Focusing on Success in 2026: Your Website

by Skip  Cohen

I'm like a dog with a bone when it comes to sharing ideas to help you build a stronger business in the new year. It's a subject I've focused on for close to 20 years across at least 3 blogs, as well as in presentations, podcasts, and guest posts.

It's January 12, and if there is a "slow season," this is it right now. But in reality, as a business owner, you never have a truly slow time of year. When incoming business/revenue is low, there's plenty you should be doing to establish your "formula" for achievement in the year ahead.

While technology has never slowed down, there's not much left I haven't written about in the past when it comes to marketing. Yet there are so many of you who still act like procrastination is a strategy! Too many of you are reactionary, with no planning or strategy for the new year. You wouldn't get in your car for trip across the country without a bit of planning, including the route, cities you wanted to visit, accommodations, etc., yet your attacking the new year without a road map! 

NOW is the time to lay the foundation for 2026 to be your best year yet. It's time to be a mad scientist, lock yourself in the "lab," and start looking at what you need to change.

Let's start with your website:

• Does your website function the way you want it to? A potential client's visit to your website should be an experience. So, it's up to you - is it a good experience like Nordstrom's, or is it Macy's the day after Christmas?
• Don't assume everything is working the way you want it. Check your website every day on different platforms, including desktop vs. mobile.
• Can consumers find what's most important to them, or do they have to mine for what you'd like them to see first?
• Get rid of the clutter on your website. Some of you have sites that look like the junk drawer in our kitchen! Hook clients with extraordinary images in your galleries, which should be the first tab. Next, your "About" page, then everything else.
• Don't bury visitors in policies and procedures that would scare an IRS agent. Save the policies for the contract discussion when they hire you.
• Stop showing average images in your galleries. If it's not a "wow" print, take it down. A"wow" print is an image so good that it's the only one you'd have to show to get hired.
• Add a marketing video to your About page along with an artist's statement. Write in the first person. Unless you won a Pulitzer, don't bother to talk about your awards. For most of you, your target is "Mom," and she doesn't care about, let alone even know about PPA or WPPI. She wants to know why you're a photographer and whether or not she can trust you to capture the kind of images she wants. Your video needs to convey your enthusiasm and love for the craft and your clients.
• Be accessible! I'm tired of artists who have contact forms but only respond when there's a full moon! There's no such thing as too quick a response or too much contact information! Give them your phone number and email address. If you work from home and don't want to share your address, that's fine, but be ready to respond the minute they contact you.
• Are you building brand awareness in the community? You've got to be involved in your community and relevant to your visitors/readers. For example, plant the seeds for ideas for updated family portraits and headshots. Most important of all - BE HELPFUL!​
• Stop putting people to sleep! Too many of you have been offering the same products and services since you started, and they've become boring, especially since many of your competitors offer the same things. It's time for something new. Start with a call to your lab and just ask, "What's new?" There's so much exciting under the presentation umbrella these days - labs offer new products every day. And don't underestimate the appeal of some old standbys, like canvas prints. There are still thousands of people who aren't aware of all the ways you can display/present images. (Note: If you're at IUSA this week, check out Marathon Press in Booth 347 - lots of new album, book and presentation ideas!)

This is a "you snooze - you lose" scenario. We might be in the slow season, but it shouldn't be slow for you as a business owner. Valentine's Day, Easter, prom season, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and graduation are all around the corner.

This is the first Marketing Monday for this series - coming up, we'll hit on more topics to help you build a powerhouse business in the new year...but remember, even with great marketing, you still need an outstanding skill set when a camera is in your hands! Anybody can get their first customer, but it's your skill sense and customer service that brings that first customer back and in turn has them tell all their friends about you!