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The EASIEST Way To Market Your Photography Business!

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I’ve been waiting for this.

In fact, I’m surprised it took so long.

And now it’s here, I can’t WAIT to discuss it!

What am I talking about? Let me explain…

You know, if you read this blog regularly, why it is essential that you get personal if you want to stand out in a crowded industry, right?

You know. Personal with your words. Your blogs. Your newsletters. Your website pages. Etc. Every part of your branding and communication with the world has YOU in it. In fact, it’s the EASIEST and most EFFECTIVE way to market your photography business (if done in the right way).

But maybe.

Just maybe- You have a little (or big) suspicion, this sneaky thought that creeps in and shouts every so often –

but this is total BS! After all, X,Y,Z are KILLING it in this industry, and there isn’t a single personal blog post in sight on their pages! So I don’t GET this stuff, and I don’t even know if I BELIEVE it! After all, Jose Villa seems to be doing particularly well without ever getting personal!

And that generally leads into this –

I don’t believe my clients truly care if I am personal or not! They’re not even thinking about that! They just want gorgeous images. 

So that’s the question that I had today.  I wanted to answer it, as I know there are lots of you thinking the same thing.

So my answer to this might surprise you. 

I’m going to tell you that you are absolutely right. 

Your client DOES just want gorgeous images. Absolutely. 100%. No question about that.

So let me ask you something now. My turn, right? Let’s play fair 😉

If your client wants gorgeous images, and your gorgeous images are very similar or even slightly similar in style to 1001 other photographers out there- what makes you think they are going to book YOU???

Perhaps you’re going to tell me that your style is unique in which case – unless you’re in some weird niche I’ve never heard of – I’m going to tell you that you’re deluded.

I don’t apologise for that because –come on! Do you know how many photographers there were even in my own FAMILY at one point? FOUR! Four photographers, all working to gain bookings and clients in one small area!!! That’s just within my FAMILY!!!

Do you get it yet?

There isn’t even an industry anymore!! the industry is dying because EVERYONE is a photographer now, and it only takes a short time to pick up on the exact same actions the exact same colouring the exact same presets and processes as everyone else, and OH MY GOSH ALL OF A SUDDEN EVERYONE LOOKS REMARKABLY SIMILAR EVEN IF YOU’RE IN A NICHE- how did that happen? Probably around the advent of digital photography, but I digress. 

Even fine-art and fine-art film photography, which was ‘rare’ around 3 years ago- UNIQUE, now? Really???

Almost everybody knows that pretty much all you need to do to create the standard fine art look is to shoot pretty much wide open for most of the time, throw up some beautifully styled shoots with opulent flowers and tablescapes, shoot without any weird angles and preferably at a certain time of day, with model in *whimsical pose of choice and OH LOOK NOW EVERYBODY IS A FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHER TOO. This formula isn’t SECRET is it!!! AND EVERYONE IS DOING IT!!! IT ALL LOOKS THE SAME!!!

So I will ask you again – in a sea of sameness- what is going to make YOUR WORK stand out to your clients?!?!

I know, I know.

But Jose Villa…. he isn’t personal… he doesn’t blog personally…. heck, the guy is a walking ENIGMA! – 

And you’re right.

He doesn’t get up close and personal on his site/s.

But he also started out in the industry over ten years ago and has openly said if he started now he wouldn’t have the success he has had. The world is a very different place from how it was ten years ago and clients shop, browse, consume and connect entirely differently now – I think I was still on MySpace ten years ago!! 

He also has the added advantage of having studied fine art photography at University which gives you time and space to be able to develop a truly unique vision, based on more classical / documentary style photographers, which he became known for and gained a client base for,  way before anyone was trying to be the next Jose Villa! So if you have studied photography to this level, like I did too, you will have a SLIGHT advantage – but now the way in which we exist and communicate is so vastly different to be honest, it really doesn’t make TOO much of a difference, which is why Villa himself as said he probably wouldn’t be as successful as he has been!

Well, what about other photographers? THEY are successful and THEY don’t blog personally. 

Ohhh this is such a good one! yep, my geeky little marketing heart is jumping up and down with excitement.

Firstly – let’s have a little pause here and think about what SUCCESS really, actually is.

Is it industry success that you are looking for? Because trust me, industry fame and recognition and all of the awards in the world don’t automatically bring you an endless stream of clients. Because unless you’re intentionally targeting the industry, most of the time, your clients aren’t even aware of ‘the industry’!!!

Which is why you can be an incredibly decorated and published photographer, and still not make the levels of success you want and gain the number of client bookings you want – even if judging by APPEARANCES was anything to go by, you might seem ridiculously successful!

So if it’s not industry success, fame + recognition that you want, then I’m guessing you want what most of us want???

The financial abundance you need to live the life that makes you happy, working with clients who value you as a person, who admire respect and LIKE you… 

Those photographers that you THINK are successful – are they ACTUALLY, truly, authentically successful in this way???

Have you seen their bank accounts? Know exactly how many weddings/shoots they have booked, and at exactly what rate they were charging, and THEN seen their profit and loss accounts???

and then even after all of that it really is irrelevant anyway!! because you still would have no idea of their cost of living and so how much of that money is actually creating that life they desire!

Perhaps the business they have created and the income they earn all vanishes monthly on paying a gigantic mortgage they can’t really afford and buying luxury cars and basically keeping up with the Joneses –

I’m exaggerating here but you get my point- the point is how do you KNOW???

‘Success’ is subjective, and you can never really tell who has it anyway and who doesn’t!!! 

Perhaps that photographer is struggling as much as you are? Perhaps they are undercutting with their prices and taking on less than desireable clients in order to appear ‘busy’? Who knows?

The industry is full of hyper-inflated egos pretending to have expert knowledge that is only obtainable via them, and they cultivate this air of mystery and ‘I know something you don’t’ in order to sell their books, workshops etc. (REALITY- you can find out everything you need to know online. NOTHING is secret.

THERE IS NO SECRET and nobody’s success has a secret formula that you need in order to succeed. (Which is why I try to give away everything I know and have ever learned from my ten years in business as a photographer and in the marketing industry and from my incredible successful business coaches- because I’m tired of the bloody faux-show that is SUCCESS)!!!!

Finally – success isn’t a marker of happiness anyway!

Listen, I get it.

Blogging personally is scary.

It makes you feel vulnerable – and there are very definitely ways to go about writing for your clients and ways to get personal that actually – TURN OFF- your clients. It does need to be done carefully- kind of. More on this later.

