Foto-Biz.com

Gifts

syv — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:22:33 -0800

Every once in a while, there is a book that can have an actual impact on your business. It's very rare that you can actually take what they mention in a book and apply it. It's rare, extremely rare. The book is Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Noah J. Goldstein (Author), Steve J. Martin (Author), Robert B. Cialdini (Author). It's available at Amazon or any other bookstore.

They did an experiment:

Waiters gave candy with the restaurant bill to diners in three different ways:

1 candy for each guest
2 candies to each guest
1 candy for each guest followed by walking away from the table, then turning around to give a second candy to each guest.

The results were:

3.3% increase in tips for one candy.
14.1% increase in tips for two candies given at once.
23% increase in tips for the walk away and return with a second piece scenario.

The very important conclusion of that experiment is that: Unexpected and personalized gifts are great motivators.

What's a tip got to do with running a photography business? Everything. The photography business is the people business. People buy your photos. If you give them more than they expected, they will buy more and will come back for your photo services.

As an empiric¹⁾ experiment, not getting what you expected will have just the reverse effect. Did you lower your tip when you went a Chinese restaurant and you didn't get your fortune cookie?

Biz101, Customers, Marketing

¹⁾ as opposed to scientific

Didn't Get The Photo Shoot

syv — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:09:53 -0800

A couple of days ago, I got this email:

I've been interviewing and showing my book for editorial work for quite some time. So far, I have yet to be offered a shoot. I have been told by many different sources that I have been viewed as the top candidate. I just don't understand what's wrong.
…
How do I properly ask for that feedback? I'm not sure how to properly phrase the email to ensure them so I don't want to be viewed as hostile.

Don't email: email is too easy to ignore.
Phone the editor to make an appointment without sounding hostile asking for:

Thanks for the interview, I understand somebody else got the shoot. I was wondering if you could give me another half hour of your time, to help me learn what I need to do.

Or something along these lines. Change it from business to personal. You are asking a person to help you, and many will.

Biz101, Customers, Marketing

Can I Get A Copy?

syv — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:46:37 -0800

When I take photos, I always get:

Can I get a copy of that?

It always infuriate mes me. I'd like to respond “Give me your money” but my standard “wimpy” answer is: “It will be tonight on my website”. But: What the Duck¹⁾ has a much better answer:

I love it.

Biz101, Customers, Marketing, Prices

¹⁾ What the Duck is an online comic strip. Viewers are welcome to link, post, copy/paste, or save the strips to their own sites, blogs, forums, newsletters, etc.

Free Photos

syv — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:44:25 -0800

Regularly I receive calls and emails, asking if they can use my photos for free. I don't know about you. If you are a professional photographer, and you give away your photos and your rights for free, you will not stay a professional photographer for long. I rarely give my photos for free. The keyword is rarely, meaning that I have done it.

How fortunate I am, that they have chosen to use my photos for free! It will raise my profile in the “industry.” Most of them are outraged that I dared not give my photos for free. Some have even suggested that I should pay them for the benefit of being published.

I don't give way photos willy-nilly. I have a policy. Depending on who asks and how they ask, I have agreed but under the condition that they fulfill my policy:

Proper attribution directly under each photo.
Attribution to me with copyright: ©Syv Ritch
Attribution to my website: http://foto-biz.com
The font to be used must be the same as the body of the article that my photos illustrate.
They agree that any breach of this policy will result in having to pay the full standard fee tripled.

Once they receive my policy via email, they usually ask me to modify it or rescind it, just for one time. That's when I say:

NO! Free is not negotiable. I can't afford to go out of business for you.

Biz101, Marketing

Free Publicity

syv — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:19:24 -0800

As a photographic business, we will take any publicity we can get, especially the good one. Publicity is good, especially free publicity.

Free publicity is cheap.
Free publicity is the best advertising.
Free publicity will make us rich.
Free publicity will make you gorgeous and win the lottery!
…

So how does a photographer gets free publicity? They¹⁾ always tell you to make a press release announcing that you are:

The biggest photographer, or the biggest photography studio
The smallest photographer/photography studio
The oldest…
Different…

I don't know about you, but I know that this has never worked for me. What can you do that makes you such a different photographer from anybody else. You shoot weddings, do portraits, do advertising, do travel… So is everybody else, even my dog takes photos. Now a dog taking photos is something different! That will get you plenty of free publicity.

So how do you go about it?

Contact the press about a photo that makes the news, such as McCain at the end of the McCain/Obama debate All things being equal doing the iguana walk McCain Moment then explain why with 75 other photographers at the same place, same time, only 1 photographer got this picture… This makes you an expert and next time they may call on you or you can contact them with something else.
Start a photographic charity project or project that relates to photographing your local community, then when it's under way, contact the news for free publicity to help you reach the goals for your photo project…

The news media: radio, newspapers and TVs always need positive local content, especially on slow news days.

Biz101, Marketing

¹⁾ the pundits

A Friend In Need

syv — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 09:27:29 -0800

Last year, one of my biggest customer went “belly up”, closed, bankrupt, sort of. They did file for bankruptcy after they paid the “small guys”, including me. They owed me $400, which they paid.

6 month later, I get a phone call from Travis, the ex-owner. He's trying to get back in business and there are a couple of photos that he'd like to use, but he can't afford to pay me anything.

