5 WAYS TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS
“Are you new in the Photography world? Trying to find a way in a saturated market? Read on for 5 Quick Tips to Break out and Get Clients TODAY
In a rush? - Check out the summary below”
Fast Track Your Business
Finding a different way to get in front of your target audience, will mean the world of a difference and take your slow crawl and long journey, and transform it into an overnight race to keep up instead.
Some of the most talented Photographers are the least booked in the industry, can you believe that? Without knowing how to market yourself, and brand your business, its almost like yelling into a forest, sure your voice is loud as hell, but if your not in the right spot, nobody will find you.
How competitive is your market? Of course your thinking the market in my area is saturated in Photographers, anyone with a camera is taking photos now. Although that may be true, their is always a reason clients book with one person over another. Think about it the next time you head out for dinner, sure their are a million restaurants to choose from, and most serve similar if not the same menu options. But what is it that makes you choose one over the other? Is it the way things taste, is it the fountain pop fizz that wins you over, or the extra crispy bacon from another place? Think about it for a second, everyone has an angle, in a market full of picture takers, what is it that will set you apart from others?
Find that angle- and run with it all the way to the bank!
If your still struggling to find your thing, check out this article on “How to Stand Out In the Photography Business”
HOST A GIVEAWAY ON SOCIAL MEDIA - This is a great one! Not only does it cost you nothing, but when you have something to offer someone free, people eat it up like candy. How to format something like this? - Decide on something simple and valuable to your potential audience, if it isn’t exciting enough or does not contain enough value, most people will keep scrolling. Try one Free Family Session! If you set it up similar to this: You will see your reach and Social Media Accounts grow in no time : Post the Free Session, use a catchy thumbnail as your image, that way even if the description gets lost online in sharing, your image says it all. Ask your audience to do a few things to enter. Something like this - Win a FREE SESSION - To enter :
1 : Like or Follow Page and Post 2: Comment on this post as Entered 3: Share this PostJust like that your page will grow, and before you know it half the city will know who you are now.
PLAN A COLLABORATION SESSION - Think about a local business in your area that may be of benefit to you both if you worked together. Whether it be a Realtor in the area, or a local clothing shop, and brainstorm a project together to grow you both. Here is a quick idea : When I was starting out I made friends with a Local Successful Real Estate Agent. We teamed up and continued our plan together annually for many years. What it looked like : I offered a one day event at a reduced price to realtors clients. The realtor actually paid for the clients sessions, offering this as a gift and thank you to her clients. In return we both ask clients for referral business. With about 25 families attending throughout the day, to follow, I received payment for each session ( as well as clients placed print orders as well afterwards ). For the realtor, her clients were so grateful at the service and opportunity, that she too gained many new referrals from those families in the following months. It was a GROW, GROW Partnership that lasted until neither one of us could handle any more clients.
Wouldn’t that be nice? - Can’t handle any more clients? To busy? - YEP!HOST A SESSION EVENT FOR CHARITY - This is a good one for the heart and soul, and still helps your grow. When I first began I did a couple things like this. I offered free pet portraits for a day at the local SPCA, with the request of a donation to the Organization. You might be thinking, okay but then what? Well, every person that booked, did so through my CSM System ( I used Acuity Scheduling ), and from there they became regular clients I could email blast, offer future sessions to, and market my little heart out. But wait, I actually made nearly $1100 for each FREE DAY OF SESSIONS I hosted. HOW? I also offered the option of Prints, Enlargements, Canvases etc. through my Gallery and Commerce system ( Shootproof ). Approximately 84% of pet portrait clients that came for free photos, made a purchase after accessing their free digital items on my site. When you make things easy for people, they act : Simple - I said hey, here are your 5 Images, choose your 1 Free Digital Image, or purchase additional images at ex. $25/image, or order your enlargement and have your favorite print shipped to your home. I would close off with no pressure and leave the scenario with a new happy client and a wonderful deed performed for an organization in need, as well as a PILE OF NEW LEADS for the future of my business.
SEND OUT A PRESS RELEASE - This idea circles back to the one above. You can either navigate this before the Charity event, or afterwards. Local New, Online Community Groups etc, are always looking for feel good local stories and of course, offering something to do in the community. An awesome thing to do is to reach out before or after ( before is even better as it will bring more interest and business ) and advise them of your Charity event with the organization. By providing them your details, the event and location, your name and business as well ( most times ) a link to your website, will be published across all major local media outlets.
SWAG BAG - Here is the last play off the above : Be Prepared! If you prep yourself ahead of time, a wonderful thing you could do is think up something specific you can offer those that attend your event. How about a little grab bag, inside you can include not just your business cards, but a little flyer with something enticing like 50% OFF a session when you book with me for the first time! Anything like this will really drive the incentive to new potential clients. Especially after they get to meet and work with you briefly at the event. Because now you become someone they kind of know. They are going to be far more likely to book with someone they’ve met, feel comfortable with and made some kind of connection, rather than a total stranger in your market with whom they’ve never made any contact. BONUS is they just got a coupon or a special offer from you as well. Who do you think they are going to call after when their ready for a private session? Yes- YOU OF COURSE!
