Are we unknowingly diluting our brands?
In a world where websites are often the first touch point our clients have to us - are we dressing our sites for the job we want or the job we have?
When we dilute our websites we automatically attract the WRONG clients and repel the RIGHT clients.
Let me elaborate with a story before we get to the action steps.
SANDRA
Sandra, a fellow photographer, recently told me she couldn’t get any clients... and the few clients she did get purchased very little. She went on to tell me how she went to networking meetings, had a booth at a show and invested in paid advertising. And the result - a negative bank balance.
So what was going wrong?
Now, there could be several things wrong, but I started with her website because this is where our potential client's start.
The design was nice, but when the homepage photos ran through the auto gallery, I noticed two major problems:
The first was, Sandra is a fine art wedding photographer. Her homepage displayed 2 fine art wedding images, and then, a baby photo set in an outdoor park. (Insert record scratch sound effect). The style clash stood out like a sore thumb.
I asked Sandra if she does baby photography.
Her answer, “I don’t want to.... but it pays”.
The second problem was, sprinkled throughout were unpolished, amateurish photos. These photos were not consistent with the quality of her best work.
I asked Sandra about the unpolished photos.
Her answers, “I don’t remember what photos are in the homepage gallery”. Then, “Even though those photos aren’t my best work, they show that I have experience…”
MORAL OF THE STORY
• ATTRACT: What you show on your website you will attract. If you put baby photos, you will get requests for baby shoots. If you don’t like shooting XYZ… don’t post XYZ photos. If you’re shooting a genre and your heart isn’t in it, that will show in your work and in your sales (or lack thereof).
• FLOW: Make sure there is a flow to the style of the photos you post. Don’t be all over the board or clients won’t be sure what they’ll get if they book you. If you have different styles, transition to them slowly in your gallery so you don’t throw visitors for a loop.
• A+: Only show your best work! Edit your website and remove any photos you dislike or you think are just “ok”. If they don’t score an A+ take them down. If a potential client comes to your website and sees 2 great photos and 1-2 mediocre ones they won’t be confident in your abilities. And they won’t contact/book you. Don’t give them a reason to hesitate.
• FOCUS: Potential clients don’t care if you’ve been a photographer for 10 years or 10 minutes. If you can make them look good or fulfill their needs they will contact you.
ACTION STEPS
Remove the photos from your website of work you’d rather not do in the future. Only post photos of what you want to shoot more of.
Post only your A+ images and delete the others. Don’t dilute your best work with your less-than-best work.
Remember, clients come to your website because they want to book you! They are hoping you are a good fit for them. It's okay to repel the wrong clients. But don't repel the right ones!
I’d love to hear from you. Have you found you're diluting your website in other ways? Share with us in the comment section (way down) below.
With love and gratitude. And wishing you all the success in your photography business,
P.S. Share this article it you found it helpful.
P.S.S. After writing this, I realized I have one super cute baby photo (that I am so proud of) on my website. I don’t shoot babies but sometimes get requests. Lightblub: I think it’s time to take it down!
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