Obviously, your first purchase was a professional camera. Perhaps, you spent a couple of months or even a year, learning to operate it properly. Now you have it all figured out and you are ready to start your own photography business. Where do you go from here? What do you buy to get started? I have found this to be the HARDEST question when starting my own photography business. Getting started with photography is expensive! You could spend $1,000 of dollars and see very little return! So, what do you purchase? What do you pass up? Well here is what I know so far...
Marketing
Find ways to market yourself! You could spend thousands of dollars on the best equipment, but if customers don't know you are there you will not have any income. You have to get out there and let people know you are hard working and want to earn their business! There are so many photographers out there. You have to find a way to stand out and be noticed. Chances are, there is already an established photographer in your area. If you are just getting started, you may think, "How can I compete with that?" Sure, this photographer is good, but he/she's prices are probably higher than what you would charge starting out. Advertise this! People are skeptical to try a new photographer when they already have one they like, but if you can offer a better price more will be willing to give you a try!
How to save money in Marketing
Vistaprint offers 250 free business cards to help you get started! You pay shipping(about $7) and get a standard, one sided business card for free. You are limited to only a few designs and these will not help you to stand out in the market, but it's a good place to start when start-up budgets are tight! You can always order more, nicer cards down the road. Click the link below to get your free business cards:
http://www.vistaprint.com/freeprembcrs.aspx?GP=10%2f16%2f2012+12%3a58%3a36+PM&GPS=2592196704&GNF=1
Make sure to give a few extra cards to every client you photograph. Now when your clients show off their wonderful photographs, it's easy for them to send a friend or family member to you by simply giving them a card.
Word of Mouth Advertising
Word of mouth advertisement goes a long way! Do you know someone who owns a local business? Are you a frequent shopper or loyal customer at a business? Ask the store owner for help.Some will let you leave business cards for their customers to have. I actually have a local store that is displaying one of my framed photographs in their store along with my business cards so their customers can see a sample of my work! Now that is some awesome Marketing! You never know until you ask.
Social Media
I assume everyone has heard of https://www.facebook.com/. This is a very popular social media site. Set up a free business account there. This is a great way to get in some free advertisement for your business! You can show samples of your work, offer deals, etc. Also provide links to other social media sites you may maintain such as twitter, blogger, etc.
My Facebook business page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/snapshots.shannon. I try to offer a monthly free giveaway or promotion to create interest on my page and draw in new fans.
If you are not currently using any social media to market your business check out this video below to see why you should start now! You need to be seen by your customers and your customers are online.
If you know of any other clever, fun, or money saving ways to market your business, please let us know in the comments!
How do you let people know about your business?
What marketing challenges have you faced?
How did you overcome them?
What worked? What did not?
Let us know in the comments.
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