But, there’s hope for truth in advertising. Every now and then there’s a company that not only steps up to the plate, but actually gives you something to hang on to by sharing who, why and what they stand for.  Well gang, I ran across this short video from SmugMug Pro and really enjoyed the sincerity behind it.

What hit me was what everybody is saying in this three minute piece and you really need to listen to the words.  For example, I love photographer, Michael Soo’s comment,

I’m a photographer because I have to be!

Those of you who know me personally know that I absolutely love this industry. I’ve been in it my entire adult life and cannot imagine anything else I’d be happier doing. Like so many of you, it’s a part of who I am and why I wake up every morning smiling. I honestly don’t believe there’s another career field quite like the photographic industry. So, like Michael Soo, I’m in this industry because I have to be!

I loved John Harrison’s comment about his images, “If nobody sees them, then what’s the point?”  There it is Marketing 101 for photographers, all in eight words! Leaving me to ask so many of you, do people know who you are? Are they seeing your images in the very best presentation? Are the images you present your very best work?

Last on my list of why I love this video – the founders and staff members of two great companies are putting themselves out there for you to meet.  SmugMug is about relationships, listening to the market and as Bay Photo founder, Larry Abitbol says, ”We’re proud to be providing the professional print services for SmugMug.”  If you know Larry you know this isn’t just about SmugMug, he’s doesn’t take on relationships he’s not proud of.

Here’s my suggestion to get the most out of this video. Watch the video and just listen to what’s being said. Then go back and watch it one more time, while thinking about how you relate to your own customers. If you were to shoot your own video about your business tomorrow, what would be the message you’d want to present?

I won’t deny that SmugMug is a sponsor of this blog, in fact, I’m proud to be working with them, but me sharing this video with you wasn’t on their request list. In fact, I found it on YouTube, entirely by accident.  We’re coming up to at least two major shows where SmugMug will be exhibiting, IUSA and WPPI. Take the time to wander over and introduce yourself, you won’t be disappointed.

First, listen to what Trey Ratcliff, Jim Garner, Kevin Winzeler and Sandy Puc are each saying about their photography. Notice a common theme? This is about their passion for the craft.

Next, check out how they’re photographing. Seriously, there’s so much you can learn just by watching how they photograph, the subject matter and their presence.

Last on the list, pay attention to the production quality of the video itself. Just like each of the four photographers (check out the links to their sites) and SmugMug Pro’s philosophy in business – there is no compromise for quality on any level. It might have started as a commercial, but if you pay attention to the message from each of the four photographers, it’s a two minute and forty-seven second educational experience and a great way to start the day!

Now, go get that morning cup of coffee and just watch this video. I can promise you that you won’t be disappointed.

1. Give your clients lots to read! Your most valuable piece of real estate is your website, but what I don’t understand is why so many photographers junk it up with paragraph after paragraph that just don’t say anything! If a picture is worth a thousand words, then keep the copy on your site to the bare minimum. Every outstanding image demonstrates why you’re a professional. You don’t need to add a lot of words if your images speak for themselves.
2. Never bother to check your website. I wrote about this one earlier in the week, but there are still those of you who are convinced nothing can go wrong – after all, it was working okay yesterday! Ever had an unexpected problem with your car? Maybe it was a dead battery or a flat tire or just maybe somebody hit you in a parking lot! Your website is no different! When the gremlins get involved and your site locks up or is just too slow to load, it can cost you serious business.
3. “I’m too good to have a network”. Yeah, I know, you’re so good you don’t want anybody to know what you’re working on. Plus, you’re so smart and you absorb new technology so fast, you don’t need new ideas or help from other photographers. Seriously, a great network takes time to build, but every new photographer or vendor you meet at a local guild meeting, state/national convention or workshop helps you expand your expertise. Your network can help you through the toughest challenges in half the time and time is your most valuable commodity.
4. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! No, it should be if it ain’t broke, you haven’t looked hard enough! Need I say more?
5. And the last one on the hit parade: criticize everybody else! Negative sell because your potential client really wants to know what’s wrong with your competitors! Negative selling just doesn’t cut it. Ever had a contractor like a plumber or an electrician do some work on your house? They’ll always tell you the last guy did it all wrong! Don’t get caught up in negative comments. Instead talk about your own work, but spend time listening to your clients first. They need to know you understand what they want. You want to develop that special level of trust that will allow you to step into their lives and capture the moments most important to them. You won’t get there if you sound like a cheap salesman who only wants to close the sale.

