Sunday, December 30, 2012
Friday, December 28, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Sunday, December 02, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Sell the Experience
Today photographers find themselves in a new consumer culture. Like no other time in our history has our industry so quickly and so significantly been changed. The rapid growth and change in technology has caused us to begin looking at new ways to price, market and sell our work to consumers.
The days of paper prints, traditional photo albums and traditional methods for pricing these products are quickly becoming a thing of the past. As consumer demand continues to grow for more digital products delivered in formats which they can more easily view and share their images is causing us to begin thinking of new pricing models and delivery methods,
To many of us who have been in the industry prior to the digital revolution this means a new way of thinking. For years we built our pricing around a finished print or package of prints. As we move into the future we are seeing less and less desire or need for finished prints. So, what does this all mean to the future of professional photography?
First, we have to determine where we create the value in our work. Quite frankly that has not changed. The value of professional photography was never in the finished image. In truth it was and still is in the experience we create for our client and in the emotional response they have to the work we have created. When we understand this we can begin to more easily reevaluate how we price and present our product to our client.
Here is an example. When my daughter was a child we planned a trip to Disney World. Now my daughter was a huge Cinderella fan. One of the things we wanted to do while at Disney was to attend the Cinderella breakfast. My ex-wife, who is a librarian, did a bunch of research and found that getting tickets to the Cinderella breakfast was next to impossible; in fact, the travel guides said basically you needed and act of congress to get tickets.
Upon further research she found that if you called precisely six months to the day of the first day you were going to be in the park beginning at 6am you may have a chance to get tickets. So she marked the calendar and on the scheduled day she set her alarm and woke up early to begin her attempt to get tickets. On her third attempt she got through and was able to purchase the coveted tickets.
Now she didn’t tell me what she paid for these tickets but was quite pleased she had been successful. We arrived at Disney a few months later and on our appointed day we went to Cinderella’s castle and were escorted upstairs and seated for the breakfast. By this time I had learned what we paid for this breakfast and I was a little stunned as I had never paid this much for breakfast in my life.
I was seated directly across from my daughter and when Cinderella and Prince Charming entered the room from behind me. It was then, when I saw the expression on my daughter’s face I realized something special had happened. To see how happy and mesmerized my daughter became and her reaction to the characters made it all worth it. You see I had not purchased breakfast; I had purchased an experience, one I would pay for again to allow my daughter to feel so much joy and happiness. It is all about the experience.
So, understand, in this new consumer culture. For you to be successful you must be able to control the experience. Every aspect of your relationship with them must be about enhancing the experience. From the time of your initial contact to the post-delivery thank you note and follow-up.
It is no longer simply enough to create great images; you have to create a great experience. Now the more difficult part comes.
How do you market this experience so your client will be willing to pay you the kind of money you need to make to be profitable? Those are questions I will address in part two of this article in a future post.
The days of paper prints, traditional photo albums and traditional methods for pricing these products are quickly becoming a thing of the past. As consumer demand continues to grow for more digital products delivered in formats which they can more easily view and share their images is causing us to begin thinking of new pricing models and delivery methods,
To many of us who have been in the industry prior to the digital revolution this means a new way of thinking. For years we built our pricing around a finished print or package of prints. As we move into the future we are seeing less and less desire or need for finished prints. So, what does this all mean to the future of professional photography?
First, we have to determine where we create the value in our work. Quite frankly that has not changed. The value of professional photography was never in the finished image. In truth it was and still is in the experience we create for our client and in the emotional response they have to the work we have created. When we understand this we can begin to more easily reevaluate how we price and present our product to our client.
Here is an example. When my daughter was a child we planned a trip to Disney World. Now my daughter was a huge Cinderella fan. One of the things we wanted to do while at Disney was to attend the Cinderella breakfast. My ex-wife, who is a librarian, did a bunch of research and found that getting tickets to the Cinderella breakfast was next to impossible; in fact, the travel guides said basically you needed and act of congress to get tickets.
