by successfulbob | inspiration, Marketing Monday, photography education, photography marketing
Commitment in Photography – Marketing Monday
by Skip Cohen
I’ve written a few posts in the past based on excerpts from the Walk the Talk series. They’re just short thoughts that get me thinking about this amazing industry we’re all a part of.
I found this from Abraham Lincoln…“Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions. And the actions which speak louder than the words.
It is making the time when there is none. Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism.” – Abraham Lincoln
As photographers, whether you’re shooting a wedding, a portrait or a commercial shoot, think about your commitment. Are you committed to your clients, to the quality of the final image and most important of all, that little voice inside your heart that represents the passion for the craft you need to succeed?
People trust you to capture some of the most important moments in their lives. There is no room for compromise and there are no shortcuts. You owe them the very best your creative skill set will allow and your commitment isn’t just to your clients, but to yourself.
There is no place for a been-there-done-that attitude. It’s all about your clients and to give them the very best your education is the key. It simply can never stop. New techniques, skill sets, pushing the edge of the envelope as if every client was your very first one has to be your mantra. Shoot as if the images you’re about to take are the only photographs people will ever see of your work.
My buddy, Scott Bourne, talks about all of us being the high priests of memory protection. That’s a big commitment and responsibility. Think about what that really means…then take a few deep breaths and smile every time you’re working with a client, because nobody can capture memories like you can!
Skip Cohen has been involved in the photographic industry his entire career and previously served as President of Rangefinder/WPPI and earlier, Hasselblad USA. He founded SkipCohenUniversity.com in 2013. Skip is a co-host for “Mind Your Own Business” and “Beyond Technique,” webcasts through Photofocus.com, writes for several publications including Shutter Magazine and is actively involved in several advisory boards for non-profit organizations.
by successfulbob | Guest Post, marketing, Marketing Monday, photography
Giving Back – Maketing Monday
by Skip Cohen
Giving Back
It’s probably ten years ago I wrote my first post about giving back to the community. It’s such an important part of building your brand that it deserves to be at the very top of your priority list. As business picks up in the fourth quarter, you need to make sure you don’t lose sight of how much it can help you build your reputation.
Helping Hand Graphic – Bob Coates Photography
Years ago I had the opportunity to hear Jay Conrad Levinson speak. Known best as the originator of the expression “Guerilla Marketing”, he talked about the top 100 things Guerilla Marketers need to do. At the very top of the list was “be involved in your community and charities”. Why? Because, people like to buy products from companies they perceive as giving back.
It’s cause-related marketing at its best and it helps build your brand beyond just being a photographer. Let’s face it, you’re looking for the community to be good to you. So, what are you doing to be good to your community?
Finding a charitable cause in your community couldn’t be easier, but you have to take the time. Just read the local paper. What’s going on in your community? If the school tax bill didn’t pass, then the arts are going to suffer, starting with the yearbook, photo club, newsletter etc. All, perfect matches for you to lend a hand as a professional photographer.
Is there an event coming up that might need your skills as a photojournalist? Everything from a walkathon to organizations like Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions and Exchange Club all have a major charity drive each year.
Check with your local hospital, police force, fire-fighters – they always need help and they always have an event they’re sponsoring. Then there are great organizations like Big Brother and Big Sister.
Within the photographic community, there’s NILMDTS (Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep), Thirst Relief, HeartsApart.org and the Josephine Herrick Project. These are just a handful of non-profits as examples. They all involve photographers and are dedicated to helping make the world a better place.
Although no longer serving let’s not forget PPA Charities, founded over fifteen years ago by Bert Behnke. I’m proud to have been one of the original members of the team along with Helen Yancy, Steve Troup, Dennis and Lori Craft, just to name a few.
Skip Cohen has been involved in the photographic industry his entire career and previously served as President of Rangefinder/WPPI and earlier, Hasselblad USA. He founded SkipCohenUniversity.com in 2013. Skip is a co-host for “Mind Your Own Business” and “Beyond Technique,” webcasts through Photofocus.com, writes for several publications including Shutter Magazine and is actively involved in several advisory boards for non-profit organizations.
by successfulbob | Guest Post, marketing, Marketing Monday, photography, photography marketing
Waiting for Your Ship to Come In
Marketing Monday with Skip Cohen
I’ve used this quote by Ross Perot in other posts, because it’s so relevant.
“Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one-yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touchdown.
If I ask a group of photographers about advertising, somebody will always say, “We tried it once, but it didn’t work!” Ask some people about trying some different lenses or shooting wide open for a different look and you’ll hear almost the same, “I’ve tried it, but my clients like the look I have!” Ask them to move the lights in the studio, the ones that are put in the same spot every day on the masking tape on the floor, and you’ll get almost the same response.
Empty Dock just waiting for a ship…. or a boat – © Bob Coates
Well, what if those photographers are all standing on Ross Perot’s one yard line? What if they just needed to run that ad a few more times for people to contact them? What if they only needed a little more patience?
Trust me, I know it’s tough waiting for your ship to come in. But I’ve seen so many photographers who were able to stay focused, stay aggressive in their marketing efforts and believe in themselves and things did come together.
