So, you've done the heavy lifting of becoming a photographer.
You have a business name and a business structure, a website and a portfolio, pricing plans, and so forth.
Now you just need clients!
There are right and wrong ways to go about getting clients in your door. Let's explore a few do's and don'ts of how to find photography clients.
DON'T Follow the Crowd
One of the most common mistakes that new photographers make is trying to copy the marketing strategies of their competitors.
The problem with this is that while those strategies might have worked for your competitors, there's no guarantee that they'll work for you.
What's more, part of the game of building a successful photography business is to stand out from the crowd, not follow it.
You need to develop your own unique selling proposition so people understand why you're different, and why that's a good thing!
DO Spend Time Developing Leads
When I say you need to spend time developing leads, I don't mean asking your friends and family for referrals (though that's a good idea, too).
Instead, you need to cast a much wider net to get your name and face out there amongst the buying public.
And one of the best ways to do that is with SnapPro.
SnapPro is the top photographer directory out there today. With SnapPro, you find a platform that was designed not only to help you market your photography business, but also help clients find a photographer in a simple, straightforward manner.
That means that if you're a wedding photographer, you join SnapPro, are entered into their database of photographers throughout the U.S. and Canada, and people that need a wedding photographer simply head to the SnapPro website, enter their location and their photography needs, and they get a list of matching photographers.
Easy, right?
From there, users can compare photographers side-by-side, and when they select you, SnapPro shows them the details of your business, offers pricing details, and so forth.
In other words, this is a total marketing platform for you, no matter what kind of photography services you offer. Once you create your profile and upload images to your gallery, SnapPro will work for you to help you find the clients you need.
Even better, you can customize your profile with a video that introduces yourself. You can even write and publish articles on your SnapPro profile as well!
In that regard, SnapPro is like having your own little marketing team, working hard to help you find the leads you need. If you want to build a successful business, SnapPro can help.
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DON'T Rely on Mass Marketing
Finding photography clients is hard enough as it is, but if you rely on such impersonal means of finding clients as mass marketing solutions, you're only going to make the process more difficult on yourself.
Though buying ads in the local paper or having a TV spot made might sound like the thing for businesses to do, for photographers, it just doesn't make sense.
Think about it - you don't need 500 clients a year to make a good living. Heck, if you had one-tenth that many clients, you'd be doing well.
So, avoid mass marketing and concentrate on drilling down to more personal methods - word of mouth, referrals, SnapPro, and so forth. You'll likely find that doing so gets you better and more meaningful leads that generate more clients anyway!
DO Make Time Each Day For Marketing
In the business world, if you're lazy, you die.
Sure, you might feel like you have enough clients right now, but part of building a successful photography business is having a solid mailing list and database of potential clients to target.
To make that a reality, you need to schedule time each and every day to work on marketing.
Even if it's 10-15 minutes to post on Facebook or write a few thank you notes to past clients, you'll be doing yourself and your business a huge favor.
After all, marketing yourself is how you'll get leads, get clients, and pay the bills. So, treat marketing like the important thing that it is, and you will not only see your business grow, but see it flourish for the long-term.