Never Leave Home Without It

No silly not your camera, but that is a given. NEVER leave home without your camera. Act like that camera is your right hand. However, this time I am talking about your business cards. I will be the first to admit I hate walking up to people and saying something like, “I am a local photographer in the area. If you are anyone you know is looking for a portrait session, please keep me in mind”. It sounds corny and they always look at you like OH NO what is this person trying to sell me on. On top of that, what if they say the dreaded, “No thank you” and totally reject me.  Well here is where I tell you that we need to put on our big girl or big boy panties.

Part of the business is being rejected. Let’s face it, not EVERYONE is going to like our style of photography or editing. That is okay though because there are plenty of people that will like our style. We just have to find them. Plus if they hear a friend is looking for a photographer, they already have your card and will hopefully hand it off. It has taken me MONTHS , yes months, to get the courage to say that simple sentence and hand out my cards. However, I have been selling lots of baby items on Craig’s List and every time someone comes to look or buy an item, I hand my card out to them. I show them my pictures of my daughter proudly posted on my wall and 100% of the people that have seen her pictures say they love them. They could just be saying it to be nice, but I don’t think so.  That brings me to another point, if you aren’t proud of your photography, how can you expect anyone else to be. Post your pictures on your walls, desktops and walls of phones and ipads.  This is a great conversation starter. 

So where do I get my cards? Look I am broke B-R-O-K-E. So I am on a budget for my business. I refuse to put my business in debt so I only order with the money I have in my account. The only place I have bought my cards from is vistaprints. They usually have specials and I can design it and get them pretty fast.  I order 250 and I try to give all of those away in 2 to three months. Now don’t go wasting them just to get rid of them. Put them to good use. Give them to your hair dresser to pass out, nail salon, friends, family and yes I even hand my card to the check out guys and girls because a lot of them are Seniors in high school. It is like passing out flyers. Not everyone is going to call you but eventually you will get someone that bites. When they do and when they fall in love with your photography they will tell their friends and family. When it comes down to it, the business cards are just getting your foot in the door. Your pictures will be your best advertisement and bring in the most customers. 

If you have any funny rejection or embarrassing stories, please post them below. It happens to everyone and once you get through one of those nothing seems to bother you. Like when I gave my card away to another photographer lol. But hey, we are good friends now and share ideas for our businesses.