So how do you do it?

[12step]

I was browsing local photographers websites today and I saw various different types of site designs, pricing, style of work, etc.

Some sites played music during their side shows, some were feminine and some were more masculine (usually depending on the gender and style of the photographer.) Prices were all over the place. Some offered no sitting fee, just pay per print and others were full of deals, sales, and discounts.

The only thing that seemed similar was their work. A lot of the same poses, image effects, etc, depending on the type of photography services they offer. All of them were good, just nothing that grabbed me as different or special.

My mentor has a lot of hits on his website, just not the sales that go with it.

So how is it done? If you do great work, have a great site, fair pricing, and great feedback (which all these sites had), what does it take to rise above the rest?

12

[Steven G Webb]

I think there is a "gift" involved. I've wondered the same thing myself and it's the conclusion I've come up with. Some folks will chalk it up to marketing but I see instances frequently where one person can do just what another does with differing levels of success. In a lot of cases maybe its personality behind the marketing. My son has a gift for selling. It doesn't matter what it is. He sells with me on events and blows me away. He can tell a customer that a certain thing is the best value and without the first demonstration of usage, they'll believe him. I can say the same words, the same way and people look at me like I'm trying to shyster them into something. He sells memberships at a country club but his primary job is working in the pro shop, he sells more memberships than the director of marketing and sales. He's 21 years old and I study him like a book trying to figure out how the fruit of my loins with so many of my personality traits could be so different. Honest he could sell ice cubes to Eskimos.

On photography, I've seen really dramatic flash pages with all the music and fancy effect slide shows but the work is, well just average. I've also known photographers who have regular jobs as carpenters and shoot weekends for pleasure and their work is nothing short of masterful. Why is the one a successful photography businessman when the other makes much better pictures? The questioning always turns personal for me. I want to know why this one guy is knocking em dead and rolling in the dough when I struggle and my work is sometimes superior.

I have a relative in this business who goes about everything all wrong. Presence, personality, customer service all abysmal but he's constantly booked and very profitable. He mentored a woman who originally didn't know a focal length from a firefly. In less than three years she became a heavy hitter in the same genre and a direct competitor for his business. He'd she fund a 20' photo trailer, an RV to pull it and all the equipment necessary and parlay that into a photography business generating $72K her first year on the road? He'd she do that knowing nothing about the technical aspects of photography? Its a mystery.

For me its persistence. I was convinced from the start that I could do this and make it survive to profitability. Others around me think I should throw in the towel and give up. I can't, I just can't. If I ever learn how ya do it I'm going to do it with all I've got. Until then I'll keep chipping away at it.

Lastly, we know all about the successes people have but we seldom know of the trials and challenges they faced and overcame. Any one of the hardships could have given them reason to become a failure but they did not want to succeed at failing, and they would not stand to fail at succeeding. Edison invented the light bulb, how many times did he not invent it? We may never know. Babe Ruth held the home run record and we all know that, at the same time he held the strike-out record we don't talk so much about that dubious honor. Maybe he wasn't such a great hitter, maybe he just swung every time he got the chance. Keep swinging!

Steve

[12step]

Well said Steve.


12

[Ed Shapiro]

Business wise, there are many elements that have changed in the photographic business over the years, at least some folks like to think so. There are new trends and of course new trends bring with them new features and benefits that potential clients need to know about. Just like photography itself, there are certain elements in creating business and making sales that will never really change. Perhaps some feel that we are dealing with a more sophisticated market nowadays the we were dealing with 10 or 20 years ago, however, certain aspects of human perception, nature and instincts have not changed all that much.

Sometimes when I am about to embark on a promotional scheme and feel a bit perplexed, after all I don’t want to come across as “old fashioned” or “old school” in my advertising style or presentation, I go back to the very basics- the anatomy of a sale. Perhaps the STYLE has changed but the underlying ideas have not.

Firstly, here are the basic components of a sale:

· Attract attention
· Create a desire for you product or service
· When an interested potential client responds you need to greet the client, find out there requirements, educate them as to you features, benefits, and quality of service, answer their questions and address their objections and proceed to a trial closing and finally a closing of the sale.

Years ago there were very rudimentary ways of attracting attention; stores and stores and theatres had “pitchmen” standing outside of their premises stand at a lectern and telling (or shouting) about the great merchandise, bargains or great entertainment to be had within the business premises. Some had large hook-like canes that they would strike their lecterns with to emphasize their spoken words- I suppose the hook was to actually catch and drag people in to the premises but I don’t think that ever happened. As a young man, I remember walking down the street of the Lower East Side of Manhattan being “accosted” by a rather charming old fellow saying “you are a big guy and do I have a coat that will fit you’! Well, I took a few minutes to accompany the guy into to his store. To my surprise, it was a heck of a nice coat and it did fit well so I purchased it for less than ½ of the going price of the uptown stores! Nowadays, perhaps I would have chased the poor guy away or called the police because he took me by the arm. Yup times have changed.

