Phaeton 2 Will Be Smaller, Cheaper
The next Phaeton is already in the works. Volkswagen AG head Martin Winterkorn has already announced that we can expect the second iteration in four years. Other than that, however, he was short on details. And for a project fragile as the Phaeton, details are important. Now, Winterkorn is revealing that the next Phaeton will be based off of the next gen Audi A6. This fact alone reveals exactly where they have kept costs down. Unlike the last Phaeton, the 2nd generation will use an existing platform and will be built in an existing plant mass produced (presumably). So this means a smaller Phaeton (small is relative because the A6 is actually a big car, just not A8, S-Class, 7-series big). And though the Phaeton will still remain as Volkswagen's flagship car, it will be positioned only slightly above a top end Passat, which indicates that it will be cheaper than the current Phaeton. That remains to be seen.
If you don鈥檛 let your readers know what your blog is about, they will probably not stick around very long. Not every blog that is updated regularly is going to be a success, but every successful blog is updated regularly. I have seen too many photographers start blogs that are updated daily, then weekly, and before long, the rate at which new pictures are posted slows to a trickle. Soon it鈥檚 a photo every couple weeks, then one a month, and then a written apology by the blogger about how he or she has just been so busy lately, but they promise to start posting more photos soon. More often than not, soon becomes later, then later becomes never, and a once-promising photo blog becomes another statistic of failure rates. The best way to combat this problem, is to not post pictures whenever you feel like it, but instead post them on a regular and predictable basis. This gives your readers something to expect, and also imparts upon you, the blogger, a sense of accountability, which helps keep your camera in your hands and out of your closet.
My photo blog is titled 鈥淲eekly Fifty鈥? and because it requires me to post a picture every single week, I almost always carry my camera with me, and am constantly looking for photo opportunities. In almost three years I have never failed to post a photo each Wednesday morning, which has helped me build a nice following, with regular commenters as well. A few years ago I ran out of ideas for pictures to post, but I knew I had to stick with my weekly schedule. So, I made this image, that turned out to be one of my more popular photos. One trick I like to recommend for photo bloggers, is to schedule your posts in advance. This doesn鈥檛 work well for blogs about news or current events, but as a photo bloggers you do not have to be timely in the same manner. I currently have complete posts (each with a photo, written explanatory text, and an accompanying 4-minute audio commentary) scheduled for the next six weeks.
I use WordPress, which allows me to schedule posts in advance, so each of these six posts will be automatically published on subsequent Wednesdays at 1:00 a.m. This gives me a bit of padding, if I ever find myself in a position with lots of things going on in my life, and my readers know that they will get a new picture each week, no matter what. Of course the catch here, is that I can鈥檛 merely sit on my laurels in the meantime. I have to keep taking pictures, and producing new blog posts, so that six weeks from now I don鈥檛 run out of material. This type of accountability is enormously helpful for photo bloggers, and if you鈥檙e not sure where to start, I always recommend doing one picture each week. Building a loyal audience is the holy grail of almost every blogger, but it鈥檚 not easy to do.
When you do get commenters it鈥檚 essential that you interact with them, in order to build a sense of community, respect, and mutual sharing. If someone likes one of your pictures, say 鈥淭hank you鈥?and ask if you can see some of their photos too. If someone offers a bit of constructive criticism on a picture, try re-taking a similar photo using their suggestions. You can offer a Call to Action by posting a photo, and encouraging your readers to take, and share similar photos in the comments section. This chart shows my comment statistics for calendar year 2015. I ran my blog for almost a year and a half before getting any regular commenters, and now I get about 40 comments each month. It鈥檚 not huge, but it鈥檚 a number with which I am very happy. On my blog I have a few loyal readers who comment on every single picture, and it鈥檚 well worth a few minutes of my time each week to respond to the things they write. This helps make my commenters feel valued, and builds a sense of community that would not exist otherwise.
