This is the most comprehensive guide on how photographers can use sales funnels to step up their game.

Taking photos for others or selling your own photos can be a lucrative way to make money. But with so many creative professionals hunting for clients, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd.

That’s where sales funnels come in.

With the right sales funnel in place, you can turn your photography business into a profitable success.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a:

• Portrait photographer
• Wedding photographer
• Freelance photographer
• Photo editor
• Event photographer

Sales funnels can be used no matter what product or service you’re trying to sell.

This complete guide will give photographers like you, an in-depth overview of what sales funnels are and how to use them to boost their business. I’ll cover everything from creating a winning offer to building an effective funnel, and how to get traffic to your offers.

So let’s get started and learn how to create a sales funnel that will help you stand out from the competition and become the go-to photographer in your area.

2 Reasons to why photographers would use sales funnels

This probably goes without saying, but I’m no photographer. I can barely take a selfie without the camera adding an extra chin and making me look like I’ve been staring into the sun for too long.

However, my lack of camera skills is made up by my knowledge in business and sales funnels.

And if you’re an aspiring photographer, it can be hard to wrap your mind around why sales funnels are relevant to your future success.

You might even have to sit down for a bit and really think about it…

Here are my top three reasons to why photographers like you should consider using sales funnels:

Reason #1: Increase brand awareness

Let’s face it, you take tons of great photos all the time and it would be a shame if no-one saw them.

Even if you have viewers and a social media following, sales funnels can help you take your business to the next level.

And if you think about it…

What percentage of your following returns every time you post something new?

Let face it, a portion of your followers will always miss your updates because off all the noise and algorithms on the social media platforms.

And what happens if the social media platform shuts down?

You’ll loose your entire following and your way of reaching them.

A sales funnel can help you tap into your following and capture your fanbase on an email list.

This way, your list will act like a safe for your most die-hard fans, ensuring that they’ll never miss an update.

And with an automated system that is designed to generate leads connected to your social media account. You can inform new visitors about who you are, while increasing brand awareness, and giving them an easy way to stay up to date.

Do you know the best thing about having your fanbase on an email list?

Check out reason number two below.

Reason #2: To get new clients

To get leads you need to understand that you have the camera and the expertise needed to take a good photo.

All you need is something to take photos of.

And one of the best ways to get something to take photos of is to help others take their photos.

Forever immortalizing their memories in amazing photographs.

People tend to put high value on this kind of service, since they want to be able to look back at these memories 20 years from now.

And when doing so they want to look at a nice crisp photo of that 1 year old’s birthday party, not some blurry thing taken by a $1 gas-station camera.

So, helping clients take their photos can be a real goldmine.

You could help them take photos of their:

• Weddings
• Birthdays
• Cars
• Gardens
• And much, much more

You could also target professional clients, like realtors, and help them take photos of properties.

But how do you access that pool of potential clients?

By using sales funnels and some clever marketing techniques.

Later, I’ll talk about the best sales funnels for photographers, and there you’ll learn exactly which funnels are amazing for generating leads.

Another way to get clients is by using funnels and email lists.

In fact, one of the best ways to find new clients is through your email list. And don’t worry if you don’t have one, I’ll cover that later as well.

Why is this so good?

Because on your list, you have all of your biggest, die-hard fans that love what you do. An chances are that some of them will want to work with you.

And even if they don’t, they’ll most likely mention your name when one of their friends are thinking about hiring a photographer.

Ways photographers can make money using sales funnels

Even though I know nothing about photography, I can think of a few ways you can monetize your love for taking photos.

And when you want to scale your business, the best way to do so is by having multiple income streams.

Because if you split your income over multiple streams, you make yourself less vulnerable to fluctuations on the market.

You could do this by either:

1. Selling your own photos
2. Sell your own products and services
3. Create a course or a VIP members area where you teach others

Let’s have at what this could look like for you.

Start selling your photos

The first reason why photographers should use sales funnels is if you want to sell your amazing photos.

