This post is part of a series of interviews highlighting Fuelmyblog bloggers and their blogs..

a great way to find out who are the bloggers part of the Fuelmyblog community. If you would like to feature in this series add your name in the comment box or email sylvie(at)fuelmyblog.com
Thank you Damien for your insight on blogging.

What’s your name?

Damien Franco

What’s the name of your blog?

Your Photo Tips

What’s the URL of your blog?

http://yourphototips.com

How old is your blog?

9 months old. Started it at the beginning of the year as my New Year’s Resolution to “get back into photography”. I had hit a creative and professional slump and needed some sort of outside communication with my peers as well as accountability in staying creative as an artist.

If you’re willing to share, how many visitors per day do you have to your blog?

It can vary from about 125 – 250 a day.

How much time do you spend blogging every week?

Lot’s. I run a couple of other blogs http://damienfranco.com and http://starsjunkies.com but most of my time is spent on Your Photo Tips. I’d say about 25 hours total with 17 hours spent on Your Photo Tips. This includes, of course, blogging, microblogging, answering emails, and building social networks.

Is it the creative process or the editing process which take you longest when writing a post?

The creative process can take a while for me to start a post. Once the idea is there, the writing comes pretty easy. Then the editing part kicks in. Because the blog isn’t “personal” or an “opinion blog” I have to research stats or equipment and then find images from my readers to use as examples. Editing takes the longest.

What inspired you to first start writing a blog?

I had moved back to my hometown due to personal reasons. I had/have no intention of staying here permanently so starting a new photography studio wasn’t in the books, but I needed a way to stay active in the community. I participated in forums but that wasn’t enough. I started reading photography blogs and thought “why not?”. I had a lot of information on photography through school and from working and running a photography studio for about 7 years. People in my everyday life always asked me about photography stuff anyway. What kind of camera should I get? or How do you take a picture of…? It just seemed natural to write about it.

What do you do to get inspired to write?

I love helping people with their problems or questions. So when I’m stumped for a topic I just go to Flickr and hang out in the new or beginner groups. They always have lot’s of questions and that always gives me great ideas about what newer photographers are needing help in. Plus, it allows me to grow that network and keep my finger on the pulse.

Is there anything that you simply refuse to blog about?

My old business partner.

If you went for a job interview and were told that you’d have to close your blog in order to get the job, how would you react/feel about it?

Your Photo Tips isn’t my day job, but it’s my baby. It has really helped me stay creative, and focused on photography when I had to get out of the field professionally. I would never give that up.

Do you talk about your blog with your relatives and friends or do you avoid mentioning it?

Because I blog about photography and I’ve been a photographer for so long it isn’t weird to them. We talk about it but they don’t quite get exactly what’s going on. I subscribed them to the email feed and I don’t think any of them actually click any of the links so they don’t understand what’s really going on with a blog. They think it’s a “newsletter” type of thing. My wife wants to co-author another blog with me so that’s kinda cool.

What is the biggest mistake you made when starting your blog?

I did a guest post for the Digital Photography School blog, you know Darren Rowse’s huge photography blog, and I didn’t do enough research. I left out a free, open source alternative in the post and got slaughtered in the comments section. In my defense, I had tried GIMP when it first came out but it wasn’t good at the time. Not at all. I should have looked into it again. Lost opportunity for future guest posts and for incoming traffic from that article. That was about 7 months ago, so I had only been doing this for a couple of months. Now, I research everything.

Any tips for aspiring bloggers? -

There will be a few months, in the beginning, when you feel like no one is listening. Keep on writing. Write for the few who are listening. Serve their needs and your blog will grow naturally and organically. Be honest with yourself and to your readers. Oh yeah, and research, research, research.

Who are the bloggers that you look up to the most?

Seth Godin, Lorelle VanFossen, Chris Garrett, Thomas Hawk, Robert Scoble, Leo Laporte, just to name a few. You’ll notice that all of these bloggers offer something to their readers whether it’s a service, advice, industry news, or help. Their focus is their readers and they all have unique ways of engaging them. I don’t think I’ve found my “voice” just yet, but when I do… I think I’ll see dramatic changes in how my readers engage in the conversation with me.

Do you still see yourself blogging in 5 years time?

I do think that I will be blogging still. Whether it’s on photography, business, or anything else… who knows.

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