Tuesday Tip: Starting a Freelance Business #1

I’ve had several people ask me for tips and advice on how to start a photography business. I feel totally unworthy on being asked this because I just officially began my photography business a little over a year ago, but I have been a full-time self-employed artist for almost three years! So, I thought I would share some tips on starting an artistic and mainly a photography business. I want to share some tips from my design schooling where I learned LOTS about freelancing and how to market and promote yourself as a professional artist and most importantly, be successful and LOVE it!

I don’t know how many topics I will have on this subject, but I figured I would just go for it since a lot of these things have been on my mind to share with other beginners (and pros!). Disclaimer: I am NOT an expert on everything and every person is different. These are just my thoughts and opinions, which don’t always work for everyone. Here are a couple topics I scribbled down that I am thinking about covering over the next couple weeks. These may change….we’ll see!

1. Know Your Market
2. Know Your Competition
3. Know Your Stuff
4. Build a Brand
5. Develop Correct Pricing
6. Target Your Market
7. Smart Advertising
8. Create a Unique Experience
9. Keep Improving
10. Develop Balance

So this week, let’s discuss…

Know Your Market

So, you have decided to start your own business, or maybe you already have one! The most important thing when you start is to know your target market. Who are the clients you want to have and want to work with? Who are you marketing your services to? I would recommend you write down a list that describes who you are marketing to. If I was to describe the clients I want to have, I would put down:

fun, fabulous, great style, brides, love photography, classy, Texan, destination brides, love great design, mid to high-end budget, easy going, in love, willing to spend $3,000+ on wedding photography, willing to spend $800+ on invitations and wedding collateral, very computer savvy, loves my work, very friendly, will tell others about Spink

Basically, that is what my ideal client would be. Not all of my clients meet all these descriptions, but I would like most of them to. Now, this may be different depending on where you live and the type of client you are wanting to get. You may want a more artistic or organic type bride or you may be marketing to a higher or lower budget client.

The important thing is that you are reaching the right people in your market. If you live in a really small town (kind of like me), you may have a hard time finding brides that will pay $10,000 for wedding photography. You want to make sure that who you are trying to reach is within your reach and if not, how can you reach that market? We’ll talk more later about how to reach your target market.

Remember, your clients are your biggest advertisers! If they are not really in the market you are wanting, then you don’t want to have them as clients. You want clients that are in your target market because they will network and advertise to their friends, who would most likely be in your target market as well. Make sense? I am not saying that you should be turning away a bunch of work, but we will talk more on how you can achieve reaching that market and be getting your ultimate client every time!

Put This To Use: This week, make a list of who would be your ultimate client! Put it on a sticky note and put it on or near your computer and start thinking about how you can find brides/clients in that market. What is the best way to reach them? When you get inquiries for work, find out more about them and see if they are someone that you would REALLY enjoy working with and if they will promote you. Have thoughts or questions? Post a comment below!

I hope this first post was helpful and gave you some things to think about! If you liked this, please share this link on your blog or Facebook! Next week, we will talk about knowing your competition!