Promote Your Dog Photography Business Locally and Cheaply

By Kim Rodgers and Sarah Sypniewski from Dog Photography For Dummies

Chances are you have a dog of your, and you’ve started a dog photography business, so why not put Sasquatch to work as well? Take him for an outing to your favorite dog park and let him break the ice. Anyone who cares about his dog enough to socialize with him at the park is a great candidate for a doggie photo session.

Consider bringing your camera as well to take some “practice” shots. If you start photographing other dogs at the park, their humans may even inquire as to how they can get a copy of the photos.

Feel free to give one or two away in hopes of securing a full-on photo session with them later, or try selling them as one-off packages. Either way, you’ve made a contact and quite possibly a sale.

Want to know the secret to advertising when you have zero budget for it? Get press instead! A story about you and/or your business holds a lot more weight than an advertisement you pay to place. Start small with online niche websites or blogs that may be interested in featuring a story about a pet photographer.

Figure out what sets you apart and approach your media outlets with ideas that appeal to their already established reader base. Decide which websites, magazines, and newspapers you’d be a good fit for and contact their editors or writers by dropping them a note to introduce yourself and then following up with them once a month or so.

If you’re persistent without being pesky, sooner or later that editor or writer will think of you when a story comes up that you may be a good source or topic for. Just like you build relationships with local businesses and even perfect strangers at the dog park, this one is about relationships as well. It is called public relations after all!

One of the easiest ways to promote yourself is simply by doing your job well. Nothing’s more powerful than a word-of-mouth referral in this business, or in this case, the sharing of a photo.

Every single photo you take for a client is a potential calling card that may land itself in front of that client’s family, friends, and co-workers. Create something eye-catching enough and people will surely stop to ask, “Wow, who took that?!”

Use your social media outlets to stay connected with clients as well. Ask your clients to “like” your Facebook business page and share it with their friends. Also, consider starting a monthly newsletter as a way to interact and connect with your past (and future) clients.