For decades, besides advertising, the best way to attract attention was the store front- a great window display. In a well trafficked area an attractive window would bring in many clients. Nowadays, however, the rents and mortgages associated with prime downtown or suburban shopping malls are outrageously high and many photographers operate from their homes and perhaps buy some display space in a prominent location. What with the Internet, however, many photographers use the INTERNET as their STORE WINDOW to attract attention and for many photographers it works to various degrees. Before going any further, it is essential that we attract attention and create desire for our products and services. Without creating this interest, we can not proceed to the other components of the selling process.

Well then, let’s look at the internet- I look at photographer’s website all the time. Doing this, I have come to the conclusion that if one depends primarily depends on their web site to bring in business, they are sadly mistaken. I think of a website and most other forms of mass advertising, as a way who get your telephone to ring more frequently in terms of potential customer inquires and THAT”S ALLL. The rest of the process is up to each individual photographer and of course, the goal at that point in the process is to secure an in-person meeting. At that point the remainder of the process kicks in.

This may sound negative but to be frank, I don’t believe wholeheartedly in websites for the following reasons. Going back to the philosophy of Internet advertising is like a store window, ask yourselves this question; would you open your “store” in a neighborhood where people can not afford your professional services or advertise in a “bargain hunters” newspaper? Would you open your studio in a street where there is 10 other studios? I mean competition is good but opening up a studio where 10 other photographers are vying for the same clientele is inviting confusion and chaos, especially if you competitors are charging very low rates. Yes! Could be that your display is better or more impressive but it can also be lost in the crowed.

Having said all this, I am not “writing off” the Internet as one way of attracting attention but when you put up your site you are now competing for attention with thousands of photographers, not 10 or a dozen and many are photographers without borders who can be imported right into you town or do a location wedding. So what I am really trying to say is yes, use the Internet to you advantage but don’t put all you eggs in none basket and realize that local advertising, networking, maintaining a good public image are still the backbone of you operation.

By the way, the Internet and the on line telephone directories have just about replaced the expensive Yellow Pages ads. I found the same problems with the Yellow Pages that I now fault the Internet with. Thee salespersons would come in and tell you that you competitors are taking out larger and larger ads and you would do well with a larger or more elaborate add each year. So you spend a small fortune and there you are with the bargain priced studios. Then you get more calls but the potential clients are simply looking for prices and quantities rather than quality. Nevertheless you have to be there in the book or people will assume you are out of business.

I must have seen a few thousand websites on the last 3 years and I can tell you this; MOST OF THEM ARE TERRIBLE! They are terrible because they defy every tenet of good advertising, design, content and copywriting. Well- that does make the better ones stand out! Even some of the better ones are ineffective because they are not well placed on the major search engines- a good website designer and planner with know how to get your site right up there and that of course, takes time and money!

So here’s what bugs me about most of the sites I have seen:

· There are just too many images- you don’t need to show every photograph you have ever made- be selective and jut display the cream of the crop. Too many thumbnails are clutter- stay with high impact larger images. Pretend you are producing a 30 second or 1 minute TV commercial- get to the point and create interest right off the bat. Avoid hackneyed sayings and phrases and knock their sox off and leave them wanting more. Keep the copy thigh- the images should speak for themselves.
· Self aggrandizing blogs and copy make me sick! OK. So that is harsh but guess what- your potential client is gonna feel the same way if you come across as being too self absorbed and full of yourself. It is great to state you accomplishments, awards, masterships, and affiliations with associations- a conservative list and logos will get the point across. I have seen tons of copy that insinuate that the photographer is the only one on the word who uses certain methods and uses what I call the ‘KISS OF DEATH” phrases; OTHER PHOTOGRAPHER DON’T DO…WHAHTEVER”! All you would be doing there is directing you potential clients to “other photographers” to see what THEY really do or don’t do. Just concentrate on the benefits and features that YOU offer and NEVE criticize your collogues in the professions- that is LOUSEY form!

