Seeing life through a lens is a dream for many. Starting a photography business can be appealing in many ways. For many photographers, a professional setting gives them the opportunity to share their vision with an audience and enhance the experience of a situation or a brand. When you consider the influence of visual social media platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram, it’s easy to understand why more and more photographers are desperate to start their business. However, around 85% of photography businesses fail. This means that nearly 9 out of 10 professional photographers today will need to give up on their dreams and choose a different career. The reasons why many companies and pros struggle are multiple. But ultimately, it’s fair to remember that in an age where everyone can take high-quality images using only a smartphone, you need to up your game if you want to survive.

 

How to survive in the photography industry?

Your website isn’t enough

Is your website providing the best possible service to all your potential clients? With more and more photographers creating their business, the digital competition can be harsh. Indeed, the online world is crowded with photography websites. It’s fair to say that your business will compete against severe others in a local area – and many more for national and international clients. Unfortunately, search engines will rank their results by comparing the SEO qualities of each site. For similar keywords, the popularity of a website, its usability, and its overall accessibility can affect the ranking. It turns out that the keywords ‘best photographer in town’ might not put you on top of the search results. So you need to think outside the box and embrace the potential of an app. Indeed, an app can help you to connect directly with the most interested audience groups and to drive lead generation. It gives your clients immediate access to your services and a real-time quote.

 

Your job is not just about images; it’s about memories

The quality of images is at the core of your photography business. If you are not confident about your skills behind the lens, you will face great difficulty to reach potential clients. However, most clients don’t care about your level of expertise. They don’t quite want to know the depth of the lens, the angle, and the focus you choose to use to capture images. Ultimately, the professional lingo is something you can talk about with other photographers. But with your clients, you need to embrace the emotional hook behind each photo. As PMAI explains rightly in an article about wedding photography, your clients want someone who understands how they feel at the moment when you take the picture. They are looking for your photos to provide the emotional support to their long-term memories. You don’t capture an image. You capture a moment of their life, a blend of emotions that will stay with them forever.

Wedding photography

 

Your clients want the experience

As mentioned above, clients don’t really care about the jargon of your job. In fact, most people consider that a photo is good when they can share it on Facebook, so it’s fair to say that your knowledge might be unappreciated. But you can create content that shows you are the best at what you do, without scaring people off with technical terms. In a world of images, vlogging about your projects can help your audience to understand what you do. Using vlogging as a tool to showcase your skills is a fantastic marketing strategy.

 

You need to help people choose you

It’s a crowded market. You need to get noticed against hundreds of other photography businesses. Organic search can only get you so far. Paid marketing campaigns can generate leads more successfully. Google AdWords campaigns can ensure your visibility in organic searches where natural ranking is too low. Additionally, using Facebook marketing can help to target leads through visual stories, which is, ultimately, the best channel for photographers. You can now also use Instagram advertising to monetise your best shots. Additionally, you can run Youtube campaigns through the Google AdWords platform, ensuring maximal visibility for your work.

 

Keep your client base active

At the end of a project, you need to keep an active communication with your clients. Marketing promotions targeted at existing clients can encourage further projects. For instance, you should plan a thank you note with a discount to be sent after the completion of each photo shoot. A client who booked for wedding photography can be offered a discount for the first anniversary of the marriage, for example. You can also grant special offers for family portraits.

 

When too many photography businesses continue to fail, you need to diversify your presence and your marketing activities to build a stable company. As a photographer, you are a privileged witness to meaningful events, so you need to validate the trust of your clients by boosting your presence accordingly.