|
"Passion comes from having a focus. |
**************
Newsie bits
**************
Started off the New Year with a bang!
Shot a wedding on New Years Eve, then went to St Lucia to help out with the
"Week in the Sun Workshop," started packing my
studio for the big move and got many, many goals written down, many of which
are dedicated to my photography business.
How about you? If you ain't putting it down on paper you ain't taken them very serious. Hate to nag (I'm getting better and better at it!!) but really, think about it. Do you know what you want? Answer that tough question and you got your road map, your charts. All you gotta do is press on the gas. Untie the ropes that bind you to the dock and start sailing!
By the end of this month I will be moved into my new studio. After 9 years in a mall I am making a big transition. I still find myself walking around in our new home in a dream-like daze. Sometimes I can't believe I have my new dream home. Pinch me.
About three years ago I spotted this home that we now live in. Back then it was for sale. We looked at it and I thought it was perfect for a home studio operation. But the time wasn't right. It went on the market last summer and we scooped it up fast. The time was right.
Even though the time wasn't right three years ago, I still planted the seeds. I actually dropped in on the new owners at that time and told them I wanted this place. To please let me know if, and when, they decide to sell. And sell it they did. To me.
Okay, back to goal setting. Yea, yea, let's talk about that again. C'mon, don't quit on me yet. Really, I believe in this stuff. Why? I know it WORKS. But don't take my word for it. Just do it for yourself and see. You'd have to be one hard-nosed cynic not to experience some kind of magic by setting goals.
I've had little moments of magic, luck and opportunity flow into my life too many times to make me a cynic. Little miracles. Synchronicity. Serendipity. Magic. Karma. Luck.Coincidence. Call it what you want. All I know is when you know what you want, and when you act on it (and often you don't even need to act- it's just that I always do- I figure I can empower and speed up the whole process by taking whatever steps I can possibly imagine), you get what you want.
But alas, we remain in a state of ignorant bliss. Favoring to rest upon whatever excuse or reasoning. Taking stock of your life and creating a list of goals based on your life passions, dreams, loves and desires, for some unknown reason that escapes me beyond anything else, is ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS TO DO.
Why? Why is that? Is it fear? Fear of the unknown? Fear of failure? Fear of loss? Fear of embarrassment? Fear of being exposed? Likely the reason is deeply rooted in fear somehow. But who cares.
The way I figure it is, hey, here
we all are, twirling around the sun on this itty bitty planet, a miniscule speck
in a space so unfathomably big that it is beyond words , description or numbers,
and we're only here for a short while-in the grand scheme of things, we're here
for a mere flicker- so why not? Why not? Why not!!
Anthony Robbins (you know, the pump 'em up change your life in 30 days-now in 7 days- infomercial motivational dude) said it best. He tells us to do the rocking chair test. It sorta goes like this: See yourself in about 50 years. You're older. In my case, really old- like 97 years old. You're in a rocker. You look back at your life. What happened? Are you happy with how you lived out your life? Did you do all that you wanted or felt you were capable of doing?
Well?
Listen, matters not if you have a long established photography studio or just starting out. We all need to have goals. I'm gonna open up here and share some of mine with you. Cool? One thing I like to do is have a five year plan as well. But for now I will reveal some of my goals for the year 2006:
Rob's Goals for 2006 (in no order):
I have more, but these are the main ones. The productivity
goal is well under way. I actually sat down and created it. It is a entire list
of goals by itself. Now I have to implement. Half the battles' won. I have no
doubt about the financial goal. I should make it even bigger. But I like to
balance things out a bit more.
The book, I've been working on. Stop tuning out my wife, hey, what guy isn't
guilty. After so many years of marriage you get a little complacent.
On top of all my goals I have a "to do" list. Everyone should have a list of things they gotta get done. If I don't have one I will forget about most every project, so I write it down and refurbish the list every few weeks. Some people use post-it notes all over their office. That works. It's the same thing. A list. Whatever works for you.
The guilt goal? I dunno. It just came to me one night while I was settling into bed. I still feel guilt occasionally, for no reason. Like a cloud. Likely left-overs from my childhood. Sometimes I simply feel "bad" or "wrong". Hey, I feel way better now than I did twenty years ago. There's been tremendous progress. And I owe a lot of my progress to some internal drive for self-improvement that I seem to have been born with.
