This is Business | The Part Time Photographer

Are you an artist or an attention whore?

Ouch.

Okay, normally I'm not so hard on you guys.

But I've got to give you some tough love for a minute - it's for your own good.

Some of you don't want to be professional photographers.

You're reading PTP, you're taking some photos, you're dreaming of the camera gear you want to have and the professional image and recognition that comes with owning your own creative business.

But...why?

If you're stagnant - if you're procrastinating on launching, or finalizing your pricing, or perfecting every pixel of your web site instead of hustling paid photo shoots...you have to ask yourself an important question:

"Am I an artist or an attention whore?"

Do you want to hustle? Do you want to market yourself in your community? Do you want to learn to sell so well that you're able to perfectly match a client to a product offering, and maximize your profits in the process? Do you have a heart of service for your clients? Do you want to fail forward and fail faster? Do you want work as much on your business and marketing as on your art?

Or do you just want attention?

Hey, it's human nature - we all want to be liked, to be popular, and especially as artists, to be recognized for the work we do. We all love the Likes, the kind words, the glowing testimonials.

But, if you feel stuck in first gear with your business, is it because you don't really want to own and run a business? Do you just want the attention of a professional photographer?

Let me be first to raise my hand: I went through a years-long phase of shooting for attention and the social high, benefiting neither my business nor my bank account. I can't tell you how many hours I poured into shooting local sports, into six-hour 'fashion' photo shoots, getting attention for attention's sake.

My MySpace friends list was full, but my bank account was empty.

There's nothing wrong with creating art for fun, creative expression, or even out-and-out attention.

Attention is fantastic for business...

...when it's leveraged into paid work.

If you're ready to be a paid professional, to grow your business into a blessing for your community and your finances, you have to transmute attention into business.

This is marketing alchemy.

This is what separates paid professionals from looky-loos.

If you're just in this for attention - you're in no rush to get paid, you 'just want to make enough to pay for the hobby,' you spend more time on Facebook than creating art, you've been 'building your portfolio' with free shoots for years, you've read 13 blogs and books and magazines this week on photography and camera gear and not one on small business or marketing, you're talking about becoming a professional photographer but taking no steps and making no tangible progress...

It's okay.

No judgment here.

You don't have to change anything you're doing. I'm truly not trying to make you feel bad, or call you out in a bad way.

Your photography, your business, and everything you do within it, and every reason you do it, is yours to manage and enjoy; never forget, you do this because you want to, and you're always in charge.

But I don't think you're here because you just want attention.

If you're elbows deep in PTP, if you're reading these words, you're more than ready for more than just transient attention.

You're ready to take bold steps.

You're ready to finalize that price list, settle on a name for your business, and land your first paid clients.

You're ready to step up, take risks, fail forward, focus, to take action and not just read and dream.

You're ready to check off that to-do list.

You're ready to take action, to put yourself out there, even if you do it wrong - to take imperfect action.

You're ready to disappoint a client, kick yourself in the ass, learn, then get over it and move on.

You're ready to make mistakes - and learn from them.

You're ready to schedule the time every day, every week, to make your dream of being a professional photographer a reality - baby steps.

You're ready to put a stake in the ground, finalize the 'details' of your business, and start doing business instead of just (over)preparing for it.

You're ready to leverage every ounce of attention you get with your art into testimonials, referrals, marketing mojo, repeat clientele: money in the bank.

You're ready.

You're here. Right now. You're ready.

You are not an attention whore. You may have been acting like one for too long, but we're on the march now; we're professionals, and we're done with the procrastination horsesh*t that has turned our blazing passion and limitless potential into a slog through deep mud.

I had to learn to do this with my photojournalism for the local paper.

Instead of just soaking up the attention of a great front page photo from under the Friday Night Lights, I learned to make the ask: when complimented on my work, I'd steer the conversation to my professional services, and seek out the needs of my potential client then and there.

I'd make the ask; I'd ask for their business in that very moment.

And I got it almost every single time.

Leverage.

I learned to do this with my fashion work. Few styles get as much attention from the hip, artistic, and young (read: lucrative high school seniors), as fashion photography. Every Facebook Like and comment becomes an opportunity to make the ask and land a new client.

Attention is a good thing.

Even more so, in my book (and I believe in yours too), when that attention is alchemically transformed into hundred dollar bills.

When I pose the question, "Do you really want to be a professional photographer?", it's okay if you don't truly know - if you're not blazingly sure you're up for all this.

But I implore you:

Try.

If you've come this far, if you have the spark of a professional artist within you, I can't encourage you enough to try. Make a go of it. Give it all you've got.

If down the road you're unhappy, if you're burning out because you can't find a way to enjoyably balance your art with business, then stop.

I'll say again: your business is by you and for you. Verily, you're a blessing to your community and clients in the art you create for them, but you're the boss - you never have to do anything you don't want to.

You can always go back to creating art for the pure enjoyment of it.

You can always go back to just shooting, processing, and posting for attention; for funsies.

But I believe you've got a lot more in you, and that's why you're here.

