If you are starting out in product photography, getting new clients can feel SO overwhelming that’s where marketing comes in – however, marketing a photography business can be tricky if you don’t know what to do.
So I thought I’d write a post sharing 5 things I have learnt about marketing a photography business.
Let’s get into it.
Five things I wish I knew about Marketing a Photography Business
[1] Growth takes time and does not happen overnight
When marketing a photography business, growth, any growth, whether that is Instagram followers or filling out your booking calendar will take time.
The majority of my business has come from Instagram, but that didn’t happen instantly.
It’s easy to compare your chapter one to someone else’s chapter fifty. Try to stay in your lane, focus on your goals and stay the course. It will happen!
[2] Consistency is key when it comes to marketing a photography business
It can feel so overwhelming when you are posting daily, writing blog posts, engaging with dream clients and all you get back are crickets.
Trust me, I have been there. I wrote a blog post with some tips on being consistent on the gram, which you can read here.
It can take a few months of showing up consistently online before you start to see results, it took me about 3 months of a consistent posting schedule before I started seeing real growth and more importantly, getting those ENQUIRIES.
Stay consistent and keep showing up – I promise you, it’s hard at the start, but it’s so worth it! If you need some tips on batching your content – check out this blog post.
[3] Don’t underestimate practising your craft
In the beginning, you won’t have the perfect portfolio – but this is where you can get truly creative. The only way to get your work out there is to practice your craft. I’ve seen a bunch of people put posts out in FaceBook groups saying they’ll work for free in exchange for a testimony. I am personally not a fan of this, because everyone will jump on board to get free photos. This de-values your work and means that you are working with businesses that might not align with your goals.
A few ways around this are:
- reach out to dream clients and offer them photos in exchange for a testimony
- just purchase the products yourself, get creative, and post them online tagging the brands
Once I figured out my niche, and the kind of work that I wanted to be hired for; I started only posting that style on my feed. It took a few weeks, but pretty soon I was booked out a month in advance, and I had brands reaching out to me that were totally on point with my style and aesthetic.
[4] Invest in learning. It will save you HOURS of time
If you can afford to invest in learning, you should do it. That doesn’t always have to look like an expensive e-course, sometimes it’s just a kindle book from Amazon. The first course I invested in for my business was Amanda Campeanu’s Become a Brand Photographer It was pricey for me at that time, but within one month I made back my investment and was only able to do this from what I learnt in the course.
Figure out what you want to learn, and research the experts in that topic. Learn from them, it will honestly save you hours of time.
[5] Without a plan or a strategy, you will struggle
As I mentioned earlier, when you are marketing a photography business, showing up is key, and in order to show up, you need to have a plan and a strategy.
There are a few things to think about when it comes to figuring out your plan:
- who is your audience?
- what are their problems and how can you solve them? (knowing this will help you figure out your messaging)
- where are you going to show up (blog, Pinterest, Instagram, email marketing etc)
Look at your FAQs, listen to your audience. What are they saying, what are they worried about, how can you solve their problems? Start having those conversations with them.
Even if you get it wrong at the start, check your insights, what is working / not working – keep doing more of what is working. Tweak your strategy, adjust your plan, and you’ll have a refined marketing plan in no time.
Do you have any questions? My DMs are always open for a chat, I genuinely love helping you out and will always get back to you!
