by Skip Cohen

​I know everything is relative, but living in Florida, we all complain when it drops to a bone-chilling sixty-five degrees. Well, we're in the forties this week, and Orlando is forecasted for close to frost this weekend. But, having lived most of my life in the north, I never threw out my flannel shirts.

Okay, this might seem like a little bit of a stretch, but are you ready for those business changes when it seems like hell really is about to freeze over? 

When business is great, we all ignore things we should have fixed years ago. Then, when things change, we jump to address the challenges with the urgency they should have had in the first place! There's a great quote from business writer and author Tom Peters from years ago:

​​So, here's a starter list for you to think about - Just like my backup flannel shirts when the temperature drops, are you ready when there's a "firedrill?"

• Backup Gear: Sometimes, the most fundamental definition of a professional photographer is having the right gear. If you're on a shoot and something breaks down, what's your alternative plan?
• Backup Staff: Most of you are single operators. What's your plan if something gets in the way of any commitment? Who's your backup if you're sick?
• Financial Responsibilities: Bills don't stop coming in just because you've been benched. Again, who's your backup?
• Who you gonna call? Yes, it's the Ghostbuster's theme, but when you can't come up with a solution to a problem, who's on your personal call list?
• Your Inner Circle: Everyone's network should have a handful of people at the very core. These are the people you trust the most. But the responsibility goes beyond a simple hand-off when something goes wrong - you've got to keep them informed all year long of the challenges as well as the good news.
• Building a Stash: A blog is only as good as its consistency. At the very minimum, you should be posting twice a week, same time, and same days. But things get in the way. Build a stash of posts, so you've always got something in the pipeline. And if you're stuck on ideas of what to write about, I shared 35 topic ideas in a post last week.
• ​Got a Call List? Take a look at all your gear and every supplier whose services you rely on - you should have a spreadsheet with all your contacts. From your gear to your lab to the staff at your bank, a call list can be invaluable.
• Check Your Website EVERYDAY! What good is working so hard to create the very best images if people can't see them? Check your website on different platforms every morning. And check your email as well. It's amazing how often something is wrong on a business website, but nobody is aware of it.

There are eight "flannel shirts" for when the climate changes - what have I missed?

​by Skip Cohen

It's Marketing Monday, and I'm sticking with my usual theme of ideas to help you make 2022 one of your best years ever! The whole idea is to go beyond just surviving and help you thrive. None of these suggestions are rocket science, but they do take time and focus. They're not new for me to share either, but strong reminders of what you need to be doing NOW!

Yes, it's the traditional slow season, but not for you as a business owner. Now is the time to get all your ducks in a row, so you've got the foundation in place for a year of solid sales, and there's no better marketing tool than relationship building!

1. Before You Start Hunting New Clients... Everyone is always talking about finding new customers. Sadly too many of you forget about your existing database, as well as your phone. So many of you are sitting on mini-goldmines but ignoring the opportunity to strengthen past relationships.

Take your top 30-50 clients from the past, and starting ASAP, give them a call. You don't need to sell anything. Just call to check in on them. It's been a long stretch since the pandemic started. Everyone has been hunkered down and light on communicating with people they care about. Your goal is simply to check in on them and see how they're doing. Just do a few each day.

2. Own Your Zip Code: My good buddy Scott Bourne brought this up at a program we did together years ago. Pound the pavement and start knocking on doors in the business community. Again, you don't have to sell anything except your personality. And for those of you who are rolling your eyes and thinking it's lame to approach a realtor in town because you're a wedding/event photographer, for example, how's this for the opener? "I just wanted to introduce myself. My specialty is weddings, but I've got a solid foundation in photography. So if there's anything you ever need help with, give me a shout." Just leave your business card behind.

3. Community Involvement: You've got to be involved in your community! People like buying products and services from companies they perceive as giving back. Jay Conrad Levinson, the father of guerrilla marketing, listed community involvement as one of his top things marketers need to do. The fun aspect of this is using your blog to help promote needs in your community. With so many fund-raisers being canceled, every non-profit is looking for support. Use your blog to help promote various activities in your community and get yourself involved and known for giving back. This is so easy to support, too - just start a calendar of community events. If you do it long enough, you'll become a clearinghouse for planning dates for other organizations.

And do anything you can for those non-profits, with or without your camera. The point is to be involved and helpful. Every organization needs volunteers and support.

4. Start Your Own Online Classes: There are things you do every day as a photographer you take for granted. And if you're living in an area where there's still a lot of paranoia about Covid, start using Zoom or a facsimile and create mini-workshops for the community. Share ideas on storytelling, exposure, composition, lighting, and position yourself as the community expert. Photowalks are perfect too, since everyone can be outside.

5. Get Involved With The School System: Education these days is a mess, as teachers struggle with a combination of live and online teaching. Track down a few teachers and look for opportunities where you might be able to be a guest on career day about being a business owner and photographer. Get to know the teachers involved in the yearbook and school newsletter. Also, check with the PTA and find ways to help. Last but not least - how about donating some of the older gear you don't use anymore? There's isn't a photography teacher around who would love more gear for students to be using.

