Website, community and one of our top sellers, SLR Lounge has created a business model that works for them and fellow photography enthusiasts. I had the chance to ask them how they went from a kernel of an idea to a viable business. Read on to learn from them...
First off, can you tell our readers about your business and what you offer?
We are a photography education website and community. Our website offers free tutorials on Photography, Lightroom, Gear and more. We also have fun things for our community like photography contests and educational resources like constructive critique. We use e-junkie to sell our premium videos that we offer via digital
download. These are full workshops on things like HDR photography, Engagement Photography, Photography basics and more.
How long has your business existed? What is the origin story?
SLR Lounge, started with just a few writers blogging about anything and everything photography related. It was created by a few pros as a way of giving back to the photography profession that had provided them with so much. The blog shared knowledge, experiences, mistakes and successes in the competitive and saturated market.
The readership slowly grew, and more and more photographers expressed interest in submitting articles, writing reviews, and/or having their work featured. Today our editors and staff writers work hard each week to deliver useful, applicable, and inspirational articles.
What makes what you deliver unique?
Our education and resources are comprehensive yet intuitive, catering to visual-based learners like photographers. Instead of showing charts and graphs and getting into the science of photography, we stick with live examples. This makes the education more effective and entertaining. We also ensure that every photo example we use demonstrates creative and professional photography. This increased our credibility and provides more powerful and interesting content. Lastly, we invest in the production value of our videos, with a full, talented team of editors making sure every detail is polished.
How do you market yourself and your business?
Our primary form of advertising is content marketing. We create daily photography articles and tutorials that drive traffic to our site. Some of this traffic eventually converts to a sale. Our newsletter that goes out to previous purchasers is our second strongest form of advertising. Repeat customers have been our cornerstone. After that our Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/
How has your sales/marketing strategy changed over time?
We used to be very dependent on Facebook for marketing. However, as we've grown our newsletter lists and built up followings on other social networks, we are less dependent these days. As we've grown, we've also been able to devote more time and attention to creating high-production Youtube videos (http://www.youtube.com/
How did you go about designing and creating your site?
We used to program everything with our limited knowledge of web programming. We used a modified Wordpress theme for the first 3 or 4 years. We then saved enough capital to hire a professional firm for a redesign. We've now brought it back in house and have a full time developer in house as we move towards more complicated features.
What do you think an online business has to do to stand out and be competitive?
The most important thing is to provide value. Teach something or improve someone's life in some way or another. This develops raving, loyal fans that will support you in many ways. Also, be sure to network with everyone, including those you might consider your competition. There are ways to create mutually beneficial partnerships with almost any website or business out there. You just have to think creatively. Lastly, connect with your fans in as many ways as possible by taking advantage of newsletters, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and more.
What has made you successful?
We became successful by following the advice mentioned in the previous question.
If I were planning to start an online business from scratch, what would you tell me to do to prepare?
Plan out your content carefully. Provide value in your content for free to establish authority in your industry and to drive traffic to your site. Launch a profile on every social media account and sign up for a newsletter service. Make a list of sites and business that you would like to network and partner with.
Thank you for sharing our story! Cheers to E-junkie for providing an awesome service at an affordable price.