Thoughtful Thursday- Word & Spend

 When I was living in Chico I felt as if I was moving at a good rate and business was getting pretty steady. I still had a lot of room to grow but I could see my business moving forward. Since moving to Sacramento I have had to think of new ways to get my name out, new ways to spread the word. Honestly, it hasn't been easy. Mostly because I don't know many people and I don't have a regular babysitter during the day. Obviously It's not very professional to tote your kids around trying to promote your business. One thing I have been asked many times before is how I've gotten my name out there, where did all of my business come from. When I was in Chico, the only money I had put towards marketing was for business cards. That's it! Almost all of my business was from Facebook and word of mouth. It's amazing how much word of mouth can affect a business. Now that I am in Sacramento, it's a little different. Everything is so spread out and I hardly know anyone. It's hard to have people you know spread the word, when you don't really know anyone! So, I have to go in a different direction, at least right now. I've heard it many times, as I'm sure a lot of you have also, that you have to spend money to make money. I am understanding that concept more and more these days. Marketing plays such a huge roll in running a business. You need to understand who your market is, their age range, their wants or needs. Once you figure out who your potential market is, you have to decide what is the best way to attract them. There are so many different ways to advertise but it's a matter of deciding which way is best for your business. This year I have decided my goal for my business is trying to focus on the areas I am want to specialize in. I really want my main focus to be on weddings and engagements. One way I am going to market myself for this is being a vendor in an upcoming Bridal Show. This is a great way to advertise myself because I am specifically advertising to actual brides looking for services like mine, instead of just a general audience. Even though it's not cheap, it would be worth it even if I only booked one wedding from the show, but I'm hoping for more! Another way I plan on advertising is taking an ad out in one of the local Bridal Magazines. Sadly I missed this issues deadline, to focused on the wedding show, but the next time I will. The other areas I want to gear my business towards is maternity and newborns. I'm still thinking of ways I want to advertise for this area of my photography but I know there are plenty of ways! The good thing about being a wedding photographer, is it helps me somewhat in this area. For most couples, once the are married they begin to think of babies, either right away or not too far after. In today's market there are so many photographers but I believe it's still possible to have a successful business. It's all about word of mouth and spending money to make money!