Thomas Edison is quoted as saying, “Hell, there are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something.”

Don’t be afraid to throw out the “rule book” and show your creativity, in your marketing, your images and in building your relationships. You don’t need to give up business to your competitors if you stay focused on integrity, customer service and quality in your images!

1. Make people mine for data on your website.  This is so easy to avoid, but evidently a lot of photographers think their client base is still playing Dungeons and Dragons. They bury their most important information under a sea of testimonials, accolades and miscellaneous pages. People eventually just get tired of searching and eventually go elsewhere.
2. Don’t give people a phone number to contact you. It’s the let’s-make-people-contact-me-my-way scheme. Seriously, don’t you feel great when you contact a company and can actually talk to a live body? Your website and your business is no different. And the same goes for business cards that send people to your website instead of your phone. If they’re serious they want to talk to you, not write an email. I understand if you’re working out of your home and don’t want to give people an address, but give them a phone number! There’s no such thing as giving your audience too much contact information.
3. Put up images that look just like Uncle Harry’s! Here’s one that’s so easy to fix, but there are some photographers who think Uncle Harry is the competition.  Up go images in the galleries that are as good as Uncle Harry’s!  WRONG – they need to be better than Uncle Harry’s and really demonstrate why you’re a professional photographer! Look at your website as if you were the client. Based on the quality of your images, would you hire you?
4. Not returning phone calls and emails makes you look really busy and in high demand!  Who started this one? Seriously, there are people on this planet who think that building your business is all about looking busier than you really are and one ingredient is to play hard-to-get!  That might have worked to get a date in high school, but success in business today is about a fast response.  It’s about great customer service and it all starts with your client’s perception you really care about their business. A quick response shows you care and they’re important.
5. Confuse your audience! This one is all about showing every image you’ve ever captured. Hey, who knows, that potential bride might just have an auto parts business on the side and be really interested in your table-top product work, especially the series you did on spark plugs, tools and 10W40! Keep your specialties separate and don’t give people too much to look at that isn’t relevant. For example, wedding and family portraiture go well together, but throw in your images of the Grand Canyon and you’ll lose them every time.

I cannot tell a lie, sarcasm is definitely one of my strong suits and tomorrow I’ve got five more ways you can help your competitors! And, let’s not forget the bright side of this – giving up business means you’ll have more time to just sit back and relax. After all, you had enough business already anyway, right?

Business is tough enough in a great economy let alone the challenges everyone faces today. Putting all the sarcasm aside, it just takes time, patience and lots of work. There are no shortcuts! Work is labor-intensive – that’s why it’s called work! But knowing there’s a quote for everything, I went searching…

“If hard work is the key to success, most people would rather pick the lock.”  

Happy Wednesday! See you tomorrow for five more mistakes you want to avoid!

Think about the last time you walked down an aisle at a trade show.  Exhibitors who had exciting displays got your attention, but every now and then you’d see a booth that was nothing more than a static display with a couple of people in business attire, looking more like they were auditioning for Night of the Living Dead than interested in talking with you.  Well, your website and brochures are no different.

You’ve got to be excited about your business if you want your potential clients to be excited too!  I don’t profess to be an English teacher, but I do know something exciting when I see it.  So many of you describe your services and promotions like a can of soda that’s been left open for the night.  It’s got color and flavor, but absolutely no fizz, it’s flat!

Over the years I’ve watched the way Vicki Taufer markets her business.  I’ve talked a lot about her in this blog as well.  Here are some examples of things she’s done over the years.  She doesn’t just sell wallets she sells Art Wallets.  Unique portrait sessions are called Limited Editions. Instead of just doing Big Prints she does V Imagery and on location sessions are called Real Life.

Years ago Ricardo Montalban was a spokesperson for Chrysler and the Chrysler Cordoba had “rich Corinthian leather”.  None of us knew what Corinthian leather was, except that it was incredible!  (click on the link and you’ll be taken back to 1975 and the commercial on YouTube.)  Even in simple products today, like moisturizers, we’ve got shea butterin hundreds of lotions…okay gang, what the hell is shea butter and when did it come into our lives?  It wouldn’t be a big deal if they just called it a moisturizer or a secret ingredient.

Here’s a challenge for everybody.  Take the time over the next few days and look at your website and your promotional material.  My bet is you could use a few good adjectives here and there just to create a little excitement in the way you describe your products, your services and probably even yourself!  Look at your website too – does it have fizz or is it a little flat?

