Starting a Photography business is easy but growing and sustaining it requires a whole lot of input. Knowing what light works, having the best camera, retouching, and grading like a Pro is never enough to grow and sustain your photography business in 2023.
The question right now will probably be HOW DO I GROW MY PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS IN 2023? Or HOW DO I SUSTAIN MY PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS IN 2023? Whichever comes to your mind right now is about to be answered. Relax, enjoy, and take notes.
WHAT DOES THE PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS MEAN
The business of photography is the art of offering photography as a service to clients. The range of services to be offered may vary from photographer to photographer. They would however generally include Shooting, Retouching, and Delivery.
You can start your photography journey in many ways but it is important to note that you have a business the minute you offer your service to potential clients. Therefore your approach to growing your business is very important.
WHY GROW YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS
The photography industry is highly competitive, and setting yourself apart is vital to being relevant and wanted. Taking charge of your Photography business in 2023 will earn you desired income and business growth. The 7 tips I am about to share would be critical to helping you achieve this!
1. Define Your Niche
Niching your photography is an important aspect of your business, it helps you align your focus and know what your business identifies as.
Follow these steps to help you find your niche
Try a variety of photography styles
Know the type of clients you want to work with
Learn more about photography
Practice the one you love most
Consider your personal life
Think beyond the photography session
Following the steps above will help you niche down your photography business, do not forget to keep practicing till you’re convinced.
2. Create a Marketing Calendar
A marketing calendar is a plan that covers your marketing activities for a period of time. Think of the marketing calendar as a guide to help you plan, track, and monitor the progress of your business. There are a few steps to take in creating a content calendar
Create a to-do- list: List whatever you think will grow your photography business and organize the list accordingly
Set priority: Prioritize the most important thing on the list that will aid the growth of your photography business
Break big task: If you have any big work or task to include, break it into smaller tasks
Deadline: Make sure to include a deadline to achieve all the goals you have in your calendar. this can be a monthly or weekly thing.
3. Create an Awareness
Building awareness means measuring how memorable and recognizable your brand is to your target audience. Establishing awareness is a powerful business strategy that photographers need to implement.
To create awareness:
Know your clients, figure out where they are, and the social media platform they mostly use. Get on these platforms and create content to target them
Create value beyond your product and let your clients perceive that.
Offer freebies and discounts once in a while on special sessions
Work with social algorithms, and know when to post and when not to. Remember the rule is to be everywhere your clients are.
As a professional photographer, you must run campaigns to reach a wider audience.
In 2023, do not just think as a photographer who knows how to shoot and color grade, think as a business owner, who knows what works and what doesn’t.
4. Re-Branding
If you think everything is not working or probably you’re tired of the way your brand looks or you want to increase your price, then re-branding is what you should consider.
Think of rebranding as what will change your entire business and speaks volumes of your professionalism. Re-branding doesn’t necessarily mean changing your watermark or changing your brand name, there are many important things to consider when it comes to re-branding.
Having a map-out plan is a good way to begin, treat your rebranding as a grand opening with a lot of freebies that get people excited, and you can consider changing the structure of your business, like getting new props, gadgets and everything you think will make your incoming client happy. Consider this as a way to grow your business in 2023 by appearing differently once again.
5. Read
Reading helps you tell stories better and create better content for your audience. As a photographer in 2023, you have to start reading books, do not limit yourself to just a photographer who knows how to shoot but doesn’t know anything about business, people, and the environment. Widen your thoughts this year by reading books on photography business, relationships with people, finances, and many more.
6. Review your Price Menu
For a client to resonate with your price, they must have perceived the value that comes with it. If you think you have low rates or high rates which doesn’t bring you your kind of client or don’t even bring any, then maybe you just need to redesign your price menu and re-think what you are charging completely.
How to charge as a Photographer?
Take a look at the numbers- how much does it cost you to run the business, know how much you’re likely to put into it and what you will be getting
Time- time they say it’s costly, track your time and know how much of your time you’re investing.
Location- how much does photography cost in your area, get information about all of these
Know how much the equipment you use costs, your travel expenses and props costs, etc.
Putting all of these will give you insight into how to charge as a photographer and do not forget confidence in all of these.
7. Buy Time with Money
They say Time is Money and Money can’t buy time, but money can buy you things that will make your life easier while concentrating on other things.
You can maximize your time by focusing on another aspect of photography and investing in the right software.
Investing in software like https://element.photo which helps you manage your photography business giving you features like:
Booking management (help you manage bookings with dynamic contact forms)
Albums to manage client's galleries, proofing, and delivery
Client management
A custom website that suits your preference to share and display both album and portfolio
Booking session reminders for you and your clients
And many more promising features like creating invoices and contracts all in one platform.
Sign up and start keeping track of your business while getting noticed and having that professional touch that attracts your kind of clients
In conclusion, managing a photography business is not for the faint-hearted, if you’re willing to grow in 2023, you must give your all and implement each while putting a deadline.
Ready to grow your photography business in 2023 with Element Photo Get started for free https://element.photo