Upon further research she found that if you called precisely six months to the day of the first day you were going to be in the park beginning at 6am you may have a chance to get tickets. So she marked the calendar and on the scheduled day she set her alarm and woke up early to begin her attempt to get tickets. On her third attempt she got through and was able to purchase the coveted tickets.
Now she didn’t tell me what she paid for these tickets but was quite pleased she had been successful. We arrived at Disney a few months later and on our appointed day we went to Cinderella’s castle and were escorted upstairs and seated for the breakfast. By this time I had learned what we paid for this breakfast and I was a little stunned as I had never paid this much for breakfast in my life.
I was seated directly across from my daughter and when Cinderella and Prince Charming entered the room from behind me. It was then, when I saw the expression on my daughter’s face I realized something special had happened. To see how happy and mesmerized my daughter became and her reaction to the characters made it all worth it. You see I had not purchased breakfast; I had purchased an experience, one I would pay for again to allow my daughter to feel so much joy and happiness. It is all about the experience.
So, understand, in this new consumer culture. For you to be successful you must be able to control the experience. Every aspect of your relationship with them must be about enhancing the experience. From the time of your initial contact to the post-delivery thank you note and follow-up.
It is no longer simply enough to create great images; you have to create a great experience. Now the more difficult part comes.
How do you market this experience so your client will be willing to pay you the kind of money you need to make to be profitable? Those are questions I will address in part two of this article in a future post.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Increase sales in 2013—Pre-release Sale—Introducing 2013 marketShare Market Planning Calendar and Workbook on DVD
New and updated for 2013, get a jump on your marketing plan for next year with this great resource from Industry and nationally recognized marketing and management expert Stacey Friedlein, Cr. Photog, PPA-ABI, CBM, S-PPANI
In it you will find:
• New updated information on social media and internet marketing.
• Step-by-step instructions for laying out a successful marketing plan for your business.
• Tips on selecting the appropriate media for effectively getting your message out.
• A sample promotional marketing calendar to use as a guide in your planning.
• Useful planning and evaluation forms to manage and gauge the success of your promotions.
This resource has been used by hundreds of small business owners to create and manage their marketing efforts.
The 2013 marketShare Market Planning Calendar and Workbook on DVD will be released on November 5, 2012. You can save by pre-ordering your copy today.
All orders received by Friday, November 2 will receive a their 2013 marketShare Market Planning Calendar and Workbook on DVD for the low introductory price of $29.95*. That is a savings of $20.00 off of the cover price.
Additional Bonus Offer—Each purchase made by November 2 will also receive certificate for one-hour of telephone consulting with the author. This is a $125 value included absolutely free.
To order your 2013 marketShare Market Planning Calendar and Workbook on DVD simply go to: http://www.itsc123.com/ITSC-Store.html.
*plus shipping and handling of $4.95.
Don’t wait order yours today.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Social Media Marketing
OK, We are looking for your best marketing efforts using social media. Tell us about yours and be entered to win a free copy of our new updated market planning calendar and workbook,
Friday, October 12, 2012
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
What is the most pressing question you have about making your business more successful? Facebook 9/20/12
We received a great response to this question which we posted in several Facebook groups. In order to share the responses with everyone we have chosen to answer all of the questions and post them on our blog with tags to the individuals who posted the questions. We will also post the link to the blog on the group Facebook pages from where the questions were generated.
So, here in no particular order are the questions and our responses.
How do I get clients who pay?
Lynne Ann
Hartford, CT
Lynne Anne,
There a number of questions I would have for you before I gave you a definitive answer. Are you having trouble with clients who contract you and then don’t pay? If so, you need to be collecting fees upfront from them. This can be done by requiring a flat amount at the time you book the session. This fee should include your session fee and your expectation of a minimum order. Determining this takes some work and may be more of an answer than you want here but we would be happy to assist you in determining what that amount should be. In very basic terms it should be an amount which covers your costs, general expenses (including paying yourself) and profit. There are some formulas and industry guidelines which I would be happy to share with you.
