1. Set Your White Balance

Accurate white balance is the key to a really clean edit. Ensuring that your colors are accurately represented will help the photo look bright and true to life.

In Lightroom, the easiest way to set your white balance is with the dropper tool. You’ll find it at the top section of the Basic Panel.

Click on the dropper to activate it and then find a gray neutral area to click on with the dropper. White clothing, black clothing, asphalt or cement, snow, or even the whites of the eyes can be a neutral area to get a good starting white balance.

As you hover the dropper over areas of your image, you will see a preview of what the white balance will look like if you click there.

However, do be aware that not every neutral area you choose will show a perfect white balance. Use this preview to adjust where to click so that you can get the best starting white balance for your image.

Once you have a good start, you can use the Temp and Tint sliders to make smaller adjustments to the white balance.

The more experience you gain in adjusting your white balance, the easier it will be for you to adjust your white balance without using the dropper. You will begin to see when your image is too yellow, blue, green, or red.

2. Adjust the Exposure

Ensuring that your exposure is correct will give the perfect brightness to your image. This especially applies to skin tones.

If the skin is in shadow at all, you will need to make targeted adjustments to the skin using the Adjustment Brush or Radial Filters.

Adjusting the exposure is as simple as moving the Exposure slider in the Basic Panel to the right or left as needed.

3. Add Contrast

Most every RAW image will need a little bump to the contrast. JPEGs will need a little less. You can increase the contrast by moving the Contrast slider located just below the Exposure slider in the Basic Panel just a little to the right. You can also increase the contrast by decreasing the blacks slider a bit.

Another option for increasing the contrast is to use one of the preset settings in the Tone Curve Panel.

Next to the words Point Curve you will see the word “Linear”. Click on it and try choosing “Medium Contrast” to see an immediate contrast bump.

These 3 steps will have your images looking their very best with a clean and classic edit in just a few minutes!

For more Lightroom tips or to find Lightroom Presets that make editing even easier, check out www.lightroompresets.com. If you’re a Photoshop user, be sure to check out the photoshop actions and tutorials at Pretty Actions.

Completing a website redesign or branding overhaul is kind of like having a child. I’m a man, so of course I have never birthed a baby, as my wife loves to remind me anytime I complain about anything resembling physical pain. Even so, during this web update I experienced extreme emotions: distress; intense agony; and then when it was all done, a sense of love, pride and satisfaction so deep I can’t explain it.

I admit I might be exaggerating somewhat, but you get the idea. Web design and logos can be scary and difficult to change, but progress must happen. The Internet moves too quickly to remain stagnant.

Why I redesigned my site

Inevitably, technology progresses and creates new ways for users to experience brands online. In recent years, advances in blogging platforms, social media integration, search engine optimization (specifically, page speed) and mobile optimization have changed how sites operate. Design trends like responsive design, parallax scrolling, sticky menus and infinite scrolling also have changed how customers find what’s current and trendy. Our personal tastes change, too, and should be reflected in an updated web presence.

To summarize: Technology trends and my personal preferences changed, and I needed to solve a few pain points:

• My old web design didn’t work perfectly on phones, meaning a large portion of visitors had a less-than-perfect experience.
• I’ve added a ton of new site content over the past two years that wasn’t clearly represented through the site. I now have a specific path for users to travel: Plan, Learn, Grow.
• My old theme had a bug where I couldn’t preview a post before publishing. I needed to stop wasting time in my blog workflow.

Why I redesigned my logo

I noticed that premier brands like Disney, Microsoft, Sony and Design Aglow (affiliate) have black, easy-to-read name marks in their logo. This design feature puts emphasis on the brand name and can be served in any format — from business cards to social media avatars.

My old logo had a few problems:

• I wasn’t thrilled about how it looked, which hurt my own confidence in my brand.
• The colors conflicted with color schemes of other sites and social media.
• The font didn’t feel modern or top-of-the-line.
• The “spark” icon had too much emphasis.

I ended up with something simple, modern, elegant and fun — the attributes I was shooting for.

How my homepage changed over time

Most website redesigns focus on refashioning a homepage. This is interesting because homepages are less important now than they have ever been. They no longer are the first online step in a client’s journey with you. Instead, most people will visit your site through a search engine, social media site or email newsletter; therefore, they access your website first on a “deep page,” like a blog post or session gallery.

My homepage gets less than 5% of my total page views.

If you ever want to embarrass yourself or just have a good laugh, use the Internet Archive to look back at your old website designs. I didn’t realize how much things have changed until I looked back in time.

2009 (year 1)
In 2009, I learned a website doesn’t need to be perfect in order to start a brand. I posted a WordPress site in one day without a budget, logo or headshot. My goal was simply to get started and not wait.

If you don’t post anything until it’s perfect, you’ll never post at all.

My niche was intently focused on the topic of search engine optimization for photography. In this small market I quickly and easily became one of the best. I felt it better to be #1 in a small market than struggle in a large market.

Elements of the 2009 design:

• Simple WordPress site
• 2-3 page site
• Focus on products rather than articles
• Minimalist, with no color or photography
• No logo or branding
• Default web-safe font
• No headshot or About page
• Mobile was not a consideration
• Focus on a very specific niche

2010
A year passed before I had a friend of mine create a logo and take a my headshot. I asked him to design an owl because I liked owls; unfortunately, owls had nothing to do with my audience or products. My headshot was of me looking away from the camera and not smiling. In retrospect my headshot and logo should have been the first two things I invested in. I dedicated a large part of my marketing efforts to growing an email list.

Elements of the 2010 design:

• Minimalist
• Logo (not professional)
• Headshot (not professional)
• Email newsletter
• RSS Feed
• Blog
• Full-length posts on homepage
• Tagline
  

2011
After two years of experience in the photo industry, I had generated enough demand and name recognition to expand my focus to “photography web marketing.” Design elements of the site were uncoordinated and lacked a defined color palette.

Elements of the 2011 design:

• Broader focus
• Additional products
• Self-designed product images
• Color (not professional)

2012 (year 4)
My fourth year of business finally focused on my customers instead of myself. If only I had done a business plan first! I had a professional designer create a logo, site background and color scheme that reflected my clientele. I spent a considerable amount of time writing blog posts about educational resources in order to build trust and brand loyalty.

Elements of the 2012 design:

• Professional logo and color scheme
• Designed around the audience
• Content marketing approach
• Social media integration
• Text on feature images for improved social sharing
• Post excerpts on homepage

2013
By my fifth year in business I had a prominent position in search engines, partners, an audience, and the opportunity to venture into a more competitive market. I was able to expand to the level I had wanted from the beginning: a full-fledged photography business (not just SEO or marketing). The name, logo and site design were carefully planned.

Elements of the 2013 design:

• Broad focus area
• Professional design and branding
• Website flyins and popups to attract subscribers
• Longer homepages with stacked sections
• Not yet mobile friendly

2014
In 2014 many sites shifted to responsive design in order to be mobile friendly. Navigation menus became thinner and a Pinterest-style grid was in vogue.

Elements of the 2014 design:

• Responsive design
• Thin top navigation with mobile-friendly menu/navigation
• Grid layout for posts on homepage
• Pinterest friendly images and share buttons

2016 (8th year)
My new design changed the logo to be more elegant. The site is more minimalist, with accent colors instead of background colors. It was designed specifically for mobile users.

Elements of the 2016 design:

• Mobile-first strategy
• Sticky top navigation follows you down the page
• Parallax scrolling on homepage
• Larger images in posts
• Focus on real-life photography instead of stock photos
• Mostly black-and-white logo
• Clear navigational path for users (Plan, Start, Grow)

Hopefully this look at my stumbles and process the past few years gives you some humor and a dose of optimism that web design is an evolution that will never be perfect. If you haven’t changed your design in a few years, it might be worth a second look.

Getting a cloud backup solution that suits your need is not as easy as it sounds. With no backup, the risk of losing the data is high, especially if the laptop or storage device gets destroyed or stolen (a photographer’s worst nightmare). Most people will realize the importance of data backup when it is too late, and they have lost data. Those who have lost data will be looking for a solution and cloud is one of them. The best backup solution is one that is easy to use, has an automatic backup, and is safe.

There are many benefits for photographers to have an online data backup service. One advantage is that it is easy to access the data at any time and from any location. Also, in case you lose the local storage drive or it is stolen, you can restore them to your new location from the online backup. Old ways of backups are good but they cannot be compared to an online backup. Off-site storage is recommended. Applying the “Backup Rule of Three” will help make the right solution.

Some of the people that find it hard to choose an online backup solution are photographers. A photographer is always taking photos of high resolution, and some photos may be as big as 20MB. Reviews.com has done the research for you to find the best online backup service to choose.

If you want to learn more about creating a backup workflow that works for your business, the ebook Backup or Die – How to Keep Your Photos Safe is a good resource from Photography Concentrate.

How they did the review

The team tested 36 different online backup services, comparing and contrasting the storage capacity, transfer speed and overall user experience. To get a well-rounded perspective, they consulted IT security experts and personally tested the finalists by analyzing their security, customer support services, and usability. They reviewed some popular storage services such as Dropbox to some names that are not known. Their focus was on complete backup of a computer.

The following actions helped Reviews.com select the best backup solution. Some will not be considered because this article focuses on photographers specifically. Those that directly eliminate photographers have been left out such as the elimination of online services tailored for personal use.

The storage capacity

The storage space is one the factors that is of high priority that needs to be considered. It is obvious that online backup services cannot lack space. The question is how much storage is enough? The minimum should be 1 TB. If an online backup service offers less than 1 TB of storage, then eliminate it from a possible backup solution. The best are those that provide unlimited storage at no extra cost. As a photographer, he/she will need more data storage space and even 1 TB may not be enough. Just a quick math to justify it, an average high definition photo is about 5 to 10 MB in size. With one terabyte of storage, 100000 to 200000 photos can be stored. A photo session will have an average of 100 to 200 photos. This is a good amount of storage but will run out in a few years or a year for those that take a lot of pictures.

Customer service

When a computer crashes, it causes panic and frustration. This is the last thing a photographer wants to deal with. Since computers do crash from time to time, you want to be prepared for anything. Therefore, customer service is key when searching for the best online backup service. A service provider that has poor customer service will be of no help in case you mess up. When you encounter a problem, you want to pick up the phone and get some help from them as fast as possible rather than figuring it out yourself, without knowing what to do. You’ll want to check forums, email them to measure their response time, try online chat if they have such services, check if they have an easy to follow guide on their website and FAQs section.

Level of security

As a photographer looking to backup online, know that there are no 100% security solutions. Everything online is vulnerable to security threats. Security is an aspiration and not an attainable solution. Many security breaches are partly on the users and their devices. Therefore, as a photographer, be aware of this. Check for the kind of encryption and go for one that is hard to crack such as AES 256. The higher the number of bits used for encryption, the better the security. A good online backup service provider should offer you the option to generate private keys. This has better security because the keys are not stored on their servers.

Apart from issues relating to passwords and encryption, there are other forms of security. A good online backup service should allow versioning, where you can save multiple versions of the same file. This is important for photographers as they can have several versions and revert to the old ones if needed. Another security issue you should consider is the ability to simultaneously backup to the cloud and external hard drive. For absolute security, especially if you have highly confidential photos, ensure the backup service provider offers good encryption, versioning, and simultaneous backup services.

Ease of use

Sufficient data storage space, customer service, and security may be excellent, but accessing your photos may be a nightmare. An excellent online service provider should let a photographer have an easy time using their service. As a photographer, you are trying to do your work as quickly and efficiently as possible. It should not be another mind-twisting task to add to your already demanding job. Convenience and user friendliness should be critical factors to consider. Some of the things to look out for is whether the backup service provider allows multiple computers to a single plan, the number of compatible operating systems, and easy to use desktop and mobile app.

Online backup service providers

Based on these factors, and the reviews on various online backup service providers, here are some of the best you can choose.

IDrive
IDrive offers the easiest way to upload data. Photos backup is the key business. Among all the service providers compared by Reviews.com, IDrive was the second fastest in transfer speeds. Previewing of the photos to make sure that you are uploading the right one is easy using the web app. Other strong points that will suit a photographer is the ease of scheduling backup. Immediately when photos are uploaded they are saved, which minimizes chances of losing data. The desktop app presents a lot of information, for instance, it has an upload progress bar that shows how long the upload and download will take. File restoration is easy as long as you know where it is located. There is an unlimited number of devices that can be used with the same subscription. Security level is good and supports Windows and Linux OS. I like the phone backup options as well as a wireless local backup option. IDrive is my top pick – try the 5GB plan for free to test it out.

SOS Online Backup
When upload speed is the key concern, you should consider SOS Online backup services. They have the fastest transfer speeds than all the others that were reviewed by Reviews.com. The interface is very basic. Their web portal is the easiest to use than the desktop app. They provide quite a lot of information on their website and have an excellent FAQs section. Their security features include AES 256 encryption, private key option, and versioning. However, their services are expensive than most of the backup providers reviewed.

SpiderOakONE
A photographer with sensitive photos and needs high levels of security, SpiderOakONE online back is the one to choose. They offer the best security features, and even Edward Snowden acknowledges it. Once a file is uploaded, only the person with your account details can access it. The transfer speed is impressive. One will need to install their software before using the web. However, their service is costly with a monthly fee of $12. Furthermore, the interface is not as easy to use, so beginners beware.

Acronis
Acronis is ideal for photographers that want to access their photos and backup regularly. They have an excellent user interface making their backup service easy to use. Customer service is good with very fast response time with their email support and impressive Live Chat service. However, there are some turn offs like the limit on the number of devices per subscription. It offers decent transfer speeds. But generally, it is a good online back solution.

CrashPlan
CrashPlan is an entirely free online backup solution. Their most attractive feature is the unlimited storage and security. It is easy to use. Their speeds are not as impressive as other online backup service provider. So if speed isn’t a necessity, then this one might be a great option.

It is better to be informed when you make decisions, especially when it comes to online backup services. Now, you can choose which service is best suited for your photography needs. Read Reviews.com’s full research article here.

One doesn’t have to look far to find an inspirational quote about photography. Here are more than 20 of my favorite photography quotes from famous people like Ansel Adams, Andy Warhol, and even Abraham Lincoln.

Marc Riboud

 

“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely every hundredth of a second.”
Marc Riboud

You may also like 20 Inspirational Blogs to Follow Now.

Follow my Pinterest board for more famous quotes about photography.

Looking for the current list?  Check out the best products 2019 post.

Every year I like to honor the top digital products photographers can use to grow their businesses. Below are 10 go-to items for this year ranging from software to presets to training. See winners from 2015, 2014 and 2013. This post includes affiliate links.

Best Proofing System

ShootProof

I recommended ShootProof more than any other product and it was a Best Product the last 2 years. This is an essential tool for any photographer to store and manage client photos across devices. Use it for proofing, ordering, mobile referral tool, affordable storage, and photo management.

Create public or private galleries that work on any device. Clients can easily view, mark favorites and purchase images; the activity for each visitor is viewable in detail to the photographer. Photographers use ShootProof for standalone galleries because it provides simple tools that can be integrated within a photographer’s website. ShootProof is commission free, so you will always keep 100% of your profits.

Try ShootProof for free

Best Contracts

Ultimate Portrait Photography Contract Bundle by TheLawTog

TheLawTog fuses the legal necessity with the photography business practicality. Clear, refined, straight-forward, and accurate to produce awesome tools and services ideal for today’s successful photographer.

Protect your business with these photography contracts created by a photographer/lawyer. The bundle is specifically tailored to include important legal forms every portrait photographer needs to safeguard his or her business and outline expectations to clients.  Photographers who use The Law Tog’s photography contracts display professionalism to their clients and use the forms with confidence.

Protect your photo business in 2016

Best Planner

Photographer’s Planner by Colorvale

Meet your new picture-perfect assistant. This isn’t just your run-of-the-mill date book. It’s your new best business tool. From developing your business model and creating goals to organizing your days and developing CEO-worthy business practices, it’ll take you from so-so to so impressive. This is efficiency encompassed. Organization laid open on your desk. And your (profitable) future all focused in on one powerhouse planner.

Each month contains: Page Objectives & Measurables with a daily responsibility chart, Monthly Calendar undated, Client Workflow Sheet, Big Ideas & Projects, Social Media Post Planner & Growth Tracker, Tasks broken down into categories, Client Payment Records (fits 23 clients per month), Blog Post Planner, Weekly Planning, & Brainstorming.

Organize your business in 2016

Best Marketing Strategy

Marketog by The Modern Tog

If you are looking for a steady stream of photography clients, join me for this 6 week online course that will teach you everything you need to know to grow a successful and sustainable photography business. You’ll learn how to stand out, turn inquiries into clients, how to sell, increase word of mouth, and understand effective marketing.

There are many ways you can learn depending on your needs including videos, worksheets, weekly Q&A, and a private Facebook group. Personally I feel the price is worth it because Marketog becomes your personal consultant and partner to insure you are successful with marketing.

Limited enrollment available

Best Album Software

Fundy Designer v6.5

The Fundy Suite has transformed countless photography businesses and facilitated the production of millions of photo stories worldwide. The software design tools are simple and efficient for the busy photographer looking to capture the emotions of the moment and lay out the story of their clients with albums and wall art. Fundy continues to lead innovation and personally inspire photographers worldwide with his stories and a common sense approach to photo layout and the art of storytelling.

Tell your stories and share your vision with beautiful albums, wall art, web collages and watermarked images. The Fundy Designer Suite includes Album Builder, Gallery Designer, Blog Collage and Image Brander. Express your artistic vision in our fast, fun and powerful ecosystem.

Design, sell, proof and print all in one application.

Best Boudoir Tools

Boudie Camp by Molly Marie

Start with Boudoir Business, a 4 week online courses that teach you everything you need to know to setup a boudoir business from scratch. Then expand into Boudie Camps for Marketing and Shooting, and Sales. Wrap up with the sales course with videos and workbooks to help increase average sales. Mollie shares her own personal strategies for building a six-figure boudoir business.

Say hello to a thriving boudoir photo business.

Best Lightroom Presets

Fuji Pro Pack by Mastin Labs

Fuji films are known for an airy pastel look. The muted palette of Fuji 400H and the slightly cooler Fuji 160NS are great for wedding photography and fashion.

The Mastin Labs Fuji Pro Pack contains film emulsions from Fuji’s most advanced color negative films. Fuji 160NS is a cool biased, versatile film with medium contrast, and beautiful blue and green rendering. Fuji 400H is known for a unique airy pastel look, making this film popular for wedding photography and fashion.

Make your photos timeless and beautifully subtle, just like film

Best Pricing Product

Simplified Photography Pricing Formula by Joy of Marketing

Not sure how much to charge for your photography? In this 9 module webinar course, you’ll learn from one of the United States most profitable photographers, Sarah Petty, how to set profitable prices so you can move on and make a living doing what you love…..Photography!

Get the Simplified Photography Pricing System

Best Business Book

Worth Every Penny by Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck

Many small business owners feel pressure to discount their products and services, especially when times are tough. After all, how else will they keep up with the low prices offered by their discounting competitors? What they don’t realize is that discounting is the last thing they should be doing if they want to win big.

In my favorite book of the year, I learned a radically different way to run a small business — one in which the owners focus on offering specialized products and over-the-top customer service, not on matching the prices of their competition. This New York Times best-seller teaches you to sell without discounting and how to use profitable marketing strategies to build a business that thrills your customers. I loved the real-life examples shared throughout the book from business owners just like me.

Learn small business marketing strategies to help you charge what you are worth.

Best Magazine for Photographers

Aglow Magazine by Design Aglow

Ten years ago, Design Aglow started with a magazine, and the simple goal of bringing creatives together by discovering and sharing new talent, inspiring our readers, and giving sound business advice. After nearly ten years, Design Aglow is bringing back it’s magazine – this time in print.

AGLOW is a quarterly magazine exploring the limitless possibilities of creative businesses and the innovative ideas of today’s doers & makers.

We feature studio tours, artistic work/life balance, inspired success stories, visual travel guides, creative living, blogging resources, fresh business ideas, creative community building, original education and so much more.

AGLOW offers an escape from the daily routine in the form of a stunning keepsake publication full of inspiring features, beautiful layouts, uplifting stories, fresh perspectives, and real people that you will love to get to know.

This is the longest blog post on Photography Spark at more than 5,000 words. It took about 40 hours to create, so I hope you’ll share it using the social media icons above. It may take you a while to get through all this, but it’s well worth the time. Marketing is how you will grow your business!

In many years of marketing, I’ve come across too many great ideas to count. Actually, I can count about 80 of them. They are all listed here to boost your photography business strategy across social media platforms, SEO, offline marketing, email marketing, and networking.

I know you’re probably on a tight budget, so I’ve tried to keep the majority of these free or low-cost. The “car wrap” idea is obviously expensive, but it’s too funny to leave out! This is pretty much everything I could think of, but I hope you will contact me with more of your own!

Join over 8,500 subscribers

Get this post as a printable PDF ebook. Plus get the best content about building a photography business emailed to you a couple of times per month. No spam, ever.

Send me the free ebook

The Importance of Marketing for Photographers

Did you know that some of the more talented photographers are actually not even known by name? This could be because they failed to develop a successful marketing strategy to get their name and their work out there.

With marketing, you are building brand awareness and achieving lead generation. These two goals are important for any photography business. Before doing anything, though, you need a solid foundation to start on.

You want to market the best parts of yourself as a photographer. More often than not, your photography skills will speak volumes about your work, but you still need to get your name out there and make the audience aware.

Marketing Strategy

1. Conduct a focus group. Gather a small group of people to answer questions and give opinions about various aspects of your business. Ask questions about your business name, logo, packaging, pricing, and website. Find out what types of marketing they pay the most attention to. Learn about their experiences with other photographers, including pain points. This direct feedback loop can quickly identify opportunities and weaknesses in your operations and business strategy.

2. Narrow your focus. If you’re trying to be the #1 photographer in Los Angeles, your sights might be set too high for the short term. But I bet you can become the top Catholic church wedding photographer or the best Loyola High School senior photographer in a short period. After dominating a small market, broaden your reach.

This strategy is personal to me. About six years ago, I was a general small business consultant, competing with thousands on the web. I adjusted my target audience to be ultra-specific (photographers seeking help with SEO). After two years I broadened to photography marketing, then two years later expanded to the photography business.

3. Set your ideal client. You should know without a doubt the type of person you want to work with, including their gender, age, location, budget — even their attitude. I have no problem turning away customers who can’t afford me, or those who I can tell will be high maintenance. Customers who aren’t ideal create an expense for your business by adding time and stress. Accepting these bad customers will lead to more of the same, and pretty soon your entire business will be to serve the clients you don’t want. Read photographer Alison Yin’s perspective.

Online Marketing

4. Choose a web design suited for photos. The Photocrati WordPress theme is one of the most popular individual themes of all-time for photographers. Built specifically for photographers running WordPress websites, it comes with 60 built-in designs and the ability to customize, save, share, and create your new designs (all without coding).

In 2014, Photocrati released a major update with beautiful full-screen designs and ensured all designs are fully responsive. The built-in gallery and e-commerce system allow photographers to sell prints without requiring a third-party source. The design possibilities are limitless, so join the WordPress photography community at Photocrati

Remember, your website is like a digital storefront, and many potential clients will be looking you up online before contacting you. So, make sure to show off large images in your galleries, include a picture of yourself, keep the website design simple and clean, and refrain from using background music. Tell the story of you and what you do and make sure to post your “starting” prices to give people an idea of what to expect.

5. Make your galleries pop. NextGEN Gallery is already well known as the most popular gallery plugin for WordPress. Now Photocrati — the WordPress photography people — have launched NextGEN Pro as all-in-one e-commerce and proofing solution for photographers who want to sell their photographs on WordPress. NextGEN Pro includes new gallery displays, a powerful lightbox, stunning responsive design, social sharing and commenting on individual photos, digital downloads, and more.  And it’s all within your website with your branding. Start selling photographs with WordPress using NextGEN Pro today.

6. Make photos look like film. Love that light, airy, pastel look but don’t shoot film? Many Lightroom presets are over the top, muddy and require a lot of tweaking to get good skin tones. Mastin Labs has film presets based on film scans from a real Fuji Frontier scanner so that you can get the look you want.

7. Create an Infographic. Infographics share data in a cool, visual way. They’re hot on social media and social sharing right now. There are many tools for creating infographics (sites like infogr.am or Piktochart), but one of my favorites is Visme. To help get you started, check out their Infographic Design Guide.

8. Write a list post. You’re reading a post of lists right now, which is simply an article with a specific number of ways to do something. These types of posts are magnetic content for readers on your site, in newsletters, on social media platforms, or even within a YouTube video. You may want to educate clients on five ideas for organizing photos, seven hot local wedding venues, or 10 ways to prepare for a session.

More list posts from Photography Spark include 7 Must-Have Contacts, 5 Marketing Tips to Help Your Photography Business Stand Out, 5 Ways Mobile Apps Boost Business, 12 Pinterest Tools, 7 Money Making Ideas, and 9 Ways to Optimize YouTube.

9. Write an ebook. Ebooks are nothing more than a glorified Word document transformed into a PDF. They range in size from a few pages to hundreds of pages. Writing an eBook instantly makes you an “author” and opens doors to more networking opportunities, such as podcast interviews. Ebooks are a great incentive for readers to sign up for your email newsletter (see my free ebook example). Put together an ebook quickly by asking valued partners to each contribute a page or section (here’s an example ebook where I was a contributor).

10. Create a 101 Guide. 101 guides give readers a basic foundation about your topic of expertise. You can create a 101 Guide to Getting Married, choosing vendors, wall displays, album creation — the list goes on and on. The 101 concept catches people very early in the buying cycle and nurtures them along until they are ready to hire you.

11. Design an online magazine. Marketing with magazines or welcome guides is a great way to display your expertise, inspire, and inform your clients. Using beautifully designed templates by Magazine Mama will help save you time and set you above your competitors.  You can print your guide or easily create a .pdf and send via e-mail.

All Magazine Mama templates include text that has been strategically written to build trust between your business and potential clients.  Get 20% off your purchase with code Spark20 at checkout.

12. Record instructional videos. Videos are a great way to educate and engage, and they often take less time to create than a blog post. Remember, people don’t go to YouTube to be sold something; they go for entertainment or education.

13. Target other photographers. Photographers are constantly looking for resources, education, and inspiration — and they love to share what they find. Therefore, articles about the business of photography help build great online PR, and they showcase your expertise as a teacher/mentor of others. Create a section of your site targeted to photographers. See an example on the left side of Lena Hyde’s portrait photography site (she’s also the founder of Design Aglow).

14. Develop a custom landing page. Imagine if your website had a dedicated page for attracting visitors who are intent on looking for a wedding photographer. The bride and groom who visit that page could have the opportunity to download a document that could help them plan their wedding. Get viewers’ attention with the purpose of converting them into leads.

Why? Because leads convert into paying customers. New Jersey wedding photographer Vanessa Joy said it well:  “… an innovative and creative way to gain exposure to your target market in a way that’s unobtrusive and helpful to your prospective clients is a marketing initiative that I see succeeding for many photographers”. 

15. Offer client apps. Create custom digital albums for your clients that work on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 8+. Improve your word-of-mouth referrals and book more clients with ShootProof Mobile Apps. Impress your clients and share your brand. 

16. Be mobile-friendly. Expect 30% or more of your web traffic to come via mobile devices. That means your website must cater to smartphone users on the go. Make sure your site is responsive (or has a mobile version), simplify navigation, compress images for fast loading, and allow users to tap your phone number to call you.

17. Show your headshot. In my first year of business, I thought I could hide behind a business logo and hide online. That didn’t work so well. The moment I added my face to my site, social media outlets, and forums, I became instantly recognizable. I received more comments on my blog, more questions were asked, and I receive many more inquiries. A person is more approachable than a corporate entity, so make sure you show yourself!

Social Media Marketing Ideas

Before using any of the Social Media Marketing Ideas, check the terms of service to make sure you are playing by the rules.  The change occasionally so it’s a good idea to check first.

Here are the links:  Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram.

18. Show your handles. Include your social media usernames everywhere possible, including on business cards, marketing brochures, your email signature, forum signatures, and website. I’m @zachprez everywhere (even on LinkedIn and YouTube).

19. Create a welcome video on YouTube. Everyone has a headshot that introduces themselves, but few photographers have a video. Create a short video about you, post to YouTube, and embed it on your website so potential clients can see you and hear a few reasons why they should hire you.

20. Create a Vine marketing video. Here’s a cool example from Sweetshot Photography promoting headshots in less than 6 seconds.

21. See who’s Pinning you. Visit pinterest.com/source/photographyspark.com/ (replace my domain name with your own) to see all of the images users have Pinned from your website. Leave thank-you notes in the comments.

22. Create resourceful Pinterest boards. OffBeat Bride showcases 46 boards of helpful wedding ideas that range from alternative wedding rings to uneven wedding parties.

23. Post a quote. Quotations are some of the most widely shared posts on social media. Place an inspirational quote on one of your photos.

24. Send secret promotions via Instagram. Send a direct message to a handful of people. Learn more about Instagram Direct.

25. Add Pages to Watch on Facebook. Track competitors and organizations of interest on Facebook. You can learn a lot about what others post to their accounts. Watch what successful companies do and emulate them. Learn more about Pages to Watch.

26. Let Facebook fans tag themselves. Under Settings > General > Tagging Ability you can “Allow others to tag photos and videos posted.”

27. Pin your best Facebook post. Create the best first impression for new visitors to your Facebook page by sticking your best post to the top of the page. I suggest a post that uses a powerful image and links to your best website gallery or blog post. In the top right of a Facebook post, expand the drop-down area, and select “Pin to Top.”

28. Claim a Facebook vanity URL. The default URL for Facebook business pages can be long and annoying. They’re not something you can easily remember or use in marketing. Visit Facebook to claim a short URL like mine: https://facebook.com/thephotospark.

29. Try a Facebook ad campaign. I recommend News Feed ads instead of “right channel” ads and promoted posts. Use a unique offer for the ad (something not available or promoted to your general audience), so you can track how many sales came as a result of the campaign. See this page for Perfect Facebook Ads to help get clients.

30. Run a contest. You can post a status update containing information about the contest and ask participants to like or comment on the post to generate buzz.  Or post an image and ask for the best caption in the comments. Offer a free session or a print credit to the winner you select. 

Hopefully, they will share the post, although you can’t ask for that specifically per Facebook’s Terms of Service.   Just make sure you follow the rules as well as have the required disclosure. Here’s another helpful link for Facebook Contests.

31. Add social share icons to your website. Make it easy for users to share your web pages across social media in one click. I recommend including icons for Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest (most photography clients aren’t active on Google+ and LinkedIn).  Most website platforms have an area where you can activate this feature (ask your website provider) or install a plugin. I use the RtSocial plugin for WordPress, which loads quickly and includes Pinterest.

32. Add social follow widgets to your website. Most potential clients won’t make a purchasing decision during their first visit to your website. Get them to follow you on social media so they can continue to see your work (and buy from you later). The right sidebar or footer of your site is a great place to display a Facebook Like Box or Pinterest profile widget, which entices users to follow you with a single click.

33. Use a social commenting system on your blog. Most photographers let users comment on their blog posts. Disqus is a commenting system (free and paid versions) with social integration that allows users to show their profile picture and share their comments on social media.

Search Engines

34. Add yourself to Google Local. Google My Business puts your business info on Search, Maps, and Google+ so that potential customers can find you no matter what device they’re using. Visit google.com/business.

35. Get Google keyword ideas from a related search. Search for a phrase related to your business, then scroll to the bottom of the search results page to see what Google suggests as related searches. Create web pages about those topics or just use the list for ideas about new audiences or venues. This example suggests a popular local venue (Flower Farm), “studios” as a potential hot keyword, and a local photography community (Professional Photographers of Sacramento).

36. Craft compelling meta descriptions. Search engines display a summary of each page in their results. Make your listing stand out and entice users to click by making sure your top pages have compelling meta descriptions.

37. Optimize for Google Image Search. Google often displays images on search results pages. Improve your chances of showing here by adding alternate text and a caption for photos on your website. Learn more about image optimization.

38. Distribute photos to partners. Your Google rank increases when other websites feature your work and link to your website. Any time you capture another business in a photo — for example, a wedding DJ or a newborn prop — send the image to the company being featured. Those companies would love to have professional images of their work and will often showcase them on their websites and social media.

39. Solicit positive Google reviews. Google uses reviews as a ranking factor for local business search results, like the Sacramento wedding photographer search term shown below. A good time to ask for a review is during the proofing process. Ask clients for a review during your in-person sales session or include a link to your reviews page when you email clients the link to their proofing gallery. Be careful not to overload Google with a bunch of reviews at once, which can be considered a type of spam.

To find the URL for your Reviews page, search your business name in Google, click the >> arrow next to your map result, then click the Write a Review button.

40. Buy a custom domain name. A self-owned domain name is essential for search engines and general branding. If you’re squatting on a free URL such as mybusiness.wordpress.com or an about.me page, Google won’t put much trust in them.

41. Don’t change an existing domain name. Do you think Google would rather refer a brand-new photography business or one that has been in business for five years? Search engines measure your experience by the age of your domain name, and older is better. It can be tempting to change your domain name to include more keywords, but I would not recommend it for domain names that are more than a few years old.

42. Own your name in search. When a potential client searches your name, you hope that all of the search results are about you and not someone else with the same name, or a directory listing that includes your competitors! Make sure your About Page has your name in the Title.

Register accounts at places like YouTube, Google+ LinkedIn, and Yelp, which will create new pages for your name (you’ll need to maintain these regularly to see results). Write articles for other websites so those pages can rank for your name.

43. Teach yourself SEO. The PhotographySpark  Search Engine Cookbook for Photographers contains easy-to-follow recipes that can quickly impact your position in search engines.

Email Marketing

How quickly could you book a session if you had 500 people on your email subscription list? Simply send a single email, and I’m sure one of those subscribers would book you. What could you do with a list of 5,000 email addresses? The more subscribers you have, the easier it is to make a sale, whether it’s a Black Friday sale or senior model call.

I believe that building an email list is the most important marketing action any website owner can take. I started collecting email addresses before I even had a website. After all, there would be nobody to visit my site on Day 1 if I didn’t email them to say that my website exists.

Facebook is scaling back on showing Page posts in clients’ news feeds, so it’s more important than ever to take ownership of your email communication.

44. Utilize an email management system. If you’re still using Gmail or Entourage to send mass emails, you’re likely not reaching your customers. A professional email system improves deliverability (the chance of reaching a user’s inbox) and complies with spam laws. I’ve used a half-dozen email providers over the years and recommend MailerLite (affiliate) to all photographers. It’s free to use (up to 1,000 contacts) and had great pre-built templates and a wide range of online support articles.

45. Create an email opt-in. Legally, you can’t send a mass promotional email to all your clients without their prior consent (called an opt-in). Give users a way to sign up for your email communication with a form on your website. I make it very clear how users can sign up for my stuff, including a pop-up form, right sidebar module, email sign-up page, and integration with my Facebook page.

46. Incentivize subscribers. Most people aren’t dying to get more emails. They hold onto their email address closely for fear of getting too much spam. Thus, you’ll need a little incentive for people to hand over their personal information. Get more signups by offering something in exchange, like a free download (I suggest a wall display guide) or discount/special offer.

47. Send a regular newsletter. After building a subscriber list, send regular email communications (1-2 per month) to keep readers engaged.  MailerLite is a great way to build and manage an email list and send newsletters to subscribers.  

Strive to include education and entertainment in your emails, such as a guide to holiday photo gifts, ways to plan for a wedding, or what to expect from a boudoir session. If you’re only talking about your latest sessions, people will get bored and stop opening your messages.

48. Build an autoresponder series. An Autoresponder is a series of pre-written messages that are sent to readers in an order and frequency that you decide. A wedding photographer might build a series of five weekly “welcome” emails for a new bride that discuss the venue, preparation, and ordering.

You can even create an email course such as “5 lessons for portrait photo sessions” to teach potential clients about a subject in hopes that they will hire you after learning this great information. Read more about autoresponders on Copyblogger.

49. Optimize your email signature. Create a professional email signature to showcase your photography. Easily brand your emails and promote your portfolio, albums, and work through your email signature. See photographer signature examples from Wisestamp.

Contests

50. Host a photo contest. Everyone likes to win, so why not let your clients (and their friends) submit their best photos, and you select the winners? This can be a fun way to engage your target market and get them to share your website.

The winner will definitely talk about their big win, so you might want to choose an influential person (a top referrer or someone with a lot of Facebook friends) as the winner. Post the winning submissions to your blog and discuss what made those photos great. Your critique will make you look like an expert.

Here’s a list of photo contests for some inspiration.

51. Run a caption contest. Engage people by asking them to caption your photos. This is a great activity for your blog, Facebook, or Pinterest page to get clients to talk about and share this fun activity. Wishpond has an app for that.

52. Host a sweepstake. Running a sweepstake sounds like a big project, but it can be a simple promotional drawing in which prizes are given away at no charge to the participants. Often, participants enter the contest by completing an action, such as an email sign up or by following you on social media. Collaborate with a few partners who will each donate an item, and then everyone promotes to multiply the exposure. Use Rafflecopter to manage entries and select a winner.

53. Enter a photo contest. Contest websites feature the photography winners and most times the runners-up, too. It only takes a moment to submit a photo and could result in some positive press. See some of the top photo contests here.

Partner Marketing

54. Send images to local vendors. Getting your photos featured on other websites is great for public relations, branding, and search rank. Your vendor partners may not have professional photos of their products or services and would gladly feature those on their website or social media — and promote you in the process. Take the time to send your photos of wedding DJs, event coordinators, and even prop companies like that newborn beanie you bought on ETSY.

55. Collaborate on a free resource. Get five fellow vendors to each contribute a one-page Word document with helpful tips or ideas. Then put them all together into a single document/PDF that each of you can distribute to your client lists.

Something like “6 Wedding Ideas to Help You Plan” could include a song list from a DJ, sample floral arrangements from a florist, an outline for group photos (from you), etc. You’ll get exposure to client lists of five other partners and have a great “hook” for your website to capture new subscribers.

56. Contribute a guest post. You can get almost any vendor to feature you by writing a post for his or her blog. A great example would be to write a post about how flowers make a huge impact on wedding albums and give that to a local florist to use on their website.

A portrait photographer could author some quick tips for shooting at home and send it to a mom blog. It will promote your brand to an entirely new audience in your market.

57. Speak at an event. Let’s say you’re a featured speaker at a local business or photography meetup. That business/group will want to encourage attendance and will naturally talk about you on their website and social media accounts in an effort to get people to attend. You’ll be positioned as an expert in your field with an opportunity to connect with new clients or partners at the event.

58. Start a referral program. The only thing better than a new client is a new “affiliate” who will refer you tons of clients. Incentivize customers for referring their friends with a loyalty program. My tax guy sends me a $10 Starbucks card every time I send someone his way, and it makes me want to tell more people about him. Sometimes it can be as simple as reminding clients that you’re always looking for new referrals.

I’ve seen the biggest referral programs among senior photographers, who often have swag and exclusive parties for their groups of senior reps. Here’s a very well done example by Tyler Brown Photography.

59. Record a Google Hangout. Hangouts are an easy way to create video content and stream directly to YouTube. All you need is a person to ask you some questions, and you answer them. I prefer these to article writing since they’re so quick to make, usually anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour-long. Or you can begin to interview others in your industry as a way to make new connections with powerful influencers. In both ways, the participating person is likely to promote the published interview, giving you face time to new audiences.

Offline Marketing Ideas

60. Market some mini sessions. Mini sessions allow potential clients to test the waters and see what it’s like to work with you. My first experience with my family photographer was through a group mini session. Five years later, all of us are still loyal clients. Add some flair to your mini session marketing with an “accordion fold” information brochure, session reminder card, Facebook timeline cover photo, and Facebook announcement. See the 5-piece modern mini-session kit from Galler.ee.

61. Place postcards at a local business. A popular restaurant near my house has a stack of postcards from a local photographer next to the cash register. Thousands of people each week will notice them at checkout while waiting for their credit cards to process. This is a brilliant way to be seen with minimal expense. This also works well with window posters or fliers placed by a newspaper stand.

62. Wrap your vehicle. I can’t think of a bolder promotion than getting a car wrap with your photography branding. Double down by making your corporate vehicle a smart car to attract attention.

63. Send a door opener. The marketing phrase “door opener” came from the door-to-door salesmen who would give a gift to those who opened their door for an in-home demo or sales discussion. Today, door opener campaigns mail a gift to a potential partner or client in hopes of gaining their attention and scheduling a meeting. A wedding photographer might send a wine package to a wedding coordinator or desired venue as a means of asking for an introduction. Here’s an example from Kudzu Creative.

64. Sponsor a local sports team. Providing sponsorship to a local soccer or tee-ball team can get you some news coverage in the community. I’ve coached kids’ soccer for a few years and hate the traditional photos that never turn out! If you can take or donate some professional team photos, you’ll surely earn new portrait business from those families.

65. Offer your service as a prize. Schools and associations are always trying to raise money through auction donations. Giving away a session might be one way to attract visibility at the auction event.

66. Make a calendar. Send a branded calendar to clients at the beginning of each year. You can even sell them.

Photo credit: Grant Kaye

67. Host a party or open house. If you have a studio, host an open house for people to check out your space. Or invite your best customers to an exclusive event (great for senior reps).  One unique way to get started is by hosting a portrait party to market your business and gain exposure to new clients.  Read more about portrait parties in this blog post.

68. Order awesome business cards. I don’t have to tell you how important a photo’s size, thickness, and paper quality is. Shouldn’t your business card have the same impact as your prints? Moo offers deluxe thicknesses, custom sizes and — best of all — a different photo design on each card!

69. Write for a magazine. Getting published in your local news and review magazine or trade publication builds trust that you’re a top expert in your field. This is free advertising with the potential to reach thousands in your market. Proudly display this recognition on your website and social media. Sometimes I’m more interested in writing simply to spark a relationship with the publisher, who can offer many other advantages or promotional opportunities.

70. Apply for business awards. Many news channels and media outlets host voting competitions for the best local businesses. Often simply nominating yourself will get you a feature on a website. A win would naturally result in great positive press for your business. See this example from KCRA 3 in Sacramento.

71. Write a press release. A press release acts as a media “announcement” that talks about something your business accomplished that may be newsworthy. If you won the best local business (above) that would be a great thing to write a press release about. Releases are mostly read by media publishers (not clients) and may lead to interviews or backlinks to your website.

Professional releases range in price from $99 to $499. Sometimes you can achieve the same effect by writing and distributing the press release yourself via personal email to some local publishers or blogs. Read When Press Releases Do (and Don’t) Help Your Marketing.

72. Use a QR Code. You’ve most likely seen this technology on real estate signs and shop windows. Simply scan the QR code with your phone, and it can open a web page with more information. It’s a trendy way to capture mobile engagement and could be used in any number of settings, from thank-you cards to event banners. Mobile Barcodes has some cool free options.

73. Change your name. Change your name to something unique or easy to remember/spell. A friend of mine had a hard name to remember and spell (Arcularious). She changed her branding to user her middle name (Maria), which is easy to remember. Consider a unique name, so when people Google you, your new identity will be the only results (since nobody else exists with that name).

74. Create a Groupon. First, a word of caution: Groupon can devalue your brand and attract price-shoppers. Yet, Groupon is a valid marketing opportunity for some photographers who need a quick burst of awareness and are simply looking for some instant sales. When you create a Groupon, you’ll get a new page that can rank on Google searches for your name, as well as a place to put reviews. See this Groupon example from Xsight Photography.

75. Offer a free consultation. Customers often need more than a business card or first website visit to hire you. Give them something in exchange for their consideration. A wedding venue tour, studio walkthrough, or album review on an iPad are all great examples of a consultation.

76. Brand your USB flash drives. The latest trend in digital photo delivery isn’t DVDs (since Macbooks don’t have a disc drive) or the boring Dropbox. Professional photographers deliver digital photos via a custom branded flash drive. Check out personalized drives at Pexagon .

Marketing Training Ideas

77. Subscribe to a podcast. Learn how-to strategies to become more profitable as a photographer and the specific action items to quickly implement positive change in your business. Listen to discussions with the most successful photographers and business leaders on the Sprouting Photographer Podcast. Hear Zach’s interview here.

78. Join a forum. Forums are an ideal place for learning. With access to a group of peers just like you, you’ll see people asking the same questions as you, and better yet, answering those questions. Here are 8 Awesome Reasons to Join a Forum.

79. Attend a photography meetup. Meetups are a great place to learn free information from speakers and mentors who can guide you face to face in your city. Check out Professional Photographers of America for a meetup near you.

80. Register for a Conference. Conferences can be a fun learning experience and are great for networking. At nationwide conferences, you can meet people just like you who are from a different city so that they won’t be a competitor. Look for breakout training sessions in business, inspiration, or your specific niche (like seniors). The biggest national conference is Imaging USA.

81. Enroll in business training. If you’re looking for a fast way to the top, start by learning from experts in your field who have already been successful. Their wisdom and insight can guide you on the best path while saving you from costly mistakes.  CreativeLive features free workshops in photography, as well as photography class bundles.

Word-of-Mouth Marketing

If you are a portrait or wedding photographer, then you know how valuable word-of-mouth marketing can be to nail down your next job. With word-of-mouth marketing, it is the consumer spreading awareness about your brand to other consumers. They are talking about their experience with you, so you want to do what you can to create an “experience” for each of your clients.

Personal recommendations are one of the biggest and most trusted forms of advertising, and you will see this in action as a photographer. To increase word of mouth for your business, you need to establish a strong brand and begin building those long-term relationships. You want to show your clients some form of exclusivity and value that they won’t find elsewhere.

Always be aware of your client’s expectations ahead of time as well. When you know this, you can find ways to not only meet those expectations but also exceed them which will make for a very satisfied client that will be eager to tell her friends about her great experience.

Networking Tips for Photographers                                                     

As you can see from the many marketing strategies we have outlined above, the internet is going to be one of your more significant resources as you build your marketing strategy and begin networking.

Know What You Can Offer

Before attending any kind of networking event as a professional photographer, it is important that you go in with confidence and remember that your goal is to build a professional relationship. Make sure you are easily able to convey your knowledge, skills, and experience so that you have the answers to any questions that may be asked of you.

Be Very Thorough

If you don’t leave a networking event with a job, you shouldn’t despair. For this, the follow up is going to prove to be the most beneficial. As soon as you are done with your networking event, you will want to write those emails while everything is still fresh in your mind. Make sure to tailor each email for each person as well. When you engage with people on a more personal level, you greatly increase your chances of getting a response.

Stand Out

Before networking, it is important that you understand your brand and what you have to offer. What is it that makes you stand out from everyone else? Do you work on wedding photography, newborn photography, portraits, fashion shoots, architecture? Research the event to see which industries are going to be there. If they are within your own industry, it will, of course, prove to be a more valuable opportunity.

For more tips on networking in the field of photography, make sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to Photography Networking.

Final Thoughts

Using your personal network, taking advantage of local marketing, creating a mailing list, and building your offline and online connections are all great marketing strategies you should start today. You can’t expect to grow your network and gain more business if you don’t put yourself out there.

Canva

Canva is great for all types of visual design tasks, especially creating Pinterest Graphics.  They offer many helpful templates to help you create pin-worthy graphics.

Ideas for Canva:

• Create a Pin of your homepage and add it as the cover for a Board about your website, galleries, or blog posts
• Create Pinnable images to include in your blog posts

Tips for using Canva

One popular thing to share on your Pinterest boards is quotations. Canva gives an easy way to make good-looking images from text or quotes and share them as Pins.

Text on an image makes it more Pinnable since users often scroll through Pinterest images without reading the Pin descriptions. Canva is faster than Photoshop editing (at least for me). Ideas creating quote pins using Canva:

• Create a Board for customer testimonials and write their raves on top of a photo from their session
• Create a Board for inspirational quotes that uses your photography in the background of your favorite sayings
• Add text to the featured image of your blog posts so users know what the post is about without having to read the Pin description

Stencil

getstencil.com
Turn images or text into viral, eye-catching micro-content that you can share in seconds. This applet allows you to create picture quotes on the fly from any webpage, including your own.

Photo credit: shareasimage.com

Ideas for Stencil:

• Create powerful marketing images like the ones above for Pinterest or your website
• Get a free publisher account and by pasting a few lines of code at the bottom of your website, users can create custom viral images from your site.

Woobox

woobox.com
Stream Pins into a tab on your Facebook page. See an example on my page. It’s an easy way to cross-promote your Pinterest profile to Facebook (thus worth doing), but it will get buried on Facebook as a tab/app so people may not see it.

Pinvolve

Created by photographer Christopher Wilson, Pinvolve connects Pinterest to Facebook. This is similar to WooBox (above) but in addition to the Facebook tab, you can send Facebook posts and Pins back and forth between social profiles.

Ideas for Pinvolve:

• Automatically pull in your latest pins on Pinterest, Instagram photos, and Facebook posts and displays them beautifully on your Facebook page.
• Automatically post Pins to your Facebook business page.
• Convert your Facebook posts to Pins.

WiseStamp

wisestamp.com
WiseStamp adds a Follow on Pinterest button to your email signature, a simple way to increase exposure to your Pinterest page.

Pinterest Widget Builder

business.pinterest.com/
Manually place Pinterest widgets on your website.

Ideas for Pinterest Widgets:

• Place a Pin It Button below an image on a blog post or on the About page of your website. Tip – you can hack this widget to grab a Pin It URL and use the link in an email.
• Add a Follow Button to the right sidebar or footer of your website, your About page, and Contact page.
• Embed a Pin Widget within a webpage or blog post to get more people to re-Pin it. This would work well if you’re having a sale or a contest.
• Use a Pinterest Profile Widget to get more people to follow you, as I do in the right sidebar of this page!
• Use a Board Widget in a page or post to get more people to follow a board. This would work well for a What to Wear post or Local Vendors post.