Travis – I need the 2 photos from last year, but I don't have any money. Can we arrange something?
Me – Of course, anything I can do to help. The only thing that I will ask is to have name published, under the photo. Would that work?
Travis – Of course, thanks. I owe you one.

Late last night, much later than usual, I received a phone call from Travis, he's back in business and will need my service next month, 2 full days with payment on delivery. That wasn't me who asked, he offered.

Your customers and employees will remember how you treated them when times were tough, when they needed a break. No one remembers how you acted during the boom times.

Biz101, Customers, Marketing

Overhead Costs

syv — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:57:47 -0800

Photography can be either a business or a hobby. If you are reading this website, it's because you are already operating a photographic business or want to become a photographic business. All businesses have customers.

To put more simply: No customer = No business. If you have customers, you will need to charge for your photos.

So how much do you charge?
How much should you charge?
How do you set you prices?
1. Same as your competition?
2. What your customer can pay?
3. What you need to earn a living?
4. What you think you are worth?

Before you decide, you should look at your costs. As a photographic business, you will have overheads such as an office/studio, telephone, cameras, lenses, hydro… What about a salary for yourself; maybe even assistants? How many industries do you know, where successful business owners set their prices without knowing their costs? None, zero, nada, zilch.

Before setting your prices, you must figure out your costs. The National Press Photographers Association: NPPA has a cost of doing business calculator where you just plug in your figures. It even has suggestions that are a fairly good starting point.

Biz101, Customers, Pricing

Expert

syv — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:19:57 -0800

An expert is someone who as made all the possible mistakes in a very narrow field of study.

– Niels Bohr

Quotes

Religion

syv — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 07:02:46 -0800

I have known Danny¹⁾ for years, we often bump into each other. He's a good photographer, but business is not what it should be. He always complains about how bad business is, then he always asks, if am too busy, that I send him some customers. I have not. I have recommended a few other photographers but never Danny. Why? Because he wears his religion on his sleeves, he makes everybody uncomfortable with it.

I can't remember a conversation where he didn't quote the bible.
He has many stickers on his car about Jesus being his real boss…

Your religion is your religion. You can be proud of it. Photography is a business; it's not a pulpit to preach a religion. Don't bring up religion or politics in your business. Now if your customer asks or brings it up, that's a different story.

If your business is in your religious community, then emphasize it. But not with the general public.

Biz101, Customers, Competition, Marketing

¹⁾ Not his real name

Naivety

syv — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:56:14 -0800

I am amazed at people's naivety when it comes to the Internet! Somehow people think that they can control what's on the Internet. The latest example is Obama¹⁾. The Obama team has removed many policies²⁾ from their website see: Agenda vanishes from Obama's transition website as reported by CNet.

Did you put in foot in your mouth on your photo blog³⁾? and now wish to retract it?
Did you post a comment on somebody else's website, that now you regret being associated with it?
Did you post what turns out to be embarrassing photos?
Did you post some photos that are not your best work?
Are you posting your new prices, and hope that people will not notice the price increase?

What's on the web, will stay there forever, even if you delete the page from your own web server.
Removing a photo from your web page, will not delete it, many other indexing servers have made copies.
Don't put anything on the web that you will regret days, month or years later.
Don't put anything on the web that you will not be proud of.
Don't put anything on the web that you would not show your customers.

Many customers and potential customers will search for your name on the Internet, not just your website.

Biz101, DAM, Marketing, Technical

¹⁾ President elect as of: 11-Nov-2008

²⁾ Many of these policies where good for the campaign but now that he will have to govern and will have to change his position

³⁾ That's why I keep most of the names anonymous, unless it's for praising

theboss — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:44:42 -0800

Skin: Arctic

Thief

syv — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 07:39:12 -0800

I regularly go to networking events:

It gets me out of the house.
I keep in touch with friends.
I meet potential customers.
I even meet actual customers.

The problem with these events is that I tend to stay around friends or people that I already know, which negates the need to meet new people. Last week I was attending one of those event. I was speaking with a photographer “friend”¹⁾. During the conversation he said:

You know that xxxx job²⁾, I was able to triple my expenses! And make a decent profit on that shoot.

Earlier he was complaining how little he got for the xxxx shoot, so he stole on the expenses. Yes, inflating his expenses is stealing. It is dumb, very dumb:

Eventually somebody will find out.
If you are stealing, do you have to let everybody else know?
I have used his services a couple of times to help me, when I couldn't do the job by myself. Will I use his services again? I will try not to. Even if I will use his services, I will watch, actually scrutinize, his expenses.
In my mind, I have branded him a thief.

Biz101, Customers, Competition

¹⁾ It's in quote because I am not sure that I will stay friendly with him

²⁾ Company name withheld

The Fountainhead

syv — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:30:52 -0800

Baby On Board

syv — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 08:09:31 -0800

Christian Science Monitor

syv — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 07:13:59 -0800

Am I A Failure?

syv — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 07:00:51 -0800

Foto Biz

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:59:42 -0800

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syv — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 08:34:58 -0800

Foto-Biz.com

Gifts

Didn't Get The Photo Shoot

Can I Get A Copy?

Free Photos

Free Publicity

A Friend In Need

Overhead Costs

Expert

Religion

Naivety

Thief

The Fountainhead

Baby On Board

Christian Science Monitor

Am I A Failure?

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