Marketing and Advertising

[LarissaPhotography]

Divide your time between shooting, learning, and networking with other vendors. The more you shoot (even if it's not for much), the more your name gets out there. I've got a blog for photographers that may help with some of the business side of photography. You've probably got local chambers of commerce, etc that would be good to visit.

 

[skieur]

lose the sarcasm

\

No sarcasm from me...what are you talking about?

skieur

 

[PhotoWrangler]

I just checked out your site, and was rather surprised. You work is really good and WAY better than I was expecting. Looks like you have a knack for babies. I would reel it in a bit and focus on that, and pull everything else off your site for now. Here are a few things that I would recommend:

- For starters, do yourself a favor and buy a real site. CMD Websites is a TPF sponsor, and I highly recommend them. I have THREE of their sites and they are worth every penny. If you don't want to do that, buy a domain, install WordPress, and buy the ProPhoto 3 template and make a blogsite. People will see the wix.com domain and think "she's too cheap to buy a site"
- Tone down the 'wordiness' of your site. From the minute that the splash page loads, your potential client is inundated with words. Too much to read equals a lost client. You have exactly 3 seconds to grab their attention and get them to proceed further into your site.
- Speaking of the splash page, it took nearly two minutes to load.
- Stick with a few main galleries and remove the rest. Babies seem to be your strong point, stick with those and gear your site towards that area of expertise. No one knows what kind of photographer you are because you have so many galleries, and compared to your baby stuff, the other stuff is lacking.
- Put all of your 'information' pages under one drop down menu. A clean home page with as little buttons as possible looks a lot more professional, than one with numerous buttons/menus. A cleaner site will also keep a client longer than a cluttered one will.
- Rethink having your pricing on your site. Most pros will tell you that they do not have ANY price numbers on their website, and if they do, its usually only a starting point. By having a client email or contact you for pricing, you are giving yourself more chances to market further. But if you insist on having prices on your site, see below.
- You need to review your pricing. $60 for a 16x20 print is ridiculously low. Your cost of sale should be between 20 and 30% for a retail studio location, keep it as low as possible. Assuming you are using a pro lab, at $60, your cost of sale is closer to 50%.
- You also need to make sure that your pricing makes sense. I found two different prices for 8x10's on your site. Which one is it, and how can you explain it enough in the 2 minutes that I am on your site. Right now a potential client will think you don't even know your pricing.

As for 'no budget' advertising, read any SEO articles you can. There is a good book called 'SEO In One Hour A Week' or something like that. Scott Bourne is also a good photographer to follow for SEO tips and tricks. He and Skip Cohen have started a blog called www.goingpro2010.com which had MANY MANY SEO articles.

As for other 'no budget' advertising:

- Leave a well designed, and not cheap looking business card anywhere you go. When you go to a restaurant, leave one on the table. Anywhere you are somewhere, or talk to someone leave a business card.
- Never leave a conversation without mentioning your photography at least once.
- Use your Facebook fan page
- Create a blog and post regularly with well written helpful information
- Pick about 25 of your best baby pictures and print them in spiral bound proofbooks. Total cost of each book should be around $10. Leave a book on the table at the local nail salon, hair salon, perhaps in the local OBGYN's office. Put a coupon in the back of the book and leave it on the magazine rack at all these places. If clients are going to look at magazines give them something with YOUR NAME on it to look at. Replace these books often and keep them in good order.
- Speaking of OBGYN's or other places that make appointments. Use one of your pictures and your logo and make up some 'appointment reminder' cards. Give them to local businesses. Everytime they make an appointment for their client, its free advertising for you.
- Get out and network. Find some of those mommy play date groups and offer to take some candids of their babies on the playgrounds.
- Visit local daycare centers and see if you can put up a display. Give them a $20 referral fee.
- Get to know some maternity ward nurses and offer them referral fees
- Hang out at a city park and introduce yourself to mom's with older kids. How many pregnant moms take their previous kids to parks? Dont be creepy.
- Join your local chamber of commerce, and network with local businesses in your town.

Marketing isn't for the faint of heart or lazy. Its a lot of work, and takes a lot of creativity when you're on a strict budget.

 

[SabrinaO]

The reason I asked about your website is that most photographers don't know how to optimize the website so people can find you via the search engines. It's free advertising. In your case it looks like your using a free Wix.com site? IMO, using one of those free (cheap) sites screams, "I'm not taking this business seriously." I would buy a domain, get it built and then read my SEO for the Photographer link in my sig. Of course, if you read it now, you can implement them on your site now.

FWIW, Your site loads way too slow. If I were a potential customer, I would have left. I did give up looking at your main site.

Hope this helps in some way.

I love you for this... thankyou soooo much. I took the music off the site. How does it load now?

 

[SabrinaO]

Why are you such an ass? Please... take the stick out. You'll feel a lot better.

 

[SabrinaO]

OMG. TONS of good info here. I cant thank you enough!! MY son goes to daycare and I never thought of doing that! I am a phlebotomist at a hospital and I wanted to contact someone to ask if i can put fliers up for newborn and baby shoots but i didn't follow through. Anyways... you really lit a fire under my butt and I thankyou so much for taking the time out to write this! I have a lot of reevaluating to do with my site and my approach to this business. Again... i can't thank you enough!

 

[bennielou]

Hi Sabrina,
Your splash page looks super cute, but no matter how many times I clicked around your splashpage I was unable to see your galleries. :-(
My advice would be to "pimp the net". I agree with Chrstopher and HikinMike.