Dive head-first outside of your comfort zone. Learn who you are, and what you're capable of. Challenge yourself. Strive. Persevere. Dream, and Do.

Start where you are

I love being a professional photographer.

I love the creativity, the wonderful clients who become lifelong friends, I love volunteering and serving my community, and I love that the money I earn with my art blesses my family with comforts and life experiences we couldn't otherwise afford.

An inherent interest in the business, marketing, and sales of professional photography is in no way a prerequisite to success.

Start where you are.

There is no right way, no perfect course of action; hell, even the 'best practices' aren't surefire keys to success.

Success is a process - it's trying new things, guided by the knowledge you gain from books and blogs and fellow photographers, and failure is a big part of that process. You have to fail forward, make mistakes, even embarrass yourself a few times.

But that's what professional success looks like. It looks like perseverance, tenacity, hunger, focus, failure, practice, learning, attention, leverage, humility, and courage.

Where you are today is not where you will be tomorrow. The world is turning, whether you choose to make your move or not. If you're not taking action, even just baby steps, the world - and your dream - is passing you by.

You're here, you're breathing, and you have a camera in your hand.

That's called opportunity.

Now: Try.

Next Steps

Get unstuck. Right now. I know there's at least one, two, a few things burning in your mind right now, ways you know you're procrastinating because you've been satisfied with attention and dreaming instead of taking bold steps to be the professional you dream of. What decisions do you need to make? What stake can you drive in the ground right now in making your business real? What brave thing will you do today?
Brainstorm session: get out your pen and paper. There's a road between where you are this moment and where you need to be to call yourself a professional, to be ready to ask for and land paid work. What does that road look like? What are the baby steps between here and there? Don't worry about what you don't know, no map identifies every pebble or crack in the road. Take the time to lay out every single baby step, every action big or small you can think of that will get you to the point where you'll choose to ask for and earn paid photography work (I word it this way for a reason: you will never be 'ready,' there will never be a 'right' time). Schedule the time, as little as five minutes a day, on your calendar for the coming week to work on these steps. Add them to your to-do list. Then do it, step by step by step, no matter how confused or lost or imperfect you feel about it; keep moving forward. File this away in your Brainstorms folder (and schedule the time on your calendar a month from now to pull this out and check off everything you've accomplished - which if you do the work, I guarantee, you'll be amazed at how far you've come in just 30 days).
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!

by Outlaw Photographer James Michael Taylor

One simple system for success

There is no greater knowledge-for-the-buck value than books.

And there is no more self-destructive thing we do than failing to act on the things we learn.

You and I are going to break that cycle...

Right now.

STEP 1: Go buy a book on small business marketing. Any good one (whether from a list of recommended titles from a mentor, or Amazon's bestseller list, or one of my favorites: Duct Tape Marketing, Duct Tape Sales, Booked Solid, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook).

STEP 2: When that book lands in your Kindle or in your hands, STOP. STOP EVERYTHING. You are about to commit for the umpteeth time a crime against your business and your own success: you're going to start reading, read here and there until you finish the book, then feel wonderfully inspired as you put the book aside and NEVER TAKE ACTION. I've done it hundreds of times over the last 15 years. STOP. Don't read a page of that book until you can sit comfortably, focus, take your time. Make handy a writing surface, something upon which to write, and a good pen or pencil, as well as a highlighter.

STEP 3: Now crack open that book and read every page, one by one, slowly and comfortably. Set your ego and your cynicism and your skepticism aside, and LEARN. Take notes. Every time an idea for your marketing or your business pops into your head, WRITE IT DOWN. Do not turn the page until you are absolutely sure you have captured every possible idea and potential ACTION YOU CAN TAKE from what you've learned within. Write these ideas and actions out in your language, conversationally, just like if you were sharing with a friend over coffee. Don't be technical or get bogged down in minutiae.

STEP 4: At the end of the first chapter, if there are any action items or questions presented to answer, DO IT. These authors are handing you the keys to success from their invaluable experience. USE THEM.

STEP 5: BEFORE you start the next chapter, go over your notes. Where are your action items? What ideas did you discover? Write each one on its own piece of paper. Then brainstorm all of the steps you'll need to take to take that action, to make that idea a reality. WRITE DOWN THE BABY STEPS, one by one. No step is too small, or too insignificant to write down. If you only had five minutes a day to work on this, what steps would you take with that time? You are creating a roadmap to success. Do not start the next chapter until you have taken this step, and...

STEP 6: SCHEDULE YOUR NEXT ACTION. Block off an appointment on your calendar, starting with this evening or tomorrow, to TAKE BABY STEPS, to take action. "I'm too busy! This is happening too fast!" Horsesh*t. FIND FIVE MINUTES. Find fifteen minutes. Book it onto your calendar and you keep that appointment with the same respect and loyalty as you would dinner with your mom, taking grandma to the doctor, or meeting a client for a photo shoot. IT IS THAT IMPORTANT to your success as a part time photographer.

