When you think about it, there are three fundamental sources for leads for headshot photographers.

 

First, there’s the referral source. Probably the most powerful source for leads in that it has the highest conversion rate with minimal effort.

 

Networking is a great way to grow a circle of referral sources for your business but I’m not going to get into all the ways you can network to acquire referral sources cuz networking is my least favorite thing to do.??‍♀️

 

In my case, referral sources have grown organically while I focused on growing my photography business with advertising, SEO and now social media.

 

Which brings me to the second source for leads.

 

Search engines like Google, Bing, Pinterest and YouTube.

 

Leads from search engines tend to be a little harder to convert than referrals but still relatively easy because they’re considered warm leads. Meaning prospects are actively searching for your services.

 

There are two ways you can be found on search engines.

 

Organically or through advertising.

 

Showing up organically on search means hiring an SEO (search engine optimization) specialist so that your site ranks high (like on the first page of Google) when a prospect searches for your services.

 

Another way to show up organically is to put out content like YouTube videos or blogs.

 

Both require optimizing your content with keywords so that it’s found during searches.

 

To be found on search engines through advertising, you’ll need to learn the ins and outs of Google Ads so that your ads are effective.

 

And when they are, advertising on Google can be very lucrative if you’re unable to get your site to show up on search engines organically.

 

Now, to the third source for leads which is social media.

 

Social media leads are a lot harder to convert right away because they are considered cold leads. They may not be ready to purchase your services at the very moment they discover you.

 

For leads from social media to convert, they need to be nurtured over time not only on the platform they found you on, but also in their inboxes.

 

Side note: Which is why growing your email list (for email marketing) from your leads on social media is sooo important.

 

This is because only about 2% of your audience on social media sees your posts organically.

 

And this brings me to the second way to reach leads on social media. Advertising.

 

While advertising on social media can be very lucrative, it’s also harder to convert leads because it’s considered an “interruptive” medium.

 

Because again, your prospects are not actively searching for your services while on social media.

 

And just like in the case of Google, advertising on social media means investing in learning the platform you’ll be advertising on so that your ads are indeed effective.

 

Raise your hand?‍♀️ if you miss the days of just advertising with a banner of your images on an industry relevant directory.

 

Yeah me too.

 

If you’re too young to know what I’m even talking about, be glad you’ve never had it easy because I’ve seen photographers my age drop out of the game like flies because they couldn’t adapt. Cuz this shit ‘aint easy.

 

But I digress…

 

So, here’s the deal.

 

Whatever method you choose to bring in sources (hopefully all three, because you can’t sustain a full-time business on referrals alone), all roads lead to one place…

 

YOUR WEBSITE.

 

And your website can make or break your career. 

 

Your website is your most important salesperson.

 

Next week, I’ll explain what your website needs to make your career and not kill it.