If your question is a matter of getting paying clients then you need to create a need for your product and a marketing plan to reach you’re desired demographic. A market and competitive analysis will help you determine the strength of the market and where you should position yourself to maximize your success. You also need to evaluate your pricing for profitability first, and then determine how you position yourself in the market based on your price point and target demographic. Again we can assist you in determining these things in your chosen product area and demographic.
How can do I become known to potential clients... faster?
Tony McKay
Hamilton, New Zealand
Tony,
Creating marketing energy is vital to being successful. First, you need to determine your target demographic. Who is your client? Then determine where they are. Are they Facebook, social media consumers, are they looking for information in more traditional ways? What are their buying habits? What influences their buying decisions? Once you answer these questions you can create marketing energy around where your target consumer gets information. This is where you will want to focus your marketing resources. We can assist you in finding those answers.
Wondering if one can succeed in WV with the economy how it is & if people would want to pay the kind of cost associated with professional photographers?
Theresa Litteral
West Virginia
Theresa,
This is an often asked question. The photographic industry has made great changes and there has been a huge paradigm shift in the past 5-7 years. Doing some market analysis will help you to answer your question. Beginning with a competitive analysis asking who else is out there and what are they doing? What markets are being served and where are there opportunities for growth? Is there a niche market which is not being served adequately or at all? Who are your consumers and what are they looking for? Is there enough market to support the niche you want to do business?
Then more directly to your question, in defining your niche and market can you be profitable in your price structure and gain enough clients to support your business. This is where a solid, well defined marketing plan will help. In creating this plan you will identify your target market, create marketing collateral and message which appeal to them and an implementation plan which will maximize your chances for success. Let us know. We can help.
What to charge people when you are just starting out?
Am I as good as I think I am??
Jennifer Harblin
Kelso, Washington
Jennifer,
Setting prices when you are starting out can be tricky. If you are serious about making photography a profession, the thing to remember is you want to set prices to cover your expenses, pay yourself and provide profit for the business.
Generally a photographer starting out won’t have the same overhead expenses as an established photographer. Therefore you can charge a little less while you are building your business. Remember, pricing is very subjective and you need to think of yourself as valuable and your work as valuable to your client. I have worked with many clients who were marginal photographers but great business people and were far more successful than some great photographers who were incapable of managing their business.
Avoid the pitfalls of giving your work away. Analyze what is happening in your market area, look at your competition and don’t be afraid to price your work to the competition. As far as being good enough, yes you are if you believe you are and constantly strive to improve your work. Let us know if we can provide more help to you.
As a novice, when do I stop taking pictures as a free favor to gain experience, and start charging?
Britney Penfold
Woodbridge, Virginia
Britney,
If you feel your work is good enough to be selling, then by all means you should be charging for your work. The industry is full of want-to-be photographers who are underserving their clients with free or low cost photography. This is doing no one any good. If you want to do photography for others you need to establish yourself as a professional. Get training, create a business plan and get a business license and go for it. Let us know. We can help you get started.
How to market, and to clients who'll pay what I'm asking for!
Kirsten Flavell
Blaxland, New South Wales
Kirsten,
Please read the responses above which asked the same questions. You need to find your niche, research your potential market to see if there is enough potential to support your desired target. Create a profitable pricing structure and then create a marketing plan which targets your desired market. We can help you further with all of this.
Outsource vs. In-source decisions for the control-freak. In other words, getting more done by using others yet holding up the quality and "brand" experience that has been developed so far.
Michael Price
Pickerington, Ohio
Michael,
Start by firing yourself from the things you do not do well. Outsource those tasks which take you away from the core of your business—producing revenue. You are not valuable to your business sitting in front of the computer doing image manipulation. You need to be out looking for new revenue sources. There are plenty of talented Photoshop artists which you can pay far less than it is costing you to do the work yourself.
Be careful in over valuing your ability to do everything yourself. This is a mindset which will eventually destroy your business. Believe me I speak from thirty-five years of experience and have seen studios fail time and again because the owner was trying to do it all himself. Checks into having your lab do your artwork. I mention this because it is a common pitfall of photographers. I would challenge you to track how much time you spend on image manipulation, divide it by the number of images you worked on in an hour. Now what are you worth an hour? Now divide your worth by the number of images you worked on.
