Photography Website - Evaluate your impact on the World Wide Web!

Too many people today are designing websites without any good reason. Without the reason, or designing one just because everyone else is, you are subjecting yourself to failure. When you create a web site, you have to really focus on what you want that site to do for you. Do you want to sell a product? Do you want people to contact you for more information? Whatever the reason, the underlying goal should be to drive up your profits. You wouldn't send out a postcard without trying to create a sale. Neither should you produce a web site without trying to create a sale. And because your site will reach people from all over the world, really focus on what you can do for these people, not just your current clientele within a few miles of your business.

Six Figure Photographer

When we began designing our website for our photography studio, we focused solely on reaching the people in the Denver area. As people came in to our studio to visit us, we would provide them with our URL, and put a few images up to build our portfolio. But as the months went on, we discovered our site was being viewed from people throughout the world. As our online portfolio grew, we began receiving calls from brides around the world. We made our portfolio available to anyone, 24/7, and they responded because we gave them what they wanted - information on wedding photography, and most importantly, the images. People were willing to fly us in from all over because they liked what they saw and we gave them ease. We changed our business to incorporate a larger target market. And it worked! We opened up our minds to new opportunities, and we succeeded by changing to follow what would bring us in the business - and the money!

You job is to discover how you can make the most out of your photography website. What can you put into it that will get the attention of people throughout the world? How can you make sales from people you don't know, and aren't even in a location that you could sell to? Service businesses are usually the hardest to develop, because you can't imagine working with a client half way around the world - how do you work with them if you never see them? In this global economy, you have to move beyond the thought process of "sitting down at a desk" with your client. Phones and email are more than ample to conduct business. With FedEx, teleconferencing, videoconferencing and computers, there are so many ways to conduct business with anyone in the world. Just yesterday we were chatting online with a gentleman from India! It's truly amazing the directions we can head in the next few years. Don't be afraid to try new things, new ideas, and build a business that reaches beyond your hometown!

7 Ways To Make Your Photography Studio’s Website More Sellable

7 Ways To Make Your Studio’s Website More Sellable

“I put up my website a few months ago,
and I’m still not at the top of the search engines.”

“Why isn’t my website working?

I’m still not making money online.”

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard these phrases! Unfortunately many people still believe putting up a website will be the answer to their marketing problems. If you’re having trouble getting people in to your business using traditional marketing methods, chances are you’re problems will carry through to your online marketing methods as well.

Thousands of websites are being added to the Internet everyday. By doing a recent search on Google I discovered:

66,900,000 pages exist with the word “photography”

9,270,000 pages exist with the words “photography studio”

1,450,000 pages exist with the words “wedding photography studio”

991,000 pages exist with the words “professional wedding photography studio”

196,000 pages exist with the words “California professional wedding photography studio”

And if you’re beyond the top 20-30 pages, chances are you’re never getting in front of your potential customer. So where do you go from here? How do you use your website to get in front of a good, qualifying potential customer?

A successful website is not something you build over night. It is a work in progress, something that you should work on week after week. To start you off, here are 7 ideas to help grow your website and the potential it has to market your business.

Create a professional site. This is probably the first thing you see in any list talking about how to build up an Internet presence. Yet it’s amazing how many sites are out there that still have a homemade appearance.Your website is an extension of your business. Not only should it be informative, it should be entertaining, and provide people with exactly what they are looking for. You are a photographer. Show people your work. Make them feel the emotion of your photography, and the service you provide to your customers. A gallery of a dozen images that each take seconds to load is not emotional. Professionalism comes from knowing what your customers want, and giving them more than they expect.

If you can’t create a professional website by yourself, hire it done. Because you earn your money through photography, don’t expect yourself to be good at all forms of creative graphics. Websites are a marketing tool, not a creative extension of your business. Foremost, your website is a sales tool that can bring in unimaginable profits to your business – but only if you use it as such.