6. Be Active on Facebook: While there's a lot about FB we all hate, keeping in touch with clients through social media couldn't be easier, especially with birthdays and anniversaries when they're listed. Stay out of battles with trolls in the various forums - Remember, there are no erasers on the Internet! Pay attention to what you post as well. Have a separate page for personal stuff and use FB as a marketing tool, focusing on business and imaging-related topics.

7. Coloring Book Pages: I've shared this a few times, but it's thanks to Steven Gotz in the very early months of the pandemic. For clients with young children at home, pull some of their past portraits, remove the color, and turn them into line art. Then, send them to clients for their kids as coloring book pages - it couldn't be easier or more appreciated with some of your clients.

8. Real-Time and Zoom Lunches: I've referred to myself over the years as "the biggest lunch slut" in photography. That's because it's such a great way to get to know people and share ideas. So, set up Zoom and invite a couple of other photographers or business owners to join you and then kick back and be sociable. And if you're in an area where the Covid stats are starting to drop, pick a restaurant to meet in person. Attending IUSA last week, I cannot describe how great it was catching up to people LIVE! 

9. Keep in Touch With Your Network: All of you have people who you've met over the years at various shows and conventions. Start by making a list of every product you use in your business. Then do your best to identify a key person at each vendor and keep in touch. The crew at your lab is one of your most important contacts, but don't forget other artists, your local retailer, and the sales reps for the products you use most. From email, phone calls, IMs, and text messages - stay in contact with people you care about. 

This is the first time in history; EVERY business worldwide has most of the same challenges. The pandemic has had an impact on everybody. So here's an opportunity for you to be a leader in your community and demonstrate why you're everyone's best choice for the services and products you provide.

by Skip Cohen

I love writing posts like this on a Friday and giving you the weekend to think about my suggestions. As I've written so many times before, this might be the slow season, but NOT for you.

This is the perfect time to secure your strategy for the coming year. Now is the time to look for new ways to reach your target audience and do them in more effective and cost-efficient ways. One of the best ways is to find a few partners.

EVERY business is dealing with the same challenges of getting back on its feet. True "normalcy" with any permanence is a ways off, but that doesn't mean you have to wait for clients to be coming to your door. There are dozens of paths you can take to increase awareness, value, and stimulate sales!
​

• Direct mail: Doing a postcard with two other partners reduces your cost to a third of what it would be if you flew solo. It expands your reach and awareness because all three partners combine their databases. Plus, each partner becomes an ambassador for the other two entities involved.
• Soft-sell cross-promoting products and services: For example, all of you who are wedding photographers should be working together with a florist. You should have a link to their site on your website, and they should have one to yours. Portrait photographers could do the same and include a restaurant known for things like a Mother's Day brunch, especially as we get closer to Mother's Day.
• Hard-sell promotions: It's cross-promoting, but this time with discounts on each other's products and services. If you don't want to do a discount, add something of value, like an extra mini-album for Grandma, an oversized print, canvas wrap - something with perceived value. Think about working with other vendors and putting together packages.
• Contest sponsorship: Work together with other vendors in the community to put together your own unique events to raise awareness and support for something relevant in the community. Bruce Berg wrote a guest post for me many years ago about an annual contest 30 years in the making. Three competing studios established the Lane County Children's Contest. The post is from 2013, but the concept has no expiration date!
• Start a newsletter: They're so easy to do these days, but somebody has to take the lead. Create a newsletter with gift ideas that tie in photography, flowers, gift certificates to a local restaurant, frames, and other gifts. You've got to plant the seeds for the ideas to create sales.
• Other photographers: I know it's taboo to suggest you work together with another artist when there's barely enough business to keep you going, but together you can play off of each other's strengths and weaknesses. For example, if you're a wedding photographer and don't do maternity, babies, or pets, find yourself a partner whose skill set fills in the holes you have in yours. Then, design a campaign that promotes one-stop shopping.
• Major equipment purchases: Money is tight, but if you wanted to get into large format printing, for example, or there's an exotic lens you know will make your work different - buy what you need together with another artist. This isn't like the stigma of buying a boat with a friend, and it'll save you money.
• Share studio space: Tony Corbell is a perfect example - his studio space includes two other artists. They don't compete, and they split the cost three ways. Granted, one of the artists is his wife, Mandy, but this is about each business paying its fair share. Together they've got a terrific location and facility for everybody to benefit.​

I know there are some of you rolling your eyes, either because you've read some of these ideas in my posts in the past, you don't like them, or you don't want to give up control - well, times have changed. The pandemic changed everything in our lives, and while I hate quoting Hillary Clinton, although it's an old African proverb - "It takes a village!"

And for those of you who think there's nobody to partner with because your specialty is so limited, here's a list to work from, and I'm sure there are plenty I've missed because these are all in the portrait/social categories.
 

