Photo Marketing Mentor

When I was kid there used to be a commercial that would air every night that asked the question “It’s 10 P.M. do you know where your children are?

I was thinking about that commercial recently and it got me thinking about your clients and customers.

Do we know where they are? More specifically do we know where the ideal ones are?

When I say I ideal, I’m talking about the people you absolutely love to work with.

In my opinion these are the characteristics of an ideal client: Read more »

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It’s been said that is easier to get business from someone whose already hired you than it is to find a new client.

Think about how much it costs you in terms of time (and money) to acquire a new client.

As it becomes increasingly more challenging to acquire new clients (especially in this current economic climate) it is far easier to go back to former & current clients and ask for new business.

Unfortunately many photographers tend to be on the side of the fence where they are constantly prospecting and searching for new accounts. Nothing wrong with it, but it can be an awful time consuming process.

If find yourself in this situation one-way to break free of it is to ask yourself: “How can I serve my existing clients or former clients in new and better ways?”

Use The 9 Steps Provided In This Article To Get Ideas & Jump Start Your Process:

1. Create a list of all of the duties you currently perform for your existing clients

2. Make note of any functions that could be delegated to a third party vendor i.e. web or graphic design, copywriting etc.

3. If  your client don’t require photography services presently consider offering some of the services listed from the list you made in step 2.  These are things that could be supplied by a 3rd party vendor. You arrange the service for your client and handle the billing, deducting your percentage of course.

4. When hired by a new client, give them a “Getting Acquainted” questionnaire supplied in your welcome packet.

5. On the worksheet, ask what other needs they have besides the work that you’re hired to perform. Refer to your 3rd party vendor list when you bid for new assignments or offer additional services. You could also acquire the skill yourself and keep all of the profits.

6. Consider dropping a “I’m just checking in” note in the physical mail, preferably hand written on personal stationary to let former clients know that you’re available should they need additional services.

7. Include any recent articles, press clips, testimonials from previous clients or highlight any achievement or acknowledgement you’ve received to remind former clients why they hired you and why they should consider working with you again.

8. Another option: drop a ‘let’s do coffee’ card in the envelope along with (or in lieu of your handwritten note)

9. Always be developing relationships with potential 3rd party partners so when you have referral your team will be in place.

Bonus Tip:

Take a look at your most recent accounts. Refer to the list you created from tip number one and to start to think of ways you could provide a six month or a year long “Whenever You Need Me Service” program or package to your current roster of services.

Some additional steps to consider:

• First get clear about all of the services you currently provide your clients.
• Uncover what your client actually needs and wants
• Make sure that these are services that could be performed over a pre-contracted (6 months to a year is my suggestion) period of time.
• Line up all of your vendor partners that could perform some of these services (remember you handle the billing and oversee the fulfillment)
• Give it a substantial price tag.  *It should be at least 4 figures and higher.
• Give your package a benefit rich title (clients love exclusivity and special treatment)
• Emphasize the value of the package for example: (save time, save money, peace of mind, added value, etc.)
• Offer it only to your best clients.
• Make it easy for your client to yes.

I personally believe that packages are one of the best ways to support your clients as well as even out your cash flow.

As photography services become harder to sell as a stand alone product/service it’s become increasingly important to expand what you offer and how you service your clients.

With that said I’d love to help you mind the resources you currently have at your disposable. Helping you develop profitable packages and programs designed to increase your value is my speciality.

If you’re confused as to what to offer your clients or how to package them for a higher fees than what you’re currently charging I’d love to support you.

If you want to learn how to design, package, price and present profitable your packages to your clients then it’s time to contact me for a complimentary Focus On Sales Discovery Session

Visit my blog to learn more and to secure an Easy Six Question Application. Either click on the image below or following the link.

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Never has there been a more perfect medium for photographers to get the word out about their products and services than through video.

As visual artists you already have a built in treasure trove of content that easily translates to video.

In today’s article, I am going to illustrate how you can take images from your existing portfolio and use them to create high impact marketing videos that will attract new clients all with the push of a button.

1. Target the images you select for your video to a specific client. If your current body of work represents several distinct genres, you’ll want to tailor the images you select for your video with the same care and consideration as you would for your physical portfolio.

In other words, if your goal is to attract clients to hire you for food photography jobs then you only want to select images of food for your video.

Obviously the same rules as your print portfolios apply here.  You only want to use the best of the best.

