news0704

**************
Newsie bits
**************

Happy Canada Day and Independence Day...and most of all, HAPPY SUMMER. This is a great time to kick back, relax and soak it all in. I love the smells this time of the year, especially riding down the highway on a warm sunny day on my motorcycle. The forests and fields are alive and sending out waves of the most amazing and splendorific odors (is splendorific a word? well, it is now...). I find it hard to slow down at times and the call of the open road gives me the opportunity to get away, escape, clear the mind and reflect. This is an opportune time to reflect on where we want to go in life and what is most important to us.

I just came back from picking up my wife, our daughter and my mother-in-law from the airport. They just returned from a two week trip in Paris and London.

Life is good. When I first met my wife and married her in 1996, one of my deep and profound questions I asked her, besides "will you marry me?", was: "what do you want?"

This is important. I bet most people can't answer that question. I try to, and you know what? Just about everything I ask for, I got. It's the dangdest thing. But it works. When you know what you want, you get what you want.

Do you know what her answer was? She said: "I want to travel" I said cool! I can go for that. So let's travel. And travel we do. Lots. And more coming.

Think about this for a second. How many people really know what they want. Reeeaaaallllyyyyyyyyyy WANT. Not many, I bet. Most would say "A job, security, a pension, retirement..."

Can it be more vague and meaningless? Most working folks I know don't seem happy about the jobs they got. But they are putting in the time until the BIG DAY. Retirement.

Man, what a way to live! That sucks. Do something you love! We all got one life to live, make it count. Wanting vague and obscure ideals like jobs and pensions are false. They are there because we are afraid to ask and answer the question: "What do I want?" and be specific about it. And mean it and own it.

This is where is all starts. All our success in our photography business and all other aspects of our lives start with that question.

Now get your butt on the deck or anywhere where you can absorb all the fullness of summer and soak it all in. Ask yourself: What do I want? How do I want to spend the rest of my life? Where do I want to live? What kind of photography do I want to create? How much do I want to create? and on and on..

Better yet, write it down. If you don't do this, at least reflect on it next time your out somewhere and waiting. Maybe you're in a car waiting on someone. Whatever. Relect on this idea. Give it some thought. Get the process going.

Few weeks ago I had several people drive up to assist me at my weddings. Shawn came up from Michigan, on a Thursday and assisted James on his Friday wedding and assisted me the next day on my Saturday wedding. I booked a child portrait session on the Saturday morning so Shawn could hang out at my studio and see me in action. It was two little girls, one about 2.5 the other about 4. Here's the video Shawn took while he was at the studio. Jillian, who came up the following week, shot some wedding videos that you can watch. Read on....

******************************************************************

There we are, me and the boss, my wife, Tina. A recent portrait we made for a sales letter I'm working on. I've been bugging Tina to create a video on photography studio management to compliment a manual she's been working on on the same topic. I think she's gonna go for it. Tina is the best photography studio management force I've ever witnessed, let alone the fact that I work with (for?) her everyday. I owe a LOT of my success to her because of her contribution and efforts. Frankly, don't know what I would do without her. Having a team is one of the best marketing strategies we can do. Assuming we are willing to delegate, do what we do best (photography and marketing) and let the team do their best and not be a back seat driver.

Mom and pop studios seem to work the best, when it works. I know many who work alone and do everything themselves. Crazy (been there!). I'll keep you posted on all future developments.

******************************************************************
The FreeStyle Wedding system. We are working on a wedding system on the Freestyle Wedding Photography way. I think this is gonna be good. It's not a solo effort, as James Hodgins and I are working on it as a joint effort. Our No Bs Inner Circle Members will be getting a first notice, half price, pre-release offer likely early Sept, maybe late August.

The idea behind this system is simple. You get to follow us around on typical wedding. You see exactly what we see and how we create the images we do. These are regualar weddings with regular people.

I don't know about you, but most of my clients just aren't nearly as handsome and beautiful as the ones I see over and over again in print competition and wedding videos from other successful wedding photographers. And, we don't photograph major movie stars, politicians or celebrities. Nor do we brag about the fact that we charge some insane fee like $30,000.00 or whatever that crazy-ass number is I hear all the time.

Nuts! As a matter of fact I like to make about $75,000.00 a year on weddings. But, and this flies in the face of what most photographers complain about re: wedding photography: we don't even spend that much time on our weddings during and after the wedding.