But THIS is what you need to understand about getting PERSONAL with your clients + prospective clients. I’m not just talking in your blogs here – being personal spreads across ALL forms of your communication- from your newsletters to your website pages.

What you need to know is that BUYING DECISIONS– I’m talking major buying decisions here, not like whether you buy a latte or an espresso (though Lord knows that decision takes me way too long – surely I’m not alone here)-

I’m talking investments-

I’m talking about the major investment a client makes when they select a photographer, which is a major investment because- 

It’s not just a financial investment. It’s an EMOTIONAL one!!!! because what we are photographing is an emotional occasion- which is why we were hired to begin with!

And WE BUY WITH OUR EMOTIONS FIRST!!! – in fact your client has already subconsciously decided whether or not to book you long before they even meet you!

BUYING DECISIONS ARE BASED ON EMOTION AND SUBCONSCIOUS THOUGHT. 

So when you understand THAT- which you can find in any good sales psychology book I am sure but more than that you can see being played out EVERYDAY, ONLINE, in the online marketing world which is  – WHERE YOU ARE, because the majority of your business is now carried out ONLINE-

so when you understand that-

You can understand that there are hugely powerful ways to persuade and influence that choice- and it starts with the WORDS that we use to convey our MESSAGE to our clients.

Unless of course,  every single one of your images not only promotes and invokes huge human connection, and are they deliberately selected to persuade and influence subconscious thought?

Hmm. I’m guessing not. 

But to a degree- completely, you’re right. 100%. Clients don’t give a monkeys about any of this.

That’s because they don’t even know about it. 

Because the best marketing? Doesn’t ever look like marketing at all. 

It’s seamless. Based on values that we as a species share.

Which is why our message is never, ever JUST our work.

It’s our purpose. It’s our WHY we are in business in the first place. And if you want to stand out in a sea of sameness, you’d better make damn sure you know EXACTLY what your purpose is, and above all HOW TO COMMUNICATE THAT MESSAGE TO YOUR CLIENTS, if you want to truly achieve the level of success that you want, and not just showboat around the industry flaunting a list of publication credits that mask a less than desireable bank balance or life.

One of the EASIEST ways to truly transform your business AND do it rapidly, is to understand that

-the industry has changed,

-new ways of doing business must be embraced if you don’t want to be left behind

AND

– the power and the impact that YOU and YOUR WORDS have on your business.

So make them count.

Make them stand for something. 

MAKE your words CREATE that CONNECTION, that feeling that rises up in the heart and throat of your buyer and has them reaching for their credit card before they even know what they are doing.

Make them remember you.

Make them LOVE you (or hate you. Both are good).

And do it boldly and without fear or consideration of what anyone else in the industry might think.

Because it’s not about them, is it?

This is about YOU.

YOU and the business YOU want and the clients YOU want and it’s about being in business AUTHENTICALLY and if you don’t give a monkeys about that, stop reading this blog.

Go and create some more superficiality and be proud of that and carry on doing whatever it is that you do.

But for everyone else. 

For those who actually give a crap about their business and about how the industry is changing FAST and about how to actually go above and beyond the standard pat on the head and the – good! you’re doing this RIGHT!-

and create a business that actually WORKS but not only WORKS one that FLOURISHES and actually builds you a name and a business that’s visible far far more quickly than churning out your own version of generic fluff

When’t it going to be? How many more failures or quiet weeks / months / seasons is it going to take for you to realise HOLY CRAP I NEED TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT? How many more client trickles do you need instead of client floods? HOW MUCH MORE WAITING DO YOU NEED TO DO????

In short –

When is it going to be your time to stop pussyfooting around, stop writing about the generic, and just get on and share the reason why you are in business at all- the message that you were born to share?

There is never a better time to begin than now.

Love + Light x

 

If you know that you have barriers holding you + your words back, that stops you getting your message out to the world (you won’t believe how often I receive emails about this)! I’ve created a BIG free training for you, and it goes live this Friday.

But don’t miss it – this training is going to be LIVE and you will ONLY be able to access it if you are signed up – and places are strictly limited! Sign up here to reserve your seat.

words for photographers

 

image by Maxeen Kim Photography 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why Nobody Is Booking You + A Photography SEO Experiment

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Hands up who wants more bookings?

What a ridiculous question, right?

Everyone wants more bookings.

Not necessarily MORE bookings but very definitely more bookings OR more bookings at the right price working with the right clients.

And you know what you need to do to get this! Or at least, you think you do.

You need to get people landing on your site. Actually, you know, SEEING your work.

Right? Right!

So you’re working your ass off on your SEO, on blogging your latest sessions so you always have fresh work for people to look at, you’re busy like a bee optimising your keywords, using long tail and short tail and any-other-tail keywords inbetween and OH MY GOSH SOMEBODY PLEASE KNOCK ME OVER THE HEAD because that would be infinitely more fun than trying to figure out something that doesn’t freaking matter anyway.

Seriously.

When is this obsession going to END?

Because you think that doing things ‘the right way’ is what brings you clients?

I tried a little experiment today.

I wanted to find one of my favourite film photographers online.

So I did a search for her.

I wanted to see if one of the world’s top photographers really gave a flying flip about SEO.

I thought she would be most likely to come up on the first page of Google search for her local area (south carolina).

No.

Not there.

not on page 2.

Not on page 3 either.

I didn’t go beyond that, because I couldn’t be bothered. (Your clients most likely won’t either).

Hmm.

So I tried again, searching for her by genre this time (fine art photographer). Nope. No results on the first 3 pages.

Then I tried fine art film wedding photographer followed by her area.

Then I tried female wedding photographer.

Then I tried about 7 other different searches including other combinations of the above.

SHE DIDN’T APPEAR IN ONE SINGLE SEARCH RESULT.

NOT ONE!!!!

First page of NOWHERE.

You see, this is weird because

For an absolute age

I was on the first page for my own photography business. I was TOP of page one too! (Nothing beats me. Not even Google. I’m a bit determined like that).

Getting on to page one isn’t difficult. Getting to the top is slightly harder, but not really if you blog consistently and USEFULLY and your posts get shared and read.

That’s not too hard to do, is it?

But this is the thing

Getting to the top of page one and even just getting on to page one

DIDN’T BRING ME CLIENTS.

It got me a ton of people landing on my site, and the main page they LEFT my site from was my pricing page.

(Find this out for yourself and your own site by using Google Analytics if you aren’t already).

What did this mean?

People leaving my site at my pricing page?

It meant that the MAJORITY of people who landed on my site simply didn’t want to pay what I was charging.

