This is Business

Three practices for progress without procrastination, perfectionism or paralysis

What if you could make steady gains in your businesses without stress?

Without procrastination.

Without perfectionism.

Without paralysis.

Can you imagine how it would feel to move boldly toward your dreams with confidence, comfort, and clarity of purpose?

Take a deep breath - doesn't the thought alone give you ease?

If you master the following three practices, all of which are within your control, this is exactly how you can feel while you're climbing the mountain of success.

Your allies in this war against stress and The Resistance are:

• Kaizen
• Imperfect Action; and
• Iteration

Master this triad of painless progress and you'll be able to launch, grow, and succeed with grace.

Kaizen

Kaizen is the philosophy of small daily actions that lead to big change over time.

We artists get paralyzed in our progress attempting wild leaps toward our goals instead of reasonable baby steps.

There are no shortcuts, no "Secret Trick Known Only To Millionaire Photographers!(tm)", no pills that will Double The Girth of Your Artistic Talent for the next four hours.

Your art improves as you earn skills. Your business improves as you earn clients.

Every step up the mountain of success is earned. Some are blessed with natural talents, some with lifestyles that allow more time or money to invest in learning - but we're all in control of our choices. Success is a choice. Success is a long string of hard choices. No amount of talent or money can overcome lazy.

If I told you I could make you a successful photographer for $10,000, but you had to pay today, you'd probably shrug and say, "Sounds great, but I don't have $10,000 to give you."

What if I told you I could make you a successful photographer for $10,000 paid out one dollar a day?

That's possible. That's manageable. That's something you could do without breaking a sweat, or breaking the bank.

This is the power of kaizen.

This is the power of baby steps. When you break your goals into small, manageable baby steps, no single step feels like such a big leap of faith. The risk is low. There's less gravity. The investment of time and effort into any single step is big enough to move the needle but small enough to feel unimposing.

Every project on your plate, whether it's getting legal or developing your web site or launching your business, is made up of dozens of baby steps - five minutes here, 15 minutes there.

You can spread baby steps out, stealing a moment here or there. You can string them together by scheduling a time block on your calendar, getting into a flow state and pounding out a long list of steps.

How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

Break your goals and projects into small steps, then break them again into the smallest baby steps. It may feel borderline absurd, but keep breaking down to the smallest, simplest, most clearly defined steps as you can.

It will take imagination, and patience.

But this shift in thinking will turn your confusing, frustrating, intimidating goals into a clear road map guiding you from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow.

Imperfect Action

To pulverize perfectionism, you have to accept reality.

General Patton said it best:

"A good plan, violently executed today, is far and away better than the perfect plan tomorrow."

True on the battlefield of art and business, as well.

Reality is, we artists are especially vulnerable to perfectionism. We are our own worst critics, incessantly comparing ourselves against the world and finding ourselves inadequate. No matter how good we get, there's always someone better - in fact, because we're constantly striving to evolve, we're always surrounded by art better than our own.

The practice of Imperfect Action gives you permission to let go.

Let go of the responsibility to do everything perfectly.

Let go of the fear of putting your art in the world.

Let go of being The Best - at art, business, anything.

The insidious danger of perfectionism is that it builds within us the habit of never shipping, of never putting our work into the world so it can bless others and produce feedback. Every time you hide your work instead of share it, every time you choose inaction over imperfect action, you make it harder to overcome that self-limiting inertia.

Indulging perfectionism makes it easier to be your weakest, least empowered self.

(If you're like me, you've got a lot of inertia to overcome.)

Every time I sit down to write here on PTP, I have two choices:

I can indulge my perfectionism. I can write with fear, water down my words, play it safe, avoid risk and vulnerability, then hold onto my words for some mythical day when I'll be able to edit them thrice and the result will be polished, powerful, and absolutely perfect.

That day ain't never gonna come.

My only other option is to punch fear in the face, and pound the keys hard and fast. I have to take Imperfect Action. Knowing that nothing I ever write will be "good enough." Knowing my words will never "be ready." I have to persevere with tenacity in the face of The Resistance.

What we don't create never blesses anyone.

What we don't share never creates value.

It never helps.

It never serves.

It never delights.

It is never cherished.

It's never shared joyously.

Accept reality. Practice the power of taking Imperfect Action, one baby step at a time. Create imperfect art. Say imperfect things to potential clients. Craft an imperfect client experience. Put imperfect marketing out into the world. Price your work imperfectly. Choose an imperfect name for your business.

Be imperfect.

Don't be apathetic. Don't be aloof. Don't be flip. Don't be disinterested. Don't be uncompassionate.

But do be imperfect. Get your art and business into the world so you and your people can be blessed by it - so you can begin building your business, your client base, your experience, your artistic style, your business acumen. So you can create value.

One imperfect action at a time.

Iteration

If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late. - Reid Hoffman

Iteration is the third practice to help battle procrastination, perfectionism, and paralysis in your business life.

As artists, and as first-time entrepreneurs, what we think our business should look like at launch - Version 1.0 - is a serial entrepreneur's Version 9.0.

By the time we feel we're ready to launch (if that feeling ever comes), the successful serial entrepreneur would have launched nine times earlier, with a product or service nine times simpler, and had nine times as long to get feedback, and made nine times as many invaluable iterations from that feedback.

This is the power of iteration.

Version 1.0 of your business, the art and marketing and message and client experience you launch with, should be your truly Minimum Viable Product. It should be the simplest commercially-viable version of your business imaginable.

The simpler and sooner you launch, the sooner you can begin accruing one of the most valuable assets in business: feedback.

Tim Ferriss says there is no failure, only experiments and feedback.

From this perspective, all action is growth, every choice is progress, every baby step gets you one measure closer to success.

This is the power of the Minimum Viable Product, and its kissing cousin, Iteration.

Practicing Iteration gives you permission to launch today, to be imperfect in every arena of your art and business.

Most powerfully, it gives you permission to do your best, and know that your best today is good enough for today. Tomorrow you'll be a shade better. So it goes, until by way of kaizen, imperfect action, and iteration, you look back and can't believe the progress you've made as an artist and business owner.

Practicing The Triad of Painless Progress

What if you knew that no matter what imperfect action you take or best-guess decision you make, you're winning?

Progressing. Growing. Getting closer to your dream.

What if you knew it?

What if you believed it?

What if, even though it's a leap of faith, from this day forward you choose to believe it? And when you just can't believe it, you act like you believe it. As the good gentlemen from The Art of Charm teach, the body follows the mind, and the mind follows the body.

Just as you can inadvertently train yourself into an artist of inaction, you can purposefully train yourself into a person of powerful action.

