The Importance of Local Marketing for your Photo Business

This chapter is an excerpt from the in-depth e-book, Creative Freelance Marketing for Photographers.

The internet has made inroads into most aspects of our lives. We can reach all around the world instantly, speak to large audiences from our living room, promote our services anywhere, and sell all types of products day or night.

However, this can also be a huge distraction. In the rush to gain as many fans and followers as possible, it can be easy to neglect some of the most important opportunities that exist apart from the internet. There is so much potential right outside your door. You cannot afford to forget about your local community.

There is so much talk about marketing in the age of the internet, but that does not mean we should only marketing through the internet. We need to create a complete marketing strategy that addresses both the internet and the local community.

Some of the easiest ways to get noticed and to gain experience are by walking down the block or around the corner. You do not need to reach an audience across the globe to get a job from your neighbor down the street. If you disregard your local market and traditional marketing techniques, you are immediately eliminating a lot of opportunities.

You will want to reach people around the world for many different reasons, but a major aspect of that is so that it is easier for your community to notice you here. For instance, if you write an internet article about art galleries in Beacon, NY, whether you decide to host it on your website or to host it on a larger site with a link to your own, it will have the effect of increasing your Google ranking when someone searches for “art gallery in Beacon” or “artist in Beacon.” If you create a strong foundation in Google, it will be easier for your neighbor down the street to find you, but it would be just as easy to walk down the street and knock on their door.

Some simple but very effective strategies involve emailing people in your community, walking into local businesses, sending marketing promotions, making connections, and growing a local network. These are strategies that were used successfully before the internet and they still work today. In some cases, they work even better as many people put all of their focus towards the internet.

For example, let’s consider regular mail. How much mail do you receive these days? The amount has quickly declined since the rise of the web and email. However, think about how much email you receive these days, including promotions. It is a lot more than it used to be. Suddenly, as people begin to disregard mail, it now feels more special or novel. A well-crafted and beautiful mailer can stand out much more than a well-crafted email. A person will have a new appreciation for the effort put into the personal contact.

This is just one example of how local marketing is just as important as it ever was. There are now new avenues through which to market yourself; however, they have not diminished the effectiveness of many of the more traditional ways of marketing, and in some cases have improved it.

For further education, download Creative Freelance Marketing for Photographers.