Growing a successful photography business requires a lot more than just skill. In fact, you can probably think of several examples of busy professional photographers who are not as talented as some of their less successful contemporaries. This can be attributed to business acumen and an understanding of how vital it is to use branding techniques, such as a personalized domain name, so customers can easily find you online.

How Does Branding Make a Difference?

People want to work with professionals they can trust, and this goes much further than simply seeing quality work. Branding can be one of the top ways to legitimize any business since it helps you appear more credible – after all, you’ve invested the time to define what your business is all about. Whether you’re a professional or a hobbyist who aspires to a career in photography, it is absolutely critical to begin branding yourself and your business. A website or online portfolio with your own personalized domain name, also known as a web address, can play a major role in any company’s branding efforts. Your domain name can act as your online identity, and can help prospective customers find you online. Your domain name can also serve as a professional-looking email address that can reinforce your brand.

The domain name you select can be your photography business name (JessicaFunkPhotography.com) or describe your type of photography (WeddingPhotographyinVirginia.com). You should select a domain name extension (i.e., the part after the “dot”) that is well recognized, like .com or .net.

How a Domain Name Can Help Your Business

Having a 500px portfolio is a wonderful tool to showcase your photography. But a personalized, BRANDED web address that you can easily promote and share can help you reach more prospective customers and increase your network. A .com or .net domain name can allow you to market and build a name for yourself as a photographer. Otherwise, how will people find you outside of the 500px community?

By connecting your domain name to your 500px portfolio, you can get the word out by:

  • Sharing your web address on your social media account(s) for easy access to your entire gallery
  • Including your web address on all marketing materials, such as business cards and brochures
  • Placing ads (both online and offline) that can drive traffic to your online portfolio
  • Using a branded business email instead of a free email account
  • Improving your ability to be found in search engine results
  • Increasing your reach and marketing potential when you upgrade to a full-fledged website (Tip: you can still use the same domain name)

To begin, search for your .com domain name on domainsmart.net/500px. With a few clicks, you can redirect your new domain name to an existing online portfolio that is hosted by a photography site like www.500px.com . Either way, a personalized domain name can be one of the best ways to attract the attention of future clients.

 

Sponsored Content produced by DomainSmart.net for Verisign.