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Photography Advertising and marketing & Selling Secret #29: The Ultimate Reason Most Photographers Fail
Most photographers don't like photography advertising and marketing and selling. As a result, their photography business usually fails financially, and they end up burning out, giving up, selling their photography equipment, and losing everything. To most photographers, the advertising and marketing & selling aspects of the business are really painful & confusing.
It's totally understandable, because we went into photography because we love photography - we love the equipment, the knobs and dials, creating beautiful images, working in Photoshop, and working with color harmony, composition, and design.
Have you ever wondered why some photographers are so amazingly successful, even in challenging times, while other photographers are struggling and dropping like flies, even though their photography is actually quite good?
The reason is that successful photographers force themselves to learn and do the things that the failures don't want to learn or do.
So in that sentence above, you have the ultimate photography advertising and selling secret. All you have to do, to be an amazingly successful photographer, is to FORCE yourself to learn marketing and advertising and selling - so that literally your marketing and advertising and selling skills are as good or better than your photography and Photoshop skills.
I know you don't want to hear this. I am one of you. I've been a photographer for 40 years. I went into photography because I love photography. But I practically starved in the early years, because I didn't want to put the work & time into the advertising and marketing and selling areas of the photography business.
So the purpose of this article is to simply drive home for you one indisputable fact - that if you want to be successful in the portrait and wedding photography business in this day and age and under these economic conditions, you're going to absolutely half to force yourself to learn and do the things that the failures do not want to learn or do.
So, here's a short list of five things that most photographers don't want to learn about or do:
1. Photographers don't want to learn how to sell. They feel that "If my photography is good enough, it will sell itself."
The fact is this: No matter how "good" your photography is, it will not sell itself - at least it surely won't sell itself enough to earn you the income you dream about. You MUST learn how to sell, and you must do it now. The longer you wait, the less likely it is that you will succeed.
But please understand that selling is not forcing people, or tricking people. Selling is finding out what people want, and then helping the to get it. Selling is a good thing - not a bad thing. People don't know what's best for them to do - they need and want your help and guidance.
2. Photographers don't want to invest time & money into advertising. They feel that if they do a really nice job, that word of mouth will bring them all the people they need. This is totally wrong. Yes, word of mouth is great, however, there is not enough of it to bring you the income & success you desire.
You're going to have to create a HUGE demand for your limited supply, and then control the volume of work you do with the price. And you can't create a HUGE demand with just word of mouth.
So start NOW to invest the time & money to discover the most effective ways to market your photography business.
3. Photographers don't want to meet the client/prospect ahead of time (on a separate day) to plan the photography and let the prospect know what to wear, where the photography will be created, and the policies by which they run their business.
These "policies" of how you run your business are a critical part of your success. But your prospects & clients MUST know about them BEFORE they start working with you, and the most effective way to do this is IN PERSON.
Let her know that you charge a prepaid "Creation Fee" that is paid in advance, and that doesn't go toward the finished images - it's a fee that covers the time and planning that you put into creating the beautiful images.
Let her know that your "Originals" don't leave the photography business, but rather she comes back in to see them presented to her in person. (See #5 below.)
(These are two of the many "Operational Policies" that you need to run your photography business by.)
4. Photographers don't want to become "organized." They honestly feel they are too busy to be able to take the time to plan their day and workflow.
Organization, workflow and planning your daily "things to do list" are all vital parts of running a successful photography business. Invest 30 to 60 minutes EVERY morning to do the planning & organizing of your day & week, and to put together your "Things To Do List" in order of importance, for that day. Do this religiously and watch your photography business grow & prosper beyond your wildest dreams.
5. Photographers don't want to take the time to personally show the client her images - they just want to post them online, and let the client place her order. This is a HUGE mistake. Portrait and wedding photography is a one-on-one personal business, and if you want to grow and prosper, it must be done in person. Never, ever try to "sell" your images by placing them online.
So, if the successful photographers force themselves to learn and do the things that the failures don't want to do, then you now have a great list of five things you're going to want to start doing immediately to be the success you dream about with your photography!
