news0704

Nothing much new to report, so I'll just yak and nag. Been recovering from the flurry of travel in the last while and a week long battle with the flu. Also, trying to get through the "busiest" time of the year.

Are you busy?? Are you achieving your goals so far this year? If you don't have any goals, than don't answer that question. Go get some first. January is almost here and it's time to start giving some serious thought to what you would like to achieve in the next 12 months for your photography business.

You do want to succeed, right?? Have you defined what success is?? Part of that definition and a critical element to making your goals a reality is having clearly defined goals and clearly defined steps to putting them into action. Not just fantasy, hopes, dreams and wishes. I'm talking about cold, hard, calculated and clearly mapped out goals and plans for attacking those goals.

For 18 months I attended a goal setting workshop. I drove 4 hours there and four hours back, often getting in at 3:00 AM, and also paid $197.00 a month to belong to this program. I believe in goal setting that much. When I finished that program I started my own version of it in my own area. Not for profit, but for practise, and to help me hone my presentation skills, which it did.

If you can get a grip on what most folks can't, by setting goals down by at least writting 'em down once a year you will be putting yourself in a very small percentage of those who do this. Most don't because they:

Get the point? Get cracking!! Tell you what, send me your list of goals for next year and I personally will offer you some coaching/feedback and ideas on them. Don't be scared. Just do it! Email me here. This is free, and you can't loose. You can only gain. Don't worry, I won't share 'em here.

The Doctors Party:
Three years ago I was asked to photograph a doctors xmas party. This was really cool. I set up my computer, monitor, Epson 2200, lights etc etc..myself and two helpers. Photographed about 60 couples who came streaming in, all dressed up, to attend the area's largest gathering of doctors for a hootenaney. It was crazy! But fun. We workflowed each image, giving them just the right amount of workflow (James created a kick-butt custom action just for the event- to save time), retouching and soft focus, printed them out, trimmed and placed each 5"x7" in an elegant black folder, delivered before they started dancing. They were impressed. No, they were blown away!! This is a crowd that I am already well known in so it was great to see many of my current clients, and make new ones. There are so many benefits being able to do things like this with digital photography. Impossible with film.

Below is a sample of one of the couples. I wanted to show you this because I tried something unique and challenging. Every portrait taken at this years event was taken with one light. One itty bitty little light. What kind of light you ask? A halo light with an Alien Bee 300 WS strobe. That's it, that's all. Well, I also used a few reflectors...one for the fill, under the faces directly under the halo and one for hair. Cool uh? Goes to prove the point that you don't need a lot....lights, pixels, or lenses. It's what you do with it that counts.

You don't even need brains to succeed (the average IQ for successful entrepeneurs is about 120..I think that's kinda low/middle-ishhh.....isn't it??) Or looks. But personality, in this business, you need as much as you can get. You gotta be a people person. And, you need DESIRE, AMBITION AND DRIVE. Fact is, too smart and you will likely be hampered in all those areas.

Here's a few samples from my recent shoots...(hey, I'm just braggin'...actually, I want to prove to you that I am not one of these guys who tries to "teach", but can't actually "do". Last month did about 50 sessions, which is actually less than years gone by. Been slowing down my marketing in the last 2 years so I can do less, create better work, do more writing, teaching etc...but I will always be "doing"....there is a lot to be said for longevity)....

Composite I created for one of my repeat clients.
They get one every year. Five kids...phew!! and expecting twins..wow!

SPECIAL REPORT
"HOW GET A MILLION DOLLARS OF FREE PUBLICITY FOR YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS"
I have been working on a special report on using publicity for your photography business. Do you have any real stories and examples where you received free publicity that I might add in the report. Either television, radio, or print. I will give anyone who submits and has their story used a free gift, or two. Email me with your ideas. I have over the years received thousands of dollars worth of free publicity and feel this area is a virtual untapped goldmine for most photography business's.

RE: ABOVE NOTE: I did receive several emails with some great ideas. But would like more...email me please. I'm hurting here!!
Thanks to Robin Spencer for his wheelchair promotion and Greg Malo for his FREE RADIO ad mentions ideas.
Both received a million dollars...eheh, ya right! Actually a free gift and honorable mention here. Not much really, but a GREAT BIG THANK YOU.

RE: HOW TO SKYROCKET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS
WITH CHILD AND BABY PORTRAITS
Learn the secrets to marketing, posing and creating sessions that keep
paying big profits, week after week, month after month, year after year...