They had a smaller budget.

And I certainly did not have the time or inclination trying to persuade those clients who were not my dream target clients otherwise.

(I had people lining up for my services that WERE prepared to pay what I charge. And only ONE of them had found me via Google. ONE).

So I know – you want to know what this means for YOU- and it’s coming.

But first let’s just summarise that-

One of the world’s most incredible and highly-sought after photographers, whose work graces magazine covers left right and centre, who shoots everything from celebrities to the campaigns of high profile designers

Clearly doesn’t care about SEO.

And from my personal experience

being on top of page one of Google

Bought me lots of views but lots of people leaving my site at my pricing page

i.e – MY TARGET CLIENT AREN’T USING GOOGLE TO FIND ME

Quite clearly and obviously means the following

a)- it’s easy as pie to get to page one of google search for your area if you know what you’re doing (read the above)

but

b)- IT DOESN’T FREAKING MATTER!!!

UNLESS

*you want to compete with other photographers

*you want to aim for a low-end client (there is NOTHING wrong with this if this is the end you want to aim at, it just wasn’t for me because I’d rather shoot less and earn more and have a ton of time to do other things like be with my family, than shoot all the time at low end. I’ve done both low-end and high-end, and neither client base is problem free).

*you are happy to potentially be price shopped / compete on price

*you are more likely to be valued based on what you charge, rather than as an artist and creative. So your work is valued as a product, rather than a client buying you and valuing you as, I don’t know, say- a talented human being?

*you’re certain your clients aren’t going to find you any other way.

So if you tick any of those boxes- do spend the majority of your time that you allocate to growing your business dedicated to improving your SEO.

But if NONE of those resonate

There is a better way for you.

One not quite so mind-numbing or frustrating (Lord knows how long I spent banging my head against a brick wall in frustration that I WAS NOT ON PAGE ONE AND WHY ON EARTH NOT AND DEAR GODDDDDD COULD SOMEONE PLEEEEEEEASE HELP ME BEFORE I GO MAD BECAUSE IF I DON’T GET TO PAGE ONE MY BUSINESS WILL JUST DIE

Back to that photographer up there.

My heroine (one of many).

Has fifty two THOUSAND followers on Pinterest

One Hundred and Nineteen THOUSAND followers on Instagram

Fifteen thousand followers on facebook

and MORE than just social media

Do you know what this world-class photographer was doing back in 2012?

Writing articles for the Huffington Post.

Let me repeat that.

This TOP LEVEL LUXURY HIGH END NO DOUBT MILLIONAIRE PHOTOGRAPHER

WAS WRITING ARTICLES FOR THE FREAKING HUFF POST!!!!!

So here is what this photographer (Elizabeth Messina, in case you’re asking) knows that you don’t.

That there are far more powerful ways to share your work, your creativity, your inspiration, your entire heart and purpose- with the world

If you don’t want to be price-shopped

If you don’t want to compete

If you want to aim at a market that isn’t low budget / low-end

There are now far more powerful options available to you than SEO to reach your target clients, and get your work seen.

Elizabeth Messina has a huge social media following, has written I think 4 books at the last count, and has written for the Huffington Post. She has also done a ton of collaborations with high- end and big name industry professionals.

And this is where most of us think in reverse.

We think- we truly BELIEVE-  that we must be a big-name photographer before launching mentoring sessions, books, writing articles, or even writing our very own BLOG POSTS!! that we must have a trillion followers before we are truly worth listening to.

How screwy is that?

Because we somehow change what we are passionate about, good at, or love, ONCE WE HAVE ACQUIRED A TON OF FOLLOWERS???

Seriously.

Some of us will love fiddling about with SEO.

And that’s fine.

But it is NOT a magical wand for suddenly gaining new clients – (and if you think it is, you’re stuck in 1999. Which I won’t bore you talking about how since then there have been a ton of google updates named after various zoo animals that will basically prevent you from reaching that ever- elusive page one unless you spend time day in day out perfecting your SEO anyway, and even then you’ll struggle)

If you want a magical wand?

You need to take note of what somebody else in the industry has done before you. Because in business, if you want to do something well, it’s SO easy now! You simply take what has already worked gloriously well for someone else and THEN YOU FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT BETTER.

So you know why Elizabeth Messina sprang into stardom, other than the fact she creates beautiful work?

Don’t tell me you think it’s because she has a unique vision, because yes she does, NOW, but that vision will have been refined and developed over time, and it’s not actually that which has brought her fame and recognition at all, hence why she was still writing articles for the Huffington Post in 2012.

If photography success was all based on our unique style and vision well then we wouldn’t need to do very much at all would we? And we would all be mega-successful, because we ALL have our own unique vision and perspective (or are working on it).

5 things that can launch you and your success into the stratosphere?

1. Launch something. Books, courses, workshops, a blog, a newsletter, something that communicates to your target clients – I have knowledge in this area and am worth listening to – something that gets people talking about you. 

2. Build your audience via your newsletter. I can’t talk anymore about this for a while. I’m newslettered-out. If you’ve missed my emails or my youtube video or have questions about this, either join #shininglights where you can watch my massively long video on the subject which will teach you how to grow your list and what to do with your newsletter, or watch my youtube video here to start with. The reason this works is because you’re actually USING those people that land on your site and CAPTURING them, to be able to continue COMMUNICATING with them, and when they’re constantly reminded of your presence and fabulousness then who do you think they will be MOST LIKELY to book and recommend? Someone they have grown to know and trust or some random on Google?

3. Use somebody else’s audience. Why bother building your own via the super-slow process of SEO and very slowly moving up the page ranks to try to gain the odd visitor for your site, when there are WAY more effective uses for your time that can result in THOUSANDS of people seeing your site? There are a billion and one ways to do this from writing for somebody elses’s blog or site as a guest poster, speaking, even running a facebook ad. If your client ISN’T searching on Google then go and figure out where they ARE most likely to be, and GIVE something to them that brings them to your site!

4. Make friends. Colleagues in the industry are vital for support, encouragement, booking, and referrals. They are also likely to share your work and your latest blog posts / social updates.

5. Use social media. Though this is also arguably dying as all areas are flooded, and people are so bored of seeing promotional statuses and updates, done in the right way – to build relationships, to help encourage, inspire, and educate others- social media can be a valuable way to drive traffic to your site.

One more.

6. Create something that makes people give a damn. I tear my hair out at the same boring blog posts I’m reading lately. It’s why the tone of the FPA has completely changed since this started out. I got so bloody bored of even my own stuff!! Who cares about 5 of the top XYZ or my latest shoot?