The benefit of selling some of your best work is that it adds an extra source income stream to your business.

This way you don’t have to rely solely on working with clients anymore.

Plus, if your product is a digital portfolio or similar, it can be a great gateway into the passive income world.

The extra revenue you generate form selling your work can then be invested back into your business, allowing it to grow even faster.

And since sales funnels makes approaching sales much less daunting as a complete beginner. Making it a great way to start selling online.

With funnels everything is broken down into smaller chunks, making it much more manageable and easy to understand.

With a good sales funnel software you can easily design pages and set up:

• sales pages
• order bumps
• upsells
• downsells

The best part?

Most of these pages and designs are templatized, meaning that almost all of the hard work is done for you.

So you don’t even have to become a web-designer anymore, what a relief.

Selling your products and services

Similar to selling your own photos, you could also sell other things.

Think about it, most photographers today sell other things besides their own photos:

• Canvas prints
• Photography service (event or wedding photography for example)
• Video footage
• Posters
• Camera and photography gear
• Photography courses

All of which can be sold using a sales funnel of some kind.

And why is this so beneficial for photographers?

Because it allows you to diversify your income sources and ultimately make more sales.

And if you want to take this diversification to the next level, then you’ll love this next section.

Create a VIP course or membership area where YOU are the teacher

If you’ve been in the photography game for a while, you know a thing or two about taking good photos.

But this time, instead of selling photos, you become the teacher and teach others how to master the art of photography.

I actually believe that this could be a great natural step to level up your business, if you can imagine yourself as the YODA. “Photography I will teach you”.

Now you create a course or a VIP membership area and cash in on your experience.

This might sound like a lot of work, but it’s really not.

Why?

Because you’re the expert and you have years of experience in the field.

You know how to hold a camera, set up shutter speeds and all those fancy things. Things that I, or your audience, have no idea how to do properly.

The process for creating a course or a membership system is actually very simple:

1. Create the membership site using the built in templates in your funnel software.
2. Record the initial video lessons and upload them to the members area.
3. Set up a sales funnel that sells access to the members area (could be one time payment or recurring)
4. Once you get a few members that has completed the course, reach out to them over email and ask if they’re missing something or have something they need help with.
5. Based on answers from the survey and your own ideas, create those videos and upload them.
6. Repeat from step 4.

If you execute this survey system successfully, over time you’ll create a amazing members area packed with tons of value and that people love.

What content to put in your members area

Let me start by answering this question first…

Why is a members area or a course so good for business?

Well, people tend to put high value on expert knowledge, all you need to do is turn that knowledge into video.

Do you need to be the best in the world before you create your course?

Hell no, you only have to be better than the audience your targeting, essentially making you the expert.

Start by filling your members area with the things you already know a lot about, like:

• Camera gear
• Camera settings
• Editing techniques
• Best x for y videos
• Drone camera mastering
• And the list goes on…

These are just the once that i could come up with on the fly when writing this, and I have very little knowledge of photography. But these would be a good start for a VIP members area.

Then do the survey thing and add the things your audience say they want to learn.

Chances are that if one person want to learn something, another will also find it valuable.

And the more content you add, the more exclusive your course become, therefore increasing its value.

Meaning that over time you can start charging more for access to it.

After all its a place where you share your all secrets to the perfect picture…well, maybe not all secrets.

Now that you have a feel for how to make money on your photography, it’s time to start looking at the actual sales funnels, starting with the basics…

What is a sales funnel, exactly?

That’s a fair question, and I’ll give you a quick rundown of what it is here. If you want a deeper explanation, I recommend this guide.

A sales funnels is a marketing strategy used to turn prospects into long-term customers by funneling them through a series of stages.

The oversimplified way of looking at funnels is that:

• You put in your prospects at the top where it’s the “widest”. At this stage you have a mix of high and low quality leads in your funnel.
• As the funnel gets narrower the quality of the prospect goes up.
• Those coming out of the bottom of the funnel is a small group of high quality, ultra-targeted, high-value customers.

