Marketing - Page 7

How Jamie Swanson Will Help You Put The Buzz Back In Your Photography Business

March 9, 2014 by Seshu

Several weeks back, I mentioned Marketog, a 6-week course for photographers who want to put the buzz back in their photography business.

Several of you dove in and enrolled in the course using my affiliate link. Some of you discovered that it takes work to market your business. No surprises there that marketing your photography business takes work, but what Marketog does is that it gives you a solid framework to make it all happen for you.

Jamie Swanson, who designed the course, has opened the course up again for enrollment and she tells me it closes tonight (Sunday, March 9th).

She also tells me that she will definitely increase the price by $300, the next time she opens it up for enrollment either in the late summer or early fall. I have three words for you: Sign Up Now!

Not only will you save money, but you'll be a whole season ahead, establishing yourself as the-go-to photographer in town.

There is still an insane 45-day refund policy (you have to show that you have done all the exercises though). There is still the lifetime access to the course and knowing Jamie, Marketog will continue to get updated in some interesting ways. And then there is the helpful and private Facebook forum where ideas and inspiration keep flying back and forth so rapidly that you will never be left thinking you are in this alone. In fact, you will be in very good company. I am enrolled in this course.

You want in. I know it. I keep getting these private messages asking me what I think about Marketog. If it isn't the best thing for you, a) I wouldn't be recommending it and b) you can always get a refund (provided you do the work).

But I wondered what I could do to help you market your business and then it hit me.

So, here is the BONUS offer if you enroll using my affiliate code:

I will interview you (yes, each one of you) for 10-15 minutes via Skype and embed that video interview here on Tiffinbox and link back to your website or blog. I'll also promote the video interview on my active Twitter and Facebook accounts. The video will remain a part of my long series of interviews with other photographers and business leaders on TiffinboxTV. Not only will you and your business have a direct link back from this reputable photography blog/website, but you will also be promoted through YouTube, the world's second biggest search engine after Google.

No joke, I suspect the value of this interview with you is at least $500. Does that inspire you to sign up for Marketog now? I hope so.

So, that's how you put the buzz in your photography business.

But you are going to have to sign up for Marketog pretty quickly. At 11.59 pm EST tonight, the enrollment closes and my bonus offer vanishes as well. I look forward to connecting with you.

A Mini-Guide To Launching Your High School Senior Rep Program

February 16, 2014 by Mark Stall

It's not too early to be thinking about planning a Senior Rep Program for 2014. So here's some details you should be considering to be prepared. Doesn't matter the size of your senior pool, but the larger the graduating class, the better. Your goal is to identify and get as many applicants interested in being your rep as possible.

The main things you must determine are:

1. Whatever program you design must be best for you otherwise it will fail.

2. Determine a target area for your photography.

3. Know and understand your competition.

After you've designed and refined a rep program for your photography and schools, you'll need a contract specific to your program. Unless the program is well planned and implemented it could do more harm than good. You'll find yourself making mistakes and wasting money instead of making progress.

The following tips will help you to plan a successful rep program designed to your specifics. Remember, the program must motivate your reps to want to succeed otherwise it's a fail.

1. Photographers love to give free photo packages to their reps, but that's just not enough motivation. They want a good reason to do what you need teem to do.

2. Always do something besides money as an incentive. Stats show reps are more motivated by something fun like parties or going to a fun venue. How about personalized smartphone cases or personal supply of M&M's!

3. More is better! You need at least 1 rep for 100 students.

4. Heed this warning! An ordinary girl pampered with make-up to look like a model will surpass a “supermodel” any day. That before – after shot on your site will return more money then the most popular girls.

5. Don't forget a few male reps in the mix. They appeal to both girls and guys.

6. All your social media outlets are to be used to the max! Both by the studio and your reps. Plan a coordinated attack.

7. All your reps and better customers MUST use your logo on all their profiles online. No exception.

8. Keep close track of every rep to be certain they're doing what you need them to and DO NOT hesitate to send them on their way if they aren't performing to their fullest ability! This is a major issue to keep track.

