Getting myself "out there"... any advice?

[stilettos sippys]

I've been doing photography for "real" for about a year and a half now. I've had my site up and running for about that

long. I've done a lot of work for free, #1 because I still need the practice #2 I hoped that word of mouth would get me

some extra business.

I don't have a ton of extra money for big advertising so I'm wondering if anyone has any advice or tips of how to get

my name out there. I know you have to "spend money to make money" but what do you do when you don't have that

much to spend?

If you want to look at my site and tell me what's wrong with it, feel free... I can take it. I must say, I probably already

know and agree with most of what you'll say... I feel like I get a little better with every new session that I do, and I go

in and try to replace photos to show off better ones. I've never known whether it's best to have a lot of examples or

just a few of my best?

My site is www.KateFisherPhoto.com I'll take any advice I can get!

 

Thanks,

Cassie

[albert_richardson1]

What do you tell a stranger about your business? What do you tell someone you would have lend you money? Who buys your services? Do they come back?

 

I have been interested in questions like these lately because it is becoming increasingly clear that a person can expect to be on his/her own as conditions deteriorate. The entrepreneur goes beyond basic skills in the area of his/her choosing to make a case for why someone should continue to support him/her with money for the long haul. Business puts a twist on something you do because it interests you by making you do only some things for personal reasons, but more things because your customer wants them done their way.

 

Re: "out there:" The question, "out where?" is relevant because you must decide what part of photography you want to practice for your pay. You can't do it all. So what is your area of expertise? Who is the competition?

 

Business skills are learned just like any other skills. It is not unusual for business people to comment after a year or two that they never thought running a business would turn out to be as involved as it is. A clear idea of what you want to accomplish is very useful. A willingness to think of your activities as a series of projects made of specific tasks will help, too. This fall under the umbrella called 'organization,' or how you go about getting everything done. Will you hire anyone? What specialists are available to help you with taxes, accounting, and matters of law?

 

A web site is an online portfolio of your work you hope will attract customers by showing them that in your hands they really get the value they want by using your services. Web sites are usually developed for the marketing part of the business and are replacements for the brochures and fliers you make to advertise your business. Who would send out a flier in your town without contact information? Words are indespensible. How can you tell your customers that you are willing to travel 100 miles to their location without them? (How far will you travel? Do you have your own studio?) How would a customer even know what you really do if you don't tell them?

 

So there are enough questions to make a head spin! Narrow things down; What do you do?, What do you want to accomplish?, How do you intend to go about it?, Why should someone buy from you instead of from me? Value for price. Don't forget to always tell prospective customers how to reach you.

 

There are organizations here in California such as SCORE that are designed to help people just like you get started. www.score.org. Don't overlook such simple resources as your local library and other people you know who are already in business for themselves. Succeed in business by showing that of all people you mean business!

 

Good luck.

[J.W. Wall]

One place to look: www.danheller.com

[jim mucklin]

Make it easy for the web surfers. I checked out your site and I got stuck and couldn't get back from the bride coming out of the church. It's just my 2 cents, but a site should have a lot of what Im looking for on the front page. Ive read surveys that say people are plain lazy and if it takes more than 3 clicks or you don't have their attention in the first 10 seconds they are bored and move on.

If I understand your question, think of it as shopping, I want to know your name, where you are and yes even a phone number. Do you travel, what type of photography services do you do? A lot of people price surf and that another book. Just a suggestion make it easier.

Depending on the size of your city, location market yourself the old fashion way, business cards. The way I got started was I lived in a large city, I made, matted and framed prints and hung them in the trendy shops, it cost me, but I gave the owner a commision on the sale, and everyone had a business card in the frame, so if a shopper or customer looked at it they saw who I was. I sold quite a few and got referrals and contacts from there. Are you listed in the phone book? I fought that till recently, I just got two booking by people who told me they picked up the yellow pages and I was the one who answered my phone. The add is my name, phone, website in a sea of big quater page and half page adds. You can do it, beat the streets.

Good luck

[jon_shiu]

Network through your church, schools, chamber of commerce, friends, relatives, businesses associations, social organizations, news etc. And of course cultivate relationships with your customers for referrals and future business.