Most photographers don't like photography advertising and marketing and selling. As a result, their photography business usually fails financially, and they end up burning out, giving up, selling their photography equipment, and losing everything. To most photographers, the advertising and marketing & selling aspects of the business are really painful & confusing.
It's totally understandable, because we went into photography because we love photography - we love the equipment, the knobs and dials, creating beautiful images, working in Photoshop, and working with color harmony, composition, and design.
Have you ever wondered why some photographers are so amazingly successful, even in challenging times, while other photographers are struggling and dropping like flies, even though their photography is actually quite good?
The reason is that successful photographers force themselves to learn and do the things that the failures don't want to learn or do.
So in that sentence above, you have the ultimate photography advertising and selling secret. All you have to do, to be an amazingly successful photographer, is to FORCE yourself to learn marketing and advertising and selling - so that literally your marketing and advertising and selling skills are as good or better than your photography and Photoshop skills.
I know you don't want to hear this. I am one of you. I've been a photographer for 40 years. I went into photography because I love photography. But I practically starved in the early years, because I didn't want to put the work & time into the advertising and marketing and selling areas of the photography business.
So the purpose of this article is to simply drive home for you one indisputable fact - that if you want to be successful in the portrait and wedding photography business in this day and age and under these economic conditions, you're going to absolutely half to force yourself to learn and do the things that the failures do not want to learn or do.
So, here's a short list of five things that most photographers don't want to learn about or do:
1. Photographers don't want to learn how to sell. They feel that "If my photography is good enough, it will sell itself."
The fact is this: No matter how "good" your photography is, it will not sell itself - at least it surely won't sell itself enough to earn you the income you dream about. You MUST learn how to sell, and you must do it now. The longer you wait, the less likely it is that you will succeed.
But please understand that selling is not forcing people, or tricking people. Selling is finding out what people want, and then helping the to get it. Selling is a good thing - not a bad thing. People don't know what's best for them to do - they need and want your help and guidance.
2. Photographers don't want to invest time & money into advertising. They feel that if they do a really nice job, that word of mouth will bring them all the people they need. This is totally wrong. Yes, word of mouth is great, however, there is not enough of it to bring you the income & success you desire.
You're going to have to create a HUGE demand for your limited supply, and then control the volume of work you do with the price. And you can't create a HUGE demand with just word of mouth.
So start NOW to invest the time & money to discover the most effective ways to market your photography business.
3. Photographers don't want to meet the client/prospect ahead of time (on a separate day) to plan the photography and let the prospect know what to wear, where the photography will be created, and the policies by which they run their business.
These "policies" of how you run your business are a critical part of your success. But your prospects & clients MUST know about them BEFORE they start working with you, and the most effective way to do this is IN PERSON.
Let her know that you charge a prepaid "Creation Fee" that is paid in advance, and that doesn't go toward the finished images - it's a fee that covers the time and planning that you put into creating the beautiful images.
Let her know that your "Originals" don't leave the photography business, but rather she comes back in to see them presented to her in person. (See #5 below.)
(These are two of the many "Operational Policies" that you need to run your photography business by.)
4. Photographers don't want to become "organized." They honestly feel they are too busy to be able to take the time to plan their day and workflow.
Organization, workflow and planning your daily "things to do list" are all vital parts of running a successful photography business. Invest 30 to 60 minutes EVERY morning to do the planning & organizing of your day & week, and to put together your "Things To Do List" in order of importance, for that day. Do this religiously and watch your photography business grow & prosper beyond your wildest dreams.
5. Photographers don't want to take the time to personally show the client her images - they just want to post them online, and let the client place her order. This is a HUGE mistake. Portrait and wedding photography is a one-on-one personal business, and if you want to grow and prosper, it must be done in person. Never, ever try to "sell" your images by placing them online.
So, if the successful photographers force themselves to learn and do the things that the failures don't want to do, then you now have a great list of five things you're going to want to start doing immediately to be the success you dream about with your photography!
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