TABLE of CONTENTS

PART I 5 INTRO
5 Introduction

6 3 Questions to Answer Before You Start Marketing

8 Key Marketing Concepts

11 How to Create a Marketing Plan

PART II 12 THE INS & OUTS OF KEY MARKETING CHANNELS

12 Tackling Google & Building Your SEO

14 Get Social: 4 Tips That Can Help You Succeed on Every Platform

17 How to Blog Better

20 Three Easy Steps to Use Email Marketing to Your Advantage

By Mira, Mad Mimi email newsletter coach

23 Conclusion & Resources

© 2014 PhotoShelter, Inc

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PhotoShelter, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation
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PART I

Intro very freelance photographer faces the very

same conundrum—when you’re busy with cli-
ents, you’re likely not spending time marketing
long term approach to optimizing your online presence,
and building relationships across multiple online chan-
nels. This guide is your blueprint to finding the right
your business.This typically produces a feast or famine online marketing mix for your business.
lifestyle that nobody enjoys. Hunt for new projects, then
work like crazy, then hunt for new projects, again and Ready to get started?
again. It doesn’t take an advanced MBA to recognize
that this is not a sustainable way to run a business. To
help you out, inside this guide you’ll find a variety of on-
line marketing strategies and tips that can help produce
a steady pipeline of new prospects and keep existing cli-
ents coming back for more.

You’ll find that these techniques are well suited for

photography freelancers because they require minimal
financial investment. (Don’t think you’re getting off so
easy; they will certainly require a significant time in-
vestment, but we’ll discuss how to make smart decisions
about where and how to spend that precious time.)

Always keep in mind that your smart online marketing

strategy starts and ends with two primary goals. 1) Cre-
ating multiple ways for people who need your services
to find you and engage with you online. 2) Converting
these people into paying clients. This guide addresses
both goals with dozens of tactics to help get you started
or advance the strategies you have in place today. The
best part is this—with the proper attention, it really can
all happen alongside making great images and pleasing
your current clients.

So, it’s time to make a big commitment to break the cy-

cle that comes from being “too busy for marketing.” This
will involve changing your workflow to include some
upfront planning, ongoing testing and tweaking, and a

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 5

PART I

3 Questions to e want to help you think through key ar-

eas to help market your business and reach
more clients. Marketing your photography
What may not be as obvious is the case of the pho-
tographer who has multiple specialties, as many (if
not most) do these days. You may do editorial work

Answer Before business is a process, which means there is no one-

stop-shop formula for success to “hit the jackpot.”
But the good news is that if you plug away in a few
during the week but shoot weddings on the weekends
for that extra bump in income. What then? Well,
you’ll still want to clearly define each audience for

You Start major areas, you’ll start to solidify your brand, attract
more eyeballs to your website, and be top-of-mind
for potential buyers and clients. Here are three major
each specialty you have—and you’ll want to have a
marketing strategy suited for each as well. A one-
size-fits-all approach may cause confusion or a feel-

Marketing questions you should address before you launch your

marketing efforts.

ing among prospective clients that you’re really not
the “expert” at any one thing—or at least at the thing
they care most about. In short, they won’t find you
1 Who is your audience? relevant for their needs.
Defining and understanding your audience is crucial to
shaping your business, your products (yes, your photog- Says one art director from an advertising agency, “Pho-
raphy is a “product”), your brand, and your marketing tographers make mistakes when they don’t clearly po-
efforts as whole. Without clearly defining who you’re sition themselves in their outreach. I need to know
targeting, you can’t clearly define why you’re reaching what type of photographer they are and their style. If
out to certain folks over others. As a result, your mar- it looks like they are all over the place, I can’t be confi-
keting will lack focus (at best) and look sloppy and out dent that they can do my job well.”
of sync (at worst).
Truly understanding your target market also gives you
For example, if you’re a polar and environmental pho- several advantages. Most importantly, you know what
tographer, your audience isn’t women’s lifestyle and appeals to them.
fashion editors. This may seem obvious, but being able
to clearly articulate who you’re targeting (and not tar- 2 What is Your Unique Selling Point?
geting) will help you strategically focus your services As you get a hold on your audience’s needs, this will
and marketing efforts to appeal to the right group. help you identify your unique selling point—or what
your business offers that helps you stand out from the
pack and to keep you top of mind. Differentiating your
brand and your services from your competitors can be
Defining and understanding your audience is the ultimate key to effective marketing and getting new
business through the door.
crucial to shaping your business.

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 6

I So, first you need to make a determination: What is it that you offer your target cus-
tomers? Can you clearly state this? Is your unique offering based on a specialty (e.g. If you don't consider your website as
underwater photography) or certain access (e.g. US military) or skill (e.g. lighting)? Or,
II
is your unique offering based on the service delivered or tangible product the customer central to marketing your business,
will be purchasing (e.g. boudoir portrait sessions or photo-wrapped Mini Coopers)?

