The Photographer’s Guide to Write Your Site Right
How to write words that sound like you and get clients scrambling to book you …
What if writing about your business stopped feeling so hard? …
… What if your words came from a place of self-awareness instead of self-doubt?
… What if writing could be free from anxiety about choosing the right words?
… What if you knew exactly what your clients needed to read to be convinced?
… and what if you could do all this without spending thousands of dollars on a professional copywriter?
You would finally have a calendar booked full of the best clients.
Chances are, your current site is costing you BIG time. Because the words on it don’t prove your value.
Every day, couples and families are hiring photographers they trust to capture one of the most important days of their lives.
Question is:
Are they hiring you?
Your website’s words should sound as good as your photos look …
You make amazing photos on the daily. You know how to shoot. You have your editing process tweaked, your style locked in. And you know you’re just as good as the photographer down the street.
But how do you communicate what makes you different from that other photographer? How do you get someone to hire you instead of her?
You know you always go above and beyond for your clients. How organized you are. How much you care about every single person that books you. How much your past clients love you.
But you’ve gotta convince the people perusing your website of all of that.
introducing
The Photographer’s Guide to Write Your Site Right
It will help you find your worth, learn how to communicate it, and help you write a website that finally sounds like you.
One that brings more of the clients you love right into your inbox.
(and less of the ones who ask you for discounts.)
“HOLY. FREAKING. CRAP. This guide is SO incredibly helpful. Actually … helpful doesn’t even do it justice. I feel speechless, but let me try to write my true thoughts out:
I never knew I wanted or needed this guide. I’ve always considered myself a good writer. I am witty, feel lots of feelings, and I feel the feelings of other people. I feel like I know what others are thinking and what they want to hear or see. I wrote the copy on my website based on what I thought other people wanted to hear from a hip photographer and I thought that was brilliant.
WRONG. Oh my gosh, I was so wrong. This guide held my hand and skipped with me through the whole thing. I felt pushed and challenged, but never too far that I gave up. I dug deep and answered questions I’ve never been asked before. While it took me some time to seriously think about my answers, I didn’t answer them with others in mind. I answered them based on my own thoughts and feelings and memories. I was brutally honest with myself—something I’ve never done in my business.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank you enough for sharing your talents. I can’t wait to put my website back together. I can’t wait to be authentic. I can’t wait to tell my story.”
– Kelsey, Eight31 Photography
From Our Clients
Imagine waking up to an inbox full of inquiries from your dream clients overnight. And message after message says:
“We saw your website and just KNEW you were the one for us.”
Imagine having a website you feel proud to show people. One that feels like your best foot forward every time you share the link.
Imagine feeling confident enough in your own writing to articulate your value, over and over again.
Having all of that? It’s easier than you think.
By using this guide, you could …
- Finally write the words you’ve been trying to find all along about what makes you different.
- Learn what exactly your favorite clients love about you and then leverage that to book more people just like them.
- Write a website that sets you apart from the hundreds of other photographers in your market.
So what is it? This guide?
It’s a google document that has the exact process we’ve used to write websites for more than
300 photographers.
Originally released in 2019, it’s been tweaked, edited, and perfected in 2023 with one goal in mind: to get you booked.
By your favorite couples of all time.
It’s part self-help, part business guide, and part copywriting course.
What’s included
- More than 70 questions for you to ask yourself to start writing from a place of self-awareness.
- More than 25 questions to ask your favorite past clients to uncover what they love most about working with you (hint: the words they use will become the basis of your site copy.)
- Exercises to find the guiding principles of your business and advice on how to apply that to your website words (and examples from past clients that I’ve written for).
- The outline I use to write every single website for my clients.
- My dirty little secret about SEO that will save you a lot of work and anxiety.
- Tips and tricks for starting and finishing every page on your site.
- My personal bag of prompts for when I get stuck writing: exercises, tactics, and tricks to get the brain juices flowing.
- The most comprehensive checklist to edit your website words that I’ve ever seen on the internet to make sure your site doesn’t sound like everyone else’s.
- Bonus! An entire section of resources. It’s specific chapters of books, personality test recommendations, podcast episodes, website design templates and custom designers, AND examples of my favorite photographer websites.
I see you flinching every time I mention the word “write.”
But drop those shoulders and turn that frown upside down. You’re flinching because you know the words you write on your site are important and you’re worried you can’t find the right ones.
