photo by adamkaz via iStock
Most photographers didn’t get into the industry because they particularly wanted to deal with all the little annoyances that come with running a business, like keeping meticulous track of their expenses, or answering email 20 times a day, or yes, marketing their services.
In fact, if I’m being honest, photography marketing kind of sucks. It’s time consuming. It’s boring and more often than not it takes months and months to see the fruits of your labor. So, it can feel sort of like you’re just spinning your wheels in the meantime.
If you’ve been where I’m talking about, then it’s no wonder that you’re looking for photography marketing ideas. But, I’ll do you one better. Here are some proven marketing ideas that are easy to implement and that will almost immediately improve your business prospects (even if some of them are still a little boring).
Fix Your Portfolio
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One of my favorite proven marketing ideas is to fix your portfolio. Regardless of how good you think your portfolio is, if you haven’t taken a serious look at it within the last couple of months, then it is high time for you to do so again.
You probably already know that your portfolio should only showcase the best images you’ve taken. So this means that you shouldn’t have any images in your portfolio that closely resemble other images in it. Get rid of doubles and even get rid of photos with similar poses.
You also probably know that you need a digital portfolio. Make sure that your portfolio is easy to manage or else you’re risking going months without editing it again.
But, there are a few proven marketing ideas for your portfolio that you likely haven’t heard of. For example, you should make your portfolio interactive. Make sure that it is easy to use for your viewers. Change the format or layout on it a couple of times until you recognize what the pros and cons are of each option.
Make sure that all of the photos in your portfolio are either vertical or horizontal. Don’t include a few of both.
Make sure your portfolio is also designed with different categories in mind, especially if you do different types of photography.
Finally, give your images captions with good keywords so that more people may stumble across it.
Co-Market Your Business
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A lot of proven marketing ideas, like this one, seem counterintuitive. But, you can actually market your business alongside similar businesses in your area.
Before you start co-marketing, though, you’ll need to know what types of people are already interested in your business. This is where your SEO comes in handy. Figure out what local businesses are already directing clients to your business online. If a lot of traffic is coming from a particular website, it’s probably a good idea for you to start working with that business.
You can also co-market with direct competitors. If there are other photographers in your area who offer similar packages as you do, then you can team up with them and do mini-sessions so that you both can network with the other’s clients. Unlike a lot of the proven marketing ideas on this list, this one is a little more creative, so have fun with it.
Learn More:
- Give Your Clients an Upgraded Experience With These Photography Add-Ons
- How to Get Your Clients to Buy More Prints
Offer Beautiful Prints
photo by SeventyFour via iStock
One of my favorite proven marketing ideas is to offer your clients a wider array of products, including high-quality canvas prints.
High-quality products not only bring in passive revenue to your business, but they also each serve as marketing for your business.
Think about it. If someone goes to your client’s house and they see a canvas print of their family hanging on their wall, they’re likely going to ask about the photoshoot. In this way, your clients are doing marketing for you without even realizing it and the best marketing tips for photographers are the ones that leverage the networks of your existing clients.
I recommend that you use CanvasHQ to buy your canvas prints because they create beautiful prints at a lower price point so that you can make the most money off of their products while ensuring your clients love whatever they receive.
CanvasHQ canvas prints start at just $20 and they are all handmade. This means you won’t ever have to deal with problems like ink cracks or frame warps. Plus, CanvasHQ offers a lifetime guarantee on their canvas prints because they’re so confident in them.
Since a lot of proven marketing ideas include teaming up with other great businesses, you should team up with CanvasHQ today.