Photography Marketing Strategies That Actually Books Clients

Look, I’ve been in this industry for over 17 years, and I can tell you exactly what’s happening with photography marketing strategies: photographers are spending hours every day creating Instagram content, perfecting their captions, engaging with followers… and then wondering why they’re still struggling to book clients. Meanwhile, other photographers are fully booked with a fraction of the effort. What’s the difference? They understand the Pareto principle for business – also known as the 80/20 rule.

After helping hundreds of photographers optimize their businesses, I can tell you this: there’s a massive imbalance between what we do and what actually gets results. And once you understand how to identify and leverage that imbalance, everything changes.

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But before we dive in—Hi! I’m Melissa, and I’m an SEO expert here to help portrait photographers finally get found by their dream clients on Google—without the technical overwhelm. Whether you need done-for-you SEO services, step-by-step coaching through my proven system, or monthly blogging strategies (like my Blogging Club membership!), I’ve got the tools to transform your invisible website into a client-attracting machine. Ready to stop being the best-kept secret in your market?

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If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you to listen to the full podcast episode where Alison & I break down all these strategies in detail. But if you’re ready to get straight to the actionable stuff, this blog post lays it all out for you step-by-step. Either way, you’re going to walk away with concrete strategies you can implement right away.

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What Is the 80/20 Rule (And Why Should Photographers Care)?

The 80/20 rule, also called the Pareto Principle, comes from an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto who observed in the early 20th century that 80% of Italy’s land was owned by just 20% of the population. Since then, this principle has been applied to everything from business to productivity to time management.

Here’s the gist: There’s a huge imbalance between results and input.

It might not always be exactly 80/20 – sometimes it’s 70/30, 90/10, or 50/40 – but there IS an imbalance between what you put in and what you get out. And understanding this can completely transform how you run your photography business.

When you know your numbers and understand where your results are actually coming from, you can prioritize your efforts, problem-solve more effectively, and spend your time on things that will give you a quality return.

How the 80/20 Rule Shows Up in Your Photography Business

Your Inquiry Sources (And Why Most Photographers Get This Wrong)

For me, understanding where my inquiries come from has been game-changing. I use Tave as my CRM (you might use Dubsado, HoneyBook, or something similar), and I can login and see my leads by source – how many came in from each channel, how many converted, what my conversion rate is.

Here’s what I’ve discovered: On the photography side of my business, SEO is huge. That’s where most of my photography clients come from. But interestingly enough, on the Picture Perfect Rankings side of my business, referrals are actually where most of my clients come from.

And here’s where it gets really interesting: I’ve been in different groups and communities, and I can actually see which ones provide clients who convert the most. That lets me say, “Okay, I know what groups I’m gonna hang out in and answer questions in because those are the ones that are gonna have the best conversion rates.”

I can also see that referrals from other photographers tend to have smaller numbers, but they outperform because when they do come in, they’re already pre-qualified and ready to book.

Now, about Instagram – I just never book from it. That’s why it’s always low on my priority list. I’m not gonna spend hours there when I know it doesn’t convert for my business.

The Power of Repeat and Membership Clients

If 20% of my business is repeat membership clients, I can tell you that produces about 80% of my income. That’s going to be my focus – getting people into memberships.

Even if someone inquires for just a maternity session or newborn session, I still pitch them the membership. Look, many of us are in the stage of life where people typically want more than one session. And even if the baby’s already here and we’re doing a newborn session, I’m like, “You could still do six months. We could still do first birthday.” Depending on the time of year, maybe we’re gonna do fall photos when they’re a year and a half.

I usually give them about 18 months of content opportunities because I want them thinking long-term, not just one-and-done.

Using the 80/20 Rule for Content Creation and Productivity

If I’m thinking about what 20% of my clients are producing 80% of my income, what content do I want to create for them?

If it’s newborns and memberships, then my content’s gonna be around that. I’m not creating a bunch of family session content if that’s not where my revenue is coming from.

Want to join a community where we tackle exactly these kinds of strategic decisions?

Check out The Blogging Club where we plan content strategies that actually attract your ideal clients, not just any traffic. Every month, you’ll get blog post outlines, SEO strategies, and community support to help you focus your efforts where they’ll actually pay off.

Optimizing Your Content (Especially When You’re Moving)

Here’s something that comes up all the time: photographers who are relocating often panic about updating ALL their content for their new location. Stop. Just stop.

