We’ve written several posts on the importance of putting good photos on your holiday let blog. We’ve also covered the need to focus on the words you write to achieve the best results.
But we’ve yet to talk about balancing the two – and how to give precedent to one over the other. Is there an ideal balance? Or is it a case of winging it and doing whatever feels right at the time?
Here’s the answer
Do whatever suits the post.
Sometimes, it’s best to let your photos do the talking. Let’s say you have a stunning image of a rainbow over the mountains, with your holiday let sitting nicely in the middle. Or perhaps even at the end of the rainbow. A photo like this would only require a caption to finish it, perhaps adding some details about the location or date, or simply providing a quirky comment on the picture.
At other times, you may need more words to explain what’s happening in a photo. But you should always focus on saying just what is needed, and no more. This means you won’t waffle, and you won’t take the attention away from a great photo.
How do you know if your photo only requires an extended caption?
Very often, your photo will tell you. If you take a photo that sticks in the mind, it will be because it shows something you were hoping to capture. Or something you hadn’t expected to capture. Or perhaps something you wanted to share with your audience.
It will often be a photo that you cannot wait to add to your holiday rental blog. At other times, you may have an idea for a post first, and you then think about how you could illustrate it. In the latter case, you would lead with the writing and the photos would support it. But if you begin with a solid photo – something really special – the photo leads and the writing supports that.
Which is best?
Neither. Both.
As we have already seen, a good balance of posts will make your holiday let blog more interesting to read. It also keeps readers on their toes and eager to come back for more, because they never know what they will get.
Promote those images on your social media pages, too
It’s often far easier to promote an image on social media than a blog post. That’s because you can just share the image, with a link back to your site where people can see and read more. If you link to a blog post, you’ll likely use the title, or something similar.
If you haven’t tried using short captions to complete a photo, see if you can look for photo opportunities that would allow you to do this. Once you start looking for them, you might be surprised how many will appear. You don’t need to wait for a rainbow to find the photo that will create real interest.
Leave a Reply