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No matter how awesome your startup and your work is, you’re facing a daunting task — getting exposure.

The right combination of perfect timing, industry demand, and knockout marketing (from seo companies found in google local service ads guide) for photographers is hard enough to come by.

Getting known can be tough enough for existing photography businesses and when you’re just coming out of the gate into an over-heated business world, you have your work cut out for you. How do you get the exposure for your business needs?

1. Find the Right Editors and Clients

Just like your creations, every photographer needs a niche. Obviously, you don’t want to pitch your creations to a misdirected market where there’s no demand for the type of photography you are offering.

However, it can be all too tempting to pitch your image/pictorials to the biggest names in the industry, instead of looking for the small, yet loyal, following that matches up with your images and unique visual message.

Seek out editors and clients whose message resonates with your own. Contact them, letting them know how much you appreciate their content and delivery. You can then proceed to pitch your story (or pictorial).

“What separates you from the herd? Do you have a unique angle? How does your pictorial offering serve viewers in a way that your competition does not?”2. Pitch a Picture Story, Not Your Company or Yourself

The hard truth is: startup photographers are a dime a dozen. In fact, more than two million wishful photographers submit every year worldwide. The last thing an editor needs is a fact-filled resume about your skills accompanied by bragging rights about your photography.

A simple introduction about who you are (and about your model if she has a unique story to tell) with pictorial samples containing 6 – 12 images will do the trick.

Publications do not sell photographers; they sell their publication with your images assuming that you appeal to their tastes. What separates you from the herd? Do you have a unique angle? How does your pictorial offering serve viewers in a way that your competition does not?

Do your images tell a story? You need to figure out what makes that story, not your company or you, but your pictorial unique. Once you have that figured out, go ahead and pitch to the editors of your choice.

3. Target the Right Audience

The majority of your success depends on the research of who your audience is. Don’t just shoot random images without thinking of a direction to where you should submit your images. Each publication has an audience and viewer base that they target their pictorials based on their demographics and taste. Why not research each publication or client to find out what makes them tick?

Although we do not have a crystal ball to tell us how the future is going to play out, at least we have a fairly easy way to reach out and research the right audience for our creations. Don’t just assume that the audience will fall into your lap and will fall in love with your images.

4. Networking

“You’ll be surprised at how someone will know someone who knows someone else that needs a photographer or is interested in helping to spread the word about it.”You live and breathe your photography and without networking there is very little to be achieved. You need to let people and possible future clients know that you are on a mission. Networking should happen every time you have a discussion with another person, regardless of the informality of the occasion.

You’ll be surprised at how someone will know someone who knows someone else that needs a photographer or is interested in helping to spread the word about it.

5. Get Influencers on Board

Reach out to those who have already achieved success in your field, or in a related field. Learn from everyone else who has made it. Don’t rely on others who are seeking success at the same level. Most of the time, they are fishing advice from you without a fruitful outcome. (Hint! STC consulting has achieved more published photographers that any other form known to us.)

Have you created a pictorial and don’t know where to start or send it? Be patient and if you are looking for an honest opinion, send it to us and we will let you know what we think your next step should be.

Also, remember that unlike brand advocates (usually happy customers, friends, and employees), influencers, or brand ambassadors are typically compensated for providing their opinion. If you’re OK with that, an endorsement on social media or in a blog post can go a long way to getting your photography the exposure it needs with the right audience.

6. Practice Your Pitch

Sending submissions blindly without knowing to who you are sending your images, can result in disappointment. Learn about the client or the editor and what he/she likes. Their name and interests are the vehicles to their good side. Although you don’t want to waste time pitching your photography to everyone, you do want to use every appropriate opportunity to introduce it to those whose interests align with your photography style, no matter how big or small the outcome. It’s even better if you can get an appointment with an editor and show your work in person. Dress properly and practice your pitch of why they should publish your images.

Even if a meeting doesn’t pan out, it still lets you perfect your pitch. The more you learn how to distill your message and story, the better chance you’ll have at landing your dream accounts with clients.

7. Send Newsletters

Newsletters are a great way to spread awareness about your ongoing or completed projects. Send them even if you don’t have more than ten emails from clients or editors. All it takes is one bite that can last a lifetime.

8. Become a Guest Blogger

During the creation of your photographic journey, you’ve amassed a lot of knowledge. Why not put it to good use as a guest blogger? Reach out to others who have more muscle in the industry. Joint experiences can be very rewarding.

Don’t just show up and expect a blogger to take you on, however. Pave the way by developing relationships ahead of time with key bloggers in your industry and ones your target audience is likely to care about. (Hint! fStoppers has lots of writers looking for good content to blog about.)

9. Use Paid Social

Paid social, when done correctly, can be a great way to target the audience you’re seeking. Since you set the monthly budget, you can reassess how your campaigns are doing and periodically adjust. Beginning photographers are known to not understand the value of marketing at all. For some reason photographers believe that when you invest more and more on equipment that it eventually will make them better photographers which is totally false! You can read this blog to avail the best marketing services that will be very useful for your firm to formulate the best marketing strategies for your firm.

10. Pictorial Launches

“Style them by using a stylist and a good hair & makeup person and shoot a sequence of images that creates a picture story”Launch a new picture story-rich pictorial even if it’s nothing more than for your own website and social media.

There is no better way of getting recognition than unique visuals that set you apart from all the others. Don’t just shoot random images of a girl in lingerie or in a swimsuit. That does not work! Style them by using a stylist and a good hair & makeup person and shoot a sequence of images that creates a picture story.

Tell stories with your images and you’d be surprised at how far you can go beyond the point you thought was the goal line.

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