I see so many photographers asking the same question;
“How do I book more clients?”

I hate seeing others struggle with this question that seems to loom over every photographer at one point or another. But in reality, booking more clients isn’t hard as long as you implement a strong strategy to attract not just more clients, but the right kind of client. And the best part is, it takes less than 30 minutes a week to make these changes that will change your business for the better.

1. Updating your “About Me” page on your website

When I was starting my business, my “About Me” section read something like, “Megan is a 24 year old, Kingsburg based photographer who enjoys capturing photos for families and couples. She graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Communications with an Agribusiness minor. She moved back to central California after graduation to pursue Agriculture and photography on the side. Click CONTACT to book a session”

Ew. What does that even tell you about me? And why am I talking in third person? This dated about me section does not help my business book more clients.

The best way to approach your “About Me” section is to pretend you’re talking to a friend about what makes you YOU! Tell them who you are, what you do and what makes you fun or special or unique! Share a fun fact about yourself or tell a short story. You want to either attract or repel a client so the ones who contact you really want YOU. And remember, it is 100% ok to say no to a client that could be better served by someone else.

Now my website has a short little blurb about me on my home page that reads; “Hi, I’m Megan and I’ve been capturing love stories for couples & families for the past 4 years. I’m from a small central California farm town with big goals, and even bigger dreams. I’m a photographer, graphic designer and pizza aficionado! I drink iced coffee no matter the weather, yes even in winter. If I ever visit Antarctica, you’ll find me chillin on an iceberg, iced coffee in hand.”

This little blurb then clicks over to a little more details, but it gives my clients a little tiny look at my personality and makes me relatable (because who doesn’t love pizza, am I right?” So now, all my pizza loving friends come to my page and want to book with me because this about me is fun and a little weird (like me) and so many clients have told me that my relateability is why they wanted to hire me. My about me helps book more clients.

 

2. Stay active on social media

Keeping an updated portfolio is important to attracting the right kind of client. This means share images on Instagram and post questions on Facebook to engage with your audience. Share little tidbits in your image captions, talk about why you love a certain shot, and share a behind the scenes of dinner with the kids on your Instagram stories. Be present, and be real. Because let’s face it, life is imperfect and messy, so put the real you forward. And don’t be afraid to share images of yourself too; get your face out there and do it with a smile!

Don’t have headshots? Get an inexpensive little tripod off Amazon, set up your lighting and use the timer or a remote click to take your own photos! Have your roommates, mom or husband do it for you. Or do what I’ve done in the past and offer to trade headshots with another photographer in your area.

Showing your face makes you a real person to a potential client, and allows you to engaged with your audience. Being yourself will help you book more clients.

 

3. Put your best work forward

Be sure your best work is out there to attract potential clients. If you want to market to more couples for wedding photos, sharing your images from family sessions is great, but you’re just going to continue to attract more family clients. When you know a genre of photography isn’t for you, don’t advertise it. If you want to focus on elopements, do a model call and put on a styled shoot or offer a discount for the first few clients to expand that aspect of your portfolio. And know that it IS ok to specialize and be the best at one genre, than just ok at everything. Seek what feeds your soul, and you will serve your clients so much better.

It is 100% ok not to share every single session. To be honest, 90% of my sessions never make it on social media or a blog not because they’re bad images, but because I simply don’t have the time. I take thousands of images a week so sharing them all isn’t realistic.

Here’s an easy way to keep your best work in front of your clients. For social media, I have a Google Drive folder for photos and I choose at least 3 images from each session to upload to my folder by category. This way I always have images to choose from when I need to post and they’re always my favorites.

For my website, I have a media folder where I keep the images I have in the portfolio and front pages. I update this folder periodically to include new images, and remove older work so that I always have fresh content. When you’re always updating your website, it’s not just good for things like SEO, but it will help you book more clients because you are sharing new work and showcasing that work for potential clients.

 

4. Blog blog blog!

When you start a business, you have to start somewhere. I had no idea the value blogging would add to my business. I began with just sharing sessions; engagements, family favs, and weddings. It was a great way to extend my portfolio beyond Instagram and the front page of my website. But I only blogged a couple sessions, maybe every other month or so.

Blogging sessions is also a great way to include a full look at a session from start to finish. Wedding details to the reception dancing; it’s all important and it all showcases your work. Remember that you don’t have to share 124 images from the wedding. This goes back to putting your best foot forward, curate the images you choose to include in your blog post, and make sure they are an accurate representation of your work.

Post your images before you deliver the final gallery. This gets your clients so excited to see your final gallery and will allow them to share it on social media with their family and friends. And as an added bonus, it’s basically free advertising to help you book more clients.

 

 

These little changes take so little time out of your week to help improve your business.

They have given me the freedom to finally say no if a client isn’t the right fit for me. It’s given me a schedule so full I’m booked out 3-4 months sometimes. It have given me so much peace to serve my clients to the fullest, even if it means referring them out to a friend who I know would be better suited to meet their expectations and deliver exactly what they’re looking for! It’s given me the freedom to own my schedule, and to be ok with not filling every spare minute with photo shoots. It has given me clients who trust me and value my expertise as a photographer. It allows me to book more clients; clients who see me for me, and love what they see! And that is the biggest blessing I could ask for as a business owner.

Did you find these tips helpful? Tell me how these tips helped you out below!