Two months ago I offered a "scratch & dent sale" on my new product "How to shoot, market, and create a million dollar business with child and baby portraits". I forgot to send with that the extras that are supposed to come with it..ie the marketing DVD, the posing manual, as promised in the newsletter...oooppps, sorry. I goofed. If you did in fact get everything that was promised ignore this.
If you didn't...Email me please. I'll get it out right away.

In the new year I will be starting a new coaching product. More to come. Keep posted, would ya??

You know, every once in a while I get a request by someone who really wants to learn. Someone who values the learning experience and would literally drive thousands of miles with a van full of kids to come and play photographer with me at one of my weddings. That's the kind of stuff people who succeed are made of. They move mountains to get where to they wanna get to.

They put a high value on learning and are typically very "focused" individuals.

I recently was asked by such a person, could hecome and visit me this summer and tag along at a wedding?
This guy had bought my wedding photography system, and
yes, he wants to come up with a van full of kids, and a wife (...for all you smart guys, no, they weren't all coming to the wedding, but they we're going to make a family vacation out of it as well...).

Willing to drive or fly or whatever, thousands, yes thousands of miles for this "opportunity". Why? I just told you....THIS GUYS PLACES A VERY HIGH VALUE ON "LEARNING". He wants to learn more. He also told me he never really had any interest in photographing weddings...but the way I shoot 'em...HE'S INTERESTED!!
He also says I remind him of Tony Robbins and Stephen Covey with a blend of eastern philosophy. Wow. I like that. Never been complimented like that before, but I'll take it.
I don't get asked all that often to have people join me to learn. Once last summer. Not so long ago James used to tag along all the time, like the little dog in the bugs bunny cartoon and the big (me) bull dog. Remember?. That was us. Now look at him. He totally rocks as a wedding photographer and is enjoying huge success. And, he tells me he owes it al to me..eheh. I say, he was willing to learn.
Thats where the POWER is. Willing to learn.
When my coaching program is in full gear in a few months I will only accept those who are members of the program to come and join me on on live shoots. This will be one of the perks limited to those members, as well as many other learning opportunities and specials.
I can always tell when someone is on the right track. How? They listen, ask relevant question and take action. Those who "ain't getting it" are very obvious. They keep asking questions that are not relevant, often looking for the "one" thing to make it happen. There is no "one thing", but many small things done with excellence. And underscore with passion, hard work, focus and persistence.

If you want to put your wedding photography business into high gear
you need to get your hands on my system. Check it out.

"Things may come to those who wait , but only the things left by those who hustle."
--Abraham Lincoln--

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Photography Marketing Strategies
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I have a few really, really good clients who spend a ton of money with me every year and refer everyone they know to me. I like to do nice things for them, you know, to show my appreciation. Thank you cards, gifts at xmas, gift certificates, etc etc....

One idea that I have used recently is a slide show of one of the most recent shoots. This one family is with me several times a year...family, maternity (last summer), new born shots, child portraits. She, the mom, and one of my best clients, spends a ton with us. Thousands, every year. Why not do something special for her I say. So I did. I created a slide show of the fall shoot and gave it to her only last week. A gift. No strings attached. I even created a custom label for the CD I had it on. She loved it, cried, hugged me, and is really happy.
If you do not acknowledge your clients, you risk being looked at as an ignorant baffoon. Or, at least you risk creating "apathy"......the number one KILLER ONE OF EACH AND EVERY BUSINESS.

RIGHT CLICK HERE- SAVE AS...onto your hardrive
When it is on your hardrive simply click on it. This is an .exe file and will not work with MACS. However, MAC users can still download it, but they will have to burn to a CD and go find a PC somewhere.

Do I hear anyone complaining? Or, are you putting the value on the "learning"?

A few years ago I had the grouchiest UPS delivery guy. He was never very happy and always impatient. So, at Xmas, I bought him a bottle of wine, wrapped it, with a card. You should 've seen the look on his face. He actually started smiling after that.

Tina, my wife, did something really cool this year. She got on the phone and called each and every client that come in on a regular basis and told them she was calling them to book their appointments so they didn't miss the Xmas deadline. Does that take brass kahunas or what? I thought it was really cool. And bold. Hurray for her!! Everyone booked a session.

Been horsing around with some ideas for wedding ads or website updates. Borrow, modify as you see fit.

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Success Corner
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.The ads above were actually inspired by a dental office ad. You will find a ton of stuff OUTSIDE your industry. Below is a list from Joe Polish, a carpet cleaning marketing guru. I love it! Read it, print it and post it somewhere where you can see it every day.

