Hi hi hi! I’m so glad you are here! My name is Gabriel Conover, and I started this free educational series for photographers/entrepreneurs In January of 2019 and guess what? This is my first educational blog post! My goal is to share the business tactics I used to grow a 6 figure business in only 1 year. It worked for me, and it can definitely work for you. To kick off the beginning of this educational series for photographers and small business owners, I wanted to share “3 Free Advertising Tactics to Grow your Brand” and get your name out there! And here they are:
1. Never stop shooting
2. Invest in all fronts
3. Reach out to influencers!
Now lets dive into these three things and find out what they really mean!
1. Never stop shooting (At least 3 times a week!)
- Now I know the first thing you are thinking. Shoot 3 times a week??? How will I have time to edit all of my sessions? How will I have time to advertise? And before you freak out, let me just tell you it’s not as crazy as it sounds. Shooting 3 times a week does not mean setting up elaborate styled shoots or doing full 2 hour couples sessions at locations that are hours away from your home. No no no. I’ll tell you exactly what I did. If I only had 1 or 2 (sometimes 0) paid shoots in a week, I would find a couple and set up a 30min-1 hour shoot with them. I avoided setting up shoots for people I knew but rather would use friends of friends or people I found on Instagram in order to expand my reach. Think about it this way. Every single new couple that you shoot has about 300 (or more!) friends/family members that have no idea who you are. But they will know you once they see the photos you took of their friends! That’s growing your reach by at least 300 unique people with every shoot! Time is money for small business owners! And if you do not have the money to invest in advertising, then you have to be willing to hustle to get your name out there.
2. Invest in all fronts (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.)
- What do I mean by “invest in all fronts?” It’s simple! You need to put your photos EVERYWHERE! Instagram is not the only answer! Believe it or not, I only get 15% of my business through Instagram! And I know that there are many people who solely use Instagram to find clients and that’s awesome! But unfortunately, that doesn’t work for most people. I strongly believe in investing in ALL FRONTS. This includes: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, vendor experience, client experience, and your website! I know this sounds like a lot of work, and it can be if you don’t have the right systems in place (don’t worry, I will be posting a blog post about optimizing workflow soon!). I get my business from every platform imaginable! And the reason for that, is because I PUT my work on every platform imaginable. I build relationships with vendors and clients and give them a quality, fun experience that they will never forget! So start sharing EVERYWHERE! And I mean, everywhere! There are no limits!
3. Reach out to influencers!
- INFLUENCERS!!! First off, do you know what an influencer is? Dictionary.com says this, “a person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending the items on social media.” I like to think of influencers as people who are known for THEIR NAME. You can slap their name on any product and people will buy it because of their reputation. Influencers come in a range of different rankings. From mom bloggers to Kylie Jenner, and from Doug the Pug to the model couples you went to high school with. I do my best to target influencers that have over 100k followers on Instagram. But will an influencer really want me to take their pictures? Um… DUH! Their JOB is literally to post pictures of themselves promoting products! Their face sells! They are always looking for more content and if you can offer them that, they will TOTALLY be on board! Now, don’t get me wrong, you will definitely get some no’s and get ghosted a few times, but don’t let that beat you down! 2/10 influencers would say yes to a free couples shoot from me and that was enough! How do you pitch to an influencer? It isn’t rocket science! It’s all about being genuine. Look through their feed and find somethings about them that interests you and find ways to bring up those things in your message to them. Here is an example of a message I sent an influencer when I was first starting out: “Hi there blankety blank (insert name here :P)! My name is Gabe Conover! I’m a wedding/couples photographer here in San Diego! I came across your page and I just love your presence and look! Your style is impeccable! How do you find the most incredible clothing? I saw that you just bought a house! My wife and I bought our first place in 2017 and it was the scariest thing ever! I hope the experience wasn’t as terrifying for you! Anyways, I was wondering if you and your man would want to collaborate on a couples shoot with me? You probably have a list of clothing you need to advertise and I would love to shoot you guys in it! Let me know if you are interested!!!” I know it’s a little long, but don’t you think someone would be more willing to jump on board if you showed genuine interest in them rather than just saying, “Hey! Do you want a free photoshoot?” Boooooooo! I wouldn’t’ say yes to that. My last piece of advice when reaching out to influencers is making sure that they understand that it is only worth it to you if they share your work on their feed and stories. AND PLEASE MAKE SURE THEY KNOW THEY CANNOT EDIT YOUR PHOTOS! Very important… Now just to give you a little bit of insight into how successful this last tactic was for me. The first time I did a shoot for an influencer, I ended up booking 3 weddings through that influencer in just one month! Crazy right???
Now, I will be honest. This WILL NOT work if you are not willing to hustle. I hear photographers and business owners complain time and time again, moping about the low amount of inquiries and business they are getting. The next time you start feeling down about your success, that should be a trigger to get your ass out of your office chair (or couch, let’s be real) and GET MOVING! These tips DO WORK but they will not work if you are not willing to push yourself! Why start tomorrow when you have time today? You’re probably reading this while you’re moping on your couch anyway.
I would LOVE to hear about your successes from my blog posts! So if you have any success stories that you would like to share with me, please contact me through hello@gabrielconoverphotography.com or leave a comment below! I cannot wait to celebrate with you!
If you want to learn more from me and pick my brain in a one on one learning situation, please take a look at my mentor session options and reach out!
