Struggling with photography bookings this season? Five business and marketing tips to get things going
Image by kazuend
The sentiment that photography bookings have slowed considerably is all over the Internet and social media platforms. I’m seeing posts about it every day. And I’m in the same boat too. Inquiries are coming in, but at a trickle and there is some ghosting going on. Is this a trend to be concerned with, a blip, a symptom of the economy, the slow death of the industry due to AI, something else, or nothing serious that will pass quickly? It’s true that the economy is struggling at the moment, but that’s not necessarily a good indicator because trends show that even during difficult economic times, people spend money. To feel better. And for some, the downturn in the market represents opportunity because they have money to invest. So when we don’t really know what’s going on, and we don’t ultimately care because we just want bookings and revenue, what to do?
This part of the season could have a natural lull for many as the weather in many places is in transition and possibly cold, and we also tend to see this quiet settling after the holidays. People also travelled this past year. While I don’t think it’s achieved pre-pandemic levels, travel did boost significantly over the Winter. What this could indicate is that people opted to take the dollars they sat on for almost three years and invested in experiences other than those at home - such as photography.
Here are 5 business and marketing tips based on each of the 5 ShineSparkL pillars to try and help you through this period:
BODY pillar
Now is the time for you to invest in some self-care. I just had a massage today, long overdue! I also dropped off my workout routine due to illness over the winter months, followed by some travel and trying to get back on track. While we undertake efforts to increase bookings in other areas, it remains critical to care for our physical needs. A good sleep routine, nourishing food, yoga or other exercise/ fitness regime, drinking lots of water, meditation. When you get busy it’s easy to drop these things, unless you’ve already created a habit. Now is the best time to develop that habit so it sticks when things finally pick up!
If bookings are sluggish and we also feel sluggish from the frustration of not booking, not exercising, or anything else like the weather (seasonal affective disorder is very real) then it’s a double-whammy on us and our business. Counteract the sluggishness of inquiries by paying special attention to your physical needs. This could also include cleaning, re-organizing or redecorating your office, for a boost. You may well find that as your physical well-being improves, the inquiries may improve as well. Think of it as putting a huge “welcome mat” out in front of your imaginary door within the universe, saying you’re refreshed and ready for those amazing inquiries to come!
Last week I went to the local bookstore and found a few magazines to do a “Present” vision board. I want that exercise to boost and refresh me!Article continues after the cut…
2. MIND (MINDSET) Pillar
Similar to how physical care can boost our spirits and leave sluggishness behind, our mindset can do the same. Physical activity, good food, rest, relaxation all contribute to a quieter, more relaxed and healthier mind. That same mind that is probably telling you right now what a failure you are because you’re not booking. Even if it’s true that the economy is crap or that people just don’t want photos any more, mentally flogging yourself for not being able to succeed will contribute to all the negativity. In normal times it’s like an anchor. In more challenging times, it can take you right to the bottom and keep you there.
Have you ever heard of the cereal wars, that Kellogg’s won? I’ve written about this before. During the Great Depression, advertisers were tightening their budgets. People won’t buy, they are holding on to their dollars, so we should too. Because of this assumption, Post cut their advertising budget. Kellogg’s did exactly the opposite. They doubled their advertising, seeing an opportunity where the ad spaces were open and uncrowded! They advertised Rice Krispies. And since then they have yet to give up their top spot in cereal.
And that was the Great Depression! A bad economy is bad for some people and good for others. Kellogg’s thought differently and found the money to increase ad spend. And the consumers bought - against what Post assumed they’d do. Imagine what the top execs discussed around their board room table when they saw Kellogg’s succeeding where they thought they needed to pull back.
I heard a great quote once: “I live in my own personal economy.” You do not have to assume all your clients are tightening their belts. You can instead assume that the clients who want you have the money and want to spend it. You can’t state either of those scenarios as facts; thus, you can choose to believe the one that you want. I choose to believe the latter. I want to think like Kellogg’s. The photographers who are assuming no one is going to spend on photography because it’s a luxury service are going to pull back on their own efforts because they think any marketing/ ad dollars will go to waste. And what that does is leave a wide open space for another, more bold and brave photographer to take that space and get noticed. You know how we all talk about saturated market? Those who fear the downturn will contract, leaving space for you to expand. Be brave to take that space. Kellogg’s has still remained in the top cereal spot, 80 years later!
I am actively cultivating that kind of mindset which will help me adjust my marketing and sales strategies. I am asking myself: what have I done in the past that maybe I can do differently? Can I be more creative and package/ position things differently? Can I tap into new audiences? Do I know my audience well enough? If you’re already closed down with the thinking that no one is spending, then this mindset will sabotage your efforts to do things differently. How to start with mindset? Here are a few books to consider:
Change your beliefs, change your life by Nick Hall,
Get Different: Marketing that can’t be ignored by Mike Michalowicz
$100M Offers: How to make offers so good people feel stupid saying no by Alex Hormozi
3. Energy (Brand) Pillar
If times are indeed tough with some external market factors leading to the decrease in inquiries, then it’s even more important to strengthen your message, relative to the others in your market. If the buyer pool has shrunk and is more discerning, then we have to do the work to be the CLEAR choice for those clients when they go looking for photography services. If you look and act like a dozen others in your area, then the client will shop on price, unless you literally TELL and DEMONSTRATE to them your value over others.
