Personal Branding Photographer Press Coverage, 3 Easy Wins

Most of these case studies come from emails my readers send me. With their permission, I share them with the names changed. I do this so that others can learn from what worked and what didn't. Have a story of your own? Share it with me.

2news stories in 12 weeks
11new inquiries from the stories
1chamber newsletter feature

For a year, Odalys sent news that nobody wanted.

Personal branding photographer press coverage felt like a locked door to her.

She had emailed six press releases to local editors in Tampa, Florida, each about a new package or a new offer.

Not one editor wrote back.

Then she tried a different kind of release, one about a client instead of herself.

Twelve weeks later, she had 2 news stories, 11 new inquiries and a spot in the local chamber’s newsletter.

The problem

Odalys shoots brand photos for florists, coaches and shop owners. Her clients adore her, and her work is warm and bright.

But every release she wrote was about her. That’s natural, since it’s her business, and it’s also why editors kept deleting them.

Here are the three headlines she sent most.

“Odalys Reyes Photography Launches New Brand Packages”

This one named her studio and a service. It said nothing about a person, a place or a reason to care.

An editor reading it had one thought. “This is an ad.”

“Local Photographer Offers Spring Special”

A discount can be useful, but it isn’t a story. Every business has a sale.

The release was also vague. It didn’t say who the special was for, or why spring mattered.

“Odalys Reyes Named Finalist for Small Business Award”

She was proud of this one, and she should be. But the award was small, and the release only listed the facts.

There was no human voice and no sense of why a reader should care.

By the sixth release, she had almost decided that press wasn’t for small studios like hers.

The solution

Odalys didn’t need to be a better writer. She needed to change who the story was about.

A friend who works at a local radio station gave her a simple tip. “Write the story your client would tell her friends.”

That became three small changes.

A person, not a package

Instead of announcing her services, she looked for a client with a real change to share.

Cleo, a florist, had launched a new website with Odalys’s photos and doubled her weekly orders.

That was a story with a face and a number.

A place, not a pitch

She wrote about Cleo’s shop on a real street in Tampa. Editors like a story they can picture, and readers like to know it’s nearby.

She also added a short line about what the shop sells and who it serves.

A date, not a discount

Odalys planned a free mini brand photo day for 5 local nonprofits, at a coworking space downtown.

It had a date, a deadline and a clear way to apply.

That gave editors something to announce, and readers something to do.

None of this needed a publicist, a budget or fancy words. It needed one phone call and one clear page.

The process that worked

Odalys did it all in one week. She kept to a simple schedule, so it didn’t take over her month.

Tuesday, the client call

She called Cleo and asked five easy questions. What had she put off? What changed after the photos? Where did she use them first?

Who noticed? What would she tell a nervous friend?

Cleo’s answers came fast, and one line stood out. “I used to hide behind my flowers. Now people see me first.”

Odalys wrote that down word for word.

Wednesday, the draft

She wrote the release in five short blocks.

A headline with Cleo’s name and her doubled orders
A first paragraph with the five basics
Cleo’s quote
The details of the photo day
Two lines about herself

She kept it to one page, and she emailed it to Cleo for approval.

Cleo said yes within the hour, and asked if she could share it with her own customers.

Thursday, the send

Odalys sent the release to 8 people, not 80.

She found a reporter at the business journal who covered small shops, a local radio host, and the chamber of commerce editor.

Each email was three lines long and used the person’s name. She pasted the release below, and attached 3 captioned photos.

She skipped the big email list she’d used before.

The personal branding photographer press coverage arrives

The business journal replied on Friday.

A reporter wanted to talk to Cleo, and ran a 300-word story the next week, with one of Odalys’s photos and her name in the credit.

The radio host invited Cleo to talk for five minutes. The chamber included the photo day in its newsletter.

Over the next ten weeks, 11 people reached out to Odalys, and 3 of them booked shoots.

What we learned from here

Personal branding photographer press coverage grows from other people’s stories, told in plain words, with a local reason to care.

Editors weren’t being unkind. They were being busy, and a release about a package gave them nothing to say.

Odalys’s work didn’t change at all. Her photos were always lovely. What changed was where she pointed the spotlight.

Move	Made editors curious	Made editors yawn
Headline	A florist and a number	A studio name and a service
Hook	A free photo day with a deadline	A discount for anyone
Quote	The client’s own words	The photographer praising herself
Photos	3 with captions	A big folder of 30
Sending	8 people, by name	80 people at once