When Ina built her first website, her About page said she loved photography and had done darkroom in high school. Copywriter Andrea Shah hears a version of that story from almost every photographer she works with. She wants to hear the one that's actually yours.

In this episode, Ina sits down with Andrea Shah, a US copywriter who writes website copy for wedding photographers and other creative businesses. They talk through pet photography website copy from a copywriter's side: where to find your real story, how to talk about pricing without scaring off the right people, how much to write so Google and AI search can find you, and whether AI should be writing your copy at all.

Your reviews already hold your story. Andrea's first move is to reread past reviews and look at why those clients connected with you. In her words, "they will tell you why they love you and why they related to you, and you need to use that to get the next five, ten, or twenty clients like them." No reviews yet? Read the reviews of photographers outside your area, not your direct competitors, and look for the themes.

If you wouldn't say it out loud, it doesn't belong on your website. Andrea's test is simple. Read your copy back, and if you think "I would never say that out loud," cut it. Your website should sound like you do on a Zoom call.

Give people an idea of price, not the whole menu. Most of Andrea's clients don't list one fixed price. They say what the average client spends, or where pricing starts, and they name any session fee or minimum so people who won't pay it don't enquire. The same goes for how you deliver. If you sell artwork rather than digital files, say so clearly, because "the only way they can weed themselves out is if they know."

Write enough for search engines and AI to understand you. Andrea aims for at least 300 to 400 words on every page, and says the first hundred words matter most for tools like Claude and ChatGPT. Keep your business name the same across your website, Google Business Profile and Instagram so AI links them as one business, ask clients to review you on Google, and add new photos to your profile regularly.

Fix your homepage and services page first. If you're writing your own copy before you can hire a copywriter, Andrea would start there rather than the About page, because "the homepage and the services page are where you're making those sales."

Use AI to research, then write your copy yourself. Andrea uses AI to transcribe client interviews and to look at what competitors are doing, not to write. Her reason: "I want to get a sense of who you are, not who Claude thinks you are."

Website: https://www.andreashah.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreashahcopy

Threads: https://www.threads.com/andreashahcopy

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Instagram: @inaj.thepetphotoceo

Email: ina@inajphotography.com

Mentoring & Coaching for Pet Photographers: https://www.inajeducation.com/coaching