A good first step to determine your unique selling point is to survey your competition
then it's time to start.
and determine whether they have service offerings that you could replicate and then
improve upon. Next, if you sell products, analyze what has sold for you in the past come to a site that feels stale and out of date, you’re inclined to click out. To keep
year. Can you pinpoint why they sold well? What about those products was attractive your own site fresh, you want to plan out a series of regular updates—refreshing a
to buyers? (If you’re not sure, it’s okay to ask!) Also, think about the clients or projects portfolio or gallery, a new blog post on your latest shoot, etc. Regularly updating your
that have been particularly successful. What about these projects made them so? Fo- website can also help improve your ranking on major search engines, which rank sites
cus in on these factors or traits and make them known to your clients and prospects. with fresh content favorably. To have a competitive and highly functional website
this year, here are a few items your site should have:
3 Is your website as great as you are?
>>Clear contact information and “about” page
>>Well organized portfolio sections or galleries
>>E-commerce capabilities (if you sell prints or stock)
>>File delivery (so you can send files to clients with your brand)
>>Blog that is updated regularly (we recommend at least once a week)

If you can map out and answer these three questions, you’re in great shape to estab-
lish your marketing plan and attract quality potential clients.

Website by Lindsay Adler

When it comes to marketing your photography, your website is your headquarters.

It’s your greatest tool, your virtual business card, a reflection of your professionalism,
and (should be) a way to easily connect with you or transact with clients who want to
license your work or buy your prints and products.

So as a first step, if you don’t consider your website as central to marketing your busi-
ness, then it’s time to start. Think about your own experience online. As soon as you

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 7

 PART I

Key Marketing efore diving in to map out your strategy, there

are a few key marketing concepts you should
know. Let’s go through each.
RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI)
ROI is a term that marketers borrowed from the fi-
nancial world. Financial analysts have always measured

Concepts MANAGING YOUR TIME

their investments to know exactly how investments are
performing. Marketing, on the other hand, arrived late
to the analytics party.
Financial budgets can be very carefully allocated and eas-
ily tracked across a mix of marketing activities. Time, on Essentially, ROI in its simplest form translates to “bang
the other hand, tends to be harder for many to budget and for your buck.” The “investment” is what you put in,
optimize. This gets even more complicated when you in- likely your marketing dollars or your time. The “return”
troduce tactics like social media and Search Engine Opti- is what you get out, which is hopefully revenue. (Sure,
mization (SEO), the cost of which is primarily your time, inspiration or satisfaction might be considered the re-
while the results may not be immediate. In fact, generally turn as well, but let’s stick to the hard stuff.)
everyone arrives at a moment when they ask themselves
“Is all this really worth my time?” There’s a way to find out. ROI is a valuable metric because it can help you examine
every marketing activity and know the dollar amount
Two important business terms to get familiar with are that results from every dollar (or hour) you invest. This
Return on Investment (ROI) and Opportunity Cost. can also be expressed as a percentage. Once you estab-
These are objective tools at your disposal to help you carve lish the ROI across all of your marketing activities, you
up the time you budget for marketing. To get the data you can start making decisions about where to spend more
need, however, you must enforce a discipline of tracking or less of your time.
your own time, monitoring the result of your efforts, and
avoiding activities that may feel productive but are not
(like bantering with friends on Twitter, for example). OPPORTUNITY COST
All businesses, especially freelancers, have to make
tough decisions about where time and money are spent.
The concept of opportunity cost provides an easy way to
think about managing these decisions, especially when
you’re faced with any number of attractive marketing
opportunities. There’s a cost associated with not doing
something, and that’s the revenue you would get out of
It's not smart to keep doing one activity when you that specific activity. So, you incur an “opportunity cost”
by continuing to engage in any one activity while you’re
know another activity can produce more revenue. passing up the revenue associated with doing something
else. Without getting too academic, let’s just attack this

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 8

I head on—it’s not smart to keep doing one activity when you know another activity can example, inquire about your services, sign up for your newsletter, or any other possible
produce more revenue. step closer to generating revenue. Completing this goal is considered a “conversion.”
A random visitor who becomes a paying customer represents one conversion. More
II
In practical terms, you probably market your freelance business on Facebook and Twitter. conversions make you more successful. So, a metric to pay very close attention to is your
The time you invest here is time you’re not spending cold calling advertising agencies to “conversion rate.” Conversion rate represents the percentage of people who complete
book portfolio reviews. Hence, the opportunity cost is the revenue you’re passing up by your desired goal. See formula:
focusing your time on social media instead of cold calling. If cold calling is more pro-
ductive for your business, allocating your scarce time toward social media may just be a Conversion rate = Visitors who complete the goal/Total visitors
poor decision. On the other hand, if the investment in social media will create links that
improve how clients find you, the payoff may come over a longer term. In addition to knowing the overall conversion rate of your website, you should know
the conversion rate for any given marketing effort. With the help of a tool like Google
Investment (Time/Money) vs ROI (What you’re getting back) Analytics, you can even monitor the conversion rate of people who view specific con-
tent on your website, or come in from a specific source (e.g. Facebook).

