11 Ways to get Free Marketing for
Your Photography
One of the
challenges of charging for your photography is figuring out how to get clients.
You’ve got the technical know-how, but what about the business and marketing
side? Strapped for cash and looking for ways to generate buzz about your
photography? No problem. Marketing doesn’t have to cost much money if you are
willing to put in the time. Here are 11 proven ways to get free marketing for
your photography business:
Networking
Networking is a
great way to get your name out there and make connections with other businesses
that can lead to partnerships and referral business. Be sure to have a plan of
what you would like to accomplish (meet two new people, etc.) go prepared to
chat up lots of new people and finally, have a plan for follow up. It’s those
follow up get-togethers for coffee that can lead to new business.
Wisestamp
Wisestamp is a free
email app that allows you to turn every email signature into a mini marketing
campaign-you can add your links for Facebook, Twitter and your blog, as well as
include feeds so your latest update or post is featured.
Facebook
Many
photographers are successfully building their business
with Facebook marketing. It
only requires about 10-20 minutes per day, and you will start to see your
reputation grow. Why would you want to get on Facebook when you are already
blogging? Because that’s where your clients are, and it’s another opportunity
to connect with them in a fun, social way.
Pinterest
Pinterest is basically a
way for users to collect and share images of things they like or convey a
concept they want to express. It’s another great way to connect with your
clients and prospective clients about creative ideas for their sessions or to
express your own creative vision. It’s a very diverse platform that works
for photographers who tend to be visual.
Cross-Marketing
Cross-marketing
is partnering up with another business in order to help each other with
marketing. Perhaps you could approach a children’s clothing store about
offering a photo shoot with their latest clothing collection in exchange for
holding a mini marathon session at the store?
Think outside
the box and figure out where your clients are. This concept can be applied to
any type of photography. Not everyone you approach will be receptive, so you
keep trying until you find a good match.
Blogging
A blog is a
great way to communicate with your audience what you are all about and what you
offer. Your blog is basically a blank canvas to express creative ideas, share
bits about your personal life, educate clients, share images and showcase
products. A website is like a brochure, whereas a blog is like an ongoing
conversation.
SEO
Search engine
optimization is not as complicated as it seems. If you have a blog, it’s easy
to get started. All you do is include keywords in text, tags and images that
will help customers find you. For example, you could do separate blog posts
about different types of services to help people find you when they are
searching for that service. To take it a step further, name images with
keywords, so instead of loading up 3209KL rename to “Wake Forest Wedding” so
people searching for images of weddings in Wake Forest will find you. Once you
understand the basics, it becomes easy to include SEO as a part of your regular
activities.
Local Listings Online
Get Listed is a free
one-stop service for updating local listings online. The process can easily be
completed in about ten minutes, so it is well worth the time and super simple
to do.
Referral Gifts
Past clients
are a great source of referrals, and what better way to encourage referrals
than offering incentives? Offer a service or product that doesn’t cost too much
but has a high perceived value as a referral incentive. When business owners
say “my business is based on referrals from happy clients” and “the greatest
compliment you can give me is a referral” they are letting their clients know
what they would like them to do. You have to ask for the referral.
Contests
Contests are a
great way to do build buzz and build excitement for your brand. You’ll want to
put together a plan that encouraging sharing so your message can be spread to
new potential customers, and therefore build your base. Be sure to follow state
laws and Facebook terms whenever holding a contest on your page or blog.
Getting Published
If you want to
focus on building press and prestige for your work, getting published is a
great way to go. You can submit images and story ideas to trade publications in
your field as well as local media outlets. Once you’ve been published, you can
use that publicity as a tool to promote yourself and open doors to more work.
I’ve written a free guide on getting published that you can download today.
So there you
have it. Some of these techniques can be implemented in the next 30 minutes;
others require a greater time commitment. Marketing takes time to nurture and
grow into a reliable source of leads, so don’t expect overnight results.
However, if you are planning to build a business to last, then what better time
to lay the foundation for success than right now?
Lara White is a
professional photographer and blogger. Her free guide explains the step-by-step
process she used to get featured in over 70 magazines and blogs: Get Published: A Guide for
Wedding Photographers. For a weekly dose of business and marketing advice for
photographers, check out her blog
at PhotoMint.
Darren Rowse is the editor and founder of Digital Photography School and SnapnDeals. He lives in Melbourne Australia and
is also the editor of the ProBlogger
Blog Tips. Follow him on
Instagram, on Twitter at
@digitalPS or on Google+.
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment