How to Get Clients for Real Estate Photography
Getting clients means getting paid. Below you’ll find 5 tips on how to get clients for real estate photography. Follow these tips, stay committed to the strategies, and you’ll be sure to have a long list of clients in no time.
Additionally, if you are looking for online real estate photography courses to help you land clients and build your business, check out our article Best Real Estate Photography Classes.
Table of Contents
How to Get Clients for Real Estate Photography
Build a Portfolio that Stands Out
Let’s think about how to get clients for real estate photography. What is the most important factor? It’s your body of work and the quality of your photos.
Your portfolio is what represents you as a Real Estate Photographer. It’s extremely important to have a quality portfolio to show prospective clients. No matter which tips you plan to use on this list, you’ll end up showcasing your portfolio at the end of the day.
Luckily, you can read our article featuring 4 Tips on How to Build a Real Estate Photography Portfolio to give yourself that leg up on your competition. Start here, create the best portfolio you can, then move on to the other tips. You’re well on your way to figuring out how to get clients for your real estate photography business.
Build A Website That Looks Great
Now that you have a great portfolio, you’ll want to get it in front of as many prospective clients as possible. The best way to do that is by creating a website.
Having an amazing portfolio on a clunky and poorly built website is a very common mistake that will undoubtably cost you jobs. Your portfolio could be the best in your market, but if your website doesn’t load properly, or the photos aren’t formatted correctly and look blurry or discolored, nobody is going to see how capable you truly are.
I would recommend using Word Press to build your website since it allows for the most versatility and is excellent for SEO. If you aren’t tech savvy at all, and just want to get a good looking website get up and running as fast as possible, go ahead and sign up for Squarespace.
Squarespace is ridiculously user friendly and has some beautiful free templates. I run multiple Squarespace websites myself, and if you aren’t concerned about sales, marketing, or SEO word, it’s actually a really amazing platform for a photography portfolio.
Finally, check out this article featuring some examples of great websites for real estate photography businesses: 7 Great Examples of Real Estate Photography Websites
Develop Your Social Media Presence
Figure out if you’re going to work under a brand name or your own name, then work to build you presence on social media. This doesn’t mean that you have to get thousands of followers. Instead, use it as a way to network and interact with real estate professionals in your market.
Posting photos from your portfolio and some of your best shots from future jobs is all the content you’ll need to get started. Make sure to follow realtors, architects, interior designers, and other real estate professionals in your area.
Best case scenario, they follow you back, love your work, and hire you. Worst case scenario, you learn about them and their business, you interact with the content they’re putting out, and you give yourself the possibility of starting a conversation.
Don’t think about social media as marketing technique where you need followers, or need to go viral in order to succeed. Instead, just view it as networking platforms to connect you with industry professionals.
Run Facebook Ads
Running an effective local Facebook ad campaign is easier and cheaper than you might think. The best part about using Facebook Ads is that a lot of realtors are on Facebook and you can target them quite easily.
Check out our article on Using Facebook Ads to Get Clients for Real Estate Photography. It’ll walk you through the process of quickly getting a Facebook Ads account up and running, and will teach you how to properly target real estate industry professionals in your home market.
Cold Calls and Cold Emails
This has actually been one of the most successful tactics that I’ve personally used. Multiple of my largest and longest running clients were landed with cold calls and emails.
Cold calling/email marketing is a legitimate tactic where, if use properly, will land you real estate photography clients. It’s important to remember that cold calling and emailing is a game of quantity. You need to understand that you will get a lot of non-responses and a lot of flat out no’s.
Check out our Free Cold Email Template to help guide you through the cold email marketing strategy. You can use the template as talking points for cold calls as well, although I have found that cold emails seem to work better.
When sending an email, you can attach a direct link to your website and portfolio. It’s a bit more difficult to convince someone over the phone to head over to your website, or to give you their email address.
Many of the email addresses to local real estate professionals are readily available on websites like Zillow, Trulia, and Redfin. Just search houses for sale in your market and copy the real estate agents contact information. Easy as that! A tried and tested way for how to get clients for real estate photography.
How to Get Clients for Real Estate Photography
How to get clients for your real estate photography business is a question that has multiple answers. If you follow the 5 tips above, theres a very good chance you’ll start to develop a list of clients quickly.
Now that you know how to get clients, check out our Beginners Guide for more helpful tips and advice. Then, head over to our Business Resources page for access to templates and and guides that are sure to get your business started on the right foot.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get clients for my photography fast?
The fastest way to get clients is to introduce yourself to and many prospective clients as possible. Cold calling, cold emailing, or even sending out actual mail can be an effect way to land clients quickly.
How do realtors find photographers?
The majority of realtors find photographer by having them referred from another realtor. Realtors that work at the same firm will usually have a preferred photographers list.
How do I get my first client as a photographer?
Many times, your first client will likely be someone within your social circle, or someone that you are introduced to. It’s important that you get the word out there that you are actively looking for clients. Keep getting the word out and you’ll have a client in no time.
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