Pricing on your website. The biggest debate on the Internet for photographers is whether to list pricing information. On one hand, listing your pricing will guarantee only truly motivated people will contact your studio. On the other hand, every customer you have will be calling you solely based on your pricing.I myself prefer to not list pricing, or do it in a very discreet way. I want my customers calling me because they love my work. I want them to feel the passion of my art, and call me because they can see themselves in my photographs. Price is secondary.

If you still feel pricing is something you have to list on your website, list it only once on your services page. After you describe what services you offer your customers, list a phrase like “starting from $3900”. This gives your potential customer a basis for your services, yet doesn’t make the main goal of your website price.

Photography Business

Creating a purpose. What is the overall purpose of your website? Is it to get a potential customer to contact you? Is it to drive your existing customers to a place to purchase your photographs? Before your website can be successful, you have to discover your number one purpose. Then use every page to motivate people towards your purpose.Again, your website is more than a brochure. It is a member of your sales team that ‘talks’ to your potential customer. When you talk with a person in person, or on the phone, your ultimate goal is to get them to make some type of commitment. Your website should have the same goal.

Showcase your work. You’re a photographer. Showing a dozen images doesn’t show a potential client what you do. Pull your customer in by providing them with a wealth of information on your website. Clients come to you for photographs; show them photographs! Photography is one of those rare industries in which you can’t have too many graphics on your website, providing they are small files that load quickly.

Use motivating text. Are you writing to your customer in a professional manner? Does your website use the same language you use when meeting with a person face to face? Your website is your sales tool. Treat it as if it were a 24/7 sales person, and let your website do the talking for you.On the Internet, the one thing you can’t do is hide. Depending on how a person searches, every website is a potential find. Because someone from New York, or California, or even India may pull up your site, how are you talking to him or her? Instead of writing your text from your perspective, write as if you are a person in a far away country that knows nothing about your industry. Her sole purpose is to find out more information on wedding photography. Are you educating her? Are you telling her what she wants to know AND what she cares about? (Most people don’t care what type of cameras you use; they only want to know how they benefit.)

Create links to other sites. Is your site a useful resource? Think of yourself as a mini-wedding coordinator or parent advisor. Depending on the type of photography you specialize in, provide your customer useful information to go beyond just hiring your services.A wedding photographer can provide links to caterers, florists, and reception halls. A family or children’s photographer can provide links to schools, clothing and sports stores, and community events.

Tip: When you’re linking to other websites, have them link back to you as well. This boosts up your ratings in the search engines!

Get your site listed on other sites. There are hundreds of ways of getting your site listed on other websites. Linking is one of the easiest methods. But beyond linking, you may try other means.Purchase banner ads. Many sites offer paid advertising, usually at very reasonable prices.

Purchase classified advertising. Many newspapers and magazines offer a deal where you purchase an ad in their print edition, and you get a website listing for free. For example, we have a Colorado Parent magazine in our community. By purchasing an ad in the classified section, you also get a listing on the website.

Find community directories to list your services in. Larger communities have at least one directory online that makes it easy to find resources within your area. Join at least one, and always be on the lookout for others that may benefit your business.

Keep your eyes open for opportunities to advertise your website, both online and in traditional marketing methods.

Modernize your photography studio’s website without the expenditure

Time passes quickly and what was new is now aged and dated. How is your photography business website? Keeping your site updated is an important process in running your photography studio. While it is nice to have a photography site up showing off your work, if not updated, this site becomes stale. Website face-lifts are a great way to provide an easy update. If you want a rapid way to modernize without a huge expenditure, photography business template websites and photography studio template websites are quick to modify and very inexpensive.

Helping your photography business, how to start a digital wedding photography business and wedding photography business visit virtualphotographystudio.com and keep up-to-date with all of the photography happenings via our free newsletter.

Photography Website Update - Give Your Studio A Facelift

Your website is an important piece of your business should have a very professional appearance. Many photographers are tech savvy with their ability to produce well-designed, well-navigated photography studio websites.