In a nutshell:
*we book as many as we want
*we get about $3000.00-$4000.00 per wedding
*most of that we get to keep- about 90%
*workflow: 4-6 hours including DVD labels and slide shows
*work dedicated to the actual day of the wedding: Home by 7:00PM at the latest
*time dedicated after the images are delivered:0 (unless they buy reprints)

I ain't making this up. We do this all the time, year after year and we rip open our hearts, souls and minds in this system and reveal it all. Some people will go to great lengths to learn. Recently Shawn drove 10 hours from Michigan and Jillian drove 5 hours the week after to assist either myself or James.

On their dime. We didn't pay them. They wanted to learn. This system will do this for you and you can stay home. Details to follow soon.

Meantime, here's a free download from the wedding Jillian was at. She captured a small sampling, only 20 minutes here. The FreeStyle Wedding System will be much, much more comprehensive. Here's the finished images online.

******************************************************************
PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS

There is still room and time to book out the five day workshop in St-Catherines at Brock University with yours truly and James Hodgins from No Bs Photo Success. The dates are August 20th to Auguss 4th. More Information here. This is one of your best bangs for your educational dollar. Class size is limited, the other instructors and students are amazing and the food/room package is affordable. For a University cafeteria the food amazed us all!

Here's a few samples from recent shoots:

Family session above. Which do you think was their favorite pose? Turns out it's the inter-action shot on the far left. When I create these sessions I have been working toward getting more poses like this, including detail shots, on top of all the regular poses that they expect. (I got a shot of just their feet in the sand). These extra poses not only make a powerful impression on them, but I get to create a dynamic slide show with all their proofs that I put to music. Remember, just the proofs. When they come in and see the proofs for the first time they see them this way, with the music. Very impactive and drives the sale.

Photos above of Jennifer. I captured some videos of this shoot and am going to edit it for viewing online at the No Bs Photo Success Inner Circle Forum. In case you aren't familiar with it, it's my other photography forum dedicated to photoshop tutorials, photography tips and techniques and so much more. Members have access to hundreds of hours of videos and audios, photoshops actions, manuals etc..

More.....a small sampling of the regular everyday stuff from the last month...

All photographs by Robert Provencher
************************************************************

******************************
Photography Marketing Strategies
******************************

SELLING 101- Photographers love their toys and all things of a technoid nature. This can often get in the way when it comes time to selling. All things techie need to be translated into benefits. I am reminded of the reverse situation. It seemed some photographers were making a big deal out of the size of their cameras when digital first started making major inroads about 5 years ago. The film users were extolling the virtues of their huge medium format cameras. The digital dudes were going on about their megapixels and that they shot in RAW format.

All unmitigated BS of course, but many prospects didn't think so. Did we need to panic about this? Naaawww, only if we too bought into that whole angle would it be big deal. You see, it's not about the studio, the equipment, the lights, the whatever....it's all about the final benefit. If anybody asked me about "Do you shoot digital?" back in the day when they, and many others were uncertain about this medium, I would simply say: "Yes, and every sample on my walls, including the large portraits are all digital." They'd look around, see the great images and hang onto the idea that was far more important to them: awesome memories and a great time creating them. That was my main selling benefit.

To get away from that sales message weakens your presentation, wheneevr you're selling, be it selling sessions, selling during the session, after the session, in print, on your website, in sales letters, etc etc etc..selling is selling is selling. O, and who you are as aperson transmits a sales message. Your enthusiasm, energy, esteem, confidence, belief in yourself, ability to communicate and so many more dimensions that make us who we are.

Dan Kennedy, my marketing mentor, said it this way: "It reminds me of Napoleon Hill's story of Andrew Carnegie's mother going into the store to buy a little furnace, getting the lecture on BTU's, energy efficiency, quality construction – finally interrupting to ask: "Will it keep a little old lady warm?"
Business owners tend to focus inward. On products, on services, on the business itself. The challenge is to focus outward, on consumer/client/user interests, thoughts, conversations occurring in their minds, the way they make decisions.In short, true understanding of the customer's thoughts and emotions is far, far more important than anything else. This isn't easy. I'm told that Einstein's initial interest was behavioral psychology, specific female behavioral psych; he gave it up in favor of something easier to understand: quantum physics......"

Selling is sooo much easier when you speak your prospects language and be someone they like and can relate to. In my marketing program in the coaching tapes the very first thing I talk about is the idea that it all begins with YOU. If you are struggling, if you have big goals, want and desire success in our photography business, it ALL STARTS WITH YOU.

Fix the person, and you fix the business. Want to become better at selling your photography? Start with YOU. Not the stuff outside yourself.

