Today’s Topic Tuesday is from our guest contributor Melissa of Melissa Lynn Hunt Photography.  Melissa is a senior photographer in North Carolina and is doing awesome things with her business.  Her post today is about answering some of your questions, specifically how to find the ideal client.

All Topic Tuesday posts are for the purpose of answering your questions as the reader and helping everyone that follows Seniorologie grow their senior business.  If you have a question for myself (Leslie), Melissa or any of our other guest contributors, be sure to comment on a Topic Tuesday post or send us an email directly at info@seniorologie.com.  We really want to post about the things YOU want to learn about, exactly as Melissa says below.  You can also contact any of our guest contributors directly as they have been chosen as guest contributors because of their willingness to share and help.  All of their information is included in their guest posts.

Seniorologie strives to create an environment of open sharing and learning and hopes to help photographers grow their senior photography business! 🙂

Now here is Melissa’s guest post…Thank you Melissa for contributing to Seniorologie!!!

As I began to write my guest post for May, I realized that perhaps the things I am writing about aren’t things y’all are even interested in learning.  I do receive feedback from some of the reader’s, but it’s mostly a really sweet “Thank You.” I would love it if you guys sent me a message or left me a comment asking questions and describing to me what it is you would like to learn about.  I am an open book for y’all!

Since I didn’t have any direct feedback to go off of this month, I reached out to a very close photographer friend of mine who is just beginning her career.  She messaged me back with a slew of topics she’d like to read about! That means, that y’all must have something to ask me!

I will be dedicating my next few blog posts, here on Seniorologie, to answering YOUR questions!  Just let me know what YOU want to learn about!

Today I would like to talk about finding the ideal client!  It’s not always easy, but it is certainly very important. I even hate to admit this, but I didn’t even realize I had an ideal client (or needed one) until 2 years into my business.

Once I figured it out, my business was more successful and I was happier.

So, let’s get down to business.  You must define your market.  So naturally, the first thing to do is define WHO your ideal client would be.

What is their personality?  Personable, Energetic, Sentimental

Where do they like to shop/What is their style?  Specific Malls, Very specific stores

Where do they live? Specific cities, specific high schools

How important are photographic memories to them? Very.

What is the average I want my client to spend? $$$

Once I answered those questions I was then able to define my market.  If you think about it, the above questions really help you narrow down very specific cities/towns/neighborhoods.

Let me pause here for a moment and mention that your style of photography should also help attract the ideal client.  I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to make sure you nail down your technique and editing style so there is a consistency within your images.  It is confusing to a potential client to see a wide variety of edits throughout your gallery. You also want to make sure you set yourself apart.  Everyone is a photographer. Everyone.

Hopefully this post has sparked some questions for you to ask!  I’d love to hear from you.

Melissa is owner of Melissa Lynn Hunt Photography in Concord, North Carolina.  Melissa specializes in high school seniors and wedding photography.