STEP 7: Turn the page. Go back to STEP 3. Repeat for every chapter, every chance you get to read, at least daily, even if just for five minutes, until you complete the book and have a new understanding of marketing, and every bit as important, a stack of action items and ideas you're ACTIVELY BRINGING TO LIFE through daily baby steps.

STEP 8: TAKE IMPERFECT ACTION. Let go of your obsession with controlling the results, and focus on process; be an expert at the attempt. Do The Work. Don't judge, don't wait, don't think about it, don't go make a sandwich, don't check Facebook, don't doubt what you've read, don't wait until you're ready, don't get scared, don't worry about failure or doing it wrong, JUST DO IT.

STEP 9: Watch your business take off like you could never have dreamed.

This is simple.

But it isn't easy, is it?

The wall of resistance gets taller with each step, where you take the leap from student to practitioner: where you begin to turn ideas into actions, then schedule and commit to those actions.

These baby steps move the needle. These are the 'little victories', the kaizen, which will take you from where you don't want to be today, to where you never dreamed you could get.

The excuses are dwindling, my friends. Either you want this, or you don't; either you're willing to take imperfect action and make your dreams come true, or you're window shopping for a life you're not willing to earn.

Get In The Arena Today.

Next Steps

Brainstorm session: Write down 10 reasons why you can't do this; why you can't read one book, one page at a time, taking one note at a time, taking at least five minutes of action each day, taking responsibility for the success of your part time photography business. I'm serious: come up with 10 real reasons why you can't, don't, or won't do this. This list is going to be a powerful tool for you to recognize the self-imposed limiting beliefs you have shackled yourself with in your journey toward success. Look over this list. Look hard at it. Get emotional if you need to. Recognize what's holding you back. Recognize how you're hurting yourself. Measure your dreams, your excitement, your inspiration, your enthusiasm against this list. Recognize above all that there is nothing on that list you can't overcome. If you'd like, e-mail me your list; I'd love to talk with you about what's on there. When you're done, file this away in your Brainstorms folder.
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!

by Outlaw Photographer James Michael Taylor

How to price your photography, Part II

If there's one thing we part time photographers never get bored talking about, it's pricing our work.

But I'm going to digress from talking about pricing, because your pricing isn't the problem:

You're trying to scratch your butt by brushing your teeth.

It's been five years since I wrote my (some say controversial) post on What to charge for your part time photography, and you awesome readers have asked me if my advice still stands today.

In the historic words of fellow Bandera Texan and Classic Western actor Rudy Robbins:

It do.

My philosophy on pricing your work is to be humble: recognize the unique value you create, understand that value will grow over time and practice, and look at pricing as more a tool for managing your calendar than your profit margin.

I could introduce a lot of nuance into this conversation, but here are my practices, some simple if-then-else's, boiled down to the bones:

If you're marketing yourself well (communicating clearly and excitingly the value you create to the potential clients in your market who want and can afford what you offer), but you're not booked solid, your prices are too high.
If your prices are humble and broadly affordable (such as my 'buy what you love' suggested pricing), but you're not booked solid, you're not marketing yourself well (either with the wrong message, or to the wrong people, or both).
If you're booked solid, your prices are too low.
If you're booked close to solid, and you're putting enough cash in your pocket each month or year that it leaves a big ol' grin on your face, your prices are just right, and it's time to invest your efforts in growing as an artist and marketer.
If you're happy, don't listen to a word I or anyone else says to you: never forget, you're a part time photographer because you choose to be, and you're the boss - this is your business, and you call the shots.
Now, if you're happy but complacent, if you're happy but not hungry for more, not growing, I would submit that your happiness is going to fade. If you're like most artists, you're going to get bored or burned out - never stop challenging yourself and growing as an artist, marketer, and business owner.

These are some pretty simple formulae to apply to the very complex journey that is being a part time professional photographer.

Simplicity also lets us move on - it allows us to get back to work.

There's a phrase I hear over and over from my peers, and I feel deeply for them when they feel this way:

"My phone isn't ringing. I'm doing everything I'm supposed to: I got my web site set up, I handed out business cards, I posted a great deal on my Facebook page, but nobody's calling. Is my art really that bad?"

I feel you, brothers and sisters.

I believe in art.

I believe in craft, in making, and I believe in its value as a profession and business.

But outside of very special creations and circumstances, your art is not the most influential ingredient to your success.

In fact, when it comes to business success, it may be the least important when compared to your marketing and your business (which includes the experience you create for your clients).

If you're reading this, if you've come this far in your journey into professional photography, your art is almost certainly not what's holding you back from success.

Chain studios and yearbook photographers prove that you can profitably systematize the photography product (the "art") down to as little as five canned poses and pay a bored employee $8 an hour to manage that series of repeatable processes: intake, shooting, selling, up selling. Then an automated computer system will follow-up ad infinitum.

(A high school friend, now a mother of three, told me she once paid over $1,000 for a chain portrait session and walked away with an armload of prints of maybe 10 'classic' poses. She was perfectly happy about this... Until I told her my prices.)

Friends, they're doing business every single day - probably with more clients in a month than you and I shoot in a year.