If you don't have the capability or time for doing a website design for your own studio, looking at website templates may be an option for you. Website templates are ready-made professionally designed websites for the Internet that provide a high-quality web presence and easy to modify with your content. Templates are available in standard HTML language of design, as well as popular flash format to display your web content and photography portfolio. Templates will have the some limitations of the expansion, but for the cost, offer a great solution to many studios. These templates are fully customizable, and available for immediate download.

Designs usually have layered Photoshop files for easy customization, as well as HTML layouts, so that you can open them in your favorite Web program like Dreamweaver or FrontPage. You don't have to wait for your web designer to start from scratch on your design.

As studio owners, we have many responsibilities to worry about and our specialty should be our photography. Here's a resource that you can check out the latest in photography website designs and see the catalogue of professionally designed templates.

Helping your photography business, how to start a digital wedding photography business and wedding photography business visit virtualphotographystudio.com and keep up-to-date with all of the photography happenings via our free newsletter.

7 Items Every Photographer’s Website Should Have

7 Items Every Photographer’s Website Should Have

A Gallery of Images

People visit a photographer’s website to see images. Don’t disappoint. Your gallery should show more than a dozen images. Let them spend hours on your site! At our high point, we had over 20,000 images online. And many people would spend hours going through every single one of them.

Contact Information

I spend a lot of time on other peoples’ sites. And I find a lot of business owners are so worried about spam, they leave off contact information in their fears. Guess what? People can’t contact you if they don’t know how. Fill out forms are great, and are the first step for contact. Give a phone number – some people prefer to call. Give an address – your prospects would love to know what city your in, and where your studio is. Give an email – you can make it a non-clickable graphic.

Content

A portfolio isn’t enough. It’s nice looking at a dozen images, but who are you? What’s your style? How did you decide to become a photographer? What’s the story behind your business? In person, you build a relationship with your prospect. The same thing has to occur online. Content is what sells your business.

Sales Techniques

Your website is more than a portfolio; it’s a sales tool. Think of how you sell in person, and use those same features online. Your website should be growing and changing all the time.

Proper Navigation

If you’ve ever been “stuck” in a website, you know navigation is so important. If you move to a page, it better be easy to move around and back out. Think like your customer. If that’s hard to do, bring a customer in and ask them what they think.

Ordering System

Professional labs and other online services have made it very easy to sell your images online. Connect to one of these services, and use this as an option for your clients. If you’re worried about upfront sales, use it as a bonus after the initial sale is complete.

Marketing

Your website is more than a portfolio; it’s a marketing tool. With over 6 billion web pages online, how will yours compete with the others? It takes marketing. Just like you wouldn’t sit at home without doing any marketing waiting for the phone to ring, you can’t sit at home without marketing your website waiting for the contacts. You have to use online marketing techniques to get noticed.

Check this site for additional articles on digital photography wedding business and starting a photography business

How linked is your Photography Website?

Having a well designed website is important to attract potential clients but is it well linked? Links into your site are vital to ensure that search engines like google, yahoo and msn display your site under search criteria. By increasing quality link to a photography website, your ranks will increase and the site will list higher and higher in the results. Why is this important? Well, think about it in very simple terms. If your site is popular (many quality link pointed into your site) then search engines look at the website as a valid informational portal and present within the results. If you photography website has little to no linkage, search engines see no reason to display it.

Quality links are from reliable sources of similar content. If you are selling wedding photography then you would want links from other studios, wedding reception sites, wedding coordinators and wedding services.

VirtualPhotographyStudio.com allows studios to add their photography businesses to a directory of other studios. This in turn will add another quality link into your site.

The goal is to have your site show more when potential clients access searches. By working with a strategy that will enhance linkage of your studio's site on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, you will start to see increase in how your photography website displays in the search engine results.

Photography Website Facelift?

Your website is an important piece of your business should have a very professional appearance. Many photographers are tech savvy with their ability to produce well-designed, well-navigated photography studio websites.

