8 things your photography marketing campaign needs to succeed

If you're a photographer who wants to move from a 'spray and pray' approach to more focused and strategic marketing efforts then this video's for you. I'm going to outline the 8 things a photography marketing campaign needs to succeed.

Prefer to read? Scroll down for the blog post...

Before I launch into these 8 things, I have an upcoming masterclass you'll be interested in. It's directly linked to what's in this video but it's going to be a much deeper dive.

I'm going to teach you exactly what's involved in planning, creating and implementing a winning photography marketing campaign to book yourself up. Everything from landing pages to social media content to emails.

Make sure you grab yourself a spot!

Booking yourself up as a photographer relies on you being able to build a buzz and take potential clients on a journey towards booking you and that means understanding how to ace a marketing campaign!

Last week I gave you 6 marketing campaign ideas for photographers so this week I'm going to outline the 8 things a photography marketing campaign needs in order to succeed.

1. A Goal

Before you embark on any marketing campaign, you must know what you want to happen at the end of it. What results do you want from it?

Generally this will be stating how many leads and bookings you want and how much you want to make from the campaign in terms of turnover and profit.

So, set yourself a goal and plan a campaign to achieve it.

2. Clear offering and Call To Action

Every campaign requires you to get specific about what you're  promoting and what you want those who're interested to do.

This might be as simple as promoting 2022 Summer weddings with a call to action to get in touch or it might be promoting your 5 day wedding mood board challenge with a call to action to join the private Facebook group.

Just get very clear about it. If you're not clear, no one else will be either.

3. An Ideal Client

You knew it was coming! Of course you need to know specifically who this campaign is aimed at.

I know you'll already have an idea of your ideal clients for your business as a whole but it's a good idea to jot down a few more specifics when it comes to individual campaigns.

For example, a family photographer running a mini session campaign might aim those at a slightly different type of client. Or a wedding photographer running a 5 day challenge campaign might get a little more specific than usual with the type of bride they want to attract with that.

Don't overthink this part. Just a short description of anything that's relevant to your campaign is more than enough.

4. Validation

Now this one only applies if you're doing something new but it is so important and often missed out so I wanted to include it.

Before you spend large amounts of time, energy and maybe even money on a marketing campaign, you need to know if it has legs or not.

Make sure you ask your audience and past clients for feedback on your ideas.

Is this an offer they'd be interested in? Would they be more inclined to book 'x' or 'y'? This product or that product? Is this something they would love to learn during a live masterclass or a 5 day challenge?

Don't just ask one question. Use social media and the P.S. in your emails to ask lots of questions. Get engagement going around this exciting thing you have coming up!

The brilliant thing about involving your audience in the early stages is that, not only does it validate your idea, it kicks off your marketing!

By the time your campaign begins, some people already feel invested in it and have been waiting for it.

I'd supercharge that by allowing people to add their name to a waiting list whilst you pull your campaign together... 😉

5. Advance Planning

This one is where most photographers come unstuck.

If you're well established with a large and very engaged audience then you might get away with coming up with a campaign idea on Wednesday and launching it on Monday.

But is that you?

If not, you must understand that every marketing campaign needs time if it's going to be a runaway success.

To be the architect of a great marketing campaign, you'll have to sit down and plan a great build-up. Momentum and visibility are key to success.

Allow time.

6. A Landing Page

Please don't be sending people to your website homepage when you have a campaign running!

Remember, you've gone to the trouble of getting specific about what you're promoting and what you want people to do. Get that all onto a landing page with that one objective in mind.

Make sure all your campaign content is directing people to that page and nowhere else. Which leads us quite nicely on to number 7...

7. Content (Website, Social, Email)

Without content - does your campaign even exist?

How will anyone know you have something wonderful to offer them if you're not creating great content that leads them to it?

Ideally you want to create a few key pieces of content for your audience that link directly to the focus of your campaign. Blog posts, pre-recorded or live videos or maybe even podcast episodes if that's more your thing.

This content should answer their questions and address desires or problems they have. It should also display your authority and foster trust and connection.

You should definitely check out my video on 6 content ideas for help with that.

Once you've created those key pieces of content, they can be placed on your website and sent to your email list. They should also be repurposed to use on social media in lots of different ways. (You can see how I do this by checking out my Instagram profile.)

Remember, content is vital but it's also pointless if no one is consuming it. If you have a very small or disengaged audience then you'll need to put extra effort into your visibility - perhaps with paid ads and collaborations.

8. Evaluation

Let's not pretend that every marketing campaign is a rainbow with a pot of gold at the end of it. Some will absolutely fly and some will bomb. Sometimes badly.

That's marketing. Highs and lows. Wins and losses.

Whilst a failed campaign does sting (especially if finances are tight), it's also an incredible learning opportunity. It's so important that you attempt to analyse what went wrong by taking a close look at all the moving parts.

There are, of course, many possible reasons for a marketing campaign ending up as a damp squib. However, in most cases, it's because of one (or both) of these;

1. The offering just wasn't right for the audience you have. (That doesn't always mean the offer was wrong, sometimes it means your audience isn't filled with the right people.)

2. Your campaign simply didn't get seen by enough people. Visibility during a campaign is key. A very small percentage of your audience will actually take action and buy what you're promoting so if you don't have the numbers, you don't get the sales.

So, what's your next campaign going to be?

Why not join me for my free online training for photographers? I'm going to teach you exactly what goes into a kickass marketing campaign so you can abandon that spray-and-pray marketing approach and smash your sales goals.