Using your studio’s website for free advertising

Posted on August 28, 2007
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Advertising through links Now that you have a website, you can start making it work for you. The nice thing about having a website is that it allows you to link to other people and more importantly, they can link to you.

Setting up link exchanges on the internet is almost as old as the internet itself. As a matter of fact, this is part of what made the internet so powerful in the first place. And you should take advantage of this power.

On your site, set up an area called “Other Services You May Be Interested In”. Then set out to find those services for your customers and visitors. If your studio does bridal photography, than focus on bridal services such as catering, DJs, halls, wedding gowns and tuxedos. If you do mostly family photography, look for local sites that have activities that families would enjoy.

Now that you have this list, contact each one of the owners of each site. Tell them that you are a non-competing business in the same field and that you would like to link to their site from your site and in exchange, you would like a link from them. Not everyone will agree but some of them will. Whether or not you link to the sites that do not agree to link to you is up to you, but certainly make sure you link to the ones that do.

By doing this, you are gaining access to the other site’s visitors. It stands to reason that if someone is looking for a wedding gown, they may also be looking for wedding photographer at some point in time. If a person is visiting a family oriented establishment, like a playground or a museum, chances are they might also be interested in having a family portrait created.

Getting links from other business is not the only source of links you should consider. Do you belong to any organizations or associations or does your community have a Chamber of Commerce? Many times these organizations have a place to list their members or community businesses’ websites. Sometimes, the websites for these groups are where a potential client will start their search for a reliable service.

You can also get free local listings from search engines. Both Google and Yahoo! have local services that allow you to add your studio business and your studio’s website.

There is always the possibility that your customers have websites as well. These days, many people keep personal blogs. If your client was happy with your service, ask if they will mention you and link to you from their blog in exchange for a small free gift. Many (but not all) will be happy to do so and in doing so will be telling their friends and family about you.

If at all possible, have your link listed with some text about the services that you provide or a special offer. Consider an offer for a free framed 8×10 with every session or a complimentary print in a photomount. Incentives like this will further entice people to click on your link to learn more about your studio.

Use your website to reach as many potential customers as you can. Reach out to companies and help them do the same. Make sure your studio is well represented on the world wide web.

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