Why Emerging Photographers Should Get Published in Online Magazines First (+ the launch of Whim Academy!)

When you’re just beginning to pursue your love of photography, it can be easy to make big plans for your first year, with one common aspiration being to have your photo shoot published in a widely-distributed print magazine.

While this is an admirable dream to have (you should always think big), I would like to let you in on a not-so-well-kept secret: aim to have your work published in online or digital publications at first in order to truly take your career to the next level.

There are a number of huge benefits to having your work featured in online magazines and I’m going to discuss all of these with you below!

Online Publications are the Future of the Media Industry:

Have you noticed some of your favorite (or even big-name) print publications shutting down or moving to online issues only? I certainly have over the last few years and it’s easy to see why. Printing costs are extremely expensive and as a result, it’s sending these print-only publications out of business. Running an online-based publication can cost next to nothing to start-up and manage, so this has naturally become the direction of the media industry.

With the rise of social media in our daily lives, along with our strong reliance on digital technologies, these factors have also contributed to our preference of consuming online media, such as magazines. After all, could you seriously go a day without your phone, computer, or iPad? Because of this, people are flocking to digital publications now more than ever, and you definitely want to get your photography in front of their eyes!

Many online magazines now surpass print magazines’ circulation and readership numbers too, so having your photography featured online is helping you to gain a larger amount of exposure.

More Online Publications = More Chances at Getting Published:

Because of the little to no start-up costs involved in publishing an online magazine, you’ll find that there’s plenty of new publications popping up each day. This is great news for photographers, because it means that you have more potential magazines to submit your work to, along with a way higher chance of having them feature your photography – it’s a win-win!

Along with the exposure that comes with having your work featured in a digital publication, you can also enjoy a boost in social media following, the potential to attract more clients, and even some fantastic networking opportunities that might come your way. Plus, you get to include your pretty impressive accomplishment on your resume or portfolio and being able to say that your photography has been featured in a publication does give you more credibility.

If your heart is still set on having your photography published in your favorite print magazine, then fear not! Having your work featured in multiple online magazines could serve as the perfect stepping stones toward achieving this. For example, your first small online feature might lead to being published in a slightly larger digital magazine, and so on.

Some Online Magazines are Specifically Aimed at Emerging Photographers:

If you’ve never had your photography published or featured before, then you’ll be pleased to hear that some online magazines are actually aimed towards new and emerging photographers to help give them more exposure. Some of these include Burn Magazine and Photo Technique’s ‘Underexposed’ section. I also regularly feature emerging photographers here on Whim Magazine.

Approaching these publications and having your work featured by them is also a great confidence-boosting exercise for photographers who might be lacking in confidence.

There’s Usually a ‘Lower Barrier of Entry’:

This might sounds like a bad thing, but I can assure you it isn’t! A lower barrier of entry simply means that the publication has less-strict rules in place when it comes to submissions. While some publications might insist that a photo shoot contains a set number of outfits and only a model who is represented by an agency (for example), many online publications won’t really give these things a second thought (I know I don’t!).

This is great for emerging or beginner photographers because fewer rules gives them a higher chance of having their submission accepted and published. It also means that you won’t have to feel as though you only have a shot at getting featured if you have 100,000 social media followers (or something crazy like that!).

Where to Next?

If you’re an emerging photographer and you’re completely sold on the idea of approaching online magazines to feature your work, then you’re probably wondering where to go from here. While there’s some vague articles online regarding tips to help you get published, I would suggest that you need a more in-depth and supportive approach.

What if I told you that you can become an internationally published photographer in as little as a few weeks just by following my set of fail-proof ‘get published’ strategies?

I’ve been in the online media industry for over 5 years now and have been running Whim Magazine as its Founder and Editor since 2013. During this time, I have worked with over 1,000 creative professionals (mostly photographers) and now I’m ready to share everything I know with YOU.

Whim Magazine’s first-ever online school, Whim Academy, has just launched and you can now have access to not one but TWO online courses for photographers – one will walk you through the process of becoming an internationally published photographer within just weeks, while the other teaches you fun and easy-to-implement photography-related ‘side hustles’ to help you earn more money from doing what you love.

This is important though: For the first 24 hours of this launch only, you can access both of these courses for just $197 USD – that’s 43% off the original launch price of this bundle (which will be $347).

There’s also a heap of incredible bonuses thrown in, as well as access to a private Facebook community for support and feedback. You’re going to love it!

If you’re serious about photography, you’ll want to make this small but powerful investment in yourself. Your successful future starts now and 2017 is YOUR time to shine! Find out more (and view the course bundle’s fun video) here: http://whim-academy.teachable.com/p/photography-bundle

I hope to see you in the course!