First, there are no right words. Second, let’s make peace with words, together.
Your photos show your vision, your words explain it.
Your photos stop time, your words expand it.
Your photos show your clients what you can do, your words tell them who you are.
The words on your site should sound like you. That’s all they have to do, because YOU are exactly what people want.
“I’ve always considered myself a pretty decent writer. I put my personality all over everything, but my copy still wasn’t connecting with my ideal couples. Until I found Rachel.
The questions she made me work through helped me get clear on what exactly I was trying to communicate, and how to do it more efficiently. As soon as I got all the new copy up on my website, I not only got more leads overall, I also got more leads and bookings from my dream couples! I seriously can’t recommend Rachel’s guide enough if you feel like you’ve already tried everything else without getting anywhere!”
– Nina, Larsen Photo Co.
From Our Clients
You don’t need a template to write about your business.
Because you are your business.
I think you have what it takes to craft your message, and it’s just sitting in that beautiful little brain of yours. But that’s why you’re here:
You’re ready to work.
I know you can do this because I’ve helped so many photographers who said that they couldn’t write. That they didn’t know where to start. That it was too hard.
But after going through this exact process, they have a site they absolutely love.
And I know that you specifically can do this because you have the desire.
After all, you’re here, halfway down this page, wondering if this is maybe for you.
And ooohhhhh boy, is it ever for you.
🙄
Maybe you’ve seen an ad like this 1,000 times:
“Get these easy to use, plug-n-play templates to write your site in less than a week!”
And maybe you’ve bought 1 or 20. But you plugged and played, using the same templates that hundreds of other photographers did …
… and now you sound just like everyone else:
“I just LOVE love and I am fueled by coffee/margs/tacos.”
The Truth
Filling out a template may seem like the way to get your site written, but it’s a flimsy Band-Aid for a wound that needs something more like surgical stitching.
Hi, I’m Rachel—family photographer and copywriter who started with her own business and wrote her own website. And it was fine.
Just … fine.
Let me back up a little bit …
Before doing this, I worked at a nonprofit as, you guessed it, a photographer and copywriter. I had this big, beautiful green chair in my office. People would come in and sink down into it with an obvious comfort and ease. Within minutes, people were talking to me about their lives—sometimes laughing hysterically and sometimes crying. They would always say:
“There’s just something about this green chair.”
The green chair became a metaphor for my work. Whether photographing or writing, I want people to feel like they are safe and seen. Like someone just gets them. I want to make others feel understood and validated, like they matter.
That’s what took the words on my own site from “fine” to really good. I dug deep and asked myself a lot of questions. I talked to the people I worked with to see what they loved about working with me. I took the time to discover what I brought to the table that no one else did.
So when it comes to this guide, I want you to feel like you’re sitting in that green chair. Shake off the expectations of other people and pick up your pen (OK, keyboard). We are going to do some soul work to find out who you are and why other people should care. Because you matter and I care.
I want you to feel like I’m sitting right next to you while you work through this and write your website. I wrote the whole guide as if I was talking to you. Because that’s what I’m doing. I’m coaching you along, telling you that even though it’s tough, you can do it. Because you can.
So, let’s talk about your insecurities.
Maybe you aren’t as proud of your website as you are of your photos.
Maybe you’ve spent countless hours staring at the blank pages of your website, feeling like the cursor is scream-judging you with each blink.
Maybe you’ve cried tears of frustration because you just want to shoot and you didn’t start this business because you wanted to be a writer.
Or maybe you’re in the middle of a rebrand and your designer has sent yet another email asking you where your copy is.
Or maybe …
…You’re worried that you actually aren’t any different from all those other photographers out there…
First, samesies
I’ve battled my own insecurity about figuring out what makes me different, wondering if I have anything special to offer. Second, we’re both wrong. We both have something to say and we’re worth writing about.
I’m a professional writer and even I know it’s hard to write about yourself sometimes. But honestly, when that happens to me, I know it’s because I haven’t done the research to bring the words forward. Writing is so much less about furiously typing your heart out into your laptop and so much more about asking and answering the right questions. It’s about getting to know yourself.
And that’s exactly what this guide will do for you. It asks you all the right questions and even gives you the right questions to ask your clients. This guide will show you exactly who you are and the brand you’ve already built, by simply revealing what people already love about you.
