Archive for Business
A Photographer’s Diary, Civic Duties
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I suddenly had a wonderful rocket of inspiration this week as I was thinking about locations for Healing with Photography courses. Why not use civic and town halls?
So this week I have been busily setting up appointments and viewing the facilities in my local towns. The great thing about them is if you are looking for a location to do seminars or courses for your business, they are all fully set up with facilities.
A Step Back in Time
Given that this week winter has returned once more, it made me think about those important things like making sure heaters are working in the rooms I will be hiring. The rooms usually come with kitchens of some description nearby or attached, meaning you can have tea and coffee available to your participants, and of course there are clean toilets available. The majority have the all-important car park or are on bus routes. For sure, they aren’t completely set up in a business way in terms of projectors and screens, yet what they lack they can make up for in many other ways. Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Instagram
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As a professional photographer you might scoff at the idea of using an app like Instagram to market your business. Or perhaps the fact that you’ll be using a camera phone to take and share images might chill you to the bone. But the fact of the matter is that Instagram is popular, very popular indeed so why wouldn’t you be embracing a popular photography community?
To be honest becoming a heavily followed and liked photographer in the Instagram community isn’t the target of this campaign but if that happens then it’s certainly a bonus.
The fact of the matter is that this campaign can be done on any number of photo sharing applications or networks, it’s just that Instagram ticks lots of the boxes that I need.
Using Instagram as a tool to promote your business.
There are several recommendations when it comes to the frequency of sharing on sites like Facebook, Tumblr or Twitter but there is an overwhelming agreement that daily sharing is essential to keep fans and followers engaged. The problem is that creating good daily content isn’t the easiest thing to do and it can be quite time consuming. Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Facebook Timeline Cover
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A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting a social media Masterclass at The Societies annual photographic convention here in London. I shared a few social media marketing ideas, many of which I have published here. One idea that I’ll be using in the very near future (and that I shared in my talk) fits in nicely with Facebook’s announcement on Tuesday that Timeline will be rolled out to everyone in the next few weeks.
If you have been using timeline already you’ll no doubt have played around with different cover photos.
You’ll also might have come to the same realisation as I did that it’s not easy to find an image which fits neatly into the 850 x315 space.
Now imagine what Joe Public is trying to fit into that awkward space.
As photographers we have the wonderful advantage that not only can we shoot an image for that particular size but we can easily crop an image ready to fit.
However your share your clients images on Facebook try and include one that is cropped for the Timeline cover.
What next?
Planning and Developing Your Marketing Campaigns
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As its convention and trade show season I’m sure that you’ll be overwhelmed with ideas and inspiration for marketing campaigns. The biggest problem is that you might have come across a golden nugget that at this point in time isn’t quite the right fit for your business. The last thing you’ll want to do is to leave those ideas in a notebook which you’ll slide into a draw and ever read again.
One of the seminars I attended over the last week at The Societies Convention here in London was hosted by the hardest working photographer in the portrait business; Sandy Puc. Sandy shared her ‘salsa box’ concept which is basically three sets of colour coded folders filled with notes and ideas.
You have a folder for ideas you need to get onto right now, another for some time in the near future and another for the not too distant but not near future…..or something like that but you get the idea.
As part of my own business plan for 2012 I have started my own marketing planner. Being a bit of a geek and always one for dipping in and out of ideas I needed something that was cloud based and I could get to at any point. Evernote has proved to be the perfect tool as not only I can access and edit it from my office computer but I can also work on ideas from my iPad and phone. Using an online resource means I can also reference suppliers, products, blog articles, pinterest boards and even online storage where I might keep artwork. Read More→
Favorite Rants, Ideas and Thoughts on the Business of Photography
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The 1st of January 2012 will be the last of my posts at my personal photography blog project PhotoCreative365. Since December 31st 2009 I have posted daily thoughts, ideas and inspiration for photographers. Tomorrow I’ll be publishing a list of the most popular posts from the past 2 years but with over 1000 articles that still leaves out quite a few of my favourite rants, ideas and thoughts on the business of photography. There’s lots to read so get stuck in!
Enjoy……
Client Capacity
Client capacity is exactly what the name suggests it is. It’s the most amount of clients your business can handle whilst allowing for those extraneous variables and hiccups like re-shoots, extra travelling and larger orders/assignments.
Just so we’re clear – I’m not afraid to undercut you
I keep coming across articles and blog posts from photographers where they warn of dangers and pitfalls of hiring an amateur photographer. Indeed I’m sure I’ve written articles or dispensed similar advice myself at some point. And it’s true, if you want a professional job done then hire a professional. That’s just good advice.
The Digital File Anticlimax
I run a high volume baby portrait business and for the most part many of our clients aren’t the worlds most affluent. This means we made a decision to sell products that are affordable but have a high profit margin. I mean of course: prints and digital files.
