As a business owner, the first impression that a prospective client gets with you is so incredibly important. And as a photographer, it’s even that much more important that your first impression is captivating.
In today’s conversation, you’ll hear from my guest, Elizabeth McCravy. We are going to be talking about four critical mistakes that you might be making with your photography website.
We are going to be talking about websites and how that first impression can make or break a decision of whether or not someone is going to hire you.
Elizabeth believes that smart strategy, combined with plenty of personality leads to a thriving business. As a web designer, podcast host, and business mentor she spends her days designing gorgeous strategic website templates from her home in Nashville, and shares all of her business strategies, tips, and tricks on her podcast The Breakthrough Brand Podcast.
She has helped over 1300 business owners highlight their value and show off their skills through her library of beautifully designed and easily customizable website templates. And she’s on a mission to help every entrepreneur create a strategic personality-filled website. Elizabeth is a Showit top designer and a go-to resource for the online business community.
Elizabeth is also a wife, a boy mama, and a believer. When she’s not teaching or designing, you can find her hanging out with her adorable toddler and high school sweetheart husband, putting her certified yoga teacher skills to work, or nose deep in the latest mystery novel.
Key Points Discussed:
- All about Elizabeth, her background, and her family
- Elizabeth describes her website design business she is the CEO of
- What photographers should really be looking for when they go to create a website
- You need a website platform that’s going to allow you to create a really visually driven website so that you can showcase your work really easily.
- Have a website that you can update yourself frequently without having to call your web designer because your work changes.
- How the Showit platform was built as a platform for photographers
- The 4 most critical mistakes that Elizabeth see photographers make when they DIY their own website (All listed out below!)
- Where exactly you should put your location on your website (hint: both the top and the bottom!)
- Using your best images for your homepage
- The importance of quality over quantity in the images you use on your website
- How to create a curated portfolio and link to it in your website
- The importance of linking to your active social media accounts on your website
- Not neglecting to update both your socials AND your website
- Not listing too many services on your website page
- How to navigate listing your services on your website
- Homepage must-haves:
- A photo of you looking at the camera so people know who they’re inviting into their special moments
- Your location- both city & state
- Including enough text, words, and description on your page to boost your SEO for Google
- Website trends that Elizabeth has seen recently:
- Using video on your website- A B-roll, loop-style video auto-playing, rather than an embedded Vimeo video
- Professional imagery is still #1 on websites, even if social media is way more casual
- Using larger text on websites
Critical Mistake #1: Not Clearly Showing Where You Are Located
Just like for any sort of brick-and-mortar business, someone wants to land on your website and know if you’re in their city.
If someone finds you on Google, Instagram, or on Tik Tok, etc. and now they’re on your website, they need to be able to know if you are in their location. Even if you’re willing to travel as a photographer, you should absolutely put your home-base location in an easily seen place on your website, with a note that you are willing to travel next to it.
Your location should be front and center, or even on the footer of your website for SEO purposes.
Critical Mistake #2: Focusing on Having a Ton of Images on Your Website Instead of Focusing on the Most Quality Images You Have to Offer
We want our website to show the best of the best of our work, focusing on quality over quantity.
Use other social media platforms to showcase things you want to market, but save the best of your work for your website.
Use blog posts to build your SEO and showcase more work, but save those truly stellar sessions for your homepage, portfolio, and services pages.
You can also have other areas that you’re showing your expertise besides with images such as testimonials, press features, statistics, etc.
As you improve as a photographer, you can swap out those best of the best for your new best images!
Critical Mistake #3: Not Linking to Your Social Media Accounts Through your Website
Your future clients want to engage with you and study you on ‘their turf’ which is where they feel most comfortable.
Make your social media icons really easy to click on in both the navigation page and the footer.
Having your Instagram feed in the footer is a huge trend for photography websites right now.
Just because you link to your socials does NOT mean you don’t have to update your website. You want to make sure both are updated, because first impressions are so important!
Critical Mistake #4: Listing Too Many Service Options
Don’t say that you offer a million services. It’s going to feel really crowded on your website because it’s difficult to speak well to each of those niches when you are trying to talk to all of them from the same website.
Know where you’re wanting your business to head, and market yourself to those directly. You can still do other services, but be really specific about who you serve on your website.
Having 1-3 services listed max is a good number to shoot for on your website. Within those, you can have multiple service options. This is going to help you systematize it all because there are less things to set up systems for and also makes marketing easier.
Quotes to Note:
“I think an important thing for listeners to know is that you can have a successful photography website on any website builder, and on any platform.” – Elizabeth McCravy
“You need a website platform that’s going to allow you to create a really visually driven website so that you can showcase your work really easily.” – Elizabeth McCravy
“The whole point of a website is user experience, right? Like you want the person that’s coming to look, and not to have to sit and guess if you’re for them.” – Ashley Freehan
“When someone is booking you as their photographer, they’re booking you, they’re not just booking what your portfolio looks like.” – Elizabeth McCravy
“Right now, people are very into not only video but I would add fast-moving video.” – Elizabeth McCravy
Connect with Elizabeth:
Elizabeth McCravy | Website | Instagram | Podcast
Elizabeth’s Showit Templates | Use code ashley10 for 10% off
Elizabeth McCravy believes that smart strategy combined with plenty of personality leads to a thriving business. As a web designer, podcast host, and business mentor, she spends her days designing gorgeous, strategic website templates from her home in Nashville and shares all her business strategy tips and tricks on her show – the Breakthrough Brand Podcast. She’s helped over 1,300 business owners highlight their value and show off their skills through her library of beautifully designed and easily customizable website templates, and she’s on a mission to help every entrepreneur create a strategic, personality-filled website. Elizabeth is a Showit Top Designer and a go-to resource for the online business community. Elizabeth is also a wife, boy mama, and believer. When she’s not teaching or designing, you can find her hanging out with her adorable toddler and high school sweetheart husband, putting her certified yoga-teacher skills to work, or nose-deep in the latest mystery novel.
As a business owner, the first impression that a prospective client gets with you is so incredibly important. And as a photographer, it’s even that much more important that your first impression is captivating.
In today’s conversation, you’ll hear from my guest, Elizabeth McCravy. We are going to be talking about four critical mistakes that you might be making with your photography website.
We are going to be talking about websites and how that first impression can make or break a decision of whether or not someone is going to hire you.
Resources:
- Need support managing your time well and creating systems to streamline your Photography Business? Join the Efficient Mom Photographer (12 Week Group Coaching Program
- Want to get make sure your photography business is on the right track? Take the Free Passion to Profit Challenge
- Local to Gilbert/Mesa Arizona (For Mom Business Owners) Join our in person membership community
- Looking for tips and strategies for making motherhood and business easier? Join our Free Purpose Gathering Mamas Community
- Have a question for me? Or a specific struggle you’re dealing with? I’ll address your question on the podcast. Submit your ‘Ask Ashley’ question here
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