And their per-client sales are enviable; don't let the $10 portrait package special advertised on the poster fool you. These businesses have a time-tested process for turning a $10 client into $100, $200, or much more. One PTP reader told me she learned more about making a profit as a portrait photographer from her time working for Kiddie Kandids than she did from years of scouring the Internet.

Good art (even great art) does not guarantee bookings.

Nor does a low price guarantee bookings (so many PTP readers get stuck here, failing to practice and grow their marketing skills).

No doubt, the better your art, the easier it is to show the quality and value of what you have to offer your target market. As the wise folks say, nothing kills a bad product like good marketing.

But there's the rub: good marketing.

No doubt, you can run your business into the ground with a bad attitude, with policies that make your clients feel like criminals, by treating your clients as adversaries instead of friends.

But even a bad business can get folks in the door with good marketing. They may only come once, they may tell all their friends what a horrible experience they had with you, but the phone had to ring in the first place to get to that point.

If your phone isn't ringing, I'd bet my beloved 50mm your marketing is weak.

Odds are, it's non-existent - at least when it comes to proactive, purposeful, targeted, well-placed and well-timed marketing with a high-octane message that not just exists, but invites - nay, excites - potential clients to make your phone ring (or e-mail ding, or Facebook swish).

Your attention, and effort, and research, and concern are misplaced.

It's not your pricing.

It's your marketing.

Go find your people.

Show them how you can make their lives better with your art.

Then ask them to do business with you.

Next Steps

Accountability is the plateau killer

Like skydiving and asking a girl to dance, sometimes you have to experience a dreaded act before you realize how awesome it can be.

Accountability has always been that way for me.

I grew up an only child, homeschooled, with one real friend (and a handful of seasonal cousins).

I was a loner by environment, which grew to be my nature. I became extremely self-sufficient, from my education to my life and entertainment.

Unfortunately, I missed those early lessons of teamwork and the power of accountability.

Only in the past six months have I experienced how accountability can move mountains in my life.

My vision of accountability as a tool for reaching goals was of an overzealous (and way too perky) fitness trainer calling me at the butt crack of dawn to yell at me to go run.

Or my mom asking me if my underwear is clean. Every day.

Or some overly helpful friend, in whom I would confide my desire to lose a few pounds, then criticizing my every meal choice and telling me to eat more fiber.

Until I finally experienced it, I never imagined accountability to be such a powerful, completely enjoyable way to turn my dreams into reality.

Where I Found Priceless Accountability

The amazing Steve Arensberg of Free of Gravity, under the umbrella of Scott Dinsmore's tribe, launched in January the San Antonio Live Your Legend group - where folks bootstrapping passion projects gather to exchange updates, ideas, and encouragement.

This group has changed my life.

A lot of this change has been behind the scenes, but in the post you're reading now and beyond, the effects are tangible.

Having a group of passionate, empathetic, encouraging folks with whom I can share my successes and failures has proven to be the greatest catalyst for change in my life since discovering gurus like Michael Hyatt, Jeff Goins, and Tim Ferriss.

From the thought leaders, I'm forever indebted for teaching me what to do and how to do it.

From my fellow Live Your Legend folks, my peers turned friends and accountability partners, I've learned how to get it done.

In sharing my passion project and my goals with these folks, I've had to take my head out of the clouds of concepts and ideas and possibilities, and put my boots on the ground. I've had to take my vision and turn it into an action plan - and take measurable action on it.

Every one of us reports on our plans and progress every meeting. And every one of us is invested in the success of everyone else.

It's easy to disappoint ourselves. Let's be real - we're used to it.

But when you know there are going to be two, four, ten faces looking back at you as you talk about your successes and failures - folks who know your dreams, goals, and what you wanted to accomplish this month - it takes inaction, paralysis, and excuses off the table.

We can reason ourselves into a lifetime of personal disappointment.

It's a lot harder to spin that horsesh*t to a table full of friends who know better.

If you're reading this, it's time to get your dream of being a successful part time professional photographer out of the clouds, off your to-do list and into the real world.

It's time to make tangible progress.

It's time to put one foot in front of the other, even just baby steps.

But where you are a month from now and a year from now has to be measurably far beyond where you are today.

It starts right now.

Commit to your dreams.

Seek out a friend or a peer or a group of good people with whom you can share your dreams, passion and goals (you can find the Live Your Legend groups here, and there are countless artists and small business groups to be found on meetup.com).

Find folks you can get face-to-face with.

As artists, we're often introverts, and it can be sweat-pouringly hard for us to proactively seek out and reach out to others for help - to share our dreams, show our vulnerability and admit our failures.

You will find equal parts relief, excitement, and motivation when you're in a room with folks facing the same fears and challenges you are, discussing what is and isn't working, and sharing your journey with them.

Steve and I sat together over coffee tonight. We enthusiastically spoke of our fears, our dreams, what's holding us back, and why. We parted with a handshake and good hug, new ideas, new inspiration. I pulled my keyboard out of my backpack and started writing this blog post to you.

Accountability is encouragement.

Accountability is motivation.

It's mutual investment.

It's movement.

It's tangible, hands-on, boots on the ground, step-by-step progress.