Today, you may not believe it - you may not see it in yourself.

That's why it's just practice. You're Just Practicing.

Any time and every time you catch yourself procrastinating, indulging perfectionism, or atrophied by paralysis, just take a breath, give yourself grace, smile and say, "I'm Just Practicing."

Then bring yourself back to center, and back to the practices that enable and honor your best self.

Next Steps

• Three Sticky Notes, Please: On one, write Kaizen - the next, Imperfect Action - the last, Iteration. Stick these on your monitor, on your mirror, or wherever you most need to be reminded of the choices that are within your control.
• Brainstorm Session: Get out your pen and paper. What does your perfect day look like? Not what could happen to you, but what choices you would make, what actions you would take, what mindset you would maintain, how you would honor your best self. Describe in delightful detail what your perfect day would look like. Then at the end, write three lines: "This is within my reach." "This is within my control." "This is what I'm practicing for." File this away in your Brainstorms folder.
• Subscribe Today: It's my calling to help you earn your first $5,000 to $50,000 as a part time professional photographer. I am truly grateful for your readership, and encourage you to subscribe to my e-mail newsletter at the top of any page of this site.
• Do This Now: What's the biggest struggle holding you back right now? E-mail me your answer (yes, right now!), and let's make a breakthrough today.
• Start The Conversation: If anything in this post has spoken to and inspired you, please comment below or drop me an e-mail. I'd love to hear how you're hustling to better your art, life, and business!

---

by Outlaw Photographer James Michael Taylor

Niche pickin'

"Identify your niche and dominate it. And when I say dominate, I just mean work harder than anyone else could possibly work at it." - Nate Parker

The single most vital piece of advice I give to struggling PTPs is to tighten your niche.

But if you haven't even launched yet, how are you supposed to know what target market you want to serve?

Make it up.

Like so much in the startup phase of your business, you're just going to have to make the best educated guess you can. You pays your money, you takes your chances.

To make your life and business easier, err on the side of fun.

What do you love?

Who do you identify with?

What market best aligns with your energy, personality, and experience in life?

Every niche - children, babies, couples, families, seniors, events, weddings and so on - can be broken into ever more refined subsets.

For example, I'm a high school senior photographer. But my ideal clients are performance seniors - theater, choir, cheer, dance. I was in choir back in high school, which puts me in a unique position to serve this clientele. Some of my first clients were my classmates.

My wife is a newborn photographer. Her ideal clients are home-birthing, breastfeeding, all-natural "crunchy" moms - people just like her; folks she can relate to based on her life experience as a mother to our three kids. For her ideal clients, she's "the" photographer for them.

The more we embrace a tight niche, the easier it is for our ideal clients to know we are "the" photographer for them.

This is powerful voodoo.

Everything from artistic growth to marketing becomes easier and expedited with a well-defined path.

Choosing a tight niche pre-launch is not about making the perfect permanent decision. It's about putting a stake in the ground, choosing the best path you can, then allowing yourself the grace and flexibility to take imperfect action. What's important is that you move forward boldly - otherwise you'll get stuck at the starting line. You'll be fantasizing about the perfect photos, location, web site, lens, or marketing piece while your competition is scooping up your ideal clients.

Procrastination is a disservice to you, your talent, your passion, and your clients. Your people are out there thirsty for the blessing of your art and personality, being under-served by other photographers who aren't the perfect fit for them.

The more you play and have fun, the more you shoot, the more you practice, the more you Do The Work instead of sitting in front of your computer waiting on "the right time," the more clearly you'll see the unique, right path for you.

You'll never see past that hill until you've taken all the steps that get you to the top.

Every crest gives a new perspective, new knowledge, new experience, a fresh look at the best path to carve up the mountain of success.

Keep moving forward.

Follow your heart, and follow your fun.

Never forget: you're a part time professional photographer because you want to be; because you choose to be. Even the hard stuff - overcoming limiting beliefs and stepping out of your comfort zone and moving forward even when you feel completely unready - should be fun. Not easy, not simple, not without fear or Resistance... But fun. Purposeful. Fulfilling.

Be persistent.

Be tenacious.

You'll score your first paying client.

You'll win your first photography contest.

You'll earn your way to your first four figures - then five figures - of income as a part time professional photographer.

You'll refine your art, marketing, and business until you're booked solid shooting clients you love for the pay you're worth.

That's the sweet spot for the PTP. That's the promised land.

It exists. It is real - there is no debate. And it's waiting for you.

If everybody is doing it one way, there's a good chance you can find your niche by going exactly in the opposite direction. - Sam Walton

Next Steps

• List: Make a list of every niche of photography you could imagine doing: babies, families, commercial, headshots, events, weddings, quinceaneras, children, seniors, couples, engagement, fashion, corporate, whatever you can dream up.
• Cull: Put a big, bold strike through every niche that you're sure you would not enjoy.
• Prioritize: From what remains, strike out everything except your top three niches. Really dig deep here, introspect, and ask yourself, "What three niches would I have the most fun shooting?"
• Experiment: For the next three months, you're going to shoot four different clients in each of these three niches. Free or paid, doesn't matter. The goal is to cut loose, be yourself, have fun, and see which niche you enjoy shooting the most. We need to do four shoots each niche to rule out dud clients or bad days on your part.
• Book: Get on the phone or social and start reaching out to your circle to get booked solid for the next three months shooting within these three niches, four shoots each. Try your best to make these shoots with people two degrees of separation from you - at most, acquaintances. If you just shoot within your circle of friends and family, you won't get a real feel for working with typically unknown clients coming in cold to a shoot.
• After Action Report: After every shoot, do an AAR. Journal your emotions and energy, how much you enjoyed (or didn't) the shoot, and explore why. These notes will prove vital to getting clear on where you want to take your business, and what niche you're most excited to serve.
• Get Clarity: Three months may feel like a long test period, but what are you doing otherwise? If you're already steamrolling along, keep up the good work - but if you're reading this, you're probably struggling to get where you want to be. Try this, see what clarity it brings you, benefit from the practice and contacts and testimonials and referrals, and see which direction you want to grow your business... For now. As always, it's your business: you can change anything and everything anytime you want.
• Brainstorm Session: get out your pen and paper. Guess: what's going to be your absolute favorite niche? Let's pretend this is fact, that you know it to be true in your heart of hearts. What will your business look like now that you're going to focus your efforts exclusively on reaching your ideal clients in this niche? What will your marketing copy say? What will you feature on your web site? How will you practice and grow your artistic skills to serve this niche? Who will you co-op market with? Where are your clients - where do they shop, hang out, visit the doctor, work, play? What are your ideal clients' interests and hobbies? What non-profits does your ideal client support? Play with these ideas, flesh out a clear picture of what your business and marketing will look like now that you have a tight niche in mind. And enjoy how much more easily all these questions are to answer, knowing who it is you want to serve, and why.
• Subscribe Today: It's my calling to help you earn your first $5,000 to $50,000 as a part time professional photographer. I am truly grateful for your readership, and encourage you to subscribe to my e-mail newsletter at the top of any page of this site.
• Do This Now: What's the biggest struggle holding you back right now? E-mail me your answer (yes, right now!), and let's make a breakthrough today.
• Start The Conversation: If anything in this post has spoken to and inspired you, please comment below or drop me an e-mail. I'd love to hear how you're hustling to better your art, life, and business!

