Let’s face it – the whole journalism industry, for better or for worse, is dramatically changing. If you are a journalist who is fortunate enough to be currently employed at a newspaper, it’s just a matter of time before you will be laid off. Reality check – it’s not a matter of IF you will be laid off, but rather, WHEN. Prepare for a future outside of the journalism industry sooner rather than later.
Ok, with all of the gloom and doom aside, the National Press Photographers Association held a leg of the 2011 Business Blitz workshop in St. Louis in conjunction with the Society of News Design’s annual conference a little over a week ago. The workshop was “designed to offer a variety of topics to help freelance photographers enhance their technical skills while building a profitable, sustainable business.” Speakers included industry-leader John Harrington, PhotoShelter’s Chris Owyoung, Fundy Software’s Andrew Funderburg, and St. Louis-based wedding photographer Stephanie Zettl. For $10 a pop, I honestly don’t know why the room was not packed; it was an amazing value. So, in no particular order, here are the top lessons I learned from the workshop:
- True power comes from the presence of alternatives ~ John Harrington. As a freelance photographer, you have to learn how to say no and refuse low-paying, unfair work. If you can’t say no, then you don’t have any alternatives. Low-paying clients refer low paying clients; better paying clients refer better paying clients. Research a pricing structure that will keep you in business and stick with that pricing structure.
- Searching for your own Name and Finding your own Website is not SEO; the Goal is Unsolicited Web Traffic. ~ PhotoShelter. Good search engine optimization (SEO) anticipates what your customers are searching for. Currently, 61% of photo editors and image buyers use Google to find photographers independent of major players such as Getty Images. Use that statistic to your advantage. You must build links back to your site. In Google’s eyes, every link back to your site is an endorsement and vote of your content over another’s. Build a blog and join trade and community sites to share your links. You must have solidly-keyworded page titles on your site. Create a keyword hitlist of 20-50 words that you want to target. Compare this list to the Adwords Keyword Tool to refine the list. Run searches against the terms in your list to asses your competition. Run a backlink analysis so that you can understand which terms are attainable. Constantly use tools such as Google Analytics to measure your SEO successes and failures and adjust along the way.
- The Profit Triangle: Three Ways to Increase Profit ~ Andrew Funderburg. There are only three ways to increase your profits. They are:
1. More customers. Obtaining new customers.
2. More revenue per customer. Increase the workflow of each client you already have.
3. Cut production time & costs. Increase productivity by finding faster ways of completing assignments and streamlining your workflow, as well as finding ways to cut costs of your physical products. - It’s no longer about marketing your photography, it’s about marketing your brand & defining your niche. ~ Andrew Funderburg. This day in age where everyone owns a camera, you must focus more and more heavily on marketing your brand than perfecting your photography techniques. A mediocre photographer who has clearly defined their marketing goals will succeed over a great photographer with little or no marketing goals. Look to identify a niche that is not currently being filled in your market and fill it. It is best to be an expert in a niche than to be a jack-of-all-trades.
- The images that outlive us become our lasting legacy. ~ Stephanie Zettl. Your attitude towards life defines your business. To achieve success, you must gut-check your core behavior, challenge your core beliefs, and stay motivated by constantly learning everything you can.
- Good companies talk about the how; great companies talk about the why. ~ Andrew Funderburg. Lifted from Simon Sinek’s TED talk (seriously, take the time and watch it!), Apple doesn’t sell computers, they sell a lifestyle.Without a “why,” clients have no reason to visit your website. Your why creates your message, once you have your why, then your marketing takes care of itself.
- Email Marketing is the Best Dollar for Dollar Marketing Tool Ever. ~ Andrew Funderburg. Website visitors who make a small commitment (for example, entering in their email address) will make a bigger commitment to your brand down the road. Use services such as Mad Mimi to power drip and email marketing campaigns. Emails should be a good mix of general information content. Don’t spam your audience solely with information about your brand; share the content of others and educate your audience too. Email a couple times a month. It takes repetition, about 12-15 “touches” (contact) to ultimately convert.
- Marketing Drives Sales ~ PhotoShelter. Focus on lead generation. Obtaining an email address is the softest marketing touch you can get. Create a marketing plan. List your marketing activities and approximate cost for each initiative (both financially and time-wise). Then, analyze your ROI (return on investment) the best you can. You must constantly question and analyze where your ROI is coming from. Stop reinventing the wheel – use tried and true marketing methods to obtain business.
~ Chris Mackler
chris@macklermedia.com