Accountability is the plateau killer.

I don't know about you, but I'm sick of feeling stuck. I'm sick of sameness. I'm sick of the plateau, the rut, the daily disappointment in myself when I achieve nothing toward my dreams.

Has a day gone by where you haven't taken a photo? How about a week? Month? A season where you didn't really pick up your camera or do anything to get you closer to your dreams?

Life is too short and I am too excited about making my dreams come true, for the benefit of my family, my community, and you awesome readers here at PTP.

In the spirit of podcaster John Lee Dumas, I am truly on fire - everything in my life has led to this day, every hardship and challenge and miracle and blessing has led to the words you're reading this moment.

I am ready to ignite.

Let's do this together.

E-mail me. Tell me what your dream is for your part time photography business, and what's holding you back. I'll do everything I can to help.

That's why I'm here - to encourage, educate, and empower you on your journey from amateur photographer to paid professional. The pleasure, and honor, is mine.

"Your peer group are people with similar dreams, goals and worldviews. They are people who will push you in exchange for being pushed, who will raise the bar and tell you the truth.

Finding a peer group and working with them, intentionally and on a regular schedule, might be the single biggest boost your career can experience."
- Seth Godin

Next Steps

Find an accountability partner or group. Put their next meeting on your calendar. Clear the time; make it happen. If you hate it, if you puke in the trash can, it's okay - you never have to go again... But that won't happen. You're going to walk in a nervous wreck and walk out shocked at how much complete strangers care about your success.
While I'd strongly encourage you to establish a local accountability partner or group, if you need an in-between baby step, drop me an e-mail. Let me know how I can help, or if you just want to talk shop on a regular basis to keep your head in the game. I'm here for you, but I will continue to encourage you to find some folks local to you so you can get that inimitable face time with fellow dream chasers.
Brainstorm session: Get out your notepad and pen. What are the habits (or missing habits) that are most holding you back from making progress on your dreams? Think hard. Go deep. Really consider what changes would have the biggest impact on your growth. And they don't have to be photography-specific. For me, losing weight and improving my fitness is a huge goal that has a real effect on achieving my life goals. That translates into habits of meal preparation, healthy eating, and greater physical activity. Take your time and really identify all the ways you would like to change your personal actions or inactions, your behaviors, your choices, your attitudes, and write them all out. Don't let this list daunt you - we're all highly imperfect creatures. Now pick from that list the top three habits that are helping or hurting your ability to make your dreams reality; sticky-note this to your monitor (or mirror, or fridge) and be prepared to share this with your accountability partner or group. File the rest away in your Brainstorms folder.
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.
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!

by Outlaw Photographer James Michael Taylor

Why courtship matters in marketing

As usual, let’s start with the end in mind.

(As opposed to starting with the how, then trying to make it fit the why!)

On any marketing campaign, you want to have an ultimate goal – whatever tactics you employ, you need a goal action you’re moving potential clients to take.

“I want them to give me their money, of course!”

Courtship first, Romeo.

Many startup business owners want their marketing to explode with a Direct Response - someone sees your ad / post / card / postcard / portfolio / fan page / contest, and immediately calls or e-mails to book a shoot and throw bennys at you.

This is also why most newly-minted professionals can't get a critical mass of clients on board and stay booked solid.

And the simplest, most common Direct Response campaign is... A BIG SALE! Immediately devaluing the product or service, and catering to the least profitable, least loyal, most demanding and problematic clientele.

No wonder so many good artists burn out so fast when they try to go pro.

If we want to avoid chasing the quick sale, we have to court the relationship.

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook - you want to give, give, give value and great reasons to know, like, and trust you before making the ask.

Even then, make it a soft ask - we're talking a peck on the cheek on the fourth date, friends.

Then back to the center of the ring: Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook.

So what's a knock out for you? What action do you want your client to take as a result of your 'right hooks'?

Every campaign will look different, but here's how a good strategy might play out:

> Momma sees you shooting her daughter's varsity softball game

> Sees your byline in the local paper or on the school web site beneath the photos you took

> Meets you at the next home game

> Gets your business card

> Visits your portfolio online

> Signs up for your e-mail newsletter because she likes your work, and really likes your contest to win prizes like movie tickets, gift cards, and a full photo shoot

> Reads about your Facebook contest in the newsletter and likes your Fan Page for a monthly entry

> Shares your great photo from her daughter's softball game

> Sees your Senior Photography work on Facebook and in the newsletter, starts thinking about graduation invitations

> A month before graduation, sees your reminder for last-chance senior photo shoot bookings, and panics

> Has seen your work a dozen times over the school year, loves your art and visiting with you at the games, appreciates the senior fundraiser you helped with for Project Graduation, has read the customer testimonials in your newsletter, appreciates the great photographs you've submitted of her daughter's team to the local newspaper, and...

> Nine months after learning who you are and what you do, e-mails you asking, "What do you charge for a senior photo shoot?"

Can you see how far removed this story is from, "Never heard of you, but since you handed me your business card, let me book with you right now!"

