The challenge of how to get photography clients can easily become your most consistent struggle. Here at Full Frame Insurance (FFI) we understand it takes a lot of thought, time, and effort for you to market your services.
Let us help you develop your client acquisition and retention strategies with these helpful tips.
8 Ways to Get Photography Clients
It’s common to see event bookings and business inquiries ebb and flow throughout the year, but here are some proven strategies to help you optimize your efforts to get photography clients.
Request Reviews & Referrals From Past Clients
Are customer referrals really that important for small businesses? Studies have shown that word-of-mouth and customer reviews are indeed highly influential factors for most consumers.
According to Trustpilot, 66% of US consumers believe that online referrals are the biggest influence on their purchasing decisions. American Marketing Association research also noted that “referred customers make 31%–57% more referrals than non-referred customers.”
One satisfied client could turn into another and then another, creating a spiderweb network of referrals. You can ask clients to provide testimonials to display on your website or request that they leave a review of your business on platforms like Google, Facebook, Yelp, or other apps.
Curate Your Social Media Presence
Leverage your relatively easy access to 4.9 billion social media users by creating a social media account for your photography business. Focus your attention on the platforms where your target audience — the people you most want to get as photography clients — most likely spend their time.
Social media is also a great tool for photographers who want more clients given the heavy visual element of most platforms. Share plenty of examples of your work while also establishing your overall personal style and brand.
Pro tip: Protect your images from being stolen or misused online with things like watermarks, low-resolution files, and copyright notices.
Network With Your Community
Attend local events, art shows, and meetups for photographers, videographers, and other creatives. Working with ancillary service providers (like videographers) can be a great way to get more photography clients through referrals or even a partnership.
Investigate collaborative opportunities with local businesses, artists, and more. You can also attend trade shows, join local small business owners groups, and ask for references from friends and family.
Leverage Your Business Insurance
You heard right! You can use your photography business insurance as a unique selling point and reference to showcase that you take your business and your clients seriously. Making it known that you are an insured professional can also help you build trust with your clients.
Learn more about how you can use your business insurance as a marketing tool.
Engage with Online Communities & Marketplaces
Join and participate in online groups on platforms like Facebook or Reddit. This could be local community groups where potential photography clients might hang out or professional groups, both of which can help with networking and referrals.
Create a profile and search for prospective new photography clients on freelance marketplaces like:
Get Photography Clients With a Quality Website
Gearing your website so that it’s a client attraction tool doesn’t happen by accident. Quality websites provide potential clients with:
- Easy access to your full portfolio or examples of your work (that social media alone can’t do justice)
- Your full list of services
- Clear contact information
- Online booking tools
- Your unique personal brand
- Satisfied customer reviews
- Additional blog content on a variety of topics, from personal stories to industry insights or behind the scenes looks
Quality websites also help you with:
- Generating leads
- Email collection for potential email marketing campaigns
- Search engine optimization (SEO) to show up higher in online search results
Offer Promotions or Bundles
Incentivize clients to use your services by offering package deals, referral programs, or repeat-customer discounts. You can also offer new-client deals, seasonal or themed packages, and more.
Package deals, or bundles, are a great way to land and retain photography clients. For example, let a couple who books you for their engagement shoot bundle an engagement and wedding day package for less than what it would cost to book both things individually.
Diversify or Specialize to Attract New Photography Client Types
Target a new niche or consider additional photography services to offer to grow your business.
For example, when was the last time that you reviewed your menu of services? Chances are you have gained new skills and abilities since then.
When did you last research your market’s demographics, demand, and pain points? Probably back when you wrote your photography business plan! Changes in your market analysis could reveal underserved market segments or gaps that none of your competitors have yet identified.
You can turn these insights into new photography clients by expanding your menu of offered services or marketing to new types of customers.
7 Types of Photography Clients Who Are Easy to Rebook
Building a solid relationship with each client is one of the most effective ways to keep them coming back to your business. And if they’re happy with your services once, there’s a good chance they’ll want your services again.
Engagements
Couples looking for an engagement photographer will most likely also want a wedding photographer in the near future.
Weddings
Couples whose wedding you photographed may be interested in maternity, infant, anniversary, boudoir, and other subsequent milestone event photographs as well.
Maternity
Expectant parents often choose to do formal maternity shoots. Then they may want to capture certain milestones once the baby is born. The most common being newborn photos, six months, 9 months, and 12 months. But don’t stop there – think about milestones like the first day of school all the way through to graduation.
Family Portraits
Families who do official family portraits often like to do so yearly, or every few years — especially if there are new babies, growing kids, or changing dynamics.
Event Planners
Event planners coordinate many programs or celebrations throughout the year. Establishing a relationship with them not only helps you book more gigs with them directly, but they may also refer your services to others in the industry or those just looking for a photographer.
Corporate/Business
Businesses may want marketing, product, and other photography services on an ongoing basis. Establishing a connection with small businesses or larger corporations can land you as their go-to person for all their photography needs.
Content Creators/Influencers
Influencers, content creators, actors, and others may have a need for multiple styles of headshots, lifestyle images, progress photos, and other content.
If they are very active creators, they may also have a higher demand for continuous, fresh content that a professional photographer could help with.
Rebooking Strategies
- Establish strong connections with your current clients to encourage repeat business
- Offer package deals for related events like engagements and weddings
- Establish a referral program where the current client, new client, or both receive some sort of benefit
- Create a loyalty program for clients who rebook multiple events in a year
- Send follow up emails that include personalized thank you messages
- Send milestone emails with the help of a CRM (customer relationship management) program to remind clients of upcoming significant milestones, like anniversaries.
- Engage with clients and activity on your social media
Common Questions About How to Get Photography Clients (FAQs)
How Can I Market Myself as a Photographer?
- Build a strong portfolio
- Create a website to show or link to your portfolio, utilize relevant keywords and local SEO tactics
- Leverage social media apps like Instagram, Facebook, and Pintrest
- Engage with local and online communities
- Network locally
- Invest in online advertising on Facebook or Google Local Services Ads
- Add free business listings on Google and Yelp, and niche-specific sites like The Knot
How Can I Get My Photography Clients to Rebook?
- Send personalized follow up emails
- Create a loyalty program
- Offer bundled packages
- Keep in touch (think “milestones”)
- Make rebooking with you easy
How Can I Get My Photography Work Noticed?
There are several channels you can use to get your photography work noticed, from contests and social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram to submitting your work to media outlets, trade publications, stock photography outlets, photography and niche-specific apps like Flickr, Behance, SmugMug, Houzz, and more.