Go look at your Google Search Console. How much of that content is actually getting clicks right now? Focus on those posts. The 20% already getting clicks are what moves the needle. You can wait to update the other 80% that aren’t getting clicks anyway.

Focus on the content that’s working, optimize it for your new location, and you’ll see results faster.

The 80/20 Rule for Time Management

Recently, I messaged my co-host Allison and said, “Girl, I don’t think we need to record this Thursday. I think we need to sit down and organize.”

We spent two hours organizing, and we got our content straight for six months. We have plans for episodes. We know who we need to contact for guests. We talked about what kind of guests we want. We thought about when there are pushes in our business and scheduled content around that.

That two-hour block wasn’t even 20% of our podcast efforts, but it’s going to make a huge impact on everything going forward.

The Custom Pricing Video Lesson

For the longest time, I was doing custom pricing videos for everyone. I’d use Loom to record personalized videos walking through my pricing and collections.

Then I started looking at my Loom analytics, and I was like, “Wait – some of these people aren’t clicking on this thing at all. Some people aren’t watching all the way through.”

The ones who did reply and watch – that 20% – they were like, “Oh my gosh, this is amazing. We want to book!” But for the effort I was putting in with the other 80%, it just felt annoying and inefficient.

So I decided to take some time and create one general video. It’s still all the same information, but I’m not getting super custom and personal in the beginning where I reference specific details about their situation.

Here’s the thing though: If I have somebody who gives me a lot of information and I have the time, I don’t mind doing a one-off custom video. If they’re coming to me with detailed information about their family, I’m gonna give back to them. But the ones who send inquiries like “What’s your price?” or “We want more info” with very limiting verbiage – no offense, but I’m not gonna give you a lot. You’re getting the general video.

And honestly? By taking that time to walk clients through my pricing in video format, I have fewer questions later about what pricing is or where they can find the pricing. Because I’m like, you couldn’t have missed the pricing – I literally sent you a video walking you through it and explaining it.

Creating Systems That Save Time Later

The last thing I want to mention about the 80/20 rule and time management is creating an automated onboarding process.

Instead of spending all my time going back and forth with clients getting them onboarded, I sat down once, took a small amount of time to set up automation, and it’s saved me SO much time since then.

If I do this small thing now, it’s gonna save me so much later. That’s really how I look at the 80/20 rule – finding those high-leverage activities that compound over time.

Real-World Application: Alison’s Discovery Call Strategy

My podcast co-host Alison had an interesting challenge this summer. She was getting so many inquiries that she couldn’t keep up with discovery calls. She requires a discovery call with every single client, which I think is smart because you really get to know them.

But there was one day she did four or five discovery calls back-to-back, and it was awful. She was confusing people’s names, referring to families by the wrong name even though their information was right in front of her. Her mind was mush.

So she made some changes based on the 80/20 principle:

1. Limited to three calls per day because she knew she could realistically keep up with three different families
2. Only scheduled calls on Monday, Wednesday, Friday – so really only nine calls per week maximum
3. When she had 13 inquiries in a five-day period and couldn’t possibly get on calls with everyone, she had to problem-solve about which inquiries were most likely to convert

Then she made a big pivot: September 1st, she changed the pricing information on her website. She added more detail about her session fees and print credit requirements.

Her inquiries dropped off completely – but she was okay with that because she wasn’t spending hours on the phone with people who ultimately couldn’t afford her services.

Struggling to figure out which marketing efforts are actually worth your time?

My SEO Services for Photographers take the guesswork out of the equation. I’ll audit your current strategy, identify what’s working (and what’s wasting your time), and implement proven SEO strategies that consistently bring in ideal clients while you focus on photography.

How to Know What’s Actually Working in Your Business

Here’s the question everyone asks: “But Melissa, how do I know what’s working and what’s not?”

Great question. Here are the tools I use:

Google Search Console

This is my go-to for understanding which blog posts are performing, which keywords are hitting, and what content I need to optimize if I’m moving to a new location.

Look at:

• Top queries (what people are searching to find you)
• Top pages (which content is getting the most visibility)
• That monthly performance email Google sends (if you’re not reading these, start NOW)

That email can also tell you what IS working that you could create more content around. If you’re a newborn or maternity photographer and you’ve got a post about doulas that’s getting traffic, maybe you need a post on midwives. Maybe you need content about postpartum doulas. If local event posts are getting traffic, think about the next holiday and create content around local events.