Not to say the latter doesn't happen, but the first story - one that plays out multiple times every single year in my own business - is a great example of a marketing strategy, built from multiple consistent messages in multiple venues, which leads your target market to Know, Like, and Trust you.

When you do it well enough, "What do you charge?" is not even the question they ask. Instead, it's "How soon can we get started?"

There are a lot of moving parts in this one strategy:

Learning, practicing, and growing as a sports photographer as a vital part of your senior photography business (How can I give value to my niche target market?)
Getting your photos published regularly in the local newspaper (How can I get my target market to know and remember my name?)
Chatting up parents at games (How can I connect with my next client?)
Handing out business cards (How can I make a potential client think of me again later?)
Having a great online portfolio which funnels visitors to your e-mail newsletter sign-up (How can I earn the trust of my client and get permission to market directly to them?)
Sending out a great weekly or monthly e-mail newsletter which gives three parts value for every one Ask (How can I continue to make my client like me and trust me?)
Hosting a Facebook contest with an offer so good that it earns Likes (How can I get stay in front of my potential client in multiple venues?)
Planting the seed idea of "getting ahead so you don't fall behind" for senior photos and invitations (How can I begin to build want and need for my paid services?)
Getting your name in front of potential clients in multiple good venues: in-person, in the newspaper, via business card, on your web site, in your e-mail newsletter, on Facebook (How can I become an obvious choice for my potential client's needs?)
Being a big part of a school fundraiser (How can I show my potential client I'm a positive, supportive part of their world?)
Collecting and sharing testimonials from thrilled clients (How can I use 'social proof' to build credibility with potential clients?)
Asking for the business (Like that cute girl at the big dance, is my client ready to commit, but waiting for me to 'ask'?)

And all this is what went into just getting that golden "Are we a good fit for each other?" e-mail or phone call.

But, can you imagine the confidence you'll feel when, from the first handshake with a potential client, you'll know all the next steps to turn that handshake into a thrilled and paying client?

Marketing is a story you write hoping the clues you pen will guide the characters to a happy ending.

Every story is different.

What's yours?

Marketing Is...

The post you're reading is the kickoff to my Marketing Is... Series, where I'll tackle the challenges of how to do the right things, in the right places, to reach the right people, at the right times, to spur action.

I know these can be daunting topics, but that's why we're here together right now.

The point of this series is really to save you time and money - it's deceptively easy to buy an ad or build a web site, never having a grasp of how all the moving parts of your marketing strategy work together...or worse, not having a marketing strategy at all.

Don't worry, you're neither the first nor the last, but you're getting wiser by the day - and you don't have to learn everything the hard way.

Even though I've been blessed with success as a part time professional photographer (at least my vision of it), I've made countless marketing mistakes along the way.

Buying over $750 in radio advertising (for a visual medium!) because the ad rep asked me to.

Losing $8,000 in six months on a retail studio which generated zero new customers during that period.

Being cheap where I could have gotten a great return on my investment, such as frugal local newspaper advertising.

Running special offers and discounts according to my bank account, instead of a marketing calendar.

Pitching on price instead of value because I was scared nobody would call if I asked what I was worth.

Being too shy, elitist, or perfectionist to reach out and work with other business owners on co-op campaigns and projects.

Buying expensive business card ads in yearbooks and football programs, year after year, with no purpose whatsoever - no goal, no strategy, no offer, no message, no coordinated campaign in other media.

Trust, the list goes on.

I can't tell you what will work - anybody who makes those guarantees, especially with a price tag on them, is a whale of a fibber - but I'll share with you what I've seen work, and seen fall flat, over the last 15 years.

The best way to stay savvy is by slipping your e-mail address into the newsletter sign-up box at the top of this page. You'll make your momma proud.

Next Steps

What's your niche? How tightly have you narrowed your target market? When you 'speak' to your market (through your marketing), does your target market undeniably know you're talking directly to them? Can you tell me where they shop, where they bank, where their kids go to school, who their family doctor is, what kind of house they live in, what they most enjoyed studying in college, how 'busy' they would rate their lives, whether they host Thanksgiving dinner or go to Grandma's, if they have sit-down dinners or outdoor barbecues with friends, what their biggest joy is in buying professional photography for their family? If not, keep niching down until you have no more than a few avatars which descriptively fit your ideal client - then make your focus to find and engage your people (#protip: your people are out there, and they're waiting to be blessed by your work!).
Brainstorm Session: Knowing your ideal client, what's the first touch a potential client might have with you on the path to hiring you as their photographer? Like the sports photography example above leading to a senior portrait client, how can you Own Your Zip Code - how can you be where your clients are, and contribute value to their world?
Pick up a copy of John Jantsch's new book, Duct Tape Selling: Think Like a Marketer-Sell Like a Superstar - John has a wonderful ability to break down the confusion and fear of sales, and what it takes to make them (le hint: marketing!). He is the master of Know, Like, and Trust.
Would you be interested in a rich list of fully-written, value-giving content examples for your e-mail newsletter? E-mail me and let me know.
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.
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!

by Outlaw Photographer James Michael Taylor

Shifting gears from starving artist to entrepreneur

As Michael Gerber well-clarified in The E-Myth Revisited, there are countless talented craftsmen who endlessly struggle to run successful businesses.

