Last year was a tough one for photographers. About 96% of photographers had fewer bookings and less work in 2020. There is hope on the horizon as the economy opens back up. You can pick up a lot of business now, but you should think about your business going forward. How can you protect your business in good times and bad? Read on to learn the top photo marketing errors and how to avoid them.
- Your Photography Is All Over the Place
You love photography and you love to photograph everything. Should those images be on your social media and websites? Let’s say that you take pictures of wildlife, food, and weddings. You do all of them incredibly well. If someone were to hire you, they wouldn’t know what they’re hiring you for. Give your photography a sharp focus. Pick one niche for your social media and portfolio. Become the expert in that niche.
- Lack of Follow Through
You’re an artist. You still have a business to run. That means you have to be responsible and do what’s necessary to grow your photography business. You might think that it’s OK to take a few days to get back to a client or respond to an inquiry. Clients and prospects have high expectations. You want to appear that you’re on top of every aspect of your business. Get back to them in about 24 hours. If you committed to a deadline with a client, make sure you do everything you can to follow through.
- Don’t Use Video
Can photographers make use of video? Absolutely! There are plenty of photographers out there who tell stories behind their most creative shots. Just look on YouTube and you’ll find other photographers in your niche giving photo tutorials. Many turn those videos into paid courses and gigs. There isn’t a limit to what you can do with video. You can give a behind-the-scenes look at your studio or talk about gear.
- Rely Only on Referrals
This is the trap that many small business owners fall into. They get comfortable building their business from referrals. What happens when the referrals dry up? You have to start marketing your photography business. A healthy business has a mix of leads from digital marketing and
- Copyright Issues
Copyright issues are something that photographers need to know about. It’s all too common for photographers to see their work used on other sites without permission or compensation. There’s very little recourse for photographers to take. You should learn about your rights and have a policy as to how your images get used. What if you want to offer your photographs as stock photography? This source goes over the details of images rights and how to use stock photography.
Instead of exploring various sites and checking whether they are using your pictures, you can simply search by image and find all the online platforms that have your photos instantly. Reverse image search uses advanced technology that enables you to catch all the copycats using your original pictures without taking prior permission.
Avoid These Photo Marketing Errors
Whether you take photos for websites or do wedding photography, you need to have a photo marketing strategy. The tips in this article showed you the common photo marketing errors to avoid. You’ll end up with a successful business. Be sure to visit the Business section of this site for more business news and tips.