Experience has proven that rewarding your reps with just photos will not produce the best results. Rather, simple rewards that improve and increase as the reps referrals improve but best to never reach your full package. You must realize that your reps are really clients with special benefits! You provide them with a variety of perks but you can still expect a decent profit from them not counting the referrals they bring to your studio. You must realize that free packages only lead to senior reps motivated by ”free deals” and that's all. You're truly seeking reps that will appreciate the honor of your relationship. That you will treat them very specially and involve them in special activities through their senior year.

Marketog, A 6-Week Program To Exceed Your Marketing Goals

January 1, 2014 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Happy New Year to you all. If you partied hard last night, I hope you are hydrating yourself back to health.

Chalk it up to being married with children, but I spent the evening tinkering with my new website. Yes, it is coming and may in fact launch today, if I can get my photo editing all done. I am excited about what 2014 is going to bring me, my business and my family.

I am pivoting, changing course by focusing on one kind of photography: creating relaxed portraits of love for families in the community I live in. I dug deep down to answer why that was important for me to do. As you’ll see in the new site, it’s personal.

Marketing, too, needs to be personal. It needs to be heart-felt and authentic or else your clients are going to seek out someone else who resonates with them. It’s just the way it goes. As much time as I spend online – Facebook and Twitter – the best marketing takes place when you meet your potential clients face to face. Still, it’s not easy to describe what your heart is set to do for them or their family.

That’s where Marketog comes in. It is a 6-week program for photographers like you and I. When Jamie Swanson of The Modern Tog let me know she was launching this, I had to sign up.

Here in brief are the 6 topics she covers in Marketog:

How to get more of the right kinds of clients
How to turn inquiries into clients: 6 game-changing strategies
How to turn your website into an inquiry-generating machine
How to get repeat clients and more word-of-mouth advertising
How to get other business owners to send you their best clients
Your marketing toolkit for effective marketing

If you want 2014 to be different than 2013 (heck, I do), I wholly recommend you sign up for Jamie’s course between now and this coming Sunday, when registration closes.

In all honesty, I am a little behind in the course and need to finish the worksheets and watch the videos in the last few modules. That said, Marketog has given me an incredible sense of confidence in marketing my new business that I would have never had without Jamie’s able teaching.

She offers weekly Q&A sessions where she offers to answer your individual questions. Yes, you send in questions and she takes the time to respond to every one of them. No one and I mean no one does this in their courses. In fact, I quit another marketing program because Jamie’s was exactly what I wanted and needed right now.

Jamie also has a private Facebook group that is full of engaging discussions (no whining, ranting or bitching allowed, so it is free of drama) about the course, any questions you feel your peers may be able to answer and of course success stories.

Lastly, you get to hear from photographers around the world who are marketing their photography businesses using specific strategies that you may consider incorporating in your business.

You get to choose between paying 8 monthly installments of $79 or $499 up-front and save 21% right off the bat. Either way, signing up now before registration closes on Sunday would be a smart move on your part.

On the fence about all of this? I get it. Dropping five large ones right after Christmas is no fun. But what if you could recover that cost within two photo sessions in the new year? Do you think that’s do-able? I think so. Follow the steps Jamie outlines in the course. Try it out for 44 days even (she has a crazy 45-day unconditional money back guarantee which I was going to talk her out of offering) and then make your final decision. Sound fair?

Click here to enroll in Marketog now.

Psst … Sign up for the Tiffinbox Treats newsletter for a couple of bonuses I am offering ONLY to subscribers.

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: Gary Vaynerchuk’s New Book

November 26, 2013 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Friends from Inspire Photo Retreats, welcome!! Read the post, watch the interview below and then scroll down some more for some special offers just for you!

Gary Vaynerchuk knows a thing or two about selling wine. But he also knows how you (yes, you) can stand out in a noisy, social world. He has even written a book about it and it comes out today!

Gary is an energetic entrepreneur who someday wants to own the NY Jets. He is also frenetically involved in social media. Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr are his chosen platforms and he dominates each one like no other. I've been following him online, watching his videos (about wine or running business) and have read his books, Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion & The Thank You Economy, cover to cover. I love his tell-it-like-it-is style of writing and his fearlessness to experiment to see what works and what doesn't.

Like the last time, when Gary launched his book, The Thank You Economy, I had the opportunity to sit down with him to about his new book, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How To Tell Your Story In A Noisy, Social World.

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook launches today, so if you get the chance, buy it right away. Make it part of your winter reading.