• Boudoir Photographers: Lingerie boutique, spa, makeup artist, salons.
• Pet Photographers: Pet food reps, animal shelters, pet boutiques, veterinarians, and doggy daycare facilities 
• Children's Photographers: Toy stores, summer camps, playgrounds, kids, clothing boutiques, restaurants, pediatricians, or pediatric dentists.
• Family Photographers: Family restaurants, decorators, parks, and special events 
• Wedding Photographers: Florists, wedding planners, bakeries, salons, bridal shops, limo companies, musicians, tux shops, travel agents, and venues

Stop thinking you have to do everything yourself. Business may have changed dramatically, but along with the frustrations, there are some unique opportunities for creative leadership. You don't need to jumpstart your business alone - think about the strategic alliances in your community to rebuild together!
 ​

"Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude!"
Zig Ziglar

by Skip Cohen

​I wandered by this billboard in my travels to and from IUSA over the last week. I didn't know a thing about the sponsor, but I liked the message, and it's so true. And I did wander to their website just now and hit a couple of uplifting videos.

But when it comes to uplifting, I'm not sure anything could be as uplifting as the IUSA convention. This isn't meant to be a long drawn-out post about attitude, But Zig Ziglar's quote above really says it all. 

Nothing could demonstrate Ziglar's point better than the crowds at the show this week. Platypod had a booth, and we were busy, non-stop right up to the last minute. And most of the other exhibitors I spoke with had a nice flow of traffic as well.

In terms of the attendees, people were excited to be back out and in personal contact. Zoom meetings have been great to keep in touch, but it's not the same as being with live people. While masks came off in the restaurants, various dinners, the bar, etc., for the most part, everyone was respectful of the relevant health issues.

People were hungry to talk to the vendors, instructors, and each other. Plus, it seemed like a younger crowd than I'm used to seeing at PPA conventions, which was outstanding. It was a good mix of photographers just starting out combined with those more established, as well senior veterans.

When it came to a strong platform of education, PPA covered all the bases. The class selection was terrific, plus "Networking Avenue" on Sunday evening, gave attendees a chance to enjoy various demonstrations, and ask questions of the speakers in a more informal environment.

​by Skip Cohen

In yesterday's Reflections post, I wrote about chasing your dreams. I appreciate the nice feedback, but it's Marketing Monday and time to take action. The good news is that this isn't rocket science. You know how to focus your camera, now it's time to focus on your business and long term, your career.

When I was a kid, there was no GPS. My Dad belonged to AAA, and before our once-a-year big vacation, he'd put in his order and get back a TripTik, a spiral-bound series of map pages showing the routing from the start of our trip to the finish. Each Page had the total mileage for that segment of the trip.

Today's travel is a whole lot different. AAA still offers the service. However, for most of us, we hit the computer, and Google combined with Trip Advisor, and Yelp gets us to our destination. Plus, we're accessing GPS in our cars and on our phones all along the way.

Well, now apply the same concept as the old TripTiks to your business for the year ahead. You know where you're starting from, but most of you haven't thought through where you want to go this year.

Sure, you want the business, with revenue and reasonable costs, to leave you a profit, but is your goal sustainable? Anybody can be a one-hit-wonder and make a few bucks, but you want every client not only coming back again but insisting their friends work with you as well.

So, just like my folks did when I was a kid - use this week to plan your "trip," at least through the first quarter of the year. Before you load up what you'll need, you first have to clean out the "trunk" of everything left from the last trip...2021.

• What loose ends do you have to wrap up from last year's business?
• Are there clients who are still waiting for orders? Have they all been billed for past services?
• Is your database cleaned up or a mess of missing contact information?
• Is there gear you still need? I'm not talking about the equipment you WANT, but really need to provide the best possible service to your clients.
• Now's the perfect time to start getting things ready for your taxes - yeah, it's early, but at least put together a list of things you're going to need to chase for your accountant.

​
I commented earlier about it not being rocket science...but it does take discipline. So, take time this week and just kick back and think about your dream for the year. I'm a big fan of visualization - what's your goal for 2022? Sales revenue is essential, but you also have to control your costs. So, it's not just incoming dollars, but what you're spending!

by Skip Cohen

Over the past year, I've shared multiple posts every week on marketing and business - virtually anything I hear about or have learned over the years that will help you even out the rough spots in your business. It's been a tough year, but the finish line is only eleven days away, and there's a clean slate for 2022. 

But coming down to the wire - don't miss opportunities to set yourself up for a strong start into the new year.

• End-of-year sales abound - are there essential pieces of gear you still need? There are some remarkable sales still out there. You may also need some additional deductions before tax time.
• Thank your support team! Everyone has a few people who made it a point to help you through the past year. From various vendors to wedding planners, florists, etc., some people made life a little easier, even when it wasn't. From a phone call to a hand-written note to lunch or a gift basket, let them know they're appreciated.

