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

[GerryDavid]

Im going to make up some referral cards and I plan to include 5 or 10 per print order. I do explain that I am trying to keep my prices as low as I can by avoiding expensive advertising such as newspapers, etc, which was recommended in the guerrialla marketing book. And Im offering a promo that I will match the loyalty points from the first referred portrait session of each referred person to the person doing the referring. I just have no idea how to word that so its not so aqward. Ill get help from my wife later. Shes the smart one here. so if the referred person was to spend $200, both parties would get 200 loyalty points, good for a free 8x10 on their next portrait session. Im hoping this will go over very well with seniors.

Ive been putting up cards and 8x10 posters at community boards around town, got some calls but mostly asking about prices. Instead of giving hwo much each sheet costs, I simply state that packages start at $$ and a typical portrait ends up with a sale of $$$. This part is new, so im interested to see how it works.

Im also thinking about putting up 8x10 posters in plastic sleeves on polls on heavily walked areas. This area doesnt support walking to much, but theres a great street in a near by town that usually has lots of college kids, so im thinking of doing this on a couple polls. I just hope I wont get in trouble wtih the town, but others have put stuff up there brfore, usually musical artists.

 

[Wedding]

Forget the Yellow Pages. Well, forget having a paid ad anyway. Get a free listing and you may get a call once every 2 years. Paid for an ad and got the same response!

It's all hard leg work, get yourself out there, network meetings can get some business but by far and the best way I find work is by calling people. Google whatever you are into and call. THEN email. THEN set a reminder on your phone, google calendar, outlook, whatever. Then ACT upon it. Set a target of 20 calls a day. Not hard.

Working example.

I have professional printers for events, but also do weddings, conferences etc. I joined the local camera club and found out that a colleague had gone to the local motocross / scramble / motorcycle event and they didn't have a photographer there. So I googled it, called the organiser, met up, went along to see how it works, arranged to go the next time with assistant, printer and laptops for viewing and printing. Luckily they had a caravan I could use, otherwise it would be a pop-up gazebo. You need a generator or leisure battery with inverter.

Next event - £150 of sales. Not a huge event, but ok for 6 hours work. Other events can get you more. A lot more. Some you make nothing at all. Some you make a loss at. Only by doing it will you find out. I was speaking to another longer established photographer after I did this motocross event. He said he used to do it when it was first big and the printing technology was new. The uptake in a new sport or when the event photography first started made it VERY lucrative. He said a large meet ould get over £1000 of business. Possibly double. Not now. Same with horse events and cheerleading. Been done so long that the demand isn't there so much, but there is still a good wage compared to working in MacDonalds...

It's hard being out in all weathers, so I leave this to younger folk now. I'd rather be in a nice warm hotel, so I now cover conferences, weddings and portraits most of the time now.

 

[EmbassyProBooks]

You've got to approach spreading the word from multiple angles, both online and offline, having a website, and ensuring that it can be found online, is very important, especially in this digital age where everyone goes to the internet to find information. Marketing yourself also offline is very important, wedding expos, referrals from other vendors, word of mouth, all great ways to market yourself.

 

[j-dogg]

I have been getting all of my work from going downtown with the biggest lens I have attached to my camera with the hood (noobs see it and instantly recognize you as pro) we swap business cards and bam.

I also go out to a lot of car meets (I'm a car guy, naturally) and pretty much the same premise. Noobs see guy with huge camera, show them some of the shots I've taken, swap cards / numbers / facebook and set up a date. I've got about 4 cars to do this month = all my bills for the month of February.

I've done it for the last two weeks and I'm almost completely booked for the month. I landed two potential customers and one definite job today in 10 minutes just walking around with my gear. :thumbup:

 

[GerryDavid]

Interesting way of doing it J-dogg.

What kind of gigs are you getting from walking down town with the big lens? if I seen a person walking around down town with a big lens, my first reaction wouldn't be to hire them to do a shoot.

now the car meet makes sense. Ive been meaning to go to some car shows, but haven't been able to yet. And when I do, I don't have a clue what to say to them, I enjoy nice cars, but don't have very much knowledge of them. Whats a good opening line for the car guys? "need a portrait of your car?"?

whats a typical car portrait go for? I'm just curious how much people tend to spend on a few pictures of their car.

 

[philsphoto]

I have found that marketing had been much harder than the photography itself. I have shot many weddings and portraits, they have all been word-of-mouth. I have done a lot of photography at my church; which has been an excellent way to both take pictures, and become known as a photographer.

Online marketing has been harder. I use Smugmug Professional, which is an excellent hosting an fulfillment solution. I have gotten my website together in about a month. I am still working on the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - this is the hard part I was speaking of. Getting found on Google's pages 1-5 is not easy. In fact, I think I am on page 100! Hahaha....

