How do I market myself as a proffesional photographer?

I have just started as a portrait/wedding/sill life photographer, made my homepage and company card,

but now I am not sure which media is the most efficient for getting my word accross.

There are various channels, like the cinema, local newspapers, radio, the internet, leaflets, etc.

They all cost money, so my question is how do you/did you advertise and which media gave you the most

response in terms of clients and income compared to the money you had to spend?

Is it "normal" to spend a certain percentage of your income to market yourself or is it just the first years in

business that is needed?

I will be most gratefull for any advice and comment on the subject.

Yours Sincere

Kristofer Ryde

Kristofer,

Speaking as a customer rather than photographer, I think your best options are mass mailings and a large ad in the yellow pages (or whatever is comparable in the phone book available to you). Of course, neither of those are cheap. Word-of-mouth is probably your absolute best advertising, but you have to generate some business before that happens of course. Word-of-mouth is what lead me to the photographer who took my daughter's high school senior pics, but if I hadn't had that, the mass mailinigs I received would have figured into my decision more than anything else. And the more professional the design of the mailing looks, the better the chance of getting business from it, in my opinion. As the saying goes, "ya gotta spend money to make money." Just my 2 cents.

Bill

For starters, learn to spell "professional."

As for promoting oneself, it varies widely.

I was both a shooter and lab man, so I went pro by calling on serious amateurs and pros to do their lab work. As my client base grew, I began to reach out for or accept shooting gigs. I never gave up on lab work. I spent next to nothing on advertising or promotion, and my Yellow Pages Ads, the MINIMUM ones, paid off handsomely. After 2 years of working out of my home, I moved into a modest store front, thus becoming visible to the public. After that, I simply grew, and word-of-mouth was my greatest boon. After a little over 3 years as a generalist, I began to specialize, and targeted special clients. I never looked back (Details on request.)

"proffesional"

Art is right about spelling being important, whether in English or Norwegian.

Many people may not care if your advertisements have mis-spellings because they won't notice the errors. However, the people who do notice them will consider carelessness in spelling an indicator of general incompetence. Get a literate and compulsive friend to proof everything before it's out in public.

Thank you all for your good response and helpfull advice on marketing and spelling.

Details are important so hopefully I will spell 'professional' like this from now on.

I am a brain surgeon! Let me play with your brain. I have a diploma, don't touch it it is still

wet. :) Stating one's profession and providing professional services are two different things.

Your work needs to stand for itself. I might be an amateur photographer and take better

pictures than anyone else around, but I become professional when it becomes my profession.

As far as what you spend to get started and what you spend once you are established, well

just consider this... what is enough to you at some point and why does Nike still do

commercials?

Tom Keene

If you are already a professional in another field, you should know that word of mouth is the best way for marketing. A referral from a satisfied customer about your product or service, your reasonable pricing, your integrity, and your personal touch, etc. cannot be matched by any advertising. A successful business is built upon years of providing consistent good products or services. If you are sucessful in another profession in these regards, do the same as a photographer. If not, think again.

BTW, I could find nothing about yourself at your web site. Perhaps because it is not in English. Only someone desperate will hire a total unknown to shoot a wedding.