People will forget what you said. They will forget what you did.
But they will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou

• ​Don't forget any last-minute plans you have regarding workshops and conventions for the new year. Also, are there plans you still need to make and lockdown for any January travel? And if you're headed to IUSA, put "track down Skip" on your calendar.  I'm looking forward to catching up to as many of you as possible and will be in the Platypod booth each day of the trade show.

Last but not least - this week is always a little insane wrapping up last-minute orders and client needs. But once everything is done - take the time between the holidays to simply kick back and chill. Sure, you still need to think about the business and your future, but you also need to recharge your battery!

That means you need to focus just on yourself a little. I'm not suggesting you ignore your family or friends - take the time to appreciate the road ahead!

You can't create images that tug at people's hearts if you're own heart isn't in it! 
Me

by Skip Cohen

We're down to the wire, but not too late for one more idea - building a Legacy Program for your clients and your own family! I've shared the concept a few times in posts this holiday season, but with Christmas and New Years right around the corner - it's time to hit it one more time.

Here's the concept: Look at the images in the photograph above. Now think about your own life a couple more generations from now. Those old black and whites above will be replaced with a few jump drives; images never downloaded from your phone, and a handful of Polaroids, Shutterfly prints, and maybe even albums. But who's going to be around to tell the backstories?

Building a Legacy Program is so easy - Seriously, it should be a no-brainer for all of you. Let's start with your own family. This holiday season, whenever your family is together, sit down with the more senior relatives and record the stories of their journey. You've all got cameras with video and even your phones. 

Next, pull out those old albums and shoeboxes of photographs. Get the names of the people in all those shots and the events that brought them together. This doesn't have to be a major production of "Roots," just documenting the chapters of your life that brought everyone to today.

Now, take it one step further - if you've got kids in the house - assign them to be the family historians. If they're young, get the camera set up for them - and if they're older, give them some assignments. Stories like, "Sit down with Grandma and Grandpa and ask them how they met?" Anything relevant in capturing those beautiful backstories that will disappear when older members of your family pass on.

And for Clients...

Including a Legacy Program with family portraits is a perfect way to expand your business and especially goodwill. Imagine the power and pure joy of a family portrait and a recording of Grandma talking about her journey along with it. The possibilities are endless.

Every Thursday for years, I've been sharing a Throwback Thursday image as a blog post. While I've got hundreds of old photographs of my folks and grandparents - with at least 80% of them, I have no idea who's in the photograph. Plus, the only stories I can tell are about the pictures that I'm actually in, or maybe I was lucky enough to hear the backstory when I was younger. 

My grandparents are long gone, my folks passed away over the last ten years, and there's nobody left in the family from their generations. Hindsight is always 20/20, and I hate that I never sat down with my Dad before he passed away to record his story.

I've written this so many times before - if we learned nothing else over the last year, ALL of us now know that life is simply too short. Unfortunately, we didn't appreciate the true meaning of freedom until the pandemic had us hunkered down. And if you lost family members through the pandemic, then you understand what I'm saying even more.

Don't let this holiday season go by without starting a program for your own family to capture legacy stories from the past. And for your clients - there's still time to get the word out today!

by Skip Cohen

​It's Marketing Monday, and today's post is as much a reminder for you as a consumer as it is for your business as a retailer and a product/service provider. So consider it a public service announcement!

Let's turn back the clock to this time last year. We were in the throws of the pandemic, and everything went upside down when it came to shipping. I remember a holiday gift we ordered for friends that took six weeks to get here through the USPS. Concerned, I wandered into my post office and was told by our local postmaster, "Sorry, nothing we can do - I've got gifts of my own I'm still waiting for!"

Then came the challenge of overseas shipments - often on their way, but with virtually no tracking information. Several times, I saw Platypod shipments look like they were still in NY when the same day, I'd get an email from the photographer overseas saying it had arrived.

So, here's the bottom line. As a consumer, shop early and ship early! Unless you're delivering locally or personally, as a business owner, encourage your clients to make their decisions now, so holiday gifts arrive on time.

Last week our fulfillment manager at Platypod sent out an email with the dates to the right for FedEx and USPS. It's up to you whether or not you believe them. Personally, I'd lean to adding a few days on, but follow the news - this is guaranteed to be a hot topic this season.

The challenge of shipping has already been in the news repeatedly. I caught this short piece in this week's copy of The Week. I know it might be hard to read, so click on it to enlarge in the SCU lightbox.
There's also a more in-depth article online at theSkimm.com about delays and price hikes through the USPS.

So, the expression, a good offense is the best defense is credited to George Washington!  

The bottom line is to build a good solid offense. Don't get caught short with your clients or your personal shipments this year. Shop early, help your clients as much as possible and get their orders out ahead of whatever you'd consider the regular schedule.

​It's going to be a great holiday season for photographic products, and with the renewed sense of family in this country, you've got the skillset and products to meet the needs of your target audience!

Happy soon-to-be here holidays!

by Skip Cohen

This will probably be the last post in The Road to Seasonality series. I've done my best to cover so many different things you can be doing to help make this year's holiday season one of your most successful. Sadly though, there are still too many of you caught in analysis paralysis, trying to figure out what to do next.

