5 Free and Fail-Proof Marketing Methods Photographers Will Love

Marketing. It’s a term you’ve heard time and time again as a photographer, but with hundreds of marketing options out there, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

We’ve covered marketing methods for photographers previously on the blog, but thought we’d offer 5 more fresh, free, and fail-proof ideas today to give you an extra burst of motivation. After all, not only are the following ideas quite simple to implement, but they’ve also proven to be highly effective.

Let’s get started!

Rewards for Testimonials

Testimonials are like gold to any business, and photographers are certainly no different! Hearing or reading about a previous client’s positive experience is often just what a person needs to reassure them to also utilize your services. Here’s the thing though: encouraging people to provide even a few short sentences about your work can be difficult. It requires time and effort, after all! To provide past clients with an incentive, you need to offer a reward in exchange for their testimonial or review.

Examples of great rewards might include an added bonus with their photography package, such as extra prints or a framed copy of their favorite image at no extra cost. While discount codes are often recommended, it’s not the most lucrative incentive, as people often prefer some sort of tangible reward.

Create a 101 Guide

Have you ever read a 101 Guide? It’s basically a blog post, eBook, or document that answers all of the questions people might have about a specific topic. You can easily create one of these guides about a topic you’re knowledgeable about, such as wedding photography, capturing senior photos, family portrait sessions, etc. This 101 Guide can then be marketed successfully in three ways. Firstly, you can create a pin for Pinterest which links to the guide, encouraging a wider audience to click-through and read it. Secondly, you can offer the guide in eBook or PDF file form when they sign-up to your email newsletter (we call this an opt-in freebie). Lastly, you can also advertise the guide frequently through your social media channels. So easy, yet so effective!

Upload a Welcome Video

There are a number of reasons why this is a highly successful marketing method. Firstly, not many photographers have experimented with adding a welcome video to their site, so it instantly sets you apart from your competition. Secondly, how much more personable will you appear when you’re introducing yourself in video form, rather than through text and a photo? You’ll reinforce how personable and approachable you are, putting potential clients at ease straight away. It also communicates a sense of professionalism that will have clients lining up to work with you!

Host an Instagram Competition

While you can host a competition on any social media platform, Instagram tends to be the most effective channel for photographers because of its highly visual nature. There are a wide range of competitions or contests you can host, but in terms of successfully marketing your photography services, we recommend asking your audience to regram a specific image advertising your company in order to be in the running for your prize. You can also ask that all entrants are following your account and / or that they use a specific hashtag (#) related to your business.

When your entrants enter your competition, their following are also seeing your competition image (a.k.a advertisement for your photography services) popping-up in their feed. Giveaways also create excitement and buzz surrounding your photography, so it’s a win-win!

Teach Your Audience New Skills

If there’s one thing every human loves, it’s generosity, and this is a key element that comes into successful marketing practices too! Not only can offering to teach your audience new skills (for free) through platforms such as Periscope, Facebook Live, and Google Hangouts boost your reputation, but it also establishes yourself as an authority within your niche. When you’re seen as an authority, people soon flock to you to fulfil their photography needs, which is exactly what you want!

If you’re just starting out talking live, try a simple Q&A video instead. You can simply ask your audience to comment with some questions relating to photography and your business, and you then answer these in your video. Once you’re more confident, try running live sessions where you walk your audience through various photography-related issues, such as working with models, setting up lighting, putting a team together for photo shoots, etc. The sky is the limit!

There you have it – 5 free and fail-proof marketing methods photographers are sure to love! Which ones will you be trying out for yourself? We hope you too see successful results!