5 Ways to Make More Money Without Finding New Clients

We all know it: finding new clients will bring in new income. But expanding your client roster isn’t the only way to up your earnings!

There are two key ingredients that can help you make more money without finding new clients:

• The confidence to value your work
• The confidence to value your time

Curious what that looks like in real life? Here are some of my top tips. Read the post or watch the video below.

In a nutshell, here are my top 5 ways to make more money without finding new clients. Charge clients for:

1. Rush fees for quick turnaround photoshoots
2. Additional images, you might supply
3. Any add-on services like retouching
4. Licensing outside basic usage rights
5. Increased skills by bumping up your rates

Tip #1: Charge a rush fee

I’m sure you’ve had a client on a tight timeline who needs their images like, yesterday. This is a great opportunity to charge more money.

Here’s an example.

I was doing a food event and the client asked me for 10 hero images before the end of the event—and the rest within 24 hours. I had to work extra hard. I might have even had to put other projects on hold to get this done. 

A rush fee simply says that your time is valuable. If the client wants more of it right now, they’ll need to pay for it.

Tip #2: Charge for additional images

Maybe you’ve had an amazing shoot and captured tons of really great images—and lots of variety. And if the client wants more images, this is a perfect opportunity for you to charge extra for them. 

Sometimes I’ll shoot exactly what the client wants, and then some shots that deviate from the brief. When the clients see what you were able to produce, they might want to purchase a few more images.

More images = more value. Make sure you’re charging for that!

Tip #3: Charge for add-on services

The add-ons that you offer might vary depending on what you enjoy doing. For me, retouching is a value-add that my clients pay for. Any retouching that I do is accompanied by an hourly rate. 

I did a photo shoot for a book cover and after I finished shooting, the publisher asked me to extend the foreground and change the colour of the cake sand. So I did—and I charged the client an hourly rate for my time and effort.

This is a perfect example of a simple way to make more money without finding new clients.

Not everyone loves retouching, and that’s ok. But if you’re interested in learning 5 simple ways that you can use retouching in your business as a food photographer, check out my course, Retouching Food Photography.

Tip #4: Charge for licensing

If you’re not already charging for licensing images, you should be!

Licensing can be for two things:

1. The client when you’re putting together that specific invoice
2. Another image already produced that someone (a magazine, another client, etc.) wants to use

I did a photo shoot for a client and a couple of months later, a magazine approached me to use one of my images. They had a small budget, but it was an opportunity for me to leverage an image from a previous shoot to make a little more money.

Want to learn more about licensing? Read these two posts.

Tip #5: Increase your rates

Now, this won’t happen often—but once a year, you should be raising your rates.

The beginning of the year is a natural time for a price bump. But it’s not the only time! Maybe you’ve learned a new skill, acquired new gear, or opened a studio in the middle of the year. You’re providing more value for your clients, and that’s a perfect time to bump your rates.

Example: How I made money ($1,420) without finding new clients

The bottom line is—more value should earn you more money.

I went through some recent invoices and just by implementing these five tips, I scored an additional $1,420:

• Rush fee: $375
• Additional images: $210
• Add-on services: $260
• Licensing: $125
• Rate increase: $450

Having the confidence to value your work and time can mean a big increase for your business each month.

What next? Pick one of these strategies and implement it into your business. See how much you can make this quarter!