You know that feeling you have when you’re planning to go on a trip? It’s your last day at work. You’re focused and intent on all the “last minute details”.
How to prepare your photography marketing…
Are you a photography junkie 24/7?
Way back when in the day when I wore a younger mans suit, there was this studio in town that was very successful.
They had it all, including a solid reputation. It was a mom and pop operation.
My favorite.
Chatting with the pop of the ‘mom and pop’ duo one day, as he was telling me his upcoming plans to spend some time in Florida, he added:
“I can’t wait to get away from that camera.”
I was stunned by that comment. “Why?” I thought to myself.
Last week this topic came up again as I was having lunch with one of my local peers, he mentioned something similar.
“I’m like my dad, when I go home I turn work off. That part of me doesn’t exist while I’m not in it.”
I find this perplexing. But it could be me. I’m kinda weird like that.
I do know I find it odd that anyone in photography isn’t obsessed with it like a junkie is with getting his next fix.
Maybe, just maybe, this obsession, this drive, defined another way, it might be called passion.
And maybe, just maybe all told this passion is one of the reasons my photography business has worked, non-stop, endlessly bringing me and my family success, prosperity and profits.
Maybe.
I’m gonna go with that.
And I’m going to add one more important element…..marketing.
Yea. In my obsessively compulsive soul, I am about equally addicted to marketing as I am with photography.
You might call this the perfect storm.
I say, it works…. and I’m running with that.
Not turning it off. Not going away on vacation so I can “get away from my camera.”
I am 100% obsessed and addicted to photography. As a matter of fact, when I’m bored, I go to the camera store so I can cause trouble and be around photography.
I’m going away for an extended Costa Rica experience this winter and I am obsessing over which tripod and ND filters I’m hauling down there, with my complete camera system.
Lenses, flashes and camera bags. All of it.
We travel well together.
Robert N. Provencher – Your Master Coach Marketer
“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”
The #1 lie about quitting your dream…
This ever happen to you? You dream of walking to a bridge, and chucking it all overboard, into the flowing torrent of water below?
You know, a box full of cameras, lenses and dreams.
Poof! Gone….
What a relief it would be. Get rid of the whole fucking mess.
You imagine what a relief it would be to quit the struggle. The whole shit-show.
The constant barrage of flippant stupid questions from ungrateful clients. Questions like:: “Can’t I just get all the files on a DVD??”
For peanuts. You work for peanuts.
You imagine how good it would feel to close the book on your empty calendar with few to no sessions.
Ugh. What a pain running a photography business. After you poured every last dime on gear and education, you think “Maybe it was all a lie.”
As artists, we tend to over-estimate the pleasure to be gained from quitting and UNDER-estimate the pain.
WE ALL DO IT! Be honest.
When you look in the mirror of honesty we don’t want to admit how hollowed out we became.
You think you can quit it all, turn and head the other way. But you can’t. Here’s why:
Your ambitions, your hopes, your dreams, even if somewhat delusional, were still YOURS. If you walk, you bleed.
A long slow deadening bleed.
The struggle is real. So we think. And we delude ourselves into believing it’s the photography industry.
When the truth is even uglier. Running a business is hard grueling work.
SO many don’t understand what I’m saying. Those who do have a chance at success.
DO I have to spell it out?
The biggest lie in making it in photography is simple. It’s not about the work you create. It’s all about the marketing you implement.
Get that and you have a chance. We’ve had it too good for too long.
The easy days, and the big lie that came with them, are over.
I don’t consider myself one of the lucky ones, still in business, still churning out profits and sessions even though many would consider me “over the hill” at 60.
I consider myself, still, to this day, a student of marketing. I avoid as best I can the delusion.
School is never out.
Robert N. Provencher – Your Master Coach Marketer
“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”
Stupid questions…Part Two
“There are no stupid questions, only stupid people who ask questions.”
