He is a wedding photographer and educator based in Derry, Northern Ireland who has just launched a series of video courses for photographers called ENGAGE.

Donal Doherty has a vision. And that vision is to help as many photographers as he can with all that he knows about running a successful photography business.

Talk to the man and he is terribly humble about it. He shuffles through a slew of recent awards quickly, not making a very big deal about them. His focus is on what he can do, based on all that he learned in the PR world, to help photographers who struggle to run just “ok” businesses to running great ones. While he does offer mentoring sessions and he speaks often at industry events and writes a popular column for a UK based photography magazine, his busy wedding photography schedule keeps him from going all-in. That is, until he decided to invest a good deal of his own time to create ENGAGE.

If you are starting a photography business, branding one or need help with social media marketing, I recommend you check out Donal's newest offering.

Donal also launched an ebook called, “Engage: Social Media Marketing for Photographers.” Go to the website and sign up to receive your first chapter for free.

Still intrigued? I was. So, I sat down with Donal to chat about this new launch and why photographers like you should pay attention.

Check out some of his award-winning work here:

For about $150 a year … yes, a year … you receive nearly 30 videos that are between 10 and 15 minutes in length that explain the many facets of growing a business with a plan, branding it properly and then marketing it via social media.

Every two weeks, starting today through February 2nd, Donal will release each of The Business Plan Course videos to you. The Branding Course and The Social Media Course will follow.

Donal's intent isn't to just load you up with a whole bunch of content. There is enough of that already in the market. The reason each of the videos is released gradually is to give you a chance to watch the video and then implement what he has taught you to see results. I think this is what makes Engage so different. The emphasis is as much on the process as the results, which you will need to adjust because everyone's approach to business is different.

How will you fully engage with your photography business this year?

In this world there are dreamers, planners and doers. For most of my life, I belonged to the first group. You can still find me spacing out. My kids sometimes have to come right up to me and shake me back into the present. Funny as that may be, I know I've lost a good amount of time producing work and growing a business.

While I have become better at planning and making to-do-lists, what stifled me in the past was not having a road map to run a photography business. What are steps one, two and three to get to step 10? I wasn't and am not now looking for any short cuts. I expect there to be a good amount of work involved but when things are fuzzy, most people tend to simply stop doing. This is perhaps the worst thing one can do for oneself, but starting and stopping and starting up again aren't anything new for me. It's how I've done things. Perhaps you are in the same situation?

What if there was the option to start and keep going? That's where the Business Planning Cookbook comes in. Angela Pointon of Steel Toe Images and Zach Prez of Photography Spark, two people I hold in high regard for their long history in helping photographers and business acumen, have teamed up to bring us a new and necessary resource for photographers who are serious about staying the course.

They begin with an exercise in defining your vision. Get the free PDF that walks you through your business vision statement. This resource also gives you an idea of what to expect in the Business Planning Cookbook; worksheets and videos to guide you every step of the way.

Here's what you receive when you buy Business Planning Cookbook:

Goal-setting guidance and direction for building targets for your business you’ll be motivated to hit

A crash course in writing a vision statement — one that challenges you to think bigger, reach higher, and achieve greater success

Serious focus to the business objectives and tasks that matter, reducing the distracting, ineffective stuff most photographers waste time on

A killer, proven formula for determining which marketing channels will work and inspiration for rocking your marketing and sales

A simple guide to financial goals and predictions that anyone can use to plan out their revenue and income, even if numbers aren’t your thing

Confused about how to run your business, stressed out about money or anxious about when the next client will come walking through the door? Consider buying the Business Planning Cookbook today.

Special bonuses when you decide to invest in your business:

12 videos to expand on key business topics

10 worksheets to help you brainstorm, plan, and practice the lessons

Exclusive business planning community membership, led by Angela & Zach

It's on sale through May 20th for only $79. Isn't peace of mind worth that small price? Price bumps up to $99 after that date.

Angela Pointon is the founder of Angela Pointon Photography and Steel Toe Images, which offers advice and inspiring motivation for photography business owners. Angela's weekly email newsletter is packed with advice for photographers, which can be subscribed to for free here. In addition, she has authored multiple books for photographers, is a monthly columnist for Professional Photographer Magazine, blogs at Steel Toe Images and posts to Facebook, G+, Pinterest and Twitter.

You don’t need a plan or a path. I mean, really. You don’t. But, if you're in the photography business and you want to successfully compete, earn healthy revenue and achieve goals, then you actually should have an idea of where you're going. Here's what I mean…

Anyone (and I mean anyone) can start a photography business today. You've probably read about the insane low barrier to entry for the photography industry. And while this low barrier to entry creates a photographer, not a creative ass-kicker, it also creates a business owner.

Assuming we eliminate the hobbyists out there, those photographers using a camera to earn money encompass a definitive universe of people. And within that universe of people, there are a small number that you actually compete with. If you serve a certain geographic area or a certain genre, then the others that also try to do that same thing are your competition. (By the way, your competition is also your clients that choose to “shoot it themselves” or not hire you at all.) But for now, let's focus on the small part of the universe that you actually compete with every day for dollars.

What Sets You Apart From Them?

My images are different.

Yea, maybe.

My clients love me.

You're getting warmer.

I've won awards.

You're getting colder.

I'm a better business owner.

You're red hot.

Running a successful photography business involves being a better business owner, marketer and also a better person. If you put yourself in your potential client's shoes, it's really hard to hire a photographer if they're a poor business owner and a really shitty marketer, isn't it? Even if their images are breath-taking.

But you can gain competitive advantage for out-marketing and out-pathing and out-businessing (new words) the next guy or gal.

A Photography Business Plan Can Set You Apart

So many photographers launch businesses (daily) with absolutely no clear plan. They're not specific on what they're shooting. They're not certain of where they're going. They only know they're on a new road called photography.

This presents an opportunity for you to one-up this trend.

By creating a photography business plan, you're not merely laying out your plans for growth, revenue and success. You're planning your opportunity to more successfully compete as a business owner. And perhaps most importantly, you're positioning yourself and your business to be better, whatever that might mean to you.

Download A Photography Business Plan Sample

I wanted to create a photography business plan that made sense for my own photography business. If you've searched around for one, like I did, you found lengthy documents that are more appropriate for photographers looking to get bank loans. In other words, they looked like documents a banker would enjoy reading. They didn't, however, look like plans that would actually help a photographer compete and move forward.

So I decided to just create my own photography business plan based on what I learned from being a customer of Gazelles at a past marketing agency. It includes the few things that photographers will find useful and it fits to just one page of paper.

I wanted to make it accessible to other photographers, too. So I am offering it for download here. The best part about it is you get to name the price you want to pay for it. It has a suggested price of $27, but when you place it in your cart you can edit the price.

Think you'll get tons more value out of it? Go ahead and make it more. Is your photography business budget just too tight? I totally respect that. Go ahead and make it less. No, seriously.

Check it out here

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