Building a Stash of Marketing Ideas for a Photography Business

by Skip Cohen

​It's Marketing Monday! - As usual this time of year, things have slowed down for some photographers, while others wish they had a thirty-hour day! For example, if you're a wedding/event shooter, you should be flat out with business. 

Through the ups and downs of business, there are ALWAYS ideas you should have on a back-burner ready to initiate when the timing is right. Here are just a few to think about:

• If you're trying to build a business targeting high school seniors, NOW is the time to promote your business. I wrote about this recently. While this sounds like an infomercial - nobody does it better than the team at Marathon. Here's the link for more information.​
• ​Do you offer a Legacy Program? Under the legacy umbrella is everything from remembering to help clients include the most senior family members in the portrait to providing a program for recording the stories of older parents and grandparents for future generations. 
• Keep building your network. Summertime is perfect for catching up with other photographers and vendors to expand your reach. From future partnerships to additional business, it's such an easy time to grab lunch and talk about various aspects of business.
• Have you ever taught a class on photography? It's summertime, and everyone knows people who are going on vacation. From friends to neighbors to your own family, how about a campaign in your community to elevate the quality of vacation images? This is the epitome of goodwill and will help establish you as an expert in photography. There are things you do every time you click the shutter, making this such an easy way to share your expertise. From exposure to composition to lighting and posing - here's your chance to help people capture better images and video.
• Is pet photography in your future? While photographing pets isn't for everybody, the market continues to grow each year, and there are some incredible numbers that show the potential. Check out this screenshot from Forbes Advisor. Click on any bullet below to link to the complete article and more information.

• Are you involved in your community? People like buying products and services from companies they perceive as giving back to the community. You need to be involved, with or without your camera. Look for opportunities to volunteer on projects that give you interaction with community members. 
• "With our Blessing" - Bob and Dawn Davis discussed this in a podcast years ago. At each event they photographed, they captured images related to the business of other vendors they were working with. For example, the florist, caterer, and venue have a huge stake in every wedding. Bob and Dawn would send them images, with our blessing showing table arrangements, buffets, etc., that were the responsibility of each different company. Think about the goodwill they automatically created by sharing photographs from each event with the vendors involved.

​Here's my point for Marketing Monday - you can never slow down on building brand awareness. There are so many different opportunities this time of year to help you expand your reach, but nothing happens if you don't make the initiative. Procrastination is not a marketing strategy.