Pinterest Pin It Button for Images

wordpress.org/plugins/pinterest-pin-it-button-for-images
This WordPress plugin displays a Pin It button on your blog photos when visitors hover their mouse on the photo. This is a great way to add the Pin It button everywhere whereas the widgets above are for one-off manual placement.

SocialShareIcons

https://wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-social-media-plus
If you don’t like having separate plugins for Facebook share buttons and Pin It buttons, this WordPress combines them together into one. Choose from 16 designs and have flexible control over the placement on your page.

Tailwind

tailwindapp.com
Tailwind is a free Pinterest analytics tool with some amazing insights.

Ideas for Tailwind:

• Set up email preferences to receive alerts when there is a spike in Pinterest activity for your profile (so you can quickly respond or engage).
• Monitor activity over time to understand the growth of your Pinterest account.

Pinterest Analytics

business.pinterest.com
Pinterest web analytics can help you understand how Pinners are engaging with the content from your site. Metrics include Pins, Pinners, Re-Pins, Impressions, Reach, Clicks and Visitors.

To use analytics, you first need a Business Page and a verified website. You can convert your existing page to a Business Page.
Once you’ve verified, you can get to your analytics by clicking your name at the top of Pinterest, then clicking Analytics.

Pin It Browser Button

about.pinterest.com
Don’t forget a browser button so you can quickly Pin awesome stuff as you find it. I’ve tried a number of alternative browser plugins, but still like this Pinterest-created one the best.

Using Pinterest to Grow Your Business

Learn how to drive sales online using Pinterest in the Using Pinterest to Grow Your Business course from CreativeLive.

The Course includes tips, tools, ideas & strategies such as:

• Creating a presence you can be proud to promote
• Resource boards to attract new clients
• Content strategies for Pins to get more traffic and engagement
• Create pins that grab attention
• Tools to streamline your Pinterest workflow
• Use analytics to evaluate how much Pinterest is worth to your business

Once complete, you’ll have a killer Pinterest presence you will be proud to promote with increased exposure on the hottest social network.

To help you out, PhotoShelter’s latest guide: How to Market Your Photography, teaches a variety of online marketing strategies and tips that can help produce a steady pipeline of new prospects and keep existing clients coming back for more.

So, it’s time to make a big commitment to breaking the cycle that comes from being “too busy for marketing.” Ready to get started?

The Importance of Marketing for Photographers

There are some talented and professional photographers in the world that you may have never even heard of. These people may not be in a photography genre that allows for much publicity, but another reason and more plausible is that they just aren’t sure of how to market themselves.

Social Media

Without marketing, your images will go unseen. Marketing is easier than ever because of all the social media platforms we now have at our disposal. We can market ourselves effectively without even having to leave the house. However, to market yourself successfully on the internet, you need to have good copy. You also need a few creative words to get the attention of some potential clients.

Word of Mouth

Word of mouth and personal recommendations are always helpful. The word of mouth service from past clients can help get a photographer recommended, which leads to new clients. They are receiving feedback they can trust, which can lead to them purchasing your services as their friends or family members did in the past.

Networking and Local Business

Networking and getting in touch with local businesses in your area is also a great way to market for a photographer. This is important because it gets you some recognition. You should also find networking groups that only allow one person from each profession, so you don’t have to compete against other photographers in the area.

To gain the recognition and the clients you need and deserve, marketing in the above ways is vital to the continued success of your photography business.

3 Questions to Answer Before You Start Marketing

Who is your audience?

Defining and understanding your audience is crucial to shaping your business, your products (yes, your photography is a “product”), your brand, and your marketing efforts as a whole. Without clearly defining who you’re targeting, you can’t clearly define why you’re reaching out to certain folks over others. As a result, your marketing will lack focus (at best) and look sloppy and out of sync (at worst).

What is your unique selling point?

As you get a hold on your audience’s needs, this will help you identify your unique selling point—or what your business offers that help you stand out from the pack and to keep you top of mind. Differentiating your brand and your services from your competitors can be the ultimate key to effective marketing and getting new business through the door.

Is your website as great as you are?

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.

Marketing Planning

Even the word “marketing plan” can sound daunting, but don’t get tripped up on terminology. Still, if you expect to see an increase in clients/sales, you 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 activities that you could do in each.

Your marketing plan shouldn’t be designed to treat each potential customer as if they were in the same state of readiness 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 an even smaller percentage walk into the store ready to buy.

When you consider different activities in each category, think about how people in different parts of the “sales cycle” would react. You might do a low-cost postcard campaign to blanket as many photo buyers and editors. And you might do a more expensive photo book to send to your top 10 to make a larger impression.

You wouldn’t treat the customer who’s just looking for a place to sit down the same as the one who’s ready to buy a pair of jeans. Your marketing efforts 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.

Here are a few channels to consider:

• Email Marketing: Newsletters, E-promos
• Direct Mail: Postcards, Books, Posters
• Social Media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram
• Events: Trade Shows, Portfolio Reviews
• Inbound Tactics: SEO Optimization
• Lead Capture: Blog, Website
• Blogging: Opinion pieces, Gear reviews, behind-the-scenes

Email Marketing

Whether 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 base.

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 on your site, signing up at an event, or making a purchase. Only send to people you’ve interacted with recently (say, the past 18 months). You don’t send your business card to your high school teachers—it’s essentially the same thing.

Give something away

It’s just true: If you give people something for signing up, they feel better about handing over their email address. And you don’t JUST want their email address  you want their business. Offering a coupon for a print or specialized content at signup is a great way to give your newsletter added perceived value.

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.

Always encourage visits to your website

Get folks out of the email and onto your site. That’s where they can have a richer viewing experience, learn more about your photography, and potentially make a purchase or email you to inquire about your services. The point of your email is to invite them to engage with you—hopefully on your site.

Learn more about email marketing with “Send Better emails from your Photography Studio.”

Get Social

Over 1 billion people use Facebook. Twitter has over 600 million active registered users. Instagram has over 200 million active monthly users, 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.

Though every platform is different, there are four key “rules” to consider to help you successfully showcase your brand on each.

Be a person

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 constantly selling your services, use language that is approachable, and share content that is interesting.

If you’re not sure what constitutes interesting content, ask yourself if you’d be inclined to like, share, or comment on that post if you saw it on your own Feed. And remember that social media is not a one-way street. You are participating in a community, which means you need to respond and reach out to others (as you would do in an offline conversation).

Go behind the scenes

Give a behind-the-scenes look at your shoots: the setup, the gear, yourself shooting on location or even a sneak peek of a personal project you’re working on. This can give people an idea of how you work. Also, think about giving a shout-out to the people you worked with that day. This shows you’re a team player and also encourages those you tag to follow and share your work.

Be consistent

It’s important to have a consistent voice when you post. This means that the general 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 improve engagement.

Pick the right photo

Whether you’re sharing on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, you should share a photo that strengthens your voice (which you’ve thought about and defined)—it adheres to your aesthetic by way of style or content, etc., and shows off work you love. We recommend sharing at least one photo per day.

If you’re having trouble choosing a photo, try to find one that evokes some type of emotion in yourself. Chances are it will also have an effect on others as well.

Search Engine Optimization

In short, SEO is the process of affecting where your website organically ranks on major search engines like Google, Bing, etc. Website speed is also an important aspect to consider when it comes to having an SEO perspective.

Speed affects SEO because it affects usability. If a potential client is having a hard time using your site because it is too slow and not loading properly, they will click off, and Google will start to consider your site to be of low quality.

Backlinks to your website

This is arguably the most important factor in increasing your SEO. Each link represents an “endorsement,” and the number of links partially influences how much of your website will be indexed by the search engines, and where you appear in search results. The process of “backlink” creation can seem like a very ambiguous task, but in fact, it’s quite simple. There are two ways to build links 1) do it yourself, or 2) get other people to link to your website.

On-page content

This refers to the text that appears on your website. On many photographer websites, there is very limited text, which is a problem from an SEO perspective. As much as you might want your photography to “speak for itself,” you still need textual content to rank within search engines.

If you are a New York portrait photographer, then “New York portrait photographer” should appear on your website, and 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, your images need captions and titles, and the more detail, the better.

For more on SEO visit “Search Engine Optimization for Photographers – SEO Basics” or the guide “Search Engine Cookbook for Photographers.”

Blog Better

For 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 at that. The captive online audience is vast, comprised of prospective clients, photographers looking to learn, gear enthusiasts, and many other consumers who are actively searching for services like yours.

To maximize the flavor potential of your blog, you need to reach people with similar tastes. Connecting with the right audience starts with a targeted content strategy.

Organize your ideas

An effective content strategy relies on careful planning. If your blogging strategy is to wait for ideas first, you will likely end up with an inconsistent blog and a constant feeling of pressure to come up with new topics. If you blog every thought that pops into your head, you risk burying the quality content with the extraneous stuff—and confusing your audience.

Create topic categories

Have an understanding of the areas that you want to cover on your blog. Think through questions like:

• Do you want to write at least one gear review a week?
• Do you want to feature an interview with an industry professional once a month?
• Do you want to have a video blog series?

Make a content calendar and stick to it

Is it realistic for you to blog every day? Probably not, and it might not be smart for you to do it either. Just make sure you have a plan for when you want to blog. It does not necessarily have to be a set number, either. The key is to be consistent, so your followers can expect and look forward to your posts.

If you’re a wedding photographer, your blogging strategy might involve doing a post after every wedding. Even if your blogging pattern follows gigs, having a set deadline for your content will help you stay consistent (i.e., never wait more than 72 hours to publish a post about a job), and meet audience expectations.

Use Google Analytics

You will also find that Google Analytics is an important digital marketing tool you can use as you build up your brand and website and begin marketing your photography business. Google Analytics allows you to measure the results of the marketing campaigns you are deploying in real time so you can see what is working and what may need improvement. It helps you set goals and find plausible ways to attain those goals.

Learn more about better blogging with “How to Optimize a Photography Blog” or the guide “31 Days to Build a Better Blog.”

