How To Get 10k Photography Clients

When I first started my business, it made next to no money

Then all of a sudden, it made lots of money. Literally, the difference was like night and day.

I went from struggling and not knowing when the next booking was coming in and trying about 20 million different marketing ‘tricks’ that I knew of to see what would stick, to literally taking enquiries daily. I was turning clients down.

The only difference?

I’d set up a blog and a newsletter.

I know. Right.

I still didn’t link the two

How on earth was my personal blog, which was really aimed at photographers and talked about personal stuff like my breech baby and my weekend breaks bringing me clients?

I didn’t connect the dots.

I kept blogging because writing is a natural part of me. I’ve always written in one way or another. Many failed novel attempts. A secret desire to go and live in the Paris bookshop where aspiring writers sleep in the shelves amongst the books and the cats.

And the clients kept coming.

I couldn’t put my finger on any one reason why.

I was rubbish at social media, quite honestly. Still am.

Networking? Not a chance. It’s like an introvert’s worst nightmare to be in a room full of people making small talk. Yuk.

Referrals? Some. But these didn’t balk at my prices. In fact they accepted for the main part without hesitation.

Distinctive style? I shot film as an early adopter of the new wave of film shooters, I guess- film is such a natural medium for me in the same way I prefer writing with a pen to using a keyboard and creating words on a screen.

It’s just not the same magical, natural process.  But distinctive? I wouldn’t say so. I was ‘lucky’ to be shooting film when not that many other UK photographers were shooting film, but to be honest clients don’t care about film or digital. They really don’t, even if we convince ourselves they do. They care about the results.

So I didn’t network, was rubbish at social media, and didn’t have a distinctive style; I didn’t even do the basics like carry business cards most of the time.

Maybe I had a massively great portfolio?

No. Two or three styled shoots, and handful of weddings, engagements, publication credits.

Still, the clients came. The clients booked. They paid my prices. I put my prices up. They still came. They still booked.

I had no idea why. I didn’t stop to think about it.

You know what it’s like.

When you’re so in deep doing work in your business you barely pause to analyse what’s working and what isn’t.

I just knew I had a passion and an urge to write and get a message out there whatever it might be that day.

In fact, I think, blogging kept me sane during a time when I was stressed and busy and worried.

I didn’t even pay attention to what I was writing about really. I just knew I wanted to share what was on my heart and mind and inspire others.

So that’s what everydayhappy was about.

It was my little corner of the Internet where women could feel inspired and uplifted every day, and I could uplift and inspire myself.

I sometimes wrote about my shoots. Not typically. In fact it was barely about photography at all.

So I still didn’t make the connection between blogging and clients.

And then.

I fell in love blogging and a beautiful new universe called Online Marketing.

I wrote a book, sold it, got a coach, joined mastermind groups, learned about leadpages and survey funnels and tons of other useful/non-useful stuff. 

Marketing is really just learning to be a better communicator and as someone who needs to express a whole boatload of emotions and thoughts through art, writing and photography, I felt like I’d found my natural home when I discovered there were a whole load of people online sharing ideas and knowledge and experience around marketing.

And to be honest? It was no surprise when EVERYONE told me about a thousand times the importance of blogging for your business.

It was something I’d been doing all along.

Just without realising it, or terming it as ‘marketing’.

But it was.

It is.

Blogging is literally the most simple, easy, cost effective way to communicate with your clients and let them know, in a billion different ways depending on what you choose to write about that day, that you’re worth it.

And your newsletter?

People get freaked out by the idea of creating a newsletter which I just don’t get.

A newsletter?? it’s simply writing a blog post and sending to someone’s inbox.

You can make that as easy or as complicated as you like. 

And when people ask me – but what do I write about?

It’s like you’re asking what should you think about!!!

Blogging for business – BEYOND ‘blogging for business’- is literally just the act of writing whatever is on your heart and getting it out there!

It’s not your most recent shoot.

It’s not your recent travel snaps and musings about life ‘abroad’.

It’s not sneak peeks.

It’s not styled shoots.

It’s not any of those things- those things should make up just 20% of your blog, if not less.

It’s taking whatever is in your heart, on your mind.

Whatever is running through your mind that day.

Whatever it looks like.

Do you know the most read post on my blog was one where I shared fears around my breech baby.

How scared I was that she might be born with a disability because of the choices I had made surrounding her birth.

How powerless I felt as a Mother.

