5 Ways to Increase Your Local Reach without Relying on Social Media
It surely seems like all the excitement is happening on social media these days. However, the good ol’ days’ ways of connecting with people beyond social media still stand true. Plus, I do think 99% of the people I’ve talked to claim that they have a “love hate“ relationship with social media while they have way more hate than love.
I’ve gained so many amazing clients from these relationships I built offline. Especially due to the fact that I often would be invited into my clients’ homes and experience some of their most vulnerable moments of real life, I treasure these in-person relationships even more.
Of course, everyone’s personality is different. I was once so shy of a person that I would even hide behind my parents’ back to avoid saying hi to my relatives. However, through preparation and intentional practice, I have learned to get out of my comfort zone over the years and I have definitely made some great friends.
If you would like to challenge yourself a little bit, here are some of the things that helped me expand my local reach that you could try.
1. Make an effort to talk to someone outside of your family each time you go out.
Bring up the fact that you are a photographer without selling.
I would love everyone to know that I am a photographer. I don’t necessarily need to force anyone to chat with me about photography but if I never mention the fact that I am a photographer, most likely others will never bring up the topic of photography. Here are some of the scenarios where I’ve brought up the fact that I am a photographer:
Waiting for my kids at the dance class and chatting with a fellow mom: I LOVE your little baby boy’s linen overall. Where did you get that outfit? I am a photographer so I am always on the lookout for cute kids’ clothes especially for boys!
Met a new mom at the park and she was trying to set up another park playdate. The mom asked me if I knew this specific park and I said, yes, it is such a beautiful park. I am a photographer and I go to that park to take photos a lot!
At my eyeglasses appointment, I was trying to decide on the coating of my glasses and the blue light coating somehow made my glasses show up with blue reflections all the time. So I told the lady who was helping me that I am a photographer and I definitely am hyper aware of glasses flares and reflections. Also, at the same appointment, we were talking about getting insurance for my glasses because I have little mischievous kids. That led to me showing the lady the photos I took of my children.
At my child’s X-ray appointment and my child just told the technician that “my mom’s a photographer and her camera is different from this one”. Of course, I kinda just smiled and said, yup, definitely a photographer’s child right there.
Now, I only mention the fact that I am a photographer and I actually almost never straight up tell them “if you need a photographer let me know.” I just move on with whatever topic we are talking about. Most of the time, people will circle back to ask me what kind of photography I do. Then I go into more details about my photography. And if the other person is not picking up that topic, it is absolutely fine as well. If that person is not interested in photography at all, most likely, it will be a really slim chance that I can convert that person into my ideal client. My whole point by simply mentioning the fact that I am a photographer is to get the concept of photography into as many people’s heads as possible and as often as possible.
Always carry your business card and a “portfolio” if you can
I use Moo for my business cards and I put different designs on the back of my cards. They won’t charge you extra to have up to 50 different designs for the backs. After the chats above, I get a much better idea what kind of photos they would need and I will give them a card with an image of that category. If I just chatted with an expecting mom, I would give her a card with a Fresh 48 session. If I just chatted with a mom with littles, I would give her a card with a documentary photo image. Etc etc.
2. Get involved in the community
Offering basic documentary photography classes
I have been offering a photography workshop series through our local public library for the past couple of years now. I offer one workshop on camera basics--how to get out of the auto mode. I offer another one with my documentary approach to inspire people to take photos more intentionally. These classes are free for the public. Since I have been doing it for a couple of years now, and I have offered more than one round in one of the years, I really only need to update my content each time instead of building fresh materials from scratch. This way the time cost on my end is really low. Plus, it is a public library program and the library is in charge of marketing so they are blasting my name all over the place for me.
Even though I am teaching the people how to take better photos of their everyday life, we all know how hard it is to take photos with ourselves in the frame too. Especially when it comes to the documentary genre, I know there have been so many moments I thought to myself--this would be a fun moment to get on film with me and my baby. However, I couldn’t because no one is around to catch that moment. So instead of me trying to find existing clients, I am actually creating ideal clients myself. If these people are interested in learning more about this approach, they are more likely to eventually purchase a session from me down the road.
A quick note though, I do keep my free workshops at the library 100% business free. Meaning I am not offering any business mentoring nor selling my photography services. I do not want people to feel that I am trying to get them to take the bait even though I am actually kinda doing that.
Volunteer to help with or host local events
I am hosting a Chinese storytime at our local library as a city volunteer. This has nothing to do with my photography. However, I get to meet so many different people through the program. And you know what, I believe everyone needs family photos. They might not all be my ideal client, but the more people you personally know, the more chance you get to find an ideal client.
I also have volunteered to host local playdates for our local Spina Bifida PlayDate Group as well as the Chinese moms’ group. These are more my genuine attempt to get to know more people. Again, the more people you know, the more opportunities you have to bring up the topic of photography in the future.
I volunteered as a school industry committee member to help local students to develop their potential career paths and give feedback to teachers in the school on how real businesses are run in the real world and how students can better prepare to enter the real work fields.
Give back to the community through established organizations
Other than getting your name out there as an active community member, there are actually ways to get your name associated with your photography more as well. I have done free mini family sessions for families through local charities and our church. I have done free documentary photo sessions for families with family members who are on the Autism spectrum through the non-profit called Spectrum Inspired. I have assisted local cleft baby shower events to provide free family photos and event coverages. These are all causes I strongly believe in so I am more than happy to just provide my service to show my support. Usually, through all the connections, I get more inquiries afterwards too.
3. Networking with other photographers
If you can find a local photography group, try and connect with the people in the group. Of course there will be people who are not in the mindset of community over competition at all. However, I think most of the people do appreciate a photographer friend. At least I know I do, a lot! And guess what, photographers need photos done too at one point or another. I tend to trust the photographers I already know more than someone I found on google.
Another nice thing about knowing other photographers is that we as photographers probably understand the concept of a good model call a lot better than other people. Then you can easily find models to build up your portfolio without too much headache. The better your portfolio looks, the better chance to attract other clients too.
4. Be the point of contact into photography world for your community
You don’t have to do every kind of photography yourself but if you are an amazing point of contact for the rest of the community, people will come to you whenever they have a question/need. I only do family photography however I know people who do weddings, events, real estate, headshots etc etc. When someone comes to me for a service I don’t offer, I ALWAYS make sure to help them with a good referral. I’ve actually had quite a few occasions when I was out of the country and helped with a referral for a potential client and when I came back, those people came back to me even though they still loved the experience with the photographer I referred them to.
5. Don’t be afraid to say yes to something you don’t usually do.
First of all, make sure that when you are trying something new, set the expectations clear in your contract with your clients.
Like I said earlier, I only shoot family related sessions. However, I have actually taken photos for my friends’ Amazon listings; my friend’s AirBnB listing; my friend’s wedding; and even headshots at a financial symposium. I don’t list any of these on my website. I don’t even have a set price for these services. However, I am willing to try them out!!! Sometimes they don’t work out as well as I hoped. Most of the time they actually work out quite nicely. And all these connections made helped me to gain more access to more people.
Now let's see if you can give you a little challenge to use one of these ways in the next few months to get to know more people without feeling drowning in the social media world! Good luck! ❤️
