SENIOR GUY STYLE - You MUST Do This To Gain More Guy Clients!

OK, I realize that using the word “MUST”, in all caps, is a pretty bold statement.  But now that I have your attention…let’s talk about the guys.I’ve been pretty active in the forums lately trying to get some feedback on why photographers think they aren’t able to attract the guy clients.  Or, often times, why they don’t even try to attract them.The response I seemed to get over and over again was something like…”the guys just aren’t into it so they don’t book sessions”….”the guys just don’t call me”….”I never get any guy clients”.Well I’m here to tell you that more often than not, the reason you “never get any guy clients” is because you aren’t marketing to the guy families!

You MUST market directly to guys, and their families, to get them in your door.

I know without a doubt, when I started creating marketing pieces specifically for the guys, and showing off their images, that’s when I became known as *thee* photographer for Senior Guys.Everything I had…brochures, online magazines, appointment cards, business cards, galleries…anything that was available to my clients, I would feature a photo of a guy on it.It’s no big secret that you attract the kind of client that you market to.  Think about it…if you photograph newborns, you’re not going to use wedding photos on your business card.  If you photograph weddings, you probably shouldn’t use a photo of a toddler as your online magazine cover.  So if you photograph Seniors, why would you ONLY use photographs of girls in all your marketing?After I photographed my first few Senior Guy sessions, I blasted their photos all over the place! I made sure that their handsome faces were seen all over my Facebook wall, on my website, on new biz cards, and anywhere else I could show them. I was shameless.I wanted to make sure that everyone knew I PHOTOGRAPH GUYS TOO! It worked. It was crazy how quickly I was getting comments from people that were mentioning the guy photos.  I noticed that lots of them were actually surprised to see Senior Guy photos, that looked great, being featured at all by a photographer.  It just wasn’t normal to see guys highlighted like the girls were.  And it got everyone talking.What was really cool is I got a ton of comments that were like “my friend has a son who will be a Senior, I’ll tell them I found a photographer who does guy sessions”.  People who didn’t even have boys were spreading the word for me!  It was such a rarity to see the guys get some attention that I stood out from the massive crowd of Senior photographers simply by highlighting the guy photos.As soon as I had a few different sessions, I created an online info magazine that was just for guys.  I used the same information that I used for the girls, I just changed some of the clothing tips and the wording.  But the products and how I handled the sessions were exactly the same.  I used issuu to publish the digital magazine.  Then every time I had an inquiry about a guy session I would link to that magazine so they could see everything catered specifically for them.Here’s a tip….moms (who usually get the ball rolling for the session) like to see boys getting attention.  They already feel like boys, from the very beginning, get the shaft over the girls.  I mean, have you ever seen the newborn clothing departments at the mall?  The girls section can go on for days!  The boys section…not so much.The more you show the moms, and the guys, that you put time and emphasis on the guys sessions, the more they will trust you with their images.  And their money.Here’s a few specific things that I did to highlight the guys, and I recommend that every photographer do this if you’re serious about gaining more guy clients.CREATE a separate gallery on your website for girl and guy images.  It’s a very simple task and only takes a little of your time.CREATE separate pieces for any printed marketing materials that you mail to your potential or booked clients. I can’t emphasize enough what a difference it makes for a mom to get a beautiful printed product that showcases only guys. It makes them feel like you’re paying attention to their specific needs and also solidifies your expertise in working with guys.FEATURE photos of guys in all your social media.  Facebook, Instagram, Twitter…wherever you are, show off the guys.  I’m confident that if you dramatically increase the amount of emphasis that you place on the guy sessions, you’ll definitely see an increase in the interest you get from the moms.Yes, it takes a little bit of time to change your galleries.Yes, it takes some investment to print different productsBut hey, if you don’t want more clients, who have money to spend, then you can just ignore this whole post :) I’m just tryin’ to help!Got questions…comments…ideas?  Leave me your comments here or talk with me over in the forum.  And if you’ve made any of the changes I’ve talked about I’d LOVE to hear your success stories!