So you're stuck at home... now what?

We, as photographers, are known to be creative beings. Now is not the time for a "woe is me" attitude. Remember, we are ALL in this together! In my opinion, you should try to be as accommodating as possible for your clients. Yes, we're running businesses, but to me, I always put people first. In fact, Joey and I are in the midst of planning our own intimate wedding for fall of 2020 so I can TOTALLY relate to our couples like no other!

So, what can you do to promote your business during an unprecedented pandemic? Let me tell you, there are SO. MANY. THINGS. that if you do them now, while times are slow, your photography business will be in a much better position when the industry is back to booming.

1 - BLOG

Hey. What's up? Hello! Yah, we are doing the thang! I love to write, but never "had the time" to sit down and put my words to paper. Now, I can! Blogging is a great way to share your thoughts and work so why not turn a negative into a positive and blog about your favorite photoshoots.

2 - EDIT & SHARE YOUR "VINTAGE" PHOTOS

We have SO many old photos from past shoots that we haven't shared for one reason or another. I'd bet that you probably do too! Welp, now is a wonderful time to dust your old hard drive off and share some of them.

3 - WORK ON YOUR WEBSITE

Your website is incredibly important when it comes to captivating new clients. If you don't even have a website, what are you waiting for?! Now is the best time to work on one, rebrand your business, or make updates.

4 - REDESIGN YOUR LOGO

How does your logo look? If it leaves much to be desired, then maybe it's about time for a redesign. Make it memorable, scalable, versatile, relevant to your biz and the message you want to convey about your work.

5 - ORGANIZE THE OFFICE

We're lucky enough to have a great room in our home for an office. However, I know it could use a bit of a re-org. Now is the perfect time to create a space dedicated to your work and really tailor it to your needs. I've moved some furniture around our office already and am in the process of adding new photos and decor.

6 - ASK FOR REVIEWS

Client reviews are super important. They give your potential clients a sense of security and strengthen your credibility. Fantastic reviews gain trust and encourage people to interact with you and in turn book you. Use this time to reach out to any past clients who haven't given you a review yet.

7 - UPDATE YOUR CRM

I for one am not the best at collecting emails so this is something I'd certainly like to spend some time on right now. If you don't have a database with your client's information, this is something you should really start putting together now while business is slow.

8 - ORGANIZE PHOTOS

My photos used to be EVERYWHERE. It was such a huge pain when I was designing our website because I had to go searching for specific photos as I didn't have a set way they were organized. I got my *ish together though which was a HUGE help in all aspects of our business workflow.

9 - REVAMP THE GRAM

Instagram is a great way to promote your photography. As a business, it's important to have consistent posts and a cohesive feel. Right now, we are taking the time to revamp our IG so that viewers really get a sense of who we are and what our style is.

10 - POST ON PINTEREST

I LOVE Pinterest! To be honest, I use it more on a personal level but have realized that we've been doing ourselves a huge disservice by not having a business page. Which is why I recently created one for Your Adventure Partners to share our blog posts and photography session ideas with clients!

11 - EDIT MARKETING MATERIALS

Business cards, brochures, you name it! Now is a great time to make any changes to the materials that you use to market your business. (I just realized our business cards have an old phone number listed on them because of this!)

12 - BE CREATIVE!

Who's heard of the #FrontPorchProject or #FacetimePhotos?? Yah, well those are because photographers got creative and decided to make it work! So, get your creative juices flowing and think of some neat ways you can flex your photography skills.

13 - CLIENT BOXES

We love creating baskets & boxes for our clients. Now, we can create a few ahead of time so that when our time is limited in the future, we won't need to spend it on making our lovely gifts.

14 - REVIEW CONTRACTS

Contracts are key (I bet you're really finding that out now thanks to Rona). But really, review your contracts while you have the time available so you can really make sure you cover all of your bases. Get a lawyer to help you!

15 - OFFER GIFT CARDS

Let people know that even though you're not shooting now, they can still support you and your business by purchasing an electronic gift certificate which they can use for a photoshoot with you in the future.

16 - WORK ON SEO

I'm just starting to learn the ins & outs of Search Engine Optimization and I think you should too. It is really important to drive the right audience to your website and in order to do that ya gotta be SEO savvy.

17 - PREPARE TEMPLATES

Templates in the morning, templates in the evening, templates at supper time! Haha :) Make templates which you can have ready to plug & play for later when you're swamped. Think of holidays and seasons you want to promote for in the future and tailor your templates to them.

18 - TAKE COURSES

There are sooooo many FREE educational resources at your fingertips it is crazy to not take advantage of them now! I have done webinars, watched tons of video tutorials, and read some really informative articles, all to help me become a better photographer.

19 - PRACTICE!

We're still shooting! Luckily, we still have clients for branding and marketing photography which has been great (peep our cover photo - Joey and I being models AND photographers, lol!). But, we also have practiced on each other, with our pup, and just random detail shots outside and around the house. Keep shooting!

20 - YOU TIME

As a reminder, it is OK to take a breather and simply relax. Sometimes, taking some time off to reboot gives you a new, fresh perspective. Focus on staying healthy not just in your business but physically and mentally too!