# A greater way of advertising?



## ZEPHYR (Jan 11, 2010)

I've done the Craigslist advertising thing and I took an add in the paper for my photography services and it's just not good enough exposre. So I am all ears for advice and suggestions in regards to where else I should advertise my services? I reside in Phoenix... maybe that's the problem?!

Thanx all!:er:


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## SimpleFoto (Jan 11, 2010)

Word of mouth is the best - so you could do a few jobs for people for cheap or free.  Free photography and they pay for the prints.  If you are married - perhaps someone from your spouse's work are interested or someone else you know.

You can also try google adwords.  Good in that you only pay per click and can specify where they people live.  

Facebook is also a good place.  When you take portraits you can offer to put them on facebook for the person (as long as they want this) - once the person is tagged everyone will see the pictures you have taken and that will be great advertising.


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## Big Mike (Jan 11, 2010)

Do you have a web site?  That is rather important way of advertising.  But then, of course, you need to get people to visit your site.  You may want to use your advertising to drive people to your website.

SEO (search engine optimization) is a big part of successful web site advertising.  You want people to find you site when they type in 'Phoenix Photographer' and what ever other key words you think apply.  
SEO is an ever changing science and pretty much a mystery to many (me included).  So this is where a lot of research can really help, or just pay someone to do it for you.  There is also direct advertising on sites like Google...but you may want to get listed on a bunch of hub sites....sites that have lists of wedding photographers & service providers.  

Of course, 'real world' adverting might be a better approach for you.  Consider your market and think about what type/location of advertising would reach that market best.


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## c.cloudwalker (Jan 11, 2010)

It might help to know what kind of photography you do :er:


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## bennielou (Jan 11, 2010)

Tagging is your friend.  If you want to go the free route, make sure you are signed up on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and whatever else free stuff is out there.
But don't just put your photos up....TAG THEM.  What is a tag?  (In case you don't already know), it's a description of the photo, where the photo was taken, who was in the photo, etc.
Lots and lots of free webmileage out there.  Pimp the net for all it's worth. 
Hope that helps.


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## KmH (Jan 11, 2010)

c.cloudwalker said:


> It might help to know what kind of photography you do :er:


You beat me to it.

So ZEPHYR, how much business training/experience do you have?




There are 3 basic kinds of photography:

Commercial
Retail
Editorial
It's likely you're doing retail photography if you're doing Craigslist and the newspaper.

For retail photography word-of mouth is what you need. That means satisfied clients that tell their family and friends that you did a really good job for them and stood behind your work.

There are ways to leverage the Internet to amplify the range that word-of-mouth (WOM) advertising can reach, so what bennielou said will apply with that.


Within retail photography there are several sub-specialties like:

Weddings
Portraiture
High School Seniors
Sports
Events
etc.
Without more information, no one can help beyond generalities.


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## c.cloudwalker (Jan 11, 2010)

KmH said:


> c.cloudwalker said:
> 
> 
> > It might help to know what kind of photography you do :er:
> ...



Thank you.

I sometimes feel like a total idiot here. Tagging may be be great for retail photography (based on what I have just seen of bennielou's work because I actually have no idea what it means) but how does anyone offer advice with no idea whatsoever what this person is shooting?

I do not advertise the same for wedding photo as I do for commercial. Do you?


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## bennielou (Jan 11, 2010)

c.cloudwalker said:


> KmH said:
> 
> 
> > c.cloudwalker said:
> ...


 
Don't be silly.  A tag is a tag.  I could be commercial, "Shoot for xyz hardware" or it could be "Billy and Jane's wedding at the Little Wedding Shop".  It doesn't matter.  Just add all the tags you can.

Say for instance you shoot something.

Tag Who
Tag the city
Tag the exact location
If a product, tag that
If a set, tag everyone who helped.

It doesn't matter if it's commercial, babies, weddings, portraits, whatever.  I do it ALL the time.

But it's just a helpful hint from someone with a lot of business in all the above mentioned areas.


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## ZEPHYR (Jan 11, 2010)

Thanx for all your feedback and advice, I really appreciate it all.
I will consider all replies. Again, thank you all for your time


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## Sachphotography (Jan 12, 2010)

Craigslist has been good to me. Though I have had a couple odd jobs... Had a shoes shop hire me for their grand opening.....Way to many drunk woman and heels....Im not going there.  But really I have found that you need at least 10 methods.
Here is an article I wrote for marketing and advertising
Marketing Strategies and Tips for Photographers.