Next Steps

Photographer marketing does not have to be your worst enemy, but it does require you to carve out time and map out a game plan to take advantage of the best marketing tactics to grow your business. Once you have a few strategies in place – whether that be a workflow that includes posting to social networks, blogging regularly, or sending out a monthly newsletter – you will be more able to grow a strong presence online and establish awareness about your brand.

And remember, before you start, know cold what you’re providing and exactly who and where your target audience is – both online and off. If you can confidently define your target market, then you will be in great shape to develop a strong marketing plan that can attract quality clients and grow your business better than ever before.

Do this:

• Create a list of current and future marketing activities
• Create a rough estimate of time/money that you will expend on each
• Create a rough ROI (return on investment) that each initiative will bring
• Jettison high/low investment ROI projects. Plan campaigns around high ROI projects. Remember to take into account that some efforts may take longer to see a “return” so make sure you’re balancing short and long term gain (e.g., efforts that build awareness vs. those that might bring in customers immediately)

Try PhotoShelter FREE for 30 days!

This post was shared with permission from PhotoShelter’s latest guide How to Market Your Photography. Build a stronger photo business with a PhotoShelter website.

With PhotoShelter, you also get powerful features and resources to market your photography business, such as SEO and social sharing capabilities, in addition to the most options for licensing photography, selling prints online and pro-strength file delivery tools to please your clients.

Visit photoshelter.com/signup and enter MARKETING.

Photo credit: Stephen Depolo

This post outlines how to optimize a photography blog using WordPress as the foundation. We’ll cover the best themes and plug-ins, the best widgets to use, optimization tips for pages and images, workflow strategies, and how to funnel potential clients toward sales. Your blog will become a marketing vehicle for leads that customers will rave about and share with friends.

Download this article free as a PDF

Photo credit: Yury Imaging

Set Up on WordPress

Blogging starts with choosing the right foundation for your blog site. A self-hosted WordPress site is the best option, given its large user base and robust support, plug-ins, searchability, and shareability. Many of the sites you encounter on the web are WordPress.

If you have a blog on Blogger, TypePad or anything other than WordPress, you absolutely must change your platform now.

With a WordPress blog, you no longer need a traditional website. That’s right — I recommend the blog becomes your homepage because it shows everything to potential clients in a single scroll without forcing them to click around to different sites and pages.

Are you having reservations about making a switch? Let me know in the comments.

If you’re not quite ready yet to make the leap to 100% blogging, make sure your blog and “other” website live under the same domain name. Photographers who have one URL for their website and another separate URL for their blog make it more difficult for clients and search engines to find their way around.

Bad: mysite.com and myblog.com (two separate websites)
Better: mysite.com and blog.mysite.com (one site with subdomain)
Best: myblog.com or mysite.com/blog (one site, or one site with a subfolder)

You’ll want to adopt this one-site approach as early as possible, even though it will be painful at first to consolidate down to a single site. One site is far more easier to manage and to get ranked highly in Google search results.

Set up a proofing site

Proofing is where existing clients can review and order prints. Since proofing shouldn’t be accessible to the average website visitor (new potential clients), proofing doesn’t need to be part of your main blog. You don’t need a proofing link on your website, which would be a dead end for anyone who clicks it.

I know I told you a few paragraphs ago to ditch the traditional website, but if you have a site like SmugMug and BluDomain it may be worth hanging onto them for the proofing system. In this case move the site to a new URL or a subdomain of your existing URL. Here’s a quick example: proofing.myblog.com.

I recommend ShootProof, which can host 15,000 photos for $30 per month and has tons of helpful sales features like galleries, mobile apps for clients and widgets for your blog.

Choose a Provider

WordPress (wordpress.org) is a free platform that anyone can download. The platform is simply a system through which you can manage your pages, posts and images. Web owners still need to install the system through a web host, like Bluehost (affiliate). The process of downloading, installing and buying hosting can get a bit technical. Don’t panic quite yet…

With WordPress installed and hosted, web owners choose a design theme, giving their sites a distinct look and feel. Themes are easy to download and install within WordPress; there are many free and premium themes available. WordPress allows you to change themes with almost a click of a button. Pretty awesome.

I recommend photographers use ProPhoto (affiliate) because it has photography-specific designs, plus you can pay this company to handle the technical stuff I already mentioned. ProPhoto has stellar support and many training videos available for WordPress beginners.

My site uses a StudioPress Theme (affiliate), which are best for the more technically savvy user as well as non-photographers. My favorites are the Expose and Foodie themes.

Pick a Design Theme

With WordPress installed the fun begins. This is the time to pick a blog design, also known as a theme. Make sure to look for mobile-enabled themes that utilize “responsive” design.

Responsive design means the site repositions itself for mobile devices. If you’re on a desktop computer, make the browser window smaller right now and see how my site changes based on the side of the window. So iPhones, tablets and laptops all see the same web content no matter how big the viewing area. You no longer need a separate mobile site.

Beware: Many of the themes found through a general Google search are sold by independent developers through a theme directory. You may get left in a lurch when you try to get support or customization. My Photography Spark theme was full of bugs and very costly to customize, despite being purchased through a major theme provider (MoJo).

Optimize Your Blog Homepage

The homepage of your blog is the first thing many users see. Make a great first impression by showing your most important content first. Then make it easy for users to scroll and find what they are looking for, without a ton of load-time issues.

Stick the most important post to the top
WordPress has a feature called “Stick this post to the front page. ” When you are editing a post, expand the section on the right where it says Visibility: Public. Checking the box makes that post appear at the top of the blog’s homepage as well as relevant category pages.

I use sticky posts to ensure my most important posts appear before anything else.

An important post is one that sets the best first impression, has critical information, directs the user where to go, or makes you the most money. Ideas for your sticky post(s):

• An introduction post about you – “Meet Zach, the Best Photographer in Sacramento”
• A gallery-type post that lists your best work within a particular niche – “My Top 20 Child Portraits”
• A navigational post with jump links to your best posts or galleries – “New here? Zach’s Favorite Wedding Posts”
• A special offer post – “Get a free print when you book holiday portraits before September 1”

Abbreviate posts on your homepage with the “More” tag
The More tag allows you to show a portion of a post on your blog homepage instead of the full post. Click the “Insert Read More tag” after the first paragraph or first image when editing a post. Everything before that line will appear on your homepage followed by a link for users to continue reading. Users can click “Read More” to see the full story.

The More tag helps readers quickly scroll through a long list of posts without having to see every image in every post.

Consider a mom who is looking for newborn photos. She doesn’t want to hunt through your latest boudoir posts to find the newborns. With the “More” tag in place, people will see one image per post at the homepage level and can click into the ones they are interested in. See an example on my blog here.

Hiding full posts helps your main page load much faster (great for mobile users) because the page displays only one or two photos per post instead of 20. Google and your customers like fast-loading pages.

Choose Widgets Wisely

Widgets are the little module boxes that display along your blog’s right sidebar or footer. I’m constantly surprised at how few people take the time to update these.

Recommended blog widgets

• About you – example in the footer of Jill Carmel Photography and the left side of Alison Winterroth Photography
• Most popular posts – example of Featured posts on the right of Beck Impressions Photography
• Book a session button – example on the right side of Dena McMullen Photography
• Helpful resources – examples on the right of Jenn Di Spirito Photography
• Email signup box – example in the footer of Jenn Di Spirito Photography
• Social networks – Facebook Like box, follow me on Pinterest button, etc.

Jenn Di Spirito takes advantage of real estate in the sidebar with the perfect widgets to boost sales: About Me, Resources and Social Media links

Widgets to remove immediately

• Admin – You don’t need users seeing shortcut links to your internal login page. If you want to log-in to your WordPress dashboard it’s easy to remember: yourblog.com/login
• Archives – Nobody cares what you wrote in September 2008.
• Latest Posts – Instead display your favorite posts, best posts, or most popular posts.
• Tag clouds – Those went out of fashion about 10 years ago (and nobody clicks on them).
• Blogroll – Get rid of anything that lists lots of links to other sites.

A cluttered website will hurt your conversion rates. Stay focused with this rule: One page, one goal.

— SonjaJobson (@SonjaJobson) August 11, 2014

Install the Top WordPress Plug-ins

Plug-ins are like apps for your blog. They’re developed by someone else and are available in the WordPress plug-in section. I recommend plug-ins for search engine optimization (SEO), social network connectivity and comment systems. Use plug-ins from trusted sources and only ones that are absolutely necessary, to help keep your site safe and fast-loading. Here are my favorite plug-ins.

Yoast SEO
Yoast is one of the leading SEO plug-ins. It helps you control the titles and meta descriptions of blog posts and pages. Yoast has a hundred more SEO features that might be too advanced for many photographers. So if you want something less technical and easier to set up, go with All in One SEO Pack.

There is a section called Bulk Title Editor where you can quickly update all of your old page titles. Use this after learning how to title pages for search in my Recipes to Rank SEO Cookbook.

My favorite feature of this plug-in is social integration. You can set an alternate Facebook title and image, which is helpful if your main title is loaded with search keywords that are too marketing heavy for Facebook. With this plug-in you also get OpenGraph protocol tags, which come in handy when working with Facebook apps.

All in One SEO Pack
This is the #1 SEO plug-in because of its ease of use. It adds fields for editing the Title and Description of blog posts and pages, and gives a preview view of how your page will appear in search results. It also has settings for Google Analytics, XML Sitemaps and Google Authorship integration; previously these required separate plug-ins.

Rtsocial
Rtsocial adds social share buttons to your pages and/or posts so users can Like, Tweet, Pin or share your content on social media. I prefer this one to others because it includes Pinterest. See an example at the top and bottom of this page.

Livefyre
This free comment system connects with social media accounts to display the user’s social avatar in the comment, which I think looks very nice. I’ve found comments are more legitimate (less anonymous and less spammy) when using this plug-in.

I’m interested in your thoughts on image gallery plug-ins. Let me know your favorite in the comments section below.

Limit Blog Categories

I recommend including anywhere from 5 to 10 categories in your blog — enough to easily choose the niche they want to see without being overwhelmed by a large list. Here are sample categories:

• Wedding
• Engagement
• Family
• Child
• Newborn
• Maternity
• Senior
• Boudoir
• Pet
• Commercial
• Studio – This one is a good catch-all for anything not related to a specific photo session (e.g., news, press, specials, etc.)

