6 Marketing Campaign Ideas for Photographers (and why you need them!)

If you're a photographer with haphazard marketing and in need of more great clients then you need engaging marketing campaigns. These are key to building a buzz around your business and booking yourself up. In this video I'm going to give you 6 marketing campaign ideas for photographers that will make you unmissable and irresistible to the right person.

And next week I'm going to outline the 8 things a photography marketing campaign needs in order to succeed so do check that out too.

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

Before I launch into these 6 marketing campaign ideas, let me quickly tell you about my upcoming online masterclass. I'm going to teach you how to plan, create and implement a successful marketing campaign for your photography business.

This isn't going to be a sales pitch - it's 60 minutes of value to you. You'll leave with a very clear understanding of how a superb campaign gets pulled together to fill your diary.

Don't miss it. Grab a spot here.

So what do I mean by a marketing campaign?

This is simply when you're organised and strategic with your marketing efforts in order to achieve a very specific result in your business. A marketing campaign is focused on promoting one thing.

I recommend that you focus on one big marketing campaign per quarter with some mini campaigns scattered here and there throughout the year that don't require quite as much effort.

And if you're thinking, 'But Julie, I only offer one thing in my photography business so this won't work for me!', stay with me.

Even photographers who shoot only weddings or only newborns need to be thinking in campaigns when it comes to their marketing.

Why?

It's simple... visibility!

To book yourself up consistently, you need a buzz around your business.

And when you focus on one thing you give yourself the best chance of creating a buzz!

Think about the most famous brands in the world. The buzz that Apple builds before releasing each new iPhone or Virgin promoting next Summer's hot holiday destinations.

It's no different for your small photography business.

Without that visibility, buzz and momentum, you'll forever be chasing the next client and worrying about what's ahead financially.

Something I get asked a lot when I'm talking to photographers about the importance of specific marketing campaigns is;

'Won't it get really boring for my audience if all I'm talking about is this one thing?'

No. Want to know why?

a) Your audience only see a fraction of your marketing!

It would be amazing if they all saw every social media post, read every blog, watched every video and scrutinised every web page and ad. But let's get real.

b) You'll be writing and talking about other things too!

Just because you're in the middle of a marketing campaign to book more outdoor weddings, for example, doesn't mean you can't share stories and images from the hotel wedding you did last week or the walk you took with the family on Sunday. Of course you can!

c) You'll be writing and talking about this one thing in so many different ways.

You're not just going to be hammering out 'Look at this!' messages all day, every day! You're going to be thinking of creative ways to educate, entertain and engage your ideal client around this topic.

It's also important to mention that a very happy byproduct of a focused marketing campaign is this...

When you're focused on promoting something specific - enquiries and bookings for all your other offerings increase too!

Because your visibility is up with all this buzz-building you're doing, more people are seeing you and your business crop up here, there and everywhere and are checking you out!

Those that don't need or want the specific thing you're promoting right now  are being reminded about you or made aware of you for the first time. The more campaigns you run, the more you will become the photographer on the tip of everyone's tongue.

So, let's dive into these six marketing campaign ideas for photographers.

1. Get specific with your everyday services

Yes! You can create marketing campaigns for your bread and butter offerings.

When photographers hear the words 'marketing campaign', they often think it means they need to be offering something new or discounting their existing service into an offer.

Not at all!

Remember, a marketing campaign is simply when you're focused on promoting a single thing in order to achieve a specific result. 

For example, if you're a wedding photographer in need of summer bookings for the following year, you focus on promoting summer weddings in order to get X number of bookings in your diary.

Or perhaps you're keen to shoot more country house weddings? If so, you'd put together a marketing campaign to make that happen.

Of course you can add a booking incentive if you want but an incentive isn't always an essential part of a marketing campaign.

Other marketing campaign examples that just promote your everyday services might be;

Autumn colours family or pet sessions

Personal brand shoots for creative business owners

Boudoir shoots for Summer brides

So think about your core offerings and think about how you can create focused campaigns around them.

2. Waiting List

One of my favourite marketing campaign ideas! (I must admit this one's more suited to portrait photographers than wedding photographers.)

Creating a wait list for upcoming sessions or events is an insanely effective way to sell them out quickly.

Let's say you're planning;

Family sessions in the lavender fields

Weekend boudoir shoots in a stunning Airbnb rental

A headshot day in a boutique hotel

A training workshop for other photographers

These are all perfect for a waiting list marketing campaign because, not only is there limited capacity, you also need to know if there's enough interest before you start investing and planning the finer detail, right?

So, you put together a killer landing page and start letting your audience know about this exciting thing you have coming up. You're clear that if they want to be first to know when it's ready to book that they need to get themselves on your waiting list.

