there are lots of good nuggets there. If you’re feeling really generous with your time, click on some of the other contributing photographers links (seriously, every click helps). Or if you just want to see what input I shared, scroll on down to tip #6.

While I’m not great at tooting my own horn, I’m getting more comfortable with the idea that I’m an expert in the pet photography field. There’s a lot left to learn, and there’s a lot of practicing still to do. I hope I’ll always be learning and practicing, because I really do love this job, and only want to get better.

What about YOU? What’s your area of expertise? How can I help others see your expertise?  Do you have a blog or website that needs an SEO boost and can we play the link-back game together?  Are you affiliated with a local business that wants to connect with a pet photographer? Reach out and let me know, I’d love to connect with you!