If you don't have the capability or time for doing a website design for your own studio, looking at website templates may be an option for you. Website templates are ready-made professionally designed websites for the Internet that provide a high-quality web presence and easy to modify with your content. Templates are available in standard HTML language of design, as well as popular flash format to display your web content and photography portfolio. Templates will have the some limitations of the expansion, but for the cost, offer a great solution to many studios. These templates are fully customizable, and available for immediate download.

Designs usually have layered Photoshop files for easy customization, as well as HTML layouts, so that you can open them in your favorite Web program like Dreamweaver or FrontPage. You don't have to wait for your web designer to start from scratch on your design.

As studio owners, we have many responsibilities to worry about and our specialty should be our photography. Here's a resource that you can check out the latest in photography website designs and see the catalogue of professionally designed templates.

Helping your photography business, how to start a digital wedding photography business and wedding photography business visit virtualphotographystudio.com and keep up-to-date with all of the photography happenings via our free newsletter.

7 Items Every Photographer’s Website Should Have

A Gallery of Images

People visit a photographer’s website to see images. Don’t disappoint. Your gallery should show more than a dozen images. Let them spend hours on your site! At our high point, we had over 20,000 images online. And many people would spend hours going through every single one of them.

Contact Information

I spend a lot of time on other peoples’ sites. And I find a lot of business owners are so worried about spam, they leave off contact information in their fears. Guess what? People can’t contact you if they don’t know how. Fill out forms are great, and are the first step for contact. Give a phone number – some people prefer to call. Give an address – your prospects would love to know what city your in, and where your studio is. Give an email – you can make it a non-clickable graphic.

Content

A portfolio isn’t enough. It’s nice looking at a dozen images, but who are you? What’s your style? How did you decide to become a photographer? What’s the story behind your business? In person, you build a relationship with your prospect. The same thing has to occur online. Content is what sells your business.

Sales Techniques

Your website is more than a portfolio; it’s a sales tool. Think of how you sell in person, and use those same features online. Your website should be growing and changing all the time.

Proper Navigation

If you’ve ever been “stuck” in a website, you know navigation is so important. If you move to a page, it better be easy to move around and back out. Think like your customer. If that’s hard to do, bring a customer in and ask them what they think.

Ordering System

Professional labs and other online services have made it very easy to sell your images online. Connect to one of these services, and use this as an option for your clients. If you’re worried about upfront sales, use it as a bonus after the initial sale is complete.

Marketing

Your website is more than a portfolio; it’s a marketing tool. With over 6 billion web pages online, how will yours compete with the others? It takes marketing. Just like you wouldn’t sit at home without doing any marketing waiting for the phone to ring, you can’t sit at home without marketing your website waiting for the contacts. You have to use online marketing techniques to get noticed.

Helping your photography business, how to start a digital wedding photography business and wedding photography business visit virtualphotographystudio.com and keep up-to-date with all of the photography happenings via our free newsletter.

Print the article - 25 Ways To Generate Leads For Your Photography Business Today

25 Ways To Generate Leads For Your Photography Business Today

1. Submit your stock images to one of the many online stock agencies such as IStockPhoto. Stock companies allow you to build a bio page, and list links to other sites and information. Use this to selectively promote yourself to people that enjoy your work.

2. Send a press release to your local paper submitting a story idea. Newspapers, television, and radio shows are always on the lookout for a good storyline. Provide them with a story that's relevant to the season, and makes for good news.

3. Visit a local networking group and offer to photograph the group for the website. Many of today's networking groups have a website to promote their services. Adding photographs provide a personal touch, and will allow you to capture attention as a photographer.

4. Send out letters to your past clients with a new promotion. Your best client is a past client. Make them an offer they can't refuse.

5. Visit a local chamber of commerce and sign up for the next networking group. Your chamber of commerce offers a variety of groups for you to network with. Choose a few groups and visit them to make a handful of new connections.

6. Find a complementary business willing to hang samples in their offices. Provide them several framed images at no cost. Because these images will potentially hand in the office for many months, make sure you use your best work, and provide top quality in both mounting and framing.

