Episode 235 – Photographers Everywhere? Here’s Why That Can Actually Help You

I saw a stat that said there are 114,773 photographers in the United States. How are you supposed to stand out when it seems like everyone is a photographer? If you're struggling in business, you might be thinking it's because there's so much competition, but is that really the reason you're struggling? I have a different spin on competition than most people, and it came from back when I worked at an advertising agency. Are you familiar with the Diamond District in New York City? It's an area where thousands of diamond sellers are smashed together, storefront after storefront, and they're all selling the same thing. Why would they ever want to go in business right next door to all of their competition? It doesn't make sense, does it? But when you dig in deeper,  you find out all of the businesses do better because there are more options. When everyone's offering diamonds, it attracts more clients to the area, and shoppers have more choices. Whether they're looking for discount diamonds in smaller, simpler shops or high-end custom pieces in luxurious stores. The buzz around diamonds makes it hard for people to walk away without buying. And the variety of experiences and energy actually benefits all of the businesses in the area. So what does that mean for you as a photographer in a saturated market? My experience has been that more people offering photography can actually be a good thing, because most photographers are hiding from potential customers. Their marketing strategy is to book people by simply being cheaper than others. It is so clear why you are different from them. We cannot be afraid of the competition because it makes us better and more clear on why people should come to us. If you're copying what everyone else is doing, posting desperate pleas for business on social media and thinking your business will grow with that strategy, that's exactly why you are struggling. It's not because of the competition, it's because you are not doing anything differently from the competition. I'm inviting you to stop hiding. It's not as hard as you're making it and you're not serving anyone. The smaller the niche, the fewer number of people who want to buy that item. For example, you can sell gorgeous custom fedoras with hand stitching, but the people who want that, the market for that, it's very small. We offer something that every single person needs. They may not know they need it, but we know they need it. With special moments, a lot of times people are living in the moment and don't realize until later that they missed getting professional images. It isn't that they're hiring something else, it's just that they're not documenting the important moments in life with a professional photographer. Have you ever run into someone whose pet just passed unexpectedly and they realize they don’t have a lot of photos? Or someone who just sent the college kids back to college after being home all weekend and they missed getting a nice photo of everyone. People have needs that they aren't even hiring a photographer for. New baby, new car, new house, adopted kids, got divorced, got married, have a blended family, lost weight, moved careers, moved cities, any of those things. Your job as a photographer in a saturated market is to be different enough from others that it makes it easy to explain to people. What is great is that it is really easy to differentiate ourselves from the others. We have to be clear on who our target audience is, what our products are, who needs them and why. We have to have a system that really serves our clients and makes it easy for them to invest in us. Then we need to go out in the market and find people who are having important life situations happen and educate them on how we can help them celebrate this important life event. I hope I've helped you see that if your business is struggling, it is not because there is too much competition. Download the Episode Transcript Here