~anonymous~
I got an email from a photographer friend…it reads:
“I started using Rob Provencher’s pricing model about a year ago. Instead of getting a sitting fee then hoping people would buy I use Rob’s idea, in this case I collect $250 at the time of the shoot. $150 of that is used as a credit towards their purchase.
I get an email yesterday from the daughter in law of a recent family portrait client. She wanted to know if everyone got a $150 credit towards their orders of it was just the mother in law. Yes really.
On a completely unrelated note, marijuana became legal in Canada yesterday.”
Ha ha….yea.
Some people ask stupid questions. It’s part of the job, the industry. It happens….
Some tell me the industry is dumbing down. Maybe. Maybe not.
Asking questions is a smart thing. Even though some questions are dumber than others.
Either way, we get to answer our clients deepest darkest desires and educate them. Not get all offended and hopeless.
I never seem to have lost the desire for asking questions. I think it’s in my DNA.
A few days ago I asked Dave Junion a ton of questions. I hope they were smart.
Smart questions get smart answers.
I like answers from real, legit photographers who have real, genuine stories, struggles and successes.
It gives me hope, inspiration and information. It’s real.
That presentation with Dave, and the recent Marketing Mastermind with international famous photographer James Hodgins is HERE for members of the club.
It was good. Very, very good. Dave is not typical in so many ways.
But one thing he is, is, he’s an amazing photographer and has crafted a very successful niche, after a few existential crisis’.
Hey, we all need a good existential crisis once in a while.
Enjoy.
Robert N. Provencher – Your Master Coach Marketer
“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”
Do this one thing and your sales will flow…
It seems selling photography is getting tougher and tougher all the time. I know, I see it, experience it and witness some strange behaviors.
Questions from clients are revealing. For example, two recent scenarios from our studio and one from another studio who shall remain nameless.
“Can I come over take a cell phone picture of so and so’s family photo so I can run to Walmart and get some prints?”
Serious. This happened last week. My wife was stunned.
Another client contacts a studio and asks…..“The $150.00 credit we have towards the family session, does everyone in the family get the same $150.00 credit.”
Really?
Really.
Imagine if you will a crappy cell phone photo. Now, imagine a finely crafted portrait of the same subject. Fine, as in, ….“whoa..wish I shot that! I love that style! It’s stunning…” fine.
It seems many people don’t know the difference anymore between quality and crap.
To be fair, I am not gripping and running down grievance road. It’s important to know what’s going on in society so we can best “fix the problem”, assuming it is fixable.
So, on that note, here’s my best advice in three parts. Do this and sales will flow in your favor like water down a hill.
- get in front of the right clients. Yes, they’re out there. Sell to them. It’s called a hungry crowd. It’s your job to find them, not assume because you’re all that and more they will find you. And manage their expectations.
- make marketing your mission. Become a marketing maven. It’s your responsibility as a business owner. Many photographers don’t get this. It’s scares them, truth be told.
- deliver products that they want, not work that satisfies your ego.
This is one reason I never was crazy about print competitions. Yes, yes, they help you grow and become a better photographer. But will it help you create products they want?
Know the difference. Is it ego based or strategy?
I was at one of our 3 day events a few years ago, during the night owl mastermind (everyone loved these!) and one lady was complaining about her lack of clients.
I asked her the obvious, how big is your town? About 2,000 she replied.
My advice? Move.
Get in front of the right clients. If they’re not there, you need to move to where they are, or, adjust your offerings to get the limited amount in your area to respond.
Know your market. This is the FIRST step in marketing. If you have a great product, and no one wants it, you don’t have a product. It’s that simple.
Kristi Elias is a great example. I interviewed her last year. She’s flowing in work and has an endless amount of clients because she delivers and is in the right area for her work.
I interview a lot of photographers every year because I am a student of marketing. Always will be.
And tomorrow night I am bringing in Stacey Fox. And you’re welcome to join us.
CHECK OUT her resume and the list of things she does to remain relevant in her industry.
Of course all members have access to the replay and download.
Thu, Nov 8, 2018 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM EST REGISTER HERE
Robert N. Provencher – Your Master Coach Marketer
“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”
Three photographers at the top of their game…JOIN US!