************************************************************************************************************
Profitable Studio Coaching Program
MASTERMIND:
Main Entry: mastermind
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: idea person
Synonyms: administrator, architect, artist, author, authority,
brain, brains, director, doctor, engineer, expert, genius, intellect, leader,
manager, organizer, philosopher, planner, virtuoso
Part of Speech: verb
Definition: think up
Synonyms: conceive, cook up, devise, direct, engineer, manage, organize, plan,
supervise
The greatest business book of all times may very well be Think And Grow Rich by Napolean Hill. Napolean studied 500 of the richest people in the world and found 17 characteristics of success. Let's look at the five big ones:
1. A burning desire to succeed. You must have a passion an inner drive that makes winners out of ordinary people.
2. Specialized Knowledge. Be a specialist. Something you will be known for.
3. Be decisive in nature. Thinking can slow us down. Being decisive when opportunities come knocking, that is an essential quality.
4. Be goal oriented. Hey, need I say more??
5. Assemble a mastermind team. Surround yourself with like minded people. They will help mold you and light a fire under you. Read more about The Profitable Studio Mastermind Forum.....
....'cuz it is about ready to go. A coaching program for photographers. I thought I'd make you an offer you couldn't refuse. But first, let me tell you a bit about it.
First off, what it isn't:
What is is:
If you are interested in looking into joining this program, download the Assessment Readiness Guide PDF and follow the instructions. If you are not, but would like to get some goals done, download the form and fill it in anyways. It will help!
NOTE: Downloading the guide and following the instructions will not mean you are committed. It is merely an application. You may quit the process before you actually have to sign on the dotted line. Going through the form and actually filling it out, alone and of itself will help you immensily. So go ahead, give it a whirl!
The cost for joining is going to be a one time sign up fee of $299.00 plus $97.00 a month, for now. I can assure you that price will be going up soon.
ATTENTION ALL PRIOR OWNERS OF MY MARKETING MATERIALS: If you have already purchased the wedding system, marketing system or baby/child system, you get in for free and the first 30 days are free. If you bought the whole deal, the first 60 days are yours. You still need to download and apply.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More news.........
Within a few weeks, maybe more, I will be announcing another service available to photographers- domain hosting. My partner over at No Bs Photo Success, James Hodgins and I have been planning this for some time now.
I always asked myself why doesn't anyone offer a niche service in this area? So, since it ain't really being done, we're doing it. The focus will be on hosting sites and pages that are designed to help you grow your photography business using effective web strategies....IE search engine & key word optimization, online videos for promotion of your photography studio, database creation, design strategies that work (instead of stroke your ego) and a limited amount of templates will be included with every package. The packages will likely have entry level offers right up to "we do it all" deluxe packages.
Stay tuned for more info.....
"Maintain a Sacred Trust with your customers"
Dan Kennedy
Here's a few samples from recent shoots:
With a few from the workshop in St Lucia
A few shots while snorkelling and scuba. This was my first scuba dive since
being certified recently:
******************************
Photography Marketing Strategies
******************************
When a wedding client comes knockin' on my studio
door, I want her, on a 1 to 10 level of readiness to purchase, to be at least
a 9, or better yet, a 10. I do this by making sure she has all the info she
needs about us beforehand. We pre-qualify them, in a sense, over the phone.
I know there is some controversy about releasing prices beforehand, especially
online, but I do it all the time. Although they do have to send an email. And
when they do I make sure they get one heck of an information-packed reply with
all those prices. Wanna see? Here it is:
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!
Thanks for your request for information on our wedding photography services.
We have created a Special Report for you entitled:
"The 7 Biggest Mistakes Brides Make When Hiring A Photographer For Their
Wedding And How To avoid Them."
You can download a PDF file of this report here:
http://www.artofphotography.net/Wedding%20Report.pdf
(PDF files are the best way to read printed matter on the web. It's fast, easy
and free. You can get a free copy of Adobe Reader here:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Still not sure who to hire for your wedding photography? Send us your address and we will mail you a free packet with a CD highlighting some of our weddings. This is free to you and there is no obligation on your part.
********************************************************************
Packages and prices: If you go to this link you will be able to download a PDF
file:
http://www.artofphotography.net/prices/weddingWEB.pdf
********************************************************************
SLIDE SHOWS- These shows highlight some of our work. They may take a while to
load, especially if you are on dial up.
Choose the show you are interested in, or watch them both!!