Another Idea is the website I created Pazilla
It has not blown the world away but has created about 36 jobs/sales since its creation last year. Check it out. It is free. 

Another things, something I am working on, is if you have a site, don;t show off all your fine art to wedding clients... and so on... I think it was mentioned but it has come up with clients of mine.. I am re working my site to fix this. 

Hope this helps.


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## C.Lloyd (Jan 14, 2010)

I've only done about a dozen weddings since 2004, but 5 of them were just last year. No web site (yet), just put some photos on my Facebook page last weekend (going to make a dedicated page for the business this weekend) and business cards with my name and phone number on them.

Word-of-mouth is definitely your friend. That's the only advertising I have. Five weddings in a year isn't the number I want to do, but the trend is going in the right direction. I don't think I'd want to do more than 10 though, unless I could quit my 60-hour-per-week day job. I figure it takes me about 40 hours (over the course of 3 weekends usually) to do the PP for each client, so it really cuts into my family time.

Lots of good suggestions above, too. Word-of-mouth probably isn't the most efficient type of advertising, but it's the kind that makes you feel the best, since it means that someone liked your work enough to tell someone else about it.


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## ZEPHYR (Jan 21, 2010)

I shoot models, glam, fashion, and live acts. I also shoot for TMZ. I know what kind of photographer I am, I don't limit myself or my talents to one genre of photography.
I do not and would never shoot weddings... snooze........


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## KmH (Jan 22, 2010)

ZEPHYR said:


> I shoot models, glam, fashion, and live acts. I also shoot for TMZ. I know what kind of photographer I am, I don't limit myself or my talents to one genre of photography.
> I do not and would never shoot weddings... snooze........


:lmao:


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## c.cloudwalker (Jan 23, 2010)

Move to NYC. Even better, learn Italian and move to Milan.


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## gnohz (Jan 23, 2010)

I would recommend facebook. It's the hottest trend currently so make the full use of it. Create a fan page or a group and add your friends


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## ZEPHYR (Jan 24, 2010)

Lived in Soho for 6 years, prior to photography. I worked SNL... been there, done that


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## SanDiegoPhotographer (Jan 25, 2010)

From personal experience I would recommend SEO, but it is not right for everyone. The easiest thing to do is start a Pay-Per-Click campaign on Google Adwords (make sure to turn off content ads...they don't do much good for us photographers and cost a ton of money). Also facebook ads have done well for me too.


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## guitarkid (Jan 25, 2010)

Word of mouth is the best for getting the gig...if you're contacted. If someone recommends anyone for any service and speaks highly of their work, it's usually a done deal. The thing to remember with this is, it's very rare that your previous client will be close enough to someone who is getting married. And if they are close to someone to voice their great opinion of you...there are other friends of that person too, who have been married or know of other photographers. 

When word of mouth is very good is for bar mitzvahs! you are photographing an entire room of kids who will be having their day very soon! I don't shoot those events, but it's an idea I had. 

I pulled all advertising; I lost a lot of money, even though it got me a few gigs, but hardly worth all the marketing dollars lost. I'm going with the website, SEO, facebook, word of mouth. Still no calls at all and I have come to terms with it. The economy is bad and let's face it, there are way too many people out there trying to do this...most of them beginners with a camera from best buy and a pc. I have chalked it up to...it is what it is. I can't stress out over something I can't control. I have 3 booked for this year. Last year was maybe 8 and the year before...14 roughly. 

I did get bulk emailing from a friend who went to wedding expos. I gave him a little cash to help him in getting his booth. He got a nice list of all brides looking for photography. I emailed them all about a month ago...not one response. It's that stuff that drives me nuts. Here you have a list of people who are looking for someone, and yet...no responses. I'm unfortunately keeping it as a hobby with side money. It's unfortunate because I spent the last 7 years and tons of money trying to get this to happen. We also do video production work.  I just don't have the funds or credit to continue any longer.  I'm taking a break, taking what jobs gravitate towards us.  The biggest sad point for me is that I really enjoy shooting these events. I love doing what I do and not being able to do it bothers me.  Shooting nature and landscape can be fun but it only takes you so far.

In my experience, the websites that offer the buying of leads for $2 each or whatever, don't work. I have used a few big name ones and no leads or inquiries pan out. Instead, you are nickeled and dimed to death. $2 here and there will hurt after a bit. A lot of vendors have complained about this route as well. good luck!


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## scrappyattitude (Jan 28, 2010)

Do you do high school senior portraits? I'm compiling a list of "preferred photographers" to add to my website. I do yearbook ad designs for seniors. We could work out a reciprocal link if you like. 
Anyone else interested?