You will notice these categories all are single words. There is no need to stuff keywords into category names because this doesn’t help search engine optimization and only makes navigation more difficult for users.

If you have questions about naming your categories, ask me in the comment section below.

Tags are NOT needed when blogging and do not help search engine optimization.

Update the Default Permalinks

Permalinks control the URL structure of your blog and are an opportunity to make keywords from the  post’s title appear in the URLs of your pages, which is very helpful for Google.

You don’t want the default setting where your blog post URLs have a lot of numbers in them.

The better option is a Post Name structure (this is what I use): https://photographyspark.com/sample-post/

Navigate to Settings > Permalinks to update.

Important note: Changing the permalinks will change all the URLs for your blog posts. This means the old URLs will be inaccessible. Consequently, links from Facebook, a newsletter or other websites might no longer work for your posts (your homepage will remain unaffected). On rare occasions, updating permalinks can disable portions of your website! So you might want to consult with a professional developer or your blog provider before making this change. There is a silver lining — if you change permalinks and something breaks, you can easily change the URLs back to whatever you had previously.

You can make the category name appear in the URL of your posts by navigating and enter a custom structure of /%category%/%postname%/.

Optimize Images for Speed and Searchability

We’ve hit a tipping point online where we don’t like to wait for anything. Don’t turn away clients (or Google, for that matter) with pages that take forever to load because you’re using high-res images. Photoshop allows you to Save for Web with reduced quality, and tells you the file size before you Save. It also tells you how long the file will take to load at 28.8Kbps, which is like saying how much something cost in the year 1800 — a bit antiquated.

Photo credit: iStockPhoto

I think the ideal file size for images is 30KB, a difficult target to hit for photographers.

At a minimum, photographs should be compressed as much as possible, which may mean reducing image size too. Take this example for various image sizes and quality.

900px wide, 100% quality: 521KB
900px wide, 70% quality: 168KB
600px wide, 100% quality: 237KB
600px wide, 70% quality: 79KB

In this case, shrinking the image size will load photos 3x faster and reducing quality will load an additional 2x faster. Do you want users to wait six seconds for a page to load, or one second? Keep in mind that 25% of users likely will be visiting your site from mobile phones, where images will display smaller anyway.

I recommend posting between 5 and 20 images on each blog post.

Too few and you don’t have enough substance and too many will hurt load time and likely lose users before they get to the end of the page.

Utilize alternate text
Within one of your posts, click on an image to edit it and you’ll find a field for Alternative Text. Describe your photos in natural, everyday language to enable machines to understand the image, as if you were describing the photo to someone over the phone. No need to cram keywords or marketing fluff. A pure, straightforward statement about the image will suffice.

Alt text tells Google what your image is about and sometimes is used as the default description for a Pin on Pinterest, so you would be wise to use them.

Don’t take the time to add alternate text on all your old posts. Create relevant alt text on a go-forward basis or perhaps choose two or three of your best existing posts to optimize.

Add captions to photos
Captions help reinforce what is happening in the photos and on the page. Photographers can use captions to describe the emotion of the image, whereas the alternate text is a literal translation of the image.

When written naturally, captions add meaningful text to the page and help give more substance for Google.

I don’t like to use the WordPress caption field since it adds an ugly gray box around the photo. Feel free to simply type some text in the post underneath the image.

Don’t worry about writing a caption for every image, but I recommend adding a few per page.

Create These Must-Have Blog Pages

In addition to your blog posts, there are 3 pages your customers will want to find quickly and easily. You likely will have these pages listed as tabs or links, but don’t rely on users to click those. Make this information visible on every page in a sidebar, footer widget, or manually typed at the end of every post.

Pricing Page
As a customer, the first thing I want to know about a service provider is the cost. If I can’t find a price, I assume it’s too expensive and I don’t make a purchase. For that reason, I think photographers should display their prices. Showing prices will attract the right customers who can afford you and save lots of time not dealing with people who ultimately can’t afford you. Display pricing can be used to your advantage. For example, given the choice of three pricing packages most people will choose the one in the middle. So you can inflate the price of your premium package to make the middle option look more attractive.

Note: Don’t name the page “Investment” since users don’t intuitively know that means pricing.

About Page
In the service industry it’s vital to show who you are to prospective customers. Most people wouldn’t blindly choose a hairstylist, so it isn’t surprising that people are unlikely to choose a photographer without first seeing who she or he is. Make it easy for your web visitors to see you by showing your headshot on every page of your website. I noticed a huge spike in engagement after I added a headshot across my website. I received more phone calls, more questions, more comments on blog posts and more recognition at events I attended. People suddenly knew the person behind the curtain and felt more comfortable talking with me.

Contact Page
Don’t rely on a simple web form because people will want to contact you in different ways. Write out your physical address, email address, phone number and links to your social media profiles. I recommend placing your physical address in the footer (all pages) to help Google rank you for local search results.

Schedule a Blogging Workflow

Blogging isn’t something you should squeeze in when time is available. There never will be time. Blogging is a scheduled effort done strategically with results in mind. Writing posts in advance on an editorial calendar helps greatly. I write my posts on the first of the month and then schedule them to publish live on future dates. I recommend Design Aglow’s Essential Planner (affiliate) to track your blog schedule … and everything else!

How often should you post?
You might not want to hear this but you should post to your blog at least once a week. A weekly schedule drives the entire marketing pipeline — from Google to Facebook to email newsletters. Sometimes this is so difficult that I’ve been known to skip a week (don’t tell anyone).

Scale your effort depending on the post’s importance. A post about your latest session where you earned $200 warrants much less effort than a sales post about an upcoming special or a super-post gallery showcasing all of your best work within a single niche.

What should photographers write about?
Is a post about a sneak peek going to get you more busines,s? If not, then consider posting that to Facebook instead of blogging it. I choose to write about subjects that will attract new customers, which usually is an educational resource rather than a project.

Put yourself in your client’s shoes. If she is reading one post a week from you, she will quickly burn out and tire of seeing every photo session you’ve ever done. Here are a few ideas for posts you can intersperse with articles about recent photo sessions:

• How to organize photos at home
• Ideas for wall displays
• Where to buy (prints, photo gifts, frames)
• What’s in your bag
• Camera equipment reviews (use affiliate links so you can earn money for your referrals)
• What-to-wear guides
• Guide to local venues
• Lists of recommended vendors you love
• Day in the life of a photographer (behind the scenes stuff like how much effort goes into editing)
• News/trends in photography (stuff about camera phones, metal-backed portraits, Facebook photo privacy changes)

Customers will appreciate your helpful tips and will readily share this content across social media. Any of these posts would quickly become gold on Pinterest.

Blog for others
When I build a new website, I spend most of my work time the first year blogging for other sites instead of my own. I do this so I can generate reputable backlinks to help my search rank, to build branding, and to drive people back to my signup pages so I can grow my marketing list. Not doing this will limit the number of web visitors and referrals you get,  and you’ll miss an opportunity to extend your brand to thousands of people who don’t know about your website yet.

Want to write for me on Photography Spark? See my guest post guidelines.

Funnel Web Traffic and Sales

Don’t rely on your homepage
In Google Analytics navigate to Behavior > Site Content > All Pages to see your blog’s traffic breakdown by page. The item marked as “/” is your homepage. You can see here my homepage gets only 7.27% of my total site pageviews. This trend is prevalent across the web: Today’s users more often are visiting deep pages directly from search, social media and email — completely skipping the homepage! Your site layout and marketing messages should reflect the fact that users will skip your homepage.

Create some “super posts”
I made up the phrase “super post” to describe a post that showcases multiple photo sessions instead of just one. Consider it a gallery, but with photos stacked vertically in blog format.

Super posts are like a marketing brochure you display at an event or in a shop window. You don’t want a single session represented here; you need your BEST work.

Consider the difference between sharing a sneak-peek post called “Zach’s Baby Photos” on Facebook, versus a super post called “The 20 Best Newborn Photos in Sacramento.” Not only will the super post attract more people, but a larger percentage of those visitors will want to contact you. Extend that tactic through Google, Pinterest, emails, related links on your site, sticky posts, sidebar modules and features on partner websites. Now you have stunning brochures posts to funnel people toward and a key tool for improving your chances of a sale.

Not every post needs to be perfect or generate a ton of sales. In fact, a couple of well-crafted posts can significantly grow your business.

Decide what you want customers to do

If you have one web visitor today, what is the single most important action you want that person to take? Tell them to do it.

Let’s admit, you want them to “Call to book a session.” Yet I find most photography blogs don’t make this a clear or simple task for a first-time visitor. If that is the goal for your visitors, it needs to be extremely clear and in the user’s face on every page. The visitor should not leave the site without having seen an opportunity to contact you.

The only problem with this approach, other than the blatant marketing that might turn off people, is that first-time visitors are unlikely to hire you during their first visit to your site. The sales cycle often takes a number of visits and careful deliberation. Therefore you need secondary objectives to get people back to the blog and to keep them on the blog a while when they arrive.

These are the most important objectives for a blog, listed in order of importance:

• Contact and hire you right now!
• Sign up for emails
• Connect with you on social media
• Comment on a post or share it via social media
• Browse more stuff on your website via well-placed, strategic pages

The first four items connect with users in a way in which they are likely to receive continued exposure to your brand. If they’re not ready to connect, the fifth item links them to one of your most important pages. Hopefully it will convince them to do one of the first four.

Take a closer look around this page and count the number of times I try and hook you. In the header, right sidebar, footer, and even within this article I’ve strategically positioned sign-up modules for emails, follow buttons for social media, and provided links to my most important pages and products. I’ve written this post with the clear intention to capture some of you as people I can sell to down the road. So sign up now already, LOL! You should do the same with your posts.

Take your three most visited pages and add some of the above objectives to those pages.

Additional Resources

“How to Optimize a Photography Blog” is a FREE printable PDF ebook version of this post. With your free download you also will receive instant access to two more free ebooks plus occasional emails with helpful posts about how to grow your business.
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