I realize that being in business for yourself isn't all about the money...
But in the end, making money is kind of the whole point of working, so when you start a photography business, you need to have a sound strategy in place to earn a livable income.
Ask around, and different photographers will offer you different advice for making more money.
I've put together some of the most common responses I've heard into this quick list of tips to help you maximize your time and the money you make.
Help People Find You
You aren't going to make any money if you don't have a way for people to find out about you and the services you provide.
In today's day and age, that means having a killer presence on the web with a gorgeous website that features your photos and catchy website URL.
I can't help you with the design of your website, but what I can help you with is nailing down a great URL for your business.
Uniregistry offers two domains specifically for photographers - .photo and .pics.
On the one hand, these domain names are great because they inform prospective clients about what you do, right there in the URL.
On the other hand, they're great because they're short and sweet.
That means you can more easily add them to social media profiles or your business card. Heck, you can just tell someone your website name and it will be easy to remember.
When it comes to helping people find you and discover your work, it really doesn't get much easier than having an easy-to-remember website with a unique URL.
And that's the other benefit here - with a .photo or .pics domain name, you don't have to worry about getting lost in a sea of .com or .net domains. On top of that, these are brand new domains, so you are more likely to get the URL you want for your business.
Learn More:
- 14 Things You'll Want to Know Before Starting a Photography Business
- Critical Mistakes You're Making With Your Photography Website
Fill the Gaps in Your Schedule
Just about every photographer's job will have peaks and valleys.
If you're a wedding photographer, for example, you'll have the busy season and the dead season.
The key to making more money is not to just sit around during the slow times of year, hoping that your ideal client walks in the door to book a session.
Instead, take active measures to bring more income in.
For example, if you focus mostly on family portraits, think about expanding your services to also include senior portrait photography.
If you're a landscape photographer, perhaps check out the stock photography scene to see if you can make some side income that way.
If you work weddings, why not offer engagement sessions too?
Newborn photographers can easily add gender reveal sessions or even birthdays and other milestone events to their slate of services as well.
The point is that making more money as a photographer often means diversifying what you can do for clients so you can protect against the slower times of the year.
Learn More:
- How to Sell Your Photos (the Easy Way)
- Critical Mistakes You're Making With Your Photography Website
Start a YouTube Channel
Just hear me out on this...
By starting a YouTube channel, you actually help accomplish several things.
First, you can easily promote your website, which people from around the world will be able to learn about thanks to the accessibility of YouTube.
Second, having a YouTube channel is an excellent way to get your name out there amongst the buying public.
Beyond that, you can demonstrate your expertise (which is appealing to potential clients) by making educational videos about how to use Photoshop, what the various camera settings do on a camera, and so forth.
And that brings me to the third thing YouTube can do for you - make money.
The nice thing about YouTube is that you can generate a nice side income (and for some, a nice primary income).
What most people think is that you can slap some videos on YouTube and reap the rewards of ad income. It's not quite that simple.
Money from ad impressions for most YouTubers amounts to several thousand dollars per million views. And getting that many views is hard to do.
However, YouTube is a fantastic place to market your brand, get paid sponsorships, and direct people to affiliate links (for which you're paid).
In other words, there's lots of ways to monetize YouTube, and the best part is that many of them are passive forms of income.
So, when you think about marketing your brand, having an awesome website with a great domain name is where you should start. But be sure to include things like blogging, social media, and creating YouTube videos in your marketing strategy as well.
After all, the more people you can reach with your marketing plan, the more eyes you'll have on your work, and the better your chances will be of getting more clients and improving your bottom line!
Check out the video above from Irene Rudnyk for some more insights on how to make money as a photographer.
Learn More:
- How to Attract Clients to Your New Photography Business
- How to Start a Photography Business: Three First Steps to Take