Start a blog and update it about 4 times a week using tons of SEO keywords (X Area Photopher, Company Name, X type photography, City and Location of Photo, what the photo is, keywords in the blog, etc)

Tag every single photo and gallery (unless you are posting here or another forum and you don't want a client to see it). The more you post and the more you tag, the higher you will go in google rankings.

Blogs are also good because they show people you are keeping busy, and they can get to see a bit of your personality that way. Advertise your blog on Craigslist, forums, your main site, FB, anywhere you can let people know so you get a big drive to your site, and hopefully lots of faithful followers.

Since you do child and infant photography, ask local baby doctors if you could leave a few brochures with them. (You can order inexpensive and pretty brochures from lots of places.) Make a beautiful enlargement and take them too. You would be surprised how many places love to have big beautiful prints that have to do with their type of business. Some offices may want one, others may not, but it's worth a try to get your name out there.

Offer "rewards" to your past clients that refer people to you that end up booking. A 11x14 of their choice perhaps, or a print credit. Even just a sweet "thank you" card works well.

Offer "watch me grow" packages so that your clients keep coming back. Advertise it on your facebook and blog.

Blog cute baby products you've seen and be sure to keyword it.

Anywhoo, just a few quick ideas.

Hope that helps.

 

[gsgary]

I think you need to learn how to use studio flash before you advertise

 

[PhotoWrangler]

I think you need to learn how to use studio flash before you advertise

Studio lighting isn't the only kind of lighting there is. I know plenty of photographers who make quite a nice living using natural light and a single reflector.

 

[gsgary]

I think you need to learn how to use studio flash before you advertise

Studio lighting isn't the only kind of lighting there is. I know plenty of photographers who make quite a nice living using natural light and a single reflector.

Yes if they know what they are doing, i going on another thread where she does not have a clue about studio lighting you can't use paid shoots as practise

 

[KmH]

I think you need to learn how to use studio flash before you advertise

Studio lighting isn't the only kind of lighting there is. I know plenty of photographers who make quite a nice living using natural light and a single reflector.

Yep, that can be done well by someone that understands how to do lighting.

The trouble is, many others think they can use available light too, but without bothering to acquire the foundation of technical lighting knowledge.

Of course by using available light, only 1 exposure (the ambient light) can be controlled with each shutter release, not the 2 exposures (ambient and strobed (flash)) that can be controlled using strobed lighting, thus limiting the artistic possibilities for the available light photographer.

 

[James Taylor]

Congrats on working to get your name out there Sabrina! Keep pounding the forums for advice on bettering your art, business, and marketing - despite the wailing of grognards saying "you're not ready," you'll pick up some constructive advice within these digital walls.

A great base for marketing your photography business is a blog-driven web site, Facebook fan page, an e-mail newsletter, and good old business cards. Larissa's advice is sound - F8 and Be There, the more you get out and shoot, the more attention you'll get. Be where your target market is.

With your blog, you can show off your latest work and build your Search Engine Optimization with good keyphrases for your community and niche.

With your Facebook fan page, you can interact with current and potential clients, and more easily be a part of their online world.

An e-mail newsletter is where you start your 'permission marketing,' where you have permission from potential clients to market to them. Don't just shout at them, use your e-mail marketing to educate, entertain, and empower your market. Once a week or once a month e-mails keep your name and authority as The Photographer in your community top of mind. Even though John Doe may not need your services today, he probably knows someone who does, and you want your name on his lips.

And business cards, of course, let folks know you're ready to do business with them today.

There are so many great, inexpensive or free marketing opportunities out there. One of the best ways to break into the market as a new photographer on the scene is to partner with other local businesses that serve your target market (if you're a baby photographer, find ways to partner with your local pediatrician, children's resale shop, baby boutique, etc.). Run contests together, photograph their customers and hang big prints on their walls, etc. Find ways to create mutually beneficial events and projects that create buzz and reward their customers while building your exposure.

You sound like you've got the sass to see through this challenging start up phase to create a business that's a blessing to your community. Don't let the grognards phase you, there's no better way to build a successful business than to do work, fail fast, and keep hustling. Any undertaking like this grows from a cycle of learning, trying, failing, succeeding, and repeating.

I'd suggest reading marketing guru Seth Godin's "The Dip," or better yet, allow him to read it to you via audiobook. It is short, but immeasurably valuable for anyone taking on the adventure of a new business. You'll come to embrace failure as the milestone of progress that it is.

Rock your market and keep us posted on your progress. Can't wait to hear of your successes!

 

[HikinMike]

The reason I asked about your website is that most photographers don't know how to optimize the website so people can find you via the search engines. It's free advertising. In your case it looks like your using a free Wix.com site? IMO, using one of those free (cheap) sites screams, "I'm not taking this business seriously." I would buy a domain, get it built and then read my SEO for the Photographer link in my sig. Of course, if you read it now, you can implement them on your site now.

FWIW, Your site loads way too slow. If I were a potential customer, I would have left. I did give up looking at your main site.

Hope this helps in some way.

I love you for this... thankyou soooo much. I took the music off the site. How does it load now?

Much better. It could have been one of those slow internet days too. Did you read my SEO link?

 

[DS Photographers]

I agree with Mike that SEO is the lowest hanging fruit for any photographer. The simple fact is that if you have local competition and you are better than them at SEO and being present on local sites, you are going to get more business guaranteed.

 

[bennielou]

Plus one (above)