There are a lot of places you can get help.  Check out GhostRighters.  We started the company to help photographers with the challenge of better marketing.  Check out Marathon Press.  They’ve got a whole staff who can help you with the design and the copy for your promotional material as well as your complete marketing strategy.  WHCC has a whole crew to help with new products and services you can offer your clients, like custom holiday cards.  Lastly, make it a point to attend some marketing programs at the next convention.  Don’t just go to the programs with the hottest icons – odds are you need help in your marketing efforts just as much as your photography.

What you’re really doing is building your brand.  You can choose to present it like a commodity item at Kmart or you can go for the designer label.  Just remember, as you work to make your brand more dynamic, it’s not just about using great adjectives and writing creative copy.  You need to deliver great products and services too.

Warren Buffet couldn’t have put it in simpler terms: Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business.

Living in LA you never say, “I’ve seen it all,” because sure enough an hour later you’ll see something more bizarre.  It’s great to look young, but so often in LA you see women (and men too) who have just pushed the envelope on youth too far.    Personally, I don’t want my gray hair died back to what I looked like in High School!  And I earned those bags I get under my eyes, why would I want to give them up?  The list could go on and on, but here’s my point.

Take a look at your website.   It might be perfect or, like so many other photographers, you either need a facelift or you’ve overdosed on photographic Botox!   

First, photographers often get tired of their images before they really need to be changed.  At the other extreme, many of you can focus your camera, but can’t focus on your specialty.   You’ll have all kinds of images on your website – some of them might be great, others are mediocre, even bad and were just included to fill up space. 

Think about this for just a second.  Pretend you’re a potential client and you’re looking through your galleries.  Let’s assume you’re guilty of inconsistent quality, with a few great images in the beginning, tapering off to average and poor later on.  Look at your images through the eyes of your client.  For me the first question I’d worry about, is who am I going to get if I hire this photographer?  While one image might be spectacular, a minute later I saw images that were “underwhelming”.  The gap between great images and everything else might be huge, leaving me wonder which persona will I get for my shoot.

Second,  there’s the Stuckey’s Grand Buffet Theme of just too many images and too much variety.  I’ve talked a lot about diversity, but you need to make sure your images are separated by subject matter and don’t throw too much at potential clients. 

My good buddy, Scott Bourne, and I have two different thoughts on this.  I don’t have a problem with a photographer demonstrating two different specialties, for example, wedding and children, because they’re both linked in a natural progression theme of family.  Just keep them in different galleries.  Scott believes you’re be better served to position them in two different websites and also target your marketing separately as well.   Pick either suggestion, but don’t mix them up in the same galleries.  You’ll wind up confusing your clients and in the end they might go elsewhere, just because they’re looking for a photographer who’s focused on just their needs.

Third, are your images in sync with today’s styles and trends?  So often I’ve seen images on websites I know were taken years ago.  You need to keep your website fresh!  Personally, I love it when photographers use their images in a blog style with a little copy that describes when and where the images were taken and especially demonstrates their enthusiasm.

Last but not least, limit your copy!  If a picture is worth a thousand words, then don’t bury people in paragraph after paragraph about yourself – give them images demonstrating quality and consistency.  It’s outdated terminology, but your goal is to create “sticky pages”.  Sticky pages means they literally don’t want to leave your site.  They want to share your images with their friends and they especially come back to look at more of your images at other times.

In the end we’re right back to getting a face lift!    Your website is your calling card – it’s who your future client sees before they ever pick up the phone or meet you.   Show images that are created from the heart and you’ll be able to pull at people’s heart strings!

There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.  Ansel Adams

Marketing is a full time job or at the very least requires consistent daily focus.  It’s like planting a garden and then never watering anything!  The seeds will never sprout – the flowers will never bloom and in the end you’ll just have a beautifully turned over plot of dirt!  Just like your plants needing water and sunlight – your business needs brand awareness fertilized with some good solid promotions to keep people interested.

Here are a few things to think about:

1) Patience!  No matter what you do, nothing is going to happen overnight – yes, there are stories all over the industry about promotions that absolutely took off, but in virtually every case you’ll find the photographer already had the brand recognition in the community.  Vicki Taufer did her pet portraits day two years ago and had 150 sittings and 40 people on the waitlist, but she already had brand awareness for VGallery.   On everything you start doing, go in with no expectations for the first month or two.