2.  Resist the urge to make the video too long. Your goal is to entice the viewer to take the next step.  Remember you’re not creating a feature length film here.  In this instance you’re using your video to market your services to prospective clients.  Therefore, you want to show a targeted sampling of what you have to offer and to get to the point quickly.

If you have many images you want to show in your video, consider combining them in groups of two on a single frame using an image-editing program like PhotoShop.  To see an illustration of this see the image sample I created below using images from my own portfolio. These are two separate images joined together,

The goal is keep your video presentation to about two minutes or less in my opinion.

Quick Get Into Action Tip:

There’s no need to purchase an expensive camera or professional video editing software. To get your feet wet with video consider signing up for a free account with Animoto.com.  Animoto is an online video development and distribution service that will turn your photos into a professional high quality slideshow style presentation complete with music in a matter of minutes.

Again, check out the stunning video I created in less than 30 minutes using Animoto’s free service.

The video is less than 40 seconds in length but that’s enough to get my work out there in front of thousands of potential clients and customers.  Of course Animoto offers a variety of payment plans when you’re ready to upgrade your account.

The advantage of the advanced plans is that they are very affordable; as a matter fact you can get started for as little as $5 dollars a month.

Why would you want to upgrade?

Simple, if you want to create longer videos, longer than 30 seconds, then you’ll want to upgrade your account at least to the Plus Level priced at $5 a month or $30 annually.  Or if you want even more control over the videos you develop, including removing Animoto’s corporate branding, you may want to consider opting for either a Plus or a Pro account.

Advanced users have the most options including more audio tracks, more unique video styles and finally, what I believe is the most powerful feature, “end of video” buttons that appear at the end of your video.

These data collection forms are fantastic for capturing your viewers contact info without directly having to go to your website.

But again, if you just want to try out the service you can do that for free.

3.  Leverage the reach of your video to attract greatest number of prospects. Once you create your video your goal then becomes getting eyes to view it and you have several ways to accomplish this.

First, you’ll want to post the video to your existing blog and/or website.

Second, you’ll want to distribute the video on all of your existing social media outlets like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook if you have accounts (and you should and if you don’t, now is the perfect opportunity to set them up.

Third, e-mail a link to your video to your existing online mailing list.  Again, if you don’t have one, now is a great time to start building one.  As a matter of fact, you can use your video to actually build your list.  I’ll show you how in Step #4.

Finally, brand your video using your logo or business card into the actual video.

4.  Use your video(s) to build and grow your online mailing list. Video is engaging which is why it’s so popular.  And yet we are bombarded with thousands of messages on a daily basis.  So if you don’t want your marketing messages to fall through the cracks, you must focus on capturing the attention of your target audience quickly or you may lose the opportunity to ever engage them in a meaningful way.

It’s predicted that YouTube alone will garner more searches than Google in the coming years.  That’s why now is the perfect time to get started integrating video into your marketing plan.

Click here to see a sample of how I used a simple video to grow my mailing list.  Remind you that it’s a 30-second video (the limit posed by Animoto for trial subscribers), but obviously you can make your video longer.  The point I want to make here is not about the length of your video, but the impact you can create with it.

For starters, 30 seconds may be all you need to get your visitor to take the next step with you and that’s the point.  So I’m going to show you step by step how I create a 30 second video with my existing images and existing website and that video to ask people to sign up for my mailing list.

For a recipe that includes step-by-step instructions on how to create a branded video in Animoto, download my free guide here.

For the purpose of this training I decided to embed the file into this blog article allowing you to view it here.  But you shouldn’t limit your video to a blog post like this one.  This leads to the final step of your client attractive video.

5. Distribute your video wildly.  This is the final and most important step.  Every place online where you post your video, continually invite viewers to come to your website or blog.  Once they arrive invite them to sign up for your mailing list.  If your video is targeted and you’re connecting with the right people who want what you have to offer, you should have no problem accomplishing this.

Please visit my website to see example of how I did this.

Notice how I encouraged a call to action. I didn’t just ask visitors to sign up for my e-newsletter. I offered a complimentary telephone 15-minute consultation to discuss their next project -AND- I gave it an attention grabbing name.  This is key!

You should always speak of what you do using “benefit’s oriented language”. During that call I could offer a PDF tip sheet (see some examples of what I’m talking about below).

