A lot of hype in the wedding & portrait photography industry lately has been made of selling and marketing yourself. Go to any workshop, convention or seminar and it seems that all the business speakers are espousing the same thing. It's all about building your business on YOU.
A few photographers I've talked to have expressed frustration with this trend and I can understand why they are disillusioned. Where is the client in all of this? In focusing so much of our energy on making our businesses about US, are we missing something?
We are if we're doing it for any other reason than to connect with the right client. In the end, all of this self-focused marketing should be about connection and relationship.
Picking a wedding photographer is an intensely personal choice. I believe the client will be the happiest and have the best experience if they are able to get to know and connect with their photographer. I believe the photographer will do the best job they can do if they know their client - what makes them unique and how to make them feel comfortable in front of the camera. Let's call this desired end result the "optimum" client/photographer experience.
In order to connect with the right clients and ultimately achieve this desired end result, we do need to start by making our marketing self-focused. We need to first and foremost know who we are in order to share our authentic selves with the world and ultimately attract and connect with the right clients. In order to differentiate ourselves from our competitors we need to smear ourselves - our personality, our style, our passion for Star Wars collectibles - all over our businesses.
We as photographers would like to think a client is hiring us for our amazing photography but more often than not, what closes the deal is a connection over something irrelevant to photography. I've had clients tell me they hired me because I had dogs on my blog and they are HUGE dog lovers. I've had a client hire me because they loved the song on my website and couldn't stop listening to it. Yes, your photography needs to be solid. But when there are a lot of solid photographers out there to choose from, it's all about making a connection that sets you apart from everyone else. It's great if that connection gets you the job, but what makes this approach optimal is that the job is with an ideal client - someone who connects with you and has formed the beginnings of a relationship that has the potential to lead to an optimum experience.
So don't be afraid to make it all about you - your bio, your website, your blog. Share your authentic self - even your non-official-photographer-and-business-owner self. Post YOUR favorite photos. Don't base your portfolio on what you think a client might be looking for. Pick only photos YOU love and what you want to shoot. Make it all about you so that your ideal client - the person who will love the authentic you and love the photos you love to shoot - will be attracted to you and connect with you. Make your marketing about you so that the experience can ultimately be based on a great connection and the beginnings of what can be an optimum photographer/client experience.
Once you attract and connect with an ideal client, make the experience all about THEM. At your initial client meeting get to know them and their story. Talk very little about yourself. Educate clients up front. Realize they have never done this before and walk them through it to create the best possible experience. Pick shooting locations based on who they are and what they enjoy doing. Take them out to dinner after their engagement shoot. Make sure the wedding day is all about them. And blow them away with the speed and quality of your service. Top it all off by throwing in some unexpected touches along the way that drive home your point that it's all about THEM and creating the best experience possible.
Make your marketing about YOU so that you attract the right client. Them make the experience all about THEM.
If you found this post helpful, click here to learn about other resources I offer photographers!
A few photographers I've talked to have expressed frustration with this trend and I can understand why they are disillusioned. Where is the client in all of this? In focusing so much of our energy on making our businesses about US, are we missing something?
We are if we're doing it for any other reason than to connect with the right client. In the end, all of this self-focused marketing should be about connection and relationship.
Picking a wedding photographer is an intensely personal choice. I believe the client will be the happiest and have the best experience if they are able to get to know and connect with their photographer. I believe the photographer will do the best job they can do if they know their client - what makes them unique and how to make them feel comfortable in front of the camera. Let's call this desired end result the "optimum" client/photographer experience.
In order to connect with the right clients and ultimately achieve this desired end result, we do need to start by making our marketing self-focused. We need to first and foremost know who we are in order to share our authentic selves with the world and ultimately attract and connect with the right clients. In order to differentiate ourselves from our competitors we need to smear ourselves - our personality, our style, our passion for Star Wars collectibles - all over our businesses.
We as photographers would like to think a client is hiring us for our amazing photography but more often than not, what closes the deal is a connection over something irrelevant to photography. I've had clients tell me they hired me because I had dogs on my blog and they are HUGE dog lovers. I've had a client hire me because they loved the song on my website and couldn't stop listening to it. Yes, your photography needs to be solid. But when there are a lot of solid photographers out there to choose from, it's all about making a connection that sets you apart from everyone else. It's great if that connection gets you the job, but what makes this approach optimal is that the job is with an ideal client - someone who connects with you and has formed the beginnings of a relationship that has the potential to lead to an optimum experience.
So don't be afraid to make it all about you - your bio, your website, your blog. Share your authentic self - even your non-official-photographer-and-business-owner self. Post YOUR favorite photos. Don't base your portfolio on what you think a client might be looking for. Pick only photos YOU love and what you want to shoot. Make it all about you so that your ideal client - the person who will love the authentic you and love the photos you love to shoot - will be attracted to you and connect with you. Make your marketing about you so that the experience can ultimately be based on a great connection and the beginnings of what can be an optimum photographer/client experience.
Once you attract and connect with an ideal client, make the experience all about THEM. At your initial client meeting get to know them and their story. Talk very little about yourself. Educate clients up front. Realize they have never done this before and walk them through it to create the best possible experience. Pick shooting locations based on who they are and what they enjoy doing. Take them out to dinner after their engagement shoot. Make sure the wedding day is all about them. And blow them away with the speed and quality of your service. Top it all off by throwing in some unexpected touches along the way that drive home your point that it's all about THEM and creating the best experience possible.
Make your marketing about YOU so that you attract the right client. Them make the experience all about THEM.
If you found this post helpful, click here to learn about other resources I offer photographers!
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