Advertising

[snakeman55]

I haven't seen any discussion of it in a while. I know most of you do pretty well with strictly word of mouth, and I have been doing OK with WOM as well, but I can't help but wonder if a little bit of money in just the right spot wouldn't do wonders....

Has anyone had any success at all? I don't think I want to do paid Facebook advertising. I've recently found out about a few small time things like a Catholic Church bulletin and a community newsletter that I'll probably check out. Also those coupon books?

I also wonder if a few grand spent on a full page in something like Baltimore Magazine wouldn't be huge for me. I would raise my prices somewhat (they need to be raised anyway) and I'd think it could potentially book me 10 weddings. I also wonder if I should do something smaller all year long or a huge full page like two months a year. Then I wonder, do I do that in the winter? Do I do it just before Spring and Fall? People are planning and booking way shorter nowadays I think.

Sorry for the rambling. Any thoughts on the matter at all will be appreciated.

[Christopher Steven b]

This isn't completely helpful but to be blunt you have no idea what you're doing in terms of SEO. I can't find you in the first 8 or 9 pages at least for a search for 'baltimore wedding photographer' -- ostensibly your main search terms. I'd recommend learning about SEO and applying it. I get 1/3rd of my inquiries now from organic searches. 1/3rd I get word of mouth; and the balance is free marketing opportunities.

But, yes, I'd say ranking high on google is the second best kind of advertising you can get (with the best being word of mouth).

[snakeman55]

Originally Posted by Christopher Steven b

This isn't completely helpful but to be blunt you have no idea what you're doing in terms of SEO. I can't find you in the first 8 or 9 pages at least for a search for 'baltimore wedding photographer' -- ostensibly your main search terms. I'd recommend learning about SEO and applying it. I get 1/3rd of my inquiries now from organic searches. 1/3rd I get word of mouth; and the balance is free marketing opportunities.

But, yes, I'd say ranking high on google is the second best kind of advertising you can get (with the best being word of mouth).

Thanks for your bluntness. You're definitely right - it always seemed an insurmountable task to try to keep at the top considering how much competition there is here, that I never really bothered. Are there any web sites or books you can recommend to get me started on this homework? Thanks,

[Christopher Steven b]

I've only really participated in the last couple of pages of this thread http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=472885 -- but probably most of the thread itself is helpful.

I do look at SEOmoz and read articles from time to time. Straight from the horses mouth (no offense to mr. cutts) is also really helpful: Google's own Matt Cutts basically tells you most of what you need to know. I think much of his stuff is on youtube.

To start with, though, change the Title tag of your website to include 'Baltimore Wedding Photographer' and possibly some branding (company name etc.). That alone will move you up several pages.

[nicksan]

Word of mouth. Some from POTN. Some from Google Search.

[picturecrazy]

Magazine adverts have been the more USELESS form of advertising I've ever used. I've put in four full page adverts in the most popular wedding magazine in Canada and the most prestigious wedding magazine in Canada (you can only advertise by invitation) and I seriously have not gotten a single booking from either of them. Magazines are just not the way people seem to work anymore when looking for a photographer.

I'd take the above advice and spend money on a LOCAL SEO expert instead who will look at your code, edit your site, and makeit more search engine friendly. Be very weary of the SEO companies (like top of the first page) who don't really actually edit your site and just sell high positions... they implement a subscription system and have resources to help you get up there but once you decide to unsubscribe, your ranking quickly falls again.

[Peacefield]

I agree, magazines, newspapers, even sites like The Knot, IMO, don't offer the return. Build your SEO and to that end build and maintain a robust blog. These will pay bigger dividends.

[JohnThomas]

Having a strong marketing background, I can tell you that print advertising only works when you stay extremely consistant with it, and maintain a strict style for yourself.

Spending more on one large add is not as effective as running multiple, smaller ads.

Also, make sure you understand the publications volume, distribution and readership.

[snakeman55]

OK, so I've spent the last few days researching and applying SEO. There were definitely a lot of simple, common sense things that I stupidly wasn't doing, so thank you. My ranking hasn't changed yet, but I understand it could take months for everything to completely take effect.

That said, the reason I never bothered with SEO before was because it seemed like a shady, scammy game I'd have to play, and now that I've researched it extensively I kind of feel like I was right to begin with.

Back links. Most of the tips and advice out there seems to be for bloggers (professional bloggers, not photogs with a blog). Everyone says you need lots of organic, legit back links to your site with anchor text... How? Maybe the top 1 or 2 wedding photographers in Baltimore will have articles and blog posts from several sources exclaiming about them and back linking to them, but I doubt a post on my blog about a wedding I shot is going to go viral.

I'm not going to buy back links and I'm not going to spam websites. What's left?

[dkizzle]

Originally Posted by snakeman55

OK, so I've spent the last few days researching and applying SEO. There were definitely a lot of simple, common sense things that I stupidly wasn't doing, so thank you. My ranking hasn't changed yet, but I understand it could take months for everything to completely take effect.

That said, the reason I never bothered with SEO before was because it seemed like a shady, scammy game I'd have to play, and now that I've researched it extensively I kind of feel like I was right to begin with.

Back links. Most of the tips and advice out there seems to be for bloggers (professional bloggers, not photogs with a blog). Everyone says you need lots of organic, legit back links to your site with anchor text... How? Maybe the top 1 or 2 wedding photographers in Baltimore will have articles and blog posts from several sources exclaiming about them and back linking to them, but I doubt a post on my blog about a wedding I shot is going to go viral.

I'm not going to buy back links and I'm not going to spam websites. What's left?

You can create accounts on web 2.0 sites and post content there and add links back to your original site. Web 2.0 sites are places like Squidoo, Wordpress, Blogger, Tumblr, Digg, etc.

You can register on photography related forums and add a link to your website in your signature. You can submit your website to directories. There is also guest blogging, etc. The possibilities are endless.