---

by Outlaw Photographer James Michael Taylor

The After Action Report (how to get better faster)

The power of journaling is earning its rightful place up there with vegetables and meditation in the pantheon of things that are scientifically and undeniably good for you.

Addicts and alcoholics in AA often put journaling one notch below God Himself on the list of influences that have changed their lives.

The reflection and clarity that comes with journaling is every bit as valuable in art and business as in bettering your personal life.

As a professional photographer, the two primary ways you create value are through the art and the experience you craft for your clients.

They say to become a better writer, write more.

So in photography: to become a better photographer, photograph more.

But just as I promote for reading, absorbing, and taking action on books, you can multiply your earned wisdom from every photo shoot by sitting down and breaking down the shoot in an After Action Report.

The term After Action Report comes from gaming culture, mostly wargamers, who will play out a battle or scenario and then write an After Action Report detailing what went right and wrong, and what they'd do differently next time.

As soon as you possibly can after a photo shoot, even as soon as you shake hands and send your client on their way, sit down with a pen and paper (or your preferred digital equivalent) and write out all your thoughts and emotions about the shoot. Do it while the experience is fresh in your mind and heart.

Write out what went great, what went as expected, what went bad, what went unexpectedly, what made the shoot unique or interesting or different. Really evaluate and identify everything of even minor significance, blow by blow. Be fair and honest: don't just beat yourself up over the things you feel you did wrong or poorly. Recognize your best and worst choices during the shoot - work through both your emotional thoughts and your logical thoughts about the shoot.

Brainstorm from these thoughts: What are your biggest strengths right now as a professional photographer? What are your biggest weaknesses? What can you do to take your strengths even further? What can you practice to shore up your weaknesses, and more importantly, what can you practice to multiply on your strengths? Be specific. If it's not an action you can schedule on your calendar to do, it's not specific enough. Focus on baby steps.

Another list: What do you most wish you'd have done differently? What steps do you need to take to choose better next time? Remember, these can be issues of art, of lighting and posing and background and scene, of personality, of conversation, of social interaction, of body language, of encouragement, of comfort, of eliminating stress or worry, of humor, of fun, of preparation.

Another list: What's one thing you can do differently on your next shoot to make it more fun for you? What's one thing you can do differently next time to make the shoot more fun for your client? What's The One Thing?

Another list: Flip through the images on your camera. What did you do right? What did you do wrong? These are more technical issues: did you miss a big, blue trashcan in the background of your best shots? Was the posing flattering? Are the expressions fun or evocative, authentic? Did you blow the focus over and over again (that's my most common whoopsie)? Did you really draw out some great expressions, big smiles, laughter? How'd you do that?

Another list: Based on everything you've learned, the wisdom you've gained from doing this photo shoot and really mined for some best (better) practices, make a single-page list of Do's and Don'ts for your next photo shoot. This will be the basis for a permanent, ever-evolving list that you'll update with every single photo shoot. This is your growth list - the things you're going to do better or differently every time you pick up your camera. Take this list with you to your next shoot; read it every day, then read it before and multiple times during your shoot. Stay engaged with your own growth.

Slow down and take the time to make your growth assured instead of incidental. When you do your AAR for this shoot, go over your Do's and Don'ts list and see how you did. Keep adding new Do's and Don'ts, moving those items you've mastered lower on the list until they drop clean off the page. If your list of active, working items is too long to fit a single page, use a smaller font!

This AAR and the resulting Do's and Don'ts list are two tools that you will use to turn your practice into consistent performance that you're proud of. These tools ensure you are always growing at maximum efficiency, turning experience into wisdom far faster.

These exercises will help you create and command more value with your photography.

Next Steps

• Write an AAR right now for your last photo shoot. It won't be as good as fresh, but it's better than what you've got! Take a quick glimpse through the photos to remind yourself of the shoot, but try to focus more so or as much on the experience as on the resultant art. Give the shoot its due on paper, and produce your Do's and Don'ts list for next time.
• When's your next photo shoot that you can put this list to work? If it's not within seven days, get on the horn and get booked. If it's at all possible, stay booked solid so that instead of doing 12 AARs a year you're doing 52 or more. Imagine your rate of growth if you multiply both your number of shoots and the wisdom you earn from each.
• Brainstorm session: Brainstorm 100 things you can do better on your next shoot than you did on your last. Of these, what are the 10 that are going to make the biggest difference in the value you create for your clients? Of these, what's The One Thing you are going to study, learn, practice and completely ace on your next photo shoot? (Again, imagine where you'll be by adding 52 amazing improvements to your photo shoots this year!)
• My writing at PartTimePhoto.com exists to serve your needs as an amateur photographer making the transition to paid professional. I appreciate and welcome your readership, and invite you to subscribe to my e-mail newsletter at the top of any page of this site.
• What's the biggest struggle holding you back right now? E-mail me your answer (yes, right now!), and let's make a breakthrough today.
• If anything in this post has spoken to and inspired you, please comment below, drop me an e-mail, or call or text me at 830-688-1564 and let me know. I'd love to hear how you use these ideas to better your part time photography business!

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by Outlaw Photographer James Michael Taylor

Marketing your photography business by the holidays (71 ideas) for April

It's springtime, which should have your photographer heart going pitter-patter. I looked outside this evening when I got home from putting the newspaper out, and saw the first green buds appearing on the trees in my yard.

Spring has sprung!

Now is the time to look ahead to April, and what marketing opportunities you're going to build a campaign around.

From helping to engage the public on a variety of causes, to fun wardrobe and mini-shoot opportunities, to countless good excuses to make new contacts and connections, holidays are a powerful tool for growing the scope, depth, and community awareness of your photography.

Here's an outrageously big list of ideas to play with:

The Month of April Is...

