Unforgettable: How to Create a Marketing Strategy for your Photography Business

Unforgettable

That’s the goal a marketing strategy, right!?! We want our photography business to stand out among the sea of photographers that our ideal clients encounter on a daily basis and somehow convince them to book us over all the others!

But how? 

It’s simple. All we need is a marketing strategy. A game plan. A roadmap. A cheatsheet. Someone who will tell us exactly what to do.

Now if you read the word “marketing strategy” and immediately thought, “social media.” Then I’ve got a bit of a wake up call coming for ya.

Putting your work on social media and hoping someone will book is not a marketing strategy!

Social Media is only one teeny, tiny piece of the puzzle to a MUCH bigger picture. A few years ago my hubby moved me twice in one year to a whole new state. Now, you know as fellow photographers that moving is like death for our client-based businesses.

And because we were moving to a place where I knew not one single soul. I was forced to create not just a marketing strategy… but a really freaking awesome one. So I outlined my goals… I need a strategy that would:

• Inspire people to book me over the other two photographer’s they’ve been using for the last 15 years.
• Allow me to charge what I needed to provide for my family.
• Make the time i’m spending away from my children WORHT IT.
• Get me bookings, not just inquiries.
• Help me to build a brand that stood out!
• Figure out how to write content that would get my clients to engage.
• Tell me where to start on my website and what to do.
• One that didn’t cost a lot of money.
• Help me with my time management skills.
• Get me more of the clients that I loved.
• Help me overcome my self-doubt as a photographer
• Allow me to what I had that was unique

So, I sat down and created a simple 5-step framework to accomplish those things. And through trial and error, tweaking and testing…

I did it…

And as a result, I had:

• A full calendar 6+ months in advance
• Generated a six-figure income
• Increased my wedding bookings from 6 to 35
• Content that wasn’t just easy to come up with but was engaging to my audience
• A roadmap for where to spend my time marketing my biz and exactly what to do there
• Saved so much money on wasted marketing efforts.

Want to know what it was? Okay 🙂 Here is the exact 5 step framework I used to create a life-changing marketing strategy for my biz.

Marketing Strategy #1: FIND YOUR WHY

To me, this is hands-down the MOST important thing you should do for your business and also should be step #1 in every photographers marketing plan!

Finding your why really takes you beyond surface level and pulls back the layers to find your specific, heart-centered life’s purpose. It’s not your family, your job, or money. It actually has NOTHING to do with any of those things. It’s your unique purpose as an individual molded by who you are, your story, your passions and your experiences.

Maybe you’ve heard of this “why” concept before and maybe you haven’t. But either way… it needs to happen! Because not only does our “why” keep us going on the really hard days of being a photographer. But it inspires people to choose you! When you build a business that accomplishes YOUR unique why with the skills, talents and strengths that only YOU bring to the table. It really brings a clear vision to the table of what your biz needs to be. Which in turn determined your ENTIRE marketing strategy.

Want some help finding your why? Check out my new marketing course for photographers or schedule a consult call today!

Marketing Strategy #2: Who do you serve

Most of you have probably heard of the whole “ideal client” thing. But just in case you haven’t…

an “ideal client” is someone who understands your value, is happy to “pay your worth,” and is excited to work with you in your specific niche

The reason this is important is because without these people, your business wouldn’t exist. These are the people you are trying to attract with your marketing. These are the people you want to find you.

And if you really want to find them, you must know who they are. Like fundamentally as a human being. Not just their gender, age, occupation, and location. But also their income, their level of education, their interests and hobbies, where they shop for groceries, where do they shop for clothes, who do they follow on social media, how do they feel on a regular basis, what does their day-to-day life look like? And so much more.

If we don’t know who we serve, our marketing is NEVER going to have the power-packed punch that it needs to get people to choose us! Without this, creating content is hard because we don’t know who we are talking to. Without this, we can establish deep connections with our ideal clients that will keep them coming back for more!

If you need help finding your ideal client use this free ideal client report I made for you and take the time to fill it out. I promise you, You WILL NOT regret it!