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## joelietz (Feb 8, 2010)

Hi, Thanks for the link to your Marketing Strategies article, I plan to read that. I'll check out your Pazilla site too. That's great that it's generating sales for you. That's what we all want! Thanks!

---------------------------------
photo booth rental los angeles




Sachphotography said:


> Craigslist has been good to me. Though I have had a couple odd jobs... Had a shoes shop hire me for their grand opening.....Way to many drunk woman and heels....Im not going there.  But really I have found that you need at least 10 methods.
> Here is an article I wrote for marketing and advertising
> Marketing Strategies and Tips for Photographers.
> 
> ...


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## msf (Feb 8, 2010)

Ive tried craigslist, done a few free ones.  It may lead to some print sales, but so far the last 3 free ones havent.  Plus my free ads keep getting flagged.

Ive advertised weddings, but haven't gotten any from craigslist.

Ive done myspace and facebook, made tons of "friends" but no gigs from that yet.  Im going to start posting pictures with permission on facebook and link to the people for everyone to see I think, although I hate giving digital images that could be printed, even if they are just 640x480.

I read 5 tips today from overnightprints.com - 5 OF THE BEST SMALL BUSINESS/SMALL BUDGET MARKETING IDEAS! « Design and Print Blog | Overnight Prints

Some of them are interesting.  I thought about putting business cards/bookmarks in books at the library, but never got around to it.  I dont really want to alienate the librarians since I know them.    If I lived in a touristy area, I would be tempted to put do not disturb door things with my business info on them at local hotels.  but that wouldnt work in this area.

Im trying to find all the community boards in this area and put up an advertisement.  Most of the ones I find are either at a bank or at grocery stores.  After valentines day Im thinking of making an 8x10 one and put that up at the bottom of the boards so it will be more eye grabbing.

I want to do some car portraits this summer.  Its an interesting idea to get some business card type things that cling to glass and put it on the drivers side window of cars in parking lots.  I dont know if the car owners will be annoyed at this though.  I would be targeting the nicer cars.

Ive been trying word of mouth, but people say they want to schedule an appointment but never get around to it.

Ive had a blog for over a year, and I dont even have a single comment yet.  people seem to be browsing the blog, but I dont know how many.

Im looking forward to whats said in this thread.


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## wallionmick (Feb 10, 2010)

ZEPHYR said:


> I've done the Craigslist advertising thing and I took an add in the paper for my photography services and it's just not good enough exposre. So I am all ears for advice and suggestions in regards to where else I should advertise my services? I reside in Phoenix... maybe that's the problem?!
> 
> Thanx all!:er:



Hi
Now a days SEO is plays a successful role in advertising ...why dont you use this way for our business advertising ?  :thumbup:


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## Wozofoto (Feb 10, 2010)

A Facebook fan page is really easy to set up. Here's all the details on how to do it: Help Center | Facebook

Invite all your friends and then post a couple times a week about blog entries, new photos, etc.

---
Wozofoto.com - Deal-a-day Photography - Fine Art Prints for $10


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## mom2eight (Feb 11, 2010)

Papa...papa...razzi 
lol, How did you get the TMZ gig?  Is it fun?


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## kineard (Feb 13, 2010)

Spam: your targets with email, phone and direct mail.  Networking: Face Book, Blog, Write Articles, Myspace and live events for what you want to shoot. The Store: Good website and portfolio. Market the store: google adds, online phone directories, online get local directories. That is where I would start. While you are at it learn about SEO for your website. No since in paying someone for something that you can do yourself. Besides it is expensive to hirer a good SEO company. SEO is far more lame than Wedding photography though and a lot more time consuming. Good luck because it is ofter better to be lucky than good


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## photosneak (Jul 19, 2011)

I'd definitely start with a website and then use other social media sites like facebook, twitter, flickr, linkedin, etc to direct traffic back to your site. I also think it also 'pays' to look into SEO and do some research. The internet is great because you can reach the most people possible, if you know what you are doing. I'd also check out websites like WeddingWire.com, Respond.com, or Taproll: Find Local Photographers in Your City and in Your Budget which is a new one to get listed in your local area.


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## EPPhoto (Jul 20, 2011)

msf said:
			
		

> Ive been trying word of mouth, but people say they want to schedule an appointment but never get around to it.



You are confused here (and in many other aspects as well)

Word of mouth is when a previous customer tells someone else what a great job you did.  Then that person books you due to the great job they hear you did.  
Not the "words" coming out of "your mouth" lol


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