STOP OVERTHINKING! First, you're only one person - even if you have a staff to help support your business, it still comes down to you. Second, you're better off doing something and being only moderately successful rather than being complacent and going into the holiday season without any marketing plans. Last but not least - remember the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.

I wrote a post a few weeks back with a similar theme, but let's take it a step further. Here's a check-off list to work from, and it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you maintain a presence with your target audience and do something!

• Get your holiday card together! This is one of your images on the front, a holiday message on the inside, and on the back, your logo, and contact information. It's just like the back of a Hallmark card! Remind people what you do for a living.
• What products and services are you offering your clients? We're really down to the wire here, but if you still haven't decided, pick up the phone and call your lab! From prints to albums to canvas, metal, and novelty items - don't let the holidays go by without sharing something new. And remember, holiday cards for your clients! Marathon Press has their BOGO program going on right now - buying on a BOGO offer increases your revenue by 50%!
• "Day in the Life" Albums: I love the concept because it demonstrates your skill as a storyteller. Plus, rather than just one portrait, you have an opportunity to build an album telling the story of a client or their family. It's also perfect for capturing a few hours of images of kids and pets.
• Legacy Sessions: I wrote about this briefly in Sunday's post. This is an incredible opportunity to work with REAL seniors (not high school). Whether it's a series of portraits with a soundtrack or a video, the market potential is enormous. It's a video session you capture of a subject telling the story of part of their journey in life. How many senior members of your own family have you lost over the years and wish you had a video of them talking about their life?
• New Markets: The restaurant market is one of the fastest-growing in the country for photography. So many restaurants, because of the pandemic, went to carry-out service as well as outdoor dining. But they had virtually no images for their website. And if they're offering new outdoor seating, they've got nothing decorating the area!
• Partnerships: Stop thinking you have to go it alone. This is the perfect season to cross-promote with florists, venues, and other photographers. And if you want to do a direct mail piece together - what better way to reduce your costs than sharing the project.
• Support Gifts: Now's the time to think about those key vendors who helped you over the past year. Holiday cards are great, but most of you have at least a couple of people who deserve something more. Maybe it's taking them out to lunch to say, "THANKS," or some sort of gift basket. From referrals to simply going the extra mile to give you a hand, don't let the season go by without recognizing your appreciation.
• "With our Blessings:" This is a program Bob and Dawn Davis talked about in a podcast a long time ago. For example, they send pictures to the various vendors of their contribution to the event and sign them with our blessings after every wedding. Clay Blackmore told a story years ago about a caterer who asked him to grab a few shots of the buffet, etc., at a wedding they were both working. Clay took it a step further and captured a short video. Today that caterer has grown to be one of his biggest sources for referrals.
• Own Your Zipcode: Start going door to door with other retailers within a 2-5 mile radius of your location. You're not selling anything - just being helpful and reminding them what you do for a living. You're their number one resource when it comes to imaging!
• Coloring Books: During the pandemic, Steven Gotz hit a home run taking images of everything from animals to family portraits, pulling the color, turning them into line art, and sending them to clients with young children as coloring book pages! It's simple and perfect for building holiday goodwill this season.
• Your Blog: It couldn't be easier to write a post these days - just be helpful. How about a series of tips for Mom and Dad to get better holiday pictures this year? There are so many things you take for granted and do every time you click the shutter. Well, turn them into tips for content on your blog and Facebook page. There are five post topics most of you can write about immediately from fill-flash, depth of field, posing, composition, and storytelling. And it doesn't matter whether capture is with a phone or a real camera - all the technique is the same!

Here's the bottom line - the future of your business is in your hands! I'm not suggesting it's easy, but nothing in life is effortless these days. Just remember that relationship building is your strongest marketing tool. You've got to be out there and shed the chains of analysis paralysis.

It's November 1 - so what are you doing today to help secure business over the next two months?

by Skip cohen

Last week, I had a conversation with a photographer that left me feeling like it was time to bring back the story about the hot dog vendor. There's a lot of fun history in this story.

My good buddy, Jim Morton, found it years ago. We were both at Hasselblad then, and in a tough economy, our parent company was suggesting cutbacks to save money on things that were MAKING money. So there was an anecdotal story in circulation by the advertising community in the early '90s. Jim showed it to me, and while it might be thirty years old, it's still so valid.

It's the perfect reminder to help everyone stay focused on the big picture, pun intended! So here's the short version: 

​A very successful hot dog vendor is hitting record sales. He's advertising, cross-promoting, staying open longer each day, and business is fantastic. His son comes home from college for the summer and says, "Dad, don't you know we're in a recession? You need to watch your spending and be ready for business to slow down."

The father, concerned, stays awake all that night worrying about what his son has said. The following day he pulls down a lot of his signs and puts the money he would have spent on advertising and promoting in the bank. He ceased all the creativity he was putting into marketing. By the end of the month, business is terrible, and all he can say to himself is, "Wow, it's a good thing I listened to my son. There really is a recession."