My guess is you will be astonished at how much it is costing your business versus what you are getting paid from the customer for the finished image. It is not profitable is it? This example can be used on all of the work you do in the studio. Like firing yourself from the tasks you do not do well, also fire yourself from those things which are not profitable for you to be doing. We can assist you further in making you and your business more profitable.
I need marketing tips!
Sherri White Jamieson
Kaysville, Utah
Sherri,
Please be more specific. What markets are you pursuing, children, family, weddings, seniors? Let me know, I can help.
How do I make my business more successful?
Luke Townsend
Brooklyn NY
Luke,
What does successful mean to you? Making more money, having more free time, utilizing your gifts? Do you have a business or management plan? Have you addressed where you want your business to go and what you hope to have from your business? These are fundamental questions which you need to address and we can certainly help you chart a direction.
Finding the 'right' clients.
Brad Johnson
Overland Park, Kansas
Brad,
Please read my response to Theresa above. A well-defined management and marketing plan are in order for you. We can help.
What's the most effective way to market, and to whom?
Phil Peterson
Kansas City, Missouri
Phil,
First, you need to identify your market. Who is the customer for the work you want to produce. Are there enough potential clients in your demographic? Who is currently serving that market now? How do you set yourself apart so clients will recognize you? Once you define those things you can create an effective marketing strategy to pursue your desired market.
How to market and to clients who'll pay what I'm asking for!
Kirsten Flavell
New South Wales
Kirsten,
Please read the response above to the same question. Hopefully those answers will assist you. Let me know if I can be of further help
Yep to all the above!
Arek Rainczuk
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Arek,
Hopefully you will find what you are looking for above.
How do I get off my arse and do all these things I know I should do?
Josh Marshall
Lambton NSW
Josh,
A good swift kick in the arse to begin with. Seriously, begin by writing down everything. Once it is on paper it clears your head to move on to the next task. This also serves as a great way of processing though ideas. Create a to-do list and mark things off as you complete them. Don’t get over detailed. You can start your list with 1. Start a to-do list. See you already have the first item done. Also, structure your time to do like-tasks together. i.e. return all phone calls at the same time, block time for computer work and sales appointments. Schedule time for market planning and stick to a schedule. Contact us for our resources on time-management.
What are the winning numbers to next week's lotto? :-)
Brian Tao
Ottawa, Ontario
Brian
Pick any you like, your chances of guessing are as good as mine.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Are you puzzled about the best way to market, price or manage your business?
Let us help you! We are offering a one-hour phone consultation to answer any business related question you may have. If we can't give you a satisfactory solution you owe us nothing.
If you found our time valuable and received useful information, we would ask you to pay our discounted hourly rate of $65. If you would like to continue to work with us you can choose from a variety of project based package or time-based packages.
Simply call us at 208-733-8297 or contact us through this page. You can also reach us through our website at http://itsc123.com/Contact-Us.html.
Expires July 31, 2012
Sunday, July 08, 2012
Sunday, July 01, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Sunday, June 03, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Swimmin' with the fishies
Welcome to the shark tank!
So, you want to make a living at photography?
You have chosen an over-saturated, under appreciated market to try to make money in, so now how are you going to make it work?
With so many competitors and so little market you need to find a way to set yourself apart.
Who are you?
What sets you apart from every other photographer? What is your niche? Have you established a brand identity? These are questions you need to answer if you are going to survive in photography.
You also need to consider:
Are you priced appropriately and profitably?
Are you offering the right products to maximize sales?
Do you know your market and how to get the most from your client base?
No?
Let us help! With our thirty-five years of industry experience.
Contact us at stacey@itsc123.com or 208-595-4234 to find out how.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Court won't reduce student's music download fine : Pantagraph.com | Central Illinois
Court won't reduce student's music download fine : Pantagraph.com | Central Illinois
Photographers should pay close attention to this case. Although it has been turned down on appeals by the Supreme Court if it is reintroduced and overturned the ruling could have serious consequences for professional photographers.
