OK, this probably isn't what you want to hear, but I've been a professional photographer for more than 15 years now and this speech (or some form thereof) is something I regularly give to my students as this question (or some form thereof) is one of the 'top 5' that I get on a regular basis...

If you're looking for super general business advice 'tips' then you may get a few sorta-helpful answers here at photo-SE, but if you're looking for something more specific from actual photography professionals you may be in the wrong place... No actual professional is going to discuss the specifics of their business marketing efforts on the open internet and with a potential competitor (or if they do, they're an idiot). Furthermore, you don't really want to know what makes other people successful anyway (even if you think you do) because the vast majority successful professionals (in any industry) either don't know why they're successful (even if they think they do), or are successful because of something you can't replicate anyway (like their charisma).

Your best bet at true success is going to pick up a book or three geared towards helping you develop your own strategies, and then do all the homework recommended in the books before you start anything. There are lots out there, but my personal recommendations are:

• Fast Track Photographer by Dane Sanders
• Exposed: The Naked Uncensored Truth to Running A Successful Photography Business by Robert Provencher
• Startup Guide to Guerrilla Marketing: A Simple Battle Plan for First-Time Marketers by Jay Conrad Levinson
• The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber

By committing the time (and yes, a bit of money) to get these books, read them, and do all the homework in them you'll be able to demonstrate to yourself whether or not you're actually ready to start a business, or whether you're more interested in 'playing at' having a business... Otherwise known as having an expensive hobby. Also, if you get done with all this work and still want to be in the photography business the fact that you did the homework means that you'll have the answers at your fingertips for what you should do next to promote your business.

I realize all this may sound like 'old cranky photographer' talk, but please don't take it that way... I've helped more than a dozen photographers start their own businesses over the years and the only real secrets to success I've found are: don't take shortcuts, and don't believe that 'sure-fire' quick tips from anyone are going to be the 'key' to your success. There's money to be made in photography, but there's no real 'secret' to wealth in the photography industry (or any other industry for that matter) other than a whole lot of hard work and perseverance. Anyone who tells you different is trying to sell you something.