We’ll skip most of the pleasantries on this post, it’s going to be a cold-hard list. The only thing I will say first is that the first 5 are about what you can do with the business side, and the last 5 are about leveraging the power of word of mouth – i.e. getting other people to work “for you” for cheap or even free.
Let’s roll:
BUSINESS IDEAS:
10: Work for cheap.
Everyone loves a deal. If you shot for free, you’d have people banging down your door… but don’t do that, offer a deal, undervalue yourself for a short amount of time and business will boom.
9: Take out a well-targeted ad.
Facebook ads can be a good resource, but only if you know how to target them well. Make sure to pay attention to demographics and what kind of people are looking for photography based on who they are and their other interests on the platform.
8: Have a print giveaway.
Similar to working for cheap, this is less about your time and more about delivery of your product. If you can’t giveaway your time, try giving away something physical – the logic is the same, everyone likes getting a deal, this variation helps because it’s something they can walk away with in-hand.
7: Drop your session fee (and make it back in prints).
This is a good way to not take a drastic hit in your profits if you are looking to drum up interest. Entice people with a discounted or free session, but raise your prices on your prints for that session to offset the cost of your time. This can be done easily on most online-ordering platforms these days.
6: Work a special occasion into your brand
Pick something and celebrate it – anything. Macy’s has the semi-annual sale, which has no other holiday tied to it that I know of, other than they do it semi-annually….and people know about it because they do it. Have “Summer Sessions” or “Fall Family Features” or something with a snappy name that you can start now and make happen with regularity to increase the chances of having repeat customers.
INCENTIVIZING WORD OF MOUTH
5: Have a contest
Pit your current clients against one another by staging a social-media contest where the “most liked image” gets a free 8×10 print. For the cost of about 5 bucks in print and shipping costs, you can get huuuuundreds of people if not more looking at your images because people will be begging family and friends to share on their behalf.
4: Have a standard giveaway for exposure in shares or likes
You could easily develop an offer for all clients that keeps them happy to share your work. For example, for one week after a gallery is delivered, if their announcement gets 10 shares, they get a $10 print credit. The cost is very small to you, but with big visibility benefits, and the urgency is built in.
3: Offer a referral bonus
Social media or not, it is nice to reward people for helping you. Not only is it a good business tactic, it’s just a solid way to say thank you and strengthen relationships that you already have. Increasing loyalty is important, and if people come in and say “Tammy Shultz told me about you!” then Tammy Shultz should get something from you, and if she’s not expecting it, it will give her an even more visceral reaction.
2: Drop a poll
Engagement is important in the word-of-mouth world. If you go too long without putting something out there, people will forget you and move their attention on to other things, places, and people. Asking your network which (anything) they like better will not only keep them engaged, but could also inform you about the likes and dislikes of your client base. This one is a double whammy for business.
1: Give give give
What you want is every client knowing that they are important to you. Gifts are a great way to show it. They don’t have to be expensive, but even a hand written thank you card can go a long way. Reaching out and treating your clients like people (see: golden rule, etc) and not streams of income is the surefire way to get more of them.
Do these 10 things and you’ll have more clients in no time. Once you do, make sure your online portfolio is on point – here are some tips on how to get it there.