In my newsletter for example:

• I could write about using proper lighting techniques for food photography that evokes a mood or feeling
• I could show my readers ways they could use their images to drive more foot traffic into their store, or brand their products.
• Or I could create a tip sheet illustrating 10 ways my clients could use their images for their ongoing online promotions.  Then I could offer another one for offline promotions.
• If I’m interviewed for a food blog or magazine or podcast I could feature that in my newsletter and send my readers a link to read it or listen to the replay.

“The key here is to always engage my subscribers by encouraging them to take the next step!”

Of course I can always create more videos and send them by e-mail to my subscriber list.

I don’t know if you picked up on this?  But having the ability to create high-impact video for your photography clients could become a great additional profit center for your business as well.

Your action plan for this week:

Start investigating on how you can use video to attract more clients into your photography business.

As you can see with this lesson it costs you nothing more that a little bit of time to put one together.  Once you have it, you can distribute your video across all of your social media platforms to drive more traffic to your website.

Of course once they arrive you must have a data capture system in place to continue the conversation.

And finally, once you have their information you must actively engage them with relevant and timely content that will help them achieve their goals.

If you want more training on how to use video including How To Use Video Contests To Attract Clients, as well as how to set up your own e-mail management marketing system, consider getting a copy of my book:  Eye On Marketing:  41 Days From Struggle and Confusion to Clarity & Profits into your business building toolkit.

My book is like a marketing blueprint for creative professionals in a book!

In addition, book owners will receive my exclusive Eye On Marketing Jump Start Kit that includes 41 more ways to attract clients with referral marketing and e-mail marketing strategies.

You’ll also learn how to create a customer profile, plus you’ll get access to my checklists featured from the book to download, and much more, for a ridiculously low price of only $20 for the e-book or $24.95 for the print version.

To learn more and secure your copy visit my website at: http://www.eyeonmarketingsuccess.com/thebook.

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As a marketing coach and consultant I am always looking for ways to give my clients strategies they can use to acquire more and better paying clients.

But today I want to talk about something that is rarely spoken about for professional photographers.

And yet, it’s a subject that I know for a fact is vital to your success.

Focus On Providing Excellent Customer Service!

But before I talk about this I want to tell you what inspired this article.

Recently I decided to visit my local taqueria to get an order of my favorite Carne Asada taco’s. The restaurant offers really good food at even better prices, it’s a treat every time I go. I love the food but I can’t help noticing that no matter what I order or how busy (or slow) the restaurant it always to take fifteen to 20 minutes minimum or more to get my to-go order.

On a recent visit I noticed that they take phone in orders and so I thought “great, the next time I want dinner I’ll just phone it in”, pretty simple, right?

So a couple of days ago I was totally engrossed in work and I didn’t feel like cooking and remembered that my favorite taco stand takes phone orders. Instantly I grabbed my Blackberry, hit the speed dial (I’m a dedicated taco fan can’t you tell?) and within minuted placed my order to which I was told that my meal would be ready in 5 to 10 minutes. Great!

I finished up some phone calls and then hopped in the car for a literal 2 – 3 minute drive to the restaurant. Once I arrived I told the cashier that I wanted to pay for my phone in order and confirmed my name. I paid and the cashier promptly disappeared, I assumed to retrieve my order or so I thought.

He didn’t and I waited.

Soon two minutes quickly turned to ten and then fifteen. The regular amount of time it takes to get an order when I just walk in.

Of course my immediate thought was “why did I bother to phone in the order if I am still going to wait 15 minutes anyway?”

Now I know what you might be thinking about now “What does tacos have to do with my photography business?” Well I’ll tell you, it’s simple, customer service.

In the case of my recent experience I am a regular with this business, but that aside, isn’t the point of ‘calling it in’ the convenience for the customer?

My point being is simple, as a business owner make sure that you always take good care of your customers whether you sell tacos or photography. Attention to detail is the cornerstone of customer service and good customer service is the name of the game if you want to have a sustainable business. Especially in this economy.

I’ll share a phrase with you that I love, “People don’t care how much you know, until you can prove how much you care”. In the case of my recent experience of course I realize that things happen. Perhaps they became inundated with orders right after I phoned in mine.

I certainly noticed a substantial line forming immediately after I paid but the point I want to make is not as much about the product as it is about the service.

Our clients have a lot of choices today, but for the purpose of this article I can practically guarantee that there is a photographer serving the exact same client as you, possibly in the next block. Certainly in the same town or city.

“People don’t care how much you know, until you can prove how much you care”

My point being is that if you can’t compete on subject matter or photographic style, and you certainly shouldn’t compete on price the only thing you have left is service.