"My friends and family love my art - their praise is why I wanted to go pro in the first place. I have years of experience, I practice and get better daily, my art looks as good or better than many of the professional photographers I know in my area. Why aren't people calling?"

The skill sets of successful entrepreneurs are often little aligned with those of successful artists - hence the commonality of the phrase 'starving artist.'

In fact, many of the skills and personality traits that make you an artist create an even bigger challenge for you as you grow into entrepreneurship.

Where the artist wants to create, the entrepreneur wants to sell.

Where the artist wants to be recognized, the entrepreneur demands recognition.

Where the artist never feels worth it, the entrepreneur butters their bread by the communication of value.

Where the artist never feels good enough, the entrepreneur ships.

Where the artist seeks perfection, the entrepreneur sees perfectionism as the enemy of damn good.

Where the artist sees discomfort and failure, the entrepreneur sees opportunity.

Where the artist fears failure, the entrepreneur fails fast, and fails forward.

These are all concepts that I write about here on PTP - these are the quirks and perspectives and misconceptions and fears that I run into time and again working with my fellow part time photographers struggling to go pro.

Let me state clearly: however closely you identify with the artist described above, and how little you understand the entrepreneur, there's nothing wrong with you.

As you make the transition to business owner, you're going to feel stupid, incompetent, powerless, hopeless, foolish.

This is natural.

This is the learning curve.

This is The Dip.

This is The Resistance.

This is Gravity.

This, my friend, is right where you're supposed to be.

The bug's already bit you - you may as well give in to the fever, because the fact that you're right here, right now, reading these words, means you are serious.

You're serious about growing as an artist.

You're serious about earning an income with your art - to benefit yourself, your family, your cause, your community.

You're serious about doing your very best, both as a point of pride and in service to your clients.

You're seriously in love with creating art through photography, and you're at the point where you want to share that love with your market (and let them share their dollars with you!).

You know what's going to stop you?

You.

You hear me – you know what I’m talking about.

You are your own worst critic, your worst enemy.

You're going to quit. You're going to come up short, get frustrated, embarrass yourself, disappoint yourself, get distracted, get lazy, and give up.

You won't even know you're quitting - your ego would never let you recognize it.

It'll be a slow, quiet, passive death, a series of perfectly reasonable excuses that lead to a death subtle as a sigh in a windstorm.

But...

But!

Do you know why you won't quit?

No, I don't think you understand - that's the question, and the answer.

Why.

You have to start with why.

And it's got to be real - it's got to be deep. It's got to be clear. It's got to come from an honest place, one of complete vulnerability and submission and truth.

For each person, no matter their past or present or struggle or goals, there's one 'why' that counts.

One 'why' that does work, that goes the distance, that leans into the hard times, that fails forward and fails again, that hurts and keeps going, that falls down and gets right back up, that never stops, that can't be stopped, that doesn't get distracted or frustrated or defeated, that gets up an hour early or works an hour late or goes way outside its comfort zone to create success out of thin, cold, indifferent air.

My 'why' looks like my children's dreams. It looks like the opportunity for my two daughters and son to live lives of freedom, to chart the course of their lives by passion instead of impoverished circumstance.

What does your 'why' look like?

Share your story with me in the comments below, and if there is anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to contact me.

My work here at PTP is to help you to be blessed by the profession of photography just as I have been for over 15 years, financially, socially, and artistically. Truly: reach out to me and let me know how I can help.

Next Steps

Brainstorm session: Why did you pick up a camera in the first place? Why have you held on and continued to grow as an artist over the years? Why do you want to transition to being a paid professional photographer? Why is creating art important to you? Why is reaping an income from your art important? Keep drilling down, deep, deeper still, until you hit pay dirt. Even if your 'why' changes in a month or in a year, you need to have something to hang your hat on, something that makes your perseverance a foregone journey. File this away in your Brainstorms folder.
Are you having trouble figuring out your 'why'? Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a classic on the subject, with guidance that seeks out the truth of who you want to be and how you want to get there. You can enjoy a free copy from Archive.org.
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.
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!

by Outlaw Photographer James Michael Taylor

How to balance humility and confidence as a part time photographer

Most of the photographers I meet are very humble, and this is as much a source of their endearment as their failure to launch.

Humility with a lack of confidence is what's holding most of you back from taking the small daily steps needed to get your business off the ground and start earning an income with your art.

This beast was unmasked by psychologists in the 1970's as "Imposter Syndrome."

There's a balance to be had between the humility of knowing you always have room to improve, and the confidence to take daily steps to make those improvements.

Most of you don't understand why anyone would pay you $20 for your work, much less $200 or more.

I've totally been there my friends, over and over again. I spent years as a professional photographer with the same mindset, and even today (15 years in) I have to reach beyond my comfort zone to ask the price I'm worth.

"I wouldn't pay $XXX for my photos," is just the kind of trap start-up photographers fall into as they let fear talk them out of going pro.