 

Jon

[bob_sunley]

Well to put it bluntly, your web site is terrible, poor text size, color choices, hard to read, along with poorly set up hidden menus. Where in the world are you, it took a second visit and a couple of minutes to find the idiotic menus, and the poor contact info. An area code is only good if someone knows where it is. Add some words, they don't cost much. Having everything as a flash setup means the back button take a person right out of your web site, and they probably won't return.

 

Not the worst marketing web site, but it could be 100x better.

[stilettos sippys]

Wow Bob, that was "blunt" alright. I'm all for constructive criticism... if that's what you call that. Seriously though, how is black a bad color? I'll be sure and change my contact information... I guess, I just thought everyone who usually looks at my website already knows where I am. As far as having a flash site, that probably won't change.

I just come across generic photography sites all the time and they look so "cheap" to me. I wanted something a little different with some elegance. I guess I need to work on making it a little more user friendly instead of trying to make it "cooler."

 

To everyone else who gave great advice, thank you SO much! I truly appreciate it. ;)

[ed_gerken]

My slightly older "confuser" choked on your flash-based site. All I got was a very dark green line of text on black telling me

to upgrade. I had to crank up my monitor's brightness to even see that. You should aim for a lower common denominator for browser

compatibility, as very few people would pursue the link any further

than that.

 

If you want to have flash graphics, start with a straight html site and offer the viewer a choice to move to the flash-based

extravaganza, but be sure to leave enough content on the html site so people can at least get the basics.

 

A striking or compelling image does not need the latest web geegaw to sell. A logo, a few nice photos, a background, contact

info and who-am-i should make your front page. Add the links for those who want to delve further, but get some eye candy

up quickly without a lot of fuss. Visitors don't want to see progress bars or blank pages.

 

Getting into search engine results takes time and/or effort. Once your site's online, you need to submit the url to all the major

engines. Merely submitting a url is not enough, though. Your site's search ranking does not increase till you get other sites linking to yours.

That takes content; somebody found

your site interesting and posted a link to it. It's sort of the online equivalent to word-of-mouth. But, people won't beat a path to

your door in the first place if they find the site doesn't work for them or it never shows in a Google search.

 

I use Google a lot to check out a person or website to see how reputable, qualified or professional they might be. I even search out myself

and my own websites to see what pops up. Try it and

you'll see what other people might be finding as they search for more info on you to gauge if they want to hire you or not,

 

Don't rely on just the web. All the traditional methods of self-marketing still work, start locally with business cards, or a small

printed sample with contact info tacked on community bulletin boards and maybe try some print advertising in the local

newspapers. Getting out there is as much or more pounding the pavement as a keyboard,

 

-Ed

[captureme]

Make it simple, have a few images decide what your "choice" is in portraits/weddings etc only put that on your website.

Give out flyers, word of mouth.

 

I have been a pro tog for about 4+ years I use to do Landscapes until I moved to London now I do portraits, & I am doing well word of mouth is my hero!

 

Your website is messy. Are the photo's on there your best work? If not remove them don't put anything up with the thought "it's ok" you want it to be "amazing"

 

I get hired due to my artsy candid take, why do you get hired? Think about your long term goals & hit them.

 

You can see my website link when you view my PN page don't think I am allowed to post it.

 

good luck!

[hjoseph7]

"I'll take any advice I can get!"

 

The pictures are nice, but what can you do for me ? If I was your average lazy web browser and I came upon your website I would say. "Hey that' a nice and "personal" family website. You got to think business, not your personal prefrences, but what services people might be interested in. Babies are are a dime a dozen.

[melissa_howlett]

The absolute best thing that I have done for my business is to become friends with other photographers in my area. We get together socially once every few months. Not only have I made great friends with people that share my interest, but I have learned new techniques and tips. We all share a Google Calendar and can send each other referrals when we are already booked for a specific date. This has been very rewarding personally and professionally.

[lee_morley]

Sorry but I have to agree with the other responses - I hate that website - I didn't even find the hidden menus! and after waiting 40 seconds to get anything other than a slide show I gave up. where are the services you offer, where are you located, what can you do for me? The website seems to be just a set of photos with nothing commercial behind it.

