Why? It will give your business more value, meaning, consistency and more easily help you attract and book your dream clients!

What is it? Basically, it’s a combination of your product, personality and purpose (aka who you are, what you do, how you do it and why), all rolled into one to create your own unique offer. It gives your work personality, meaning, helps you stand out from the crowd (especially if you are in an over-saturated area) and most importantly gives it more value.

I have SO much to say on this one topic, I think I’ll need to dedicate a whole blog post just for it, otherwise, we will be here all day!! As a start, think about what you’re most passionate about, really refine your shooting and editing style, showcase your personality and show the value of what you do, and why (in the posts your write etc)!

This is a big part of branding, and will help immensely with every aspect of your business, especially marketing. You photograph couples and weddings, what type of weddings/couples? Luxury or elopements? Those two alone are VERY different with very different clients and values. It doesn’t mean you need to rule everyone else out, but as soon as you start to think about which clients you want to attract most, more clearly, you’ll more easily figure out how to build your portfolio, where to find them, how to speak to them in a way that adds more value than just the photos you take and therefore how to book them!

You can absolutely photograph whatever you want (keeping consistency), and whoever you want, but if you take the time to think of who your dream clients are, it will make it a lot easier to find, attract and book them!

This is obvious, as a photographer, your images are what people book you for, so not only are they your biggest selling point, but they also need to represent your brand and easily speak to who you are trying to attract. Aka have a clear, quality product! So analyse and see if there is anything you need to work on, up-skill, remove or add to your portfolio etc make that your main focus first. If you need to, get the help of a mentor to give you a portfolio review and/or advice on what will be best to work on skill-set wise (and how to do it).

Also make sure that each of your portfolios (social and website) speak to your ideal clients, not only in your images, but in the text you use (showcase why what you do is important, your values, what you’re all about and of course the practical info of where you’re based etc) as quickly and efficiently as possible - because people need to see within a few seconds, what you offer, how great your work is and the value YOU give (aka why a strong brand is important). Also on this note, make sure images are resized and renamed for your website for faster loading times, use keywords, blog your best shoots etc for better SEO, make sure your site is mobile friendly and responsive etc as user experience when checking out your portfolio is also extremely important.

I also personally believe in quality vs quantity. Yes, it’s important to show you are booked and busy (therefore scarce and desired), post consistently, but it’s also important to show your best work – you don’t need to post a bazillion photos from every shoot (or every shoot if it doesn’t fit your brand), and sometimes weaker images can create doubt, so post the best and most importantly, the images that speak to your dream clients.

If you don’t have enough (of the right) images, plan styled shoots, even if that’s just some friends in nice outfits or even now during COVID, your own family, you and your partner or quality content that shares who you are.

Your personal network is your strongest, easiest network! These people already know, love and trust you, so don’t forget them! Your friends, family, colleagues (if you have another job), your interest/activity circles etc. Who already knows and loves you, but better yet hangs out in ideal client circles? Can you either do shoots for them (that they will post and tag you), get them to give you a shout out or just remind them it’s helpful to recommend you when there’s an opportunity, as there’s honestly no better marketing than word of mouth! (And not everyone thinks to do it without being asked!)

My entire photography business was built off my personal network! No joke – I never had to place a single paid ad anywhere, ever! I started photographing friends and family to not only build my skills and portfolio, but along the way they did all my marketing for me! (word of mouth, there’s nothing stronger!)

Think of vendors who share the same clients as you (both online and offline!) See what you can offer them – as a photographer you have the perfect skill set to not only give them something useful but in turn receive marketing through your images being used (tagged, printed etc).

Create awesome relationships (just by being nice to them at shared events, you’ll be surprised how much of an impact simple, polite gestures make these days), offer to meet up, spoil them and give them a reason to recommend you. Even if you just take some extra photos during the shoot they will find useful, offer them a shoot, organise a promo or referral program, do a shout out for shout out, tag, tag, tag (you’ll be seen by their audience too!), the list is endless! Vendor relationships are so important and so helpful!!! So don’t forget to utilise them!

Start to think about where your clients hang out. This is one of the many reasons why getting clear on ideal clients is so important! Where do they hang out both online and offline? Which groups are they part of? What activities do they do? Interests do they have? Where do they shop? What’s important to them? So, therefore, where can you find them and then what can you offer them?

If you shoot elopements, which online and offline groups would those clients hang out in? (Outdoor adventure, elopement advice groups, specific interest groups etc). Very different groups to your luxury wedding clients! What about the kind of mothers groups and activities your ideal clients for families hang out? If you get stuck, maybe you have some friends or family who have similar interests and you can just ask!