The goal with a sales funnel is not to make one single sale. It’s all about creating customers that comes back for more, over, and over again.

This funneling process is almost always naturally occurring when you’re working with sales of any kind. It happens even if you don’t have a sales funnel in place – it’s an unintentional part of the sales system.

The biggest difference is that if you actively use sales funnels, understanding what’s going on inside your sales machine becomes easier. This can be extremely beneficial to you if you’re trying to grow a business.

In short: sales funnels are all about precision and the customers journey.

By breaking down the customers journey into small, easily manageable steps, you’re able to be more precise about when and where to present your offers.

What you build is a sales systems that systematically guides each visitor to the next logical step. This approach can drastically increase the numbers of customers you end up with.

You’re building a value ladder system

Maybe you’ve heard of the AIDA sales model before, maybe you haven’t.

Either way, know that there are two ways to build a funnel, either by using AIDA or by using the value ladder model.

And for me personally, I believe that the value ladder is perfectly suited to photographers.

In short, a value ladder consists of a multiple steps, and each step represent one of your offers.

The whole idea behind this is to ascend prospects up the ladder to increase the average cart value.

Here’s what I mean.

On the bottom – where the two arrows meet – you got your least expensive product. You use this to persuade people into your sales system before you start ascending them up the ladder.

At the top – the big dollar sign – you got your most valuable and expensive offer, where you want as many as possible to end up.

As you can see, the offers offers increase in value and price as you ascend up the ladder.

To give you an example, here’s what a sales funnels build using the value ladder model could look like for photographers.

I bet you already can see ways of implementing your products and services into the ladder.

Practical example of a well built sales funnel

Now you’re probably thinking: “I’ve never seen a sales funnel in action before, can you give me an example?”

You’re not alone, many people say this and I can confidently say that the’re wrong.

I can promise you that you have seen at least one sales funnel in your life…

Think about the last time you ordered at McDonald’s:

• If you ordered chicken nuggets, you’re asked if you want a fries with that.
• Order a hamburger and your asked if you want to add cheese.
• Order a combo meal and you’re given to chance to make it a “supersize”.

That’s a sales funnel right there, and an effective one as well.

Every offer is in reality a series of offers designed to increase the size of the purchase you make.

In fact, McDonald’s (and almost every other big chain store) makes tons of money using this strategy.

What are the best sales funnel for photographers?

There are many different funnels types and knowing what to choose and when can be tricky. I mean there are 22 of them not counting the custom ones. I actually have a guide on all of them right here.

Some of these funnel types work better for some business models and vice versa.

And sorting through them all is a lot of work.

Doing a bit of planning ahead of what you want out of your funnel is a good thing.

This way you don’t have to waste time solving problems that could’ve been avoided before you started.

Think like this before you start:

• What are you trying to achieve? (generating leads, sales, ect.)
• Are you going to be selling something? (products or services)
• What type of traffic sources do you have access to? (paid, organic, social, etc.)

When you know this, you can easily select a funnel type and a template and get to work.

And it will also make it easier to understand what you’re doing since you have mapped out what you want to achieve.

So, here are the sales funnel types that I believe will work best for photographers.

Lead funnels

The lead funnel is one of the simplest funnels you can use, since it only consists of two steps.

1. One simple opt-in page that is designed to get someone to put in their contact information in exchange for something.
2. A “Thank You” page, where you hold up your end of the deal and deliver on what you promised.

This is the funnel to use if your goal is to build an email list quickly.

But in order for this to work properly, YOU need to trade something in exchange for a leads contact information and permission to email them.

The thing you trade is what we call a lead magnet and is usually something tangible.

It could be something like a portfolio of some of your best photos or a guide on “how to take the perfect picture of a puppy laying on its back licking a spoon”.

Once this is launched and the email addresses start rolling in, it’s important to engage with that list and keep them active.

You can do this by sending a newsletter, promote your products and services, or share unique information only available to subscribers. Making your list a mini-members area, which is a cool way of doing things.