How on earth does that relate to photography??

It didn’t.

But it related to people.

Because everyone has emotions

We all have times when we feel fearful or afraid of our of control (often, this cloud creeps into our clients baby or wedding plans).

And through your emotions and theirs

Your clients connect to you.

Or they won’t.

And those that don’t?

Who are looking for a product?? For ‘just photographs none of that other stuff?’

Maybe they’re not your target client.

Perhaps you’re not mine.

If this doesn’t resonate with you or at least spark some element of recognition, if you

Just

Don’t

Get it!!!

If you hate the way I space my sentences

The way I’m completely honest to the point of being brutally so

The way that I won’t sit and tell you how great your work is and how worth it you are but instead I’ll push and push to the point where you’re wondering if you’ve really got what it takes anyway

The way I’ll show you how ‘marketing’ the way you know it at least is a fat LIE

The way the industry is complete b*sht

The way I’ll tell you about every part of my life and mind and soul

If I have to

If I need to

If by doing this I can SHOW YOU that your business can make it and make it wildly and successfully and bring you such PEACE and contentment as a multi-passionate creative

That your business doesn’t have to BE a struggle, that being you doesn’t have to be a fight, that your competitors and the copycats are GIFTS and that every single ‘negative’ experience you get is a chance to GROW in the direction of your goals and dreams and NOT the end of the world

Then I will. And I do.

You see how it works?

You’ll love this, and you’ll totally GET IT, or you’ll hate it, or you’ll fear it, or you’ll scorn it as being simple or whatever.

The point is

You have some bloody EMOTION towards it

And when you’re emotionally connected?

You’re In.

You’re invested.

You either want to support that person, or perhaps you want to hate them and never bother with their words again.

And it’s SO much better to have half of those who read your words to love everything you do and want to support you and want to help you succeed and damnit want to BOOK YOU!!!! And REFER YOU!!! And fifty per cent of people hating what you do and say and don’t understand it

Than have a handful of people who barely ever grace your blog because it’s BORING

Dull

Hiding behind your ‘most recent shoot’

I mean, seriously??? Like, where ARE YOU???

Are you really in business to work with clients who truly couldn’t care who you are or what you do as long as they get the photos???

Are you just a product that turns up on the day???

No?

So then why aren’t you saying something more bloody interesting than ‘I really liked this couple’ or ‘at six weeks old she was just SO sweet!!’

You think that brings you SHARES?

Recognition?

Awareness?

Clients?!?

How about saying something interesting for a change?

YOU are interesting. You. You you you you you.

Because your words, your thoughts feelings EMOTIONS-

touch the depths of their souls

Because words are powerful

Because a picture says a thousand words

And if you don’t get it?

Carry on. As you were. Blogging the latest shoot.

And in the meantime do also check your analytics.

Tell me how long people stay on your site for. How many pages they read. What your bounce rate is. How often your posts are shared.

Because that will tell you all you need to know.

I don’t need to tell you anything about ‘blogging’. 

The question is – what are you going to tell us?

Because what you say-

-Who you are-

-How you write or shoot or speak or present or whatever you choose to share what’s on your heart –

That’s how you get clients to value you as a bloody HUMAN BEING and not as a ‘photographer’ and THAT is what makes people MUCH more likely to book you at whatever you charge- to recommend you which brings you more bookings  – that increases your shares – that doesn’t just get you 10k clients but that AND far, far more. 

The question is – what are you going to tell us?

 

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Struggling with blogging? writing your newsletter?

Or wanting to create income streams like books or courses or downloads but don’t have a clue where to start, or even just want help with your About page??

When you get all of this RIGHT by understanding how to communicate your MESSAGE to your clients

Your business CHANGES.

Even how you FEEL about your business changes! Let alone your VISIBILITY. Your PRESENCE. YOUR CONFIDENCE and above all your profits.

But so many of us hold ourselves back. Afraid to speak our truth, unsure of what to write or how to write it or how to sound a certain way or how to write beautifully clever copy that gets literally our clients QUEUEING UP FOR US! That gets us fully booked, day in, day out.

As little or as many clients as we want.

It’s all in your message. In your words.

You need to master them.

Want to know how? Want to move from being stuck and frustrated and wonder if you’re ‘doing it right’ to everything just FLOWING SEAMLESSLY??

Then you won’t want to miss my new course- launching soon. Make sure you join the free facebook group here to make sure you don’t miss out on the launch date!