Then once you find, or are in those groups, how can you be helpful, create connections, give value? Do a model call? Do a giveaway (more on that later!), connect with the main group organiser (especially for in-person groups/shops/places they hang out), get someone else to post or recommend you – just always be mindful of what you can and can’t offer within different groups (especially online) or what you are setting yourself up for by offering something for free (remember you don’t need to make it a huge offer!)

There are so many ways to give value!!! In the work you create, the experience you give, the content you create or your offer.

We’ve already been over having a strong portfolio, which is the most important way to give value (a quality product that people connect with), but also equally important is creating a great experience for your clients. Like any business, make sure your service and experience is on point, but also, people only tend to rave when you exceed their expectations rather than just meet them, so how can you go above and beyond?

Make the experience awesome or unique? (make it feel like a date/adventure rather than a shoot)

What are your strengths?

How can you use your personality and other skill-sets to give more value than just the photos you take?

Under-promise and over-deliver? (time on the shoot, amount of images, when images are delivered etc)

How can you help even before the shoot (or after)? (advice for prepping, clothing, getting husband on side, guides etc)

Make the entire process easier?

Maybe you’re great at gift-giving? (What’s something unique, beautiful, practical?)

Being super open and supportive?

Great at coming up with unique experiences?

How can you offer value more than just the photos you take?

Imma be honest - when I started out, I didn’t really have a quality product (I was still learning) but I found other ways of giving value – making the shoot fun, memorable, delivering extra images, and even yes, charging an affordable price until I grew my skillset.

How can you offer value and make it easier for people to say yes, and even better, rave because the experience was so great and do your marketing for you?

Thankfully as a photographer, your photos make up a large chunk of your content, but how else can you give value? Whether it’s your image captions, stories, highlights, website, blog posts etc give value by creating content that is helpful, relevant and shareable:

- Create Connection (especially with shared values, experiences, interests, things they can relate or connect to eg family, hobbies, things that are important, things that are happening right now)

- Entertain (What stories can you share? Make people laugh? Make them feel something? Usually there’s a story behind every photo).

- Educate (What helpful tips and info can you give people? In terms of their shoot or even in general (especially given the current climate, maybe tips at home to entertain your kids if you’re a family photographer)?

Show yourself as an expert but also just be giving and helpful!

Also, make sure you are using relevant hashtags, geotags, tagging as many people as possible, keywords (in url, blog post titles, image file names etc and don’t forget to pin to Pinterest) so your content can be found by those not already following you!

Always make sure your content is relevant not only to what your clients care about but also world events (this year with COVID and the BLM movement are two huge examples of being mindful of what’s relevant when posting).

And finally, the best content is shareable content - what can you create that people will want to share? Something that’s different? That people will want to talk about? That’s marketing gold! More on that on the next point!

This is where I trick most people into being awesome, good people (which I’m sure you already are of course!) But is there something you can do, that’s just awesomely unique and giving? That will stand out? That’s memorable? That people will want to share? I highly encourage doing that kind of stuff anyway, but if you need convincing - it’s the best marketing tool there is (creating shareable content).

Can you do something different, thoughtful, unique or useful for a past or potential future (dream) client? Use your skills to help? Do something for someone struggling right now? Not only are you just being a good person, but that kind of thing is easy to share, aka awesome marketing!

Out of these three, giveaways are definitely my favourite! They are such an easy way to get new followers, interest and to be known for being awesome! Doing a simple “tag 3 friends, follow and share” (or nominate) is such an easy way to gain new followers quickly – just make sure you are offering something your dream clients especially would love and share, hopefully in other groups and circles they are in (if allowed of course!) Bonus points if you get other vendors on board in order to reach their networks too!

Promos are also great, but I highly recommend rather than discounting your prices, either do mini shoots (especially so there are clients who will still want the value of a full shoot eg their own location, more time and still book you outside just the mini offer), add additional value (include prints, extra time/outfits etc) or even make it a super special event like boudoir including hair, make-up, champagne etc, so you aren’t devaluing your normal shoots outside of promos!

Any of these options are great to do around special events – Xmas, Valentines, Easter, Mother’s Day etc – options are endless!

Finally, donate a shoot to a local fundraiser/charity giveaway, but again this will make the biggest impact if it’s part of your ideal client group (eg family mini shoot for a school fundraiser).

Every photographer and every business is different, and there’s no faster way to get where you want than by getting the help of someone who’s already been there and done it, especially if they can look at your specific situation to see what YOU need to work on. So save yourself the time, stress and overwhelm by finding someone whose work you admire, that you’d really love to learn from. See if they offer mentoring, just generally reach out or see if they are happy to give you some feedback or have any training, as nothing will get you where you want to be faster than getting help.

I know it can be hard to invest in yourself, but when it’s for your business, if you find the right resource, it will pay off, both in bookings and getting your time and life back that you would otherwise waste trying to figure it out on your own.