Now more than ever how you engage and welcome new clients into your business, how quickly you deliver the goods, how cared for and acknowledged you make your clients feel goes a long way towards how profitable your business will ultimately be.

So you see at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you sell. Business is business and customer service or the lack there of could be the deal breaker in how well your photography studio runs.

My challenge to you this week:

Take some time this week to explore how well you are connected to your clients, pay extra special attention to the way you service them before, during and after the transaction.

Some questions you should be asking yourself:

• How easy do I make it for potential or current clients to reach me?
• What is my current turn around time for deliverables? And can it be improved?
• Do I offer any premium services? Another way to look at it is, do I offer anything that’s special, that would stand out for a potential client?
• Do I make it easy for my current and former clients to give me referrals?
• Have I recently surveyed my current clientele to see how they would rate my level of service?

Finally make notes on how you could improve. Your people will tell you what they want if you ask them.

Final question: What could I implement this week to wow my current clients and make them pick up the phone or come in?

The bottom line: Even in this funky economy people are still looking for places to spend money. But more than that they want acknowledgement, they want to be heard and above all else they want excellent service.

Even if your current clientele base enjoys working with you but you do nothing to encourage them to maintain a relationship with you, then you can consider your investment of both the time and money to get that client a bad investment.

Why? Because you have work twice as hard to find another client to replace the one you lost. Have you ever heard the saying?, “It’s easier to get someone whose already done business with you already to do business with you again than it is to find a new client”

Your action plan:

Review the questions posed in today’s lesson

Put a plan in place today to wow the clients you currently have and/or find a way to reconnect with the ones you’ve lost contact.

And if you don’t want them back for whatever reason, create a profile of who you do want to work with and expend your marketing dollars and time to wow them.

Either way dedicating yourself to go the extra mile can go a long way towards growing your bottom line.

I would love to know one thing you do to wow your current clients! If you have an idea that has won over your clients and encouraged them to give you repeat business please share them in the comments below.

Join My Best Customer Service Idea Contest:

The best customer service related story or idea will win a FREE copy of my book (featured on the left): Eye On Marketing: 41 Days From Struggle and Confusion to Clarity & Profits.

This book has been a game changer for a lot of photographers who have read it.

The recently updated my book gives you 41 practical marketing and mindset strategies that you can use immediately.

To read the growing list of testimonials and get more details about the book visit this page.

But to be considered for the drawing don’t forget to leave your best customer service story or idea that you’ve used to wow your clients and get repeat business.

I will personally read all of the comments posted here on the blog and the best one will receive a complimentary copy of my book: Eye On Marketing: 41 Days From Struggle and Confusion to Clarity & Profits.

Who knows? If I receive enough really interesting comments I may decide to sweeten the deal with an extra ‘surprise’ bonus or two.

Good luck!

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You can accomplish anything when you have a compelling reason why you’re doing it.

I stumbled upon a YouTube video recently that explored this subject and in the video there was an exercise that I found quite beneficial, admittedly a little challenging but quite eye opening.

What you’ll need?

First, you’ll need to open up a new document in your favorite text editor if you’re reading this on your computer or if you prefer, grab a notepad and pen.

In addition to get the most benefit from this exercise I recommend that you find a quiet place where you can write undisturbed for about an half and hour or so.

Next, take a few moments to get quiet and if you can still your mind (eliminate unnecessary distractions, turn off the Blackberry, Android or iPhone or whatever) and once you feel like you’ve settled in a bit I’d like you to think about your business for a few moments, think about what’s been going on for you.

Then think about what you’d like to change or see improved in your business.

Once you have a clear mental picture in your mind I want you to ask yourself the following question: “What do I really want?”

Ask the question and then wait for a few moments before you attempt to process a response. What’s the first thing popped into your mind?

For the purpose of this exercise let’s say you want a fully booked studio, if so, write that down. Or, if you want to have a sell out exhibition write that down. Whatever you want write it down.

Second, answer the following question: “Why do I want this?” Other ways to pose this question to yourself: “What excites me most when I think about accomplishing this goal?”

“When I think about this dream what key thing would compel me to wake up every morning excited, pumped and ready to go for it?”

How you word the exact question(s) is not as important as the depth of your response.

Your only goal at this point is to tap into your natural excitement. So write until you become excited so much so that you can’t wait to stop writing and start working on your response!