You might even add an early bird offer just for those on your waiting list.

Two of my Togs in Business members, Marcia and Chiara, recently used the waiting list marketing strategy for an online documentary family photography course they put together.

They priced their course at 1000 euros and gathered those interested into a waiting list until they were ready to unleash it.

Marcia and Chiara opened for bookings at 6am on a morning in November and by 9am they'd sold out every single one of their 30 places and even added a second date to accommodate all the disappointed people who were too late.

At 1000 euros each!

That's the power of a waiting list done right.

I have a training workshop on the waiting list strategy in the Togs in Business membership. I outline absolutely every single thing you need to do smash it - right down to the content you need and exact timings.

3. Taster/Mini Sessions

This one's not going to be new to you.

There are definitely two camps when it comes to mini sessions or, as I like to think of them, taster sessions.

I love them if they're done well. And by well, I mean they should truly just be a simple taster of your full, custom experience!

They should be planned in such a way that they can be even more profitable than your premium offering.

How?

Think about it. Your profits are linked to the time you spend, right?

Let's say you spend 16 hours in total doing a custom dog shoot for a client (everything from communication to delivery of wall art and albums) and you earn £1200 profit from that shoot.

You could easily work for a total of 16 hours on a series of taster dog shoots and walk away with the same profit or much, much more.

The key is in keeping the workflow as quick and slick and simple as possible when it comes to these AND not giving too much in terms of product.

And, just in case you hadn't worked it out yet, the waiting list you just learned about? Great way to sell out your mini sessions!

4. Launching Something New

The most obvious 'Something New' is of course;

Adding a completely new photography service to your business

However, I'm not talking about introducing a new service every quarter!

Something new can be much simpler than that. It might be;

A new wall product you're adding to your offerings

New YouTube channel or podcast

A collaboration with another business

New studio space

Subscription or bundle packages

If there's something new that could create a buzz, make sure you celebrate it and attach it to a super marketing campaign so that it gets off to the best possible start.

If something is new I like to launch it with an enticing introductory offer but if that doesn't suit, link it to a great lead generator.

Remember, your marketing campaign has to have a desired result. Decide what you want to happen as a result of you launching your new 'thing'.

Leads? Bookings? Both? Have numbers in mind and keep them there throughout.

A similar marketing campaign to this would be a celebration campaign.

Celebrating your business birthday or winning a big award.

5. Special Offer

Sometimes a marketing campaign will be a straightforward special offer!

I like to keep these for times in the year when I know things are usually quiet.

There's no special offer that's right for every photographer but my favourite kind of offer is the 'value-add'. So instead of promoting a big discount, you give something extra to those who book during your campaign.

That might be;

Complimentary album or package upgrade with every wedding booked

Including £100 product credit for families booking a Jan/Feb shoot

Free maternity mini shoot with newborn bookings

Complimentary hair & makeup with boudoir bookings

Remember, if you're going to run a special offer, your business must be able to afford it.

This is why you should always have wiggle room in your pricing. Work out your prices and add 10-20% so you can create amazing value-add offers and still earn what you need.

6. Lead Generation

Not all campaigns are aimed at getting immediate bookings. Some are created specifically to get leads with the idea being that some of those leads will turn into bookings.

This kind of campaign is great for awareness and visibility. It also allows potential clients to commit to a small action with you which, in turn, allows them to get to know, like and trust you more to the point that the right people will be ready to take that big action you want.

Some examples of effective lead generation campaigns for photographers might be:

5 Day Challenge for Brides and Grooms - Create your wedding mood board

Giveaway - win a £1500 boudoir photography experience!

Masterclass - how to use personal brand images on your website

Don't underestimate these campaigns. Despite the fact that you're not asking anyone to part with any money at first, you're still asking for their time and attention.

They need just as much effort, often more, than the others.

Why?

Because after you've generated those leads, you need to nurture them towards a booking. It's a campaign of two halves and each is as important as the other. Check out my giveaway video to understand this better.

So there you have it, six marketing campaign ideas for photographers like you. Write the six down as headings and brainstorm as many specific ideas under each as you can.

Don't forget to spread these out across the year and focus on just one at a time.

And if you're keen to learn exactly what goes into planning, creating and implementing a successful marketing campaign for your photography business - get yourself a place on my next masterclass!

I won't bore you with a 40 minute sales pitch and a short, generic bit of education.  It's 60 minutes of jam-packed learning. I'll cover everything from landing pages to social media content and emails.

You'll leave fired up to get started on your next campaign!

Don't miss it. Grab a spot below.