Low ROI High ROI

THE INTERNET MARKETING FUNNEL
High Investment Here’s a very important way to think about marketing your business. Imagine a big
funnel. Every time someone engages with you (let’s say, visits your website), they’re
Low Investment entering the top of your funnel. Your conversion goal is for site visitors to inquire online
about your services, or perhaps purchase something directly. Those who convert come
out the bottom of the funnel. However, as visitors navigate around your website, people
Think through your investments in terms of the output. High investment is ok if you tend to drop off. For example, maybe they determine you’re not a fit for their needs, or
get high output. Low investment with high ROI is the best. You want to avoid high don’t like your branding, or can’t find your email address.
investment, low ROI.
So, it should become very obvious that two primary factors can impact your suc-
As you invest your time and money into various marketing channels, be sure to keep cess. The first is your conversion rate—how well you turn visitors into paying cus-
track of how much you’re putting in, and what your return is from those efforts. You can tomers. Improving your conversion rate against your typical monthly website traf-
think of return on levels including customer acquisition, brand awareness, lead genera- fic creates more paying customers. The second is traffic. Improving the volume of
tion, etc. As a busy photographer on a tight budget, your goal of course is to invest at traffic coming through your funnel (at the same conversion rate) will result in more
little time and money as possible, but receive a high return (see chart above). There is no paying customers too.
silver bullet for this unfortunately—you need to experiment and diligently track what
works and what doesn’t. Marketing efforts, however, typically involve multi-stage funnels. For example, you
generate an email campaign, and a small group opens it, then a smaller group clicks
through to your website, then a smaller group clicks the “buy” button, and a smaller
CONVERSION: THE MOST CRITICAL CONCEPT group finishes the sale through credit card processing.The point is, your conversion
If you want to be a savvy internet marketer, you need to start thinking in terms of conversion. rate gets whittled down with every additional step in the buying/engagement process.
That’s why simultaneously increasing the funnel and improving conversion are of para-
Everywhere you exist online, you should have a desired goal—the behavior you hope to mount importance in growing a business.
induce. For example, your website’s goal may be to drive visitors to purchase a print, for

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 9

I Once you establish a baseline for traffic and conversion rate, you can start making smart- Facebook Page, and Instagram Feed—all of which help an inquiring prospect get
er decisions about your marketing efforts. Such as how much traffic is necessary to hit to know him better.
your growth targets, and which marketing efforts deserve more resources and attention.
II
Each channel adds to Corey’s credibility that he’s working photographer with a strong
online presence and dedication to his work.
YOUR ONLINE FOOTPRINT
Once upon a time, having only a website was sufficient to market your work. “Taking Corey Rich
a business online” meant moving away from the brick and mortar world to establish a www.coreyrich.com
website, thus creating a foothold in the online world. When prospects wanted to know news.coreyrich.com
more about you and your services, they could visit your website expecting to find a www.twitter.com/coreyrich
typical explanation of your services, a list of clients, and some examples of your work. www.facebook.com/Corey.Rich.Productions
www.instagram.com/coreyrichproductions
Times have changed. Now, the best way to enhance your online footprint is by estab-
lishing a presence across a multitude of web properties including your own website(s),
social media platforms, community forums, trade organizations, blogs, etc. There are
several smart reasons to build an online footprint, including the top reason: You’re LOSE THE “FRONT DOOR” MENTALITY
more likely to get found. The reality is, the pathway that you’ve imagined potential clients will engage with you is
probably very different than the actual pathway. For instance, life would be very simple
A more robust online presence creates multiple ways for prospects to find you. When if a corporate creative director received your email promotion, visited your website,
more people can find you, you’re widening your funnel (whether they’re searching for clicked your “contact me” link, requested your portfolio, and hired you for a gig.
you specifically, or your services) to capture more traffic. Because content is indexed
highly efficiently by search engines, and links are frequently shared via social media, it But, sales cycles are rarely ever so neat and tidy. Managing your online footprint with
is now likely that most prospects are not necessarily coming through “the front door”— multiple hooks gives prospects a way to engage with you wherever they feel most com-
your traditional website homepage. Rather, they’re finding you elsewhere online, or fortable, in a way that provides either direct contact or relative anonymity. For example,
finding a specific piece of content that’s highly relevant to their needs. To take advan- that same creative director may not have an immediate need for your services, yet may
tage of this, your online marketing strategy should explore relevant opportunities to be compelled to follow you on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, or subscribe to your blog
create new profiles, descriptively keyworded so they help you get found on key terms, feed or newsletter. This gives them a way to stay engaged yet avoid the time commit-
and these profiles should point back to your website (the center of your online market- ment of a portfolio review and pitch from you until the opportunity is right for them.
ing presence) where prospects may continue to engage with you.
One word of caution about your online footprint—beyond creating the profile, you need
to carefully monitor and maintain certain sites to ensure you create a visible “pulse.” This
MANAGE YOUR BRAND means managing the frequency of posts, answering questions, and updating links.
When gathering intelligence about a potential service provider like yourself, it is typi-
cal for prospects to perform a Google search. Having multiple profiles to support your
own branding will enable prospects to “triangulate” the data and make a positive judg-
ment about your credibility.

For example, outdoor and adventure photographer Corey Rich has a unified on-
line presence across multiple platforms, including his website, blog, Twitter profile,

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 10

PART I

How to Create a ven the word “marketing plan” can sound daunt-
ing, but don’t get tripped up on terminology. Still,
if you expect to see an increase in clients/sales, you
Here are a few channels to consider:

>>Email Marketing: Newsletters, E-promos

Marketing Plan need to have a plan for specific marketing tactics that will
drive this improvement. Our recommendation is to simply
think about different marketing categories, and then list out
>>Direct Mail: Postcards, Books, Posters
>>Social Media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram
>>Events: Trade Shows, Portfolio Reviews
activities that you could do in each. >>Inbound Tactics: SEO Optimization
>>Lead Capture: Blog, Website
Your marketing plan shouldn’t be designed to treat each po- >>Blogging: Opinion pieces, Gear reviews, be-
tential customer as if they were in the same state of readi- hind-the-scenes
ness to hire you or buy something from you. For example,
some people who walk into the Gap are just passing the
time; a smaller percentage want to try on a pair of jeans; and DO THIS:
an even smaller percentage walk into the store ready to buy. »» Create a list of current and future marketing activities.
When you consider different activities in each category,
»» Create a rough estimate of time/money that you will
expend on each.
think about how people in different parts of the “sales cycle”
would react. You might do a low cost postcard campaign to
»» Create a rough ROI (return on investment) that each
initiative will bring.
blanket as many photo buyers and editors. And you might
do a more expensive photo book to send to your top 10 to
»» Jettison high/low investment ROI projects. Plan
campaigns around high ROI projects. Remember to take
make a larger impression. You wouldn’t treat the customer into account that some efforts may take longer to see a
who’s just looking for a place to sit down the same as the “return” so make sure you’re balancing short and long
term gain (e.g. efforts that build awareness vs. those that
one who’s ready to buy a pair of jeans. Your marketing ef- might bring in customers immediately).
forts should be nuanced.

Additionally, you need to remember one-time marketing

efforts rarely pay off. You often need to experiment with
multiple campaigns through multiple channels to get on
people’s radars and convert them into customers. Increasing
your “brand awareness” amongst your potential customers
is arguably as important as converting a small percentage of
them into paying customers.

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 11

PART II

Tackling Google
& Building Your
SEO

Photo by Jim Goldstein

hat is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) determining which SEO factors hold most influence
exactly? In short, SEO is the process of af- in the rankings, and you lose half your traffic. The frus-
fecting where your website organically ranks tration might be warranted, but the fact of the matter
on major search engines like Google, Bing, etc. is that everyone uses search engines to find services
and products online. And no matter what you search
Photographers are often vexed by SEO because it for, some websites always comes up first, and subse-
seems like a moving target. Just when you think your quently gain a massive marketing benefit.
website is ranking well, Google changes its algorithm

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 12

I Although there are many different factors that affect SEO, we like to think of two main ous photo blogs, magazines, or newspapers. Link aggregator sites like Stumbleupon,
categories that you can focus on to simplify things. Digg, and Reddit can also be a great way to get a large number of people talking about
>>On-page content your photography very quickly.
II
>>Building links to your website
2. ON-PAGE CONTENT refers to the text that appears on your website. On many
In an information rich society, we are highly dependent on search engines to find what photographer websites, there is very limited text, which is a problem from an SEO
we are looking for whether it’s a local plumber, or a portrait photographer in Des Moines. perspective. As much as you might want your photography to “speak for itself,”
You simply cannot drive enough traffic to your website by handing out business cards. you still need textual content to rank within search engines. If you are a New York
The goal of SEO is unsolicited traffic—people looking for your products and services portrait photographer, then “New York portrait photographer” should appear on your
without knowing who you are. website. So should words and phrases that are similar in nature like “I specialize in
corporate and editorial portraiture in the New York and Tri-state area.” Similarly,
Hopefully, your website provider has automated much of the SEO techno-geek stuff for your images need captions and titles, and the more detail, the better.
you. This might include:
>>unique page titles Obviously you want your images to be front and center, so use your “About” page or
>>meta description other pages to list the products you sell, awards you’ve won, workshops you give, etc.
>><h1> (aka. HTML headline tags) > IMG alt attributes
>>microformats
>>sitemaps DO THIS:
>>optimized page load times »» Create a keyword “hitlist” of 20-50 words that you want your website to rank for.
Keywords are words and phrases that you think people might potentially search for to
find your service. For example, if you’re a nature photographer based in Denver, Colorado,
example keywords that you want your website to rank for might be, “Denver Nature
Although there are countless factors that affect where you rank on a search engine, here are Photography,” “Colorado Nature Photographer,” “Nature Photography” etc.
two things among them that hold some of the greatest weight: »» Use your keyword list to inform website copy. Google yourself and refine the keywords
and phrases as your business and services or the language your specialty and industry
1. BACKLINKS TO YOUR WEBSITE is arguably the most important factor in increasing uses changes.
your SEO. Each link represents an “endorsement” and the number of links partially »» Check these words against the Google Keyword Planner to determine whether they have
influences how much of your website will be indexed by the search engines, and where appreciable search volume. Modify your list accordingly.
you appear in search results. The process of “backlink” creation can seem like a very »» Search each term to determine your online competition. Use MajesticSEO to perform a
ambiguous task, but in fact, it’s quite simple. There are two ways to build links 1) do it backlink analysis to determine whether you can displace the competition.
yourself, or 2) get other people to link to your website.
»» Include as much metadata and description as you can to every image you publish online.
Be consistent with your tagging. If you choose to forgo all image descriptions, metadata
Maintaining a blog and a strong presence on social media networks are some of the easiest and smart blog titles, it can negatively impact your chances of being found. (Metadata is
information—data—stored within a digital image file). Not only does this help SEO, it can
ways to link to yourself. Each time you photograph something new, create a gallery on your
help protect your images from theft and misuse.
website then write a blog entry which links to that gallery. Another tactic is to take advan-
tage of profiles you can create with photography trade associations or community groups. »» Remember that “inaction is action.” Be active with your blog and website updates so
that Google sees your content as fresh. Regularly update your website and social media
platforms. By ignoring them you’re telling the search engines you’re not relevant—the
Getting other people to link to you is a bit harder; you need to have something on your opposite effect you’re looking for to help improve where you rank on Google.
site that makes them want to link to you. Perhaps you’ve worked on a long-term photo
project that has some relevance right now. You might pitch a gallery of images to vari-