National Oral Health Month: Co-op with your local dentists on a Smile campaign. Photograph their top clients with big, beautiful or cheesy smiles (especially kids), and hang these prints in their waiting rooms and exam rooms. Heck - photograph the dentists and their staff! Encourage them to use the photos on their web site and social media (with your byline, of course). Do a co-op marketing campaign in the local newspaper with all your partner dentists, sharing the ad bill. Give each dentist a gift certificate or three to gift to their top clients - full shoot and CD of hi-res, processed photos. Have each dentist gift a certificate for No Session Fee to every client for the month.

March for Babies: Fundraiser for March of Dimes, which benefits babies born too soon. Great focus for newborn and baby photographers. Do photo stories of kids in your community who were born premature and have grown up strong and healthy - combine with family photos taken when the baby was born. Do photo stories of your area hospitals' neonatal intensive care units, and the wonderful nurses and doctors who serve there. Share these photo stories online and with your local newspaper. At the end of the campaign, host a big play day in the park to celebrate the lives of these little miracles and those who helped them to grow up healthy and strong. Educate your community in how they can donate to March of Dimes or other local non-profits which serve the needs of newborns and their parents. Do a fundraiser mini-shoot and make your own donation.

National Occupational Therapy Month: Occupational therapists enable those with physical and mental challenges to live full lives. Tell the stories of these professionals and those they serve with great photo stories. Coordinate and share these photos with their places of employment to hang on the walls and use in their own marketing and PR. Connect with pediatric clients and offer their families a free family photo shoot. Tell stories.

National Child Abuse Prevention Month: Make a series of photographs which creatively, subtly, but powerfully communicate the realities of child abuse - share these as a powerful message to encourage the community to get involved.

Stress Awareness Month: Co-op opportunity with your local massage therapists and spas. Create a series of Before and After photos: stressed (frazzled, crazy hair, bags under eyes, grumpycat faces) and relaxed. Campaign theme: Unstressed. Get cheeky: "We want to see you get unstressed." "You look so good unstressed."

Alcohol Awareness Month: Again, use your creative and artistic skills to create images which tell the story of alcoholism and its effects on families and the community. Release them with statistics and information, such as from the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, as public service announcements. Connect with your local Alcoholics Anonymous group and explore how you can use your photography (such as with a photo story) to create awareness, education, and empowerment.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month: On many of these awareness campaigns, your goal is to connect with the people involved in these areas within your community, and learn how you can use your creative photography to serve their cause. Choose awareness campaigns that are close to your heart, that you have a personal connection to, and involve or impact your target market. Be a liaison between these entities and your local media, and use your photography and storytelling skills to grow awareness. If you do nothing else, tell stories. Reach out, and you will find subjects who are willing to tell their story in order to empower others. For example, one PTP reader offered her services to her local women's shelter, doing family photos for several women and children staying there.

Jazz Appreciation Month: Connect with local jazz musicians and make their portraits - they will invariably be some of the most interesting and stylish characters you will meet. Spend some time at the places they play. Hear some stories. Share those stories. Narrow your focus to jazz musicians within your niche: high school seniors who play jazz, kids whose parents or grandparents play jazz (imagine the wardrobe opportunities!). Mix in video and create a highlight reel or mini-documentary of your subjects. Ask if you can be the official photographer for your local jazz festival. Organize a free jam session for the community.

National Car Care Month: Co-op with your local auto businesses, from dealers to detailers to car washes to mechanics. Work with them to identify clients with awesome cars, and let your co-op partner gift those clients with a free photo shoot of them with their ride. Hang these portraits at the businesses that serve them. Work with your local car groups (classics, race cars, demolition derbies) to do mini-shoots of owners with their rides. Set up an informal car show and photo day at the park. Do photo stories within your niche: a high school senior's first car, the road trips and adventures a family has had in their vehicle. Partner with auto dealers to give every new car buyer a free photo shoot.

Facial Protection Month: Another dentist-driven awareness campaign. Co-op with these local professionals, with a focus on outdoor activities safety, such as helmets and mouth guards. Co-op with your sports teams, including portraits of kids in their safety gear, and enjoying their favorite sports. Rare opportunity to focus on your local skater community and earn your way into their circles. Create some action-packed 'sportraits' of youth in action in their gear. Do a mini-shoot focusing on youth athletes (Mom will always - always - love a portrait of their child in a T-ball uniform).

National Humor Month: Seek out the comedians and comedy troupes in your local market. Especially in a nice-sized metro, you'll find some of the most interesting and awesome people to get with and shoot portraits of. Combine your portraits with their jokes for a great social or meme campaign. I've worked with comedians on the small-time circuit in my market, and from experience, you will be hard-pressed to find a more appreciative group of fellow artists.

Mathematics Awareness Month: Co-op with your local schools, including charter and private schools. Math can be one of the hardest subjects for kids to pick up; try doing videos of teens or adults who can identify what moment, idea, concept, or teacher made math 'click' for them. (for me, it was Drafting class in high school with Mr. Flink!) Run with photos as a PSA (Public Service Announcement) in your local newspaper, linking to your campaign online where folks can watch the videos. Share on social with your educator and parents friends. Don't forget homeschoolers.

National Arab American Heritage Month: Co-op with a knowledgeable fellow small business owner. Do mini-shoots with traditional props and wardrobe for the culture you're celebrating, and use it as an educational opportunity. Do photo stories of local leaders.

National Poetry Month: Do a series of photos and videos of local poets (of all ages) reading their poems. Collect and share their stories of how they got into writing and performing poetry. Arrange a poetry slam at a co-op partner's location and invite the community. Make connections between artists. Ask poets to submit a short poem that speaks about the importance of and feelings they have about photographs of their family, either direct or historic. Share those photographs and poems on your blog and social.

Baseball Kickoff: Professional and most Little League baseball seasons kick off in April. Co-op with your local league, teams, and athletes - as well as coaches, youth sporting good stores, high school athletic leaders, footwear stores. Do baseball and softball mini-shoots with wardrobe, props, and scene. Co-op with your local leagues or teams to do a fundraiser mini-shoot at the field.

April Fact - The birthstone for April is the diamond. Co-op with a local jeweler, give them gift certificates to gift to their top customers, run a drawing for a free photo shoots with their customers and walk-in visitors.

April Fact - Zodiac signs for April are Aries and Taurus. Run some fun promotions reaching out to these 'personality types.'

April Fact - The birth flower for April is the sweet pea or daisy. Co-op with your local florist or garden center, do mini-shoots in their gardens and featuring their flowers.

April 1 - April Fools Day: The opportunities for fun (and foolish poor taste) are multitude. Let Google Images be your guide - hunt up an idea you can crib and localize for your target market and community. Hard to go wrong with #selfie jokes: how about you offer to rent out your camera equipment and lights and offer your services as art director so clients can make their own professional-quality selfies?