The conversation that prompted the return this story was with a talented artist who felt there was nothing left to do to try and grow his business. He's caught in "analysis paralysis," and instead of doing more, he's doing nothing. He's been beaten down by Covid and the pandemic. Everything he used to do in marketing no longer works. Yet, "It always worked in the past!" Sound a little familiar?

Here's my point - the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. That just doesn't work anymore - all the paradigms have shifted, and most things we thought were normal are gone. How you market yourself, reach your target audience, and what you need to offer have all changed.

There's a renewed sense of family in this country, and they're looking to capture memory-making moments. So relationship building with your clients has never been more critical. Being active in your community should be at the very top of your list too. And the products you offer need to be new, exciting and memorable.

Sadly, too many of you forget one of your most significant resources, your lab! All it takes is a phone call with the question, "What's new?" Covid didn't slow down creativity or technology, and today's labs can print on just about anything. At the same time, don't underestimate the power of a canvas print - which is still relatively new to most consumers.

We're into the fourth quarter, and opportunities are everywhere for increasing revenue this holiday season. But, most important of all, keep the renewed sense of family in your mind. Think about what we all missed the most while hunkering down - family and friends!

When things are slow, it's a scary time to think about spending more money on marketing. But, you have to spend money to make money. Covid has hurt everyone in so many ways, but it didn't take away your skills, creativity, or passion for the craft! ​

"A person who stops marketing to save money is a person who stops his clock to save time!"
Anon

And I've offered this before - if you're stuck and need a fresh pair of eyes and a sounding board - you know where to find me!

by Skip Cohen

​It's Marketing Monday, and as we kick off the seasonality of the fourth quarter, I'm not sure how much more I can write about the goldmine sitting on your doorstep!

While the pandemic hurt us all in so many different ways, it brought with it a renewed sense of family. At the height of the pandemic, everyone was hunkered down, two words that I'd rarely used before Covid! Families protected themselves and especially their senior members. We all connected via the phone, Skype, Facetime, and Zoom, to name a few.

Early on, I remember posts from friends on Facebook with stories about bringing back family game night, stories about Facetime calls with grandparents who couldn't be physically visited, and family projects ranging from the kids joining in meal preparations to interior decorating. And when it came to family pets, thousands of people added a new furry critter to the family. 

Put all the events of the last year and a half together, and there's a whole lot of business sitting on your front porch right now. From family portraiture to children and pets to capturing memories - we're cherishing time. And there it is - the magic word that defines your ability as an artist.

As a photographer and/or videographer, you're able to stop time and take those intangible memories and turn them into moments your clients can appreciate forever!

So, what are you doing to offer your target audience this holiday season? Each of the ideas below is perfect for a theme in a blog post too!
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• A new family portrait
• Portraits of the kids
• Pet portraits
• A Day-in-the-Life Shoot
• Upcoming special events
• Updated headshots for the holidays
• Company groupings for a business holiday card
• Holiday cards
• Video holiday cards
• Outdoor prints

The list easily goes on and on in terms of your style and materials used in the items above. And while canvas prints are old to most of us - they're not necessarily old to your target audience, especially if you're a full-service photographer and include framing and helping each client with the final placement of the work in their home or office.

Most important of all, remember this quote by Seth Godin:

That means you have to plant the seeds for unique gift ideas this holiday season with your blog, Facebook posts, Instagram shots, Pinterest, etc. And with a renewed sense of family in the world, what grandma has missed most has been her kids!

by Skip Cohen

It's Marketing Monday, and I'm not sure there's a better specialty to talk about this time of year than family marketing.

One of the unique things the pandemic brought to us is a renewed sense of family. Combine the increased importance of family with this year's seasonality, and you've got a perfect ingredient to help build a more substantial business and brand awareness.

Obviously, you need the skillset, which goes deeper than just knowing when to click the shutter. You need to understand composition, lighting, and most importantly, you need to make working with you an experience. Beverly and Tim Walden have talked a lot about creating the experience in their workshops over the years. While the finished product is essential - it's about the subjects having fun working with you. It's about the relationship you build with the client. And remember, you're not selling a photograph but a new heirloom and a memory-maker for a unique family.

So, how are you going to reach your target audience? If you haven't checked out Marathon's Family Marketing program, now is the time. In fact, it couldn't be better to help you create awareness and increase your family portrait business...NOW!

Here's what I love about Marathon's program:

• It's limited to only one studio per marketing area - that means you've got a certain amount of exclusivity. Your target area is going to be flooded with multiple photographers doing the same thing.
• Direct mail is back with a vengeance.
• You've got your choice of a three-piece program or an extended fourth mailing. Here's your chance to develop a program with continuity that plants the seeds for ideas and then follows up with the actual program, special offers, and promotes a timely response.
• Best of all - you've got Marathon's team as an extension of your own marketing department! They're going to help you, each step of the way.

