Stand Out from Your Competition with a Studio Welcome Guide

Stand Out from Your Competition with a Studio Welcome Guide

Today’s blog post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for choosing to support Sixth Bloom!  Here–> Magazine Mama 

As a business owner you probably have business cards, handouts and folders full of marketing information.   Does it feel like too much to handle? One month you may skip printing the handouts or you may run out of business cards and see how long you can get away without them. Business supplies for marketing are labor intensive – and that’s just to get them in the door never mind what you’re supposed to do with them once you’ve spent all your time managing them.

How about marketing with magazines? No – it’s not something to add to your ever-growing list of marketing collateral. It can replace them all! With photography welcome guides you can inspire and inform your clients, show off your passion for photography and answer all your clients’ questions.

Inspire and inform your clients

Think about your favorite magazine. How much information is packed into a glossy? A lot. There are gorgeous photographs, helpful tips and great information and by the time you are done reading it from cover to cover you are inspired and informed.

Imagine creating a marketing piece that uses information to inspire action. Take all of the content you create for your potential clients, the about page, price lists, what to wear, contact information and tips then merge it with your photos to create a welcome guide for your clients that is both helpful and gorgeous. Bye-bye handouts! See ya later folders! Hello, streamlined and gorgeous marketing magazine. Print it or email it to clients. Get ready to become known as an industry expert, engage your audience and make your life easier.

Get your passion seen  

You’re a photographer – not a marketer! Taking pictures is your passion. Wouldn’t you rather be working behind the lens than spending time trying to create marketing materials in Photoshop? Pre-designed templates are easy to use and will save you so much time! All you need to do is insert your photos and add your logo and studio name. Basic instructions for Photoshop are included with each template.

Clients want the best. Show them that you are the best. Be a leader by sharing your knowledge with them. Custom welcome guides filled with your knowledge and your best photos create differentiation between you and everyone else. Photos within your guide should be similar to what you’d feature on your website. If you’ve had photos published be sure to mention that fact and include those photos, or a cover shot or logo from the publication where they were featured.

Answer all of your customer’s questions – beautifully

If you love the idea but are dreading the blinking cursor that will inevitably come with writing content – stop worrying. Articles for the magazines are pre-written. What?! Yes.

Strategically pre-written content

Magazine Mama’s templates include pre-written text sections that have been strategically written to help build trust between your photography business and potential clients. When you download the template the articles come with it. Each article is written to enhance the content theme of the magazine. For example, moms looking for a family photographer may want to learn about how to match outfits without being matchy-matchy but that information is not relevant (or interesting) to high school seniors. Similarly, brides-to-be want to read about (and see) weddings and newlyweds might be interested in newborn photography. All of the most competitive audiences are represented with relevant on-topic information.

Pre-written magazine articles include topics like:

• Why hire a professional
• What to wear
• Put your best face forward: Professional headshots and your business
• Tips to rock your senior session

Magazine articles answer commonly asked questions, provide information to clients they may not have thought to ask and encourage better outcomes by informing clients on how they can help you get the best pictures possible. Some other important pages to feature include your about page with your bio and photos, pricing and testimonials. If you’re still working out your pricing strategy and anticipate that you’ll be changing your prices frequently or adding new products, it’s best to print only small quantities at a time.

A few years ago most print companies would require you to make a minimum order of 25-500 quantities before you would see any kind of price break. Nowadays labs such as McKenna Pro Lab will allow you to place an order with a minimum quantity of 10. In fact, most all my welcome guide templates have been designed to match the specs at McKenna Pro. You will find their magazine option in their press printed catalog under “brochure” with different paper types and sizes to choose from.

With the option to print in small batches you may even want to print several different times throughout the year, perhaps one for every season or one for every genre of photography. There are templates for photographers who shoot newborns, to seniors, weddings and more! You could even create a co-op guide and network with other related vendors. Set up a styled shoot, create a magazine around the vendors featured, include their contact info within the guide, have everyone split printing costs and distribute to their audience. You’ve just created another avenue for getting new clients!

So now that you know you have a go-to resource that is easy to use, has pre-made design and pre-written text… why not get started today? Convince your next client that you are the right photographer for the job when you present them with your beautiful and professional studio welcome guide. This is your chance to step into the spotlight and show them your passion for photography. They aren’t just another client – they are your next epic photo shoot.