Photo Marketing Mentor

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If you’ve been following me for any length of time now you may have heard that I’m working on a new book:

Eye On Marketing: 41 Days From Struggle And Confusion To Clarity & Profits (click on the new cover!!)

So I’m almost finished, I’m literally less than three weeks away from publishing. But I could really use your help with something.

I really want this book to be a tool and resource that you can really use, not just another book that collects dust on the shelf.

So I’m writing this post today to ask you for a simple favor.

All I need is for you to answer three simple questions, here goes:

1. Tell me your biggest problem, concern or frustration you’re currently experiencing in your business.

2.  Tell me what you need most right now that would help you either find more paying clients or secure more print sales.

3. What is your photographic speciality, is it commercial, portrait, fine art etc?

Plus+ One final question, would you be interesting in learning how you could receive a scholarship private coaching session?

So if you could please take a few moments and type your responses in the comments field below -or- if you prefer you can email me privately and tell me your most pressing problem, concern or issue you’re currently experiencing with your photography business.

Your questions could be about anything, pricing, find new clients, motivation issues, navigating social media, creating a client attractive website whatever.

For taking time out of your busy day to respond to this post I want to offer you a couple of bonus gifts as a thank you for your time. Hint: One of them is based on one of my most popular programs. (So make sure you provide me with your correct email address and I send those bonuses out to you right away:-)

So again I want to thank you for your feedback and I look to hearing from you.

Cheers! Rodney

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Well it’s been a long time coming but I’m finally ready to announce my soon to be published book Eye On Marketing: 41 Days From Struggle and Confusion To Clarity & Profits - “Discover how to market your creative services business from the inside out”

I so excited to be publishing this book in particular because it’s subject that is near and dear to my heart. As an artist myself I completely understand the struggle surrounding marketing ones work. You know I equate the trepidation that many artists experience about marketing as similar to a new parent presenting their baby and asking strangers if they think their kid is cute. It’s kinda scary!

Well I believe this mentality is why so many artists struggle with marketing. You see I believe that you can be aware of and/or use all of the external marketing tools in the world and receive so-so results. But, if your ‘inner marketing’ is out of focus then no amount of posting on Facebook or Twitter, sending out press releases, writing ads, handing off business cards, networking or any other other marketing tacit is going to matter.

The key to experiencing success in your outer marketing starts and quite honestly stops with the marketing you’re doing on the ‘inside’ and that’s why I wrote this book.

I’d like to invite you to visit a special page I’ve set up where you can get a 5 – Day sampler of the new book and to be placed on my early notification list. Over the coming days and weeks leading up to the release of the book I will be unveiling several bonuses that will accompany the book and you don’t want to miss it.

In addition, I will be publishing a new blog devoted to the book where you can leave comments and also get up to the minute news and updates. So be on the lookout for the that coming shortly.

In the meantime please head over to the early bird page and enter your name and email address to receive my special report I’ve created which is basically a 5 -day sampler excerpted from the book.

After you receive it please come back to this page and tweet about it and/or share it with your Facebook friends.

Much success, Rodney

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Recently I had a conversation with a photographer friend and colleague who was complaining about how frustrated he was about the lack of success he was experienced this year in his career.

I offered my usual pep talk, discussing various marketing techniques that he could try, like developing his platform, editing his book to represent the kind of work he wanted to attract, establishing his own unique voice, putting together a blog, networking more with the centers of influence etc, etc.

I found during our conversation that everything I suggested was being responded too with a “yes, but!” reply. I listened as he lamented about how he doesn’t have time blog, he’s too shy to call galleries, he doesn’t have time to market himself. And he wonders why 2009 was less than stellar.

Knowing him and work style I responded with, “well if you have to time update your Facebook profile three or four times a day, you can do a blog post, pick up the phone and call some galleries, research contests you could enter”, I replied.

Then there was a moment a silence (I could tell he was thinking about what I suggesting) but in the words that followed the “yes buts” started up again. I have to admit I was becoming quite frustrated with all of this because it’s always the same conversation.

My friend truly is an amazing photographer but he’s so caught up in “fairy tales” about what it’s going to require to market himself and his work that’s he’s shutting down all possibilities.

So I allowed him another few moments of endless excuses and fairy tales one of which included (just going out and finding an agent) to do the marketing that I had had enough so I immediately responded by asking him a question. I asked, “Joe, what do you want?” And, what do you believe that a magical agent is going to do that you haven’t done?

His response, “Get my work into galleries”. I said, “Okay, well if you want to get into the gallery arena what have you done on your own to get yourself started in that direction?” To which his reply was sending out blind emails to galleries with links to his website.

Thereby hoping and relying on the gallery owner to read his email, go to his website, decide if they love his work enough to then call him to come in and discuss representation. Do you see what I mean by “fairy tales”?

I know that anything is possible but the chances of success with this formula is slim to nil. As a matter of fact my friend has sent this email to about fifteen galleries and he’s gotten fifteen “sorry, we’re not interested”. Do see how unrealistic this form of “marketing” is?

So I asked him if he had made any attempts to talk to gallery owners in person, calling to schedule appointments, perhaps offering a coffee or lunch date to actually get his physical work in front of decision makers. His response was of course, no.