BORING.

BORING

BORING

Stop being so bloody polite and inoffensive. Stop worrying about who you might offend or upset. Stop censoring yourself. Start sharing your message. Whatever that looks like. Just write every single day about whatever is on your mind and heart and your IDEAL clients will most likely be so aligned to your viewpoint and worldview they will most likely SHARE it anyway  and if they don’t well hey, all PR is good PR, right?

What matters is that you’re creating content that is USEFUL and ENGAGING and here is the kicker

When people LOVE what you write –

they will read and read and read

which means that lovely little magical signals are sent to Google which say ‘this person’s site is WORTHY OF ATTENTION and THIS PERSON IS CREDIBLE IN THEIR FIELD’

which means-

TA-DAAAAA!!!!

You rise up in the ranks of Google search.

And then

people share and share and share

and those social media wizards

also then send magical smoky signals to Google which says

THE EXACT SAME THING!!

‘THIS WEBSITE IS WORTHY OF ATTENTION’!!!!!!!

Which is why The FPA appears on page 2 of the search for ‘grow photography business’ and page three for ‘photography business marketing’ out of 58 million results and 97 million results, despite me putting ZERO effort into SEO!!

I barely EVER alt tag my images, I never input keywords consciously, I don’t really think about long tail or short tail keywords and I rarely ever use my built in site SEO checker!

So when are you going to GET IT???

You need to blog

You need to write

or speak

or do SOMETHING

SOMETHING NEW

Embrace the NEW ways of marketing

Of course, you don’t have to.

You can sit and moan about how everyone has a popup or optin nowadays (maybe because it WORKS?!?! like only a handful of people every had a BUSINESS CARD???

Or you can go back through this post, use the info in it, and start making a BLOODY DIFFERENCE IN YOUR BUSINESS!

Now!

Today!

What can you take action on TODAY, right now, when you leave this post?

Oh, and one other thing.

If you like this post-

Can you please Share it for me using the buttons below?

Because Google likes that 😉

THE GOOGLE CHANGE EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT

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You might have noticed that a little while ago, Google kind of hinted that sites that were very clearly mobile-friendly are more likely to be shown in search results.

But now, this news got serious. The Google-Gods have now given us a deadline – your website needs to be mobile friendly by April 21st, or your website just won’t appear in search results.

the google change every photographer should know about - the female photographer association


That sounds scary, but when you think about it, that makes sense.

50% of my traffic comes from a mobile device, and I am guessing that is the same for you too.  So it makes sense that your clients are able to access and easily read your site, because otherwise, your client is very likely to switch away and find another photographer whose site is much swifter and easier to read, and prettier to look at.

The good news is that there is an easy way to find out whether your site is mobile-friendly.

Use this link right here https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

It takes about 30 seconds, and will even show you what your site looks like when viewed on a typical mobile device.

Most modern sites should be mobile-friendly, but if yours isn’t then you either need to take the steps necessary to convert it into a more friendly site, beg/buy/borrow/steal the assistance of a web developer, or perhaps switch themes, profiles, or templates. Which is obviously a bit of a headache when it comes to moving your entire site, but what is worse- the hassle of upgrading or refreshing your site, or having a site that nobody sees?

The Google change also gives you the advantage over the ‘competition’ (if you still to choose your friends + colleagues in that light) because if they don’t know about this change and their sites aren’t responsive… watch as they drop down the listings and out of sight.

I wanted to let you know about this change today as I feel it isn’t something that everyone yet knows about – and it is important that you do, because for obvious reasons it can seriously effect your profitability.

If you have found it useful, please do share it using the buttons below – nobody in business should be left with a site that is invisible!

The 7 Marketing Strategies You NEED To Succeed.

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I get it, you know marketing, right? You’re so down with it. Your Insta has thousands of followers, your Facebook page is overloaded, your site + branding is BEAUT and you’ve refined your own visual style so uniquely, you have so many photographers following you that you’re practically tripping over them.

 

But still. Finding clients- well, yes, you have enquiries. But it’s not like they’re flooding in. And for some reason, people are still asking for discounts, and they’re still telling you that ‘we love your work, there is just someone else we are considering too…’.

 

And frankly, you don’t get it. Why, when you have all of these followers and such a beautiful site + work and you’re even kind of a big deal, are clients not continually booking you at your maximum prices? why are you STILL not hitting your financial targets, and why oh –

 

Why does this job still seem like HARD WORK to you at times? Surely it should be starting to get a little easier now?

 

Listen. There are probably a zillion reasons for why your business isn’t working for you right now. Perhaps your work needs looking at objectively.  Perhaps your style isn’t as unique as you think and you need to invest in doing much more personal work to ensure that develops.  (I endured YEARS of practical TORMENT at uni during my degree course, continual Crits and Portfolio Assessments where I would just go home and cry into my pillow. Yep, that happened on a regular basis. I almost quit, but didn’t. But the point is, that time at uni was spent PURELY doing personal projects. Personal work on subjects of my own choosing. THAT’s what gets your your personal style.

 

 

2015-03-05_0007 2015-03-05_0008 2015-03-05_0009 2015-03-05_0010 2015-03-05_0011 2015-03-05_0006

 

Yet nobody seems to do personal projects anymore. Note – a styled shoot is not a personal project. It’s a styled shoot that gets your gorgeous images for your site, but unless you go there armed with a variety of new cameras, lenses, film types (if you are a film shooter) and are really prepared to PLAY and EXPERIMENT, it doesn’t count as ‘personal work’. If you want more of your own style, stop looking at other photographers. Go find your personal style by immersing yourself in YOU and your LIFE and your WORK outside of BOOKINGS).

But to continue with the list of why your business isn’t as easy as you would like it to be.

Perhaps you haven’t addressed your money mindset.

Perhaps you have no real grasp of the law of attraction.

Perhaps you spend so much time worrying about or bitching about other photographers or the industry or clients or lack of bookings that your focus isn’t even on your own business. The list is endless.

 

But more often than not, time and time again, I see photographers come to me and tell me their business isn’t working out quite like it is meant to, and I take one look at their website and say – ah ok. This is why. 

 

Honey, you’re not down with marketing. Not the newest, most shiny forms of it.

And generally they say -what? but this is a brand new website! Or- but I love my logo!

Websites, logos, they all count towards an overall look, sure, but in marketing terms, they are so 1995.

 

THIS is the list of the seven MUST-HAVE marketing essentials that all photographers need right now,  if you want to succeed.

