photo by gorodenkoff via iStock
It can be really difficult to run a photography business in the middle of a pandemic. You probably don’t have as much cash coming in and you definitely have had to drastically change your day-to-day operations.
The key with running a photography business right now is to figure out exactly what you can do everyday to improve your photography business. A lot of the usual photography business tips just don’t really apply. You can’t go to networking events. You can’t join any in-person educational classes. You can’t travel.
But, there are still things you should be doing on a daily basis. Here are the top three things we think your photography business needs right now.
Post to Your Social Media Accounts
photo by Urupong via iStock
I’m constantly writing about posting to social media. Social media is the only way for your clients (and potential clients) to keep up with your photography business. This is more true now than ever, since you may be the only photography business in your area that is still operating.
Clients need to know how to get in touch with you. They also need to know just how accessible you still are right now.
Let me give you an example. One of my favorite adventure wedding photographers has been posting to her Facebook everyday with a tale of weddings gone wrong, but weddings that still go on. She posts her photography alongside stories about how she got those shots. She lets her clients know that, pandemic or not, she isn’t going anywhere.
photo by grinvalds via iStock
I know that it can be exhausting to post to your photography business social media accounts everyday, but keep in mind that most of these accounts are linked together so you can post your Facebook and Instagram updates at the same time.
If you really find posting to your social media accounts that difficult, then you can give yourself some days off, but whenever you aren’t posting to your social media accounts you should be posting to your photography business blog.
Learn More:
Keep Educating Yourself
photo by damircudic via iStock
I’ve been talking to a lot of my photographer friends about how they are growing their photography business right now and one of the top answers I’ve received is education.
Now, you obviously can’t join a community college class right now, but all of this free time does mean we have more time to educate ourselves about our craft. This educational endeavour just needs to be self-taught.
One of my friends has made a list of everything that he struggles with and is going through that list and learning about one thing for a half hour each day.
So, what do you struggle with in running your photography business? Some examples of things you could be learning about right now include: posing, post-production, marketing, and vlogging.
photo by courtneyk via iStock
As for resources, YouTube is a great one. You can find info on just about everything imaginable there and for people who have trouble learning from reading, this type of visual engagement can be really helpful.
You can also always direct questions at local photography business groups on Facebook. I find that local photographers are always super willing to help people who are newer to the industry or who are trying to expand their knowledge within the industry.
Lastly, there are a ton of books available at your local library for free or on Amazon for a few dollars. Just make sure that if you’re going to go this route you get books that are new enough to be helpful. For instance, a book on Lightroom isn’t going to be very helpful if the book was published 5 editions ago.
Talk to Someone About Your Photography Business
photo by filadendron via iStock
The only way to expand your photography business is by talking about it. Right now, this could mean setting up a Zoom meeting with friends or family to tell them how you’ve been coping with things. It could also mean jumping on a phone call with potential client leads you never followed up on before the pandemic hit.
I use Podium to help me communicate better about my photography business. Podium is a program that pulls all of your emails, social media messages, and text messages and puts it on a single platform. This way you never miss any messages from a client ever again.
Podium also allows you to send invoices from their platform, which means you will get paid faster, which is especially important right now.
Plus, you can get a free Podium trial so you can see whether it will work for your photography business before actually purchasing anything.
In this time of economic uncertainty, having an option to try something for free that could have a significant, positive effect on your business is a very good thing!