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and Read Awhile
A creative business blog for PORTRAIT photographers
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Photography Business Strategy Blog
Joy Member Making a Splash with Metal Mural
We’re loving what Joy member Pamela Casaudoumecq has done with Metal Mural, featured in our July 2009 Cafe Joy mailing, and wanted to share with all of our members. Pamela passed this along: “People who have seen it love it and I am so excited to be able to offer this product to clients. Thanks so much for sharing. I’ve already taken my second order!” We’d love to hear from all of you who have had similar experiences.
Social Media Pressure by Obama Supporters
Something interesting happened to me this week. I tweeted a joke on my Twitter account about a fly that was buzzing around me while I was trying to work and I wished Obama was here (referring to Obama’s interview with CNBCs John Harwood where Obama swiftfully kills the fly buzzing around him).
Back to Business!
WOW. What a month! Running a business AND a Telesummit is a little more
than a full plate. Now that the Telesummit is over (I hope you all took
advantage), I now need to get back into my studio. Like everyone else,
I have to work EVERY DAY to keep the phone ringing. Luckily, our fall
direct marketing piece hits next week. I have created a custom,
offset-printed promotional piece every fall for years. There is no
price offer, simply, I want this piece to remind my best clients to
Small Business Strategies- Grow Your Small Business
So many times when the going gets tough and the economy slows, our reaction is to tighten our belts, button down the hatch and cut back on any dreams of growing. We focus on keeping the lights on and fight to keep business as usual. As both of my businesses continue to grow despite a slow economy, I find that this is the time when you can really get ahead if you’re willing to take a few calculated risks. This past week’s Telesummit is a perfect example.
Telesummit is over!
“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting
our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” Michaelangelo
Metal Mural Competition ends Wednesday
Cafe Joy members – don’t miss out on an opportunity to show your stuff and win a cool prize. Our Metal Mural competition ends on Wednesday, September 30, 2009. If you’ve sold a Metal Mural to your clients, send a sample to erin@thejoyofmarketing.com.
Buy Time with Your Money
Buy time with your money is a concept that isn’t foreign to John Hartman. John will be sharing his philosophy in the Master Photographers’ Free Marketing Telesummit next Tuesday and both Sarah and I have used this concept many times. It takes us hours to develop and produce our monthly Cafe Joy mailings for subscribers. After deciding to divide and conquer the editing an hour+ of audio, we realized it was taking us entirely too long of our limited time together.
Looking for a Web Designer?
We get so many requests wondering who built our web site for my studio and to be honest, I’m not happy with the company that did my site. It doesn’t do everything I’d like for it to. I stumbled across this resource and while I haven’t used them nor am I endorsing them, it’s worth checking out if you’re on the hunt for a web site. www.portfoliositez.com.
Go Ahead and Enter Photography Business Competitions!
Sure it feels great to be recognized by an objective party for doing what we do best. But if you’re like me, it also feels kind of like I’m patting myself on the back to publicize these wins.
The thing is, we have to get past that feeling because there is SO much mileage you can get by marketing the awards you win. Here’s just a few ideas.
Is Your Small Business Worth Every Penny?
After two years of planning, writing and frankly hemming and hawing about whether we wanted to do this or not, our soon-to-be-released book, Worth Every Penny: Build a Business That Thrills Your Customers and Still Charge What You’re Worth, has finally arrived. And while that’s obviously exciting for us, what’s more important is how this book can help you. And even if you don’t read the book, what can you take away from the model Sarah used to build one of the most profitable boutique photography studios in the country?
Regardless of what industry you compete in, this model can work for any small business. In fact, in the book we share 31 different businesses from a variety of industries – from home construction to online retail, printing services, real estate, restaurants, higher education, a comic book company, salons and spas and more who are putting this model into practice and reaping the rewards.
It all starts with five key ingredients you must get right in your business that enable you to create more value for your offerings so that price is no longer a sticking point with your clients.
Small Business Blog: How to Attract the Right Customers
You own a small business and you’re probably pretty good at what you do if you’re still in business and making a living in this economy.
Small Business Blog: Will You Meet Your Goals This Year?
Wow, how is it almost February? With the rush of getting everything ready for IUSA and Photo Pro Expo this week on top of wrapping up our I Do wedding event for photographers, January has been a blur for Sarah and I and our team. That can be a scary feeling if you’ve set big goals for 2012. Realizing that now you have 11 months left to achieve them. The clock is ticking for all of us. So how should we make the most of our 2012? How can we make sure we’re keeping our calendar booked with the right clients who want to do business with us and not wake up in a panic worried that we don’t have enough in the bank to cover our costs?
The Photography Business Institute exists as an alternative to college or trade school to coach professional portrait photographers as they build sustainable businesses. Request more information to learn how the Photography Business Institute can transform your life and your business (all without missing a single family dinner)!