What does your target market actually want?

 Michael Shilling

I hear lots of people saying things like “My target market is people with £35k+ incomes” or “Families that live in Chelsea” but I rarely hear “people who like a particular type of photography”.

By the way, vintage is not a style of photography it’s a trend and while we’re on the subject neither is wedding photography that’s “Natural not too posed”.

The problem is when you ask someone what they actually want they can’t really describe it.

“I don’t want too many props or silly stuff, I want something that’s more simple with less faff”

I’m a big fan of marketing long-tail terms but that’s a tough one to focus on.

The next time you are in a viewing with an “ideal client” make notes on two things.

1. Which images get the biggest reactions (good or bad).

2. What they buy and why.

For example you might get a big laugh at a silly picture but they don’t buy it. If they saw this in your marketing it might attract them to you.

What they buy can be very different, sometimes it can be because the photo is amazing but most of the time it’s because it’s a box ticker like a good family picture.

On your COMPUTER put together two files of images.

1. Images that sold.

2. Images that attract.

How different are these images from the ones you already use to promote yourself?