Business Basics: Consistency

Being consistent means being dependable. People can count on you and expect the same delivery each time you’re hired. Consistency goes a long way in building trust. I started this business basics series talking about trust because I believe that’s the key to increasing your bookings. Consistency is a fast way to move strangers through the “know, like, trust” progression.

What do I mean by that?

Before people hand you their hard-earned dollars, they want to know that you are dependable. In a world of online commerce full of scammers and flakes, they want to know that you will:

• Respond to their questions and never ghost them;
• Show up on time;
• Deliver what you say you will;
• Produce images that look like your portfolio; and
• Provide support for them when needed.

In what ways do you need to be consistent?

If you post on social media, do so at a regular interval. As a prospective client, if I click on a Facebook or Instagram profile that hasn’t been updated in months (or years) I am wondering if that person is even still in business. Staying updated on social media feels like a hard task for many people. If you have trouble staying on top of social media you could look into scheduling programs or virtual assistants to do it on your behalf.

If you send an email newsletter, send it on a schedule. That could be twice per week, or once per year. Whatever suits your business and your needs best. I attempt to do my photography newsletter every 2-4 months to update people on my schedule, travel, and blog posts. If you need tips to building your email list, I wrote my top 6 tips on the blog: https://www.kmplearn.com/tips-to-build-your-email-list/

If you post on a blog, keep a steady pattern of content and timing. Again, if I click to a blog that hasn’t been updated in 2 years, I question if the photographer is still in business. One idea is to pull down the dates so that no one knows how recent a post is. Regardless, I think if you have a blog on your website you should update it at a regular interval.

Be consistent in your communication with clients and prospects. Respond as quickly as you can to every inquiry and question. If you get buried in messages, try having templates to help save you time or a virtual assistant to respond for you.

This one is important! As for the images you take and deliver, they need to be very consistent in posing, concept, color correcting, and quality. As an artist, I want you to grow and develop your style. But save any giant leaps or creative whims to your unpaid work. Your clients are paying you to produce what they have seen in your portfolio, so I think that the items you deliver to clients should be very consistent in color and quality with your past work.