Jan 22, 2020
Your website is your online store, its where people can learn more about you, see your vibe, check out your work, and connect for more information. I absolutely love web design; I think I was a website designer in another lifetime, if this photography thing didn't work out for me, I would have totally gone into that!
If social media is the introduction or the invitation, your website is the party! You have complete control of your user's experience, and there are so many fancy things you can do! With all the fancy bells and whistles you can have on a website, there are five must-have aspects that NEED to be on your website as a photographer, and today we are chatting all about them!
The most important page on your website is often overlooked by photographers. It is the about me page. This is one of the most viewed pages on my website. This is where clients get to know me; my family learns about Justin's heart valve surgeries and how it changed me as a person. It sums up all the work you just did in episode 11, where we dug into creating a personal brand.
This is where you get to be creative with your words- which is something photographers can struggle with at times but is so important. Another option is to create a video! The Hollis Co has a great video that showcases their company values!
Jenna Kutcher uses a Madlib style about me page, and Marie Forleo's about me page showcases where she is now, but also know where she started!
Whatever you do, please, for the love of all things holy, do not write- I've had a camera in my hand since I can remember, and I love coffee.
The next thing that should be up on your site as a photographer is your portfolio. My portfolio gets updated about once a year. However, in my early years, I was updating it almost after every shoot! Here is the thing about your portfolio. You don't have to show every photo you have ever taken. You don't even have to showcase every session or wedding you have photographed. Get picky when it comes to choosing images for your portfolio showcase what you want to shoot, and nothing else. If you want only to photograph weddings, then do not have family reunions sweet 16s and newborn photos in your portfolio.
One of the best things I did last year added an extra step to my client workflows before I closed their project. I got this idea from Katelyn James. I would go through their gallery in cloudspot and download any images that I thought I might want to add to my portfolio when I updated it in the fall. Then I created a collection inside cloudspot called 2019 portfolio. Then I uploaded the images I had just picked and saved them there. This does a few things. 1- it makes it wayyy easier to update my portfolio in the fall, and 2. I have all of my best work in one spot that I can pull for images on social media, or for blog posts!!
The next thing you need to have on your website is client testimonials. I call these love notes on my site, but this is where you are going to show social proof. Think about it, would you pay $3000 for something without reading the reviews? I know I wouldn't!
So how do you get these reviews? Ask your clients! If you did your job right and provided an amazing experience and beautiful images, your clients will be more then likely to leave you a review! I now have this automated to go out in an email a little over a month after the wedding!
This way, I have testimonials coming in, and I don't even have to think about it!
I also suggest that you include your client's photo next to their testimonial. This helps to establish a little more trust!
The next thing you need on your website is a link to your blog! We talked all about blogging in episode 10. You want to make sure clients can find it! You could even have a section where you highlighted some of your help content. If you're not sure what I'm talking about when I say help content check out episode 10, where I broke down the three types of content and how to choose your blogging categories!
The final thing you want to include on your website is a contact form!
I have my contact form linked to my client management software Honeybook. This form collects all the information I need from couples right away, like their names, email address, wedding date, and location, how they heard about me and asks them a fundamental question.
Tell me about your wedding, what are you looking for in your photographer?
This will let me see where they are in the planning process and helps me see if they are a good fit. A bride who replies with a one-liner might not be the best fit.
I love that honeybook automatically pulls this information and alerts me when someone has inquired. This also means I can start the booking process right away, even on my phone!
These are non-negotiable things that you need to have on your website as a photographer.
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