As a photographer you should be free to create your art, but charge like a business. Nowadays every business has to exist and be promoted online.

I had the pleasure of working with several photographers and got a unique insight into the way they build their online presence to show and promote their work.

Today I want to share some tips every photographer should be aware of in order to gain exposure online to drive their business.
Many photographers consider themselves artists and want to project an image of such, however, photography is just a hobby unless you are paid or sell your photos.

Let’s start with the basics…

1. Name
Your name is your brand. Whether you use your real name, artist name or studio name, make sure it is unique, so it can be easily recognized and is easy to find in search engines.

2. Logo
Every brand has its own logo, so should you. A logo is a graphic mark that should be on your website, photos (watermark), business card, promotional materials.
Make sure the logo carries the your name/business name, so if your photo gets shared on social media people can easily find out the author.

3. Online portfolio
Every brand has its own website and there is a reason for it. There is nothing wrong with using social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest to gain some exposure, but you are rarely in control of what happens on social media and you are not the one who benefits from having thousands of followers or visitors. You simply cannot capitalize on the traffic.
Have your own online portfolio, your own blog which is designed to best represent your style and aesthetics. Then integrate social media and use them to promote the content. Your website should be a central point of content distribution.

4. Social media
Do you need them? Yes! Simply because you must connect with your audience. Choose social media platforms that best help you promote your works. Use them to generate interest, traffic and always lead them to your portfolio. Choose 2-3 channels and make sure they are updated regularly. You need to keep your audience entertained and informed.

Don’t forget social media is called ‘social’ for a reason! Therefore, you need to engage with your audience. So follow up on comments, respond to questions or complements. The value of social media is in the engagement. If you have a monolog, then probably you are wasting your time.

5. Your audience
Define your audience. Who do you want to connect with? Magazines that may publish your work, models that want to work with you to add a photo to their portfolios, individuals who are interested in having professional photo sessions? Are you a corporate or wedding photographer? Who are you targeting? Do you want to promote yourself as someone to hire or do you run photo workshops with the main focus on teaching others?

6. Business plan
You may be an artist, but you run a business. Every business has to have a business plan and so should you, if you want to succeed. Every business plan has set goals to give directions and a defined portfolio of products and services.
The question is, do you have any?
What is your business goal for this year?
What do you want to achieve?
Set your goals and monitor them at regular intervals.

7. Portfolio of products and services
If photography is your business, you need to clearly define your products or services. If you target corporate clients, have 2-3 tailor made packages for them. If you are a wedding photographer, have a few packages that best suit a couple needs. If you run workshops for other photographers, bundle them into packages, list features and benefits and promote online like you would with any other product.
Make the packages clear, easy to understand and keep the choice limited. Once you define your services and prices, you can market them to your clients.

8. Promote!
Promotion is an indispensable element of the business. Even, if you are already an established photographer, you constantly have to work on keeping your reputation, otherwise your competition will overtake you. (Think Nokia)
You need to share your works, showcase published photos, re-post recommendations or endorsements and take part in photo challenges and competitions. Every piece of recognition is worth showcasing. It is not a question of bragging, it is about enhancing your credibility.

9. Outsource
You don’t want to be the one doing everything. Taking photos, retouching, running website and social media, own accountancy and dealing with clients, models and assistants. Start thinking about outsourcing some of the services and start thinking about automation of some of the activities. If you make money having more photo sessions or weddings, find a reliable service, that can retouch photos and watermark them for you. Go for online portfolio that has integrated social media, so your Instagram feed shows on the website and every post you add is automatically pushed to all social  media channels. Save yourself time managing it all and focus on what is your real passion – taking great photos and telling stories via your unique images.

10. Just do it!
Procrastination is common. You are so busy taking photos you don’t have time to think about strategy?
Again, check point 6 – business plan. Set yourself a goal and do it! Go for it and go for something big this year!

You are not taking photos, you are running a business!