Marie's Soft-Touch Marketing Idea
The last time I interviewed Marie Masse, it was to introduce you to her awesome website Fearless & Framed.
If you are photographing families in your community, documenting their reality may be your thing as well, but how do you go about persuading people to work with you? What would convince them more than anything else that this genre of photography is a good fit for them?
“You teach them,” said Marie.
Jaw dropped, I said, “Say what? Can you tell me more about this?”
Marie suggests conducting timely but profitable photography workshops for moms (and I suspect dads are welcome too).
Teaching Sells
If you are a photographer, I am pretty sure you have had someone in the past roll up to you and asked you about a feature or two on their DSLR that they simply do not get. The fact is, most people who own DSLR's are using it in “P” mode or “A” mode and never in “M” mode.
As a professional photographer, you've been rocking your sessions on manual mode forever and feel very comfortable talking about the exposure triangle, the rule of thirds or anticipating peak moments.
You are a pro, after all.
But for most moms and dads there is a mismatch between what they envisioned their photographs of their children would be like and what their skill set is with their fancy cameras.
A photography workshop that you can offer them, bridges this gap, giving them the rudimentary skills to get going and most importantly to value what you do as a professional.
In some ways you are disabusing them of the notion that to create a photograph, of a quality worthy to be displayed on their walls, all they need to do is to push a button.
By teaching them the basic in's and out's of photography, you are in some ways letting them know that what you do isn't as easy as that; it takes years of training and experience and most of all patience.
When they come to value what you do and see the artwork that you create for other clients, there is an excellent chance they will recruit you to be their family photographer.
Bingo!
Structuring The Workshop
At this point you must be thinking, “do I have to teach them for free?” The answer is a resounding: NO!
Educate your potential clients from the very beginning that your time is valuable. So, conducting these photography workshops for moms and dads in your community could be a boost to your bottom line if you do it right.
You are going to want to publicize it and of course, launch your first photography workshop. I have done three so far at the local library, but you may want to choose a different spot in town. Regardless, there is a structure that you can and perhaps should follow to set it up correctly.
Marie Masse just launched a course called Profitable Photography Workshops For Moms and based on the webinars she has conducted over the last few weeks, it might be just the thing for you.
The Interview
We got together for another chat, specifically about this new resource for professional photographers like you:
Profitable Photography Workshops For Moms
From Marie's website, here is what you can expect to receive when you invest in Profitable Photography Workshops for Moms:
The Complete Guide to Running Photography Workshops for Moms ebook – this 50-page guide will walk you through everything you need to know, step-by-step. From planning the workshop, filling workshop seats, how to create an incentive plan to book workshops from workshops, running this workshop in-person as well as getting started with taking this workshop online, and how to make lasting connections AFTER the workshop that can turn into more business through running a Facebook Group (which will be a gold mine for information direct from your ideal clients). No topic was left behind in this guide!
Connective Email Templates – inside of the guide, you’ll get email templates to help you fill up your first workshop, welcome new students to the workshop and questions to get to know your new students before the workshop, keep your workshop hostess pumped up and on fire to fill her workshops up, a reminder email to students, and after-workshop communication emails to encourage a continued relationship through a photo challenge, a Facebook group, and recommended resources and equipment list. The how and the why behind all of this communication is laid out inside of the guide.
Marie’s Beginner Photography Workshop 4 part Video Series – listen to this real demo again and again until the content flows off your tongue with ease. Feel confident knowing Marie has sold out her workshops using this specific class. You’ll see Marie’s slideshow packaged and put together inside this demonstration video series.
Marie’s Workshop Video Transcript (aka Word-for-Word Demo Swipe Files!) – all four videos come with a transcript for you to read and use as your outline to practice your class demo until you feel confident
Clean & Simple PowerPoint Slideshow Template – Marie’s demo includes all of the words with a license for you to use, so all you have to do is drop in your photos to make this workshop your own. The template has a variety of slides from title and engagement slides to single image slides and collage slides. We kept the professional design of this slideshow minimalist and clean, so your images shine and the slideshow has a timeless look and feel.
Cheat Sheets for Students Galore – Camera Settings Scavenger Hunt (pdf), Light Guide Template (InDesign file so you can add your images to the light categories), Exposure Cheat Sheet (pdf), and My Photo Wishlist (pdf).
Workshop Planner to create your blueprint to launch your workshop in 30 days (pdf). The planner a fillable pdf for you to map out all of the details, your workshop plan and policies and even a slide planner to help you cull your photos. Get organized in no time flat!
Two Organization Tools: a Sign-In sheet & an Open Date sheet to use at your workshops to keep track of who showed up, collect email addresses and to inspire your students to book their workshop, advanced class or session.
Bonus: Real is the New Perfect Photo Challenge – the exact quiz, beautifully designed to challenge your students during the workshop to help inspire their documentary shooting ideas and potentially needs for their own session (pdf)
Bonus: Access to the Private Facebook Group just for Workshop Instructors to unite. The Facebook Group is a place for instructors to support one another and grow together through your ideas + success stories you bring to the table. The online group is a place to connect, problem solve and gets questions answered from other instructors. The Fearless and Framed team will be inside and active in the group answering some questions, but this is not a place to receive 1:1 support from Marie/Fearless and Framed.
Wowza! Marie pretty much sets you right up for success!
A Testimonial
This is what one reviewer said about Profitable Photography Workshops For Moms:
I’m naturally good at teaching and inspiring others, but the concept of creating a workshop was intimidating and therefore I’ve never gotten it off the ground. I didn’t know where to start, how in-depth to go on certain topics and only setting it all up from scratch was just not something I had the time for. So you could imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered that Marie had created the Profitable Photography Workshop for Moms bundle. Finally, I would be able to take the leap and do something that I’ve been afraid of doing for so long – and best yet it's practically all set up for me all I have to do is insert my images and branding, market it and bam, I’m done.
A Challenge & An Offer
So, here's my challenge for all of you – in the next 60 days will you launch your profitable photography workshop? What's stopping you from trying to reach an even greater number of people in your community who could very reliably become your clients for life! Comment below.
Here's my offer to you all. If you use this affiliate link to buy Profitable Photography Workshops for Moms, and you send me your receipt (seshu at tiffinbox dot org), I'll schedule a 30 minute Skype call with you to discuss your workshop plans. This offer is only for those of you who jump in and buy between now and July 31st, 2016, though.
Sound good? I look forward to speaking with you about your profitable photography workshop.