The 7 NEW marketing tips every

 

One thing they all have in common? They are all ONLINE!

 

And this is because – drumrolllllll- your clients are all online.

 

I know, that’s not a genius statement right there, but apparently in creating business cards and creating shoots and workshops and drafting flyers and brochures and any-other thing we can think of that distracts from the actual point that we SHOULD be thinking about – hey! wait! Where ARE our actual clients and how can we reach them– we completely forget that obvious fact.

 

Everyone’s clients are online. From Facebook to Instagram to Pinterest to Forums to other sites, EVERYONE IS ONLINE!!! Which means that no matter who your target client might be they are ONLINE! So… again stating the obvious… you need to make sure that your ONLINE marketing reaches these people – and this goes WAY beyond having a pretty website + brand!

 

You HAVE to use these modern marketing tools if you want your business to be all that you want it to be!

 

The 7 marketing NEW tools every photographer needs to succeed

 

1- A list

 

2- A sign up box

 

3- An free opt-in offer

 

4. Pop up or sign up bar

 

5. A newsletter

 

6. Good content

 

7. Paid product for related audience.

 

 

+ this is how they work.

 

1. Visitor finds you via a search or on social media, because your GOOD CONTENT (6) has got you high up the Search results, or seen when shared on social media.

 

2. When reading your GOOD CONTENT they find it quite interesting, so the sign up via either your Hello bar or your sign up box.

 

3. They do this because they spot you’re giving them something they really want + need + will find useful (your FREE OPT-IN).

 

4. When they do this they get automatically added to your LIST

 

5. Now, every time you send out an email letting people know some more amazingly useful info or inspiration, they are reminded you exist, because you place this very good stuff into a NEWSLETTER. (Remember a newsletter isn’t about you. It’s about what YOUR AUDIENCE wants).

 

6. Your reader + audience then also begins to get to know you a little more via your NEWSLETTER and start to look forward to your mails.  This is called building a relationship based on TRUST. And it starts with them getting to know you. (this is the part where Internet marketing starts to get way deeper than what is just seen on the screen.  You can find out more here

 

7. After the booking. All of those clients who booked you, loved you, completely forgot about you three years later? (and they will, trust me. Especially after babies arrive. Nobody remembers anything after a baby arrives). Well guess what. There you right in their inbox on a regular basis, reminding them that you exist and are truly fantabulous.

You might drop those people on your list an email about a photography offer you have decided to run, you let them know it’s a limited offer, and they think it sounds good. They might buy, they might not. They also might refer you to someone else, or share your offer, if it isn’t of interest to them (eg if you are solely a wedding photographer, etc). If they aren’t in your inbox, how on earth will they know you are running an offer / that their incredible photographer just got featured again on SMP / that you still write articles about drop-dead-dreamy lifestyle inspiration that is STILL relevant to them because it gives them beautiful escapism? (not to mention that generally us humans are actually a pretty nosy species). TELL THEM! MAKE THEM SIGN UP TO YOUR LIST!

 

8. Just like they might also return back to your blog when you tell them there is something for them on there (article of interest). While they are there, they will also see all of your gorgeous new work. They will be reminded to book that family shoot they have been meaning to do for years. Or book that anniversary session. Or share your incredible tip sheet on how to pose for portraits. Etc.

 

9.  Steps 6-8 repeated. And what these people become eventually over time are your true FANS. They recommend you, share your stuff, book your sessions and / or share them with others. They follow you on social media and like everything you do.

oh, and not forgetting step 10,

10. Your fabulous paid passive-income product, which not only builds your list, establishes your further as an expert, drives traffic to your site, and raises your profile- but also generates a lovely income for you, even while you sleep (byebye dry spells).

 

And this in a nutshell is internet marketing. It’s how you reach your clients, and market to them, without them even realising they’re being marketed to.

Because you’re building a relationship with them and the best thing is they even SIGNED UP to be marketed to – they TOLD you they want to receive your marketing because they signed up to receive it!

They put a big fat yes into your inbox!

 

So if you are keen to try to work with this straight away, these are the tools I use which you can use too.

 

I was using Mailchimp to create and maintain my mailing list, but am in the process of switching over to Aweber. It is slightly more expensive, but trust me it is worth it! And it still only works out at $19 a month. Which is probably the cheapest way to advertise I have ever come across.

 

Hello bar is a great thing to put on your site to encourage people to sign-up.

 

I learn to write good copy from READING! If you want to be a good copy writer, read the kind of articles you would like to write, every single day, until the forumla sticks into your brain. Or evaluate some articles you love, why do you love them? What words did the writer use to persuade you? Are they emotive, factual, descriptive? How do they describe their prices?  (Copyblogger.com  is a great place to begin and I also love writers like The English Maven and Ash Ambirge who are copywriting Queens).

 

Cynical of how these new marketing strategies might work for you?

don’t understand yet why your clients would want to hear from you in their inbox?

Or wondering why a wedding client would still want emails from you after she has tied the knot, or why a newborn client would still want to hear from you after their children had grown?

 

This is exactly what I’ve been talking to you about recently.

 

You either have a lack mentality, in which case you’ll read this post, think of all of the ways it would never work for you, why your clients wouldn’t want it; and all of the excuses you can as to why you don’t need it; XYZ big name photographer has never needed one, you’re busy enough anyway; and then you’ll come up with the excuses as to why you definitely can’t do this right now. (Too time consuming, you’re too busy. Cost very definitely isn’t an excuse here, because these are marketing tools that you can use that are almost all entirely free).

 

OR

 

You’ll kills those excuses stone dead, because you have an abundance mindset. You’re open and willing and ready to learn, to try new things. You realise that the very reason you’re here, reading the words on this page is because deep down you realise that you want to see change in your business.

 

So try something new. Be ready to embrace change. Understand that old marketing – the business card, the sales pitches, even that old-new-old favourite the facebook page – all pretty much dead in the water). Let’s face it, facebook reach is about ten per one hundred people on your page, and what’s to say those ten people aren’t your parents and grandparents and some random guy who gets paid to spam-like facebook pages?)

 

Your client is ONLINE though, so all you have to do is set up a super smart internet marketing strategy to be able to reach them and it’s SO cheap and easy, and it’s the exact 7 pieces I labelled above.

 

YES you need to go away and figure how how to use them, and how to use them to your maximum advantage (or join us over in shininglights because that’s exactly what we are learning this month).

 

But isn’t the potential result worth it?