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 13

PART II

Get Social: 4 Tips ver 1 billion people use Facebook. Twitter has
over 600 million active registered users. Insta-
gram has over 200 million active monthly users,
up with new Facebook strategies that get your clients
sharing your images with other potential families and
teens? And if you’re a commercial or editorial photog-

That Can Help and LinkedIn comes in at 300 million. Social media isn’t
a fad—one could argue it is the glue that creates highly
sticky user interaction on the web.
rapher, maybe you’re more interested in using LinkedIn
and Twitter to keep former clients and prospects aware
of your latest work.

You Succeed Companies are amassing millions of users online with

the ability to broadcast messages more frequently and
Though every platform is different, there are four key
“rules” to consider to help you successfully showcase

on Every Social more inexpensively than ever before. Celebrities are

communicating with fans; news outlets are breaking
stories, and photographers are finding that they can en-
your brand on each.

1. BE A PERSON.

Media Platform ter the social conversation by simply tagging wedding

guests in a Facebook album before the guests can, or
create a following on Instagram by sharing photos from
This is probably the most important rule of social media
behavior in general. You want to operate as you would
in the real world. This means you should refrain from
a personal project. constantly selling your services, use language that is
approachable, and share content that is interesting. If
We’re not saying that every social media outlet will you’re not sure what constitutes interesting content, ask
work for every photographer, but there’s enough real yourself if you’d be inclined to like, share or comment on
evidence to suggest that a strong social media campaign that post if you saw it on your own Feed. And remem-
can translate into real marketing exposure and real rev- ber that social media is not a one-way street. You are
enue. The key point to remember is that your website participating in a community, which means you need to
is not a daily destination for your customers. On the respond and reach out to others (as you would do in an
other hand, hundreds of millions of people login to offline conversation).
Facebook daily, so it's important that you go where your
customers already are. 2. GO BEHIND-THE-SCENES
Give a behind-the-scenes look at your shoots: the set-
The argument can be made that different specialities up, the gear, yourself shooting on location or even a
will use social media differently—that’s very true. So, sneak peak of a personal project you're working on. This
going back to your understanding of your audience, it’s can give people an idea of how you work. Also think
a good idea to determine how your audience uses social about giving a shout-out to the people you worked with
media to follow photographers and identify new talent. that day. This shows you’re a team player and also en-
For instance, if you’re a portrait photographer, you’re courages those you tag to follow and share your work.
probably focused on how you can best harness the social Fashion photographer Lara Jade does a great job at this.
platforms to promote word of mouth. Can you come Check out examples on her Twitter page here.

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 14

I

II

Lara Jade's Twitter Instagram Photo by Travel Photographer Pei Ketron

3. BE CONSISTENT their content will start to appear in your Feed. When you see a post that you
It’s important to have a consistent voice when you post. This means that the general think might interest your audience, share, retweet, or comment.
tone, content and visuals are recognizable and don’t feel random. Regularly posting
in this way will also let your audience know to expect content from you, which will >>Sign up for newsletters and subscribe to RSS feeds. Some examples include
improve engagement. Pro Photo Daily or PDN. That way, you won’t miss posts from publications
and industry thought leaders that are most important to you. A service like
4. PICK THE RIGHT PHOTO. Feedly or Flipboard will also let you aggregate your favorite blogs in one spot
Whether you’re sharing on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, you should share a photo so you can quickly skim for interesting news and updates and then share
that strengthens your voice (which you’ve thought about and defined)—it adheres to with your networks.
your aesthetic by way of style or content, etc., and shows off work you love. We recom-
mend sharing at least one photo per day. If you're having trouble choosing a photo, try >>Let people know you’ve shared their work. If you share content without
to find one that evokes some type of emotion in yourself. Chances are it will also have using the share or retweet function (so, instead, by simply linking to an
an effect on others as well. article, resource, or gallery), consider shooting that blogger an email or
message to let them know that you’re helping spread their content. People
Also, to help increase your visibility and reach on platforms, do this: appreciate when you help them share their news, and taking a quick mo-
ment to let them know may make them more likely to share your own
>>Like or follow pages or feeds from leading photo blogs, and other photogra- content one day.
phers you admire. Keep in mind that once you like or follow their accounts,

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 15

I Want some examples of photographers succeeding with social media? Check out a few
that we love following on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram:
II
Facebook:
Lisa Devlin
John Keately
Corey Rich
Brooke Shaden
Brian Smith

Twitter:
Zack Arias
Eunique Jones Gibson
Lucas Gilman
Lara Jade
Ken Kaminesky
Melissa Lyttle

Instagram:
Brooke Dombrowski
Tim Landis
Brad Mangin
Landon Nordeman
Adrienne Pitts

And be sure to check out our latest guides with resources and tips to help you amp up
your social presence: The Photographer’s Guide to Facebook, The Photographer’s Guide to
Twitter, and The Photographer’s Guide to Instagram.