· Emphasize benefits NOT features (as much). For example: “We shoot with Hasselblads” means nothing to the average consumer, for all they know a Hasselblad is a German artillery piece especially if you “shoot” with it”! In any case that is a feature. “Our state-of-the-art equipments and highly skilled team bring you the ultimate in sharpness, resolution, clarity and vivid color” – that is a benefit, not only a feature.
· Photographers are oftentimes creatures of paradox. The jump and down, pound on their lecterns like evangelists ministers insisting that you “hire me- hire a professional” and the come up with a dreadful
cut ‘n’ past poor excuse for a website design complete with poor navigation, slow loading and out of synch music. Don’t forget- your website is your store window and may need a professional window dresser.

Also consider this; nowadays there is a more consumer savvy public and a good salesperson should mot be described as one who can sell ice to the Eskimos (who now like to be described as the Inuit peoples). A good salesperson is one who helps people buy what best suits their needs so they walk away without sticker shock, regretful feeling or a need to cancel their orders. Sometimes when I complete a contract or a sale, the customer says that I am a good salesman. Oftentimes I wonder if that is a backhanded compliment. Did I end up selling them something that the really did not want or did I address the needs in a professional manner and provide good service? All I know I could never sell anything that I did not believe in or I did not fully understand and know about.

I sell well because I do so by providing information, educations, a good portfolio, and knowing what I am talking about. Folks get the idea.

I hope this helps. Ed

[12step]

Ed those are great words of advice. I'm not a photographer with anywhere near the experience to give my own opinion on the business and promotion. I can only share what I have personally dealt with, what I have seen, and the little experience I have as well as relay the opinions my mentor has told me.

The tristate area where I live is over saturated with photographers. If I was a client looking for someone to shoot our newborn baby, all I would have to do is type in the words "Baby photography Cincinnati." and Google is filled with MANY photographers in the area that offer that service. And honestly it would be hard to pick one by simply quality and talent because most would be "good enough" to use. It would really come down to one thing...

Price.

I would look for the best photographer at the cheapest price or actually one who is "Good enough." And honestly I think most customers will choose a decent photographer at a cheap price then a amazing photographer at a higher price. I think people settle for "good enough". If they didn't, Sears, JC Penny, Babies R Us, Portrait Innovations photo services would not exist. Now there are some of those that I have listed that have great photographers working for them, but there are also that have simply been trained to use the camera at a certain setting, make sure the lights and strobes are working, and push the button.

When it comes to photographers websites, I like to check them out for many reasons. One of the main ones I check out is there sales pitch. What their site looks like showing the type of people they are trying to attract. The ones I have noticed are the female photographers websites. I call it the "E-Factor" (Estrogen Factor.) PLEASE NOTE I am not intending to sound sexist ladies. I admire the direction and have seen it work to generate clients.

Our wedding photographer was a woman. We set up a appointment to visit her, and she had the appointment at her aunts house (because it was big, nice, and had a huge flat screen TV). I saw it as a nice environment to have clients to help along a sale. She showed us a slide show on the huge TV of her work with some music playing in the background. The whole time the whole conversations was entirely between her and my wife. I wasn't offended. I thought it was genius. Most guys aren't usually very concerned about the photographer at the wedding, (I wasn't). The only thing I was concerned with, was the price. I see websites offering children photography by women photographers. The "About me" section of those sites always has comments about the photographer being a mother and seeing the beauty of children. Again...Genius.

But going along with what Ed said. Reputation and word of mouth work wonders. Most of my mentors business goes by word of mouth. A lot of my nature and landscape prints were sold by word of mouth.

So when it comes to promotion of your services "Old school" still works, and works well.




12

[Steven G Webb]

12 you make some valid observations. Your area doesn't have a monololy on self-proclaimed professional photographers. We're overrun with them as is any place with a Best Buy or a Ritx Camera store, that's about everywhere. I agree with you that the websites are entertaining, when you think you've hit bottom with those try checking the ones over on Craigslist.

When is good enough, enough and what is good? I think we've been bombarded with lousey work for so long we've accepted it as reasonable work. Ray Kroc took a small burger restaurant chain and turned it into what is now a multi-billion dollar world wide franchise. Are the burgers at the Golden Arches the best? Are there better? What makes Mickey Dees so popular? Its just good enough at a price people are willing to pay for what they get. That's the present mentality for most eveything. The masses clammor for a just good enough option. That's why Walmart's parking lot is full night and day. They don't carry the finest lines of merchandise but they carry things that are good enough at a price people are willing to pay.