Start by taking a critical look at your website. Can I feel your brand energy with every word, colour, call to action, photo/ portfolio? Can I as a client instantly connect with you? If you’re not sure, or if you know your website could use some work, I offer brand and website audits. Now may be the perfect time to invest in more professional guidance and a set of fresh and experienced eyes.
Your brand is the energy that wraps the business. We all have businesses and everyone has access to the same tools: Pixiset, Squarespace, Pic-Time, etc, etc. What differentiates you is your photos, but unless you have a style that is noticeably different, then clients with non-photographer eyes could have a hard time seeing major differences. So you need to go further. Brand comes partly from you as a person, so it’s good also to explore if enough of a curated you is infused into the brand. If you and I are both wedding photographers in the same area, and our work is similar, then the fact that you have a risky and adventurous side where I am more vanilla and middle of the road, will stand out and get noticed immediately by the risky, adventurous client. Make sure your clients can FEEL the brand when they find you online (not just website, social media too).
4. WISDOM (BUSINESS) Pillar
This is where a SWOT analysis comes in really handy. A SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. It’s really easy. Just write each of these headings down and jot down your thoughts for each. Strengths relate to your own or the strengths of your business. Weaknesses the same. Opportunities and Threats scan what’s going on outside of yourself and your business. It’s a way to get you thinking of your actual business offering, your pricing, your packages, and the context/ market in which you work. More about the process here.
When we feel the walls closing in and we’re twiddling our thumbs and feeling defeated, a SWOT moves you into action. You become a photography detective - examining things about your business and about what’s happening outside your walls and finding clues to move forward. In Threats, we may write down “the economy sucks and people are not spending.” First, it allows that negative belief/ assumption to get out of your head, where it can stop doing so much damage (see #2 MINDSET above). But by seeing it in context of other things, like OPPORTUNITIES, it may spark some new ideas! At the very least, it’s a positive and beneficial distraction from staring at the walls and allowing your mindset to flog you!
Let’s take an example. I have a strength in writing. I have time as external opportunity because inquiries are quiet. So I see clearly that blogging could be something I immediately invest some time in. Blogging is a great way to keep site content fresh, which is great for SEO so that you’re discoverable when those clients do start searching. And most of us aren’t near where we want to be with blogging! It also gives us content to link to from our other social media outlets. But I know what you’re thinking. How do I overcome a bigger obstacle?
Let’s take another example: Your weakness is pricing. Your external threat is believing that no one is booking because of a slumping economy. You still have time as opportunity and maybe another strength (or weakness, could be either!) is falling down an Internet rabbit hole (especially in slow times, our mindless scrolling seems to speed up!) You might look at that combination and come up with: Using your strength of Internet research/ rabbit holes combined with extra time, you will research every.single.thing. about pricing and how to do it right. Then you will research selling strategies - those used by top salespeople. Armed with some info to create a revised pricing model, you can also use some tried-and-true selling techniques to then optimize your chances of converting the few inquiries that do land in your inbox. Note, the book by Alex Hormozi is a good one for some of those sales strategies. Another great one is Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini. And one with lots of actionable, immediate advice is The Small Big: small changes that spark big influence.
5. Intuition Pillar
When our external actions don’t seem to be working, often the remedy isn’t to try harder. That’s when things seem to elude us even more! It’s the time to actually let go, in order to move forward. It may feel counterintuitive, but it could be the best gift you could give yourself right now.
Our minds are the task-doers. Our minds think and analyze everything, decide on a course of action, think up words, set prices, decide on advertising, talk to us nicely or not nicely. In all of that ‘stuff’, ideas literally cannot form. Imagination cannot find voice. I believe that’s by design. Imagine a busy restaurant. You walk into the kitchen during a busy service and there are waiters, line cooks, prep cooks running around and putting together the ordered meals. This is execution of a menu that was created by a chef, when he/ she/ they had time to imagine those incredibly tasty dishes. It was quiet time alone in a kitchen where the person experimented and perfected their recipe. When dinner is being served, that’s not the time to make up a dish on the spot!
Your kitchen is in your Widsom and Mindset pillars. That’s where ideas to to get refined and executed as activities. But you need time for that inner chef to imagine your next masterpiece. Creativity and vision live here. It could be a retreat where you go deep into your psyche to see what’s bubbling there. Or it could be external such as travel, where you go an engage your senses to get inspired. When times are tougher and everyone just steps up the pace with marketing activities and spins their wheels trying to force client inquiries to manifest through more doing, slowing down and allowing your intuition to serve you up a few golden nugget ideas could change the entire trajectory of what your marketing activities will be. Taking the time, being open to your intuition and receiving one powerful idea can be worth a dozen less impactful activities that would have taken maybe that same amount of time.
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