********************************************************************
2005 Showcase slide show. About 15 minutes long. Check it out
here:
http://www.artofphotography.net/showcase.html
To watch a Wedding Slide Show go here:
http://www.artofphotography.net/weddingvid.htm
To watch the Destination Weddings Slide Show (this one's big
so it may be slower) go here:
http://www.artofphotography.net/destinationvid.htm
Thanks again and feel free to contact us at 566-0111 or email us directly at westmount@bellnet.ca if you have any questions
Sincerely,
Robert and Tina Provencher
Westmount Photography
Return to our page: http://www.ArtOfPhotography.net
Did you notice something about my email? It's plain jane. NO images NO fancy
backgrounds. Just plain old text.
******************************************************************************
Lift notes. What is a lift note you ask? It is nothing more than a way of curbing any possible buyers remorse and further gives you the opportunity to cement your relationship with your clients after they've made a purchase from you. It's an excellent strategy.
I am working on a customized lift note for wedding clients and a smaller one for portrait session (to help educate and to also "plant seeds" for the big sale). After all these clients are investing heavily with me. It also gives me the opportunity to enhance the publicity spin off that occurs withing the clients' immediate circle of influence. Publicity=Word of mouth. Increases the lifetime value of every client and possible referrals.
BLATANT PLUG and FREE PHOTOSHOP
TUTORIALS
Honestly, I know of no better place to be to increase your photography skills
than over at the big brother to profitable studio, NO
Bs Photo Success. Even the articles, which are free access, have really
cool free
photoshop tutorials. Check out January's
newsletter and see some really cool scuba photography.
FREE PHOTOGRAPHY TUTORIAL: Here's
a little sneak peek at two (of many vids) from the soon to be opened Profitable
Studio MasterMind Forum:
Intro Video to the Baby and Child portrait success system (sorry, expired)
Photographing the Newborn baby (sorry, expired)
"The most important sale you make with your customer is the SECOND
order.
Why? Because a two-time customer is at least twice as lilkely to buy again
as a one-time customer."
Dan Kennedy
***************
Success Corner
***************
Bill writes me:
What are your marketing do's and don'ts for this New Year?
1. I will not let a holiday go by with out offering some type of promotion.
2. I will package my collections with lots of widgets for added value.
3. I will toughen up my skin and reach out for more business to business partnership.
4. I don't have many don'ts because I believe that is what I was doing last year.
And you?
I'll add in my Don'ts....
1.) Don't let clients be weasels
2.) Don't give away free stuff (like time, rights, etc.)
3.) Don't take assignments I know I will regret taking
4.) Don't let clients determine how I run my business
--Bill
"Management by objectives works if you first think through your
objectives. Ninety percent of the time you haven't."
Peter Drucker
***************
Testimonials
***************
From a member at No Bs Photo Success..
"Seriously.
I owe a huge, huge thank you to all of the members on this forum. You are all
truly inspirational, and I am honoured to be along side of you as a member of
NoBS. The veterans of the beautiful business of photography here, and those
who are just starting out have really come together in such a way that has made
this forum an engaging and welcoming place, a place where everyone has learned
from everyone else, and everyone is more than willing to share.
I do believe that it is due to the kind and generous people here that I have
grown as a photographer (though I have a long way to go yet), and I wanted to
share my thoughts with you all on this-- about how much your time and dedication
to helping one another means to me. I only hope that I am able to give back
to you all as you have given to me.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
All the best,
jyotika"
GURU CORNER:
One of my favorite ad experts is Roy H. Williams. In his recent
Monday Morning Memo Email he talks about the future of ads. As I read this
I shouted to myself "Yes!!" And I thought
out loud "I told you so!!". I've been saying this for years. And
have been using this strategy for longer. Read on.....
Advertising – when you're building a brand – is merely a relationship
deepener. Its job is to cause the public to like you and trust you. Accomplish
this and they'll remember you when they, or any of their circle, need what
you sell.
......We don't laugh at ads. We quietly ignore them......Good news: A seductive new voice in advertising is softening the hearts and winning the wallets of our nation at a record pace. This new future of advertising is known as "non ads" – consumer messages written in the vulnerable, candid style of a conversation between close friends.(Ilalics mine) Their language isn't aggressive and egocentric like advertising, but unguarded, playful and real. Non-ads admit weaknesses, confess fears, and never try to impress. They speak to the customer in the language of a friend, rather than a pitchman. Does it surprise you that the natural response of the customer is to give you their trust? But here's the bigger question: Do you have the courage to be a friend, tell the truth, and worry more about your customer's happiness than your own?
My strong suggestion is that you adopt it sooner rather than later. The following examples of two real non-ads I've encountered lately should help you better understand this new concept and begin implementing it today.
"If you will expand your world, you must crawl on your hands
and knees, get on your belly
and squirm under the fence that surrounds your insulated life."
Roy H. Williams