I’m Christina Shaw, Destination Wedding Photographer and Business coach and mentor to photographers looking to make more money and align to the business of their dreams. I focus on passion, pricing, and profit all aligning. I work with clients from all over and a lot of time during the process of coaching I have someone who is desiring to move somewhere new but is afraid of starting all over. Can you relate?
Are you a wedding photographer looking to re-establish yourself after you move to a new city? OR Are you a newly established wedding photographer in the city you’re currently in and you need help establishing clientele?
Here are 7 tested and true methods you can consider taking to establish or re-establish your business wherever you live!
- Create a google listing if you don’t have one OR Update your Google Listing with the new address your moving to. This is so essential to establishing a business in any area because Google is where everyone goes to search for things they need. Think about when you are looking for something important. In the past, we would ask a friend, but now we carry around a really reliable friend in our pocket and a lot of people rely on asking google for local suggestions when they are searching for something. Now, if you haven’t moved to the new area yet, this will be impossible, so you can simply create your address where you currently are and proceed to step 2. Once you move, be sure to update your mailing address ASAP
- After you create your google listing ask past favorite clients for reviews on your listing. This will ensure your listing pops up in the new area. Send a small thank you to those who leave you a review! Cookies, your favorite candle, a print credit, handwritten letter, etc 🙂 Make sure photos on your google listing are up to date and put some recent posts up from your blog
- Update your website with language that is up to date with where you live (or where you are moving to), and the areas you service. For instance, if you currently live in New York but you’re moving to Denver, you can put a banner up to the top of your website: Currently Photographing Weddings in Denver, CO & New York. Not only is this is helpful for SEO purposes, but when a new client comes to your page they should be able to IMMEDIATELY know where you are located or what areas you are serving. Don’t forget to create a new page on your website called: Create a page for the new place you’re moving called: NEW LOCATION (fill in your city) Wedding/Family/Boudior/Portrait Photographer (choose your niche)
- Reach out to vendors you really admire, write to them telling them why and offer them a complimentary photoshoot if they would answer some questions on their business for your blog for a blog post featuring them.
- If you’ve already moved or are establishing in your current city, make a list of anyone you admire in your industry: florists, planners, cake makers, venue owners, suit makers, dressmakers, etc. Reach out to a few of them to form a small business meet up group
- This might sound simple but don’t forget to share your move as soon as it’s confirmed or announce your business launch in the area you are currently living. A lot of people are shy about creating their business, but don’t be! People are waiting for you to come forward and share your gift. If you’re still going to be serving the area you are leaving you can announce: Exciting news: for the next few years I will be servicing two locations!! A big announcement like this should not go unnoticed and will need to be amplified in your messaging. Here is what I recommend :
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- Blog about moving to the new location before you move and discuss the places you are so excited to photograph at with some imagery that you took from those places
- Announce on Instagram about your move at least once every 10 days until you actually move.
- Pinterest Pins with your new area
- Send out a newsletter to all past clients or your mailing list announcing the upcoming move and limited sessions locally
7. If you haven’t settled on a move date yet, and don’t have any updated and current imagery from the place you are moving I highly suggest two things:
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- Plan an extended visit to the place you are moving where the intention is to collect as much imagery as possible that reflects your future intention
- Reach out to local vendors or places that are aligned with the type of photograph you do and offer to take a few complimentary portraits in exchange for you being able to use the images in marketing (and them promising to credit properly if they use them).
- Launch a session giveaway for the time you’ll be up visiting that area. Anyone that enters the giveaway receives a free engagement session if they book you for their wedding, (if they don’t win) If you can cross-promote this giveaway with a local popular vendor (even if it’s not associated to photography), that is best! For instance, if I’m giving away a boudoir session, I could purchase a $100 gift card to a local shop that sells items for the session and includes that in the giveaway and ask if they’d be interested in promoting the giveaway. Other ideas are to cross-promote a local engagement giveaway w/ a chocolate shop, florist, venue, etc.
- Offer mini sessions for another visit you’re in a town where the session sitting if complimentary and prints and products are offered afterward. The catch is you get to decide what the locations are where you want to photograph
- Organize 2-3 styled mini shoots with the list of local vendors that you admire and provide them the images to share with proper credit from you. Make sure these styled shoots are at locations you want to shoot at in the future so you can use them in your blog post and build SEO for those locations
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I hope you found these tips helpful to your upcoming move or business launch where you’re currently living. Whenever we’re feeling a little sluggish or slow on inquiries we re-visit these tips for ourselves. A simple consistent announcement on social media that reminds people what we’re offering usually does the trick to bring in a new inquiry within a week or two.