 

make it simple, have easily visible menus, be clear what you offer and where you are

 

being successful in photography is about being a great business man or woman, not about having a cool website

 

Lee

[mattbuser]

Cassie,

 

I didnt think your website was all that bad, and I like your photos. Maybe you had already changed your

contact info since the previous responses but I had no problem finding your contact info. I am by no

means a website critic but it can be better agreed, but I wouldn't slam you for what you have done. I am

pretty much in the same boat as you and want to get "out there" and get more business. I so will

definitely try to keep in touch and let you know what works for me.

 

Matt

[htarragon]

<p>Cassie,<br /> There are a lot of good suggestions above i.e. clean website, simple navigation, only your best stuff, no waiting for site to load. By the way, who's Kate Fischer?<br /> I Googled your name and the first thing that came up was your photo.net profile. If I Googled you, so will customers. What will they find out?<br /> <strong><em>Hi there, I'm Cassie. I'm a 23 year old mother to two little ones. I'm currently on track to graduate with a degree</em> </strong> <br /> YOU ARE BUSY! HOW WILL YOU HAVE TIME FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS? Are you really organized? Is your situation such that they don't have to know about your children immediately? How will you handle more work?<br /> <em><strong> in something I have zero interest in.</strong> </em> <br /> OOOH, that doesn't sound great, nothing like an unmotivated student to inspire confidence. Can you change your major? Can you take photography courses while getting your degree? You should take Accounting I and maybe II and Business Law. That will get you motivated. You aren't aspiring to be a starving artist in an attic, you want to run a business. You need knowledge and skills and practice. See if you can tag along with other photographers on wedding shoots.<br /> <strong><em>I get to practice photography part time which helps me swallow the monotonous life of being a "small town girl."</em> </strong> <br /> Huh? Monotonous? You are getting a degree, raising a family and running a business, how could that possibly be monotonous? Strenuos and tiring yes..boring, no. In NYC there are thousands of actors who are lousy waiters because they are "bored" with their day job. Your clients live in the same town you do - why would they use you if you look down on the town and its people?<br /> Hey, the greatest chefs in France have their four star restaurants in in tiny villages. <strong><em><br /> </em> </strong> <br /> <strong><em>I've been mainly doing portraits and just started doing weddings this year. I'm very interested in adding "Boudior" photography to my portfolio..</em> </strong> <br /> If you can't spell boudoir, they're not going to volunteer. Your portraits are very good to excellent (See my comments on your portfolio page). Make your name with what you do best, those customers may then feel comfortable enough. What age group are you going for? If it's twenty-somethings then you could do your own survey about how they feel about such photos.<br /> I<em><strong>'m just having trouble finding a bold enough woman who will let me use her photos for exmples. I live in an area in which most people are completely satisfied with the generic, cookie-cutter department store photo studios...</strong> </em> <br /> Maybe in a small town it's too risky and risqué.<br /> <em><strong> it makes being an aspiring photographer a bit difficult. </strong> </em> You thought it would be easy? Ah, youth!<em><strong><br /> </strong> </em> <br /> <em><strong>I haven't had much formal training as a photographer.</strong> </em> <br /> See above.<br /> <em><strong>I believe I think artistically, but admittedly need some work on the technical aspects of photography.</strong> </em> <br /> You have a good eye and I agree with you. Get whatever training you can online, magazines, helpful photographers, etc, etc.<br /> <em><strong> Basically, it's my passion and if I could do it all day every day I would. </strong> </em> <br /> Do you carry a camera at all times?<br /> <em><strong>I'd probably do it for free.... just don't tell anyone else that.</strong> </em> <br /> You just told everyone who Googles you. FIRE SALE! And stop having so many sales on your site. Are you going out of business or trying to start one?<br /> <em><strong>I welcome any advice that would help me grow as a photographer and as someone who is trying to start a business.</strong> </em> <br /> <em><strong>Keep asking. </strong> </em> Direct your energies to what is most important to you. Given all you are doing, you are energetic and capable and you have talent. Talent only gets you as far as your efforts take you.<br /> I wish you luck and success.<br /> Howard</p>