The benefits of using this funnel is:

• It’s super simple and to the point, no extra fluff or mile long sales messages.
• It’s versatile. The lead funnel can be used whenever you want to push people towards an opt-in.

Homepage / Hero funnels

To stay competitive in today’s market, I’d say everyone needs a website (or funnel), and that goes for photographers too.

You don’t need something super fancy or advanced, but you need a place on the interweb where people can find out more about you and what you do.

Sure social media is great, but you’re not in control of the platform.

A simple website that you’re in control of gives you the opportunity to show off your latest work as well as using it to build brand awareness using SEO.

The good this is that this can be done using funnels, so you basically don’t need to buy an extra web-hosting service if you don’t want to.

Another good thing about this funnels is that that you can have it that serves as a entry to multiple funnels. Opening the door to funnel interlinking, but that’s a topic for another time.

Now, depending on what you do and how you work, you can either use a:

• Homepage funnel: To put focus on your business and brand.
• Hero funnel: To put focus on you, the individual (can be useful for freelance photographers).

By using a funnel as a homepage, unlike a traditional website, is that it’s built for conversion without any of the other fluff.

It literally has all the elements needed to easily structure the entire website into a lead generating machine.

This page is good, because ont only can you showcase your work, but people can also learn about who you are and what you do.

Plus, they can easily subscribe to your newsletter or find your other funnels containing your other offers.

So, send as many as you can to this page.

Application funnels

As a photographer I assume that you like to take photos of things.

Maybe you love to help other people take the perfect pictures.

If this sounds like you, then the application funnel is perfect for you.

With an application funnel, a potential client must ‘apply’ to get a chance to work with you.

This approach to getting new clients, takes away the “client hunt” aspect from you.

Now anyone who wants to work with you have to qualify themselves to do so.

Meaning, less work for you, and higher quality leads.

Once someone has applied, you get back to them over email or phone taking them through the next steps.

The big benefit with this funnel is that everyone that applies is highly motivated to get a chance work with you.

Meaning that even though your list is building slowly using this method. The quality of those leads on your list will be way, way higher.

You could say that this funnel helps you rule out anyone that isn’t a perfect match for what you do.

This is why the application funnel type is so popular among coaching and consultation businesses.

Did you know? – This is my favorite funnel for the photography niche. Hence why I use it as an example below.

2-Step tripwire funnels

If you want to sell your own photos or even camera gear, then this is the funnel for you.

With a 2-step tripwire funnel you have a low ticket front end offer that is so irresistible that people just have to buy it.

Now you might be thinking:“But I have expensive products I want to sell too”.

Don’t worry, the low ticket front end offer is just to get people to open their wallets.

Once the wallet is open and they’ve put in their credit card information, you can upsell them your more expensive products and services.

You do this by using: order bumps, one click upsells and/or downsells.

Remember the value ladder, and how products are placed in it.

The name “2-step tripwire funnel” comes from it’s unique design using a two-step order form on the first page.

• Step one you capture the prospects contact information.
• Step two, the prospect selects their product and enters their credit cart information.
• Then the lead enters the upsells and downsells of your funnel.

Nothing weird going on yet…right?

But something unique has happened.

You see, the true power of a 2-step tripwire, is in the tripwire happening at step one.

Because when someone completes step one you’ve captured their information. Meaning that you can follow-up with the ones who didn’t complete step two.

This simple follow-up can help you close more sales, compare to a regular sales page.

How to build a sales funnel for photographers

Okay, now it’s time for the fun part, it’s time for some hands on action and real funnel hacking.

For the example below, I’ve decided to use the application funnel. Not only because it’s a bit more fun to build than a lead funnel, but mostly because it’s perfect for photographers.

The application funnel has 4 steps and a structure that looks like this:

• Reverse squeeze page
• Click Pop
• Application page
• Thank You page

But this funnel could be made to be as advanced as you need it to be.

So les’t go through all the steps of building one, from selection software to email sequence.

Step #1: Pick a sales funnel software

For photographers like yourself, to get started with sales funnels, the first thing you need is a software.

