Are you doing anything to translate some of those hits into sales?
This year Im really going to push. Last year was really my first year seriously into photography and kind of wanted to build a solid portfolio of work before I started to push sales. The past three months (winter in NY) I havent had a camera and just picked up a 5D so its back to the grind.
Once I develop a more rounded collection of hangables to print and frame, Ill do so. Start by asking all the local eateries, doctors offices, county buildings, etc if they would be interested in hanging my stuff up.
Oddly enough, I get great traffic. Just gotta walk first, right?
Would you have any suggestions on how to translate thos hits into more sales? Im all ears!
So did you make available severable copies of each print for those sizes in each gallery?
99% of what we shoot is in 5:4 mode which equates to 8x10, 16x20, 24x30 prints without the need to crop. 11x14 fits in the mix with Bay Photo, so we added that one.
By picking particular boards, and appropriate secions, I thought I was very specific about my "target group". What I mean is I didn't go to a landscape board or some other artsy forum to try to get views.
How are you marketing these images? Who exactly is your target audience? Are you wanting them to buy the prints or small digital files for web sharing? You have to think outside of the internet.
I know confidence is the first thing you need in order to be successful but I'm really questioning my ability now.
The business end of photography is completely different from the technical end. A lot of great photographers struggle with business, and some great business people are average photographers but succeed.
Would you have any suggestions on how to translate thos hits into more sales? Im all ears!
Target your audience. Your idea of hanging work is a good one, and works well if you work it.
What we do is rotate fresh images onto the walls every 2 months. After a couple of months images blend into the walls and get looked over. Also by adding fresh images it creates the "buy it before it's gone" thought.
Offices make the best places. Doctors, Lawyers, Dentists, Auto Mechanics, places where people are sitting for a while. In restaurants people are too focused on each other or their meals to spend time looking at images.
Think about your audience. We don't hang any Golden Gate images here in the bay area. Everyone sees it all the time, what the heck would they want to buy an image of it for? We send those images out to the midwest and east coast where people who don't see it everyday or have lousy snapshots can buy it.
Hanging work is a numbers game. You have to get enough out there to be seen by a large group of people. Keep the frames and matting basic.
Also and most importantly. DO NOT sell the print off the wall. Make them contact you to order the print, this allows you to offer other sizes, framing options and maybe even an additional print. You can also suggest better paper or canvas or other printing options.
Whatever you do, be sure to sprinkle in some portfolio stuff. If you shoot weddings or portraits or whatever, throw some of that on the wall (not for sale of course).
Be sure to hang a small postcard size bio near every print. Name, website, phone and email. Have a buttload of business cards on site.
Summed it all up in three words! The idea of hanging some "not for sale" stuff is a great idea if hung among other for sale stuff, in my opinoin. Especially in medical buildings or prenatal care parts of the said medical buildings. Good places for those super adorable baby shots one may take!
Wedding stuff is hard to find a place for unless the images arent personal and convey a general togetherness or marital vision..
How many people do you honestly believe are using a basic google search to find a wedding photographer?
Many. If not most.
Combined with facebook referrals and old-fashioned WOM, of course. But the vast majority of brides throw in "City/State Wedding Photographer" into google at some point.
How many random services have you searched for on google?
Every single one.
Big ticket items in the past few years, personally: House - google (which found me a real estate search engine) Plumber - google. New floor - google. Wedding photographer - google. Custom cabinets - google. Granite countertops - google. Large screen TV for studio/meeting space - google.
If you were going to spend $5000 on a new deck for your house, would you use google or begin looking through the people you know?
I'd build it myself and look up building codes on google.
But honestly, if I wasn't going to build it myself, none of my friends have had a company come build a deck for them -- so Google would be the first place I'd look. That and maybe angies list.
There is a huge difference between customers and website visitors. If you want wedding clients, focus on them.
100% agreed. (read my above post)
Make contact with every florist, limousine company, caterer, videographer, wedding dress, tuxedo rental, and anyone else in your area who are regularly dealing with weddings.
Do you want the clients that select their photographer AFTER their florist or Tux rentals? I'd say over 75% of my clients have nothing but a venue by the time they book me. Shoot - 10% of my inquiries this year don't even have a date when they first contact me.
I'm not saying networking isn't important (it's insanely important) but you've got to do it with the right people. Find the order of things for your target market -- for me, I could be married to a florist and it wouldn't help my business one iota -- my target client selects a date/venue and then selects a photographer. By the time they get to 'florist' their photographer is already selected.
If anyone has the time to visit my site and tell me what you think of it SEO wise & stuff it would be greatly appreciated. I saw some of you helping Phil and was hoping to get the same kind of crit.
If anyone has the time to visit my site and tell me what you think of it SEO wise & stuff it would be greatly appreciated. I saw some of you helping Phil and was hoping to get the same kind of crit.
I'm new to the DGRIN forum, although I have had my Smugmug site active for about 18 months or so. This particular thread taught me a lot, as I don't think I have put any effort into making my own site more visible or accessible, and so it is not surprising that I have not sold any images over the past year.
