So you’re ready to take your photography hobby and turn it into a photography business? How exciting! You might be researching all sorts of things about how to start your business and it can certainly be overwhelming. As someone who was once in your shoes, there are some things I wished I had known about earlier when becoming a professional photographer. Here are some tips that will help you start your successful photography business.
5 Things You Need to Start a Successful Photography Business
1. Prepare a strong portfolio
Building a photography portfolio is important for establishing and growing your photography business. A portfolio is a collection of your best work that showcases your unique style and skills to potential clients. While you are building a portfolio, you can begin building a relationship with potential future clients or people who might help spread the word about your business. Check out last week’s blog to learn about ways to build your portfolio.
2. Know who your ideal client is
An ideal photography client is basically someone that represents the PERFECT client you would want to work with. Knowing who your ideal client is can help you maximize your marketing efforts to draw in more of those ideal clients and successfully convert them. Better conversion from lead to client will help your business be successful.
3. Build a website
You will need somewhere to showcase your photography portfolio and also give your potential clients a way to get in touch with you. Building a website is a great way to share your work and provide a professional avenue for your potential clients to learn more about your business and contact you.
Your website is a great way to work on your SEO and show up on Google when people are searching for photographers in your area. You can check out these quick tips when building your website to make sure you stand out.
4. Use contracts
Whether you’re shooting a free or paid session, contracts are must! While some photographers feel like a contract might be overly formal – remember you are running a business and should have protections in place for you and your clients during your services provided.
We always hope each interaction and service provided to a client will go smoothly. The reality is that not every single session will go as planned and you might even stumble on a unhappy customer from time to time. Your contract is the start of your working relationship with your clients and sets the tone for the professionalism. You can find great resources for photography contracts with The LawTog
5. Use a Photography CRM
What is a CRM? CRM stands for customer relationship management. This is a type of software that will assist you with managing your client’s information and activity such as contracts and invoices. It also allows you to automate aspects of your business such as collecting and responding to leads, and sending emails to your clients before and after their sessions. This is one crucial step I wish I knew about earlier on when starting my photography business. Even if you have a small clientele at first, starting off on the right foot with a CRM will help you look professional and stay organized. No more missing leads, forgetting to send an email to a client or needing to re-type emails over and over with the same information.
Using a CRM will allow you to save time so that you can focus on editing or finding the right balance between work and family life.
What are some things you wish you knew or did when starting a successful photography business?
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