Marketing and Promoting your Photography Business

Hello everyone.

This week I wanted to touch on another few aspects of marketing and promoting your business as we really move into the busy Holiday season.

I know we all want to be that creative geniuses that create all those beautiful imagery. It is the part of the business that I love the most. As I write this I am actually thinking about the wedding album that I submitted to my printers, Zookbinders.com and why they have not gotten back to me about the album design for my client yet.

Does not sound all that bad, but I have been working on getting photos edited and resubmitted with my client for about 2 months now and I am really tired doing this. However, it is an integral part of making sure that you get your photographs into the marketplace. You need to order sample albums, wall art and other promotional material that continual let's people know that you are in business.

Today, we see so many photographer's discounting their prices thinking that when I speak about adding value it really means offering lower prices. That is not what it is all about. If you keep doing that you are just going to be heading down a downward spiral of lower prices until you cannot afford to stay in business anymore.

One great thing to remember is that you are not only a artist, but a professional as well. You want to make a living as a photographer and to do that you have to think about the business side of your business as well. The side of the business that is going to be bringing in the clients. There is no magic formula.

It is something that you have to do on a daily basis, day in, day out. Some times you have to just sit back and think of different ways that you can make your business better. What can you offer the marketplace that will differentiate you from the other few hundred people in your area? Yes take some time out and just think about ways that you can make the photography experience better for your client. Investment in your company is not always about buying a new camera or lens. It is also not just about coming up with new innovative ideas. You have to put them into action. If you don't do it then someone else is sure to come up with the idea and they want to succeed just as much as the next person, maybe more.

Remember, that no matter what the product is in the marketplace there has to be something to buy. Yes, there is a bit of selling in everything. Many of you might think that just because you are creative that selling is beneath you. Well, a reality check. If you do not make money then you are out of a job and you might as well pack-up and work for someone else. If you prefer photographing different genre's then make different pages for your different work and see what works best for you.

I love head-shots, family portraiture and weddings. They are all people connected, but what is stopping you from branching out and photographing peoples pets or even adding some great video to your packages so that people have these additional segments to add to their buying experience. I recently added mini-albums to my orders and packages, but the thing that pulls people in is the free HD video I add to the entire order. I recently started using Animoto.com and that monthly is now part of my clients packages. They land up buying more and I can offer more to my clients.

These are the added value items that you need to consider when marketing your business. One thing that we are all aware of today is that social media plays a very important role in getting out photographs to people in the market. How are you able to tap into your clients circle of influence so that you can build this referral business. Here are a couple of companies that use social media and your photographs to help build a circle of influence.

Pass.us - If you are a photographer just starting out then this one is for you. If you keep your clients photograph selection under 100 images then everything is free. You get social media exposure and you might even be able to pick up additional sales because you are able to selling prints.

Pixieset.com - is another great client photography web site where you can display, share and sell your photography. They have some great pricing structures and well worth the investment.

So in closing a few additional things you have to remember. If you have a web site, then Google likes that you update your content on a regular basis. If you don't you might just get a call from some business saying that your score is 1.9 on Google's rating scale and they have the solution to get you to number one spot. Just update your content on a regular basis and you will be fine.

Lat but not least. Blog to your fans and friends. No you don't have to get a wiki page or free blog page. Many hosting sites where you have your portfolio might have this option already. I also use Exposure.co to get my photographs out there. It is a visual blog and the cool thing about it is that you might get your page showing up on Google browser. They have a add-on for exposure so that every time someone opens their Google browser they might just see your blog.

So get out there and just keep putting out your photographs for the world to see. Have fun and keep on shooting.

Denzil

I will leave you with a great photograph I submitted to Gurushots.com  I made the Elite level with this photograph and it is giving me some really great exposure.

Setting up for your Charity Event

Good morning everyone,

Well, you have done all the hard work. You secured a great community event that you are proud to stand behind. You arrive at the event with your camera and are ready to take some great photographs.

People come and go, you ask if they would like to have their photographs taken, but you only seem to get one or two people willing to have their photographs taken. What is wrong? Didn't you tell the organizer that you will be turning up? Why is everybody not so interested in having a photograph taken?

Well for starters let me tell you that just turning up for an event does not guarantee that you will have a successful event. You have to come prepared. Here are a few tips that I found helps build a great relationship with the event organizers and the customers or guests that will be attending your event.

Here is what I have done to ensure that I have the exposure and response that I want.

• Arrive at the event early. The reason you do this is to make sure you have the best location and you can also work out some logistics with the organizers or shop owners.
• Make sure you choose a location where you get the most feet passing through. You should also try and not interfere with regular business, but the location is good enough so that everyone can see you.  Now as a photographer it is not always about taking the photographs. Yes, it is important, but a lot of what you do as a photographer is marketing yourself. 
• You need to setup a table. Yes, bring along a folding table where you can display your promotional material. You will need some flyer's, business cards and other marketing material that is small and easy to grab. You want people to leave the event with some of your marketing material. It is a place to pull people in, so make it interesting and people can take that along with them when they either pass your table or when you are finished with your session. I found a great place for some customizable marketing material. Have a look at Designaglow 

You want to make a great impression and also let them know that you are a professional studio that could actually do more than what you are currently helping the community with.

• A great investment would also be creating a beautiful pop-up banner or posters of your work. This you can put up a strategic points throughout the event if it is allowed or even above the table. It gives the visual visitor a great 1st impression about some of the work that you can do. Vista Print offers some really great deals in getting pop-up banners where you can use your own photographs.
• Props. I don't know how many times these have made a photograph as well as made me some extra profit. People want to see something different and if they are holding a prop it also gives them something to do with their hands. Bring along large photograph frames, stuffed animals for the small children if that is who you are catering to. The props have to be related to your event so don't forget to add them to make your special day even more memorable.
• You need an assistant! As you can see from all the work that goes into a charity or community event. You will need someone to help carry and setup. Phone some friends or even extend your reach even further and approach other students doing photography in your area and discuss it as an "intern" or training event. It is a great way to get some help and it may lead to additional teaching classes where you can make some additional money. You never know.
• Don't forget to take some photographs of the sponsors venue, location or shop. Also take photographs of people involved in the event. These can be used for future advertising for the company and it can be another revenue stream. It is also a great way to stay in-touch. A framed photograph could also be a gift to them for letting you use their venue. A great framed photograph hanging in their offices or shop is a fantastic way to get some free advertising as employees talk about the great event that they had. Remember to leave some pamphlets and business cards with the owners when you leave.

So in closing, there is a lot of work that needs to be done before you even pick up a camera for your event.

Invest in your promotional material. They are items that can be used over and over again. You will need a great banner. WHCC also makes some great banners where you can create a collage instead of a single photograph. The stand alone banners are the best because you can put them around the event.

Finally, don't forget to carry business cards on your person. You are not going to be at the table all the time so make sure to have enough to hand out to everyone.

And let me leave you with one final tip. Have a way to capture peoples names and email addresses for future marketing purposes. I use Chimpmail.com 

In connection with this application I also have Chimpadeedoo which is available for IOS and Android.It captures peoples Names and Email addresses when setup on your device. I normally leave my IPad with my assistant at the table and they, my assistants,  encourage people to sign-up and we will send them some promotional material or we have additional incentives at the table, where we offer them mini-sessions in the comfort or their own homes or at our studio. 

You can use any incentive to encourage people to sign-up so that you can get some additional information for your marketing campaign.

So have a great month of photographing. Just remember that being a photographer is just as important as being a great marketer. People have to see that you can take great photographs before they trust you. That only comes from practice and experience.

So we look forward to seeing all your photographs in the month of August.