Welcome back to the ForegroundWeb Newsletter. Every Tuesday, I’ll be sending you handy tips to boost your photography website and expand your business. Got questions? Just hit reply on any email — I’m always happy to help.

Let’s dive in:

QUICK TIPS

1. Figure out a way to be different

Carving a niche for yourself is the way to "survive". You have to find a niche, or even to find a niche within your niche.

1. Start specializing in narrower types of photography Here are a few examples:

• from family photography to only shooting photos for the LGBTQ community

• from still life photos to only doing commercial work for luxury watch and jewelry brands

• from generic wedding photography to super fun wedding photography :-)

• from landscapes to only doing national park preservation projects

2. Make your online presence unique

Other ways in which you can set yourself apart from the "crowd":

• you invest in a top-notch design

• you pay more attention to copywriting

• you raise your blogging game with consistently interesting content

• you "infuse" more personality into your site: adding funny images and a sense of humor in your writing, blogging about your experiences, curating your portfolios very tightly.

• you go hyper-local by only serving a specific city or area, and you show that expertize by writing blog posts about that location (good venues in the city, interesting photo spots, personal opinions, etc.)

• you find different ways of marketing yourself (in publications or at industry events)

The alternative is probably way harder: creating a different style, a higher level of quality, more unique work – this is all harder because:

• it requires having a gift/talent

• or at least having the courage to do things out of the ordinary, battling with the fears of success and/or failure

• it might also require better (and more expensive) gear or more free time

Positioning your business is a much better solution.

This applies to your first photography website. This might also apply to your entire photography business.

Your body of work will need to be adjusted, reinvented, or even scrapped over time. You should actually count on this (to push you forward).

Here are some reasons why you might not get everything right in your first photography business:

• You run out of money, because photographers often underestimate what it takes to shoot great photos and properly market them.

• You’re not doing the hard work. You’re might just be looking for shortcuts and taking the convenient choices.

• Your work is too generic (aka boring). You might need to focus on a specific niche or target audience, otherwise you’re marketing to nobody.

• Your business approach is too rigid. It’s sometimes good to stick to your convictions, but don’t forget to listen to the market. Experiment with new ideas, measure things, optimize what you can.

• You’re not “investing” time in learning. Intuition can only get you so far. With countless great articles and books out there, you can’t afford not to keep an eye on today’s best practices. Reading about mistakes that other photographers make is faster & simpler that having to go through them yourself.

Preventing some of these mistakes requires that you treat it as a business (and not just a hobby) and that you focus on creating remarkable work.