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 16

PART II

How to Blog or a photographer, your blog is not just a place

to dump links and post photos. Your blog is a
marketing tool, and can be a very effective one
You should always strive to create content that attracts and
sustains the attention of this audience. Not only will this
help focus the content strategy, but also the needs and prac-

Better at that. The captive online audience is vast, comprised

of prospective clients, photographers looking to learn,
gear enthusiasts, and many other consumers who are
tices of your targeted audience will inform how you blog.

For example, when establishing her company, Major

actively searching for services like yours. Multimedia, photographer and multimedia producer
Lauren Major wanted to target the nonprofit and so-
To maximize the flavor potential of your blog, you need cial good sector. Once she narrowed her target audi-
to reach people with similar tastes. Connecting with the ence, she was able to research their online activity, and
right audience starts with a targeted content strategy. create content that would specifically appeal to the
social good user.

ESTABLISHING YOUR BLOG’S BRAND Photographers who run workshops will often cater the
Your portfolio site design, how you communicate with writing on their blog to other photographers. This helps
clients, your logos, your deliverables, your lighting establish them as “experts,” as well as speak directly to
technique, your field of photography – all of these prospective attendees and students. A blog can also help
elements define your personal brand. Your blog’s #1 photographers continue a dialogue with current and
purpose should be to extend this brand. former clients, as well as attract potential new ones.

For example, if you frequently work with corporate cli- Additionally, alternative and edgy UK wedding pho-
ents, your community would not respond well to pro- tographer Lisa Devlin has branded herself as the go-to
fanity-laden rants. (In general, this is a bad idea). But photographer for all weddings off-the-beating path. She
take time to think about who your audience is and what uses her blog to showcase the non-traditional thread
tone and style of writing would resonate best with them.

There are multiple points of entry for building a suc-

cessful blog. Whether you choose the provocative route,
the educational route, the anecdotal route, among many
others, your strategic choices should reflect your brand.

TARGETING YOUR AUDIENCE

Your brand can also help identify your target audience. Like
any marketing push, it will pay to know who the readers are.

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 17

I between her clients to help reinforce her expertise and Here are a few tips to help tailor a system for your workflow. sure you have a plan for when you want to blog. It does
niche in this space. not necessarily have to be a set number, either. The key
1. ORGANIZE YOUR IDEAS is to be consistent so your followers can expect and look
II
The more targeted your marketing efforts, the more suc- An effective content strategy relies on careful planning. forward to your posts. If you’re a wedding photographer,
cessful you will be at converting customers. If your blogging strategy is to wait for ideas first, you your blogging strategy might involve doing a post after
will likely end up with an inconsistent blog and a con- every wedding. Even if your blogging pattern follows
stant feeling of pressure to come up with new topics. If gigs, having a set deadline will help you stay consistent
GENERATING SALES you blog every thought that pops into your head, you (i.e. never wait more than 72 hours to publish a post
Your blog can also function quite well as an indirect risk burying the quality content with the extraneous about a job), and meet audience expectations.
marketing tool for your brand, including directly trans- stuff—and confusing your audience.
lating into image sales or other revenue opportunities. The best way to stay on top of your self-made blogging
Start a spreadsheet, Google Doc, or journal devoted exclu- deadlines is to keep a calendar exclusively for your blog.
If part of your business includes selling workshops, your sively to ideas for potential blog posts. If you have a mo- It could contain upcoming shoots and personal events,
blog content should target the consumer who might be in- ment of inspiration, jot it down or type it up. You may nev- or you could plan each month out specifically based on
terested in your specific workshop. Blog posts should em- er use half of the ideas, or may take one thought in a totally what you will be posting about on a given day. Looking
phasize your expertise in your field, and show who you are different direction, but keeping a list of thoughts will take at an upcoming calendar will help you manage the time
as a teacher and a photographer. For example, nature pho- the pressure off coming up with something to write about you need to complete each desired blog post, and may
tographer Greg Basco of Deep Green Photography sells on the spot—and it will help you manage your workflow. also provide you with new or thematic inspiration.
nature photography workshops in Costa Rica through his
website. The “Behind the Lens” series on his blog shows 2. CREATE TOPIC CATEGORIES 4. HAVE AN RSS FEED
images captured in the field, and explains the technique Have an understanding of the areas that you want to Your idea diary not cutting it for you? Keep an RSS feed,
and story behind getting the shot. Greg’s tours now sell cover on your blog. Think through questions like: like Feedly, of photography blogs that inspire you, blogs
out quickly after being announced. >>Do you want to write at least one gear review of prospective clients, the musings of your competitors,
a week? and/or the Twitter feed of your favorite vendor. An RSS
You may also want to sell products through your web- >>Do you want to feature an interview with an feed consolidates all of the sites and accounts your go-to
site, or directly on your blog. The content should support industry professional once a month? for inspiration into one place, which will help cut down
why a consumer should buy this product from you, and >>Do you want to have a video blog series? on time spent going between each site—and the dis-
even show the value of the product. tractions Internet surfing can bring.
You don’t have to decide every area of interest before
you start your blog, and based on your audience’s re- 5. MANAGE YOUR OWN EXPECTATIONS
MANAGING YOUR BLOGGING sponse the topics you write about may evolve. Having a If writing does not come easily to you and you cannot in-
WORKFLOW few target areas in your pocket will help you focus your vest the resources into outsourcing the work, travel pho-
After you choose the best platform for you and identify idea stream, and keep the blog clear and on brand. For tographer Matt Brandon advises setting boundaries for
your target audience, you may find yourself about to hit the inspiration, check out the next page for 7 ideas to help yourself. Writing can easily consume your day, and setting
“Now what?” panic button. If you do not have a plan for inspire you when writing blog posts. unreasonable expectations as to what you can accomplish
your workflow, a blog can quickly become a burden. But is setting yourself up to fail.
you can easily skip ahead of the whole overwhelming part 3. MAKE A CALENDAR, AND STICK TO IT
of blogging by developing an effective workflow system. Is it realistic for you to blog everyday? Probably not, and Set goals you know you can meet. The great thing
it might not be smart for you to do it either. Just make about blogs is they are totally malleable. If you dis-