“Rachel’s guide was above and beyond anything I imagined it could be.
She literally takes you through her entire copy process from start to finish—it took me several hours to work through it, which goes to show how incredible this guide is. After implementing my new copy, clients have complimented me on the clarity on my site. This guide is seriously gold (and honestly a freaking bargain). BUY IT.”
– Lydia, Lydia Kerr Photography
From Our Clients
The truth about website copy:
Done is better than perfect.
My site is not perfect. There is no such thing. There is no rubric to grade ourselves against when it comes to finding the “right” words for a website. The right words are the ones that get us booked.
The other truth about website copy:
Yours could be a lot closer to perfect than it is right now.
What you’ll spend on this guide is a drop in the bucket compared to all the money you could be making if your website turned browsers into bookers. I wanna make sure you’re getting all that extra money.
This guide is for you if …
… you’re a wedding or family photographer who has your way with words on the regular, but you need help finding your identity as a business or brand. (This will help you write with your fingers the way you sell with your mouth.)
… you need to write your first website ever. Or if you’re in the middle of a rebrand and need new copy for your designer. Or if you maybe pivoted your business and need fresh words to reflect that new direction.
… you are willing to put in the work. This isn’t a quick fix. When used correctly, it will help you discover the “who” and the “why” behind your business.
… you’re a small business owner in a creative field who provides services to real, live humans with emotions. I know I’ve said “photographer” approximately 1,000 times, but if you aren’t a photographer and wonder if it’s for you, email me. I’ll be honest.
This guide is not for you if …
… you’re a photo studio consisting of several people. This is for small (very small) businesses where the brand identity is an extension of the lady in charge.
… you’re a photographer after plug and play templates. This is NOT a template. This is designed to be a tool that guides you, not some blanks to fill in.
… you want generic copy with no personality that sounds like all the other million photographers in the world. (If this is you, I have some questions.)
… you’re a farmer, corporate CEO, you exclusively sell products, or are an HR professional. (Not a comprehensive list, but you get the idea.)
It’s Time For The Offer … Get Pumped!
The time has come for you to decide if you need this. And honestly? If you made it this far on the page, I’m guessing you do. I have one last sell:
Changing your copy can change your business.
The words on your site are what will take people from “These are great photos” to “THIS IS THE ONLY PERSON I EVER WANT TO HIRE!”
Let’s get you some “Hell yes!” clients who scream about how excited they are to work with you:
Instant Download Includes
“I have never been more proud of my website copy. I read it and fist pump like I’m Pauly D on Jersey Shore.
My copy journey has been a struggle and it didn’t need to be. I knew my brand, I could communicate it verbally really well. I wanted to write my own copy, I just needed someone to get me out of my head. I went through this guide, word for word, task by task, and I felt this weight lift! I started writing my website copy, and I couldn’t type fast enough. Then I sat back, read the words, and holy banana pancakes it sounded like me!! Moral of the story: you need this guide, it changes the game!”
– Cat Deline
From Our Clients
Frequently Asked Questions
You need new words on there if people never mention it when they contact you. Or if you’re not getting booked as much as you would like. And especially if you’re only booking clients you aren’t thrilled about.
Not necessarily. This is focused on website writing. But I would argue that knowing yourself and your voice better would help tremendously in those areas.
It’s for all levels of experience! This is just as much for the beginner photographer as it is for the veteran. This is about writing words that get you booked by the clients you want. It has nothing to do with your skill level.
This is written with the portrait photographer in mind. Weddings, families, headshots, businesses … if you’re shooting for other people and you rely on communication to get booked, this will help you.
I’ve got a guarantee for that.
The Green Chair Guarantee
If you can’t write your copy after completing everything this guide recommends, I still want to help. I will discount whatever you paid for this off any of my one-on-one copywriting services. I really believe that we all can write. But I also believe it’s easier sometimes to have someone else do it for you. If you’re not satisfied with this guide, I will help. Email me.
Bummer Alert
Please don’t buy this guide and share it with your friends. It’s not kind or ethical. I worked really, really hard on this. And I hate to be this person, but I have software that will tell me if you forward this to someone. I can’t force you to do the right thing, but I certainly can shame you for it (I won’t, I’ll just be bummed).
If your friend/relative/co-worker really can’t afford this guide themselves, shoot me an email and we’ll work something out.