Who is this man and why should you listen to him? His name is Bill, and he is a local wedding and event DJ, who, bar none, is one the best I have ever had the chance to see in action. And I've seen many in my day. I have talked with Bill on numerous occasions at weddings and such and it became clear to me that this guy is doing something that counts. He manages to charge three times the going rate for disc jockey services and is booked solid. He defies the odds and defies any industry norms by stepping out of the box, doing things his way and making it work.

How does he do it? I am not 100% certain of the exact details but do plan on calling him and interviewing him very soon. I am going to suck his brain dry and get every little bit of information I can. Why not? He's agreed and I bet he'll get just as much from me. It's always a win/win situation when you are on the same page and actively seeking out innovative and foward thinking marketing strategies. In my marketing system I harp on this point, on looking outside your industry for new ideas. When you stay within your industry you risk in-breeding and the eventual dumbing down effect that goes along with incestuous marketing.

This much I do know about Bill. He has brass balls, an organized and well executed sales presentaion that he systematically and methodically gives to each every prospect and he has an awesome product that more and more in this area have come to recognize and know about him. (Let's call that "reputation"=referrals).

He knows how to address the problems that his prospects are feeling and aggravate the ones that they don't know about. Of course he then presents in a very loving and caring way a solution. For a fee of course. And they pay him, regardless of the fact that many come to him, especially the guys, with the "ain't no way in a million years I'm ever gonna pay that much for any DJ for my wedding" mindset and attitude.

He gets them everytime. Or probably about 90% of the time. How? He's not afraid to charge more and to tell them why he charges more and how they will benefit by using his services versus all others out there (this is the heart of all things marketing and selling). He creates a lot of desire for his service and he EDUCATES them.

Of course this gets easier and easier, not to mention that many people now know who he is and/or have seen him in action. But they still need to go through the sales (education) process. I am a believer that people do not buy on price alone. Okay, the hardcore cheapskates might, but for the most part people will buy something they value. This applies to us and our services as portrait photographers.

If people bought on price alone we'd all be driving KIA's and eating out at MacDonalds. People will buy and spend more on something they value. Just tell them why your service and product is worth it. And be brave doing it. Don't flinch when you quote your price and don't make excuses. People, I believe, like someone who is confident in their sales presentation and someone who stands proudly behind their work. And they will pay more for it.

GURU CORNER:
Gary Bencivenga is likely the best copywriter alive today.
If learning how to sell in print or creating a dynamite ad is of interest to you, read his latest bullet:
Gary's site: check it out

BULLET #19

The Most Important9-Word Sentence in Marketing History

Dear Marketing Top Gun,

If I were on my deathbed about to wheeze my last breath, and you asked me to sum up in a single sentence the most important marketing secret I could bequeath to you before I kick the bucket (or bedpan), here is what I would whisper in your ear, hopefully without giving you anything contagious.

It's a 9-word sentence I first read in the book Reality in Advertising by copywriting genius Rosser Reeves. He said that he had learned it from a legendary copywriter whom he didn't name. This one sentence made fortunes for Reeves' clients, as well as my own, and for scores of other marketers wise enough to apply it rigorously, as I hope you will.

Ready?

Bend close now as I whisper. Oops, let me raise myself up a bit first. OK, here goes...

A gifted product is mightier than a gifted pen.

That's it—the 9-word secret so powerful that it has built more fortunes than any other principle in marketing.

To explain its profound insight, let me quote advertising luminary Bill Bernbach, creative director of Doyle Dane Bernbach, the renowned ad agency responsible for the brilliant and enormously successful Volkswagen Beetle ads of the 1960s, voted the all-time greatest general advertising campaign in history.

Bernbach was also named No. 1 on Advertising Age's 20th century honor roll of advertising's most influential people.

Said Bernbach, "The magic is in the product," not in the copywriter's pen. Or as he put it another way, "Advertising doesn't create a product advantage. It can only convey it...No matter how skillful you are, you can't invent a product advantage that doesn't exist."

If you're involved in marketing in any way, this 9-word sentence may well give you an "Aha!" moment, because it instantly clarifies the roles of everyone involved.

*Why is this product made the way it is?
*What consumer problems, desires, and needs is it designed for?
*What's special about it—why does it fulfill a consumer's needs better than the competition?
*Who says so besides you?
*What are your strongest proof elements to make your case believable?
*What are all the product's best features and how does each translate into a consumer benefit?
*If you had unlimited funds, how would you improve this product?
*Who are its heavy users—the 20 percent who generate 80 percent of sales?
*What irresistible offers might trigger an explosion in sales?
*What premiums can be tossed into the mix to press your prospects' hot buttons?

********************************************

And, if you want to take your child and baby 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!

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
- Teddy Roosevelt -