Capturing Your Market » Marketing

How to use your blog to get more clients tomorrow

Bethany Gilbert — Sat, 14 May 2011 17:23:00 +0000

Your photography blog can actually be the driving force behind booking new clients tomorrow and every day after that.

Your blog can be a place to show people who you really are as both an artist and a person. When people get to know the real you, they become attached to more than just a pretty picture.

The clients you draw in with your personality will be invested in you as a person. They will be predisposed to like the photos you produce for them because you have become a friend, someone they feel connected to.

This is powerful stuff!

What if you could actually like your clients as people? What if every person who walked through your door was a potential friend instead of just a potential paycheck?

Sounds great, right?

It is really easier than it sounds. Tons of photographer’s are doing it every day. A few of them have come together and decided to teach you how to get the same awesome results for your business.

The Photography Blog Success Ebook

Zach Prez and Lara Swanson, with the help of several top photographers, have put together an easy to read ebook to teach you how to make a blog that can start bringing in new clients right now.

The 55 page PDF book is slam full of awesome tips and instructions that detail every step you need to take to have a blog that is more than just a showcase of photos.

Zach says, “When potential clients visit your site, they want to get a feel for you, how you work, and your value – they’re emotionally investing in a photographer. Your personality and tone can be more easily conveyed in a blog than in your portfolio; it’s the perfect place to communicate your value and how you connect with your clients.”

Some things you will learn:

How to start a photography blog site
Common mistakes and how you can avoid them
How to write a great post
When to write your posts
How to get more comments from your readers
How to get your blog and posts found in the search engines
How to write your about page

Along with all of the great tips and instructions from Zach and Lara, you will also find case studies of successful photographers. You can see exactly what they are doing to make their blog work for them.

Why I read this book in the first place

I have been following Zach’s work for a while now and even wrote a guest post for his blog recently. He knows his stuff when it comes to online marketing so I definitely recommend you add his blog to your reader.

When he told me he was coming out with another ebook I knew it would be worth the read. His other book, Photography Web Marketing Guide, is another great one.

Since the blogging book was just released he is offering a discount for the bundle pack. I’m not sure how long that will last though, so I definitely recommend getting your hands on it now.

I hope you get a chance to check out these books. Please let me know what you think of them in the comments.

5 ways to create happy clients and get more referrals

Bethany Gilbert — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 15:48:09 +0000

Referrals and word of mouth marketing are one of the best ways to get clients that are a great it for your business. These tips will teach you how to get referrals for your business:

Setup an email newsletter.Sending out a simple email newsletter to your past brides and inquiries is an easy way to keep your business on their mind.
Go beyond the photos.Write a short 1-2 paragraph story of their wedding day at the beginning of their blog post. Show that you were paying attention! Write as if you are writing a (very short!) chapter in a romance novel. Talk about why they and their relationship are unique and explain the wedding day in detail. Every wedding can sound amazing if you present it that way!
Don’t forget about them.Your job isn’t over after the wedding album (or disc) is delivered. Keep up with them! Send them a card or free gift on their wedding anniversary, first Christmas or Valentine’s day. An 8×10 is an easy gift or a simple paper ornament. Let them know that they aren’t just another paycheck!
Beat them home.After you get home from the wedding (or the next day) do a quick run through of their images and pull the best for your blog post. Try to get the blog post up before they get home from their honeymoon. It is so important to do this before the big excitement of the day wears off.
Under promise, over deliver.If you don’t follow any of the other steps, follow this one. In every interaction and promise you make, under promise, over deliver. If you tell them you will have the images ready in 4 weeks, get them to them in 2. It’s as simple as that.

How to get referrals?

Getting great referrals from past clients is not as tough as it seems. If you truly care about your clients and want to give them the best experience you can, they won’t be able to resist telling everyone they know. Everyone loves to share something amazing, right?

So, what other things do you do to create happy clients and generate referrals?

4 Steps to Designing Print Ads that Actually Work

Bethany Gilbert — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:53:37 +0000

With all of the talk out there about word-of-mouth, social media, search engine optimization and other new-fangled client grabbers we might forget that the more traditional forms of reaching our market can still work for us. Because most of us are small, local businesses we should take advantage of the fact that we usually only have a small geographic region that we need to reach.

Did you know that most people will need to see your name, images, or hear about you at least 6 times before they will remember you?

One of the best ways to reach these people on a local level is print advertising. There is a lot of argument out there about the value of print but I am still a major supporter on the local level. I have worked in the industry for years and see the incredible results you can get from running a simple, purposefully-designed ad on a regular basis.

Of course, half the battle is choosing a good publication, but for now I just want to look at some of the things you will need in your ad to help it be more effective.

An Eye-Catching, Problem-Solving, Benefit-Providing Headline

The headline is one of the most important parts of a print ad. In one phrase you need to capture the attention of the reader and persuade them to read the rest of the ad. Focusing on a benefit your product provides or how it solves a problem for the customer are necessary parts of a good headline. Copyblogger has some really great tips about writing headlines. They are intended mostly for bloggers but can definitely apply to advertising as well.
A Beautiful Body

The body of the ad should contain relevant information or images that further draw the reader in and really push your message. Obviously, as photographers, we tend to think of using photos in our ad as the only option. Have you considered attempting an ad that doesn’t contain any of your photos? Just as your logo doesn’t have to be a camera, you can portray your image and what sets you apart without photos. I think this would be a great challenge and would help you really nail down your specific message.
What to do, what to do?

A “Call to Action” is one of the most neglected, yet most important, parts of an effective ad. Call Now! Come in Today! These seemingly unimportant, short phrases do more for the impact of an ad than just about anything else. By simply telling the customer what to do you can increase the response of your ad greatly. What do you want them to do? Tell them!
How to Reach Me

So you’ve persuaded them to stop and look, told them all about yourself, and told them what to do. What’s left? Contact information. Don’t make the fatal mistake of creating a powerful ad with no way of contacting you. Some basic information to consider including: your name, address, phone number, map to studio, web address, email address, Facebook address, and Twitter profile.

Disclaimer: Advertising design is a complicated topic that deserves a much more involved post. I understand this and hope to revisit it in a later post(s). For now, these tips will get you headed in the right direction.

So that’s it! If you have followed these steps you have just created an advertisement that will get results.

Have you used print advertising?

Are you focusing on the benefits?

Bethany Gilbert — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:55:30 +0000

Have you ever thought about why you buy certain products or services? Do you know the real reason behind your latest purchase?

Benefits.

Nearly everything we purchase is appealing to us because of a specific benefit it provides. Think about it. Why do you buy a toothbrush? Is it because you have a deep-rooted affection for plastic sticks with fuzzy heads? No. You buy a toothbrush because of its primary benefit, clean teeth.

Every point where your customer is reached by your business, from the initial contact to the last product drop off, should focus on the benefits your business is providing to the customer.

Is it about helping a mother remember the sweetness of her baby girl, or reminding a bride of how beautiful she looked on her wedding day? Yes. But it is about more than just the photos.

For the mother, it could also be about the quiet serenity of your studio, where she doesn’t have to stress about the comfort of her baby. The bride? Knowing that her photographer will be courteous to her guests and will not be an interruption of her day could be a very specific benefit that you can easily provide.

What benefits do you provide your clients and what could you improve upon?