Give yourself a boost
I don’t know about you but I’m sick of the term ‘hard times’. Unfortunately that is the reality of the world we live in and it’s pretty rare to find a business that hasn’t been effected by the downturn, current financial climate or whatever other label you want to put on it.
Beware of public opinion – Misinformed or otherwise
This week my friend’s half a million pound a year business closed its doors less than a month after a completely inaccurate (and later retracted) story in The Sun newspaper. My friend didn’t run a photography business but it’s still a worrying thing to think that public opinion can be so dramatically swayed. Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The 1st Year Baby Promotion
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This isn’t by any means a new type of promotion, in fact the MPA here in the UK have been running pretty much the same promotion since 1988 (Cherubs). It is however very successful and something that I have been using since the start of 2011.
This marketing campaign does rely on a couple of things:
Leads… lots of them. Here in the UK there are a handful of places to buy in leads. For this campaign to be successful you do need to play the numbers game so it’s very much a case of spending a fair amount on those names and numbers.
An incentive. It could be a free photo or even a cash prize (the MPA promotion offers both).
What you offer
3-4 photography sessions all taken 3-4 months apart in the baby’s first year. It’s up to you whether you charge or not for the sessions but it might be worth charging a deposit refundable or otherwise. I’ve found charging a small sum of £20 works if you are shooting in a studio. Clients are a lot less likely to miss appointments if they’re already finically invested.
After each shoot you either host a viewing a few days later in your studio or at the clients home. Even if you’ve only been dealing with the baby’s mother try and arrange a viewing where both parents are present. Unfortunately this can be as much of a hindrance as it is a help as men in general are little less excited about baby photos. Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Fish
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On my way to a meeting the other day I passed through Vauxhall station in London and saw a sight which first made me think of a great idea for a marketing campaign but also of an old customer service video I watched years ago while working as a boil in a bag chef (I’m no Gordon Ramsey put it that way).
Firstly I should share the source of my inspiration. Towards the exit of Vauxhall station are a number of different convenience stands from coffee shops to news stands but there is also a stand selling fresh fruit. Nothing unusual about that as we’re all told to eat our five a day, unless you’re Japanese then it’s 17 a day!
What was unusual was the back wall display, it is covered with about 50 4×6 photos of the stand owner showcasing his fishing catches.
Yep, 50 pictures of the same man holding different size fish at a fruit a veg stall.
At first glance I thought it was quite bizarre, but then I thought it was quite brilliant. The owner of the stand obviously has a passion for fishing and a shop on a place where although there is a tremendous amount of footfall many people are passing through at the typical Londoner ‘head down’ fast pace.
But people stop when they see his display and conversations begin. As someone somewhere I’m sure once said, starting a conversation is the beginnings of a sale. (If I have just made that up then feel free to quote me). Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The Personal Trainer Promotional Image
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For portrait photographers gyms can be a good source of referrals but they are often overlooked. But if you think about it every yummy mummy wants to get back in shape after childbirth and gyms are often filled with young parents with a descent income.
Getting a gym to promote your services is fairly easy as they often need images of their staff and personal trainers for promotional purposes.
Approaching the gym
Offer a discounted or free photo-shoot which includes a set of images for each personal trainer and/or instructor. These can be in the form of digital files or even posters promoting their respective classes. In return the gym will promote your services to their clientele. This can be in the form of posters, flyers or even a special discount card for members.
As with the Gift Vouchers for Local Businesses the gym could use the vouchers as an incentive for membership sign up.
There is also the possibility of sharing databases or offering cross promotions. Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The Local Business Group Shot
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This marketing campaign is useful not only as a networking tool but also as a way to introduce your business to the local community.
You could try this at any time of year but I’ve found it works particularly well either when you first open your studio or in the run up to Christmas.
What you offer local businesses
- A group photo of the staff either taken at your studio or in their place of work.
- Put together a staff discount pack and including some of your Local Business Discount Cards we talked about in last week’s article.
- Offer a complimentary print or even the digital file which they can use either to put on their wall or in a company newsletter.
If the staff want to order extra prints then it’s worth making this an option. At the very least this should cover the costs of your promotion.
It’s not a bad idea to post the group photo on Facebook and link to the company’s page. This will begin a social media relationship and cement those made in person. Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The Local Business Discount Cards
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Here in the UK there is a almost unspoken rule on the high street that businesses share their staff discounts. Unspoken as most big brands don’t allow this but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t had the odd half price coffee here and there!
That said, most high street stores have a high staff turnover and many bosses tend not like their staff giving out discounts left and right.
This marketing campaign aims to bring back the sense of being part of a local business community. I should stress that the aim of this campaign is not just to get half price coffee but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be a little added bonus.
Creating your discount cards
Ideally you want to create something that isn’t just a badly printed card from your desktop printer. Plastic credit card style cards are cheap and easy enough to create and all you need to do is to decide on how much of a discount you want to give away. 10% is generally accepted as standard but it’s entirely up to you.
