Spreading the word...how do people find your business?

[tamaramurphy]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to look into some of them. I'm finding that word of mouth is the best, and hopefully some day that's where all my business will come from. For now, I'm listed in a local directory that's online and on the web. They also give all their vendors leads each month. But the best thing I've done is advertising on Facebook.

 

[DanEitreim]

The absolute best business you can get is a referral. It is easy to book and they are pre-disposed to like your work - which equates to bigger sales.

Find a business that would like to do something special for their clients (like a local realtor), then you create a gift certificate offering a free session and a small free photo as a gift FROM THE REALTOR not from you - then have the realtor distribute the gift certificate to all their past clients.

This is good for the realtor because they get credit for doing something above and beyond for their clients (plus the certs. don't cost them anything).

It's good for the client because they get a free family portrait.

It's good for you because you get yourself known very quickly and the client will ALWAYS buy more copies of the photos. By being referred by the realtor, you are piggy-backing on their standing and reputation in the community.

 

[msf]

I love this idea. I wonder how many past clients a realtor would have in general. I know this would vary greatly between different realtor companies.

 

[msf]

I figured there would be more discussion on this.

 

[msf]

Find a business that would like to do something special for their clients (like a local realtor), then you create a gift certificate offering a free session and a small free photo as a gift FROM THE REALTOR not from you - then have the realtor distribute the gift certificate to all their past clients.

I finally have some time to persue this venture.

When you went to the real estate company, did you call ahead to make an appointment with the person in charge at that given location? Or did you just walk in and ask to speak to them? I know some places dont like solicitation and this is somewhat like that.

When you did this, did you create the gift certificate up, or did you let the real estate spend the money on a nice card/envelope with the information in it? I dont know how many previous customers a real estate company could have, but im guessing it would be around 100 in a town of about 10,000 people, but thats a total guess.

Would you limit these gift certificates for the free portrait/print to those that bought houses above a certain amount, or to anyone that bought a house, even a trailer, double wide, modular home? Theres lots of those around here, and there are some pretty nice ones.

 

[kkphotos]

I've been given the suggestion in the past to email first, then follow up with a phone call when trying to cold-call. Hopefully they've had a chance to peruse your email first, and will be familiar with the issue by the time you call.

 

[dripper]

Its not as easy to spread the word as it used to be, people are too busy to stop and listen!

 

[Fifthphotography]

I agree, I think that a website is the number one way to close the deal. However I think a bad website is worse then not having a website or only having a splash page up. I personally like custom sites, but those can range from $2000+. A couple good yet inexpensive website companies (templates) are portfoliositez.com, bigfolio.com, and flashpalette.com. All of these come with admins that allow you to edit all your site content.

I think it is still really important to get your site seem in search engine's as well. The best way to do this is to get your link out on the web as many places as you can. Adding it to your signature in a forums, to any resource list in your area, or on sites such as the knot.com can help with this.

Another idea I think helps clients keep you in mind is having a blog. I've seen this done successfully (http://www.boutwellstudio.com/blog/), however if it is not updated regularly it can be counter productive I think.

I also personally like sending out marketing material to those interested, mostly a tri-fold brochure or a full color postcard. The cheapest place I could find that I'm happy with is gotprint.com.

Thanks for this post my old website was terrible but I didn't think I could afford anything better at the time. Didn't know about portfoliositez for just a little bit more than what I was currently paying i got a site that was 100x better.

 

[David Dvir]

It's always tough to start a business. Word of mouth is the number 1 for me although lately our website has been taking over but I think that's as a result of word of mouth in all honesty.

I created my website and maintain it myself. It costs less than 100 dollars and without it I know I would ultimately have zero business. Even the word of mouth clients check the website before calling in. The website is key.

Marketing in general is a really tough process, and it really depends on what kind of photography you're getting yourself into.

 

[Joey_Lei]

We have a website that is drawing in business. We update it with new pics and specials often so customers (old and new) have reasons to return frequently.

We also use social media quite a bit and have had great success. We even advertise on them since it is so cheap, you can set your advertising budget, and you get exposure even if no one clicks on your link. We update that at the same time as updating our website, so it's new and fresh.

We tried Craigslist and were overwhelmed with spam.

 

[EmbassyProBooks]

Marketing your business online, with a great website and other marketing tactics is a good way to have people find your business. Become involved in social media too as it is a booming place to be.

 

[GerryDavid]

Ive been tryign community boards. Its free and it does get some brand recognition, so far no actual paying customers. I recently printed up some 8x10 ads that Im going to put on or near these boards, along with a pouch and business cards in it near the sign. this pouch is a modified origami wallet. it holds 10 cards, has space for a card above the other cards so people can see the entire design and then at the top either my logo or "please take one" or something. much better than sticking a thumbtack in the center of 10 cards, and much easier on the hands, its hard to push through 10 thick cards.

around here the usual spots for community boards are grocery stores and banks.

 

[cici1240]

i think first you should get in touch with the businesss owner.

 

[GerryDavid]

Got a call today from someone that seen my advertisement in the grocery store community board, wanting to know my prices.

This got me thinking I need a better phone presentation, to help them not focus on the price so much, but more on the quality of service and product. Any one got any advice?

 

[redgazza]

to make a bit of extra cash i use digicamcash as it is very rewarding making money with some of my favourite photos.i have been telling alot of people about it and not had any complaints hhttp://14a07kg1m55xku5yx4n5c8glff.hop.clickbank.net/