• Discipline means doing the right things even when you don't feel like doing them.
• The most important thing to invest intense concentration in is "marketing."
• On January 1, you and I get the same number of minutes to go out and plant. So if you're not all that happy with your harvest, talk to the person who did the planting.
• The best preventative medicine for business problems and personal stress is preparation and organization. The best antidote is action.
• You just have to start. (There's always a reason to wait. It doesn't take any genius or initiative or courage to wait.)
• Guaranteed formula for success: Promise what you can and will do; do what you promise.
• Protecting your own good opinion of yourself is far more important than making a fast buck.
• The thing over which you have the greatest control is the quality of your own work.
• The three worst kinds of people to be around are lazy, negative, and dishonest.
• The people I know who make the most money are enthusiastic about ideas.
• Most people under-value information.
• "Junk Thought" is at least as bad for you as junk food.
• A good question to ask about your goals is: Do I care enough?
• The best kind of security is know-how-based self-confidence.
• A good question is: What am I working on becoming a world class expert in ... on mastering ... next?
• Be careful of overhead or you can wind up working FOR your business.

FAVORITE GURU'S:

Roy H. William, author of "The Wizard of Ads" and many other amazing books, writes in his monday memo: (His books are absolutekly amazing and loaded with marketing nuggets and success principles.)

"If you've heard me speak publicly, you've heard me say, "Talk to the customer in the language of the customer about what matters to the customer. Bad advertising is about you, your company, your product or your service. Good advertising is about the customer, and how your product or service will change their world." Do you know the language of your customers? Are they choosing with their intellect, Transactionally, or with their gut, Relationally?

You're about to buy a hardback book online. You go to DealTime.com, type in the title of the book, and get an instant list of hyperlinks to every online seller that has the book for sale, complete with shipping costs, etc. At the top of the list is the lowest price. Do you click it?

According to a just-released study by MIT's Sloan School of Management, only 49 percent of 10,000 monitored shoppers chose the lowest price. Fifty-one percent scrolled down from the lowest prices at the top of the list to buy from a better-known retailer down below, voluntarily paying several dollars more to buy from a vendor they knew.

Due to the left-brain, "pure logic" perspective of MIT, the research team said they expected close to 100 percent of the shoppers to choose to pay the lowest possible possible for the product. "The vicious price competition predicted by retailers and economists is not what we found," a spokesman said. "People were willing, on average, to pay $3 more to buy from Amazon."

This supports my statement that the most important asset you
will have in your photography business is the relationship with your client.

Another marketing guru, Dan Kennedy writes in the November 2003 issue of his No Bs Marketing Letter about using premiums and showed us a sample ad from SAKS FIFTH AVENUE. The ad from SAKS promoted premiums to their market of high income typically wealthy clientele:

"All humans respond exactly the same way to a relatively short list, a small toolbox of very reliable tools of influence and motivation"

STATEMEMENT NUMBER ONE: Everybody is susceptible to influence, motivation and even control with freebies and premiums. Nobody is immune to influence by freebies and premiums.

STATEMENT NUMBER TWO: If your clients or prospects do not respond to your "bribery", it is not because they are immune, it is only indication that you haven't offered the right "bribe".

"How you think determines how you act.
How you act in turn determines:
How others react to you."

--David J Schwartz, Ph.D.--
From his book "The magic of thinking big"

NEXT MONTH:

*WHY ALL DOGMA IS BAD AND WHAT YOU SHOULD DO ABOUT IT TO MAKE MORE MOMEY IN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS,
IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING AND GET IT RIGHT IN YOUR HEAD FIRST.

Definition:
DOGMA: An authoritative principle, belief, or statement of ideas or opinion, especially one considered to be absolutely true.

*POWERFUL PHOTOGRAPHY MARKETING LESSONS FROM A LOCAL MEAT SHOP

*THE STORY ABOUT THE LOST PILE OF TESTIMONIALS (COLLECTED OVER MANY, MANY MONTHS...) AND THE HOW I RECOVERED.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope Santa brings you lots of toys,
love, happiness, gratitude, prosperity, friendship...and passion.
Rob

PS...if you find a pile of horse manure look for the pony. He's around somewhere....

If you want to succeed at photography marketing, I mean really take it serious,
invest in the right information and direction for your future.

And, if you want to take your wedding photography marketing up a notch or two, do the same.

That's it for now folks! hope you enjoyed my monthly rant.
Thank You
Robert Provencher

Hold on to your hats and take names! I will tell all! Muchos gracias!