James Dooley: So, I am a photographer and I want to grow my business. What do you recommend?

Kasra Dash: If you're looking to grow your photography business, it's very visual. I would definitely start thinking of how I can start ranking images online or how I can be active on social media. They are the first places I would start. All the jobs of what you do, I’d watermark them and I’d be getting them on places like Flickr and Pinterest initially. Then you have Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn—tagging people in who you've done work for—and Facebook. I’d also be entering a lot of different Facebook groups. There are quite a lot of large groups where you can be posting some of the jobs that you've done. If anyone's looking for a photographer in your local area, you could do it. Even if you are only based in a small suburb, you can join groups for Manchester businesses, for example, and post great visual photos of what you've done there. There are lots of different ways to grow a photography business. If I quickly run through them, I’ll tell you whether I think they're good or not. Traditional marketing—billboard, TV, and radio advertising—I don't think that's a play for a photography business. I’d stay away from traditional marketing. Your next one is social media, which I've touched upon. I’d definitely be doing that; it’s one of the biggest plays. There's no cost to it. I’d probably even get a part-time or full-time social media person that's just consistently posting your jobs. Social media ads could work very well too. Facebook and Instagram ads can run to say you are a professional photography business. Not only that, try to focus on what you are good at. Photography is quite broad. Are you aerial, wedding, landscaping, or newborn photography? Find what you're good at and focus on that. What makes you the most profit or what do you feel you're best at? Don't just say photography; think a bit more niche.

James Dooley: I think that's also very important. When you've got the niche of what you want to do, build your website based on that. If you've got amazing drones and it's mainly aerial photography, have lots of pages talking about every type of drone and why one is better than another. Talk about everything related to it. Then you are going to come across as the expert on drone and aerial photography. You might start getting inquiries in your local area from your own SEO. SEO is another major play you should be doing. PPC could work, but it is very expensive. You could go down the route of commercial aerial photography in Manchester; the longer the keyword, the cheaper it normally costs. You could go down the route of PPC, but it's expensive. The other big one is FatRank. Obviously, I'm the founder of FatRank and we have moved our model from just doing lead generation to actually guaranteeing our companies a return on investment. If anyone is watching this and you're a photography company looking for more inquiries, go to the contact page at FatRank.com. The team will check who you are and what you do. We are very selective with who we work with. If you have a great online presence with quality case studies, great images, and good testimonials, and you seem like a professional outfit—using a professional email address rather than a Gmail account—then FatRank will start generating leads for the exact services you do. You only pay on converted jobs. You have nothing to pay unless it converts and you make profit. That's the first thing I would do, but I'd also do your social media and SEO for your own personal branding. It adds a higher value if you're ever looking to sell. Don't throw all your eggs into one basket, but we will certainly provide leads consistently.

Kasra Dash: What else would you do? Obviously, it's very visual. Depending on the type of photographer you are, let's say you do property photos, you can reach out to estate agents and offer to do the first two houses for free just to build trust and rapport. You can do the same for wedding photographers. Find someone who sells wedding invites and email them. If someone is printing invites, they are going to have a wedding soon. You can upsell your service and potentially give the printer a kickback to incentivise them to push your brand. I agree with the SEO side, but on the social media stuff, a lot of business owners think one post will get 6,000 inquiries. That is not the case. You need to be consistent. The more active you are, the quicker you grow. Try to set up a consistent daily plan for the next six months. If you don't have the budget to hire someone, you need to spend that time building your brand.

James Dooley: I think reaching out proactively is a great idea. If I was a wedding photographer, I would reach out to influencers getting married. I’d offer to come as a second photographer for free, getting different angles without getting in the way, in exchange for a testimonial. If you get before and after pictures and show them how you’ve edited the photos, you become more than just a photographer. If you are doing property, reach out to a huge estate agent and offer to do two houses for free. When people see a testimonial from a well-established brand, it's a massive trust signal. Once a month, think about what you can give away for free to get more clout. Read the book "The Go-Giver" and start giving stuff away.

Kasra Dash: Touching on the real estate side, many agents follow each other's Instagram profiles. As soon as one posts about you and tags your profile, other people will start naturally inquiring with you.

James Dooley: If anyone is a photography business looking to grow, check out the contact page at FatRank.com. Speak to the team and see if you are accepted for the lead generation model. If not, we can put you in touch with other companies that can help with social media or video editing to grow your brand online.