April 2 - Autism Awareness Day: Co-op with special education teachers. Photograph, collect, and share the encouraging stories of your clients or community members with autistic friends or family. Great awareness resources at Autism Speaks.

April 2 - PB&J Day: Get messy. PB&J-themed mini-shoots; co-op with a local restaurant, grocer, or health food store. Co-op with a non-profit that serves children, serve PB&J sandwiches with volunteers from the non-profit and do mini-shoots of kids getting super messy enjoying the good eats. Get free press for the event with your local paper and radio station; invite the TV folks out, too - they love cute kids too. Arrange a PB&J Championship Spread-off event (just like a good barbecue cook-off), hold as fundraiser for local hunger and nutrition non-profits. (Almost every day is a 'food day' of some kind: find one close to your heart at TheNibble.com.)

April 3 - Walk to Work Day: Focus on sartorial street fashion photography. Who's out and about in interesting duds and styles today? Co-op with a downtown businesses with good outside foot traffic, and offer free street fashion photos in exchange for an e-mail address. Meet interesting people!

April 3 - Movie Release of Furious 7: I won't list all the new movie releases for the month, but introduce here the idea of tying some of your promotions, co-op marketing efforts, and mini-shoots into popular movie releases. Heck, co-op with your local movie theater! Do fun photos of moviegoers, have movie-related props and/or wardrobe, and focus on your target market (kids, seniors, families). Couple examples: For Furious 7, co-op with your local hotrod club to set up in the theater parking lot and let moviegoers do stylish photos with the featured car(s). For Disney's Monkey Kingdom, have little monkey-ear headbands and bananas at the ready.

April 4 - Vitamin C Day: Co-op with a local grocer, farmer's market, health food store on an orange or orange juice mini-shoot or in-store promotion. Do a headshot or environmental portrait with a co-op pharmacist partner and produce a ready-to-run article on the benefits of Vitamin C supplements to share with your blog readers and the local newspaper.

April 4 - International Carrot Day: Co-op with grocer, snap photos of kids snapping into crisp, fresh carrots.

April 4 - Full Moon: Time to get wild. Pet photographers, run a special for local pups who look like their wild wolf cousins. Moonlight couples portraits.

April 5 - Easter: Always a popular holiday for mini-shoots with colorful eggs, easter bunny stuffed animals, and live rabbits and chicks. Try bunny ears and bunny costumes too. A great way to get face time with first-time clients, mini-shoots offer a low barrier of entry and a 'great excuse' to have professional photos done. Work with your local newspaper on a "cutest bunny" contest, with kids in bunny ears or costumes. Get ahead of the game so the newspaper can publish the week of Easter, and so parents and grandparents have their purchased photos delivered in time to post on Easter day. Connect with your local churches and photograph their special Easter services - the rituals can be very powerful and visually interesting.

April 5 - National Read a Map Day: A map makes for an interesting and fun background for photos. Do a map mini-shoot for kids, and have them tell you about where they want to visit one day and why, and what their coolest travel experience has been in their lives. Share these on social. Co-op with your local geography teachers.

April 6 - Tartan Day: Celebrating Scottish-Americans. Go for kilts and bagpipes. Host a Scottish-themed party at the local pub, inviting folks out in their finest kilts. See if you can get a bagpiper to participate in the festivities. Do a mini-shoot with kilt, bagpipe, and cap wardrobe for kids.

April 7 - World Health Day: Focused on food safety, so co-op with your local grocer, a mom and pop restaurant, culinary arts school, health inspector, or other food-related entity. Tell the stories of the people behind the food.

April 7 - No Housework Day: French maid boudoir mini-shoot special (beats taking out the trash). Co-op with your local hardware or cleaning stores on a household cleaning products / tools promotion. Co-op with a maid or house cleaning service to give away a free house cleaning and photo shoot in a contest. Offer discounted or free staff headshots for your local maid or house cleaning services.

April 7 - National Beer Day: The anniversary of Roosevelt's first steps toward ending Prohibition. The co-op opportunities are many: bars, breweries, restaurants with great beer selections, home brewers, bartenders, clubs. Prohibition-era clothing, cars, and style.

April 8 - Draw a Bird Day: With roots going back to a World War II hospital in England, this day has more a more poignant background than you might think. Hold a Facebook contest for a free photo shoot. Have fans draw a bird, post to their Wall, and tag your business page for an entry into the contest. Ask them to share with their friends so they have a chance to win as well. Co-op the promotion with a local pet store or retailer that serves bird owners. Co-op with a local birding or nature group.

April 9 - Winston Churchill Day: English bulldog mini-shoots. English bulldogs dressed as Winston Churchill contest. Co-op with pet store or pet food retailer.

April 10 - Sibling Day: Sibling photos mini-shoots. Come dressed the same (the exact same) and get your photos for free. Come up with a funny theme or funny poses to show both sibling love and sibling rivalry.

April 10 - International Safety Pin Day: Reach out to your crunchy local moms who cloth diaper their kiddos (although they rarely use safety pins these days). Rare and fun opportunity to reach out to your local alt community, your tattoo artists and piercers, and those who love them.

April 11 - Barbershop Quartet Day: Photo stories on your local quartets. If none exist today, did they at one time in your community? Who was in them? Are they old men now? Do portraits of them now, and collect photos of them then from the men themselves, to share on your blog, social, and with your local newspaper.

April 12 - National Library Week: Co-op with your local library, literacy group, school librarians, book store, and/or teachers. Do mini-shoots at the library of kids reading their favorite stories. Super cute young readers? Do videos of them reading their favorite stories out loud. Do mini-shoots of kids dressed up as their favorite book characters.

April 12-18 - Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week: Work with doctors and nurses to tell their stories and recognize their service, and/or work with patients to tell their stories, especially those who have recovered and whose stories can provide encouragement for those undergoing treatment now.

April 12 - Licorice Day: Co-op with grocer or retailer. In-store mini-shoots of people enjoying their favorite treat. Do cute Lady and the Tramp-style photos of couples sharing a licorice stick all the way to a kiss - and capture the resultant laughing kisses.

April 13 - Scrabble Day: Host a Scrabble tournament for your target market. Top winners take home gift certificates for photo shoots. Do Scrabble and other board game photos of kids playing together in the park. Co-op with your local game and card shop.

April 13 - Thomas Jefferson's Birthday: Founding Fathers mini-shoots, periwigs and all. Co-op with local library, teachers, or independence-minded groups.