However, looking at some of the galleries in the various posts, there are some great images out there. Do you also try to sell those photos via stock photography sites, and if you do, do you make more from stock than from selling your own prints on Smugmug? I'm wondering where to apply my efforts to increase my revenue!
I've gone down the stock line much more strongly and now get between $500 and $600 a month after 3 years work. Would I do better focusing on selling direct prints?
Comments
Exactly. I average about 10,000 hpm and times have never been slower, sometimes over 1000/day!
JBHotShots.com
Facebook
7DII w/Grip, 50D w/Grip, 24-70/2.8L, 70-200/2.8L, 85/1.8, 50/1.8, Rokinon 8mm FE 3.2, 580EXII 430EX
This year Im really going to push. Last year was really my first year seriously into photography and kind of wanted to build a solid portfolio of work before I started to push sales. The past three months (winter in NY) I havent had a camera and just picked up a 5D so its back to the grind.
Once I develop a more rounded collection of hangables to print and frame, Ill do so. Start by asking all the local eateries, doctors offices, county buildings, etc if they would be interested in hanging my stuff up.
Oddly enough, I get great traffic. Just gotta walk first, right?
Would you have any suggestions on how to translate thos hits into more sales? Im all ears!
HAHA
JBHotShots.com
Facebook
7DII w/Grip, 50D w/Grip, 24-70/2.8L, 70-200/2.8L, 85/1.8, 50/1.8, Rokinon 8mm FE 3.2, 580EXII 430EX
99% of what we shoot is in 5:4 mode which equates to 8x10, 16x20, 24x30 prints without the need to crop. 11x14 fits in the mix with Bay Photo, so we added that one.
How are you marketing these images? Who exactly is your target audience? Are you wanting them to buy the prints or small digital files for web sharing? You have to think outside of the internet.
The business end of photography is completely different from the technical end. A lot of great photographers struggle with business, and some great business people are average photographers but succeed.
Website
Target your audience. Your idea of hanging work is a good one, and works well if you work it.
What we do is rotate fresh images onto the walls every 2 months. After a couple of months images blend into the walls and get looked over. Also by adding fresh images it creates the "buy it before it's gone" thought.
Offices make the best places. Doctors, Lawyers, Dentists, Auto Mechanics, places where people are sitting for a while. In restaurants people are too focused on each other or their meals to spend time looking at images.
Think about your audience. We don't hang any Golden Gate images here in the bay area. Everyone sees it all the time, what the heck would they want to buy an image of it for? We send those images out to the midwest and east coast where people who don't see it everyday or have lousy snapshots can buy it.
Hanging work is a numbers game. You have to get enough out there to be seen by a large group of people. Keep the frames and matting basic.
Also and most importantly. DO NOT sell the print off the wall. Make them contact you to order the print, this allows you to offer other sizes, framing options and maybe even an additional print. You can also suggest better paper or canvas or other printing options.
Whatever you do, be sure to sprinkle in some portfolio stuff. If you shoot weddings or portraits or whatever, throw some of that on the wall (not for sale of course).
Be sure to hang a small postcard size bio near every print. Name, website, phone and email. Have a buttload of business cards on site.
Website
Summed it all up in three words!
Wedding stuff is hard to find a place for unless the images arent personal and convey a general togetherness or marital vision..
Many. If not most.
Combined with facebook referrals and old-fashioned WOM, of course. But the vast majority of brides throw in "City/State Wedding Photographer" into google at some point. Every single one.
Big ticket items in the past few years, personally: House - google (which found me a real estate search engine) Plumber - google. New floor - google. Wedding photographer - google. Custom cabinets - google. Granite countertops - google. Large screen TV for studio/meeting space - google.
I'd build it myself and look up building codes on google.
But honestly, if I wasn't going to build it myself, none of my friends have had a company come build a deck for them -- so Google would be the first place I'd look. That and maybe angies list.
100% agreed. (read my above post)
Do you want the clients that select their photographer AFTER their florist or Tux rentals? I'd say over 75% of my clients have nothing but a venue by the time they book me. Shoot - 10% of my inquiries this year don't even have a date when they first contact me.
I'm not saying networking isn't important (it's insanely important) but you've got to do it with the right people. Find the order of things for your target market -- for me, I could be married to a florist and it wouldn't help my business one iota -- my target client selects a date/venue and then selects a photographer. By the time they get to 'florist' their photographer is already selected.
Here is a wedding website I created for a customer as a value-add. Comments appreciated.
Founding member of The Professional Photography Forum as well.
Read my SEO for the Photographer link in my sig and pay attention (and change) to your <title> element. <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/thumb.gif" border="0" alt="" >
Images in the Backcountry
My SmugMug Customizations | Adding CSS to Your Site | SEO for the Photographer | Locate Your Page/Widget Number | SmugMug Help Desk
However, looking at some of the galleries in the various posts, there are some great images out there. Do you also try to sell those photos via stock photography sites, and if you do, do you make more from stock than from selling your own prints on Smugmug? I'm wondering where to apply my efforts to increase my revenue!
I've gone down the stock line much more strongly and now get between $500 and $600 a month after 3 years work. Would I do better focusing on selling direct prints?
Steve
My Stock Photography Blog
My Photography Site on Smugmug