You've decided to make your interior photography official and find paying clients.
Fantastic!
But you're not sure where to even start. There are actually a few reasons why it can be more challenging to find interior photography clients than for other types of photography.
- B2C vs B2B: If you're used to doing family portraits, weddings, or newborn photos, you're offering a B2C service (Business-to-Consumer). Offering a B2B service (Business-to-Business) can mean a completely different marketing approach, though!
- Budgeting: While budgets can be larger for B2B work, it can also require going through more hoops or steps to get there. This usually comes down to taking time to build a good client relationship to build trust.
- Offerings: For B2C photo services, there are more options for different offerings like mini sessions, flash sales, or photo products to upsell. With B2B, the options for offerings tends to be very custom in pricing, yet more limited in the range of variations.
- Timing: For family portraits, you could do them most of the year and possibly tempt a client by offering mini sessions or bonus prints, etc. With businesses, and especially with interior designers and architects, there really is no wiggle room on the timing. A project is ready when it's ready, and there's often a small window of time when it's able to be photographed. This means that even if you offer an enticing rate to confirm a booking, the client can't take it because the project is simply not in a condition for photos.
- Client Education: Especially when you work with designers who are new to working with a professional photographer, there is going to be a lot of client education. This is just part of the deal. The challenge lies in that designers who are not familiar with how commercial photography works will come into the conversation with very different expectations on budget, usage, and process. This can make it really challenging to lock in a client for a shoot.
Despite all these challenges, a business needs clients. Otherwise, it's an expensive hobby. So let's look at ways to make the most of your marketing efforts and get interior photography clients through that door!
The ideas below are all things that you can do or start on TODAY, they are all things that have been tried and true, and they are all things that will move the needle closer to getting your paying clients.
Social media marketing
Marketing your photography business on social media is a must these days. For interior photography in particular, your best bet is to be on Instagram. Interior designers are still consistently on IG and engaging with accounts the like, whether it's a builder, a tile manufacturer, or a big box brand.
It's not enough to just BE on Instagram, though. To really make the most of your efforts, leverage each minute you spend on social media by following the tips below.
- Audit your social media. Start by asking yourself WHY you are on social media, and let the answer to that questions guide your decisions. If you create an account so that you can connect with more clients and build your client roster, then make sure that your feed is full of existing and potential clients. Resist filling your feed with inspirational quotes, cute dog reels, or even other photographers. If all you see is clients, then all you'll interact with is clients, and all your results will be from clients. (Do you have accounts that are not clients but you don't want to unfollow? Mute them instead! You'll continue to follow them to support, but they will not show up on your feed.)
- Plan your engagement time. Take 5-10 minutes each day to leave genuine comments on other people's posts, reply to stories. Replies to stories will tend to get more attention and a higher chance of a reply, but showing up in multiple places on someone's account helps you get noticed. For any interaction, make sure it's genuine - people can tell if it's not!
- Post your work. Yes, seems obvious, but you would be amazed at how many photographers just don't post! Posting regularly ups the chances that you'll show up on your followers' feeds. Be sure to post photos of the type of work you want to be booked for, and always add a caption for a bit of personality.
- Share more. It's not enough to just show beautiful photos. One of the best ways to get potential clients excited about what you do and how much value you bring to the table is by showing them HOW you do what you do! Show some behind-the-scenes content, either on your feed or in your stories.
Connect online, non-social media
There is an entire world online beyond social media! Don't miss these ways to connect even more with potential clients.
- Find more designers to connect with. Visit the websites of local chapters of national design organizations like ASID. There is almost always a directory or guide of their members (aka, designers). Use their directory to discover potential clients in your area.
- Find even more designers to connect with. Houzz is a fantastic resource for searching for designers. You can search by location, speciality, and project budget. Hint: If you're looking for newer designers that you can grow with, search for designers doing lower budget projects.
- Also on Houzz, you can ask to be listed in their photographer directory! It's free, and serves as a listing guide for folks looking for photographers.
- Email potential clients from your research. Start with just a few, and be sure to personalize each email - no copy and paste! Make it short, polite, and to-the-point. Something like:
Hi Jane,
I'm a big fan of your interior design work - everything I've seen online has been beautiful! ((bonus if you can make this first line be something specific or personal)). I would be honored to work together one day, and am reaching out to introduce myself.
I'm a local interior photographer serving the greater Phoenix area. I've ((add your years of experience or some unique past experience)).
You can find my portfolio on my website: ((insert website))
You can also find more photos and updates on my Instagram: ((IG handle))
If you happen to have a photographer that you already work with, I would love to be kept in mind for any dates that they are not available to photograph.
Thanks so much for your attention, and I hope to meet and work together in the near future!
Best,
Susie
Old-School Networking
Yes, in-person networking is still a thing! Even if it feels awkward or scary, in-person marketing efforts tend to have the biggest and most direct impact on your marketing.
- Take 15 minutes to do a Google search for design-related events in your area. You can also visit the websites of local design organizations to see what they're up to. Even if it's far into the future, put one event on your calendar and commit to attending. On day of, commit to going for at least 15 minutes and talking to one person you don't know. Approach it with the mentality of someone just looking to make new friends!
- If you want to drum up real estate work to get things going, go to Meetup.com and find a local networking group. Agents are always attending these networking groups to drum up business of their own, so it's a good place to connect with them! Find one that works for you, RSVP to it, and commit to going.
- Chances are, you know a real estate agent, contractor, or someone remodeling their home. Give them a call, text, or email to specifically let them know that you're looking for interior photography work. Ask that they give out your information whenever they see an opportunity.
- Build your portfolio with a staged shoot. It can be in your home, a friend's home, or a rented space (Peerspace is a great source for rentals!). Plan ahead to make the most of your time, and use these photos to show off new work online.
Final Notes
Getting clients and building that client roster does take time, so be patient with yourself.
Think long term because you want your business to be sustainable long term. For this, organic growth is best. So give it time, be genuine, and seek to create real client relationships.
Not only does building a client list takes time, but building a client list full of ideal clients that you love takes even longer.
So in the beginning, be a bit more open to different types of job requests.
Stay positive, even if your messages go unanswered.
Give yourself time to find your people and grow.
That first step is always the toughest, but get in the habit of regularly taking small steps to connect with clients and it will absolutely pay off for your business.
Once you have conversations going with potential clients, it's time to figure out what questions to ask them, how to figure out your rates, and how to onboard a client.