Here, however thanks to this interview's sponsors, ShootProof & Queensberry Albums, you now have a chance to win ONE of 50 copies that will be given away.

Simply follow these 5 steps to be entered into the drawing:

1) Post a comment or ask a question that's pertinent to this new book below (include a valid email address)
2) LIKE Tiffinbox on Facebook – http://facebook.com/tiffinboxmedia
3) LIKE ShootProof on Facebook – http://facebook.com/shootproof
4) LIKE Queensberry on Facebook – http://facebook.com/queensberryalbums
5) Share This Post on your Twitter or Faceboook accounts and use these hashtags – #tiffinbox #jjjrh

Winners will be notified by email. So, please include an email in the comments section below. If you don't have a valid email address or if I can't contact you, you forfeit the book and it will be shipped to the next person I choose.

I want to once again thank ShootProof & Queensberry Albums for sponsoring this interview with Gary Vaynerchuck.

ShootProof is the online hub for professional photographers. ShootProof empowers event photographers to share, sell and print their work with no commission fees. ShooProof is innovative, they listen, and they focus on helping photographers increase sales while simplifying the proofing, buying and fulfillment process with their clients. Use code: “PDN13” to receive $50 off one year to any ShootProof plan.

Queensberry has it's history based in albums, books and weddings but really has always really been about helping photographers make more money and/or save time. Their desire is that they inspire people to aim high and do something great and deserving of the life they've been blessed with. Today Queensberry‘s heart is still firmly beholden to professional photography and is now so much more than just great wedding albums with services including Professional Printing, Professional Art and Design and of course it's cloud application, Workspace.

The Queensberry Special Offer: 40% off the first year of any annual paid plan for Workspace, Queensberry‘s image hosting and sales platform. Use this promotional code when subscribing: TIFFINBOX

Please consider working with both ShootProof and Queensberry as they exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit that each one of you has in you to create beautiful, meaningful work.

Good luck and happy reading!

Why You Should Buy Angela Pointon’s E-Book – “Worth More: A Simple Way To Create The Photography Brand, Pricing and Packages That Command The Money You Deserve”

June 18, 2013 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Do you ever wonder what your value proposition is to your potential client? In other words, what do you bring to the table that your “rightest” client will eat up and then thank you for it by paying you what you are really worth?

It's a simple question. But it's not so easy to answer or explain. Thankfully, Angela Pointon of Steel Toe Images has a new book out called “Worth More: A Simple Way To Create The Photography Brand, Pricing and Packages That Command The Money You Deserve.” [affiliate]

Long title, I know.

I just got done reading an advance review copy and I have to tell you the worksheets and exercises she puts you through are the very first steps any photographer must take to create a sustaining and successful business. It's critical that you define who your clients need to be and then work through your pricing and packaging that meets your target client's expectations. There is really no better way to synchronize your values with those of your clients.

From Worth More: “So we’re going to figure out your ONE awesome thing by conducting another written exercise. And honestly, there’s a chance you’re not doing anything awesome right now.”

When things are in sync, you get to make a living at something you love to do. No one can or should deny you that, especially you. So, here is what I am urging you to do. Watch this video below. Based on what you hear from Angela, figure out if you ant to be a thriving photographer or a struggling photographer. If it is the former, buy Angela's book. It's on sale from today through June 23 for $79. It goes up to $99 after that date.

Angela also sent me this infographic that allows you to compare the two different photographers in the world: thriving or struggling –

Now, let me be very clear about one thing. As I read through the e-book, Angela wants you to complete exercise after exercise so that the answers guide you to some startling and positive conclusions. If you are the type that buys info products and just sits on them, don't buy this book. That would be a sheer waste of money. However, if you are open to trying new things and actually doing what Angela prescribes, I'll guarantee that you will see incredible results.

So, why should you buy Angela Pointon's e-book? Very simply, reading it and doing the exercises will be transformative (with a little elbow grease) for your bottom line. Imagine not having to struggle to find the “rightest” clients. Imagine having time to spend with your loved ones. Imagine being able to create a nest egg that keeps growing. All because you spent a few hours gaining some much needed clarity on whom you want to serve and why.

For me saving $20 is still something. I'm going to bet it is for you too. So, get the book before the price jumps on June 24th.