It's funny how things just seem to come together when one decides to pivot. I spoke about scuttling two of my websites and changing course. Part of my new adventure involves being absolutely sure what my future photography clients want and what they are looking for.

As I have stated before, just because you can photograph and publish images on the web does not guarantee you a following or more importantly a business. You have to define who want to do business with in the first place. Most people, including me, get stuck in the “how” – I don't know, for instance, how to use Google Analytics in a way that will give me a good idea of what information my clients are looking for online.

Who has helped me through this process, from time to time, is my friend Scott Wyden Kivovitz. He is a phone call or a Tweet away. If he has time and he is one very active guy, he helps me out. If he doesn't, he usually has a resource online that I can check out on my own. I can't tell you the number of times Scott has come to my rescue. He is incredibly web savvy and it came as no surprise when he was asked to join the Photocrati Media team.

Scott asked me to let you all know about two web marketing workshops directed solely towards photographers. He is joined by Erick Danzer and Vanessa Joy. Erick owns Photocrati Media, a highly regarded company that produces among other things WordPress themes for photographers. Vanessa is a well-known teacher, author and photographer.

The workshops are in Denver, Colorado and Hamilton, New Jersey. Sign up before May 31st and save $100.

Specific topics include SEO, keyword selection, site optimization, link building, image SEO, social media and social signals, blogging, content marketing, email marketing and follow up, paid advertising, conversion rate optimization, social proof, and more.

Plus, you get a ton of bonuses:

– Free Access to the Sculpture Gardens & Red Rocks
– Lunch is Included
– Free Copy of the Photographer’s SEO eBook – $39 value
– One Year Membership for the Photographer’s SEO Community – $99 value
– Photocrati WordPress Theme + One Year of Support/Updates – $89 value
– The Laundry List eBook by Rachel Brenke – $9.99 value
– Chic Magazine for phone/iPad – $12 value

Get all the details here and register for either the Colorado or New Jersey Supercharge Workshops, before the prices get bumped up.

[Yes, I am an affiliate partner of Photocrati Media because they provide quality WordPress themes and great value through their various educational resources. I wholly support vendors who help photographers elevate their game!]

Are you converting your website's visitor's to paying customers? It's a really simple question isn't it?

Your answer can either be “yes” or you can say “no.” Those are your only options. If it's the former, good on you friend. You've cracked the code and your rolling in it.

Or, are you?

I just shuttered two websites that weren't converting to my satisfaction. The business still exists but the sites are gone. Why? What happened?

Simple: The websites spoke to me more than they spoke to my clients. This is a cardinal mistake that most photographers make. They spend a good deal of money and time making a site look pretty, not fully understanding that their potential clients who are ready to pay them for your services are not interested in any of that fluff.

So, what IS important for your clients? That's in fact the process of discovery I'm personally embarked on now thanks to Portfolio To Profit Engine: How To Build An Absolutely Irresistible Photography Website [aff], by Psychology For Photographers.

You are probably thinking why make such a fuss, right? These days it is so easy to buy a template, slap some images down and start a blog (which some people like me don't update very regularly). Yes, there is nothing to it if you want to do it the wrong way.

The right way takes a bit of elbow grease. Jenika, who publishes Psychology For Photographers, includes what are called “dreamsheets” (as opposed to worksheets) that nudge you along. Complete these and you'll be astonished at what your website should really look and feel like for your clients.

You may want to read that last sentence again.

Done? Good.

If you are truly in service of your clients, shouldn't your website reflect that from the first time your client connects with you and your work? I personally think Portfolio To Profit Engine: How To Build An Absolutely Irresistible Photography Website is a boon for photographers. If you are struggling with your business and you aren't attracting the “right” clients, it may be time to reassess how your website is resonating with your future clients. If it isn't, and I would say 95% of them do not, then it's time to fix it.

And you can do it yourself. This is more about understanding your client's perspective than working with web technology. This e-book will help you quickly tap into your client's needs and desires and guide you into delivering what they want in their lives. Far from being mumbo jumbo, Jenika who is a graduate from Yale delivers from a deep well of behavioral neuroscience. Simply put, she understands how our brains work.

Now, I am going to keep you all abreast of my progress with this, but between now and Saturday, Jenika has dropped the price from $159 to $119.

UPDATE: Jenika has extended the sale through Monday, May 27th, so here is your 2nd chance at grabbing this product

If I were you, I would not wait to grab it now. Get all the details about this e-book here: Portfolio To Profit Engine: How To Build An Absolutely Irresistible Photography Website.

It's so appropriate that this blog post appears in October, the month Halloween is celebrated in the United States.

Danny Iny, is an author who quickly became known as The Freddy Krueger of blogging.

He is most recently the author of two seminal and free marketing e-books, Engagement from Scratch and Naked Marketing Manifesto.

Danny, as busy as he is on a variety of projects, agreed to audit my site, Tiffinbox based around these essential questions:

Who are you and what do you do? [01:15]

When did you start the site and how has it grown since? [02:05]

Can you give us a sense of what the numbers are like? [02:40]

Who is your target audience? What do you offer that is appealing to them? [03:20]

How are you getting the attention of your target audience? [04:55]

How does the site make money? What kind of things does the site promote? [08:15]

What is your conversion rate? [10:50]

How do you go about creating a cycle of commitment and reward, asking readers for an increasingly large commitment and in turn offering a bigger reward, and so on? [13:20]

If you could go back in time and give some advice to Seshu of 2003, what lesson would you give? [21:25]

Now, I know what you are thinking. You are saying to yourself, “Gee, this is all about Tiffinbox, what does it have to do about me and my business.”

Well, what you'll hear in the audio applies to you. Trust me. I learned a ton about how to approach my photography business from Danny, even though we were talking about this photographer's community.

[podcast]https://s3.amazonaws.com/nakedmarketing/nm_audit_seshu.mp3[/podcast]

For example, check out his advice on how to leverage Pinterest. Sure, that's something I could do for Tiffinbox, but it could very well apply to our collective marketing efforts for our own businesses.

Soon after I spoke with Danny, Angela Pointon and I collaborated on a webinar series (this is on going and you should totally sign up) with Tamara Lackey, Rosh Sillars and Skip Cohen as guests. Danny's suggestion of offering a FREE webinar was brilliant. Over 100 people registered for it.

This is a candid chat with a guy who knows his stuff. Not only does he ask some very poignant questions, but he gives me some very specific solutions too.

Give it a listen now and tell me one thing you learned from our chat that you will apply to your photography business. You can also read the transcript.