The Power of the Blog

A couple of weeks ago I heard the email notification tone go off on my phone.  I knew it was a Gmail account because it wasn’t time for my other two accounts to be checked.  I have two Gmail accounts.  I set up the first one when I thought my internet provider account was going to be deactivated during a move.  I set it up just as a safety precaution and haven’t shared it with anyone, other than Crate & Barrel, somehow.  I literally only get emails from Crate & Barrel on that account.

I also have a Gmail account that I set up for potential photography business, and placed it on my photo blog.  Prior to this particular day, I had never received ANY emails on that account (on?  in?  Who knows.)  I picked the phone up fully expecting to be wowed by another C&B sale offer.  Imagine my shock when it was the other account and the subject line was “Photo”.  My heart started to race.  What could this be about?

I fumbled around, excited, anxious, and finally got the message open.  I quickly scanned the message.  My face became flushed.  Someone wanted to use one of my pictures in a magazine!  A real magazine!  Then I immediately thought, “Is this a joke?  This must be a joke.  I’m being Punk’d.”  The magazine contact was looking for a photo of a border collie-beagle mix.  I must admit – I was surprised.  I figured I was the only one who actually thought my dog was the most beautiful and photogenic dog in the world (not that this person thinks that about her, but you see what I’m getting at).  But why this particular picture?  I have other, better pictures.  It must be a joke.

But what if it wasn’t a joke?  There was a professional signature block at the bottom of the email.  The email address was a business server.  So, I looked up the website, Googled the person who emailed me, and it hit me.  This was for real!!  Then I panicked.  This was the first time I had ever had this happened.  I take pictures and post them on a blog that is mainly viewed by my friends and family.  I’m not a professional photographer.  Do I even know how to respond to him in an appropriate and professional-sounding manner?!  I want him to think I know what I’m talking about.  So, I Googled that too.  Within a few minutes I had found the language I needed to at least provide a brief response.  “I will be happy to provide you with a non-exclusive license.”  How professional do I sound?!

It must have worked because he wanted to know when he could call that following Monday.  9:00 am, I say.  For once, I can’t wait until Monday morning!  At 8:45, I’m ready to go.  I’ve decided on an appropriate amount to ask for, and reasonable terms for usage.  It gets closer to 9:00.  I get more anxious.  It’s 9:05.  Oh, no!  Did I type in the wrong phone number?  At 9:20, my husband comes downstairs.  What time zone is the magazine guy in, I ask?  Central time, he says.  A wave of relief comes over me.  We are in Eastern time.  I did not specify a time zone.  It’s OK.  He’s going to call.  Yes, I felt just like that sounds – as if I were waiting for the phone call after the first date.  He said he’d call.  Why hasn’t he called?

I went to my office and settled in at my desk.  I got up close to 10:00 to shut the door for some privacy.  It got to be 10:05.  Disappointment, again.  Maybe he’s just busy.  Maybe something came up.  Surely he’ll call or email.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  Crushed, I moped home at the end of the day.  Did I bother to email or call him?  Of course not.  He didn’t call so he must not be interested, right?  I really need to work on being more proactive and assertive.  This has always been an issue (see yesterday’s post).

By this point you must be thinking, what a terrible story and what does it have to do with the post title?  Well, today I got another Gmail notification.  Oh, Crate & Barrel, do you have my produce bags back in stock yet?  I open the mail icon, and it’s a message from the magazine guy!  He’s still interested!  He’s attached a contract!  I’m ecstatic!  I think this is actually going to happen!  I completed the contract, sent it back, and resized the photo as soon as I got home this evening.  I sent it off thinking about how I will be able to say I am a published photographer! 

None of this would have happened without my blog.  The guy found one of my images through Google images, which pulled photos from my blog.  I put the right tags on the post to get into the right Google images category.  I never in my wildest dreams expected something like this would ever actually happen.  Thanks to WordPress for providing me with a free platform for my blog.  Thanks to the Postaday project for encouraging me to post every day.  He found me after I was posting on a daily basis, and who knows whether I even would have taken that picture in the first place if I wasn’t challenging myself to post every day.  Blogging works!  It might not happen today, and it might not happen tomorrow, but at some point, someone who loves your stuff will find you!  The power of the blog is amazing.  Keep at it!