To help you photographers to get more gigs not just in fashion here are my 15 top recommendations to get more photography business from the perspective of the client.

(No particular order)

1. Be enthusiastic. I met with a photographer a few days ago. He does great work and charges a reasonable rate. Problem is we didn’t click and I feel he doesn’t care about my product.
2. Keep your email short. Make it personal, if possible tell me how you are perfect for the job and how you love my product. Don’t go overboard, flattery is good until I can obviously tell you are bullshitting.
3. Don’t B.S. Don’t tell me you are an ideal fashion photographer, and have one picture of your semi-attractive friend in a trendy shirt among 300 wedding photos.
4. Don’t have 300 wedding photos in your portfolio. In fact don’t have more than 5 photos from a shoot. I want to see your diversity, not 20 pictures of slightly different angles of someone’s toe.
5. Link me directly. Don’t make me go searching on your site for the links to see some pictures. If you think the shoot you did for XYZ band is perfect for what I need, link me directly. So don’t make a Flash site. Can’t link directly in Flash.
6. Make it easy to view your pictures. I don’t want to click, drag, and scroll to see each photo. Make one long scroll bar or simple click for navigation.
7. Guide my experience. Make it easy to go from one set of photos to the next. Also make it to get your contact info. Have it on every page or have a link on every page.
8. Show your versatility. If I want a dark prison psychotic sober style of photos it’s okay you haven’t done that before. It is also okay that you specialize in happy outdoor fun with the family style but show me that you can create diverse moods in your photography. By doing this you will get all type of jobs you’ve never done before. However you might want to be an artist known for one and only one style, this is okay too.
9. Show pictures and show it BIG. I’m on a photographer’s site and I see some photos, it might look good but I’m not sure. The resolution is too low, the image is too small, or the compression is too high. I’m not a fan of Flash sites and when you use flash it distorts the image even more. Bigger image have more impact and I can see the quality of your work.
   
10. I don’t need to hear your life story. On your site I do not need to know you like eating chocolate on your Sunday afternoons. I’m not hiring you to eat chocolate. But if it really relates to the job then tell me in the email.
11. Get your site professionally designed. You know that pair of $30 Calvin Klein underwear you bought with the nice packaging? It might be the same quality as the $1.99 one from China town but only difference is that the CK one feels like a $30 underwear (in your mind). If you are a bad photographer you are a bad photographer, but if you are a good photographer with a bad site you are a bad photographer.
12. Don’t ask for more info. The truth is I have 60 emails to view. I might like your work but if I have to send a request or give you more info or ask for your rate, I would rather go with the next guy who provided his portfolio and rate. It’s instant I don’t have to wait or exert more effort. Both of which I hate.
13. Make your site usable. Most photographer sites are pretty simple which is nice. Don’t make me figure out how to view your pictures or how to find all the different categories.
14. Tell me more. Tell me what the photos were used for and the context. This shows me if you understand the situation and if you can direct your creativity appropriately.
15. Don’t show me graphic design work. Don’t show me the cover of the magazine (especially if it’s not a well known one) with all the title, text, and other crap on it. If it was used for a major magazine show your photo and the thumb of the magazine.

If you don’t meet all of these still apply. This is a guide and will only increase your chances. Good luck and I hope these tips help and are enlightening.