news0704

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Newsie bits
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Main Entry: atrophy
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: disintegration
Synonyms: decline, degeneracy, degeneration, deterioration, diminution, downfall, downgrade
Antonyms: development, growth, strength
Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.2.1)
Copyright © 2006 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Atrophy. It affects us all, at every level of life and living. In our business', our bodies, our minds, our relationships. It is a continuous and on-going battle. I mean let's face it, we are in a constant state of deteriation. It's natural. But we do have the ability to apply ourselves and counter the effects of atrophy, if we want to, if we act on those wants. As a matter of fact, I bet the source of most joy in live comes from those efforts. When you improve in any area, you feel good, and you reap the rewards.

Take gratitude for example. (there are many areas where we can fight the battle...I'm only picking one.) That's an under-valued and under-appreciated state of mind and action. Express some gratitude, and you start the ball rolling. It has a powerful effect on others. Feel and know gratitude in your life, and you have tapped into one of the keys to prosperity.

Why am I telling you all this? I dunno, just yakking. I do feel great these days. My new house and studio are like a dream come true. I am grateful. I love my job photographing people and making them smile (and getting paid). I take on each session with a renewed focus and enthusiasm. It's great. I'm loving it!

If you want more on gratitude and its effects on prosperity, I urge you to check out this site: Science Of Getting Rich. She's offering the book, "The Science Of Getting Rich" by Wallace D Wattles. He wrote the book about 100 years ago, and it is amazing. I even ordered the CD's and have been listening to them in my car and loving every word.

Here's a great video I laughed out loud when I watched it. The only problem with it, as ingenius as it is, is the branding effort it tries for, is most likely lost. James Hodgins from No Bs Photo Success commented that half wouldn't remember if it was a commercial for Nike or Reebok. I bet he's right.

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I love reading books on advertising. Even though I don't agree with the whole idea of billions of dollars of money wasted on lame and limp ads, most of which are on TV, I still like a good tale. Maybe this tale is one of a rebel, Donny Deutsch's book, "Often Wrong, Never In Doubt". No doubt, one of the most succesful advertising tales. I bought this book based on the title and the stuff on the back cover. That can snag me everytime if it's done properly.

Danny talks at great length about the advertising world, and various other issues that I found very interesting. Even though he sells ads and creativity and branding and all that ambiguous and bewildering fluff that corporate Americas spends so much money on, he at least has some solid and fundamental strategies he lives and plays by. He really pushes the envelope. He is not your typical executive. You know, the middle age suit with the puffy face. This guy totally rocks and is an inspiration. Guys like him make great role models for us'em photographers to look up to.

Why? Why should we use and have role models? Simple. We want to succeed. So, go to other people who have succeeded and study them and borrow whatever you can for your onw business and grow. We are all in business. But mostly we are, for the most part lone wolves. Right? Sole operators. We need to look outside our worlds for sources of inspiration and ideas and guidance.

That's why I like reading books. And meeting interesting people. And going to seminars. And studying other industries. Some other very interesting books I've read this year include: The Tipping Point, Blink, Freakonomics, A Beautiful Mind, Brother Ray (Ray Charles biography.. I love musical biographies- their lives, although often flawed, follow solid patterns of hard work and determination), The Rise of PR and Fall of Advertising, and a huge stack of others on my night table.

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Here's a cool site. Tons of free videos from some of the greatest ad men of all time. Giants of advertising. Of special note to watch is Ogilvy, one of my all-time favorites. All you need to do is register. It's fast and easy.

Here's a video I just created. It's on creating a website that sells for photographers. Many of you already may know about my feelings about webdesign and the most common mistakes made. Check it out. I think I'm onto something. If you would like us to design and create a site for you, send me an email. We have some time and Meaghan, our designer, is on summer holidays, but she won't be around for long since she's off in pursuit of higher learning far far away. But keep this in mind, we don't, won't do flash. But we can create a site that will sell, is optimized for search engines, and is easy for anyone to work with (another reason why flash sites or huge gallery sites are dumb.)

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Photography Marketing Strategies
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Sales Letters are one of the most powerful marketing tools. There are several reasons why they work so well, and more reasons why they don't. The main reasons why they don't work: poor and ineffective sales copy and getting the message into the wrong hands. Other reasons have much to do with attitudes.

A great sales letter can do wonders. But they have to sell for you. Get that sales message into the right hands and you're phone will ring off the hook. Most sales letters are plain crap. They are loaded with me-isms and empty, sterile, corporate, vague and meaningless phrases.

Good copy is loaded with story, benefits, features, offers and addresses directly the pains and angst that your prospects are dealing with, consciously or not. It has within it a big giant promise.

Good copy has loads of personality and percolates along with a steady cadence that grabs the readers attention, keeps their attention from the first headline through to the final call-to-action and contact with the photography studio.

It's very simple really. Most of us think that they don't work. "My customers won't go for that." "That won't work in my area." "My product is different." All lies and common misconceptions. They think sales letters are boring or cheap looking. There is an abundnace of proof to the contrary, including my own experiences. There are mountains of sales letters that have literally built entire industries.

We can, and should use them in our photography studios if we want a steady flow of customers.

Of the best ways to write a great sales letter for your photography studio is to write out on a notepad all the features and facts about your offer and services. Now make believe you are sitting across the kitchen table with a close friend or typical prosect and you are totally pumped about your offer. What would you tell them?! C'mon. Work with me on this one. You're selling yourself and your product.......