In an almost parralell universe, there are 5-Star fine dining restaurants and high-end specialty stores running in co-existence with McDonalds and Walmart. All are successful and profitable but separate and individual. Something to think about is this, which has the larger parking lot, Walmart or Neiman Marcus? So does this mean that Wallyworld is really doing more business than Neimans or is more popular? Not so much. There are more bargain shoppers. A retailer willing to take a shallow GPM in exchange for high volume needs the business volume. The retailer who caters to an affluent market unwilling to compromise quality and able to afford the best, also gets the higher GPM and the higher priced merchandise.

So while you are considering the state of the business, consider this: The majority of those photographers who appear to be garnering a large volume of business may not be putting any more money in the bank at the end of the day than the bit higher end, posh or botique photographer.

Thats kind of the way I see things.

Steve

[Glendower]

Originally Posted by 12step

But going along with what Ed said. Reputation and word of mouth work wonders. Most of my mentors business goes by word of mouth. A lot of my nature and landscape prints were sold by word of mouth.

So when it comes to promotion of your services "Old school" still works, and works well.
12

Absolutely, positively right.

As Ed points out very well, certain types of advertising & promotion will inevitably dump you into the same barrel as everyone else. That problem in some cases is completely eliminated with "old school" word-of-mouth "advertising."

That's not to say that a word-of-mouth referral customer won't check you out and do some price/value comparisons. But in my experience, many times the word-of-mouth referral is all you need.

My wife & I started a small tax & accounting practice 3 years ago. (Easy decision: Her employer showed up at 6:30 a.m. with a U-Haul truck and announced that they were closing the office.) Business was up 15% our second year and 20% the third. At least 90% of our new business comes from referrals. People usually don't even ask about pricing when they book an appointment.

From the YP ad--where we are, of course, on the same page as Bubba's Tax Service & Bait Shop--we get quite a few phone calls, almost all of which begin with the same question: "What do you charge for a tax return?"

Someone on this forum has the sig, "Don't try to stand out from the crowd. Avoid crowds entirely." That's exactly the benefit of word-of-mouth advertising.

[Arved]

Ed,

Many good points. Are there any (photographer's) web sites you can recommend as examples of how to do it properly?

About the closest I've seen are the followers of Charles Lewis, such as the following web sites:

Thomas Morelli Fine Photography
Merrick Photography
Thomas Wilson Photography

One thing I'm really learning - encouraging people to e-mail me is bound to give me the question "how much are your 8x10s?" With a question like that, I'm a commodity. I can't ask question to get the prospective client out of this kind of bottom-line thinking and into everything else (like how and why they want the portraits - is this for your Christmas cards or for your wall portraits, for instance, or what's the most important thing about your images, or what do you like or don't like about portraits you've had done in the past, or anything else that can give me clues as to how I can serve them best). If I get this "how much are your 8x10s" question, and don't tell them "Our 8x10s run from $x to $y," I'll lose 100% of who writes. On the other hand, if I don't give them the price, I'm perceived as being evasive, and I lose trust (and the client). I need to get them to call so we can chat. As Charles Lewis said recently, the e in e-mail is for evil.

(Of course, if someone has some tips for how to answer those "how much are your 8x10s" e-mails, please chime in! My bottom line is, I'm not going to compete with the Walmart Portrait Studio $9.95 special, and that's all my e-mail prospects seem to know or care about).

All that said, I've been looking at Google analytics for my web site. My SEO is fine - I'm getting plenty of "impressions" - my web site coming up and being presented in search engine results. Hundreds of impressions per month, really. Trouble is, there are absolutely no click-throughs to my web site. None. Nada. It doesn't matter what's on my web site, because even though they see it in the search results, they don't click on the link. 100% of my internet traffic comes from Google Maps and Yahoo Yellow Pages (free listing, because with a name like Arved Grass Photography, I'm right at the top, just under the paid listings). So, I'm not interested in putting a whole lot of time and money into a web site that nobody but me is going to visit.

[12step]

If you want a online site to sell prints just sell them on Etsy.com. It only costs 20 cents to list and a listing lasts for 4 months. You can put in your own banner, sales policies, etc. Etsy has google analytics built into the site.

When I type in "Thomas Flynn photography" in google, my etsy shop is the first one listed. And I paid nothing to get it there (besides listing prints on the site).

The only drawback is, is that the shop site really isn't designed well if you are offering photography services.

Why should I pay for my own site when my Etsy shop almost does everything a website would?


12

[Arved]

Originally Posted by 12step

The tristate area where I live is over saturated with photographers. If I was a client looking for someone to shoot our newborn baby, all I would have to do is type in the words "Baby photography Cincinnati." and Google is filled with MANY photographers in the area that offer that service. And honestly it would be hard to pick one by simply quality and talent because most would be "good enough" to use. It would really come down to one thing...