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 18

I cover you love blogging and can ramp up your pro- out a niche for themselves based on their reviews. It 7. GO BEHIND-THE-SCENES
duction, as long as it’s in-tune with your target audi- might be what you say, it might be how you say it, but Behind-the-scenes content usually resonates well with
ence—go for it! But if you try to do and say too much if you write a great gear review, someone will definitely an audience, especially photographers who love to learn
II
right out of the gate, you may be shooting yourself in be reading. the story behind an image. Practically any photo assign-
the foot. Building an audience can take time, so set ment you’ve done has the potential to become a behind-
up a sustainable workflow system for yourself that can 4. COMPILE RESOURCES the-scenes blog.
support the process. Everyone loves to discover that all the information
they need on a topic already exists in one place. If you
don’t mind doing a little legwork, then try assembling
7 BLOG TOPICS TO INSPIRE YOU a specific, relevant list of online resources. This may be
Here are 7 ideas off the bat to inspire you when plan- a particularly useful option for photographers who do
ning out your blog posts. not consider themselves strong writers—a resource list
is more about supporting the topic, and writing need
1. TOP 10 LISTS not be heavily involved.
Top 10 list (or top 9, top 7, etc.) are highly clickable and
easy to share – a list provides quick, easily understood 5. CROWDSOURCE COMMENTARY
context for exactly what the reader will find in your blog In a recent PhotoShelter blog post, we asked four ma-
post. Added bonus: lists don’t need to be copy-heavy or jor photo editors from Rolling Stone, The New Yorker,
heavily researched. Go ahead and give your own opinion Vogue Italia and Esquire.com how they're using Insta-
on the 5 female photographers who changed the indus- gram to develop new talent. Their responses are here.
try, and watch the hits roll in. As a photographer, consider sourcing your colleagues,
posing a question to your readers, or blasting your social
2. STIR THE POT media platforms. No matter the route, you will end up
If you’re not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, bucking with content created for you that also proves to your
tradition or authority with a controversial statement community that you value their opinion.
is a great way to get the community buzzing. How-
ever, don’t just say something provocative for the sake 6. INTERVIEW PEOPLE SMARTER THAN YOU
of getting a rise out of people. It is better to put forth The world is full of smart, interesting people with
your opinion on a topic about which you genuinely an experienced viewpoint. An interview with them
have something to say, and back that statement up can add depth to an issue and will likely bring new
with facts and illustrative examples. Prepare yourself people to your blog that might not have found it oth-
for a helping of haters, and make sure to respond to erwise. You could also email a photographer whose
naysayers with the same intelligent clarity with which work you admire or a prospective client that you’d
you crafted the article. love to work with one day. As long as the interview is
not a thinly veiled request for work, promoting them
3. WRITE A REVIEW with an interview on your blog will at least get you
Clearly there is no shortage of photography gear re- on a few radars.
views on the Internet. That should not discourage you
from writing one yourself. Many photographers carve

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 19

PART II

Three Easy Steps hether you’re looking to sell more prints or book
more photography sessions, email marketing is
an efficient, low-cost way to build up your client

to Use Email base. As an email newsletter coach at Mad Mimi—a

simple, lovely email service—I help lots of photographers
reach a wider audience. While our collective superpower

Marketing to Your at Mad Mimi is email marketing (as nerdy as that is),
many of us are aspiring photographers as well, so I’m
thrilled to share these tips with you!

Advantage STEP ONE: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE

By Mira, Mad Mimi email newsletter coach EMAIL MEDIUM
USE A BONAFIDE EMAIL MARKETING PLATFORM. If you’re
a PhotoShop whiz, you may be tempted to build an email
in that format—images and text included. But image-only
emails tend to have worse reader engagement and inbox
delivery rates. To ensure that your emails get delivered and
opened, use a tool designed for creating marketing emails.
Both people and inbox robots will be able to understand
this format. Mad Mimi is a great option for photographers.
Here are a few photographers using our service:

Jennifer Clare Photography

Dana Smith Photography
Heather Evans Smith Photography

ALWAYS LINK. Include at least one link in each email you

send. It’s easy to turn any text or image into a clickable
link. Before you send, preview your email as your recipients
will see it. Links “above the fold” of the screen perform
better than links readers must scroll down to see. What to
link to? Think about linking out to your website, a specific
photography portfolio, a recent blog post, or even one of
your social networks if you’re trying to grow your following.