April 14 - Equal Pay Day: Advocating for equal pay for women, red clothing is the official color for this day. Host a red-wardrobe focused mini-shoot. Do portraits of local women in positions of leadership in civic and business positions. Collect their stories of how they overcame challenges to earn their positions, and share these on your blog, social, newspaper, and teachers who mentor or serve young women.

April 15 - That Sucks Day: Also the last day to file income taxes, one of the most universally despised dates in America. Co-op with local tax preparers to help their clients "turn That Sucks day into I Filed Early! day." Before and After photos: pre-filing, post-refund. Good to combine irreverent portraits with a tax preparer co-op partner for a marketing campaign.

April 18-23 - Consumer Awareness Week: Educating consumers to their rights and protections, this is a chance to show how you go above and beyond the requirements as a business owner, especially in the arena of guarantees. If you have a satisfaction guarantee, talk it up. If clients have complained about bad experiences with other photographers, talk about how you differ and strive to create an exceptional, risk-free experience for your clients.

April 16 - National D.A.R.E. Day: Another collaboration opportunity for children's photographers. Work with your local D.A.R.E. law enforcement officer to reward kids who say no to drug abuse. Shoot a series of children with D.A.R.E. posters, stickers or pins for the local organization to use in their newspaper and social media campaign.

April 16 - High Five Day: Offer a free street portrait for anyone who hooks you up with a quality High Five (and an e-mail address). Get funny photos of friends high-fiving each other. Hold a contest for people to post and tag you in their most outrageous, funny, or awesome high-five photos.

April 17 - World Hemophilia Day: World Federation of Hemophilia offers materials and information to help spread awareness about bleeding disorders. Again, as with most awareness campaigns, use your creative, artistic, and storytelling abilities to educate and empower your community to support the challenged and less fortunate.

April 17 - Bat Appreciation Day: Almost anywhere you live, there is a nearby bat cave. Grab some gorgeous photos of these invaluable creatures leaving their homes, and send the shots and a good educational story to your local newspaper. Share on social. Co-op with teachers to do educational coloring pages about bats - both what bats do for us, and how they shouldn't be touched even if they appear sick or dead.

April 18 - Pet Owners Independence Day: Pet mini-shoots, with and without owner. Even if you don't normally shoot pets, earn some dollars and/or e-mail addresses with a pet mini-shoot. Co-op with your local pet store, pet food store, and/or animal shelters or animal groups.

April 19 - Bicycle Day: Do street photography of bicyclists and their rides. Show them in the context of the community they ride in. Do a marketing campaign to build up attention for the day in your local community of cyclists, and set up at a promoted location to do rider + bike photos. Co-op with local bike shop or riding groups.

April 19 - World Circus Day: Three-ring circus mini-shoots - wardrobe from ringmaster to animal costumes. Have locals who work or have worked in the circus? What are their stories, and their special talents? Have a local upstanding, ethical, animal-friendly circus? Tell their story.

April 19-25 - Administrative Professionals Week / Day (April 22): Seek out local co-op partner businesses large enough to have administrative professionals (secretaries, receptionists), and offer 'the boss' gift certificates for photo shoots to present to staff for their special day. If you're hustling for bookings, offer the certificates for free, or for an e-mail address; if you're hustling for dollars, offer the certificates BOGO - when the boss buys one for his family or to give as a present, he gets a free certificate in the same value to gift to his staff.

April 20 - The Boston Marathon: Co-op with local sporting goods or footwear stores, gyms, fitness trainers. Create an inspirational video (a la Nike) that features local runners of all fitness levels. Arrange a Moving For Beginners event where beginners can learn about how to walk, jog and run safely and injury-free - work with experienced runners to present information, tell stories, and give examples. Do a series of educational videos leading up to the marathon, such as Running 101 In Mills County, featuring the advice of local runners - both on the basics of running, and on the best and most beautiful trails or routes in your area. Do some promotional photos showing off your sportrait skills and build a campaign inviting local athletes and trainers to use you for their promotional photos.

April 20 - National Princess Week: All Frozen, All The Time. Princess costume mini-shoots. Princess for a day promotion, co-op with your local spa. Street photography - how many people can you get to wear a tiara and make a funny princess face for your camera?

April 20 - Chinese Language Day: Co-op with a local Chinese food restaurant, hold a fortune cookie eating contest and submit the funniest photos to your local newspaper. Work with area Asian-American business owners, tell their stories.

April 21 - Kindergarten Day: Connect with local kindergarten teachers. Do photo stories of "a day in the life of a kindergarten teacher." Do 'photo day' for the kiddos, raising funds for the classroom or just collecting e-mail addresses. Do video interviews with kindergarteners, getting "kids say the darndest things" type responses to edit into a highlight reel to share on your blog and social. (Mommas almost automatically share this with their circles)

April 22 - Earth Day: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose. How about a mini-shoot shot entirely with a pinhole camera? Or work with your local electronics or camera repair shop to have people bring in their old or broken cameras for repair and redistribution to local kids and photography students. Or, host a Kids Day craft event, teaching kids to make their own pinhole cameras, photographing them working as little photographers with their pinhole cameras, and then holding a contest for the most interesting and artistic photo produced from those pinhole cameras. You could charge as little as $5 per child for materials, or do it as a loss-leader to get face time with kids and parents, and get them on your e-mail list for future family or children's photo shoots.

April 22 - Jelly Bean Day: Hold a kid and pet costume contest for Cutest Jelly Bean. Do a Facebook contest to 'guess the jelly beans in the jar'. Do mini-shoot portraits at your local grocer: have a kid sit in a chair, give them a jelly bean, and tell them as soon as they put it in their mouth and take a bite, you want them to make a face that shows what they think of the flavor. Get a mix of faces with different flavors - sweet, sour, weird. Capture those faces, and capture parents' dollars or e-mail addresses.

April 23 - Talk Like Shakespeare Day: Set up in the park or a high-traffic area in town. Have signage and tell folks what day it is - ask them to talk like Shakespeare (extra points for quoting The Bard himself). If they'll do it, take their photo, get an e-mail address, and send them your lovely portrait. One notch better: record people talking like Shakespeare, give people your card and direct them to your blog, make a funny highlight reel, post to Social, then publish a blog post talking about your efforts to get people to Talk Like Shakespeare, and direct people to click over to your post on Social to see themselves and their friends invoking The Bard.

April 23 - Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day: Do mini-shoots of parents and their kids dressed for the same profession or work. Promote the day and encourage locals to participate, and to swing by your portrait setup at the park or with a co-op partner (such as a local bank) before or after work for a portrait, parent and kid(s).

April 23 - National Architecture Week: Feature local architects, and if also local, their designs. Tell their stories. Share their photos and drawings of their work.