Your CRM Reports

Whether you use Tave (which Allison and I both love), HoneyBook, Dubsado, 17hats, or even just a spreadsheet, you need to track where inquiries come from.

Look at your CRM to see:

• Where inquiries are coming from
• Which sources have the highest conversion rates
• Which sources have the highest average client spend
• How long it takes from inquiry to booking by source

If you don’t have this information, you’re flying blind.

Google Analytics (The One Chart That Matters)

Look, Google Analytics can be confusing and overwhelming. But there’s one chart I love: the traffic acquisition chart.

Go to Google Analytics > Home > Acquisition > Traffic. This chart will show you, ranked from highest to lowest:

• Organic search traffic
• Direct traffic (people typing in your URL or clicking email links)
• Social traffic
• Other sources

Alison discovered that her organic search numbers were at least three times higher than her social media traffic. That chart convinced her to quit putting so much effort into Instagram.

What If You’re Moving to a New Location?

Here’s my advice: When you’re relocating, you may need to try everything for a while to figure out what’s working in your new market.

I’ve had clients who moved from big cities where SEO was working great to small towns where it’s all about referrals because everybody knows everybody. And vice versa – photographers used to referrals who move to bigger markets and discover, “Oh wait, I could target keywords? What?!”

You may just have to test it out in your area and figure out what’s working for you specifically.

Your Action Plan: Questions to Ask About Your Business

Here’s what you need to figure out to apply the 80/20 rule to your photography business:

📊 Track Your Data:

• Where are you getting your clients from?
• Who’s spending the most with you?
• Where are you getting the most leads?
• Who’s actually converting?
• What’s your average client spend by source?

🔍 Analyze Your Content:

• Which blog posts get the most traffic?
• Which pages on your website perform best?
• What keywords are people using to find you?
• Which social media platforms (if any) actually convert?

⏰ Evaluate Your Time:

• What activities take up most of your time?
• Which activities actually lead to bookings?
• What could you automate or systematize?
• What’s a small effort now that would save massive time later?

💰 Review Your Revenue:

• Which services or packages are most profitable?
• Which client types spend the most?
• Which marketing channels have the best ROI?
• Where should you be investing more resources?

The Bottom Line on the 80/20 Rule for Photographers

Look, you don’t have unlimited time and energy. None of us do. The 80/20 rule helps you figure out where to focus your limited resources for maximum impact.

Maybe for you, that means:

• Spending less time on Instagram and more time on SEO
• Focusing on repeat clients instead of constantly chasing new ones
• Optimizing your top 10 blog posts instead of all 100
• Creating one really good automated workflow instead of manually doing everything
• Getting strategic about which networking groups you participate in

The key is to stop doing everything and start doing the right things.

I’ve been doing this for 17+ years now, and I can tell you: the photographers who succeed aren’t the ones working the hardest. They’re the ones working the smartest, focusing their energy where it actually matters.

Ready to Apply the 80/20 Rule to Your SEO?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed trying to figure out what’s working and what’s wasting your time, you’re not alone. That’s exactly why I created The Blogging Club – to take the guesswork out of content creation and help you focus on blog topics that actually attract clients.

Every month, you’ll get:

• SEO-friendly blog post outlines that target keywords your ideal clients are searching for
• Master classes on the latest SEO and marketing strategies
• Live Q&A support to answer your specific questions
• A community of photographers who understand the struggle

Stop spinning your wheels wondering what to blog about. Let’s focus your efforts where they’ll actually move the needle.

Have questions about applying the 80/20 rule to your specific situation? Drop them in the comments below or reach out to me on Instagram @pictureperfectrankings or in my Facebook group, Picture Perfect Rankings. I’d love to hear what you discover when you start tracking your own 80/20 ratios!

If you liked this post, we think you’ll love these:

How Long Does SEO Take to Work? The Truth About Photography Business Rankings

Blogging for Photographers: Why Your Posts Age Like Fine Wine (While Social Media Dies in 48 Hours)

Wondering why your website isn’t bringing in inquiries? I’m covering the 5 biggest SEO mistakes photographers make in my free masterclass.

Watch now → https://pictureperfectrankings.com/5-mistakes