I’ll tell you why this exercise is so important to your marketing efforts. As you work to build your business you may find yourself from time to time asking yourself “Why am I doing all of this?”

It’s in these moment’s when you need a compelling and all consuming reason why.

If you’re struggling to make a living as a professional photographer most likely you’re having issues maintaining your focus and your momentum. Considering the ever growing demands involved in running a business it’s easy to see why ‘we’ often lose track of our “why?”.

I want this exercise to reacquaint you with that initial spark that awakened your passion for your photography and for you to connect deeply with that. It’s that energy coupled with your ability to stay connected to that energy that will help you develop better and more effective strategies to market and manage your business. That’s my desire for you.

WIth that said don’t just read this article and then go back to business as usual. I want you to actually pull out that notebook or open that word document and start writing down your reason why.

Again, write until you become so excited about the possibilities for your business and what you’re doing that you can’t wait to get started. Once you’re done writing I want you to make a list of some practical and easy ‘next steps’ that you can take immediately and get moving on your dream.

One final exercise:

I want you to close your eyes and imagine what your business and your life will look like five years, one year, even six months from today. Imagine what your life would be like if could wake up every morning excited about your business?

• What does that look like?
• What does it feel like?
• What do you look like?
• Where are you? Are you living in the same place or have you moved on?
• Are you in a new home? Or are you traveling?
• What does your money situation look like?
• Who do you hang out with?
• Describe your clients? Who are they? How do you interact with them?

The key element here is to fill your descriptions with as much detail as you possibly can, this is essential and I’ll tell you why this is so important. If you don’t become inspired about what you’re writing then you certainly won’t have any motivation to take action. If that excitement doesn’t surface naturally then it may time to consider exploring other options.

So please do yourself a favor, don’t gloss over this exercise as some positive mindset, airy fairy – mumbo jumbo. It’s not, trust me. We’re talking about the quality of your life. Take it that seriously.

Finally if you feel comfortable please share your “reason why” and at least one inspired action step you’re prepared to take in the comments below.

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There are some people out there who believe that email marketing is dead. I’ll tell you from personal experience that is far from the case.

I do agree email open rates are on the decline. Let’s look at your inbox for an example, how many emails do you receive in a typically day? Now think about how many of those emails you actually opened. Of those emails you opened who were they from? Typically but not always the first emails you open are from the people you already know, right?

So assuming that you’ve done a decent job of communicating with your list the chances of crafting emails that are continually opened and read dramatically increase. Even if you haven’t achieved this up to this point, with the information in this article you are now armed with resources to turn that around.

In this article I want to share with you 3 tips that will practically guarantee that your emails are opened, read, received and responded too.

1. Craft an attention grabbing subject line. Think about it, the first thing your subscriber reads is the subject heading. It has to say more than “You who? It’s me sending you another email!” When you sit down to write your next email think about what action you want your reader to take via a step-by-step sequence.

Let’s say for example that you are emailing your list because you wish to announce a new gallery show and you want to invite subscribers to RSVP their attendance. That’s your desired outcome.
A headline that would arouse attention could be, “I can’t believe it finally happened!” Or “I was surprised by what they selected”. Now think about these two headlines for a moment. If I was on your list and I received an email from you that used either of these headlines, your chances of my opening that email has drastically increased. Why? Because you’ve peeked my curiosity, either one of these headlines would make me click because I want to know the answer. “What finally happened?” “What did they select?” Can you see how this works?

These headlines are a lot more interesting than New Gallery Show Coming, Please RSVP.

2. Know the next step. Okay now that your email has been opened what you say next will determine how much further your reader will go. Knowing the next step you want the reader to take will make writing your copy much easier. In the case of our artist he/she desires for readers to attend their show and secure a list of RSVP’s.

So the first sentence of your email should complete the statement you started in your subject header. For example for our subject header, “I can’t believe it finally happened! The opening sentence could read – XYZ gallery has just selected images from my new series on ____?” Do you see how I did that?

I wrote my first sentence to complete the statement I posed in subject header of my email. I told the reader the what and the who. Easy right? Now in the copy that follows I could speak more about the series, the images that the gallery picked etc. Finally I want to direct my reader to the final step.

3. Provide a call to action. You always want your email to result in an action taken by the reader. So if your goal were to secure RSVPS’ for your gallery show then you would place a clickable and track able link to a page where (in this case) the reader can submit their rsvp. Notice that I said clickable and track able. In order for email marketing to work to your benefit you need to know the affects your messages have on the reader. Most email management services like Constant Contact or 1ShoppingCart for example will provide you with stats on your click through rate.