 

The bride who got married? She still loves beautiful wedding day inspiration. She might have even loved planning her wedding so much that she is now planning a career in it. Plus, as you were her photographer she loves receiving your weekly updates.

 

Or perhaps she decided not to choose you as you weren’t available or too expensive or whatever reason, but she still loves your beautifully touching + inspiring + uplifting emails.

 

When her friends get engaged – who do you think will be absolute top of her mind to refer and recommend? Perhaps she couldn’t afford your full day wedding package but thanks to your newsletter she can book in for an anniversary shoot, or a newborn shoot.

 

Perhaps you are a gifted writer, and it’s just purely the power of your words that she is drawn to. Perhaps your words are soft, and soothing; perhaps your topics are rare and precious; perhaps what you write about is so much more than photography and weddings or photography and babies or photography and whatever your specialism is. Perhaps your words transport her back to a time and place of otherworldly beauty.

 

This is just ONE example of ONE type of client who might like to receive your emails! You could probably figure out how this could work for you and YOUR clients.

 

And it will.

 

Because it worked in my business. It works right now in every single industry online -wherever you see a popup box, or are given a ‘freebie’, or you see anything where you fill out your details to receive more info.

 

Why not borrow what these internet marketers know?

 

Do you have anything to LOSE by trying these things?  They will take you a week at most to learn and implement. And they are low-cost and easy to use.

 

Writing a good blog post isn’t difficult. Writing a good newsletter isn’t hard.

 

But the results are – you are pushed MUCH higher up the search engines, more clients stand a chance of finding you, you get to stand out in a sea of same-ness and identi-kit websites and styles, you get to really CONNECT with your clients and build long-lasting relationships with them, and earn bookings and referrals in the easiest way possible!

 

Isn’t that WORTH it?

 

 Take the risk. Try something new. Realise that all of your clients are online, and use online marketing techniques to reach them.

 

 Enjoyed this post? Learned something? Then Share it using the links below.

My First 15k Month In My Photography Business

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Throughout the past few months, I’ve been a busy bee setting up the Female Photographer Association- especially the Shining Lights Program.  There is a slightly insane amount of work involved with creating and maintaining a course that will take the business + profits of photographers to the next level – it gets intricately technical, in ways you can’t possibly image if you’re a bit of a technophobe- which naturally, I am.

 

But, amongst setting up subscriptions and learning to create videos and audio clips and amazon links and setting up lists and auto responders and all of that tech- trickery, I had this little voice in my head.

You see, on my course, in video one, I’m encouraging my Shining Lights members to share their stories. Where they come from, where they are headed. And most importantly, because before we can move forward sometimes we have to look back- I ask what is preventing them from reaching their business goals.

 

Their stories are amazing, incredible, touching, profound. We are being open minded + hearted + ridiculously supportive of one another.  It’s a great community to be a part of.

 

Yet I realised that amongst all of the sharing, I hadn’t actually shared my own story.

 

So I want to tell you this, because once you see + get where I come from and where I am now, you’ll understand that you too can use photography to transform your entire life.

 

First – I grew up financially poor. Pretty much dirt-poor. My mum was a single parent, my Dad left when I was 3 and we practically never saw him again, unless twice counts.  My mum worked herself to the bone to support us. I learned money was a source of stress, worry.  That it was ultra-important to get a ‘good job’ and stick to it and basically, become a slave to the 9-5 because that is what kept you safe.

 

What did your childhood teach you about money? 

 

I also learned almost nothing about how to handle money. So in my twenties I blew whatever money I had, because I was afraid of it.  I didn’t understand that money could be an amazing pleasure, even though I was always desperate to have more of it.

 

I had huge plans for wealth that included a jewellery shop, fashion photographer (obviously), a top flying lawyer, a film company director, a cinematographer, and a best selling author.

 

But those things, for some reason, didn’t fall straight into my lap.  And I couldn’t understand why. It’s not like I wasn’t passionate. It wasn’t like I wasn’t prepared to work hard. It’s not like I didn’t have subject knowledge or marketing knowledge. I had lots of both.

 

Perhaps if your photography business isn’t where it should be right now – it’s not reaching the financial goals that you have for it, or it’s causing you to work almost all of the time to be ‘successful’, or it’s not pulling in the dream clients that you would like- then perhaps you are at this stage. Perhaps you just don’t understand what you are doing wrong. After all, you know how to use your camera. You know how to market your business. You have some bookings. Perhaps you’ve even been published. But for some reason, your business isn’t providing you with that wonderful, overflowing sense of abundance that you would like. And I’m not just talking money here. I’m talking money AND lifestyle. Is this you? Read on to discover what I did to fix this.

 

In my 30th year I had my lightbulb moment. You know when all of a sudden you just get something. For the first time, I just got it. 

 

I all of a sudden had these huge realisations about money and success and how I could truly use my business to make all of my dreams become a reality.

 

And I used them. I used them and now we are living a laptop lifestyle in beautiful Cyprus. A warm land full of sea and sky + safety for our kids. We have a beautiful home, a pool, and spend much of our time at the moment rescuing stray dogs. Life is wonderful. Life is plentiful. 

 

I literally went from being somebody who had grown up with absolutely nothing, to having the family life + home + living in a place that before, I had only seen in my dreams.

 

And when I used all of my realisations about money + success + business to work for me, I hit my first 15k month in business. That’s in pounds, by the way. So if you’re reading from America and want to see that in dollars – that’s $22, 641.

 

From then on, the only way was up.

 

And this is how I did it.

 

I realised two things- and if you want to be truly successful in your photography business then this is the part when you need to pay attention. 

 

I realised that everything I had learned about money from my childhood + society was a complete lie. Not a deliberate lie,  but lies none the less. I realised that money was just a tool that I could use in whichever way I wanted it to be. I didn’t have to feel guilty around having money.  I didn’t have to work my ass off in a 9-5 job (or a 8am-9pm job, had I followed the lawyer route) in order to be successful. It wasn’t just about having my own business – it was about realising that the ingrained beliefs I had about money were truly sabotaging my own chances of success.

 

If you’re holding deep beliefs about money, you need to let go of those now.  We go into this in a lot more depth in the #FPAshininglights program but I have to keep it brief here or this blog post will run until this Christmas.  But if you want to learn anything from this post, learn this-  you have to let go of fear if you want to be successful. The lies I had learned around money and the fear that it had created within me – that I was basically, terrified of not having any more – was in itself repelling money away from me at the speed of light.

