You have the gear. You have a website. You know your craft. You get great reactions from clients when you show them your work. You are a professional photographer and life is great. However, the life of a photographer is much more than the pictures you take and the editing afterward. You can’t wait for the clients to come to you, you need to build a network so that your business can grow.
If you are starting out, you are doing exactly the right thing by researching how to begin to grow your network. If you are already an existing photographer you are also doing the right thing by looking to expand your existing network. The people who expect work to come their way without doing the necessary networking may be successful in the short term, but it is a terrible long term strategy. And don’t we all want to keep being paid photographers for our whole career?
Website and Social Media
You have a website already, don’t you? If you don’t, make your top priority to not only create a website, but one that is professional and represents your photography well. Clients can’t book someone they don’t know exists. And in today’s technologically connected age, not having a website is a red flag for potential clients. They worry that if you don’t have a website they have no idea if they can trust you. Having a website is like a virtual handshake before you ever meet a client. They get an impression of you on their first glance at your website so make sure your homepage is simple and appealing. Next make sure to only display your best work. You don’t need to include everything, especially if it is not the best of what you can do. Another way to distinguish yourself is to write a blog on your site. This gives potential clients a more in-depth glimpse in to how you think and what is important to you.
You should also be on the major social media sharing sites. Facebook used to be very effective, but they have made it harder for businesses to reach their followers. I personally like Instagram for the massive community that they have built.
Traffic
Having a website is not very effective if no one sees it. It would be like building a billboard in your apartment. Get that billboard out on the information super highway in front of people. Hire an SEO (search engine optimization) expert to help you draw traffic to your site or you can do the grunt work and learn how to best optimize your site to generate traffic. If you decide to do it yourself make sure to set goals and be able to track success through statistics.
Go Get ‘em
Clients don’t just coming knocking on your door, you need to make sure you are actively searching for your next clients. This is important to do even when you are busy in order to ensure steady work. The best and easiest way to get more clients is to ask the clients you already have to refer you to their friends and colleagues. Since you have already worked with them and they were happy with your work, existing clients are the easiest clients to approach to find new work. Even if they don’t currently know anyone who needs your services, when they do they will be sure to reach out to you. When you are in business for a long time existing clients and referrals from them make up most of the work you receive.
Reaching out to potential clients whom you don’t know is not as scary as you think. You are not trying to get them to switch their mobile carrier. When I approach people to ask if they would be interested in learning about my photography services I almost never run into combative people. 99% of people either welcome the conversation or politely decline. Be brave, if you are a wedding photographer, go to your local religious centers and ask to speak to someone who may be able to help. If you are a commercial photographer, start calling businesses or even better show up in person with a tablet and examples of your work. No matter what you do though, go out there and start making contact with potential clients.
Collaborate
Just as you collaborate on social media by sharing and posting, you should also do the same in the real world. Getting to know photographers who share your passion and who have an entirely different network from your own can be both financially as well as socially rewarding. They see the world through their own lens and have different skillsets, knowledge and tricks. Sharing information, resources and yes sometimes even clients are only some of the benefits of having photographer friends. Go to meetups of photographers, work for other photographers, and find local association of photographers. Or just talk to people you see taking photographs around town.
Give back
This is not so much about networking, though it can lead to work in time, giving back is more about respecting those who are joining this crazy photography profession and lending a hand. You can mentor someone who is just starting out and have them assist you your shoots. Or you can share your knowledge and time with someone who wants to pick your brain about starting a career as a photographer. I am sure when you were starting out there was someone or a few people who advised you, I know I was grateful to the people who helped me.