7. Post a comment on an online message board. Make sure you provide a link back to your website, yet don't blatantly sell your services. Provide good quality content, and show you know your industry well.

8. Call three prospects and promote your business. Think back over the past couple of weeks to the connections you've made. Choose the three that have the best possibility of becoming a client, and connect with them over the phone.

9. Create flyers and hand them out at a networking event. Make your flyer short and to the point. The purpose should be to make them connect with you, either by brining in a coupon, or visiting your website for more information.

10. Write an article for one of your association newsletters. Most trade publications have a shortage of quality material. Offer an article to use, and use it to educate your association members.

11. Add more content to your website. Websites are meant to change and grow. Make adding content to your website a weekly task.

12. Run a contest. Whether you set up a cutest baby contest, or offer a toys for tots promotion, get your customers involved in your business.

13. Take out a classified ad in a trade publication. The least expensive method of advertising in a print publication is in the classifieds. Try out a new promotion, or use it to gain leads.

14. Join a social networking website. Social networking groups exist both online and locally. Try one online, and expand your business beyond your local area.

15. Participate in an online forum or chatroom. Thousands of forums exist on any subject you can imagine. Find a place where potential clients visit regularly, and chat away.

16. Make a magnetic sign for your car. From a simple magnetic door sign, to an entire car wrap, make your vehicle a moving advertisement.

17. Call in to a radio talk show. Dozens of radio stations exist both locally and online that reach your potential customer base. Create a message, and start talking.
 
18. Have a photo party, and get several clients together in one location to try something new. Instead of having one portrait sitting per day, this would guarantee you several. And getting friends together would help your sales increase because of the excitement.

19. Create shirts and caps with your logo and website information. Instead of wearing a big companies logo, create your own. Make sure your family and employees all have a few too.

20. Set up a booth at a local fair or expo. There are expos for every target audience. Find one that matches your demographics, and find some new clients.

21. Volunteer for a community project or non-profit fundraiser. It's always fun to get involved. This puts you in contact with other business owners that may be able to promote you – and allows you to give back at the same time.

22. Offer to teach a photography class at a local school or recreation center. Many people have the desire to take better photographs. Create a class that shows the basics in a fun way.

23. Teach a class at your local library. Whether alone or with a complementary business, your local library can provide you with a room, resources to advertise the class, and a whole new potential customer base.

24. Create a portrait special at a local toy store. Kids love toys. What better place to capture quality portraits with a natural expression.

25. Set up a special, limited edition weekend. Use a local landmark as your background: snow days in the park, sand castles on the beach, and holiday magic in the city are just a few examples. Be creative.

Helping your photography business, how to start a digital wedding photography business and wedding photography business visit virtualphotographystudio.com and keep up-to-date with all of the photography happenings via our free newsletter.

Website Templates allow a Photography Studio To Develop Quickly

Websites allow a photography studio an effortless solution to display sections of their work and present information to potential customers 24/7.

One item that we all face in our photography business is the need for an online presence. Having a website is very important for your clients to locate information pertaining to your services and viewing a portfolio of quality images. Too often, we find websites that are constructed by novice designers using a boxed website solution with very unpleasant results. Imagine if you viewed a website of poor quality, would you want your wedding photographed by the same studio? I know that I would not. Budgets are tight on most businesses just starting up and locating a great product and an affordable price can become unpleasantly difficult. For websites, a template solution could avail your situation and allow your studio to create a professional online presence without elimination of your entire bank account balance. Quality photography website templates are created as great starting solution and can help relay the proper message to entice larger events and increase your sales.

Don’t fall victim to accepting sub par website displays in relation to your photography studio, make it look pleasing and professional. Take a quick look at the many hundreds of photography business website template solutions.

Helping your photography business, how to start a digital wedding photography business and wedding photography business visit virtualphotographystudio.com and keep up-to-date with all of the photography happenings via our free newsletter.