Marketing Tips for Photographers

So you have the skills. You have the photos. You have the passion! Now for the fun part: how do you get your brand out there to expand your clientele?? If you’re wondering how to grow your new photography business, check out my BEST marketing tips for photographers!

It all comes down to MARKETING!!

How you share your photos, your services, and yourself to the world is essential to help your photography business grow!! So here are some free marketing tips for beginning photographers – from Instagram to email to blogging tools! Dive right in, friend!

Instagram Marketing Tips for Photographers

Use Later or Preview to plan your posts! 

If you don’t already use Later or Preview to plan out your posts, you need to!! These tools are a LIFESAVER for planning out, schedule, and publishing your Instagram content in advance. This not only helps you see what cover photos will best match your feed, but it takes away the stress of constantly remembering to post! (It’s ok, I’ve been there too.)

Other planning/schedule platforms are Buffer, Constant Contact, or Planoly.

Use Scrl to give your posts a unique twist 

You know those super cool seamless transition photos that continue onto the next slide of an IG post?? I used to always wonder how to make those & with Scrl you can! Scrl is a free, digital app that allows you to design and split up panoramic pictures across multiple frames for IG. Carousels and reels tend to perform better than posts with only one photo on Instagram so this tool is ideal for drawing your viewers into your photos!

Show your face on stories 

People connect to other people! You’re the face behind your brand so it’s important that you show it. Keep your Instagram real and honest by including things in your life that you love – your cat, family, hobbies, coffee obsession, etc – alongside your business posts! & hopping on a quick Instagram video story to say “Hey this is me and here’s what my life looks like today,” helps a TON in keeping it real with your people! 

Use hashtags!!

Now I know you may be thinking, “Hashtags?? Really? That’s so 2012,” but as cheesy as it might seem hashtags are a crucial tool for any Instagram profile looking to increase their engagement. By adding a bundle of hashtags to the bottom of your IG caption you help categorize your post into a niche of followers on the internet that may be looking for your services! So focus on keeping your hashtags direct and simple by including specific keywords that define your business (location, photography style, etc.)

Focus on your captions 

To have an engaging post you gotta have an engaging caption!! This is where your people will come to find out more about you, your photos, & whatever you’re promoting! Keep your message simple, to the point & break up your ideas into short paragraph blurbs. No one wants to read a novella on IG!

Lastly, don’t forget to include a call to action at the end of your captions!! What do you want your audience to do with the info you just gave them?? Comment? Go to the link in your bio? Share it? Let the people know!!

Don’t forget to sell yourself

Confused people don’t buy. Be clear about your brand and what you have to offer people! It’s 10000% better for you to be upfront about your services and pricing than to have potential clients tip-toeing around to figure it out. 

Also remember to show who you are on your Instagram!! What’s your personality type? What are you passionate about?? Share away! This helps potential clients get to know YOU as a person they can see themselves actually hiring, rather than just some brand name.

Powerful Email Marketing Tips for Photographers

Keep it Personal!

Tell the people who you are! What’s going on in your life? If they’re subscribed because they’re interested in who you are as a photographer, then they’ll not only want to see the photos you take, but hear the updates on your life as well! This keeps your small business personal & reminds potential clients that you care about them like a friend!

Run Promos

Keep your email fam on the lookout for fun promo opportunities! Maybe a half-priced mini session? A family photoshoot giveaway?? Or a seasonal special shoot? Whatever your thing is, highlight it & make it a limited-time special offer, only available to your email list!! Who knows, maybe that little incentive will be what pushes a potential client to finally book a session with you.

Get Flodesk!

I cannot say enough about what a lifesaver Flodesk is!! This online marketing platform allows you to design and send out completely unique emails to your people in a few easy steps. Flodesk helps you make emails that are user-friendly, fun to read, branded, and simple to interact with! Not only can you design individual emails to send out, you can create and schedule a whole email sequence that is triggered when new friends join your email list!

Click here for my 50% off special Flodesk link! :))

Other popular ESP (email service providers) include Mailchimp, Hubspot, or ConvertKit.

Blogging Tools for Photography Beginners 

It’s ALL about SEO!

Blogging for your ideal client is all about your SEO (search engine optimization). This is how you improve your website content to make sure that people are finding you when searching for a photographer!! So the best blogging tip for photographers is to focus on your keywords. 

& if you have no idea what any of that means, don’t stress! There are some super awesome websites to help level up your photography blogging game.

Three of my fave SEO tools for photography blogs:

𝗬𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲!

Copy/paste your blog copy into this tool & it’ll tell you how to optimize your headings & body copy for your keyword!

𝗠𝗼𝘇 is my favorite tool for keyword research!

With the free version, you get 10 searches a month to see the monthly volume of searches, related keywords, & much more.

𝗨𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 has features….that let you see traffic volume & trends for different keywords!

You can also do a site audit, rank tracking, & competitor tracking.

Keep your topics interesting!

I know you might be thinking, “DUH” to this one, but seriously!! To use blogging as an effective marketing tool in the photography world you gotta keep your topics relevant to your ideal client. It’s soooo easy to repeat the same boring ideas that look like they’ve been copied & pasted from photography blog to blog, but you’re better than that! 

This is your chance to stand out – what fun quirks do you practice in your photography style?? What unique tips have helped you succeed? You can also think of topics specific to the photoshoot type – wedding, engagement photos, family portraits, etc! And for all my wedding photographers out there, pull from this super helpful list of wedding blog ideas!! 

More Wedding Photographer Tips

Some of my other photography blogs have been educational for other photographers!! Next, read How to Avoid Burnout as a Photographer or Tips on Building Connection with your Clients.

No matter how you market your photography business, focus on being ethical, authentic, & relationship-focused!!! That’s what will ultimately shine through to your audience.