April 24 - Arbor Day: Co-op with your local gardening store. Do portraits of gardeners in their award-winning (or should be) gardens. Co-op with local orchards for orchard tours and photos, and telling their stories. Co-op with a local sustainable logging and lumber company to show how they do what they do - tell their story.

April 24 - Pig In a Blanket Day: Co-op with your local bakery. Give away free pigs in a blanket in exchange for a quick portrait and e-mail address. Have wardrobe on hand and do photos of kids wrapped up in blankets with piggy noses and ears. Every participant gets a free pig in a blanket.

April 25 - Hug a Plumber Day: Co-op with your local plumbers. Do funny photos of these plumbers getting big hugs - from kids, from pretty women, from their wives, from the cashier at the grocer, from their banker, from a police officer, etc. One step beyond: do a funny photo series of plumbers getting hugged by their clients while in awkward positions doing their jobs (under the sink, crawling under a house, with water spraying in their face) - over the top hugs and smiles from their clients. "April 25 is Hug a Plumber Day. While we encourage you to hug your plumber - please wait until they're done working." Have fun with it.

April 25 - National Frog Day: Co-op with your local zoo. Do froggy mini-shoots and costumes. Do a kiss-a-frog contest, and share those photos of squinched-up faces on social.

April 26 - National Pretzel Day: Co-op with whoever sells pretzels in your market. Get funny photos of couples being goofy - ask them to try to tie their bodies into a pretzel. Snap photos. Get e-mail addresses. Share on Social.

April 27 - Morse Code Day: Do a mysterious post on your blog and Social with nothing but dots and dashes. Have the message read something like: "Happy Morse Code Day! Call 555-555-5555 to be entered to win a $200 photo shoot gift certificate!" Find out who in your community can write or read Morse Code - do a photo story on when, how, and why they learned. Tell stories.

April 29 - International Guide Dog Day: Great day for pet photographers. Feature local guide dog owners, their pets, and even their trainers.

April 29 - International Dance Day: Co-op with your local dance teachers. Do 'sportrait' style, mid-action or mid-performance dance photos. Do a funny dance photo contest - set up in a high-traffic area or hit the street and ask people to give you their funniest, best, or worst dance - do photos and/or video, collect e-mail addresses, share on Social.

April 30 - National Hairstylist Appreciation Day: Co-op with your local salon, barber, hairstylist, hair and make-up artists. Do street photography of ladies and gentlemen with those most exquisite and interesting hairstyles.

Now get out there, get social, connect with your community, tell stories, and earn your reputation as a creative and engaged artist.

Next Steps

• It's easy when faced with a lot of options to choose the worst one of all: nothing. If you do nothing else, pick one holiday you can get behind, and work it. Pick one each month and really go deep: blog posts, social campaigns, memes, posters featuring your art, contests, co-op with a series of small business or non-profit partners, get familiar with your local media reporters and engage them in your campaign, and always have a sales funnel in place so those people who are touched by your art in all these endeavors have a clear path to becoming paying clients or advocates for your business in the community.
• Brainstorm session: Get out your pen and paper. Of the many holiday marketing opportunities above, which one really speaks to you? Which one makes a clear connection in your mind between you and your target market? If you committed to your best creativity and marketing for this holiday, what would you do? How would you engage on your web site, your blog, your social media channels, your local media, and your target market? Brainstorm as many ways as you can think of - you can toss the wild ideas later. And some of those wild ideas may end up being your most successful, so don't know them out with the bathwater.
• What holidays did I miss? What creative holiday-related marketing ideas would you like to try out?
• My writing at PartTimePhoto.com exists to serve your needs as an amateur photographer making the transition to paid professional. I appreciate and welcome your readership, and invite you to subscribe to my e-mail newsletter at the top of any page of this site.
• What's the biggest struggle holding you back right now? E-mail me your answer (yes, right now!), and let's make a breakthrough today.
• If anything in this post has spoken to and inspired you, please comment below, drop me an e-mail, or call or text me at 830-688-1564 and let me know. I'd love to hear how you use these ideas to better your part time photography business!

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by Outlaw Photographer James Michael Taylor

72 ways to rock your photography marketing campaign online, on social, in print and in person

In the February 2015 edition of Inc. Magazine, Lexus advertises on a double-truck spread their Lexus NX Turbo with the headline:

Go Beyond Utility

This is a great theme to borrow for a marketing campaign as a part time professional photographer:

Go Beyond Good Enough

You may look around your market at other photographers and consider them your competition - from the amateurs doing extensive portfolio building at low prices to boutique artists serving the luxury end of the market.

But do you know who is really stealing your clients?

Canon.

Nikon.

HTC.

Samsung.

More than anyone?

Apple.

First through low-cost prosumer digital cameras (the same you may be using yourself), and now through always-on-hand smartphones, it has never been easier to get good enough portraits.

Good enough family portraits.

Stylish enough senior photos.

Cute enough baby photos.

In the digital realm, consumer-photographers can spray and pray - just shoot a thousand photos and hope one comes out good enough to hit Share.

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

With enough apps and filters, good enough is more than good enough for most people. They're getting Likes on Facebook and Instagram, so they must be good enough, right?

You know what?

They are good enough.

It's not up to you or me or any artist (note the lowercase A) to criticize the taste of the market.

What the market will bear is what the market will bear, from the price of a cup of coffee to the price of a professional photo shoot.

So how do we convert the 'good enough' crowd into clients?

By going beyond good enough.

Not just with our art - odds are, if you're a PTP reader, your artistic skills are far better than that of your average Jane Doe selfie.

(I recognize that isn't saying a whole lot, but it's something to acknowledge as truth.)

As part time professional photographers, we rarely fail to try hard enough with our art - have you ever stayed up half the night reading Photoshop tutorials or lens reviews or photo lessons? Have you ever laid on the ground or made a goof of yourself to get a smile out of a kid in front of the camera?

We can Create Value. We can produce art well worth our clients' dollars, especially at the startup end of the market.

If we fall short, it's in Communicating Value and Commanding Value.

A good marketing campaign - which I'd define as either a short-term or long-term effort to communicate a specific message to your target market - is all about communicating your value.

It's about why what you do and how you do it is worth more to a potential client than the $0.00 she's spending on professional photography right now.

It's not just about how you're different from your competition, though that Unique Value Proposition is vital to know and share in your marketing messages.

You have to authentically and compassionately communicate how you go beyond good enough.

Lexus, in their advertising, takes a stand: We are not Ford. We are not Kia. When your reach a station in your life where you're ready to grow beyond your to-do list to your wish list, we're ready and waiting for you.