Without one, it will be pretty hard to create some great funnels.

But choosing the right funnel software for your needs can be tricky.

I mean you could pick the most advanced and expensive tool out there, but you’d probably get overwhelmed and quit.

What I want to do is to help you pick a platform that is both affordable and capable enough to build good funnels.

A platform with just the right amount of features to be easy to learn, yer scalable enough to support future projects.

Understandably this can be a tough choice, because there quite a few ones to choose from.

So, if you need a little help, I have a guide to all the best funnel softwares right here.

What’s that…you want to know what I’m using when I build funnels?

I use Systems.io to build all my funnels, and I’ve been doing so for a while now. And if you want to try it, you can get lifetime free access if you use this link right here.

Step #2: Building the reverse squeeze page

A application funnels always starts with a reverse squeeze page that contains a video.

We can call it a mini webinar.

You do this because you want to provide tons of upfront value before you ask someone to take any action.

It’s all about building trust and showcasing that you believe in what you do.

Unlike most sales pages, where you ask someone to take action before you give any real value…

The reverse squeeze page is the other way around.

What this page does is that it shows the visitor that you are prepared to invest in this client relationship, even though you haven’t got anything in return…yet.

Typically this is done in video format since it’s easier for the visitor to digest.

For photographers, it’s a good idea to talk about who you are, what you do, and why people want to work with you.

Don’t be afraid to showcase some of your best work as well to show the viewer that you know what you’re talking about.

The secret sauce to this page is that there isn’t any CTA button visible until the end of the video. This essentially “force” the visitor to watch the video before they can apply.

But how do you create this video?

I’ll leave the camera work up to you since I believe that you know how to set up a camera for video.

But I can help you coming up with the sales copy.

For some, it’s easy to dive deep inside themselves and hack together a video script, for others its harder.

If you struggle with this, take some help from AI to generate a video script. I actually have an entire section of my site dedicated to working with AI.

Step #3: Building the click-pop

The ‘Click Pop’ is simply a pop-up that becomes visible once a CTA button is clicked.

On this pop-up you’ll add these elements:

• Headline: A suitable headline for what the prospect need to do at this moment.
• Description: Give a quick summary of what they are signing up for. This shows that you are legit and aren’t trying to scam them.
• Name and email field: Only collect the data you need at this point. The rest of the information will be gathered on the next page.
• Submit button: A submit button that takes the client to the application page.

Once the prospects puts in their name, and email address, and clicks submit, they’ll be taken to the application page.

At this stage, you’ll have collected a new lead which will be added to your list.

This means that you can follow-up with them if they happen to not complete the application part of the funnel.

Step #4: Building the application page

This is where all the magic happens.

On this page you’ll have a long form application.

Here a client will give you all the information about who they are, what they need, and why they want to work with you.

What information you decide collect depends on what your end goal is.

But these are the essential ones for a photographer:

• Full name (pre-filled from earlier)
• Email address (pre-filled from earlier)
• Phone number
• City
• State
• Description of what they need help with
• Budget

The benefit of using an application like this is that you can have certain requirements that needs to be met in order for someone to get to work with you.

Once a client has filled out the information, they’ll click on the submit button and ends up on the ‘Thank You’ page.

And as soon as the client clicks submit, the application will be sent to you for reviewing.

Step #5: Building the ‘Thank You’ page

The last step of the application funnel is always a ‘Thank You’ page.

This page is super simple simple to make.

Start by thanking the client for sending in an application to work with you. I’d recommend that you use video here as well to build extra credibility.

In this video you should also tell the client what’s going to happen next…

Do they need to check their email for more information?

Should they be expecting a call form you in a couple of days?

Whatever it is, you need to inform everyone that lands on this page that you intend to follow-up with them shortly.

At this point it’s up to you to schedule an appointment with the client so they can get their photos taken.

Also, remembered why we used this funnel?

To get high quality leads.

This also means that any applicant that doesn’t meet your requirements can be denied to working with you.

