One of the downsides to being in a business like this is the lack of security. It’s never a sure thing that the inquiries and bookings will come like you expect them to. And when you’re having a period where the inquiries are slow to roll in, how do you know what the issue is? Are my prices too high? Is my work not good enough?

Of course there are many factors that make up the face and representation of your business, but one of the most important ones is your online presence! This includes your website, blog, social media, etc. These are likely the first things that a prospective client will come across when they find you, so you definitely want to make sure you are making a good first impression across these platforms! So if you find yourself in a slump where the inquiries just aren’t rolling in like you’d hope, start with analyzing your online presence and make sure you are doing these 5 things!

SEO. In order for a client to even look at your online presence, they first have to be able to find you! SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can be a daunting thing to learn at first, but there are so many great resources out there that can teach you how to make your website Google friendly! My favorite resources are Davey & Krista and The Rising Tide Society! And as you build up the SEO on your site, keep an eye on how it’s doing with Google Analytics so that you can ensure that people are finding you!

Keep your website updated. The worst thing you can do for your business is have website that is outdated and doesn’t properly reflect your business and your work. You’re not going to be able to stand over that prospective client’s shoulder when they come across your website to say ‘Oh don’t look at my website, those are all old pictures!” Your website needs to be able to represent you and your business on it’s own. So make sure that your portfolio contains recent work that accurately represents the kind of product or service you are providing. It’s so easy to let updating your galleries page fall to the bottom of your to-do list and never get done! I’ve made it part of my workflow so that as soon as I blog a wedding or engagement session, the next thing I do is add some of them to my galleries! This is ensures that my portfolio is always up to date with my most current work!

Post content regularly. When someone comes across your website, blog or instagram they’re also going to want to see what you’re up to. Recent weddings, shoots, behind the scenes, etc. If they see that your last post was several weeks ago, that probably won’t give off the best impression. It may look like you aren’t actively engaged in your business or that your business isn’t something that you take seriously. Even just posting something once a week will show that you are consistently showing up and actively working! Plus, the more that you post and show what you’re up to, the more ‘busy’ you will appear which will make your service or product seem more sought after in the eyes of that prospective client!

Let them get to know you. It’s no secret that this industry is pretty saturated. There are SO many photographers, planners, graphic designers, etc out there! So what’s going to set you apart? Obviously the quality and style of your work, but more importantly YOU. Once a prospective client decides that they are interested in your work, the next thing they will likely do is try to establish a personal connection with you. They’re going to want to ensure that they can see themselves working with you personally. So you should make sure that it’s really easy for them to get to know you before they even contact you! Your About Me page on your website, personal posts on instagram and your blog and making sure that your face shows up everywhere! If a prospective client can’t get to know you or see your face through your online presence, chances are they will pass over you, even if they like your work!

Make it easy to contact you. Now that they’ve found your website, perused through your portfolio and have got to know you, they are ready to inquire! So you’ll want to make sure that it is as easy as possible for them to do that! Finding your contact form on your website shouldn’t be a treasure hunt! It should be really easy to navigate to your contact page from every page of your website! And make sure that you have links to your website on all of your social media platforms. You don’t want anything to be a dead end! I would recommend using LinkTree for instagram to make it easier for them to get to where they want to go!

So if you find yourself in an inquiry slump, don’t freak out! They are a lot of ways that you can comb through your business to ensure that you aren’t losing those prospective clients! Going through this online presence checklist is a good place to start!

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