What You Say to Prospects and How You Say It, Is More
Important than What You Use to Say It With.

Sales letters are great because they are very, very cheap to deliver. (Your website is another great way to use sales copy.) The secret is in the actual creation of the sales letter. But the truth is they aren't that easy to create. So if you can learn to master the art of selling in print, and muster up the discipline required, you will have a huge advantage over your competition. I don't care how big your studio is or what your ambitions are. Everyone can use them, and when you create one that works, you get to use it for years and years with little change, other than sample updates of the photos.

Selling in print, or in person for that matter is not something that most of us mortals have ingrained in our DNA. But you can learn, if you apply yourself. Start with whatever selling you do do in your studio. What do you say that gets people to respond? Start with that. Of course it's vital to have a great product. Your work is your first headline that telegraphs instantly what kind of work you can offer. As a matter of fact most studios relied on that alone: "Here's my work, are you interested?" But why risk that outdated model. Fact is most studios are down, and if you can use as much selling muscle as possible, why not.

I've created many sales letters over the years, and have done quite a few custom pieces for other studios. All of them good, I must say. As a matter of fact, I don't know of anyone out there who can do a better job than me. I personally think I am the very best there is, if I don't mind saying so myself.

Why? 'Cuz I seen all the crap out there that passes as sales letters. And the ones I wrote will BLOW THE DOORS off any of em, any day. Why am I blowing my own horn? Because I am looking to take on up to five clients right now who would be interested in having me write them a customized sales letter. Time permitting. And for a fee, of course. If you are interested, here's the rules:

*You must have a decent product. If you don't I will turn you down and send you back to school. No harm in that, is there?

*Allow four to six weeks for delivery, more if I feel I need it. At my discretion.

*No guarantees. But I will create the best sales piece to my abilities. If it doesn't work, I will work with you for up to one year to figure out what the problem is. Most times the problem is solved much, much faster with minor tweaks and additions.

*Prepaid and non-refundable.

*No distress calls or emails. I won't allow anyone to nag, pester or expect unrealistic deadlines. You must plan ahead.

*Do not hire me if it's your last dollar or you are in dire straits. A sales letter may help, but often these conditions reflect deeper issues that need to be resolved on you own.

I might come up with more, but that's if for now. The cost? A bargain when you compare it to what professionals get paid, and there are only a handful of them out there. Most pro copywriters get anywhere from $10,000.00 - $35,000.00, plus percentage of business. They have the skills and the talent to get the job done. My rates are a fraction. One page letter $700.00 (one page letters are rare and impractical, but have been done in certain circumstances.) Two page letter $1200.00. Four page letter $2,000.00.

You will be asked to supply me with sample photos to use in your letter, and I will begin the Q&A reseach to discover and draw out the best angles. Not everyone who applies will be accepted. My discretion. Email me if you are interested. No obligation.

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Senior Photography Research. I found this and thought it would be very interesting for anyone serious about creating leading edge Senior Portraits.
Check it out.
It's all about knowing your prospects.

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Everyone outta wait on tables at least once in there life. I did. For years I slung beer and served food at many local dining establishments. It is the hardest work out there and teaches one humility and service. And if you get to work at a great place wih awesome management you will learn tons. Our local Pat & Marios restaurant is our favorite place to go out evey Friday night and it is the kind of place that everyone who works there is getting some great training. The owners are our clients and they let us display in the restaurant. This place rocks.

How can u tell it is properly managed? Easy. The time it takes to get served at every stage is consistent and tight. No lags. Ever. The aura. You know, some places just have it. It's something special. You can feel it in the air. Very hard to pinpoint, but wouldn't you want your photography business to have an "aura". I believe our studio has an "aura" to it.

They are also problem solvers. In the very rare occasion that something screws up, they take immediate and generous steps to make compensation. And they take responsability.

All of these qualities come together to create a successful business that people flock to night after night, year after year. (This restaurant's been around since about 1982). They have a training program in place and all the staff get consistently trained in all areas. I even heard that they had to write an exam, most of which was dedicated to the menu contents (nothing worse than an ignorant waiter who knows nothing about the food...well, I guess a worm in your salad or thumb in your soup would be worse, but you get the picture...)

GURU CORNER:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Marianne Williamson, an excerpt from her book A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles.
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An email from Robin Spencer, that guy with the irreverent and rebellious outlook and occasional bout of wit and wisdom says:

"Well that makes it official, the whole GD industry has come to the realization that digital has revolutionized the photography world. The industry is rethinking their marketing strategy, retooling, adapting, dropping things that no longer work... they're changing.

Well, that is the whole industry is changing except for most photographers.

Why does it seem like it's only the photographers who don't understand that their marketing and pricing strategies have to change. 95% of the photographers I talk to tell me sales are down 30% and yet they have no plans to change the way they do business, maybe lower prices a little, maybe raise prices a little, maybe add a new finish, maybe rename their packages. What a waste of time.

They simply don't get it; the associations don't get it.

If it's not working, change it.
Find out what all the other photographers are doing, and do the opposite.
Specialize.
Make it easy for customers to spend money with you.
Differentiate or Die.

Robin Spencer"

Well said......

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!

"Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers."
Anthony Robbins