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I’ve scheduled three presentations with three of the smartest photographers in the industry today.
In the books, locked and loaded..(with more to come!)
Frontline presentation with Stacey Fox
On November 8th at 8:00PM EST DETAILS HERE
November 13th at 9:00PM EST with Dave Junion
DETAILS HERE November 15th Marketing Mastermind with Rob Provencher and James Hodgins
Be smart. Join us…..
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Robert N. Provencher – Your Master Coach Marketer
“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”
Stupid questions…
“There are no stupid questions, only stupid people who ask questions.”
~anonymous~
True story. A lady calls our studio yesterday.
She was asking about a client’s session we had shot four weeks prior.
When Tina, the studio bozz, my queen bee and fashion goddess got on the topic of the order being in (large prints and all) she asks:
“Great! Can I come by and take a picture of the wall portrait with my cell phone so I can go to Walmart and make a print.”
I sh*t you not.
I sh*t you not.
So this is what our industry has come to.
Nothing new. I’m sure changes in our industry has happened before. Like when they switched from using flash powder to electronic flash.
Or when they dropped the big heavy cameras for leaner, meaner medium format and 33MM format.
Changes, all big changes. And as usual, stupid questions.
Questions like: “Since you’re no longer using flash powder, can we have the negatives for free?”
or
“Since you’re using a smaller format camera, can’t we have the negatives included in the deal?”
or
“Since it’s digital, and EVERYONE is doing this, AND I can easily duplicate what you’re doing using ONLY my cell phone, can I have all…..for free?”
Here’s the thing. You can’t let those questions beat you down. If you do, you lose.
Few understand the business strategies used when running a profitable photo studio.
But YOU need to understand them. Or call it a hobby. There is NO excuse for the business owner being dumb or irresponsible when it comes to using profit creating strategies that produce sales and increase profits.
People aren’t dumb. They sometimes ask dumb questions because…drum roll….:
“They don’t know any better.”
What you need to always remember is that it’s up to you to manage your clients expectations. And explain to them, communicate, show, tell and ask for the sale.
The onus is on us, as business owners.
Robert N. Provencher – Your Master Coach Marketer
“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”
What to do when people simply don’t want to have a family portrait taken?
I noticed a trend these days. And it’s not good.
It appears many folks don’t want and don’t have much patience for family portraits.
Adults seem to hate having their picture taken. Even when with their families.
I could be wrong, but I think I’m mostly right. Priorities are changing.
Cell phones are ruining us all. In this faced paced world, the old adage is new and relevant: “People will take ease over quality everytime.”
My attitude is three fold:
It is what it is. Can’t change it, so adapt we must.
Follow the path of least resistance, water flows downhill.
Find the market that matters
And more.
Don’t get me wrong. We’re still shooting families in our studio, especially the legacy multi-generational family gatherings. It’s just that I detect these subtle changes.
A few ways through this in my oh so humble yet laser accurate opinion is to maintain promotions for families, fairies and such. Don’t sit back. Get at it! Maybe I need to work harder for each booking, but hard work never killed anyone.
Promotions and marketing are in fact the solution.
Maria S has a solution. She outlined it a few months ago when I had her on our marketing mastermind, now available for members HERE.
(one simple idea while out for her bike ride converted one simple family session into a $5,000.00 sale…pure genius!)
Fairies are a thing for us (that image above, in this email, is a current sample- one of many). I just shot over 50 in the last ten days.
We’re up to out eyeballs in fairy orders and I recently shared, as I usually do, my latest fairies workflow, with template download.
For members of course….GET IT HERE once you login.
Next week I am planning on bringing James Hodgins (he keeps bugging me, he has so much to share!) back for a marketing mastermind on selling, educating your clients, attracting the best market and creating ‘perceived’ value. And more.
More on that date coming soon.
Stay tuned, stay frosty my fiends and friends in photography.
Robert N. Provencher – Your Master Coach Marketer
“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”
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