FIVE REASONS WHY YOU NEED AN UPDATED PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT
If you’ve been with me for a while now, you’ve heard me explain time and time again how important it is to have an updated professional headshot. Here are five reasons why I believe this to be true:
- It presents a professional appearance. There are literally hundreds of people doing the same thing you’re doing. Nowadays most people search for services online, and if they’re not interested they’ll click on the next option—you literally have three seconds to make a good impression.Even though many of us work from home these days, it’s still as important as ever to represent yourself in a professional way. You don’t have to wear a suit and tie to represent yourself as a professional—dress appropriately for your chosen profession—you just have to look put together, while showing your true personality. It is worth more than you think to have a professional headshot on your website. People can tell when you use a selfie, and that just won’t cut it. If you’re scrimping on that, what else are you scrimping on?
- You will use your professional headshot everywhere on the web. My professional headshot and personal branding packages include digital images, and I’m sure most other photographers do this too. Just in case you don’t hang out online very often, here’s a list of places you’ll use your photo online:
- Your website
- Your Facebook Business and personal pages
- Other social media platforms: Snapchat, Twitter, Google +, WhatsApp, Pinterest, Quora, Next-door, Alignable, Angie’s List, Skype, Tumbler, MeetUp, Flickr, Yelp….ok, you get the idea. There are hundreds of these platforms.
- Google Business Page
- Bing Business Page
- Leaving comments on blogs
- Guests posts on other websites
- On a book cover
- For a speaking gig
- You get the idea…you need a photo for everything.
- The cost is worth the investment. You’ll spend about $150 to $300 on a professional headshot. That sounds like a lot right? What if I told you that you’d make that money back a thousand times over? Would you believe me? Statistics show that if you have a professional headshot on your website you’re more likely to gain new clients. There are three important keys to marketing: know, like, and trust. When people can see your face, it immediately builds know, like, and trust. Especially if you have your photo taken by a professional because he or she knows how to bring out your true personality.
- If you feel that you aren’t particularly photogenic, don’t worry! Professional photographers understand posing, lighting, and creating a comfortable environment to bring out the best in you. Do your research before hiring a photographer. Look at his or her headshot and about page to see if you think you could connect with the person, and take the time to look through his or her gallery to see if you like the style of photographs as well as the style of editing.
- Keeps you up to date. We all change year after year (all the cells in your body will die and be replaced in less than a year). Not only does our outward appearance change, your internal confidence grows as well—and this shows in pictures. Your hair color changes. You may change jobs, thus your current headshot won’t cut it anymore. For example, if you went from an executive in corporate America to a landscape artist. Also, if your headshot is twenty years old, we all know it! You may think you’re getting away with something, but you’re not 🙂 You want your headshot to represent your best self right now, not the person you were twenty years ago.