I am just starting out and I was hoping for pointers on how to get the word out to people about my business. What did all of you do when you were first starting? How did you let brides, families and seniors even know you existed? I have a website, a blog, business cards, etc... I've done one wedding, a naval retirement, a senior portraiture session, and a few family photo shoots, but all of those were really close to the cirlce of people I know personally. How do I get people to hear about me and then seek me out?

Thanks for all of your help!

~David

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hi david, welcome to the forum!

i'm in the same boat - i did a little bit of evrything - from free shoots to build up my portfolio to advertising in the paper. when i ran my ad, i didnt think i would get any bites because wedding season is somewhat over, as far as bookings for photographers go, or so i thought.... i ran an ad for an end of summer special and i booked 5 weddings within one weeks time for august and september weddings. just yesterday i got my first referral! so its a combo. i know a lot of people say boo to advertising, but hey, you gotta get your name out there right?

i probably will not ever need to run another ad again, but i do feel it was money well spent. to have one referral so quickly goes to show it does work.

i do not expect to be a huge success immediately and its very hard to be patient - but just keep at it, have business cards ready,

if you know anyone in a charity who is doing a raffle, donate a portrait session, while they are advertising the raffle, your name will be on the list of prizes, etc. those are other ways of going about it.

come january when i hit the london market, i will be ready with a full portfolio and lots of references....

Introduce yourself to local vendors, ask if you can leave cards. Seek out some local wedding planners, get to know them, ask them if they'll consider recommending you. Join a local photographers organization, get to know the photographers in your area. When I first started out I got more referrals from already-booked photographers than from anywhere else. From there you provide an amazing experience and let the word of mouth carry you forward!

Hi David!

I was just checking out your webstie and blog, and I can't for the life of me figure out where I can leave a comment on your blog. I must be overlooking it somehow! I wanted to comment that I, too, am a huge "So You Think You Can Dance" fan and that dance you linked to was absolutely amazing. I was trying hard not to like Lacey cuz I think she's a bit too cocky, but I have to give it to the girl.... WOW! Chills!

Back on the topic of your post...
I am in the same boat as you .... just starting out, and trying really hard to get my name out there. So far I have gotten a few referrals just from family members who happened to know people who wanted portraits done, but I need more! I've made up some "referral" cards that I am sending out to the very few clients I have, that offer a discount on a session fee to those that they refer. I'm hoping that'll spark some interest.

I wish I had some great advice for you, but at least know you're not alone. Hopefully a few months from now we can both post about how great our business is going! It's really hard being patient!

one of the first things i did was, we have an aveda salon in our town. its probably the most uppity place here in our town of 1,000. my friend works there and i know the owner quite well. I had a bride come in we did a session of her hair and makeup in the salon. I then had a frame professionally made with mates complimenting my photo. I had one of the hair, one of the makeup and then one big of of the final. I also had a place for my business card made in the mat. They put it above there fireplace and its like the main thing. it looks so nice and professional. it was super expensive but i think it was worth it. I dont know that i would do those all over the place but atleast a lot of people are looking at it.

good luck!

julie b