Tips for Holiday Photo Marketing

The holidays mean more than just family and friends. For business it is also a season for increasing marketing and sales. For photographers this is also true. With the Christmas spirit up and the popularity of searching the internet for recipes, gift ideas, and decorating tips, marketing your images is easy. From major retailers to small blogs, holiday photographs are needed. If you have an archive of festive photos, now may be the time to market them. Here are a few tips on getting your images seen and purchased.

Building Your Presence:

Nobody can buy photographs if they don’t know they exist. Building your presence online is imperative to success. This can be achieved in several different ways and I recommend using them all. The more exposure you get the more interests you will have. Here are a few ways to start building your presence:

Your Own Web Space: Every artist needs their own portfolio and online, that is done by creating a website or a blog. Through your own web space you can create your portfolio and show off your talent. This should include a way to be contacted as well as rates if you are selling your images. With web hosting so cheap these days, there is no reason to avoid having your own site.

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are becoming valuable tools in marketing. By utilizing the existing popularity you can easily slide in and become known. By creating a profile to show off your work, you can gain followers and convert them to sales. With many people looking for Christmas card photos and pictures to show their Christmas spirit, it is the right time of the year to brighten their season and fatten your wallet.

Photo Communities: There are hundreds of photo communities on the internet that allow you to create your profile and show off your work. Flickr, Photobucket, and Squidoo are great sites that offer you a chance to market your talent.

These are a just a few examples of how to create your web presence. By searching online, you will find results for many other options. Use any service available to get your work displayed.

Establish Yourself:

Reputation precedes all. In the world of photography, your work often precedes your education and knowledge. Therefore it is sometimes required to establish your identity in your field. You potential customers are not only buying your work, they are buying you as well.

Use blogs, forums, and other social sites to establish yourself as a knowledgeable photographer. Many blogs accept guest posts and are looking for Christmas posts on everything from proper lens use to finding inspiration throughout the holidays. By posting on a subject that is informative for other photographers you can make a name for yourself. This is also a chance to show off a few of your photos within the posts. Choose your best relevant photos to accompany a post, at the end of the post include an author bio telling about your passion for photography and including a link to your portfolio or site.

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel:

Many artists have a vision, they want to tread in new territory and become an innovator. The artists spend most of their lives broke. If you are attempting to spend your life as a photographer, you have to go through the steps of building up to your vision. Creating photographs that sell and are popular will pay the bills and establish your reputation before attempting to revolutionize the photography world.

There is no greater feeling than being able to do what you love and getting paid for it. If photography is your passion, the right marketing can turn it into a career. The holiday is great time to get your Christmas photos seen as many sites and companies are looking for them. Use the many different options and marketing strategies that are proven to work and see where your hobby can take you.