Marketing Posts

Nine Tips to Help Succeed in Sustaining or Growing Your Business

01 10 , 2012 No Comments

Written by Detroit Corporate Photographer Blake J. Discher

I’ve just returned from the American Society of Media Photographers’ (ASMP) event at the stunningly beautiful Times Center in New York titled “Sustainable Business Models: Issues and Trends Facing Visual Artists.” I’d best describe this day-long gathering of some of the brightest minds in our business as enlightening and thought-provoking. (If you were unable to attend or did not watch it live, a complete video archive of event is available here.)

The afternoon panel discussion, “The Challenge: Sustainable and Ongoing Creator Compensation” was moderated by former ASMP President Richard Kelly and the panelists were Kevin Fitzgerald, Chief Executive, CLA; Rob Haggart, Editor, aPhotoEditor.com and former Director of Photography for Men’s Journal and Outside Magazine; Henry Oh, Principal, Transpecific Media; Stephen Mayes, CEO, VII; and Susan White, Director of Photography, Vanity Fair.

Gale Zucker, watching the live stream of the event, asked a great question of the panel: “What three steps would any of the panelists suggest working photographers do tomorrow to succeed in sustaining or growing their business?” What follows are three of the panelists’ answers. (If you can contribute to the conversation, please do so by commenting on this post.)

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Sell Before or After the Shoot?

30 08 , 2012 No Comments

I was speaking with New York Portrait Photographer Michelle Kawka recently and she shared a recent experience with regard to knowing how to price a recent wedding job she photographed.

During her initial consultation with the couple, Michelle sensed that price would be an issue for the couple. She decided a good approach would be to discount her usual price for “photography and an album” a bit, and trust her ability to sell the couple additional albums, prints, and other tangibles when the couple came to her studio to review the photographs. (Just a side note, Michelle is a Sandler Training “graduate” and exudes confidence in just about everything she does.)

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Biz Down or Stagnant? 10 Things To Do Now!

11 06 , 2012 5 Comments

Thou shalt not stealBusiness down or stagnant? When did you last…

Tip #1: Update the images on your website? (Google loves fresh content.)

#2: Refresh the “About Me” page on your website? (Again, Google loves fresh content.)

#3: Mail (using snail mail) a thank you to a client with whom you’ve recently worked? (Snail mail is so much more impressive than email.)

#4: Do an email blast to your existing and prospective clients? (Be sure to include your name or studio name in the subject.)

#5: Attend a networking event… even an art opening at a local gallery?
(EVERY gathering is a networking opportunity.)

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Still Intoxicated By Photography?

08 06 , 2012 4 Comments

in•tox•i•cat•ed [in-tok-si-key-tid] adjective: mentally or emotionally exhilarated.

Friends often ask, “What was it that got you interested in photography?” My answer refers back to the first time I saw a silver print appear in the developer during my eighth grade photography class. I was “intoxicated” by photography from that point on. And I still am.

That said, I’m bothered that I haven’t worked on any personal projects in many years. With 365-projects all the rage, I just might start that picture-a-day project. There are plenty of good free blogging-platform templates from which to choose to showcase one’s work and you could even utilize Instagram or Tumblr if you’d like to work with a mobile phone.

What does this have to with web marketing? The answer is that both your existing clients and potential clients will enjoy looking at your personal work. My website tracking data shows that the “Personal” category is second in clicks only to the “Corporate” category on my Firefly Studios site.

I think people have a real curiosity about what we photograph when we’re not being paid to photograph. While I was in China last month my good friend Peter Krogh turned me on to panos and time-lapse using the Nikon D800, so that’s what I’m going to concentrate on over the summer.

So get started with me as deepen my intoxication with photography. There’s no time like now to begin!

Hang With Winners to Be Successful

17 04 , 2012 3 Comments

Hang with WinnersTalk with anyone who plays tennis and they’ll tell you that in order to improve their game, they have to play against players who are better than they are. Tennis players are ranked on a numeric scale, I’m a 3.0 so I like to play against 3.5 or 4.0 players. In doing so, I like to think my game will improve.

The same is true for photographers. Attend any gathering of photographers and there will always be the bunch of “grumpy old guys” in the corner talking about how things “used to be” and hoping those good old days will come back. Fact is, they won’t. Get as far away from that gang as possible, they’ll only bring you down.

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“Do Something, Even If It’s Wrong”

15 04 , 2012 5 Comments

Do It NowAs I was growing up, I heard that again and again from my dad. What he was really saying was that I should stop over-thinking whatever it was I was planning on and just start the project. In other words, I was suffering “analysis paralysis.”

From Wikipedia: Analysis paralysis describes a situation where the opportunity cost of decision analysis exceeds the benefits that could be gained by enacting some decision, or an informal or non-deterministic situation where the sheer quantity of analysis overwhelms the decision-making process itself, thus preventing a decision.

Photographers suffer analysis paralysis when putting together a portfolio or redesigning their websites. They continue to wait until they get more samples, do more testing, get an consultant to help them edit their images, have a logo designed, write copy tweaked for SEO, and the list of excuses goes on and on.

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Are you leveraging Facebook in your marketing?

27 03 , 2012 10 Comments

Almost everyone knows LinkedIn is the social marketing tool most used by business. Some photographers even scoff at Facebook, saying it’s only good for personal interactions and so on.

On one of the forums I read daily, a photographer mentioned that he’d just spoke with a new marketing manager from an old client firm. The firm’s lawyers, are working on a firm-wide universal master contract to use with photographers. The client mentioned that they must be able to use the photos on Facebook, and other “social media”. The photographer asked, “Can any of you help with a few 30-sec sound bites that will alert her to potential dangers?”

From my perspective, if his images were watermarked, and as often as possible he was given a link to his site adjacent to the image, I saw no “dangers” in jumping into social media.

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How One Photographer Is Beating the Economy

04 10 , 2011 2 Comments

On one of the professional forums I read daily, there is a conversation about the lousy state of the industry, how clients are hiring based only on price, how protecting one’s intellectual property rights has cost clients, how competitors are charging less and giving more, and blah, blah, blah. It’s the usual bitching and moaning that happens in any economic downturn when photographers: 1) are selling a product that a buyer can obtain elsewhere for less; or 2) are inadequately conveying their value-add to their clients; or 3) have clients that don’t care about the additional “value” the photographer adds to a project.

Michael Albany, a Philadelphia photographer specializing in architecture and portrait photography offered up some valuable insight that I think can help to inspire other photographers. He wrote:

I totally understand the fact that the old grey mare ain’t what she used to be and that our industry is A) in a total state of flux, and B) that the market is becoming saturated with too many Uncle Bobs but I have to say that I am so tired of hearing people whine about it. So you want to charge less or leave ASMP because they don’t [fit] your agenda, bye. Have a nice day.

I joined ASMP to learn and to grow and guess what, I am. Is it the end all to be all? Nope. Is my photography business where I want it to be? Well if you don’t know my name then no, it’s not. Is it growing? Yes.

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