Like any freelancer, every photographer has to deal with the fact that there may be a quiet season here and there. There will be months when you are extremely busy with bookings, but there are also what they call the slow season where you might have few bookings or even none at all. Yes, it can be frustrating, discouraging, and downright scary, especially if you depend on your business to pay the bills.
But do not give up hope just yet. Instead, use this as an opportunity to improve your skill and improve your portfolio site’s SEO ranking. Here are some tips on how to make the most of your photography business during the off-season.
Photographer SEO (higher Google ranking = more traffic = more bookings)
Being self-employed running various online projects for the past 20 years doing my own SEO, I put SEO for photographers as #1 to do in the list. As a photographer, your main goal is to have as many bookings as your schedule can handle. While some photographers are busy not having to worry about it due to having established business where bookings coming from left, right and center, most photographers, especially the new ones, are not that fortunate.
I have tired hiring so called SEO expert freelancers off online job boards and SEO forums but have not found a single freelancer with the knowledge of getting me the higher ranking I needed. They are still playing by the 2012 SEO playbook which is easy to do, seems like it’s working to some extent at the beginning, but at the end doesn’t do anything. By the time you figure out your outsourced Photographer SEO Campaign not producing the result you need, you ended up spending a great deal. Some reputable SEO Companies will have the knowledge and can get you higher ranking, but most individual photographers will not be able to afford their services.
Typical SEO campaign with link building focused mainly towards submissions (article submission, web 2.0 page creation, directory submission, blog commenting, forum posting, classified posting, etc) will NOT do anything to get you higher ranking. These are old school methods which used to work 10 years ago but not anymore. There is only one method of SEO that works now and if you are a photographer reading this, you can contact me for details. I will be more than happy to help you out with my 20 years of SEO knowledge.
Why? Maybe there will be something in it for me too! Being in the photo editing business, I am always willing to build connections with photographers whom I do business with always. I’m not putting the photographer SEO technique here in details as it is a whole new article on its own (plus I don’t want my competitors outranking me using my very own tested method of SEO for photographers).
Improve Your Skills
You might think that you are already an expert in your craft, especially the technical aspects, but there will always be something else out there for you to learn. Photography is a lifelong journey. If you want to be successful in this field and stand out from other photographers, you must be willing to learn new things. Now that things have slowed down, maybe it’s time to evaluate your business and see what needs to be improved. Perhaps you need to improve your post-production style? Or maybe you need to learn a whole new type of photography?
There are many ways to gain new skills these days, especially in the field of photography. You can go to YouTube and learn from the experts. There are also tons of blogs dedicated to photography. Some photographers would offer photography lessons for free so take advantage of these. But if you’re more hands-on, look for workshops and photography schools near you. No matter how good you are as a photographer, there will always be something that you could improve to help your business to flourish.
Clean Up and Get Organized
During the busy season when you’re shooting non-stop, organizing might be the last thing on your mind. You could end up leaving equipment all over the place and shove items in random places. Now that things are slow, take this opportunity to clean up and organize.
When cleaning up your space, make sure to check everything, from cabinets, drawers to desks. Your desk is probably covered with all sorts of sticky notes, papers, books, magazines, receipts, and many other things. Check each one of them as there are probably some important things floating there somewhere. Discard the unnecessary items and place the important ones in storage. Don’t forget to put labels, so you will know where to get them once you are back to being busy again.
Take this opportunity to organize your computer as well. As a photographer, you probably have thousands of photos saved in your drive. Check them out and see if there are any photos you have not edited and delivered yet. Delete photos that you no longer need because this will only take up unnecessary space in your computer. If you still have RAW files of pictures you have taken several years ago, it’s time to delete them. Having a large number of files could slow down your computer and affect your productivity as well.
Work On Your Social Media Presence
Social media has become the most powerful marketing tool these days. If you want to grow your photography business, then you should build your social media presence. But social media marketing requires time and commitment. Since you’re not too busy these days, take advantage of this opportunity to make your business heard through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
The first step is to learn the most effective social media marketing strategies that can work for your business. Niche appeal is a marketing strategy that can work for photographers. It means creating a brand that will appear to a specific demographic. For this strategy to be effective, you should tailor your social media content to represent a specific aesthetic that represents your work. Your hashtags should also target people in your demographic or those that are most likely to follow your account and stick around for a while.
If you want to make your business heard to potential clients, interact with your followers. Respond to their comments and talk to people who liked your content. Return the favor by liking the posts of your followers. Incorporate a more personal approach when posting stories on Instagram and Facebook. Social media marketing might require lots of hard work, but your social media marketing presence can influence your success in your field of business.
Build Connections
In any kind of business, the more people you know and the more connections you have, the easier your business will grow. So if you want your photography business to be successful, make the most of your time this off-season to establish connections. Reach out to previous clients and vendors that you have worked with in the past. They may be able to refer you to new clients or work with you on some upcoming projects.
Attend conferences where you can meet fellow photographers and other professionals that are related to your field. If you are a wedding photographer, attend wedding expos and fashion events. While attending these events, try to reach out to other photographers as well. They might be your competitors, but being friends with them can help to widen your network. Also, once the photography season is up again, they might be able to send some clients to you if they are fully booked. Building a network is especially important if you are new to the field.
Teach at Photography Workshops
Another way that you can be productive during the off-season is to teach photography workshops to aspiring photographers. Aside from helping people fulfill their dreams of becoming photographers, these workshops are a great opportunity to earn additional income during the off-season. It’s also a great way to market your skills and establish connections since some of your students might be able to refer you to potential clients in the future.
Before you advertise your photography workshops, there are many things that you need to prepare. First, figure out the type of workshop that you can offer to your students. Create a lesson plan and make sure you are capable of providing these lessons to your students. You also want to teach post production photo editing and retouching along with your photography lessons. Manage your students’ expectations by clearly communicating what they can expect to learn if they enroll.
Find out if permits are needed to conduct photography workshops in your place so you won’t get into trouble with the law. This is especially important if you plan on visiting public locations that can draw attention. Consider partnering with other professionals in your field. Look for models who will be willing to render their services for free. Some photographers in your area might also be willing to teach at your workshop, so reach out to them. Having a partner helps to lighten the workload in terms of planning and organizing the workshop.
Conclusion
Going through photography slow season can be scary for most photographers. Aside from the financial concerns, it could affect your confidence as well. But try to stay positive and make good use of your time while waiting for your business to peak up again. Instead of wallowing in agony and getting depressed, try some of the ideas above. These things are good for your business and can help you stay productive while there are no bookings yet.