Phil
San Antonio Wedding & Portrait Photography - Phil Photographer

 

[FattyMcJ]

I have been getting all of my work from going downtown with the biggest lens I have attached to my camera with the hood (noobs see it and instantly recognize you as pro) we swap business cards and bam.

I also go out to a lot of car meets (I'm a car guy, naturally) and pretty much the same premise. Noobs see guy with huge camera, show them some of the shots I've taken, swap cards / numbers / facebook and set up a date. I've got about 4 cars to do this month = all my bills for the month of February.

I've done it for the last two weeks and I'm almost completely booked for the month. I landed two potential customers and one definite job today in 10 minutes just walking around with my gear. :thumbup:

Interesting techniques....I'll have to try some of those, though walking downtown with my biggest lens may not attract the...shall we say "paying client."

Whats a good opening line for the car guys? "need a portrait of your car?"?

whats a typical car portrait go for? I'm just curious how much people tend to spend on a few pictures of their car.

Being a car guy and having shot my entire "club"...and some random cars at local meets, I usually approach people and first compliment the car. Ask questions, mainly how much power, how long did it take (great question for restored classics), do it yourself or have a shop do it, etc. The best part of that is it gets them talking about their pride and joy, and those questions are in laymens terms. Even if you don't understand what 500 horsepower means, just "ooh" and "ahh" to give them another, more subtle, compliment.

After I break the ice with the above, I lead into something along the lines of "Well hey, I'm a photographer and you've got a beautiful car. Do you post pictures of it on websites anywhere?" If yes, go straight for the sale. If no, don't worry about it..."prints" of people's cars are really only for the hard-core car fans that own REALLY rare cars. Most weekend warriors won't want a print. They want digital images for their facebook or website. Your prices for digital images then apply and you can close the sale/book the gig. YMMV

 

[TylerV85]

Here is an idea I have but not yet tried...If you are extremely confident in the work you produce...rent a kiosk at your local mall and display huge framed prints of your best images....Be there for the busy mall hours and have blank contracts ready

Some kiosks in my area rent for as low as $500.00 per month...Not bad if your retainer for one wedding is $1000.00 or if you can book 15 seniors in a single day during a weekend.

Would like to know your thoughts on this...

 

[GerryDavid]

I was curious how much these cost.

The local mall near me has the "major" photographer in the center next to the food court on a pillar with two columns of photos on all sides. Recently it was taken over by a photographer that left the "major" photographers studio.

Then down on the other end of the mall there is another kiosk that has pictures on both sides, and in my opinion is far better than the new guys that took over the main spot.

There are a few blank walls by the Sears side that I was thinking of asking the mall how much it would cost to display my work there.

 

[RockstarPhotography]

I always thought you just go to wal-mart, buy a dslr, and put and ad on craigslist making sure to include a cd of all images!!!!!!!!!

 

[DS Photographers]

One great way to be found by your target audience is by optimizing your site for local keywords (city name, zip code, street names, etc). If you are from a larger city, you could even do neighborhoods. Title tags like "Best Chicago Photographer" or "Best Photographer in 60657" are less competitive and would be extremely targeted traffic.

 

[MikeSmithMSP]

Greeting John,

I too have my own website but I have been looking into Google Ads. I was curious to know if you had any experience with this or if you think it would be worth the cost?

Michael
Commercial Event School Portrait Photography Sacramento Elk Grove Roseville Granite Bay El Dorado Hills

 

[vitor]

Google Adwords is now offering $75 coupons for first time users. You do need to pay a $10 sign up fee though.

 

[Pixz]

WOW - so many people started the same way that I did. I also used local areas around town to showcase my portfolio - hospitals are an amazing place to showcase. I have received so many bookings through them it's amazing. Just think of the amount of people who are in and out or there for a long haul that have visitors and need a place to take their mind off reality for a moment. I would use my childrens showcase and my families showcase portfolios. Makes people feel good and gives you exposure at the same time. A lot of hospitals will allow you to showcase for a few hours for no charge - but it depends on affiliation. Good Luck!

 

[FattyMcJ]

WOW - so many people started the same way that I did. I also used local areas around town to showcase my portfolio - hospitals are an amazing place to showcase. I have received so many bookings through them it's amazing. Just think of the amount of people who are in and out or there for a long haul that have visitors and need a place to take their mind off reality for a moment. I would use my childrens showcase and my families showcase portfolios. Makes people feel good and gives you exposure at the same time. A lot of hospitals will allow you to showcase for a few hours for no charge - but it depends on affiliation. Good Luck!

Wait, so you stand there at the hospital...like at a booth with a table set up...for a few hours letting people look at your portfolio? Or you set up a table with the photos spread out and come back in a few hours? Or...hang prints in the waiting areas? I'm confused.