Helping a Southern Pines Photographer Find her Niche & Stand Out in a Saturated Market
CLIENT: THE PHOTOBRIEF
January 2020
Assets Created: Brand Style Guide, Website Content Planning
Copy Editor: Jessie McCartney
When Melissa reached out requesting a quote for a website redesign, I was ecstatic. While I love creating websites from custom wireframes, I knew she operates from a small business platform and would be doing site updates on her own. Therefore I needed to create a site with an intuitive back-end on a simplified platform for her to manage herself.
Although choosing a template theme on Squarespace is a much more simplified undertaking than a custom wireframe, together we researched themes with intention in finding the optimal look and layout for her brand, still customizing pages as needed in the implementation phase.
BRAND OBJECTIVE
Melissa had noticed that while she was sourcing quite a bit of traffic to her site, she wasn’t hearing from any of her clients via her website contact form or email. This became the main objective for her site — to draw viewers in and sell clients from her site.
Together we needed to build a website that could properly showcase Melissa’s beautiful photography (Wix wasn’t doing it), bring our her true brand style and voice (Melissa is a load of fun, her client base deserves to know that), and focus on her Home Page, About Page, and Investment Page layouts to properly inform the client of who she is, what she can offer, and WHY. This, pieced so perfectly together, is what will make Melissa unique as a photographer in Southern Pines.
Why am I not as worried about the Gallery pages showcasing her work? Her work speaks for itself. In fact, any good photographers’ works will. Typically, a client of Melissa’s has already been intrigued by a post on social media before they EVER stumble upon her site. The website is where we help close the deal.
HER NICHE
As a Military Spouse, Melissa is looking to help out other military couples. A common step in the army is a Courthouse wedding, weeks, even days after an engagement. These can happen QUICKLY and we, as lovebirds running off to make it official can be VERY confused as to what goes into the day, truly the hour. Through blogging and networking she will continue to inform these potential clients. These partners deserve fo feel less rush and to have their story documented, Melissa through The Photobrief, being the perfect resource.
Another target market outside of Military spouses headed to the courthouse: Elopements and Intimate Weddings. Have you noticed the fad that big weddings have become? The massive amounts of debt that some couples allow themselves to get into right as they’re beginning their lives together? The idea that their wedding is for others rather than for themselves? Well, Melissa is here to guide clients through a better and much more purposeful and intimate process for their big day, beautifully documenting and telling their personal story.
HOW I ADDRESSED THIS WITH DESIGN
From the very beginning I chose colors that naturally complemented her work. Melissa has a very defined style and I wanted to pull warm tones from her outdoor scenes. As you will see in the style guide above, using the eye dropper in Photoshop, I pulled custom colors directly from her imagery, addressing both the Primary and Secondary colors to use throughout the branding. I also developed a repeating pattern made with the new brand colors and her logo illustration.
The fonts were sophisticated, but flirty, as an added script font for H3 was used to open up conversation and invoke a welcoming message.
INVESTMENT PAGE DESIGN
As a designer it can be easy to assume that I’m strictly addressing aesthetics, but I actually start with content first. Content is king in my world. The layout for this page was created to address her niche market in a way that would add value to her session experience and differentiate her from other photographers only listing their prices and no other incentives on their Investment Page.
HOME PAGE LAYOUT
The length of the home page became rather extensive when comparing it to her previous website design. This was to open up the language between her initial contact from a digital platform and really showcase her voice. From there we wanted to target her niche with three of her primary services and a strong call to action to help soon-to-be-brides in the Ft. Bragg area learn more about Courthouse elopements. Below that are her blogs, which helps with SEO, quick links to galleries, and raving testimonials which all lead to the Contact form at the very end of the page where we’ve hoped to have legitimized and personalized Melissa as a photographer.