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 20

I ALWAYS ENCOURAGE VISITS TO YOUR WEBSITE.  Get folks out of the email and onto that in email, either. Be respectful of people’s inboxes, and be sure that you’re delivering
your site. That’s where they can have a richer viewing experience, learn more about relevant content to the right people. At Mad Mimi, we review your first email before it
your photography, and potentially make a purchase or email you to inquire about your goes out and give you any technical tips or design feedback if needed.
II
services. The point of your email is to invite them to engage with you—hopefully on
your site. COLLECT SIGNUPS. Practice permission-based marketing, which means only sending
to people who have opted in to receive your emails, whether by using a signup form
If you use Google Analytics to measure your web traffic, you may be able to see how on your site, signing up at an event, or making a purchase. Only send to people you’ve
many visits come from your email newsletters (this depends on your email platform; interacted with recently (say, the past 18 months). You don’t send your business card to
Mad Mimi integrates with Google Analytics). your high school teachers—it’s essentially the same thing.

Many email marketing platforms (including Mad Mimi) offer customizable signup
STEP TWO: BE YOUR SHINY SELF forms and integrate with top third-party form builders.
DON’T BE AFRAID OF MINIMALISM. Let your photography communicate on its own in
your emails—just as you would in another medium. Showcase your photographs with DON’T SEND TOO MANY EMAILS. Don’t send too few.  The ideal frequency depends
lovely, wide image modules. Even one image alone can make a powerful impact. on your audience. It’s worth thinking about why you are emailing your audience—
might they hire you, have they hired you, do they just like your work? Unless you’ve
KEEP YOUR TEXT SHORT. Email can be a very intimate (and interactive) environment. segmented your list, your audience probably includes a variety of people, so keep that
Don’t distract your recipients with too much content. Simple emails get shared. in mind when considering frequency.
Make sure you can answer the question, “Why am I sending this email?” If your
own answer is muddled or hidden in the text, you will struggle to engage. To find the best frequency for you, we recommend a combination of going with your
gut and testing. You know your audience best. Make decisions based on that, but be
SPEAK YOUR OWN STYLE. Design your emails to reflect the personality of your brand. willing to try new things. Most email platforms offer stats reporting to help you gauge
The colors, fonts, and layouts you use should reinforce the branding on your website the effectiveness of your emails. Check your stats and adjust accordingly!
and complement (rather than compete with) your photography.
GIVE SOMETHING AWAY.  It’s just true: If you give people something for signing up,
MAXIMIZE YOUR SOCIAL REACH. Find new fans by maximizing the shareability of your they feel better about handing over their email address. And you don’t JUST want their
emails. Not into Twitter? So what! Some of your photography fans probably love it. email address—you want their business. Offering a coupon for a print or specialized
So make it easy for your fans, friends, and family to share your emails on their favorite content at signup is a great way to give your newsletter added perceived value.
social networks.
If you’re a bit more advanced, drip campaigns are a great way to deliver free (or paid)
Many email platforms (including Mad Mimi) let you include social sharing buttons in stuff to people who sign up. What’s a drip campaign? It’s a series of autoresponder
your emails. These allow your fans to share your email with just one click. You can also emails. You can use drip campaigns to deliver downloadable freebies, welcome emails,
include links to your own social profiles, making it easy for readers to click right to your and coupons. If you’re interested in sharing your expertise, you can even use them to
business’ Facebook page, for instance. deliver photography e-courses. Here are a few helpful blog posts on drip campaigns:

5 Tips for Creating a Stellar Welcome Email Campaign

STEP THREE: BE RESPECTFUL OF YOUR AUDIENCE 6 (Incredible!) Woman-Powered Drip Campaigns
THE GOLDEN RULE. You wouldn’t load your photography prints into a T-shirt cannon 5 Tips for Gaining Subscribers with an Email Course
and run up and down the street firing shots into people’s dining rooms. So don’t do 21 Autoresponder Ideas to Grow Your Business

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 21

I If you focus on these three steps, you’ll be well on your way to increasing the reach of
your photography business! The Mad Mimi team would be more than happy to answer
any questions you have about getting started. Email us at support@madmimi.com.
II

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 22

Conclusion arketing does not have to be your worst enemy,
but it does require you to carve out time and map
out a gameplan. Once you have a few strategies
Resources:
GUIDE: The Photographer’s Guide to Facebook
GUIDE: The Photographer’s Guide to Instagram

& Resources in place - whether that be a workflow that includes post-

ing to social networks, blogging regularly, or sending out
a monthly newsletter - you will be more able to grow a
GUIDE: The Photographer’s Guide to Twitter
GUIDE: 11 Secrets to a Great Photography Website
GUIDE: Creating a Successful Photography Portfolio
strong presence online and establish awareness about your GUIDE: 10 Branding Secrets for Photographers
brand. And remember, before you start, know cold what BLOG: Developing a Better Photography Brand
you’re providing and exactly who and where your target BLOG: How This Photographer is Making Your Laugh
audience is—both online and off. If you can confidently BLOG: 10 Great Photographer Promos
define your target market, then you will be in great shape BLOG: Tackling Google: 3 Ways Photographers Can
to develop a strong marketing plan that can attract qual- Improve Their SEO
ity clients and grow your business better than ever before. BLOG: Building a Photo Brand From the Ground Up:
Tips From Art Wolfe
BLOG: 4 Ways to Get More Work From Old Clients
VIDEO: Tips & Strategies To Grow Your Audience Online
VIDEO: Interview with Zack Arias: If I Had to Start
My Business Today
VIDEO: 11 Essential Tips for Freelance Photographers
TOOL: Google Analytics
TOOL: Google Keyword Planner
TOOL: Mad Mimi
TOOL: Bit.ly

HOW TO MARKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 23

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