To succeed as a newborn photographer, your talent needs to extend beyond artistic skills and include the ability to market your unique services effectively. In this guide, we dive into the top five newborn photography marketing tips, designed to elevate your brand, attract your ideal clients, and set you apart in this specialized field. From leveraging social media platforms to mastering SEO, these strategies are tailored to help you showcase your expertise in newborn photography and grow your business in a market brimming with opportunities.

After years of hands-on experience and numerous lessons learned while running my own newborn photography studio, I’ve distilled my knowledge into these top 5 newborn photography marketing tips.

Consistency is key

When you are marketing for newborn photography clients, it is very important to market all the time. If you don’t have a marketing strategy in place that you can keep up with consistently, you run the risk of not having enough clients in the future. One key to marketing is that you are not marketing for today or tomorrow, but rather for about 6 months down the road. If you market now you will be busy then. And if you do not market then, you won’t be busy 6 months later. Develop a marketing strategy that you can implement all the time so that you will be consistently booked.

Consider using scheduling software to help you stay consistent with posts on social media. Some great options to consider are:

  • Later
      • Later allows you to schedule posts across 5 social media platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
      • You can subscribe or use the free account
    • Subscription options allow you a lot more posting freedoms and flexibility
    • Subscription also increases functionality
  • Tailwind
    • Tailwind allows you to post to Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook
    • There is a free option but functionality and posts are limited
    • One cool thing about tailwind is it gives you prompts and ideas for a marketing strategy
    • You can schedule ahead organic pins from your website to pinterest
  • Meta Business
    • This platform allows you to schedule your Facebook and Instagram posts and stories
    • It is free to business users but you will be encouraged to boost posts for money
    • Analytics are embedded within the platform – this helps you to see the effectiveness of your campaigns

Once you have a strong social media presence and a strong web presence with your site and possible blogging platform you should consider a monthly newsletter. This is a way to reconnect with your loyal client base and keep your business top of their mind. The key to successful marketing is top of mind awareness. Staying visible and relevant will bring in clients.

Build your credibility through visibility, competition, and professional accreditation


Your clients are counting on you to take amazing pictures of their precious newborn baby. They are going to verify that you are a legitimate business, that you have a history as a newborn photographer and that you know what you’re doing. One way to inspire confidence is to have a consistent presence online. Have a professional looking website. Set up social profiles with the name of your business as the handle. Pay for a professional email account with your website domain name in it. In short, if they look you up, can they find you and can they verify that you are legitimate.

If you are a newborn photographer consider entering photography contests with reputable entities. Award winning photography inspires confidence in the product you will produce for your clients. You may also consider getting a certification in newborn photography and/or safety. There is no licensing required to be a newborn photographer but you are handling precious babies. Parents may feel better knowing you have put the time and investment in to get independently certified. Check out APNPI for their certification in newborn and maternity photography.

Finally, consider joining PPA and your local professional photography groups. As a member you have access to professional development and networking opportunities with other photographers. Most states and cities have local chapters where you can learn and grow. I can’t count the number of referrals I’ve gotten from other photographers. And when I can’t meet the needs of my clients I have a wonderful resource to refer them to.

Develop strong SEO

Once that professional website is set up, it’s important to make sure that you have good SEO. That’s search engine optimization. When people google “newborn photographer near me” you want to pop up! There are many ways to build good SEO into your website. You can pay a professional to help you with it. If you are tech savvy you can figure it out yourself. Or you can do a combination of the two. SEO take time and patience, but once you have good SEO it pays dividends

There are a ton of articles relating to SEO on this website but a couple of our favorites are:

SEO is a long process to master and you do need to keep up with it. But it is one of the most effective ways I have found to reach new clients.

Networking and Masterminds

When I began newborn photography I thought to myself – who works with pregnant women? And the answer of course is people in the birth industry. I made it my mission to meet and befriend as many people in the birth industry as I could. This was great for a few reasons. 1. I made a lot of friends, 2. I met a lot of amazing professionals that I could refer my clients to, and 3. I met people who could refer clients to me. It was a win, win, win.

Years later and I am still friends with most of these people, I have a great resource for my clients when they are looking for birth workers like doulas, midwives, chiropractors, lactation consultants, acupuncturists, and sleep consultants. Networking is a great marketing tool.

Another option for networking is a smaller group called a mastermind. This is when you meet regularly with a small group of people. I’ve found the magic number for me is four. Over the course of one hour per month we meet and go over our strengths and weaknesses for the month. It’s a time to be intentional about goal setting and help keep each other accountable. The mastermind group might not necessarily pan out to referrals from the group members but the support and inspiration you get from voicing your goals out loud and making a plan for the future is immeasurable.

The main thing is to not just hide behind your keyboard. You need to get out into your community and meet people. If nothing else it helps you to become more comfortable with talking about what you do and communicating your value. Networking is key!

Repeat clients and client referrals

Referrals are a great marketing tool for newborn photographers. You can ask your clients if they wouldn’t mind leaving a review for you. Google reviews are invaluable. They help to verify that you are a reputable business and they help you with SEO. You can also ask if they would tag you in posts of the portraits you have taken. This always gains me more followers and inevitably leads to increased inquiries.

You can blog about the session you have with each client and ask them to share it with their family and friends. And further you can provide exceptional service to your clients and they will tell their family and friends.

One of the things I do every year is send out holiday cards from my family to my clients. I friend my clients on facebook and follow them on Instagram and any other social media they may be on. I try to keep my social media neutral so that I maintain a professional presence even if it is my personal account. I try to periodically check in with my clients. I do my best to develop friendships with them. I do this because I genuinely care about and like people but also because it is much easier to work with a repeat client than to find new clients. Every year after my holiday cards go out, I see an uptick in inquiries. I have worked with so many families who have brought their second, third and fourth babies to see me. I love this part of my business as I watch families grow.

Conclusion

In summary, it is important to be consistent when marketing for newborn photography. You need to be searchable and appear legitimate to potential clients. Knowing other professionals who work with maternity clients and newborns is a great way to get your name into the community. And above all, be a great business owner who provides an amazing service to your clients and they will come back and tell everyone else about you. If you truly love your clients and what you do it will translate into a successful business. Because people can tell when you genuinely care about them and what you do!