Why Your Portfolio On Your Website Isn’t Enough

Raise your hand if you’ve ever had the thought, “My work will sell for me!” 🙋🏻‍♀️

This is a common mistake that I see photographers make when it comes to their website, and I really do get it.

It’s easy to think that if someone can just see what you do, they’ll immediately feel confident to buy from you!

While that might be true for some people, it’s not true for ALL people. In fact, there are generally four different types of buyers, and they all need something different!

That’s why as a photographer, your portfolio on your website isn’t enough.

Before I tell you the different aspects that your website needs, let’s take a closer look at the different buyer types so you can understand why!

The 4 Different Buyer Types 

1) Analytical Buyers

These are your people that are motivated by logic. When an analytical person is trying to make a decision, they tend to require a lot of information so that they can make an informed and confident decision.

This generally makes them a slower buyer, because they typically won’t make a decision until all of the facts are on the table. This buyer is a perfect example of why your website needs more than just a portfolio that displays your work!

2) Amiable Buyers

Amiable buyers are more relationship-oriented when it comes to business, and they place a high value on personal connections. For this buyer, the facts and details may not matter as much as long as they feel seen, heard, and understood. 

Your amiable buyers are typically the ones who will most likely rely heavily on your “About” page to move them into further action, which is why crafting this section of your website to truly connect is so important! I explain more on how to do that in THIS blog post.

3) Driver Buyers

A driver buyer is someone who is typically results-oriented, direct, and focused on achieving their goals. This buyer is often a quick decision-maker and values efficiency, speed, and tangible results.

Unlike your amiable and analytical buyers, a driver buyer doesn’t necessarily need a personal relationship or all of the facts, but they do typically need to know the ROI (return on investment) or other results-related information.

This is why having various styles of testimonials, from those that show numbers-based results to emotional or organizational transformations, can be a great asset for your business – each testimonial type will speak to a different person!

4) Expressive Buyers

An expressive buyer is someone who is generally outgoing, enthusiastic, and highly communicative in business. Similar to amiable buyers, they value personal relationships and seek to build real connections with the people they choose to work with.

Expressive buyers specifically tend to be more interested in the big picture and the emotional impact of their decisions, instead of the technical details or financial aspects.

Because of this, they typically will be highly driven by stories and anecdotes versus factual information. This is why storytelling is so crucial across your website!

The 5 Key Components of Your Website

Now that you know the different buyer types, hopefully you can see how your website truly needs more than just a portfolio full of beautiful, impressive work.

While your portfolio is 100% crucial to the client’s purchasing decision, it can’t be the thing that you solely rely on to convey your message and ultimately make sales. 

For a website to really do its job well, I believe that 5 key components are needed:

1) Attention-Grabbing Home Page

While a home page might be an obvious one, the key is that you treat your home page almost like your digital billboard. It’s the page that catches the eye of your audience and keeps them wanting more. 

Your home page copy should include enticing headlines that speak to the identity of your ideal audience and should ultimately guide people through the rest of your website in a strategic way. 

If your home page isn’t clear about who you are, what you do, who you serve, how you serve them, and how people can work with you, there’s a high chance your visitors will bounce very quickly.

2) “About” Page (that isn’t ALL about you)

A counterintuitive truth about your “About” page is that it’s NOT just about you!

As a service provider myself, I understand that you want your audience to feel like they know you and can relate to you, but that doesn’t always happen by filling your “About” page on your website with a bunch of random information that describes your entire life. 

The way that you really connect with your audience is by making this page about THEM, while strategically sprinkling other information about yourself along the way.

To help you do this well, I’ve rounded up 4 things you SHOULD and 4 things you should NOT include on your “About” page, in THIS blog post.

When this page is crafted correctly, you’ll be able to successfully speak to your Amiable and Expressive buyers who really thrive on personal relationships.

(Psst: Want to level up your “About” page in an hour? Click here to access my FREE “About” Page Guide, and you’re just three steps away from a fresh page that puts your client first.)

3) A Detailed Services Page

Next, you want to ensure that you have a detailed services page on your website. The key word here is DETAILED.

The details to generally include about your services are:

• Description of product or service
• The tangible things that someone can expect to receive
• Price points
• How they can book, learn more, move forward in the process, etc.

Details like this are going to be very important for your Analytical and Driver buyers. They need to know the facts, and if they can’t find them, they will likely get frustrated, and you may lose them as a potential client. 

I often see that some people tend to shy away from including their price on their website because they fear it will turn people away. 

By withholding important information like this, you’re actually doing your audience a massive disservice, and it could be a huge missed opportunity for you!

When you lean into providing all of the details about your products or services, you have the chance to give the reader what they really need to know, while also building the value of your offer, both of which help your potential client to feel confident in moving forward.

4) Portfolio Page

So, you know how I mentioned that a portfolio on your website isn’t enough? Well, that doesn’t mean it’s not needed!

As a photographer, you should 100% have galleries or some sort of portfolio page on your website that displays your work.

This page looks different for everyone, and you really have the freedom to design it however you’d like. The main idea of this page is to give your audience an inside look at the work you’ve done so they can see it in action.

Essentially, a portfolio page is walking the walk, instead of just talking the talk, meaning you are SHOWING people what you’re capable of, instead of simply telling them.

For photographers, this is where you can load galleries of your work, so that future clients can have a better idea of what to expect from you. 

5) A Contact Page

Lastly, you want to make sure that your website has a very clear contact page. While this might seem obvious, people sometimes forget to make this its very own page, and that is a huge missed opportunity.

I encourage clients to have a designated content page linked in their main menu that includes:

• A contact form for people to submit their question or interest
• Your email address, in case they want to contact you directly
• Links to your social media channels
• “Office hours,” so they can know when to expect a response
• Your location

PRO TIP: if you really want to level up your contact page, include a small FAQ section (like I did here!) with the questions you get asked the most, so that people can get their questions answered quickly and make their next move faster!

When you include these five main components on your website with personality-packed copy, that’s when you can truly win in business with ALL buyer types. 

---

If your website copy feels like a looming to-do item that you can’t quite master, I’ve got just the thing(s) to help!

• Storysale – a three-month group coaching program for photographers and creatives to market their magic ✨

In Storysale, you’ll receive:

✔️ Three months of weekly, 60-minute group coaching calls with me and guest experts

✔️ Weekly 1:1 Voxer access to ask any questions you have about marketing your services, creating offers that your clients will love, brand messaging, and more

✔️ 1:1 Intensives – every month of our program, students will schedule 1:1 intensives with me to put your website copy, SEO page titles and meta descriptions, and email copy to work for YOUR business and your ideal client

• Copywriter on Call – for the photographer who wants custom website copy…fast!

What You Get:

✔️ 1:1 kickoff call, where we talk strategy and define your project to-do list

✔️ Up to 6 pages of done-for-you website copywriting, with two speedy rounds of revisions to ensure we get it right

✔️ Custom website copy, delivered in Google Docs or implemented on your website

After our strategy session wraps up, I ride off into the proverbial sunset (or, as copywriters often do, into my Airpods-muffled world) to do what I do best: write. ✍🏼

During this time, you get to hang out in your zone of genius or serve your people. In other words, you do you, friend. I’ve got this!

At the end of your project, I’ll send over all of your deliverables or place your copy on your website, and thank you kindly for trusting me with your brand and your business!