Marketing Strategy #3: Branding

After you’ve found your unique purpose and you know exactly who your ideal client is… you need to create a brand!

Before we talk about branding just know that branding is NOT just your logo, colors, etc. While those are certainly PART of the process, building a “brand” is so much more.

In the past, photographers have just been a business that markets their service to others in hopes of making money. But a brand… that’s the personality, the image, the persona that IS the business. If I were to ask your audience, What is *insert biz name here* personality? What would they say? Would they even have a response?

If you aren’t giving your biz a personality you are missing out BIG TIME. However, I do caution you this:

Branding is step 3 of the marketing process… NOT step 1! If you don’t know who you are and your unique purpose OR who your ideal client is… building a brand that truly stands out is going to be impossible.

Why? Because businesses don’t make an impact… BRANDS make an impact. Brands have heart, they have personality, they have purpose. Brands are what makes creating content on social media easier and increases bookings because finding your brand voice is what resonates with people and creates a deeper meaning behind your work.

Find out more in my upcoming course, More than Marketing.

Marketing Strategy #4: Marketing

Without marketing (a.k.a. advertising) there are no clients. And while marketing might be the leading cause of tension headaches for photographers… it doesn’t have to be.

Most photographer’s struggle with choosing HOW to market themselves. And frankly… we’re doing it all wrong. We get frustrated that our calendars aren’t as full as we’d like them to be, we get discouraged because our inquiries aren’t booking, we struggle with comparing ourselves to others in the industry and copying the things that they are doing. So what do we do? We try to find another way to market ourselves, we tweak our website, we “rebrand,” we run some ads, we host a mini session special, we come up with all these new ideas of how we are going to improve. We do a campaign to collect reviews from past clients. But then, we either get busy or discouraged and it never happens. Or worse, it does happen but it doesn’t work.

Photographers, It’s time to end this cycle. The reason your marketing efforts aren’t working is NOT because of the algorithm. It’s not because of your logo or your colors. It’s not because you aren’t posting every day or that your content isn’t personal enough. It’s not because your photos aren’t good or people don’t want what you have to offer.

It’s because you’re starting in the wrong place!

In my More than Marketing course, I REFUSE to give you a list of things to add to your ALREADY full to-do list.

Instead, I help you find your unique purpose as a person AND as a photographer, I help you find that one secret treasure that is going to attract ALL the right people. Together we find that ideal client and figure out how we are going to reach them. We build a brand that is going to be MAGNETIC and AUTHENTIC. Then, we discuss the right ways to market YOUR biz!

No two photographers are the same, no two businesses are the same, no two people are the same! And that’s why your marketing strategy can’t be the same either! In this module I talk in depth about the 10 ways I marketed my business FOR FREE! I teach you the overall strategy that grew me to the six-figure level as well as where and how to show up for YOUR business. Together we discuss the goal for each platform and create a plan for you to start implementing it in your business. So that you aren’t left with a list of overwhelming tactics but instead, a way out of the deadly cycle listed above.

Marketing Strategy #5: Client Experience

The very last piece to this 5 step framework is creating a unique client experience. One that only YOUR ideal client would love.

I walk you step by step for how to make this happen so that by the time your clients are done, you aren’t just left with a happy client who may or may not leave you review but instead, a RAVING FAN who can’t stop screaming your name to all they know!

When?

I’ve been on the other side of the screen watching a course. Odds are, you have too! Which means that you know that overwhelming feeling you feel after every single video to rush off and do #allthethings they just talked about or your business is going to fail.

And that’s why I made my course different! Not only will you have your unique marketing strategy in your hands… but, I’ve included a bonus video that tells you exactly where to start making these changes in your business and your marketing so that instead of feeling overwhelmed you feel empowered, excited, and relieved that you no longer feel lost in your marketing but instead a 500 lb. weight has been lifted off your shoulders!

If you are interested in learning more about how to find your why, your ideal client, what brand to build, how to market yourself and what kind of client experience you should offer, go check out THIS PAGE!