Frustrated - What do you think? What are your experiences?

I love looking at the maps of the WA coast...

You also have a regional airport not far away and a racetrack just west of it... what's going on there?

The islands are so damned close to you... and they are absolutely beautiful. I know for a fact there are things going on there. Probably a lot of weddings.

And Mt. Baker?? Wow, snow paradise!!!!

FarmerTed1971 wrote in post #16590238
Don't mention refunds. IMHO it makes you look amateur and not confident in your work.
Keep it short and sweet and only mention positives.

Also your rate may be too low which makes you look like an amateur. Have you scouted out your local competition? Do you know who and how many there are? Do you know what they charge?

Find a place near the SW city center that you can advertise. Pin boards at the coffee shop? Business association? Wedding locations? Churches?

Bellingham? Anacortes?

Anything happening along the Skagit? At the lake/reservoir?

Get creative. One paid gig in a year means to me that you are not working nearly hard enough. Good luck!

FarmerTed1971 wrote in post #16590243
I love looking at the maps of the WA coast...

You also have a regional airport not far away and a racetrack just west of it... what's going on there?

The islands are so damned close to you... and they are absolutely beautiful. I know for a fact there are things going on there. Probably a lot of weddings.

And Mt. Baker?? Wow, snow paradise!!!!

There are a few people in my area that do good work and charge a decent amount, but this area is FLOODED with people who just bought their first DSLR trying to market themselves for $50-75..... I have put my business cards at post offices. I should look at other places as well. Should I be putting a flyer instead of a business card?

Look up SEO strategies if you're trying to market your website.

Or at worst, google adwords.

Good luck.

That's why $85 looks crappy to someone looking. You MIGHT be just $10 better than a beginner.... get my drift? If you know what you're doing, have capable equipment, and are efficient in your shooting routines you should be able to blow those clowns out of the water. Bump that rate to at least $100, no less. Perception based on price is HUGE.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Be aware that I'm a rookie, not a professional photographer. I'm basing my comments on an outsiders POV... but I do own a business and think my statements are on the money based on my experiences. Anyone can feel free to correct me if anything I've said seems off base. I'm curious to hear more suggestions.

Kanye and FarmerTed1971, thank you so much for the help. I will be rewording my ads and website, trying some new tactics, and putting my price up to about $100 (at least for now). I will up it soon .

Kanye is spot on with adding more variety to you website. Your portraits are very nice... what else do you shoot? Add a blog to your website. Update it at least monthly.

Post at least once a week on FB. Make sure to LIKE you own posts. Sounds weird huh? FB has severely limited the amount of exposure you get with your posts in the past six months unless you Pay them to BOOST your posts. Don't rely on FB to do much for you... but I would suggest to post at least a picture a week on your page. Build your audience. Invite your friends and family.

Listen to Kanye when he talks about SEO. Do a little research and you will learn a LOT fast. You can do a lot of marketing for relatively free of cost, but you have to maintain it.

Join Constant Contact and build a email list. Do a monthly mailing on it.

Just some ideas....

FarmerTed1971 wrote in post #16590271
Kanye is spot on with adding more variety to you website. Your portraits are very nice... what else do you shoot? Add a blog to your website. Update it at least monthly.

Post at least once a week on FB. Make sure to LIKE you own posts. Sounds weird huh? FB has severely limited the amount of exposure you get with your posts in the past six months unless you Pay them to BOOST your posts. Don't rely on FB to do much for you... but I would suggest to post at least a picture a week on your page. Build your audience. Invite your friends and family.

Listen to Kanye when he talks about SEO. Do a little research and you will learn a LOT fast. You can do a lot of marketing for relatively free of cost, but you have to maintain it.

Join Constant Contact and build a email list. Do a monthly mailing on it.

Just some ideas....

Thank you for the compliment on my pictures . That is pretty much what I focus on is portraits. I am willing to do events, but have not had the chance yet. I am going to have to look into the blog aspect. I have never done that before and I am not quite sure what a blog post would consist of (off to google lol).

I have tried to take care of the SEO of my site, but so far I do not think google has crawled my site again since the last time.