The best way to do this is to test your emails by evaluating the results and make adjustments based on the results you receive. What do I mean by test? First, construct the email, send it, and evaluate your results i.e. check your stats. What are you looking for?

• How many times was the email opened?
• How many readers clicked on the link embedded in the email?
• Did you receive the results you sought?

Once you get a formula down for creating responsive emails your golden. A winning formula consists of skill, patience, testing, adjusting and re-launching.

© Rodney Washington, 2010-2011

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If you’re familiar with social networking then you’ve most likely heard of Facebook. Facebook is arguably one of the most popular social networking tools available for photographers and creative service providers on the Internet.

As a creative marketing consultant I spend quite a bit of time exploring various fan pages that I am invited too by creative professionals. Unfortunately on many I find the a very vital key of client attraction missing from their pages and that’s the topic of today’s article, how to create a client attractive Facebook Fan page.

1. Target carefully and with intention - For example, the bulk of my clients are pro and aspiring pro photographers, and in my work one of the first things we examine is their social networking outlets. Typically the first thing I notice is photographers “following and friending” solely other photographers. In a typical conversation I’ll ask the question, “If you are a photographer who specialize in the portraiture of women –  and so for the sake of this illustration let’s say you photograph expectant mothers. Why then are majority of your followers other photographers? The point being in order for this photographer to find more clients he or she must start inviting people that fit their target profile.

As you build your base of fans and followers you need to ask yourself: “Does this person fit my client profile?” If not, you can make the decision whether or not to include them on your fan page, but for best results you should focus your efforts on inviting people that fit your ideal client profile.

2. Be informative - As your list of “targeted” fans grows make sure you provide useful content by sharing your knowledge and demonstrating your expertise. One way to do this is to post content that will educate and inspire your target audience. There are many opportunities to demonstrate your expertise via short articles, tip sheets, MP3 audio recordings, and video slide show presentations, behind the scenes videos or still shots with “diary” style entries.

If you do this properly much of the pre-selling will be done for you to the point that when your prospect decides to contact you they are 80 -90% ready to work with you.

Often content creation is where many photographers become stumped because they “think” that the only content they can offer is their photography. The bottom line, make sure that your content is engaging, solves a problem or answers a question for your client. This takes us to the next step.

3. Close with a strong call to action – Again clients hire you to solve problems and in order to do that you have to know what it is. All that’s left is to communicate that you are “the photographer” who can solve it. One of the easiest ways to do this is craft what I call a “call to action statement” or mission statement, emphasis on “call to action”. For example, I’ll share mine with you,

Call to Action Statement

“Are you photographer or creative professional who suffers with “marketing reluctance, but who understands that marketing is vital to client attraction?” If this sounds like you then you are in luck because I specialize in Client Attraction for Creative Professionals. As a matter of fact I have helped photographers and other creative professions develop systems that makes client attraction a snap!

If you would like to learn how you can attract more clients and grow your photography business I’d like to invite you to check out my program designed especially for solo entrepreneurs who specialize in the arts and it’s called the “Client Attraction Starter Kit” and it’s available for FREE on my website at photo-marketing-mentor (dot) com. Visit my website today to CLAIM your copy! -end-

Can you see how the above statement would be enticing to anyone who fits my ideal client profile rather than just a listing my name and contact information?

So to take this a step further, once you craft your “call to action mission statement” you can now use it on all of the content that you produce. For example, you can verbalize it at the end your audios, display it at the end of your videos and articles. Post it throughout your fan pages, website and blog.

This is how you make your Facebook fan page more client attractive. Let’s recap.

1) First, define your target audience and invite them into your space
2) Second, once you connect inform with content that inspires, educates and entertains them, and…
3) Finally, lead your fans into taking action by crafting a “take action” mission statement that will ensure they do just that, take action.

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It is said that is easier to get business from someone who’s already given some, than to find a new client.

Think about how much it costs you in terms of time as well as money to acquire a new client. As it becomes more challenging to acquire new clients (especially in this current economic climate) it is far easier to go back to former clients and ask for new business.

Unfortunately many photographers tend to be on the side of the fence where they are constantly prospecting and searching for new clients. Nothing wrong with it, but it can be an awful time consuming process. If find yourself in this situation one way to break free of it is to ask yourself, “how can I serve my existing clients or former clients in new ways?”

