Pro Tip: Marketing Your Photography
By Professional Photographer Kevin McNeal
There are many facets to successful marketing photography in today’s business. With the emergence of the internet and growth in digital photography there are many avenues to explore when it comes to achieving results. As digital photography continues to grow, so do the options to market your work. Arguably, online marketing has opened the doors for many amateur photographers who in the past may never had a chance to present their images to a larger audience. Marketing when done right in photography can mean everything to getting your business off the ground.
To be successful in today’s market you need to have a strong online presence. This can be achieved in several ways but it all begins with a simple but effective website. Build a strong foundation with a website that people can understand and easily navigate around. The website is your way to connect with potential clients, and share your vision with them. A website is a way to continually stay in contact with clients and allow the opportunity for increased profits.
There are some important elements that make a website successful and increase traffic to your site. Always provide a way for people to contact you as well as a way to sign up for email updates. Take the time to build a client base from this and find ways to include them in your progress. Once you have a solid base of clients send out quarterly updates that let them know what is happening with your business.
In conjunction with a website, a blog is a great way to communicate with clients as well as attract new customers. It is a way to get your ideas, images, and vision to a large audience at one time. It is also a way to allow people to stay in touch with your business. Remember it is important to always be at the forefront of people’s minds when it comes to your expanding your business. Therefore find ways for your business to stay relevant with people and business will continue to grow. Both websites and your blog have to be connected with links to each other so that information on both sites are consistent and access to both are easy.
Market your business on your website so that it is easy to purchase items on every page and that the procedure is manageable. There should be a link on every page back to the home page where a link exists to purchase items. People will only spend time on a website when it is easy to get around. So when building a website it is important to think about how the small things can make the biggest difference to the growth of your business. Put yourself in the shoes of your clients and think how you would like to see a website.
The next avenue to increasing your photography business is to have a strong online forum presence. Online forums can be a great way to network your business and learn from others who are in the same circumstances. Look for ways to get your name out there and make connections with others who might be able to give support and advice. Through networking, relationships are built and lifetime partners are made. Do not be shy about asking others what works for their business. This can be a great source of information and way to find what does and doesn’t work. With so much competition in the photography world you need to be cognizant of who is succeeding and what they are doing to achieve that result. There are many online forums that exist that allowing posting of images, forums to ask questions, and general discussions that are open to just about anything you might want to know. Some great online forums to start with are ones like the one you are reading presently. This is where you will find a variety of other photographers who might have common interests and problems similar to yourself. Its forum is very resourceful when it comes to finding answers and trends in today’s business of photography. You will find photographers from all walks of life so it doesn’t matter if you are just starting out and looking for some basics or you have been in the business of photography for years.
Most important to the success of your photography is the submission of your work to various parties. These include the following; magazines, calendars, books, art galleries, and art shows. A combination of the following and not just one is the best way to grow in this business. As with other businesses it is important to diversify and make sure to not to spent too much time in one area. Submit to as many places as possible and make sure to find out submission guidelines before submitting.
The business of photography is saturated with other photographers trying to make a business of it just like yourself. This is why it is so imperative everything you do in this business makes an impression on your clients. This includes consistency, hard work, and professionalism above all others. These are the qualities that will get you ahead of others when it comes to success. Another ingredient to marketing success is efficiency and organization. Editors will have a call list and the photographer who can supply the client with the image first gets the contract. This means that as a photographer, you need to be aware of where and when each image was taken. Organize your images into categories that make retrieval simple. Categorize your images into dates, places, seasons, and categories to make finding an image as easy as possible.
When it comes to why one succeeds in this business over another, I believe it comes down to discipline and how you treat your business. You need to ask yourself how serious you are about making money in photography. Do you want to do this as a full time living or do you just want to sell a few prints to friends. If making a full time profession out of photography is what you would like to achieve, then it is important to set out some goals for yourself of where you see yourself achieving in five, ten, or fifteen years. Ask yourself what is it you are willing to do that will set yourself apart from others wanting the same results as you. What are you willing to do to stand out to potential clients? If all of these questions can be answered in the affirmative then you are well on your way to a prosperous career in photography.
(Editor’s Note - Congratulations to Kevin McNeal for making the cover of Outdoor Photographer this month!)
