I've been operating Minnesota Image Co. for almost 3 years with my husband. We've done alright by spreading ourselves thin and taking any job that comes our way. But now it seems we've hit a wall. We believe in the word-of-mouth marketing strategy. We take care of the clients we have and rely on them to pass along a good word for us. I don't see myself at a wedding fair or advertising on the knot.

I've tried joining the chamber of commerce in April. I go to about 3 events a month and have only gotten one headshot job. I've seriously looked into BNI but they are expensive. I like the idea of Moo mini cards but will that bring more people in or help us get the clients we meet with? I printed some nice over-sized postcard flyers for senior portraits but had trouble geting them distributed. I've though about starting a senior ambassador program. I am staring a blog on our (new) website soon. I like the idea of posting sneak peaks on the blog so clients send family and friends to our website to see the first (and best) images. More traffic = more business, right?

I need some ideas. Any suggestions?

Thanks for your time,
Jenn

Jenn,

Check out THIS THREAD for lots of great ideas that are free or cheap.

You definitely need a blog ASAP. Get a myspace account. Get a facebook account and make a fan page. Use craigslist (hey I just booked a couple off craigslist, so wow, it does actually work, even if you ARENT the cheapest one on it), sign up with wedding wire, sign up with the other sites across the web that will link you..

You said new website, so that's not the one you have up right now, is that correct? I honestly don't feel your website is all that snazzy. You have nothing on your front page that will get pinged by google or other search engines, you need to put some pictures up there. Your site looks fine for graphic design, but it doesn't say wedding photography to me. Your vertical images are making me scroll down and I have a resolution at 1280x1024 so I would say most people have that or smaller.

Also, I will be honest and tell you while some of your images are quite nice, some I think could be pulled from the site. Like the third one down in the first wedding gallery for example.. I don't think it really works. But then again, that may just be my opinion.

So in the end let me say I am a newb, BUT I have started really to do pretty darn well for the length of time I've been in biz and you know how many dollars I've spent on advertising? (outside of purchasing biz cards) .. ZERO! I do plan on purchasing an ad on a site that is specific to my target audience, but not until I get a couple of other things.

The blog will be huge, and I suggest really pushing people towards that right away. Make business cards specifically for your blog, run some special to get people to register with their email address, so you can send out info at a later date. Update the blog OFTEN, even if it's not posting images. Any stuff that keeps people looking on a regular basis will make a big difference.

Working with seniors is a great idea, and even go to the local high schools and find out who the cheerleading coach is... offer a deal with them to do photos for all the seniors... or maybe even for every cheerleader, just a fashion/lifestyle shoot. Whether we like it or not, girls who are cheerleaders have a big impact on campuses, and if you do some cool photos for them, that could spread like wildfire.

Other things about your website:
I don't like that it transfers you to "theinsaneasylum.com"... I wouldn't be attracted to you for photography is I visited your site as a bride/client and noticed that. You need to get your photography site on its own domain. You do have some good images, and some that are not, like the first one of the girl sitting against the brick wall, she's out of focus but the wall is in focus.

+1, once you've invested (whether that investment is time or money) in designing a page, why not pony up the tiny amount more to get a domain? Another risk - if you don't snatch your own domain first, someone else might get it - and then you're not talking about a small amount of money anymore if you need to buy the name back, or even make a full biz name change.

Everybody,

Thanks so much for the honest feedback. That is, in fact, our new website. We changed it (along with our logo) to be more wedding friendly. Our old one had a black background with a more corporate looking logo. I really appreciate all your marketing tips. And I agree with you about the 3rd wedding photo and the girl with the bricks (opps!). I’m sure you understand about how you can become attached to an image because of how you got it or what was happening. It can be hard to be impartial when sorting through your own photos. I was wondering if I could have a few more minutes of your time. Would you let me know which other photos you think aren’t as strong. I’ve seen them so many times it’s hard to see them with a new eye.

I totally agree with everyone about the domain name. The fact is we own our domain…and all versions there of (minnesotaimage.com, themionnesotaimage.com MNimage.com, minnesotaimageco.com, you get the idea). I’ve told my husband to switch it over but the deal was his friend had free hosting for us at theinsaneasylum.com. You’re feed back has finally convinced him it’s time to ante up. So thanks!

Thanks again,
Jenn

Jenn, going through GoDaddy costs about $50 for a whole year of hosting, so don't let him cry poverty for not paying a hosting company. It's a drop in the bucket!

On your homepage, I'd really rethink having that maternity shot on there.... Its a little risque, and shouldn't show up on the homepage alongside cute pictures of kids and seniors. It's not too revealing in my opinion as a picture on its own, but it IS too revealing for your homepage, so I'd leave it in the maternity section, or the portrait section since it looks like you don't have a maternity section.

Image #6 (girl with hand in her hair) isn't very strong. On page 2 of your homepage, the top image thumbnail doesn't match what pops up when you click on it. The rest of the homepage images are good though and I think you can keep them up there. Remember, those images are the first ones, and possibly the only ones, people will see. So not only do they have to be your favorite shots, they have to be technically perfect. Sharpness, color, exposure, composition. And those things should take precedence over your emotional reaction to the shot.