There are plateaus in any arena of growth - in the gym, in the classroom, in a career, in artistry, in business. But you never stop striving. You never stop reaching. Humility will serve you well. So will the confidence to always move forward, come what may. Forward. Ever forward.

Balancing Humility and Confidence

Humility and confidence are two of a part time photographer's most powerful tools.

As a humble and confident photographer:

You have the humility to recognize your art can always be improved, and the confidence to know your art as it is today has value for clients, and thus salability.

You have the humility to offer affordable pricing to keep your shooting schedule full, and the confidence to charge enough that your average client sale leaves a big grin on your face.

You have the humility to know odds are highly against your having outgrown your equipment, and the confidence to create professional-quality (salable) art and experiences for your clients, no matter what gear you shoot with.

You have the humility to accept constructive criticism of your work, and the confidence to filter out bad advice that is mean, discouraging, or distracts from your artistic vision.

You have the humility to understand that your artistic vision today may not be what your artistic vision should be tomorrow, and the confidence to do your best work now knowing that six months or a year down the road you'll look back and say, "What was I thinking?" (I can't tell you how many iterations of 'artistic vision' I have gone through in the past 15 years. Even I get embarrassed looking at some of my older work - hell, some of what I did last year! - but professional photography is always, always, a learning experience.)

You have the humility to know that there will always be someone better - at photography, at marketing, at business - and the confidence to do your best work and never stop learning. Understand: you're not trying to be better than anyone else - you're trying to be better than who you were yesterday.

You have the humility to find a photographer (or several) whose work inspires you, and the confidence to reach out to those photographers for advice, mentorship, and constructive criticism (protip: if they don't respond or don't want to help, find someone who does!).

You have the humility to read a book (or magazine, or blog, or tutorial, or podcast) on photography, business, or marketing, and the confidence to take action - one action, or a series of actions - and make tangible improvements in your art, policies, practices, and exposure in your market.

You have the humility to recognize that if you're going to make your dreams come true, you're going to have to take action and put yourself out there - and the confidence to accept that vulnerability and take action anyway.

You have the humility to recognize that your art today is not what you want it to be, and the confidence to put your name out there as a professional photographer anyway, knowing the best way to get to where you want to be is to shoot often and enjoy the motivational rewards of running a business (and cutting yourself a paycheck) at the same time.

You have the humility to accept that your natural inclinations toward business and marketing are probably not the best practices, and the confidence to seek out those best practices and have faith in their efficacy (if you're still 'specializing' in a dozen different styles or niches of photography, I'm talking to you, friend).

You have the humility to to accept that it's a long road to where you want to be artistically and professionally, and the confidence to know that with small daily improvements, you'll get there faster than you think.

You have the humility to volunteer your photography talents to your church or a local charity, and the confidence to know what you give will come back 10 fold.

You have the humility to reach out to amateur photographers, and the confidence to help them through knowledge, mentorship, and most of all, encouragement.

You have the humility to ask a local business leader out to lunch, and the confidence to request their advice and mentorship.

You have the humility to never stop studying and practicing, and the confidence to fail and learn from that practice, and do it again and again, knowing progress is both incremental and inevitable.

You have the humility to know you need to practice on real subjects, and the confidence to ask your friends, family, and even strangers to pose for you.

And most importantly - you have the humility to accept imperfection in yourself and everything you do, and the confidence to know that your best effort - no matter how seemingly small - is leagues beyond everyone still sitting in front of their computers wishing they could be doing what you're doing.

It's not a to-do list - it's a mentality. It's an attitude. It's a philosophy. It's a way of being. And it's the best attitude to have if you want to accelerate your growth while enjoying every step of the journey along the way.

Next Steps

Stand up (yes, right now, I'm serious), and read this out loud: "I am worthy. I've come a long way, and I'm capable of more. I deserve more. My clients deserve more. And I'm going to work daily to study it, practice it, fail it, and learn it - in honor of my art, my muse, my clients, and my Self."
Set a calendar reminder for three months from now with the above words, and have it repeat every three months, forever. Every time, stand up, and read it out loud.
Grab your cellphone and send a text message to me at 830-688-1564 with one word: "Kaizen". This doesn't secretly sign you up for anything - it's just an action. A step. Momentum. A connection. A public commitment to yourself in front of another human being that says, "I've read these words and I am moving forward." Lao-tzu wrote, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Brainstorm session: Are you better than you were yesterday? Are you better than you were a year ago? In what ways? What growth opportunities have you missed? Are you going to miss them this year? How are you going to make progress this year? What are the Next Steps? Write this down and file away in your Brainstorms folder.
Start practicing humility and confidence today. Choose from the above list, and take action today. I'd suggest picking three photographers whose work you love, and reaching out to them by phone or e-mail to ask for a casual mentorship relationship. Ask them humbly if they would be willing to look at your art, or your web site, or your marketing, and offer any advice they may have. This will provide you guidance, confidence, and accountability - three key ingredients to learning and improving in any endeavor.
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.
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!

by Outlaw Photographer James Michael Taylor