getting more traffic?

I created a website in April or so of this year and have posted it to my business FB page- both istagrams (personal one and the recently made business one)- I am trying to promote my work and get some buyers but not having any luck and it is very discouraging to me. I have business cards made and am planning to go to the library soon (they have this thing where anyone can promote their artwork (be it paintings or photographs)- and you leave it up for one month, and can make $ (you price your things)- so I am going to do that probably October or November. I entered these photos in the local fair and they didn't win nor did they get honorable mentions which also makes me feel discouraged because some other just "regular" pictures of dogs won.. :/ How do you guys think my website looks? Home I stlll have a LOT more images to add before I do the thing that the library. Also down below are the pics that I entered at the fair.

One of the problems I see right away is the size of your images. They're small relative to the amount of space you have available to use and most images look much stronger and create more impact when they're large and prominent.

​As for selling photos, it's a tough market out there and an extremely competitive one that requires a great deal of self promotion to get the ball rolling. Send photos of current events or sunsets/sunrises to your local news orgs or on-line news mags, anything to get your name and photos out there to the public. Also, put your framed images in local coffee shops or bar-grill places and venues like this, you may have to give up 30% of it to the shop owner but it will help get your name out there. I know a guy here in SD that runs photo contests on FB for one of his images in a frame. The price to enter is to like this FB page and then to get others to like it. Although I have no idea if he's selling any images but he sure has increased his number of "likes". He also has a twitter page (or whatever you call it) but I avoid twitter, it's too out there for me.

Welcome to the world of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). That with networking will drive traffic to your site. Research, research, research

1) Lose the cutie-pie business name. It says nothing about you, nor does it set you apart from any of the other cutie-pie named photographers out there. Victoria Bryant Photography, Photos by Victoria, Bryant Photographic, those are all good names.

2) This is 2013 and you have a 1995 website. Those template builder sites aren't much good for anything, especially if you want to be taken seriously as a business. You can get a WordPress powered site up and running on a shoestring budget of less than $200. You can find better templates that show off your photography instead of hiding it on a poorly designed website.

3) Learn about SEO and online marketing. This topic is too broad to even elaborate on here. When it comes to a business, this is more important than the photos themselves. You have your work cut out for you here.

You seem to be the shy, introverted type. No photos of people...just critters, flowers, and scenery. That's fine if you want to starve to death and hope to only sell prints. That end of the business is very tricky, and unless you've got some spectacular landscapes to work with, selling photos of bees and leaves isn't going to put food on your table.

We all like to take photos of our own interests. But in business, you've got to specialize. You've got to find your groove, your niche, your product that you want to sell. If you have an aversion to shooting people, then try something that you can generate other sources of income from: food, architecture, or product photography.

LenspirationalPhotography said:

I created a website in April or so of this year and have posted it to my business FB page- both istagrams (personal one and the recently made business one)- I am trying to promote my work and get some buyers but not having any luck and it is very discouraging to me. I have business cards made and am planning to go to the library soon (they have this thing where anyone can promote their artwork (be it paintings or photographs)- and you leave it up for one month, and can make $ (you price your things)- so I am going to do that probably October or November. I entered these photos in the local fair and they didn't win nor did they get honorable mentions which also makes me feel discouraged because some other just "regular" pictures of dogs won.. :/ How do you guys think my website looks? Home I stlll have a LOT more images to add before I do the thing that the library. Also down below are the pics that I entered at the fair.

Click to expand...

Other than a pitch for Christianity (including the name), I see no sales effort in the website. No pricing, no self-promotion, nothing encouraging people to spend their money on your efforts or any payment method.

I can't add much to what Dave and Browncoat have said. All good, solid advice.

As for county fairs, don't let that bother you. I look at county fair photo judges the same way I look at judges at my church's chili cook-off - what the hell do they know about real photography/chili?! They like what they like and often gravitate towards "nice pictures" and not necessarily good photos. If you want real feedback then put together a portfolio of your best work and get it critiqued by someone who knows photography. If you think the county fair judges burst your bubble wait for these folks as they can truly break your spirits. But in all good criticism a pathway is laid where you can learn and improve.

As for selling images online, all I can say is that there are thousands of others like you out there, so you need to differentiate, and also plan on another way to add to your 401K. For every 100 people who tell you "Oh, that would look so nice on my wall", less than a handful will pony up cash for it, so you need to stand out above the others and find a way to get noticed - which gets back to the advice you've already gotten. Best of luck to you.

I looked through some of your images, I think you should consider contacting firms - after a website makeover! - and promote your stuff as decoration for their office halls, waiting rooms etc.
Send a deal for them, 3-5-10 images for a good price.

Included, you should offer framing the pictures.

But first, prices on your website and up with all your best stuff, people buy what they see, not what you maybe find on your computer.

Go for it

Thanks for the advice everyone, I am in the process of redesigning my website.. the name is something I came up with and has nothing to do with my religion, and besides that, I don't want my company name to be like everyone else (which is their own name and then photography behind it)- I wanted something unique and creative so that's why it's named that. I do see your point about me not having a way to purchase pictures and pricing etc, I will be working on adding those things.

wud said:

I looked through some of your images, I think you should consider contacting firms - after a website makeover! - and promote your stuff as decoration for their office halls, waiting rooms etc.
Send a deal for them, 3-5-10 images for a good price.

Included, you should offer framing the pictures.

But first, prices on your website and up with all your best stuff, people buy what they see, not what you maybe find on your computer.

Go for it

Click to expand...

Thanks, and yes that is a great idea! I will also look into that too.

LenspirationalPhotography said:

...the name is something I came up with and has nothing to do with my religion, and besides that, I don't want my company name to be like everyone else (which is their own name and then photography behind it)- I wanted something unique and creative so that's why it's named that.

Click to expand...

I'll be blunt, because that's just what I do:

Lenspirational Photography is not unique or creative, it's silly. I can not imagine anyone reading that name and taking it seriously as a business, nor taking you seriously as a professional. At the very most, the name reads like you would specialize in religious-themed photography. At the very least, it reads like a fly-by-night Facebook/Craig's List wannabe photographer...and there are a lot of them out there with names just like this. If you want to be unique and creative, do it with your photography, not your name.

Being fresh out of college, you are looking to make a name for yourself, literally. When you're showing your portfolio to potential buyers, clients, business managers, or art galleries, whose work do you want to show them? Yours, or some cutsie-named faceless entity? Because I can guarantee you this much, there isn't a single one of them who will take you seriously with a name like that. Zero. You can get away with it on Facebook and among a circle of friends and family, but if you really want to make a name for yourself and be something more than that, you need to strongly reconsider your position on this. Because the name that is supposed to be unique and set you apart from everyone else, ultimately, is making you just like all the others and seriously limiting your potential for growth and recognition.

This is the voice of experience talking. When I was in college (I went to AIP), we had an assignment to design a logo for ourselves. I opted for "Shutterbug Imagery" and had a ladybug as my logo. It was cute, and I got an A+. You can see the logo on one of my earliest gallery images here. I built a website around that name and logo, and started my business. But you know what? It never went anywhere. No one knew who I was, the site rarely got any traffic. It was a bust. Switching over to my name was the best choice I ever made.

Give it some thought.