14 No Cost And Low Cost Marketing Ideas For Online Photography Businesses

Recently I was contacted by a wonderful photography friend from Florida who asked for ideas on how to market her online sales. I sent back a quick response with everything I could think of at the time then hurried on with my day. So I thought it would be a good idea to sit down and think of as many NO COST and LOW COST marketing ideas that I could and share them with you all today.

So here we go… listed in no particular order… my no-cost and low-cost marketing adventures…

1. Facebook Page – I have a Facebook Page for my photography; Facebook.com/KKHPhotos. If you haven’t already done so it would be awesome if you would take a look; and maybe even click on that little “like” button! There is an RSS feed that sends posts from this blog to that page, I post the occasional quote over there, sometimes link to or at least talk about others who have an online presence (most in photography but some who are not), post the occasional money-saving coupon code for Zazzle shoppers, I write quick little thank you notes to buyers when I have a moment and include a link to the product or print that they have ordered, I post about stock photos that have recently sold and about new stock photos that have recently been accepted for sale at the stock photo sites, I even post a link or two to KKHPhotos.com. On this page friends, fans, family, fellow photographers, and just about anyone can leave a comment or send a message. Let’s keep those clean please. I also post watermarked copies of photos; I really need to do more of that. And there is a feed going from my Facebook Page to my Twitter page. Another way to get more bang for your buck. Oh wait; just more bang as there are no bucks involved with FB or Twitter.
2. Twitter Page – Take just about everything I said about the Facebook Page and apply it to Twitter! It’s another great way to get your info out there. And just incase you happen to be a tweeter… Follow Me! Twitter.com/KKHPhotos.
3. Pinterest – Pinterest is new to me but I’m having a lot of fun with it. Oh, I use it to pin my (and others) Zazzle products, pin blog posts, pin random photos (mine and other photographer’s), pin stock photos that I think someone else might like to use, and all those kind of awesome free self promotional things; but I also use it to pin some tasty sounding recipes, craft ideas, other cool looking products, garden ideas, and generally just see what a few of my online friends are up do. Like I said; I’m still new to the pinning world but please if you are having some fun on Pinterest feel free to follow me over there too. Pinterest.com/KKHPhotos.
4. Blog – Ok; this one you already know or you wouldn’t be here! This blog is all about my adventures in photography and everyday life. You’re going to see everything from how my little container garden is growing to how to turn your digital photo into a cool looking piece of abstract art! I might even talk about couponing adventures and a craft project or two; but the main focus is photography and sharing a few of my photos.
5. Photography Site – My main photography site is KKHPhotos.com. There you can see, and buy, my photography works as prints and gifts and even as stock photos with easy to use digital downloads. Oh, that reminds me; I really need to work on a new slide show for the homepage.
6. Use Your Social Media Sites, Blogs, Photography Sites, and anywhere else you happen to be online everyday! Post something everyday to keep your fans and buyers engaged. I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying “out of site out of mind”. Well with soooooo many people out there on the internet, on those social media sites, selling there awesome works, you’re going to be a little bug on a big pond. You’ve got to create a lot of buzz to be seen. And be sure to post at different times of the day and on weekends!
7. LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, get the idea. Link all your online sites together, link your blog to other similar blogs, link your store to other similar stores… and get them to link back to you. All those links going back and forth help the search engines to find you.
8. Use Your Words – Keyword/tag/describe/talk it up – search engines read so you need to have relevent text along with your beautiful images. This is kind of important; after all you do want to be found -don’t you?
9. Talk It Up – Talk to people and give them business cards; or something with your business name and address on it. I’ve given out magnets and business cards, and even jotted down my site address on scraps of paper. Get that information out there! I’ve even been known to leave a card on the table at a restaurant, stuck to community bulletin boards, or lying around in waiting rooms. I wouldn’t have been contacted by Kansas Magazine if they couldn’t find me now would I?
10. Brand Yourself – Create a little logo and be consistent with your branding. Pick a name and a logo and stick to it. People are going to begin to notice and look for that little graphic. You’ve seen my little camera haven’t you? And don’t forget to just be yourself. People like to know that they are talking to a real person on the other side of cyber space.
11. Free Samples – Recently I “gave” a few photos from a zoo to a law firm for use on a company pass to their local zoo. The passes let the employees and their families into the zoo for the day at no cost to them. On those passes were a few of my zoo photos with the text “photos by KKHPhotos.com”. Everyone, employees and family members from the law firm as well as employees from the zoo, who took a look at those passes saw the photos and the link KKHPhotos.com. Yep; sometimes giving away a little sample can help!
12. Submit Your Work – I wouldn’t have any stock photos for sale if I didn’t submit them to sites like Dreamstime, Fotolia, 123RF, and Pocketstock. Keep on uploading; the bigger your portfolio the more likely you are to make a sale.
13. Make Connections – Talk to others who sell there works online; you’ve heard the term “networking” havent’ you. I’ve gotten lots of good advice from photographers who have been doing this a lot longer than I have; like the very talented Carolyn and so many more. And I have in turn been able to help others who are just beginning to sell online; like the equally talented Teri. You’ll learn lots of new tricks, get some great advice, and pick up a tip or two along the way. So get out there and make a new friend… or two… or three….
14. Sell In More Than One Place – If you can; sell your work in more than one place. Just as the big soda companies sell their refreshing beverages in both Wal-Mart and Target; you should also sell on your own site, stock sites, and print on demand sites like Zazzle and others whose names escape me at this moment. After all not everyone likes to shop at Wal-Mart. People are creatures of habit, if they normally shop at Zazzle they might not look for you somewhere else, if a buyer uses Pocketstock he may not think about Dreamstime, and if someone is used to looking only for a photography site they may never find you at Facebook. So spread it around!

