Starting a photography business isn’t just about being an amazing Photographer and providing beautiful photos. It’s about learning how to turn what you love into a successful career.
There are a number of elements to building a successful business and one of those is attracting and retaining beautiful high-end clients. It’s important to focus on your target audience and attract the right customers who value and love you.
Here are 5 lucrative photography business ideas to attract high-end clients!
1. Charge as a Professional Photographer
One of the biggest mistakes photographers these days are making is charging like a shoot-and-burn photographer instead of a professional. How are customers supposed to value you, when you don’t even value yourself? We all know the cheaper something is, the less we value it. We are professionals and you should be charging as one.
It’s like that phrase, “dress for the job you want”… it’s time to price for the clients that you want! Your prices are going to define the kind of clients you attract and serve. If you keep providing top-class services for peanuts then you will never achieve the success you want or deserve. One of the best photography business tips is charging as a professional high-end photographer.
The first step to charging like a professional is by believing in yourself and the quality of your work. Value yourself and know you’re worth every penny and more. You don’t need to look at your competitors and compete on price because it just becomes a race to the bottom. If you want to attract high-end clients then start losing those price-hunting customers and send them on with love. It’s time to start pricing yourself for success!
2. Position Yourself In The High-End Market
If you want to attract high-end clients, become a high-end photographer! It’s as simple as that. This means your work, quality, brand, service and pricing need to be first-class. When you sit in the high-end market you’re dealing with high-end clients who value and appreciate you and who are happy to pay you for it. Ensure that every aspect of your work and branding screams top-notch quality and professionalism.
This brings us to the next point…
3. Your branding needs to reflect a high-end business
Your branding and image need to reflect a high-end photography business. Your website and social media are a must for photography business marketing and your brand needs to reach the right audience. From your web designs, and social media graphic designs to your portfolio, it must show without a doubt you are a high-end photographer and for good reason.
As the photographer, you are your brand as well! You need to represent yourself in the same way through your social media, service and your own headshots.
4. Transparent Pricing
Stop hiding your pricing! Your pricing needs to be super transparent on your website. You need to put yourself in the position of the client. I don’t know about you but I can’t stand it when I have to enquire or sign up for a lead magnet to see someone’s pricing. It’s a waste of both your and your client’s time. Viewers want your pricing to be easily accessible. This is again why your brand and image need to reflect your pricing.
This is not just for your potential client, but, this is going to benefit you! Here’s what happens when you have transparent pricing:
- You can raise your prices whenever you want and don’t have to waste time updating your pricelist
- You don’t have to waste time on the phone or emailing clients your pricing
- The only clients calling are the ones who’ve seen your pricing and are ready to book
5. Focus on Client Experience
If you have been in business for a long time then you know that excessive marketing is one of the most common photography business ideas you get. However, here’s a face, it’s harder to acquire a new lead than nurture a previous client! Photography business marketing and finding new leads takes way more time and energy than building a strong relationship with one family who will come back regularly for all their photography.
Think about maintaining long-term relations with families who are so loyal that they refer you to all their friends and family. They value your skills and the experience they get with you so much that they would never even consider looking elsewhere. When you give every family a five-star experience, treat them beautifully and stay connected, they become a lifetime client.
How to create lifetime client relationships?
Are you making sure every client is a loyal lifelong client? Photography business ideas to create strong client connections. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to know whether you are giving your clients the right consumer experience!
- Do you make them feel special? How? Is it unique and customised to them?
- How do you WOW them?
- How do you go above and beyond for them?
- How do you create an instant connection?
This is exactly how I set my business up on autopilot because my entire focus is on my database, staying connected, continuing photography business marketing and remarketing to the same consumers.
Benefits for the long run
This doesn’t mean you should only market to previous clients, but remember word of mouth is one of the strongest photography marketing strategies. When you have loyal lifelong clients they are going they are going to refer to all their family and friends. New clients you gain through these referrals are hot leads because they already trust you and genuinely want to book a shoot with you. This cycle goes on and on.
Can you see the power of building these strong connections? It minimises your need for photography business marketing to new people by maximizing the lifetime value of a single family.
The 5-Star Client Experience
If you want to learn how to create these deep client connections, I have created an online photography course in the shop to teach exactly that. It’s how I am still photographing families since 1994 when I started and why families never look anywhere else.
When you give every family the 5-STAR experience, treat them beautifully, stay connected… You will have them for life.
Click here to learn more ➡️ The 5-Star Client Experience!