Just remember to explain why the client didn’t meet the requirements and let them know that they’re welcome to apply again in the future.

How to create an email sequence for a photography funnel

Photographers not only use sales funnels to close new clients, they also use email to connect with their audience.

If you followed the guide above, you should now have an application funnel up and running. And once launched, it’s on a mission to generate you new leads and clients.

And if you also created a homepage funnel while you were at it, then awesome. You’re well on your way to build a sales machine.

However, how good is a new lead if you don’t follow up and nurture it.

The good thing is that you can do all of this over email, and it’s not even that hard.

What you need is a well crafted, automated, email sequence (I like to use ActiveCampaign for this).

And I believe you should start this sequence with an ‘Indoctrination’ welcome email sequence.

Application funnel email sequence

But before we get into actually sending the welcome sequence, you need to send these application funnel unique emails first.

• Application Email #1: Thank You. This is the email you send immediately after someone has completed your application. Here you thank them for taking part of it, as well as letting them know how and when you intend to get back to them.
• Application Email #2: Follow up. This could be done either over tho phone or by email (phone is better if it’s expensive). Here you basically tell the lead that their application has been accepted or rejected.
• Application Email #3: Order and schedule. If the lead is accepted, then they need a way to buy a scheduled time to work with you. Here you could use a order from funnel and even try to upsell them a bit as well. Get as creative as you like.

After you’ve sent these emails you can move on to the next to email sequences

The photographers welcome sequence emails

Now it’s time to welcome the new lead to the family and thank them for subscribing.

This is a 5 day long email sequence designed to get people to know you as well as getting them to take action:

• Email Day #1: Welcome email. You only get ONE shot to make a strong first impression, connect with your new subscriber and stand out from the crowd. The job of this first email is to introduce yourself and your brand to the new subscriber, align yourself with them, and set expectations for exactly what they’ll receive now that they’re “on your list”,
• Email Day #2 And #3: Bonding. These emails are designed to keep on welcoming new subscribers and bond them to your brand. These emails is less about content and more about personality, which makes it perfect for photographers. Since these emails are very personal, they should be “voiced” by you, NOT your brand (or a robot, cough AI…)
• Email Day #4 And #5: How can I help? These two emails are designed to further engage with your subscribers. You use these to find out exactly WHY they decided to subscribe to your list, and what their pain points are. When executed correctly, this simple 2-day email serie can give you useful insights on how you can become invaluable to your subscribers.

As with anything, you should expect that people will reply to these emails. In fact, I encourage you to encourage your leads to open to door for conversation, it makes you more relatable.

And the best thing to do is to make it a habit to reply to every message you get, no matter how insignificant you might think the questions.

The newsletter

Okay, so you have sent all of the above, no what…

You put every lead in a newsletter sequence.

What you send here is totally up to you, but keep it relevant, valuable and somewhat frequent.

Here are some examples of what you can send:

• Tips and trix
• Offers and discounts
• Unique insights
• Your latest work
• Whatever that might be on your mind.

The good thing about this automated sequence is that you can keep on adding emails here, say with a one week interwall, and every subscriber will get them.

New subscribers start at the top and get the first one, while those who has been with you for a while will receive the newer ones.

A tip here is to try and keep this automation “timeless” so even if it’s a year or two old, new leads still get value from the first email.

This automation can literally go on forever and it’s a good way to keep in touch with your subscribers.

Also, you can play with it and set up challenges or whatever to keep the list “alive”.

That reminds me, its about time i send a email to my list as well, are you on it?

When to send what and in what order?

So here you are with three automations ready to go, but when should you send what.

Here’s how I see it…

• Application funnel: Send it immoderately when someone completes the application funnel. Once the lead has gone through it, add them to the newsletter sequence.
• Welcome sequence: Here you need to segment a bit. If someone subscribes to the newsletter then send it right away, and once complete, add them to the newsletter. But of someone comes from some other funnel like the application, send this with a timed delay, like 10 minutes.
• Newsletter: This one is always active and receives new leads as soon as they complete another sequence. And lead keep on progressing through it as long as they’re not told otherwise.