Go Beyond Good Enough

That's a powerful message to get into the minds of potential photo buyers in your community.

Roll Out

[Read and act on this list directly, or follow the 72 featured links for a robust education: I hand-picked every resource and how-to myself.]

A part time photographer's marketing campaign might look like:

• Fresh copy and branding across your digital platforms.
• Collect and share photos and testimonials from your past clients talking about how you Go Beyond Good Enough.
• Video testimonials of the same (one longer highlight reel of clients and photos, shorter individual ones to share weekly on blog and social, and 15-second or less sound bites to share on Instagram, Twitter.
• Create a custom Facebook cover to run throughout the campaign (or a cover theme and graphics that you can change out weekly during the campaign).
• Change up your Instagram and Facebook profile photos to match campaign, such as a headshot of yourself holding a sign that says "Go Beyond Good Enough."
• Make sure the lead photo and copy on your web site match your campaign. You don't have to change your business tagline or elevator pitch, but make sure all your digital platforms reinforce and promote your campaign.
• Insert a few photos with overlaid text and graphics promoting your campaign throughout your portfolio on your web site.
• Plan and pre-write weekly blog posts on the theme of your campaign - educate potential clients about how you go beyond good enough. Tell that story. Incorporate photos, behind the scenes photos, testimonials from clients, and your stories that illustrate and authentically show how you live your campaign.
• Plan a series of posts and contest to engage your Facebook fans. Your contest should involve and reward your target market; if you do newborn photos, have fans tag a pregnant mother they feel is Going Beyond Good Enough for their baby or family; if you do high school senior photos, have fans tag and share a short anecdote about a senior they feel is Going Beyond Good Enough; if you shoot family portraits and it's around Father's Day, have fans tag a local dad they feel is Going Beyond Good Enough.
• Take fans behind the scenes of your business and art on Instagram to show them how you go beyond good enough (especially if your target market is teenagers or their parents, or crafty / artsy types).
• Create and share a Pinterest board full of how-to's showing your target market how they can go beyond good enough: as parents, as high school seniors, as moms, as dads, as business owners, as stage actors, as artists - whatever your unique target market may be.
• Create a photo story series on individuals who go beyond good enough in your community, especially focusing on your target market. Who is really going beyond good enough to do better and be better? Great opportunity to recognize volunteers and professionals. [protip: pitch these features as a weekly series to run in your local newspaper, as short inspirational stories with your radio station and local TV news - on their web sites if not on print or over the air.]
• From your photo story series, create a gallery of portraits recognizing those who go beyond good enough in your community, with a one-liner about how they do so. Work with local high-traffic businesses to hang and show these portraits for a month at a time, and rotate between hosting businesses. Promote these gallery showings across all your platforms. [Think a local high-profile business like your community bank might even sponsor these showings and partner with you for expenses and promotion?]
• You can do the same photo story series for any group in your community. Want to network and build friendships with other local small business owners? Seek out the stories of those going beyond good enough in your town and tell their story in photos and words.
• Create a series of motivational posters and/or memes to share across social media, such as with the free and fantastic Canva.com. These should feature your photos, maybe specifically taken for this campaign: think fitness, parents with kids, military, handicapped, volunteers, emergency services, law enforcement, beloved local public figures. Extra points: get an inspirational quote from the subject to incorporate into the final piece, and tag them when you post.
• Apply the paid advertising multiplier: use a supporting ad campaign in print and with targeted Facebook ads to drive traffic to your best pieces in your marketing campaign. Promote your contest, your photo story series, your gallery showings and hosts, your co-op partnerships. As always, spend efficiently, but effectively - get the eyes of your target market onto your campaign.
• Be sure your e-mail newsletter talks about your campaign, why you're running it and your personal story behind it, and directs your readers to the best and most interesting pieces in your campaign every week. These folks are 'in the circle,' so treat them as a valuable part of the campaign - ask for their input and suggestions (especially for photo story subjects), and engage and involve them creatively and lovingly.

A fun, interesting, engaging marketing campaign looks nothing like the used car salesmen yelling from your TV or radio about last-chance inventory blow-out sales.

Get out there, get creative, and get social with your marketing campaigns.

Next Steps

• Have an anxious fire in your belly to get out and kick arse with a cool marketing campaign? The moment you're in right now is absolutely crucial: are you going to do it or not? Here and now, while your energy and fear and excitement are at their highest - commit. You don't have to know all the answers, or what to say, or who to approach, or how to make it happen. Just commit. You want success, you want bookings, you want impact and progress. Commit to making it happen now.
• Brainstorm session Part 1: Get out your pen and paper. Fired up? Start brainstorming about marketing campaign ideas, right now. Make lists. Free write. Draw mind maps. Scribble all over. Draw illustrations. Go over the top, no idea is stupid or too much right now. Just brainstorm and fan that flame until you absolutely exhaust your ideas, inspirations and thoughts about potential marketing campaigns and campaign actions you can take. Trim and shape and explore and expound until you have something that looks and feels like a plan. Guess what? You have a marketing campaign on your hands.
• Brainstorm session Part 2: For this one, don't file this away in your brainstorms folder: this one is going to do some work. Write out your action plan - all the baby step actions you're going to take to make this thing work. Schedule the time you'll need to work on your campaign, don't just leave this awesome campaign to die of inaction. Identify the preparations you need to do, and for Pete's sake, get them done hard and fast so you can invest your best time and energy into the meat of your campaign: creating, sharing, and promoting. Get up an extra 10 minutes early every day of this campaign, and spend that 10 extra minutes reading over your notes and action plan, making new notes and changes and scheduling and rescheduling the work however you need to to get it done and get this campaign active in the world.
• Want to be more marketing savvy than 99 percent of your competition? Set aside a Saturday or Sunday, go to the top of the Roll Out list above, and click through every single link - you will enjoy a tight, curated education in small business marketing, online and off.
• And if you want to get a robust education in small business marketing, some of my favorite books are John Jantsch's Duct Tape Marketing, The Referral Engine, and Duct Tape Selling; Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid and Beyond Booked Solid; and Gary Vaynerchuk's Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook.
• My writing at PartTimePhoto.com exists to serve your needs as an amateur photographer making the transition to paid professional. I appreciate and welcome your readership, and invite you to subscribe to my e-mail newsletter at the top of any page of this site.
• What's the biggest struggle holding you back right now? E-mail me your answer (yes, right now!), and let's make a breakthrough today.
• If anything in this post has spoken to and inspired you, please comment below, drop me an e-mail, or call or text me at 830-688-1564 and let me know. I'd love to hear how you use these ideas to better your part time photography business!

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by Outlaw Photographer James Michael Taylor