As a photographer or videographer, you know you’re a bit of a magician when you’re behind the lenses. Whether you’re a wedding, lifestyle, branding photographer or other, you’ve dedicated years to finessing your skills, capturing your clients’ gorgeous moments for their lifelong safekeeping of memories. You’re more than just a photographer, you’re their trusted artist and storyteller. Beyond the financial transaction, there’s another reason why your clients have put their faith in you…
It’s YOU.
Your personality, energy and style have resonated with them. While your work might be at risk of being replicated but your authenticity? Never! That’s why it’s so incredibly important that you’re showing up across all communications as your 100% self – including but not limited to your website, pricing guide, social media, emails, text messages, and any other platform where there’s client interaction involved. There’s no point trying to copy someone else’s persona when you have your own light to shine…Plus, competing with others is exhausting. While it may offer great learning experiences, you should always focus on competing with your past self, rather than living up to other people’s idea of success.
Sure, you’ve worked hard to develop a rock-solid portfolio that sells itself. But what about your selection of words when it comes to describing your business’s ‘Who’, ‘What’, ‘Where’, ‘When’, and ‘How’? Are you doing yourself justice or a disservice? Beyond spelling and grammatical accuracy, your clients will be reading your copy to picture who you are and imagine what it’s like to work with you.
Perhaps you’re thinking “Yeah OK, but they’ll get to know me once I’m on the phone or Zooming with them…” Nuh-uh. What’s the point in having an online presence if you’re solely relying on those initial phone calls to win potential clients over? What if they don’t follow through with your phone call or meeting request? That leaves you back at square one.
Or maybe you’re thinking “Don’t clients choose me based on my portfolio anyway? I’m a photographer, not a writer…” Fair point, BUT while your work is a wonderful reflection of your photography style and talent, it doesn’t portray the essence of who you are and your personality.
“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.”
“Every interaction, in any form is branding.”
“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.”
“People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic.”
Bringing us forward to the point of this blog…This is where your copywriting comes into play – you can nurture your online presence to ‘sell’ the moment your dream clients land on your website.
Still doubtful?
If you were not confident or answered ‘no’ to any of the above questions, it’s time to review your copy.
Turning visitors into enquiries and converting leads into bookings, you should be investing in your copywriting as much as your camera gear. If you’re time-poor, doubtful of your own writing skills or have a tendency to procrastinate on the hard tasks, acknowledge that copywriting is potentially an area for outsourcing. Why ‘wing it’ when you can leave it to an expert copywriter for photographers who can craft copy that will align with your overall business goals?
Good copywriting reflects your authentic personality, effectively communicates your business values, creates a lasting impact, and drives people to engage in the action you want them to do (e.g. send you an enquiry).
TL;DR: Poor copywriting is detrimental to your audience and business.
Melinda Harcourt is our in-house copywriter and coach. Trust me when I say she’s an absolute gun at whipping together the right words for your business. If you’d like to learn more or would like Mel to help you with your copywriting requirements, you can email her via hello@melindaharcourtcopywriting.com and she’ll sort you out!