Top 20: #4 How to finally get published, Randy & Ashley
Randy & Ashley have been published an obscene amount of times (listen to find out how many!) and have some really REALLY awesome tips and strategies so that you can think through a process before you even start shooting that will set you up for success when it comes to getting your work published. There’s a reason this one landed at #4. You don’t want to miss it!
Today Paul and I are chatting with Randy and Ashley Durham of Randy and Ashley Studios and we are spilling ALLLLL the good info on how to get your work published as a photographer!
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Show Notes
They average 65-75 publications/year and their goal for this year is 100
They submit every shoot they do, engagements and weddings and they focus on non-exclusive so they might get one shoot published multiple times.
The more publications you get the more organic SEO backlinks you get.
Use hashtag #huffpostido to potentially get published on Huffington Post.
How has getting published affected your business?
Increased the circle of trust
How do you find the right blogs?
Knowing where to submit
Don't change your style to fit a publication
Shoot with the publication in mind
Know who you are and what the blogs want
Two Bright Lights does have other blogs to submit too for families, seniors and housing sites. Only thing they are lacking is boudoir.
Matchology through Aisle Perfect
Green Wedding Shoes, Junebug Weddings, Style me Pretty don't use submission sites
System for getting published:
Pick favorites from weddings- pick 100-150 and put them on TBL
Send out questionnaires to couples during the process and use the info from the questionnaires to create the blog story - FOUR different questionnaires
Copy and paste their own blog story and put it into the Album story in TBL
Tag the submission
TBL will filter to the blogs that are accepting submissions for those tags
Three most important steps for someone looking to get published:
Make sure you have vendor information, vendors appreciate when you go out of your way to include them
Stay consistent
Research where you are going to submit to make sure its a good fit
They do have specific and consistent relationships with certain publications but they are always looking out for additional places that are good fits.
They do also focus on local blogs depending on where they are shooting (shooting outside of their hometown).
How do you deal with rejection when it comes to getting published?
Like water off a duck's back. Just resubmit!!
Rejection usually comes with not doing proper research
More about Randy & Ashley
We're firm believers in love at first sight, in soul mates, and in the little things. Why? Because we've experienced it.
Since 2002, we have always been each others' number one cheerleader and supporter ... and it was in 2008 that this whole photography thing started. Before Randy headed out to Afghanistan for a deployment, he bought Ashley their first DSLR because she loved photography so much. While he was gone, Ashley began learning how to shoot with it and two years later, after they moved to North Dakota, Ashley up and decided one day to start a photography business - just for fun, maybe make a little side money. No big deal, right?
Yeah, we had no idea that our "little photography side business" would take us on the adventure of a lifetime, and that wedding photography would become something we are so absolutely and utterly passionate about. Not only are we able to work and travel all over the country and world together, but we are able to tell love stories with our cameras and meet the most amazing people.
Randy officially joined Ashley shooting weddings full time in 2013, and it's been the biggest blessing in our lives to be able to work and serve our clients together.