2) Social Media: I’m much better off to just send you back toScott Bourne’s two blogs on how to use Twitter than rewrite it all in my own words.   Whether blogging,  Twitter or Facebook, don’t under estimate the power of social medial to reach out to your client base, but you’ve got to do it with helpful information.  If you’re a wedding photographer start a blog or Facebook page and then put up some great generic suggestions for brides.  If you’re a children’s photographer then come up with some great tips for parents – give them tips on how to take better family photos – honestly, they’re not going to cut into your business – but you’ll enhance your reputation and be giving something back at the same time.

3) Publicity doesn’t happen by itself.  There’s already a template for you to use on a past blog, but you have to make the effort.  You have to be involved in projects around your community to get the exposure.  You have to be the one to send a photo into the local paper.  Most important of all, you have to be the one to meet all the people who you consider opinion leaders in your community.   As you get to know each other better, you’ll find the publicity will happen easier and faster.

4) Network!  This goes well beyond “working the room” at a workshop or convention.  You’ve got to network a little every day right in your own community.  I’ve written about Dawn Shields in Missouri – but here it is one more time.  She invites everybody she can find that has anything to do with the wedding business to a monthly luncheon – caterers, wedding planners, travel agents, bakers, restaurants, bridal salons, limo companies, tux shops etc.   The cost is $10 and that’s to pay for lunch.  Everyone gets together and talks about what’s going on with weddings in the area.  

Now apply it to being a children’s photographer – clothing stores, restaurants that cater to kids, shoe stores, toy stores, even taking a shot at the manager of a pediatrician’s office would at least be worth the try.  Pull everyone together to talk about kids in the community – maybe a fund-raiser for a new playground – something that gets your name out there and identifies you as a focal point.  And don’t forget the local barber shop or salon – there isn’t a beautician in the world who doesn’t know everything that’s going on in the community or which kid just got his/her first haircut!

5) Promotions!  You don’t need to become the local version of Levin’s Furniture here in Akron – they literally have over saturated the market with promotions, running them back to back all year long!  Too many people now wait to hear what the next offer is going to be and actually delay their purchase decisions. 

You need to have some promotions out there that create a sense of urgency.   They need to be long enough to have impact, but short of enough for your target audience to think about how time’s running out.  My suggestion is try your first few and have them run for a month.

For example, spring and Easter are right around the corner, so why not do a children’s promotion for April or May?  It can be anything from a free sitting, to a tie back to a local charity, donations to a new playground, free framing with one print, discount offers etc.  The issue is the importance of having something that gets your target audience thinking about getting new portraits of the kids.

6) Advertising - don’t under estimate the power of a well-placed ad.  So many times I’ve heard photographers say that advertising didn’t work.  Then I learn they only ran one ad.  You need to run at least three times in a row and with print, you’ll be most effective if you’re in the same place in the magazine or newspaper each time.  You should also look for opportunities on websites of other companies in the area and see if you can develop a relationship to cross promote on each other’s sites.

7) Direct Mail- It still works and there are some people that believe it’s back and far stronger than email blasts.  The issue here is to think about how much you delete in email, usually through your iPhone or Blackberry, before you even turn on your computer.  A well done post card is definitely going to get some attention and lists are so easy to buy today, especially when you’re sorting by zip code.  It’s all so easy and if you’re stuck in how to get started Marathon Press has a whole staff ready to help. (It’s a plug, but they deserve it!)
Email: Just because it’s a challenge to keep from being deleted doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still be doing email blasts, but they need to be effective.  There’s a whole science around getting through the noise when it comes to email.  I heard a great speaker at a convention last year from Constant Contact and was really impressed.  I haven’t used them, but they’re certainly a player in this arena and worth checking out.

So, here’s the bottom line – having the greatest website in the world won’t do any good if people don’t know who you are.  Creating the greatest images of your life won’t build your business if people don’t know to look at them!  You need to weave a web around your target audience and it demands full time attention!  You need to be in their mailbox, in their email box, in the newspaper they pick up and read every morning, in local magazines and you want everyone talking about who you are, the great images you’re creating and the way you’re giving back to the community.  You can’t just build a great website, sit back and expect people to beat on your door when you’ve done nothing else!

“At the end of the day, anybody who thinks there’s a reward for nothing, ends up losing.” Kerry Stokes, one of the richest men in Australia.