In this article I am going to give you three suggestions you can use to keep your calendar full with additional work from existing clients while resurrecting relationships from former clients for new work. The key is to position yourself as your clients “in house” photographer.

1. Ask - I know it sound simple, but you’d be surprised how many photographers fail to ask for additional work while they are working with existing accounts. There several ways to do this with finesse for example; you can have your new clients fill out a questionnaire at the start of the job. The questions should relate to the job you’ve been hired to do.

Let’s say for example you are an architecture photographer then you could ask if they need printing work done like annual reports and other collateral materials. You could inquire about photographing other buildings or residential properties they have in their portfolio (including interiors).

Once you get to this level other possibilities could include photographing the principal owners in the companies family portraits and events. The key is to allow additional opportunities to flow naturally, but not let them slip through your fingers because you failed to ask.

2. Court former clients you can do this by dropping notes about your interest in working with them again via hand written note cards, handwritten works better because it shows that you took the time to contact them and not just send a form letter. Handwritten letters are often referred to as a warm letters. Think of it like the holiday letter that your aunt writes to update everyone of the families previous years accomplishments and activities.

In addition if you’ve won any awards, received any significant press coverage or been acknowledged in any way there is nothing wrong with dropping a note about your achievements or perhaps even a tear sheet.

3. Offer to schedule a lunch or coffee date nothing gets your prospects attention faster than a face-to-face meeting. As a matter of fact when you send your warm letters you can place a pre-addressed stamped card to inquire if the recipient would be in interested in scheduling such a date. This is great way to follow up with your notes and/or warm letter.

Again nothing demonstrates your intention to be of service than sitting down one-on-one with someone. Remember to keep the conversation focused on their needs, not yours. You don’t want to come across like you’re desperate for work. And finally ask, ask for referrals, ask for recommendations and finally be sure to offer a referral fee or a discount on the next job you do for the person who referred you.

I realize in this article that I have touched on some issues that could raise concerns for some photographers reading this regarding spreading yourself too thin. For example, “If I offer to shoot anything and everything for my clients won’t that dilute my marketing message?” I say, not necessarily. Let’s look at it from two perspectives.

Let’s first address the issue concerning your skills; I mean it may easier for an architectural photographer to shoot portraits than for a wedding photographer to shoot architecture. I don’t know you know your capabilities more than I, the bottom line, if you don’t feel comfortable working in an area outside of your marketed specialty then don’t offer the service.

On the other hand if you are confidant you can execute the assignment I say, go for it.

The second point addresses positioning yourself from a marketing prospective. Let’s say you are an architectural photographer obviously you’ll want your portfolio, website and conversation with prospective clients to be centered on architecture. This applies to any photographer in any specialty.

The key to becoming your clients “in house photographer” is to present yourself as well as you possibly can in your chosen specialty, then once you’re “in” with the client, continue to probe and uncover how you can be of further service. Finally, do, deliver, rinse and repeat.

Bonus Info: Are you an entrepreneurial minded photographer? Would you like to learn how to Attract More Clients & GROW your business in the next 12 months? Guaranteed!

To find out how I’d like to offer you my Client Attraction Starter Kit that includes: a 5-part mini audio course, “5 Secrets To Attract More Clients & Grow Your Photography Business!” Plus a complimentary subscription to my bi-weekly ezine “Eye On Marketing”. You can claim your FREE Client Attraction Starter Kit by visiting: www.Photo-Marketing-Mentor.com

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A well crafted press release can be one of the quickest ways to attract attention for your business. The reasons why most people don’t use press releases generally falls into two camps, either, they don’t know how to write one (we’ll address that here in this article) Second, they’ve tried press releases in the past and received less than positive results so they gave up.

Press releases, especially online releases can get your business in front of millions of eyes in a matter of minutes. But before I get into specifics of crafting the release I want to assure you that if you follow the steps I’m going to outline below you’ll have the foundation of a winning press release that gets you noticed every time.

Here are my 3 keys to crafting an attention grabbing press release.

Key #1. An attention grabbing press release starts with an attention grabbing headline. Your headline is the most important part of your release. Why? Because it’s the first piece of text your reader sees and… most importantly if chosen properly it will insure that the reader will continue reading.

Open your release with a powerful question that stops the reader dead in his tracks.

Think about the results you want your reader to receive, what problem will you solve? For example, what questions have your customers been asking that your press release could address? I’ll give you a couple of examples.