Price.

Photography is a luxury. Nobody will get injured, maimed, or killed if they don't have a portrait, or don't have a wedding photographer at their wedding. "People buy photography for emotional reasons." (Charles Lewis)

So, think of your photography as something like a

Bugatti Veyron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bugatti Veyron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bugatti Veyron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

. There are people who really don't care about cars like that, there are people like me who love it, but can't come close to affording it, and then there are the people who like cars like that, and can afford them. Same thing with our photography.

I know I'm not the target market for my own photography. I don't value my work - I would never pay my prices. I'd rather do it myself than pay me to do it.

I would venture to say that most people here are the same way - they'd rather do it themselves than to hire someone. Occasionally, we have no choice. I couldn't be my own wedding photographer, for instance. Damn it, I can't take my own drivers license photo, either (but I have taken my own passport photo!).

So the first thing in marketing is, we have to understand that not every warm body is a potential client. The second thing we have to understand is that our potential clients aren't anything like us. If they were, they'd have the cameras we do, read the boards we do, take the classes and seminars we do, and do the photography we do, and wouldn't value our work, just like we do.

There is nothing wrong with selling things we can't afford ourselves. I like to use the example that the workers at Boeing building 747s can't themselves afford to buy a 747. That doesn't make it wrong for the workers to still produce 747s, or for Boeing to sell 747s at the prices they are. You don't have to be a potential client to be a producer, just like you don't have to be a producer to be a client. I point this out because there are a LOT of photographers who refuse to ask for a price that's beyond what they could afford. "Nobody would pay that much! I certainly wouldn't." They don't think it's ethical to charge fees they themselves wouldn't pay. It has nothing to do with ethics.

The economics is another way of looking at it. I'm selling a print because I value the money I'm getting for the print more than keeping the print for myself. My client is giving me money because they value the print more than the money. It's a win-win transaction. Nobody is taking advantage of anybody here. That's how every financial transaction works. Even the thug who puts a gun to your head - you value your life more than the money in your wallet, so you hand it over. He values your money more than your life, so he's willing to blow your head off. Every financial transaction is a win-win situation.

We must find clients who value photography more than we do. That doesn't mean they have to be rich, but you're not going to "squeeze blood out of a turnip" either. You're never going to get a homeless beggar to invest in a 30x40 gallery wrap canvas, no matter how good it looks in his underpass, or how much he likes it. But a soccer mom might think a triptych of her little soccer player is just the thing for her home's entry. She may also not be able to afford a huge gallery wrap over the sofa in her living room. Maybe she can, if she saves for it (layaway, credit card, etc). We buy things we can't afford all the time - every time you whip out the Visa and use your credit for a purchase, and millions of people do just that every day.

Frankly, it's none of my business what my client can or cannot afford. That's not cold. When was the last time you were asked what you could afford when buying groceries or clothes, or concert tickets, or dinned out? There are only very limited cases where it's appropriate to ask what a client can afford. You bet the Bugatti dealer is going to prequalify me before handing me the keys to test drive a Veyron. But a portrait or a wedding? I do qualify my clients, but I'm never so tactless to come out and ask what they can afford.

In order to successfully market to our potential clients, first we have to understand who they are (and surprise, this should be in your business and marketing plan). Who is your ideal client? Then, we have to figure out how they work - what influences their buying decisions? Why do they buy what they buy? I'm a man, and my target market is women (not all women, but I'll give you this clue: women tend to buy more photography than men), how on earth do I begin to understand the female mind - something that's eluded me for decades?

You have to understand them (your target market, or potential client base) if you have any chance of having them even listen to you, let alone understand you, and consider doing business with you.

For you, price is a demonstrable metric you can and do use to distinguish photographers. However, as you seem to think all these photographers work is acceptable, you are evaluating the market as a commodity market. You probably buy milk or gasoline the same way - how much per gallon? I bet there are things you buy where price is not the dominant metric. Maybe it's books or magazines (do you buy books by the pound or linear feet of shelf space they'd occupy?). Maybe it's the camera you bought (Megapixels/$K, or were ergonomics, sensor noise, and popularity with your peers a factor?). The house or appartment you live in (price per square foot, or did you consider the neighborhood, your commute, the view, etc?).

The key to success is to be able to find and cater to a market that we aren't part of. If you evaluate your competition from the perspective you and I have, you're right, price will be the dominant buying motive. My epiphany came when I realized that my potential market had to be people with a different dominant buying motive. I had to (and still am) trying to figure out what that is, but I think half the battle was getting to this epiphany.

Have a great weekend,