If you want to catch more fish, use more hooks!
George Allen

by Skip Cohen

This is the seventh post in this series, each one written in the hopes of helping you take action to capture more sales in the upcoming holiday season. The reality is there isn't any single key to success. But there is a winning combination of publicity, products, and promotion. 

There's only so much content you can put in a blog post. So, today, it's just getting you to think about building awareness. What good is working so hard to create the best images of your life if nobody knows who you are? Too many of you think of publicity as awareness outside your control. So, let's kill the myth - thanks to social media and communication technology - EVERY business can control and contribute to their own awareness.
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• Press Releases: Let's knock off the obvious first. Outlets for "exposure" are everywhere. The obvious big winners are stories in the local paper, on the community/city website, etc., but that's at the top. All along the way, you've got your blog, other public blogs, being involved in community events, direct mail, various related websites, conventions, brochures, etc. Don't forget to offer the use of your images, from a community event, for example, to the hosting group, company, or association; We're looking for anything that gets your name out there.
• Your Blog: This time of year, use your blog to give your readership ideas on great gifts this holiday season. From video holiday cards to physical cards to prints on canvas, metal, or framed and ready for hanging! Use your blog to be helpful as the expert in photography with tips to help your clients capture better images.
• Partnerships: Look for a couple of vendors in your community to partner with in a mailing or cross-promotional program. Each partner becomes an ambassador for the other two and can help you create more awareness (publicity) for your business.
• Social Media: Use Facebook and Instagram to share your work and maximize awareness of your skills as an artist. Stop posting pictures of last night's trip to Dairy Queen! Use social media to your advantage - it's one of your best marketing tools.
• Community Involvement: People like buying products from companies they perceive as giving back. That means you've got to participate as a member of the community, not just another vendor/retailer. Start a community calendar on your blog. With each event you share, you also help the hosting organization by showing your support.
• Editorial: Those articles you see on the local town website or in the paper about other businesses don't happen by accident. Get to know some of the staff at the local publications.
• Hosting a Networking Luncheon: This is so easy to do and simply involves you contacting other businesses to join you for lunch. It's easiest explained for a wedding photographer who would invite a florist, caterer, limo service, bridal salon, wedding planner, bakery, travel agent, venue manager, etc. Find a restaurant with a private room and an easy-to-afford menu. Then bring everybody together to talk about business and what you can do as a group.
• Open House: When my podcast co-host, Chamira Young, moved to a new community, she rented a location and hosted an open house. She produced the video below, which later became a marketing piece.  There are two posts; just a click away for the "recipe" for an open house when you don't have a studio.

A goal is just a dream with a deadline!
Drake

by Skip Cohen

​The one thing we can never change is time. We can't slow it down. We can't speed it up. We never have enough of it - but right now, when it comes to preparing for the seasonality of the fourth quarter of 2021 - you DO have the time.

Most of us fly by the seat of our pants. We're reactionary and respond accordingly to whatever good ideas and, too often, bad ones come our way. Then when an idea doesn't produce the results we hoped for, we withdraw until we regain the confidence to try again.

Okay, enough of the philosophical side of trying to run a business at a time when the world is upside down! Let's go straight to the "brass tacks" of whatever it's going to take to make you smile about your business at the end of the year! I'm assuming everybody wants to regain a firmer footing in their business during the next few months - so, there's the goal and that dream with a deadline. Start with thinking through what you want to offer to your clients.

• Holiday Cards: There are two sides to this - first, there are cards for your clients. It starts with you as their photographer planting the seed for the idea. Second, there's your personal card - and to have an impact, get it out early. Use one of your photographs, and on the back of the card, just like the Hallmark logo, share your contact information. (And keep an eye on Marathon Press - they usually do a BOGO offer on holiday cards, which will give you the potential to lower your cost and increase revenue!)

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• Video Cards: It's a great product to offer your clients. A video holiday card should be part of your ongoing services. Here's one of my favorites from Suzette Allen's stash on YouTube. And while it's a little dated, the concept couldn't be more fun or memorable for the clients. "Expecting Teddy" is with a maternity theme and gives you another application outside the holiday theme. I'm just trying to provide you with ideas - because there's no limit to things you could be doing this year to get your clients excited. Remember what I've quoted numerous times from Bev and Tim Walden - "You're not selling a portrait session, but an experience!"

"If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
African proverb

by Skip Cohen

I'm so tired of hearing how much the pandemic took away from business. I don't want you to think I'm minimizing the pain of the challenge, but Covid didn't take away your creativity, or your skillset. It also created great opportunities to demonstrate a leadership role in your community by working together with other businesses to generate some promotional excitement this holiday season.

