7 Valuable “Secrets” For Photography Marketing – Both Online And Off Line
Charles J. Lewis
“Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does.” – Stuart H. Britt, New York Herald Tribune
Charles Lewis here, at Charles Lewis Photography, and I’ve spent over 30 years discovering, testing, PROVING, and perfecting the most effective techniques for marketing and selling portrait and wedding photography. I did this for one reason, and one reason only – I wanted to make a great living doing what I love: Portrait and Wedding Photography. And I discovered very early, that, in order to make a great deal of money in portrait and wedding photography, I had to become a MASTER MARKETER AND SELLER. On the subject of photography marketing, here are 7 secrets I have found to be very powerful and effective for both Online marketing such as websites, email marketing, etc. and off line marketing such as sales letters, advertisements, etc.:1. The more you tell, the more you sell. Longer copy, if well written and interesting, almost always outsells shorter copy.
The key here is to be INTERESTING in all your marketing, to your “Target Market.” The absolute killer is to be BORING. So for me, my target market consists of what I call “Female Warm Fuzzies” – women who love their family and value photography and all the things sensitive photography can capture. So I want to always talk in terms of warm, sensitive, emotional terms that she will really find wonderfully interesting.2. Always have a double readership path. Some people are readers, others are skimmers. Write for both types. Use lots of bolded “subheads” which contain the main BENEFITS of your message.
Really what this means is you’re going to have other “headlines” scattered throughout the webpage or sales letter or ad. These smaller headlines are known as “subheads” – and they are usually in slightly smaller type than the main headline at the top of the page, but still larger than the regular “body type” used on the page.3. The headline is the most important part of your marketing message. Without a doubt, the headline must stop your target market dead in her tracks. That’s its job. It must contain a clear benefit. It must get her to read the first sentence of the message (and then continue on from there, of course.)
So work hard on that headline, it’s very important. And NEVER write anything that doesn’t have a headline. It’s the “ad” for your ad, webpage or sales letter.
4. Talk in terms of benefits – always benefits. What’s in it for her? Why should she contact you now? What will she miss out on if she does not contact you right now?
Is there some special reason for her to take action right now, such as a discounted special price for example. Just keep asking yourself, as you’re writing the webpage, or the sales letter, “What’s in it for her?”
5. Stories sell, facts only tell. Always include a few emotional stories (since people invest in photography for emotional reasons.)
Women who are “Warm Fuzzies” especially like stories – emotional stories – that they can relate to and empathize with. 6. Always play up the guarantee – it’s very important. The easiest way to get someone to respond to you is to give them an iron clad guarantee which removes all the risk from them, and places it firmly on you.
I have done this for my entire career – if my clients don’t LOVE their photographs, if they aren’t THRILLED, I will either do whatever is necessary to see to it they are thrilled, or I will give them all their money back. And there will be no hard feelings or hassles, either. 7. The most important thing in marketing your photography is to be persuasive, not just pretty. Photographers miss this one all the time. We like pretty. We’re “artists.” But in marketing, pretty isn’t nearly as important as persuasive.
So don’t just make your web pages and ads pretty – but use everything I’ve talked about here to make them PERSUASIVE. Use lots of emotional words. Not just attractive photographs. The days where just making an ad or a sales letter pretty – and having it work well, are long gone.
Use these 7 powerful marketing secrets as a checklist for everything you do that has anything to do with marketing your photography services. They have served me extremely well, and they will do the same for you.
Why are some photographers getting rich and having all the customers and clients they could ever want, while others are struggling? Charles Lewis has created the ultimate guide – “The TOP 33 Photography Marketing Secrets” free E-Book reveals the secrets for getting hundreds of new customers – FAST – regardless of the economy, your town, or whether you work on main street or out of your home studio.Click Here: ==> http://www.cjlewis.com
Charles J. Lewis is a professional Portrait And Wedding Photographer who has been in business for 38 years. He as been awarded the “Master of Photography” Degree and the “Photographic Craftsman” Degree from the Professional Photographers Of America
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