The nice thing about WordPress and so many other blogging platforms is you can use the technology to do so many things. Yes, you can use it as a way to publish simple content to the web … that’s what it was created for. But you don’t need to stop there. You can use it to a wide range of creative things. Here are some ideas for creative professionals that range from the mundane to the exotic.

Visual Art Portfolio

When I designed my mother’s website, we had in mind that it would a showcase of her art. So, I used blog categories to create a selection of types of art she produced, such as Plein Air, landscapes, pastels, etc. Then each post becomes one item in her portfolio. This simple design created an easy to use and update gallery of her art.

This was ideal because she had no interest in blogging as a way to distribute text information. She simply wanted a good way to distribute images of her art work.

If you are a photographer, painter, sculptor or other visual artist and are looking for a simple way to display images of your work, this is a very good option. It also gives you a way to make your work more easily findable using search engine optimization. Having a gallery that doesn’t use flash makes it more search engine friendly and gives you more options for making your images and work easier to find in a search. It also will help your website load more quickly and be more user friendly.

And images of your work don’t have to be all photos … you can do the same thing with videos, as well.

Podcasting and Audio Distribution

For one of my blogs, I produce a weekly audio podcast. For this part of the website, I use individual blog post to disseminate my audio files. In conjunction with a podcasting platform, I increase the search engine findablity of my episodes, provide listeners with additional information not available in the audio and give people multiple options to experience the content.

If you are a singer, musician or other audio-producing creative professional, the blog platform provides you will multiple ways to distribute your audio content … for free or a fee.

E-Commerce

I’ve alluded to this above, but while you’re sharing images, videos and audio files of your work, you can also offer them for sale. Here’s an idea … in fact, I’m working on implementing this myself on CarmaSpenceWriter.com … if you are a writer, you can post the beginning of pieces of your work and then ask for the sale if they want to read the rest. You can do this with short stories, novels, essays, reports … any piece of content.

If you’re an artist, post an image of a particular piece of work, then offer it for sale. And, because there are so many ways to print and distribute that art, you can offer it in a variety of media, such as post cards, fine prints, greeting cards, mugs, t-shirts, posters … anything you can think up!

If your content is text, you can offer it in PDF, Kindle, Nook and other digitally delivered formats … including downloadable mp3! Imagine if you offered audios (which you can easily create using a free conference call system) of you, or a voice actor, reading your work. This could bring your writing to more people than if you just delivered it via text.

I hope this post has gotten your creative juices flowing. Remember, part of what makes you remember-able is the experience … the feeling … your visitors have when they visit your website. Do something more than just an ordinary blog and you’ll develop a following of avid fans.
 

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