As a wedding photographer, there’s something great about finding your ideal clients that have similar interests and values as you. Not only do you create personal connections with them, but it can also help motivate you to push the boundaries on your photography because you love your clients! When couples reflect the same values or artistic interests as you, they are more likely to reach out to you when they are interested in finding a wedding photographer. Being a wedding photographer puts you in a great position to connect with all different kinds of people, and being a social media savvy wedding photographer gives you even more of an advantage. You also have plenty of content to share (your images) – so once you get them back from a post-production photography service, you can start implementing them into your blog!
With that in mind, when you sit down to work on your blogging, it is imperative that the experiences you write about and the stories you share create a bond between you and your clients. You can do this by developing a personal series that focuses on something you are passionate about and directly reflects your values as a photographer.
Knowing exactly how to create a personal series can be a challenge at first, especially because it causes you to think of all your other passions besides photography and engage them in a way you otherwise might not have. Here are 3 steps to help you connect with current and potential clients using the most authentic tool in your content marketing toolkit: You!
1. Determine the topic
Think about all the aspects that make up the unique individual that is you. Maybe you are an outdoor wedding photographer that loves camping and frequently camps in the mountains. Take advantage of these trips by documenting and sharing your experiences on the blog. Not only does this allow readers to get to know you on a personal level, but if they also love camping, this may be just the spark they need that gets them to reach out to you.
Tip: Make a list of all the things that you love doing e.g. hobbies, specific wedding shoots. Once you have narrowed it down, think about how this particular subject has influenced you as a wedding photographer and why you want to write about—use this as the jumping-off point for your personal series.
2. Create a narrative
In a way, you are sharing pieces of information about your story with every photograph that you share in your personal series. Similar to when you are thinking about what your personal series should focus on, take some time to understand the personal narrative and dialogue you are creating with the audience. Every photograph that you attach to each post should reflect something similar to the beginning, middle, and end of a story. This creates consistency and shows your audience that you took the time to think about each image that accompanies your new post. Additionally, this kind of attention to detail gives your audience something to look forward to every time they visit your site—each day they are learning a bit more about you and you are continuing to build their trust and loyalty.
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Tip: Carefully choose each photograph you share and know how it relates to your narrative.
3. Make it personable
Your personal series doesn’t have to be a tell-all about your life. Remember, the goal here is to generate interest in your services with engaging and upbeat content that is relevant to your brand; even if your personal series doesn’t directly relate to a wedding that you recently shot. Likewise, the content should be relevant to them on some level e.g. newly engaged couples or couples that have just gotten married, but still visit your site because of content like your personal series.
Salt Lake City Wedding Photographer, Terra Cooper, creates a few personal series every year on her website that are fun and relatable. For example, Terra created a personal series that focused on sharing a new piece of information about herself every day in that particular month.
“One month I did the ‘31 flavors of Terra Cooper’ and each day posted something about myself along with pictures. I chose 31 because one of the things about me is that I eat Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream every day.”
Tip: Visit the blogs of other wedding photographers and business owners for inspiration. See how they approach the personal series and whether or not it was effective for them.
In doing so, Terra booked two new clients because she was able to make that personal connection just by sharing fun facts and being personable. When people know that you are creating specialized content that shows you as a fun individual who can also be professional, you are already developing their trust.
Related: 6 Tips for Better Networking Connections
You want your clients—past, present, and future—to see you as more than just someone who might take pictures at their wedding. You want to be the wedding photographer they reach out to because there is no one else they want. By creating a fun and engaging personal series for you blog you can ensure just that, because you are going the extra mile and giving them access to not only you the photographer, but who you are as an individual.
For more information about ways to promote your business, download our Guide to Content Marketing for Wedding Photographers!
