To some, starting a photography business sounds easy. They just think they need to invest in equipment and have a good eye for shooting and photo editing. But the truth is a bit different and in fact, the photo industry is one of the most challenging and competitive out there.
Don’t trust our word for it; the numbers speak for themselves: in the first year, 60% of photographers give up, while the other 25% fail in their second year. So just 15% are the ones that make it to the third year of their business.
There’s something wrong that new photographers do, and that is ignoring marketing and tools that can get them more clients to maximize their income (and increase their chances of getting in that odd 15%).
This article will offer some marketing and photography tips that will help you attract new clients and keep your existing clients coming back for more.
Defining your niche is one of the best ways to find customers easily. Once you understand your customers’ profiles, you will find them much more straightforward: you’ll soon learn where they spend their time online, offline, who they follow, what they trust, and what they care about. Once you know who you’re talking to, your marketing approach for your photo studio will become targeted and strategic.
Tactics like email marketing and building a customer database will enable you to keep your past, and potential future clients close. Then, when you have an audience, you can start working on follow-ups, proposals, promotions, and more, which is always a good idea for moments when your business is slow.
Most people will only hire a photographer to capture a massive event like a wedding. Still, they don't think about hiring a photographer for other occasions like a family Christmas shooting or an engagement mini-shooting. However, if you create some smaller, less expensive photo sessions by simply using your lighting for product photography, you might be able to get a lot of clients fast.
Smaller sessions are also a good chance for you to meet new people, and if you’re good at what you are doing, they might contact you for bigger gigs when the time comes.
Some examples are Instagram mini-shootings to capture the season, Christmas family shootings, couple engagement photography, new baby shooting - just to name a few.
If you have customers that requested a large volume project, or organized several photo shootings during a year, offer them a discount or a bonus. Data suggests that you can sell up to 73% more if you offer a discount on a larger pack.
In this case, you can offer a discount if they purchase photography and photo editing services for larger batches of products or several days spent in your photo studio.
An example of a good package sounds like this: book a wedding photographer and earn a complimentary engagement photo session and portrait photography for the bride and groom.
If you consider making more money quickly, upload your photos on stock image platforms. This is a great passive income source for photographers and could bring you money in the long run.
The income will be influenced by the number, the quality, and the relevance of your images. Also, some level of image editing might be required. Transparent background images are always good assets for designers and advertising agencies, so if you remove background from your images, chances are you can sell your images for commercial purposes.
Try our automated background remover tool for free here.
Some images can be sold with a few cents, some with a few dollars, and some with more significant amounts of money (if you sell the copyright for large advertising prints, for example).
Selling stock photography is a way to profit from your images without much work, which is always lovely! You can read more about how to take stock photos that sell in this article.
Your Instagram feed is sort of a portfolio that will probably get seen much more than your website. Curate images you made for clients, professional-looking photos you’ve taken of yourself, friends, or family, and share some insights from behind the scenes.
If it’s hard for you to keep a good balance between personal and professional images, create separate accounts.
Also, remember that it’s not enough just to post. You have to interact with other people, comment, and like their posts so your profile will be more exposed. Adding relevant hashtags is also essential, so research hashtags that will be good for your business. Don’t forget to include: personal hashtags (your business name), theme hashtags (for example, #WeddingPhotographer), and location based hashtags (#GermanPhotographer). Keep your eyes on influencers and other successful photographers to get inspired by your hashtags.
Need help with your photography and image editing needs? We recommend you to try our partner for the best photography and retouching services.
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