It was just a few days before my wedding and something happened. The photographer I had hired to take pictures had to cancel and I was left without a photographer. You can imagine my panic, being a photographer myself, at the possibility of not getting good images on this very important day. So I did what roughly 135,000 people do every year…I pulled up Google and typed in Photographers near me. Want to know what popped up? Two Boudoir studios, a picture framing business, and two “family photography” businesses.
This was NOT a good sign and I was concerned, VERY concerned. Eventually I gave up on Google and decided to try Instagram. Going to the search feature on IG I tried “Orlando Photographer” and “Florida Photographer” and guess what?
If you guessed that I got nothing you would be correct.
See the problem I was facing here is a problem that I don’t think is talked about enough when photographers decide to strike out on their own and become a freelance photographer. Being a freelance photographer means RUNNING YOUR OWN BUISNESS, and running a business requires skills outside of photography.
When you run your own business you need to learn how to…
- Find and retain customers – This means sales, marketing, Google AdWords, and picking up the phone and cold calling potential clients.
- Organization – Running a calendar, keeping appointments, doing the edits, etc.
- Presentation – Delivering a quality experience to the customer from start to finish.
- Finances – Invoicing, billing, taxes, ect.
- Social Media – Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and more.
Now why do I bring this all up? Because if the local photographers in the Orlando area had all set up a Google Business Profile I would have seen more options on my “Photographers Near Me” google search then I did. I would have been able to secure and find a photographer more easily, and I certainly would have had less stress in the days leading up to my wedding.
So to all my fellow photographers near me and far far away from me…If I have but one tip for you it is this…Go set up a business profile on Google. You can thank me later.
