Whenever you have your own business, it takes more than telling friends and family to pass the word around to get enough clients into your photography’s studio, or to get enough work as a freelance photographer.
Marketing and advertising are essential factors in any business, but many people just starting out don’t have the money to devote to large scale marketing campaigns. If you are just starting out with your photography business or trying to increase your clientele list in your freelance business, there are a few important tips that will save you time and money when promoting your business.
As with anyone, if you are just starting out, you’re more likely to do a variety of jobs because you feel as though you’ll be just starting out and some money is better than no money. While that’s true, it won’t help you create a niche for your photography. For example, if wedding photography is your passion and you are good at it, taking family portraits or school photos isn’t going to help you become known for your work as a wedding photographer. By focusing on your specialty, you’ll become better known in the field, and as result, you will take more photos of weddings and those clients will refer you to other weddings clients.
Once you create a specialty or focus, such as wedding photography, it will help you narrow down your marketing and advertising so that you get more for your money. New and potential clients should be able to find you based on the services you provide and if you spread yourself too thin, it likely means that nobody will really know what you’re good at doing. For new photographers or those starting out with a small business, it will be hard to turn down clients in other areas of focus – especially those that are not of interest you. It is better to stick with clients that provide you with the work you love. Photography is such a creative outlet and you need to be passionate about your work in order to see the beauty that others might not see. By simply doing something for a paycheck, you might not be as successful as you want — so focus your efforts on the areas of photography you love, and put time and money into advertising that niche rather than spreading yourself too thin.