For purpose of this article I’m going use a fictional portrait photographer and we’ll name her Jennifer. Jennifer specializes in portrait photography for business professionals, more specifically, people who hate to have their photos taken.

Jennifer has a personality that relaxes her clients and puts them at ease, so as a result her clients walk away from their session feeling better about themselves and they receive great photos as well. Jennifer understands that a lot of people hate to have their portraits taken but they must for business purposes.

What’s your goal? What do you want the reader to DO after reading your release? In the case of Jennifer she wants to attract more prospects to take advantage of her free 15 telephone consultation where she can discuss their needs, put their mind at ease and then ask for the booking. To make this happen Jennifer needs a headline that addresses the issues of her prospect. Here is a headline Jennifer could use:

“Is The Lack of a Professional Portrait Hurting Your Business Opportunities? -or- Do You Dread Having Your Portrait Taken?”

These are questions that stops the reader in his tracks, it poises them to ask themselves is this something that I am doing? If the answer is yes, they will continue to read. If not, they will stop, if they do no worries, they probably aren’t your ideal prospect anyway and they’ll move on.

The second reason why question based headlines are so powerful is that they remind the reader of their hot button issues or pain points. Let’s face it, if we don’t experience some level of discomfort chances typically we don’t act as quickly. In the case of Jennifer’s ideal prospect she wants to remind them that they are potentially missing opportunities because they’ve been avoiding having a professional portrait taken.

Okay so now that we have opened the release with a hot button issue it’s now time to aggravate it. How? By pointing specifically to what/and or how they are missing opportunities and then bullet pointing these hot button issues. So on to key number 2.

Key #2. Have the body copy of your press release flow naturally from your headline. So, if Jennifer’s headline is: “Is The Lack of a Professional Portrait Hurting Your Business Opportunities?” The next logical text will flow from that headline. Jennifer would continue highlight the problems her reader will experience if they continue to avoid having their business portrait taken.

For example:
• Not being able to book high end speaking engagements for radio or television interviews with meeting planners & producers because they don’t have a professional photo.
• Not being able to build trust with their online prospects because no one knows what they look like.
• Reminding them that a quality photo speaks louder than words.
• If the reader is a book author they must have a photo for the publisher.
• Publicists won’t work with them if don’t have a professional photo. Slows done success, Impedes opportunities.
• Some companies require a professional photo of their upper management team for their annual reports, websites and brochures.

A key way to make sure your body copy flows from your headline is to use bullet points like I did above. Try to hit on at least 5 to 7 hot button points that your reader can relate to or identify with. Also make sure that your services address these issues.

Remember, you are a problem solver for your client. So once you’ve reminded them of their pain by asking a powerful question, aggravate it further by pointing out what they are missing out on via bullet points. Now it’s time to introduce them to the solution, your solution. This moves us on to key number 3.

Key #3. Know in advance what you want the reader to do before you write the press release. In the case of Jennifer our photographer specializing in business portraits she wants to schedule more pre-booking consultations. So after her body copy she must close the press release with a compelling offer that make readers pick up the phone and call her to book their free consultation.

Jennifer’s sample closing: “If you dread having your portrait taken and your fear is now affecting your business opportunities I’d love to help. Contact me for a complimentary 15 minute: My Best Face Forward Makeover phone consultation”.

Visit my website today at: www.mylastheadshotsucked.com (play on words) to schedule your FREE consultation and as a gift you’ll receive a copy of my special report: 5 Simple Wardrobe Adjustments That Will Make Anybody Look 10 Pounds Thinner.

This brings us to the final and most vital component of crafting a client attractive press release. Close your release with an action that the reader will be required to take. Jennifer makes an offer that her reader must follow through on to receive. In this case, her free special report. The one thing I want you take away from this article is no where in Jennifer’s press release does she talk about herself or her credentials.

She doesn’t need to (not at this stage) the point is to focus on the issues and problems of the reader and compel them to act. Once they visit her website and register to receive the special report and book the free consult Jennifer can then introduce her credentials, but the press release is designed to do two things and two things only, grab the readers attention and cause an action.

And now if you would like help with constructing your first attention grabbing press release or help navigating on any type of online marketing tools available for professional and prosumer photographers visit my website at www.photo-marketing-mentor.com. When you go there you can download a copy of my Audio program and free special report: 5 Secrets to Attracting More Clients and Growing Your Photography Business.

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