 

It was preventing me from raising my prices. It meant I accepted clients who asked for (large) discounts. It meant that when these clients asked for the moon + back, I couldn’t say no- because I was too afraid to lose their custom.  It meant that I worried about the competition, whether what I was offering was enough / different/ perfect.  It meant I worried about money and spent far too long creating pointless budget lists only to watch it all fly out of the window again when pay day came in.  It meant that I was afraid to invest my money in where I truly needed to invest it because I was scared of ‘wasting’ that money. It meant that I worked on dates that made me really, really miserable to be working + away from my family, particularly my two toddlers. Christmas Eve, for example.  It meant that even me – with a ton of marketing experience + knowledge – ran around like a headless chicken who is worried that the sky is falling, scattering my marketing here there and everywhere in desperation that the money was just not going to come in.

 

And guess what.  With that approach, no wonder it never really did.  No wonder I never had any money!  No wonder I had huge debts and hidden letters from collection agencies and was always the friend who couldn’t afford to buy other friends gifts for their birthdays or Christmas.  I was literally, repelling money with my fears + beliefs about it.

 

Does any of this sound familiar to you?

 

What did you learn about money from your childhood? How are your beliefs about money holding you back? 

 

Second.

I finally understood how to monetise my business. Using a combination of marketing and products + passion to attract my target client and sell to them directly. Using smart language to sell prints every time I had an event. Diversifying my income streams. It all clicked together.

The biggest change I went through was realising that if I wanted to make my photography business work, I needed to diversify my income stream. (This article might help with that).

On top of what I learned really did work, I learned what didn’t work and where I was wasting time.

So many of us run around trying to squeeze more hours into the day, wishing for more time. There is no magic way to suddenly learn to manage your workload that will suddenly give you a zillion hours in the day. It’s about making the most of the time that you do have, and not wasting it.

I was spending forever editing my work. As a perfectionist, I want my photos to look truly amazing for my clients. So I would spend up to an hour on a single image sometimes. And not just that.

As photographers we are always taught it is good to have a ‘signature style’. And it is.

But not when it comes at such a high cost that the cost is your business.

I spent forever considering + planning my own, key, ‘signature style’.  One that I would be recognised for and would create me my fortune.

ARGH biggest mistake. What a naive concept.

This is one of the things holding back so many photographers from earning what they deserve. They’re striving to be the next Leibowitz. They are striving to ‘make their name’/ But why? Are you chasing fame? Prestige? If so, then keep chasing.

But if it’s money and dream lifestyle choices you desire, you might want to forget about chasing the fame-dream and get set on focussing on your big-money dream instead. The editing process + the search for our signature style, that quest for perfection, consumes so much of our time that we barely have time for anything else.

When I understood all of the above- my negative money beliefs, my new money-making strategy, and what was holding me back in business, it was like seeing my world through fresh eyes.

Applied to my business, and it meant that I ended up with my first 15k month. I’m on target to double that this year.

Get rid of your negative money beliefs! Figure out how to create income streams that mean you aren’t just relying on your next client to pay your heating bill. And streamline your workflow by doing more of the stuff that makes money, and less of the stuff that wastes time!

NONE of this stuff is rocket science but it’s amazing how few of us female photographers seem to GET IT!!! We aren’t ‘lucky’ to be doing this job. We EARNED the ability to be able to do it.  Now we need to be bold and brave and go out there and feel the fear and just say – this time, things are going to be different! And mean it! And take action!

One of the things that I took action against was my boggy workflow. Working through my editing sapped the life out of me. So I  streamlined it; and the way I streamlined my editing process entirely was by learning to shoot film.

We all have our opinions on film vs digital. That’s not my argument, it’s yours. Neither is ‘better’, they’re just choices. Choices which are usually made from an artistic perspective- but not for me.

The main reasons I chose to shoot film? Plain and simple. It made me more money.  I could charge more for it AND it completely simplified my editing process +  took away the hours I spent editing at a desktop. How else do you think I wrote 2 books this year, had a fully booked season, raised 2 toddlers, completed an overseas move and set up the FPA?

It’s not the only way to do it. Digital shooter? Outsourcing your editing or even finding a brilliant one-click editing workflow could work for you (I recommend Mastin Labs).

But this is the way I chose to free up more of my actual work time and enabled myself to focus more on my higher-earning tasks.

Because I am a true film lover and believe it could make a lot of difference to your life, for one week only I’m giving away copies of my book Supercharge Your Profits; Learn To Shoot Film. It’s usually valued at £24 / $30 and has been featured on 35to220.com and Wedding Sparrow. You can read more about it here, but make sure you come back to this page right here to purchase to be able to gain it for free. But this is purely for this week only.

I’m giving it away purely because I think it might make one of those small differences to how you shoot + work. If you enjoy it and want to pay it forward, you could always drop me a mini-review over at charlie@femalecreativesassociation.com – or it would be great if you could share this post by using the buttons below.

But there isn’t an obligation. This book is now yours to do as you please with. If you print it out it might make a great coffee cup stand, but I would suggest reading it. If you’re an intermediate/advanced film shooter it might not be the book for you (try this instead) but otherwise it should start to open up to you the possibility of earning much more money from your business – film or not.

You can get your free book here. Click Add to cart and then View cart.

Add to CartView Cart

I wanted to share this post with you because I wanted to show you how literally anybody can go from making zero in their business + life, to completely transforming their photography business, if only they would take the time to follow the steps that I did and use them to enable incredible things to happen.

It’s nothing to do with social media or your latest instagram or your brand new lens (hate to break it to you). But it is everything to do with these things. Do this and your business will change.

Get right with your attitude towards money.

Create a diverse income stream.

Make the most of your available time – find out what is working + what isn’t.

Streamline or outsource your most time-consuming tasks.

That’s how you get yourself on the way to your first 15k month.

The time is NOW.

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The Easiest Way To Make More Money From Photography

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What if I told you that there is an easier way to make more money from photography?

That your bank account could still be steadily increasing while you take time off, while you play, while you relax… that you could be making money while you sleep?

We photographers work hard, right. Really hard. There is always something to be done, whether you’re out shooting or spending countless hours doing your editing, admin, packaging, website design, blogging… not to mention social media updates.

Who has time to update all of the social media sites, all of the time, with everything you are ‘supposed’ to be sharing? There just never seems to be enough minutes in the day!

That’s without even taking time for one minute to actually refuel our creative tanks – you know, reading things you love, visiting galleries + exhibitions, travelling, sketchbooking, or even just relaxing and -gasp- turning off our phones to spend time with our loved ones.

