photo by Rawpixel via iStock
If you own a photography business right now, then you’re probably pretty desperate to make more money. Nobody expected this pandemic and I’m sure you’re feeling the pressures of this economic downturn just as much as I am.
Thankfully, there are some photography business tips that I implemented during the 2008 recession that have really helped me to keep my photography business afloat this time around. I’m hoping they’re going to help you as well.
But, the most important photography business tip of all is to make sure you’re taking care of yourself during this time. There won’t be a business without you!
Keep Your Income Stream Diversified
Huge shout out to Nicole Glass for this photography income tip video.
The best way to make more money as a photographer is to diversify your income stream. Of course, most of your money is going to come from your sessions, but as we are currently experiencing, there are going to be times when these sessions are few and far between.
Obviously, I’ve diversified my photography business income stream by starting PhotographyTalk (although I don’t really recommend starting a blog for your everyday photographer since I definitely put much more time into it than it’s truly worth).
photo by Halfpoint via iStock
But, a second way that I put more money into my photography business is by selling prints and other physical items, like photobook albums.
These items are really important to my photography business for a number of reasons. The first is that I can reach out to my clients months after they completed a session with me to ask them for more money. Of course, this isn’t how I phrase it, but if you remember which shots your clients absolutely loved, then you can create a mockup of those shots as gorgeous canvas prints.
photo by Ondrooo via iStock
The second reason why this is such an important tip is that everytime I reach out to an old client to try and upsell them on another item, I’m also reminding them that I’m there if they would like to book another session with me. This is how you get gigs as a wedding photographer or a graduation photographer. You have to build rapport with your clients over longer periods of time.
Finally, this tip is great because everytime I reach out to try and sell a print I’m also reaching out to try and sell my referral bonuses.
You can also diversify your income by partnering with companies that work alongside the photography industry, like a wedding planner if you’re a wedding photographer.
You can either offer products from the company you’ve partnered with at a discount (in exchange for them doing the same) or work off of referral checks. Either way, it can help you bring in additional income.
Spend Less Time on Communications Without Sacrificing Quality
photo by SeventyFour via iStock
I mentioned at the start of the article, I spend hours and hours communicating with people for my photography business.
My wife jokes that I would die without checking my email at least ten times a day and it’s true.
So, one way you can make more money in your photography business is by making communication more efficient so as to save yourself all those hours you otherwise spend on Gmail.
I’ve recently started partnering with Podium to do just this. As the video above explains, Podium is a platform that pulls multiple communication streams from all of your clients into one inbox.
What this means is that you don’t have to bounce from Facebook to Google to text all day because all of those messages you receive are now in one app.
It makes communicating for your business easier, but it also makes communicating with you much easier. Your clients are going to hear back from you much more quickly, and as we all know, this is one of the most important steps you can take to get more clients.
Plus, as an added bonus, Podium allows you to send invoices and remind clients about unpaid invoices as well. It truly is a one-stop-shop for getting (and staying) in touch with your clients.
You can get a free trial of Podium here to see if it can help you too. I trust that it will!
Learn More:
- Free Marketing Ideas for Your Photography Business
- The Most Overlooked Success Tip for Photographers
Do Market Research
photo by courtneyk via iStock
I understand that the idea of conducting market research if you never have before is really intimidating. Let me explain why it isn’t.
If you’ve never done market research for your business then using any down time you have during the pandemic to do so would be incredibly wise.
For business owners who have never done market research, there’s a much greater chance that you’re underselling your services and your products.
In order to conduct some market research, all you need to do is act as if you are a client looking for your specific type of photography in your area. Compare the top choices that you find on a Google search. What are they doing that is similar to what you are doing and what is different?
photo by Cameravit via iStock
If every other wedding photography business in your area offers drone shots, maybe you should too. You can also read customer reviews about these businesses to figure out what people loved (and most importantly didn’t) about their experience with that company.
Finally, you may feel like you should reach out to some of these businesses to ask more direct questions. More often than not, established photographers are willing to help those who are just trying to break into the business because they remember being where you are now.
Just make sure to be extra thankful and possibly send a bottle of wine their way for giving you some tips to make your business more successful.
Invest In Yourself
photo by artisteer via iStock
I get that this is an old cliche, but you’ll never learn how to increase your photography income if you aren’t willing to invest in your photography business.
This can be a frustrating realization for photographers who have been in the business for just a few years, since the upstart costs of beginning your business in the first place were probably quite high.
But, photography gear needs to be replaced a lot more often than other types of equipment and that costs money.
You also need to utilize tools like Podium so you can run your business more efficiently. But, as soon as you realize just how established your company can be with a little bit of investment, you’re probably going to understand that it was all worth it in the end.