Now, what about cross sending emails?

The only time you should do this, according to me, is when you send for example the welcome sequence and the application sequence.

In every other instance, you should only send one automation at a time.

I know this sounds advanced, but it really isn’t and can be easily managed with tags inside your CRM software.

For example, if you have a new offer that you want to promote with a 6 day sequence, pause every other automation.

Here’s what it looks like:

• Newsletter starts active fro every lead.
• Send bait mail for the new offer.
• Some click on the link in the new offer email.
• Leads get tagged and enther that automation.
• Newsletter is paused for those who clicked and offer sequence activated.
• Once the offer sequence ends.
• Newsletters is reactivated and the leads continue from where they left of.

I go deeper into this in my email marketing section, so if you want to learn more, head over there.

Get Traffic To Your Photography Funnel

A sales funnel won’t do you much good for you if you can’t get any traffic to it.

Therefore, what you need is a plan for how to gain a solid traffic flow.

Since photography is a very visual based business form, I think visual platforms will be the best for generating traffic.

So how can photographers get traffic to their sales funnels?

Well, I feel like either of these two will serve as a good starting point:

• Use visual based social media platforms (like Instagram)
• Register and upload to a stock photography sites

But these are not the only ways in the world to get traffic, however these are the once I felt were most relevant for photographers. You can find a bunch of other methods here.

Visual based social media platforms:

The first and most obvious way to for photographers to get traffic to their sales funnels is by using social media.

This is a great way for you to get as many eyeballs on your work as possible.

It’s also great for building brand recognition.

Plus, social media comes with the benefit of being free to use and finding other like minded people isn’t that hard.

First, to start building a following on social media you need to one; publish content to build a name for yourself and two; engage with others and follow the people you like.

Second, add a link to either your homepage or landing page funnel in the bio of your profile.

Because, even if social media is great, building a list from the start is a great move. This since you have o control over the platform and its rules, a small change in the algorithm and poof, your following is gone.

You basically protect yourself and your brand from external shenanigans. #futureproofedbusiness

The biggest problem with this traffic method is the share amount of social media platforms out there.

And knowing which works well for photographers can be tricky, if you’re new to the game.

Which means that you need to pick your platform wisely.

Here are a list of some of the best social media platforms for photographers:

• Instagram
• Behance
• 500px
• Facebook
• Flickr
• Vero
• Steller

Stock photography sites:

This is one of the more ‘obscure’ ways for you to generate traffic, but on that can pay off big time.

What you do is that you sell your photos online by submitting them to stock photography sites. There you can do keyword optimization to make your photos easier for people to find.

The benefit with this methods is that both companies and business are on a constant hunt for new, fresh images they can use.

And when they find one they like, they’ll buy the license for it, aka. money for you.

This means that as you portfolio grows, so does your potential earnings.

But how do this relate to your sales funnel?

Well, the photos you submit doesn’t, but the profile you create on these sites does.

And it’s the profile that’s important if you want to incorporate funnels.

In the profile on for example Shutterstock, you can add:

• Quick description of who you are
• Instagram link
• Twitter link
• Facebook link
• Website link

And it’s the website link that’s important here.

This is the place you’ll add the URL to your sales funnel.

Sure the exposure on your profile might not be as high as on other medias.

But I truly believe if someone takes their time to check up your profile, they really like your work.

I know for a fact that when I’m looking for pictures on these kind of sites, I’ll gladly check out the creator of the photos if I see something I like.

I mean, if someone has one photo I like, chances are they have more.

Here are a few to companies consider: iStock, BigStock, Adobe Stock, and Shutterstock.

Conclusion

In this guide, we looked at everything there is to know about how photographers can use sales funnels. From ways to get traffic, to the best funnel types for photographers, to how to build a simple funnel, and more.

Now I want to turn it over to you:

Are you going to start using sales funnels in your photography business?

Let me know by leaving a quick comment below right now.