Here's a shortlist of potential partners for five different specialties in the portrait/social category: 
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• Boudoir Photographers: Lingerie boutiques, spas, makeup artists, salons
• Pet Photographers: Pet food reps, animal shelters, pet boutiques, veterinarians, and doggy daycare and boarding facilities 
• Children's Photographers: Toy stores, summer camps, playgrounds, kids clothing boutiques, restaurants, pediatricians, or pediatric dentists.
• Family Photographers:  Family restaurants, decorators, parks, and special events 
• Wedding Photographers:  Florists, wedding planners, bakeries, caterers, salons, bridal shops, limo companies, musicians, tux shops, travel agents, and venues. 

And this is only a partial list. For example, years ago, while doing a Hasselblad University program in the Cleveland area, a portrait photographer told me how a landscaper approached him to do a landscaped scene behind his studio for family portraiture, complete with a small pond and walkover bridge. It was like a mini Hollywood set, and at no cost to the photographer if he'd just promote the landscaper's business. Why? Because the landscaper knew, for this artist, there was a high correlation between the families he photographed and homeownership!

In terms of designing an effective promotion, you can do anything from cross-promote each other's products and services to planning a mailing together to an open house, gallery-like event to introduce the community to your businesses.

Last but not least - think about partnerships like this - each member of the group becomes an ambassador for each partner's business. Working together reduces costs and increases cash flow. But if you do it all alone - 100% of the cost is on your shoulders and wallet!

You don't have to be a solo act. Stop thinking you've got to do everything alone!

by Skip Cohen

​Most of us have seen the artwork done by StoryPeople in various shops and galleries over the years. For Sheila and me, we've always found their messages mostly related to us personally or about love and relationships.

Well, I'm on their email list, and I get a new one every few days. But the minute I thought about the message in this week's artwork, my mind went immediately to business.

Right now, most of you are doing everything you can to get your business back on track. You're fighting to rebuild, be creative, and figure out how to best enjoy the upcoming holiday seasonality. 

It doesn't matter whether you believe in angels, and you don't need one drop of spirituality to appreciate the message. Here's my point:

It's your imagination and creativity that will carry you through this year's holiday season and, in turn, sales. Coming out of the pandemic, even though we're struggling with politics and fighting to not get sucked back into a second wave - the world really is in the palm of your hand.

There's a new sense of family and just for a second, think about what everybody, especially "Grandma," has missed most - her kids! So, when it comes to the challenge of what to get Grandma this year, I'm not sure there's a better gift than a new family portrait. And if you're not a portrait artist, think about wall art. We've all spent more time at home with limited travel, looking at the same artwork on our walls. It's time to redecorate, and you've got the skillset to meet the needs of your clients.

​But nothing happens without your imagination and creativity! Use your blog to plant the seeds of ideas. Talk to the vendors in your network, especially your lab, about unique products. The reality is - angel or not; your community is in the palm of your hand!

by Skip Cohen 

​Last Monday, I shared a post reminding you that you're coming down to the wire to be planning your marketing activity for the seasonality of the fourth quarter. It was pretty general, but this week let's start to list some actions you should consider.

Blog Content: If you've got a blog, it's the perfect vehicle to plant the seeds of gift ideas in photography with your clients. Here are some topic ideas:

• Start sharing some of your older images to help get Mom thinking about the timing for a new family portrait. Throwback Thursday is a classic way to deliver the message.
• Share ideas about things to do with photographs. While canvas prints are not new to any of us in the industry, they're something most consumers don't know much about.
• Be helpful: There are things you do every day as a photographer that you take for granted. Start a series of tips to help your readers capture better images. Become the expert in your community on photography.
• Start a community calendar sharing events in the community. It's a great way to show you're involved.
• Share ideas on your services: For example, I love "Day in the Life" shoots with families, children, and even pets. You don't have to spend the entire day with a client, but just a few hours in their environment gives you the ability to tell their story and, in turn, create a small album.
• Plant the seed now for a video holiday card. This is a 30-60 second piece combining video, still images, and great music. Check out Suzette Allen's YouTube channel to see more ideas.

Direct Mail, alone and with partners: I'm a huge fan of relationship building with other vendors. While you can do a direct mail campaign alone, with two partners, like a florist and salon, you'll reduce your costs to 1/3 of what it would be if you flew solo. Now is the time to get out in the community and look for partners.

New products for gift ideas: CALL YOUR LAB! I mentioned this last week, but the pandemic hasn't slowed down technology. So all you have to do is call your lab and ask, "What's new?" Then kick back and listen. Somewhere in there, you'll hear about a product that will get you excited as something new and creative you want to offer.

Community Involvement: In the top 100 things guerrilla marketers need to be doing, base on Jay Conrad Levinson's list many years ago, is be involved in the community. People like buying products from companies they perceive as giving back. Now is the time for you to be raising your hand to be involved in activities in your area. And remember, this is about people getting to know you, and it doesn't always have to involve your camera. Even working at a Friday night football game, filling ketchup and mustard containers for the Booster Club, is a way for you to be involved.

No one post can cover everything, but each Marketing Monday, I'm going to be doing my best to share more ideas for you to consider. Most important of all, remember there's a renewed sense of family in the world. Who better to help capture and create those memory-making moments than you?