Now what do you do to boost your online sales?
Share your ideas in the comments!

To Pin Or Not To Pin – How To Use Pinterest To Grow Your Brand

Everyone else was doing it!

I did it too!

No; I didn’t jump off a bridge.

I finally joined the pinning world over at Pinterest.

I just did it yesterday so I have only one follower at the moment and have only pinned a couple of things; just to figure out how it works.

I did a lot of reading about ways to use Pinterest for your business and to grow your brand. While I am by no stretch of the imagination a marketing pro, and still know very little about Pinterest, I did want to share a few things that I found out.

*most of this could be applied to just about any social media site*

1) Use with caution! I have heard horror stories of how a photo is pinned, then re-pinned, then re-pinned again, and again, and again… until eventually the original link and the name of the photographer is lost. At that point no-one knows who took the photo, who owns it, where it came from… or even cares. All they see is a wonderful photo to share among friends, post on their own websites, print out onto an awesome greeting card for grandma, and generally use as they please. No credit given to the photographer who took the photo in the first place. No cash earned for its use. No repeat customers gained. NO SALE.

My answer to this is… when posting your images online post only small low res copies with watermarks. In the past I have put my little watermark in the corner of the images (mostly). In the future you will see a little change in that; I plan to make the mark a little more noticeable and right smack dab in the center of the image. Now when those photos “go viral” everyone will know where it came from, or, the watermark will make the image less attractive to those who would use someone elses image in the first place; and they will simply not bother.

Recently I received a comment from a man (at least I think it was a man) who said that he “really hates it when people put those stupid watermarks on the pictures. It makes it so much harder for other people to use the picture on their own sites!”.

I resisted the urge to reply with “Duh; that’s the whole point!”.

So my first tip about using Pinterest for your business is… PROTECT YOUR IMAGES! After all Pinterest is an image based social media site.

Now on with more tips about how to use Pinterest for your business…

2) Add your website link in the description box of each and everything you pin from your site(s). Yes; right now a link is automatically attached to the pin however it could get lost along the way; or just maybe Pinterest decides to stop adding a link that can easily be followed. Even if at some point that link becomes no longer clickable; at least it’s there in the description for someone to simply copy and paste into their browser.

3) Link your Pinterest with your Twitter so that you can tweet your pins! Two for the price of one! Yes I said tweet your pins; what kind of language is this anyway!

4) Use proper pin etiquette. Avoid creating nothing but a self-promotion page, be nice, credit your sources, and report objectionable content.

5) Be active! Pin regularly, re-pin things that appeal to you and things that have something to do with your field (such as photography), comment and like other’s pins.

6) Keep it organized by setting up different boards for different topics. That way if someone wants to follow your favorite recipes but not your favorite products they can do so easily.

7) Use keywords and hashtags that are relevent to your pin so that when someone is searching for content they find what they are looking for. Don’t just pin something without talking it up in that description box. Add a few (not too many or it will look like spam) hashtags to the end of your pin. Example: I pin a photo of a lion — I might fill in the description box with… I saw this lion at the zoo and just had to get a shot. He would look awesome as a desktop background or as wall art in my living room! #photography, #wildlife,  #big cats, #wall art -Now you have the keywords lion, zoo, background, wall art, and the hashtags photography, wildlife, big cats, and wall art.

8) Use your company name/brand as your user name. In your “about” box include your tag line, logo, company description, and a link to your website.

9) Create visual content in any and all posts. If you have a post such as this and you know your going to pin it add visual content. Now I don’t exactly have a photo of Pinterest but I have created that fun text image. Now when I pin this post that text image will give some visual content. Remember Pinterest is images.

10) Don’t forget to pin in the evening and on the weekends! Most people are busy during weekdays and don’t have a lot of time to explore and follow inks. However if you pin in the evenings and on weekends you just might get a few more folks to follow those links as they have a little more free time to play around.

Now what do you think? Should you pin or not pin?

pinterest.com/kkhphotos