A greater way of advertising?

[ZEPHYR]

I've done the Craigslist advertising thing and I took an add in the paper for my photography services and it's just not good enough exposre. So I am all ears for advice and suggestions in regards to where else I should advertise my services? I reside in Phoenix... maybe that's the problem?!

Thanx all!

[TPF Sponsor]

[SimpleFoto]

Word of mouth is the best - so you could do a few jobs for people for cheap or free. Free photography and they pay for the prints. If you are married - perhaps someone from your spouse's work are interested or someone else you know.

You can also try google adwords. Good in that you only pay per click and can specify where they people live.

Facebook is also a good place. When you take portraits you can offer to put them on facebook for the person (as long as they want this) - once the person is tagged everyone will see the pictures you have taken and that will be great advertising.

[Big Mike]

Do you have a web site? That is rather important way of advertising. But then, of course, you need to get people to visit your site. You may want to use your advertising to drive people to your website.

SEO (search engine optimization) is a big part of successful web site advertising. You want people to find you site when they type in 'Phoenix Photographer' and what ever other key words you think apply.
SEO is an ever changing science and pretty much a mystery to many (me included). So this is where a lot of research can really help, or just pay someone to do it for you. There is also direct advertising on sites like Google...but you may want to get listed on a bunch of hub sites....sites that have lists of wedding photographers & service providers.

Of course, 'real world' adverting might be a better approach for you. Consider your market and think about what type/location of advertising would reach that market best.

[c.cloudwalker]

It might help to know what kind of photography you do

[bennielou]

Tagging is your friend. If you want to go the free route, make sure you are signed up on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and whatever else free stuff is out there.
But don't just put your photos up....TAG THEM. What is a tag? (In case you don't already know), it's a description of the photo, where the photo was taken, who was in the photo, etc.
Lots and lots of free webmileage out there. Pimp the net for all it's worth. :-)
Hope that helps.

[KmH]

It might help to know what kind of photography you do

You beat me to it.

So ZEPHYR, how much business training/experience do you have?




There are 3 basic kinds of photography:

• Commercial
• Retail
• Editorial

It's likely you're doing retail photography if you're doing Craigslist and the newspaper.

For retail photography word-of mouth is what you need. That means satisfied clients that tell their family and friends that you did a really good job for them and stood behind your work.

There are ways to leverage the Internet to amplify the range that word-of-mouth (WOM) advertising can reach, so what bennielou said will apply with that.


Within retail photography there are several sub-specialties like:

• Weddings
• Portraiture
• High School Seniors
• Sports
• Events
• etc.

Without more information, no one can help beyond generalities.

[c.cloudwalker]

It might help to know what kind of photography you do

You beat me to it.

Thank you.

I sometimes feel like a total idiot here. Tagging may be be great for retail photography (based on what I have just seen of bennielou's work because I actually have no idea what it means) but how does anyone offer advice with no idea whatsoever what this person is shooting?

I do not advertise the same for wedding photo as I do for commercial. Do you?

[bennielou]

It might help to know what kind of photography you do

You beat me to it.

Thank you.

I sometimes feel like a total idiot here. Tagging may be be great for retail photography (based on what I have just seen of bennielou's work because I actually have no idea what it means) but how does anyone offer advice with no idea whatsoever what this person is shooting?

I do not advertise the same for wedding photo as I do for commercial. Do you?

Don't be silly. A tag is a tag. I could be commercial, "Shoot for xyz hardware" or it could be "Billy and Jane's wedding at the Little Wedding Shop". It doesn't matter. Just add all the tags you can.

Say for instance you shoot something.

Tag Who
Tag the city
Tag the exact location
If a product, tag that
If a set, tag everyone who helped.

It doesn't matter if it's commercial, babies, weddings, portraits, whatever. I do it ALL the time.

But it's just a helpful hint from someone with a lot of business in all the above mentioned areas.

[ZEPHYR]

Thanx for all your feedback and advice, I really appreciate it all.
I will consider all replies. Again, thank you all for your time

[Sachphotography]

Craigslist has been good to me. Though I have had a couple odd jobs... Had a shoes shop hire me for their grand opening.....Way to many drunk woman and heels....Im not going there. But really I have found that you need at least 10 methods.
Here is an article I wrote for marketing and advertising
Marketing Strategies and Tips for Photographers.

Another Idea is the website I created Pazilla
It has not blown the world away but has created about 36 jobs/sales since its creation last year. Check it out. It is free.

Another things, something I am working on, is if you have a site, don;t show off all your fine art to wedding clients... and so on... I think it was mentioned but it has come up with clients of mine.. I am re working my site to fix this.

Hope this helps.

[C.Lloyd]

I've only done about a dozen weddings since 2004, but 5 of them were just last year. No web site (yet), just put some photos on my Facebook page last weekend (going to make a dedicated page for the business this weekend) and business cards with my name and phone number on them.

Word-of-mouth is definitely your friend. That's the only advertising I have. Five weddings in a year isn't the number I want to do, but the trend is going in the right direction. I don't think I'd want to do more than 10 though, unless I could quit my 60-hour-per-week day job. I figure it takes me about 40 hours (over the course of 3 weekends usually) to do the PP for each client, so it really cuts into my family time.

Lots of good suggestions above, too. Word-of-mouth probably isn't the most efficient type of advertising, but it's the kind that makes you feel the best, since it means that someone liked your work enough to tell someone else about it.

[ZEPHYR]

I shoot models, glam, fashion, and live acts. I also shoot for TMZ. I know what kind of photographer I am, I don't limit myself or my talents to one genre of photography.
I do not and would never shoot weddings... snooze........

[KmH]

I shoot models, glam, fashion, and live acts. I also shoot for TMZ. I know what kind of photographer I am, I don't limit myself or my talents to one genre of photography.
I do not and would never shoot weddings... snooze........

[c.cloudwalker]

Move to NYC. Even better, learn Italian and move to Milan.

[gnohz]

I would recommend facebook. It's the hottest trend currently so make the full use of it. Create a fan page or a group and add your friends