I asked why not, he replied “I don’t like rejection”. Now we’re at the core of what is going on. Listen, it is no surprise that as artists we hate rejection, no one likes being rejected, being told no, I’m not interested hurts, it’s uncomfortable, but it’s not devastating. Let me repeat that, when an agent, gallery owner, client or anyone who you perceive can help advance your career doesn’t respond to your work for whatever reason it can hurt, but it is not devastating.

If you believe in yourself and in your work no amount of no’s is going to stop you, why? Because you will have a purpose about what you’re doing. You know your visual value, you know what you have to offer and you won’t waste time telling yourself stories about what is your truth. You will put yourself out there and tell your truth regardless of what anybody says. And when you’re rejected, and notice I didn’t say “if” you’re rejected you will come from that rejection back quicker and stronger.

It’s like a muscle, the more the exercise it, the stronger it becomes.

I want to give you an exercise, take a pad of paper and a pen, get away from the computer and spend sometime getting clear about what you really want. Write it down. Do you want more commercial clients, what kind of clients? Do you want to be represented by galleries, how do you want to book to look? What lifestyle do you want? As a matter of fact I would ask this question first and match the opportunities that come your way to the lifestyle you desire.

Write out your ideal day. If you can have anything what would your ideal day look like, where would you live, where would you work, what would you shoot, who would you work with? You get the idea. And I’ll tell you something this is an exercise you should do at least once a year if not a couple of times a year.

The ideal day exercise will help you to get clear quicker than anything. Once you’re clear then you’ll be able to attract opportunities that match your deepest desire. So for example my friend realizing that he wanted to be in galleries, that’s his ideal.

Now with my help I was able to guide him into developing a game plan and his first steps towards making his dream a reality. He no longer has to hold on to the fairy tale about the elusive agent holding the key to his success because an agent may not the best choice for him right now.

He needs face time, he needs feedback from real live people (not just email) in addition he needs to strengthen his rejection muscle so he move forward without fear consistently, without telling himself stories.

I’ll close this article with a saying that another close personal friend shared with me and I love it because it will help to neutralize rejection and it’s stinging effects, the saying goes, “Some will, Some won’t, Who cares? Someone’s waiting!”

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You know I realized something recently that been’s troubling me.

I realized with all of the marketing tools that I provide for my followers via my ezine “Eye on Marketing” on my blog and through the countless interviews I’ve done via my radio program on BlogTalkRadio not to mention all of the articles I’ve written and teleseminars I’ve hosted that photographers today are still struggling when it comes to marketing their photography business.

Maybe that somebody is you!

It became clear to me that it’s not the lack of information available for professional photographers it’s the execution or the lack of execution that’s the problem.

You see I realized that today’s busy photographer has many details and concerns to manage. So it’s not uncommon to become frustrated, confused and overwhelmed. When this happens you run out of the two things you need the most, Energy and Time!

If any of this resonates with you please join me for a very special teleseminar I’m conducting on Wednesday December 9th titled: “Done For You Marketing: 3 Keys To Combating Overwhelm, Confusion and Frustration” ** Please note the date has been changed from the original date of Dec 2nd**

Visit the Preview Page To learn more about this FREE teleseminar and reserve your seat!

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Would you a take a quick survey? In exchange for your valuable time I’d like to offer you a *NEVER RELEASED MP3 (audio replay) as my FREE GIFT*

Passion First Marketing:
How Reinvent Yourself & Grow As A Photographer!
Interview with Tony Luna
Creative Consultant, Author & Speaker
MP3 (audio download)

Earlier this year Tony and I completed an interview on Passion First Marketing on my highly attended Photo Marketing Mentor Telesummit series a 3-day event. This MP3 recording offers over 75 minutes of pure content including a Q&A session at the end where Tony pulled back the curtain and generously shared with the callers.

This recording has never been released before on any of my programs and quite frankly was scheduled to be sold as a part of a larger program I’m currently developing.

Tony is the author of the book (featured above) How to Grow as a Photographer: Reinventing Your Career. In it Tony features interviews with several legendary photographers and chronicles how they achieved success on a professional and personal level. You can learn more about Tony’s seminars and lecture series on his website @ Luna Creative.

Some of the topics covered on the call:

=> The Importance of Passion First Marketing and why ‘shooting what you love’ is the key to “true” career success. Tony revealed examples of photographers who doing this with great results.
=> Learn how to target market what you love to shoot with the “right” buyer.
=> Why you must market to smaller niche markets.
=> The importance of doing personal work as the core of your portfolio.
=> Why understanding your core values and having a since of purpose is key to your success.
=> As a bonus Tony revealed his 3 key elements of success.

Tony shared even more details on our talk, But you’ll have to listen to replay to get the scoop. Click here and you’ll be sent to my survey page, and after you complete the short survey you’ll be directed to the page to download your MP3 audio file.

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“Eye On Marketing Audio Article”

there  is a quote by Goethe that I’d like you to ponder as you listen to this weeks audio article.

Quote begins - “Until one is committed
There is hesitancy, the chance to draw back
Always ineffectiveness.