Promoting Your Business

This column today is aimed primarily at the professional business photographer.  Others may glean a bit of valuable information here. 

As I woke up a few weeks ago, I started formulating upcoming columns for all three of my blogs.  Those who follow CJP Photo News may not be aware that I’m such a prolific writer.  If any of you are interested in seeing my other two blogs, simply drop me an email and I will forward you the blogs.

As a photographer who has been established for over ten years now with a web presence:

CJP Photos  promotion has been fairly easy for me.  I recently published a column called Ninety Percent of Success which detailed the benefits of being an established photographer in my small hometown.

How do you promote your business when you have little resources to do so?
Advertising?

This only works if you advertise on a consistent basis.  By consistent, I mean weekly or monthly in local venues:
Your local newspaper
A local magazine
Local cable channels

 This consistency requires resources that many small local businesses lack.  What are the alternatives?

–If you are a photographer who wants to establish yourself, the BEST thing you can do is be seen with your camera.
–If you want to establish yourself as a professional, you best have the equipment to back up your desire.  Don’t be walking around with a point and shoot camera.  Make sure you have a professional DSLR.
–Show up at your town events
Parades
Ceremonies
Town Dinners
–Carry business cards EVERYWHERE you go with a professionally created logo.
–Have that logo emblazoned on frequently worn clothes:
A jacket
Sweatshirts
T Shirts
Anything you wear frequently.

I use LandsEnd for all of my logowear.  I can cite a perfect example where having my logo jacket brought in business.  When I traveled to Wareham, Massachusetts for the Cranberry Festival  a couple years ago, I wore my coat and as we were walking into the festival someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked about my business.  We struck up a conversation, I handed him a business card and about a week later this person emailed me and bought several images from my Cranberry Festival gallery.  I used two of the three alternatives listed above to create a customer and this person has become a repeat customer as well.

So see?

You don’t absolutely need to spend gobs of money on local advertising to promote your business.  Local ads would NOT have helped in the above example anyway as I was out of my local area.  Logo wear and business cards are what drew the customer to my business.

 The best advice I can give IF you are looking for inexpensive ways to promote your small business are these:
Spend some money on a logo.
Have logowear created and wear it all the time.
Always carry business card with you.
Create a blog as I have.
Have a web presence where customers can purchase your photography.
Direct your customers to your retail site by any means necessary.
Your business blog should be pointing to your retail site.
Get on social media.

Social Media is perhaps the BEST free advertising you can receive.

These examples will help you more than spending money on advertising in local venues.  You become your best promotion this way.

 Have other examples?  Feel free to share.

In the mean time:
Focus on what’s ahead of you.
–
Chris

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