The line from the article which is concerning is. "Tenenbaum argued that the U.S. Copyright Act is unconstitutional and that Congress did not intend the law to impose liability or damages when the copyright infringements amount to ``consumer copying.'"
Photographers should pay close attention to this case. Although it has been turned down on appeals by the Supreme Court if it is reintroduced and overturned the ruling could have serious consequences for professional photographers.
The line from the article which is concerning is. "Tenenbaum argued that the U.S. Copyright Act is unconstitutional and that Congress did not intend the law to impose liability or damages when the copyright infringements amount to ``consumer copying.'"
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Monday, May 07, 2012
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Welcome to the shark tank!
So, you want to make a living at photography?
You
have chosen an over-saturated, under appreciated market to try to make money in,
so now how are you going to make it work?
With
so many competitors and so little market you need to find a way to set yourself
apart.
Who are you?
What sets you apart from every other
photographer? What is your niche? Have you established a brand identity? These are questions you need to answer if you
are going to survive in photography.
You also need to consider:
Are
you priced appropriately and profitably?
Are
you offering the right products to maximize sales?
Do
you know your market and how to get the most from your client base?
Let us help! With our thirty-five years of industry experience
We can do a review of your profit and loss statements and provide
you with a written summary of your revenue and expense lines. We will also give you a written analysis of
each line item and where modifications can be made to improve your cash flow
and your bottom line. We can help you
create a profit and loss statement if you do not have one.
In addition, we will review your price lists to analyze
profitability and suggest ways of increasing profits. Often times this means restructuring and adjusting
the way products are offered and does not necessarily mean prices need to be
increased.
In this ultra-competitive market we can help you create an
identity and product line which will set you apart from the masses.
Managing your business finances can be tedious, overwhelming and
frightening. Making yourself stand out
in the crowd can also be difficult. Let us help you build your business
profitability and create a plan to set you apart from the competition.
Save
50% on our Business Sustainability Package
Offer ends February 28, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Image files--to share or not to share
Ah, to sell or not
to sell, that is the question. When it
comes to selling digital files of the images created it becomes quite a dilemma
for many photographers. There are
probably as many schools of thought on this as there are professional
photographers.
As the
photographic industry has transitioned from film to digital capture the
consumer has become much more astute to the process involved in creating the
final images sold to them. Here a couple
of suggestions to help photographers deal with this often times misunderstood
process.
First, let’s
consider the business side of this decision.
The fundamental question is the photographer’s profitability. In other words what does the photographer
need to make from each session to maintain the profit level they need to stay
in business?
Understanding and
knowing where the sales average needs to be on each job and pricing
appropriately to achieve that average will assure you are profitable. So now the question becomes how to make the
image files available to our client once we have met our threshold of
profitability. Once it is met it
probably begins to make sense, from a pure business perspective, to allow the
client to purchase the image files.
With this in mind,
once the client has reached a certain investment level with the studio it may
be alright to sell them the image files for an additional fee. Creating additional incentives, bonuses and
minimum order requirements are all ways to get the client to the purchase level
the photographers needs them to be.
The photographer
can also consider allowing the client to purchase reprints from them at a much
reduced price once the minimum order requirement is met. This way they are still on control of the
quality of prints which are being made.
The client may
decide it is simply easier and better for the photographer to maintain the
files and get additional prints from them if and when the need arises.
Secondly, and more
fundamental to most photographers is the idea of giving up control of their
image files. Losing creative control can
be frightening and the products created outside of that control can put sub-par
images on the street.
This should be a
decision made by each photographer as a reflection to their desire to maintain
creative control and the overall mission and vision for their business. Also, if the photographer wants to keep the
image file it will require a system of file management, backup and storage.
Either way,
consider only offering the image files which the client placed orders. If they did not like an image well enough to
purchase an image originally why would they want the image file?
In summary, set
your prices and create a structure which assures your profitability. Consider the pros and cons as they apply to
your business and your desired ongoing relationship with the client and finally
how you want to be perceived in your market area.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)