We love it though, this life of photographer. It’s a beautiful life.  It’s the one we want + the one we chose.

But sometimes… we get tired – don’t we?  Suddenly we don’t want to look at Pinterest boards or overly styled desktop snaps or update our blogs or wonder what the competition / our friends are doing.

We don’t want to be doing all-night editing marathons, or be glued to our phone screens. Suddenly working with tiny babies who won’t co-operate / demanding brides / model divas / ‘the industry’ feels like a lot of hard work.

Do you ever feel like this? Like you would rather just bury yourself back into your bed rather than get up and work? Even though you know that you’re lucky and you love your business and it’s all that really you ever want to do.

So… what if I told you that there is another way?

What if I told you that there is an easier way to make more money from photography? From your photography business?

That your bank account could still be steadily increasing while you take time off, while you play, while you relax… that you could be making money while your sleep?

It works like this.

There is only one of you.  Your photography business can only make a finite amount of money, because there are only a certain amount of shoots you can do – unless you clone yourself.

You can of course work every single minute that God sends, but what is the point in that? No matter how much we love photography + our work, it is still work! And even then, there are only a certain amount of minutes in a day.

So if you think about it this way… there is only a certain amount of money you can earn, right?

Unless you stop trading time for money. 

And you create something that you can sell every minute of the day.

A digital product.

Creating a digital product is perfect for you if you want an easy way to make more money from your photography business.  It’s for you if you would like to free up a little more time – for whatever purpose you wish.

There is minimal cost and often, low competition.  It can provide your business with a huge financial boost – and even completely change the direction of your business entirely, if you want it to.

You just need to believe that you can create something that people will want.  And if you’re passionate enough, people will most likely want it, because your passion will help to sell whatever you’ve created.

 

Thinking about using social media to grow your business? Facebook Ads Academy for Photographers gives you all of the fundamentals you need to leverage the most powerful social network in the world to make much, much more money than you’re making now. We’ll teach you the tricks & secrets to create a successful Facebook campaign on your very first try.

How I Made More Money From My Photography Business

Do you think that  all sounds great, but a bit impossible + unrealistic? Like a floaty day-dream somewhere in the distance?

So did I.  Earlier this year I wrote a book.  Well, it’s actually a guide. A downloadable guide.  It’s about film photography – I love film and shoot film for the majority of my paid and commercial assignments.

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If someone had said to me a year earlier that I was going to write a book about film photography, I would have laughed.  I am definitely not the world’s best film photographer, and I don’t know every single thing there is to know about film photography.

But I am passionate about it. I knew enough.  I researched the rest.  And I added in my own personal experience to my the subject that I love.

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Think about it! What areas and aspects of photography do you absolutely love?

Are you brilliant with newborns, at keeping them calm, at posing them?

Perhaps you are amazing at creating your own presets.

Perhaps you have a specialist niche like equine or pet photography, or ballet photography.

Perhaps you have worked out how to SEO your site to make it on to page one, every single day of the year despite any Google zoo updates.

Maybe you are brilliant at styling product shoots, or creating your own fashion sets, or making your own newborn props with your awesome knitting skills.

Whatever it is that got you into photography in the first place, whatever aspect of photography that keeps your heart burning and alive every time you do it – you can use it to transform your photography business. 

My book has sold – over and over and over again.  It paid for the deposit on our home. + lots more.  It got reviewed on some amazing websites. It completely revolutionised my business.

Supercharge Your Profits - Learn To Shoot Film

And all I had to do was sit and write it. A process which was completely enjoyable + engrossing + satisfying.

How long do you think it would take you to write a book?

It took me just under 3 weeks. 

I do love to write, but more than that, I was passionate about what I was writing about.

ANYONE can do this.  I’m not anybody special.  I don’t have an English degree.  I don’t have super-powers.  I just decided that one day, I was tired and there must be an easier way.

You can do it too. 

Not a writer? There are so many other digital products that you could create, that will help you to earn money while you sleep, free up your time, and transform your photography business.

It just needs to be something that you can create and then distribute online.

What about actions/ presets? websites? courses? what about a series of podcasts? What about a video course? Downloadable guides and courses? Even meditations + visualisations for photographers would sell to the right audience, the right group of photographers!

A lot of photographers think that the next logical step after mastering their craft that the next logical step is to run a workshop.  But although workshops are fun and beautiful and help to raise your profile – again, you are still trading time for money.  There are only so many workshops you can run, only so many hours you can squeeze into one workshop, only so many tickets you can sell.

This model of making more money is SO much easier.

A little bit more about how easy it is to create a digital guide –

I didn’t even need to find a publisher.  You won’t need any special equipment – I wrote mine on google docs because I don’t have Word on my laptop.  I used a free trial version of Acrobat to edit it when it was finished.  I pay $5 a month to host my book online, used a wordpress template that I already had to set up a website for it.

How does this sound to you so far? Does it get you feeling excited about the potential and possibilities? It should do – because if you do it right it can be such a great way to make more money from your business.

Why My Book Is A Success

These are the reasons my book has sold – and continues to sell – so successfully.  You can use these tips to help create your own digital products.

– I was truly passionate about my subject

– I wrote conversationally- the way that I talk- meaning the book is easy to read and digest

– I explained almost everything on the sales page – why I wrote the book, and more importantly what you can expect to gain from reading it (check it out here to view it as an example)

– I could demonstrate that I knew what I was talking about through my past experience.  So if you can provide evidence to your readers or buyers that you truly know what you are talking about, they will be more likely to trust you – and buy from you.

My (film) photography has been published in leading online + print publications – (Style Me Pretty + Magnolia Rouge amongst many others) so my readers trust that I know what I am talking about.

My other credentials include that I am a writer for the film photography blog 35to220.com, I was selected as a Beta tester for the wonderful UK Film Lab when it opened its doors,  and the four years I spent studying fine art photography at University.

But you don’t have to have all of this – don’t be put off if you feel your credentials don’t look similar.  Testimonials are equally as powerful – I gave away a few copies when the book was first launched in the hope that I would gain some positive feedback if they enjoyed the read, which I could then use on the page.

– I give away a free sample.  On my sales page I have a link where anyone can download a free sample of the book – and it’s quite a big section, not one piddly page or anything like that.  If people like what they read, they buy the book.  Sometimes buying online can be a bit scary for customers if they don’t know what they are going to get, so I take this fear away by showing them via the free sample.

Want to know more? Don’t miss these recent posts:

If this post has been useful, please leave us a comment! We would love to know if you’re planning a digital book, course, guide or other product!