by successfulbob | commercial photography, marketing, photography education, photography marketing
Bob Coates Photography Commercial Web Site
Like the cobbler that left his family without repaired shoes because he could always get to it eventually my commercial photography web site was in need of a serious overhaul…
So I finally got off my butt and went to work on getting a new, more current look. My wife was never happy with my old site even though it did pretty well for me. When she overheard me chatting with a potential client & I said, “Glad you liked what you saw on my web site, but it does need a bit of an update.” She jumped on my case and motivated me to fix it up. Here’s the result you can see it here.
Screen capture of my newly refurbished Bob Coates Photography web site
Don’t be like me and wait to long to stay on top of your marketing! Put your best foot forward. You only have one chance to make a first impression. Make it a good one!
Your in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – My wife is happy about my new look. How about you? Any suggestions for improvement? It’s still a work in progress. I’ve still got a few more pages to add…
by successfulbob | photography, photography education, photography marketing, success education
Press Releases & Marketing
Keeping your name out in front of your community is a very important part of running your photography business. This means getting out to networking meetings, getting displays in busy businesses, social media and using every possible way to have people think of you first when the subject of photography comes up.
This story appeared in the Sedona Red Rock News
Press releases can play a big part in this area of your business. Many people say they don’t know what, or how, to write press releases. It is not terribly difficult. you can see some of my press from over the years and get some ideas on writing a proper press releases, that tend to get printed, here.
There are many reasons to send out a release. For example, your business has worked on a charity project raising money for your community. Or, you have trained and received a degree, certification, participated in Imaging Competition or won an award for your photography. Remember these releases need to be written in the third person, contain quotes from others about you and your work and quotes from yourself about what has taken place.
Here’s another article printed about my being named to the World Photographic Cup Team USA in the local entertainment paper Kudos.
In addition to the newspaper articles the story also appeared in the online edition of Kudos. I will also be linking this article on my blog to social media posts and sending out a release on LinkedIn etc. You can see how one event can be leveraged to get lots of exposure.
Remember people need to be touched anywhere from 7-13 times in your marketing before they will begin to remember your name. Get out there. Do good things. Share what you’ve done properly. Earn more business.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | marketing, photography marketing
Here’s a reminder of a way to keep your name in front of your clients. I write a column for the local newspaper sharing with people how to make better photos. The idea is when it comes time for the choice to hire a photographer I’ll be front of mind…
Article on photographing portraits… Note the credit line with links to web sites.
When you share solid information about photography people will realize there is much more to capturing a good image when they try… And when it comes time to hire a pro your name should be at the top of the list.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | marketing, photography education, photography marketing
…And then I noticed there was a button hole sewed into one corner of my napkin!
This is a definite shirt saver especially during a bumpy flight…
Now this might not seem like such a big deal to you, but to my wife who lovingly takes care of keeping me presentable to the public, my being able to easily secure a napkin across the front of my shirt while eating on a sometimes bumpy airplane can save a lot of time for her.
It’s the little things I’ve started to notice now that I’m traveling quite a bit and it brought me around to thinking about small flourishes of customer service ideas for our photography business.
Here are a few things I’ve noticed on the last couple trips.
On this US Airways flight (now the new American Airlines) I was bumped up to First Class for my travel to Houston to speak and judge for the Texas PPA Summerfest. In addition to the cloth napkin with the buttonhole sewn in are the little hot towels that are served up to refresh you before the meal is served is a great touch.
On a trip to PPA headquarters in Atlanta, GA, the Hyatt Regency had my name on the television that stayed in place for the length of my stay.
We all like to see our name in lights!
At the Phoenix Airport Hilton in Arizona as I was checking in I was presented a dark chocolate caramel candy bar complete with ribbon and a personalized note letting me know they were ‘Glad I was staying here with them’.
So how can we use some of these simple ideas to keep us ‘front of mind’ with our customers? A monitor could be playing images from the client’s last session in a little slide show for them to see as they walk in the door. Or more simply, at a studio portrait session a chalk board could be utilized to welcome clients by name in writing. Clients could be gifted with some small item when they leave the studio. A very small but elegant looking frame could be gifted as your clients leave the studio with a small image from that day’s session.
How will you (or do you already) make customers feel special? Let me know here. We all become better when we share ideas…
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography education, photography marketing, success education
Sharing your knowledge with others is a form of service and I highly recommend it for helping to keep your face of perspective clients.
I have been writing a newspaper column to help the people in my community to create better photos when they are using their cameras. Several things happen when you think this way and share your knowledge… You give a hand to people. They see that something might be more difficult than they thought which helps to move people away from the thinking that creating a photograph is just pushing a button on the camera. And, you set yourself up as the expert.
Here’s an example of a recent published piece…
Article appeared in the Villager publication in Sedona, Arizona.
The important part from a marketing standpoint is the last piece that says, “Professional Photographer Bob Coates is a 16 year resident of VOC. To see more of his work check the web: Commercial, www.bcphotography.com; photography education, www.successful-photographer.com; artwork, 1-bob-coates.artistwebsites.com”
How are you marketing your business???
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