It’s all about taking action, being patient and not giving up. And since Ross Perot put me on the one yard line, might as well stay with a football theme and give Vince Lombardi the spotlight:
“It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re number one. What you’ve got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not yet a winner!”
Skip Cohen has been involved in the photographic industry his entire career and previously served as President of Rangefinder/WPPI and earlier, Hasselblad USA. He founded SkipCohenUniversity.com in 2013. Skip is a co-host for “Mind Your Own Business” and “Beyond Technique,” webcasts through Photofocus.com, writes for several publications including Shutter Magazine and is actively involved in several advisory boards for non-profit organizations.
by successfulbob | Marketing Monday, photography education, photography marketing
The Tougher the Challenges the Better Your Skill Set Will Become
Marketing Monday by Skip Cohen
Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.
Racers sailing photo by Bob Coates Photography
It’s an old African proverb, but the more I read it, the more I’m in awe of how much these seven words say. They sure seem to fit everything we learned over the last few years about business.
Think about it. From a challenging economy to keeping up with technology, to social media and increased competition, you’re working harder than you’ve probably ever worked in your life.
What’s exciting to me is the new energy focused on marketing. Years ago we used to laugh because Don Blair would get a thousand people in a posing and lighting program with a few cute models and I’d get ten people in a marketing workshop and five of them were relatives! Today, every marketing, business, and workflow program is packed, and people are taking notes.
One thing I have noticed is those photographers who tell me they’re having a good year. They always add a comment of, “But I’ve never worked so hard in my life.” Further discussion always brings out new things they’re doing regarding diversity in their business, skill set, and the products/services offered.
Scuba diving is a major passion of mine, and I remember a dive when I first started, in horrible water. We had 6-foot swells, and we were in a small boat – I was diving with my buddy, Bob Nunn. The captain looked at us and said, “If you guys can dive in this you can dive in anything!” I came off the boat green, and Bob left breakfast a half mile off the Florida coast, but it did make us better divers. It also gave us something to laugh about.
Well, as an industry we’ve survived a roller coaster of challenges over the years, but the keyword is survived. The proverb says so much that to keep talking about it becomes trite. The point is we’ve all learned to sail in rough water, and as a result, we’re better sailors!
Give yourself a pat on the back – your passion for photography is alive and well, and you’ve got more tools to make this last quarter pretty remarkable. The goal is for you to THRIVE, not just survive!
Skip Cohen has been involved in the photographic industry his entire career and previously served as President of Rangefinder/WPPI and earlier, Hasselblad USA. He founded SkipCohenUniversity.com in 2013. Skip is a co-host for “Mind Your Own Business” and “Beyond Technique,” webcasts through Photofocus.com, writes for several publications including Shutter Magazine and is actively involved in several advisory boards for non-profit organizations.
by successfulbob | Guest Post, Marketing Monday, photography marketing
Loose Ends – Marketing Monday by Skip Cohen
Okay, gang, we’re down the to the wire and the fourth quarter, complete with some substantial seasonality, kicks in next month! It doesn’t matter what kind of year you’ve had to date, great seasonality for most photographic specialties is about to start.
So, the question is, how many incomplete ideas, loose ends, are on your desk, or bouncing around in your head. Loose ends are all those projects you’ve procrastinated about, and they range from mending fences with your adversaries to cleaning up the back room of your studio. Relax, I’m not suggesting you need to clean it all up today, but what a kick to put all your loose ends down in a list and then start checking them off one at a time.
Remember, half the battle is beating procrastination, and we all do it. We put things off waiting for the shoemaker’s elves to come in the middle of the night and clean up the mess. Sadly the only elves who show up are the Keebler Cookie guys, and they only add to your belt line!
I found a great quote from Orison Swett Marden (spiritual leader from the 1800’s)
“A lobster, when left high and dry among the rocks, does not have sense enough to work his way back to the sea, but waits for the sea to come to him. If it does not come, he remains where he is and dies, although the slightest effort would enable him to reach the waves, which are perhaps within a yard of him. The world is full of human lobsters; people stranded on the rocks of indecision and procrastination, who, instead of putting forth their own energies, are waiting for some grand billow of good fortune to set them afloat.”
Okay, get out the pad of paper and make that list…I did mine a few minutes before writing this post, and while I’ve made no progress, it’s at least a start! I am however craving a bag of Keebler Cookies and a lobster…go figure.
Skip Cohen has been involved in the photographic industry his entire career and previously served as President of Rangefinder/WPPI and earlier, Hasselblad USA. He founded SkipCohenUniversity.com in 2013. Skip is a co-host for “Mind Your Own Business” and “Beyond Technique,” webcasts through Photofocus.com, writes for several publications including Shutter Magazine and is actively involved in several advisory boards for non-profit organizations.
by successfulbob | inspiration, Marketing Monday
Five Favorite Quotes – Marketing Monday by Skip Cohen
This is the perfect post to kick off a new week, and while I can take almost no credit for the material, that doesn’t change how much I enjoy sharing quotes that are relevant to so many different aspects of our lives.
For years, I pretty much stopped reading for pleasure or my own personal growth. I was so wrapped up in what I do every day that reading just seemed to be an extension of work. My wife Sheila helped me snap out of that and I read a lot more than I used to and doing my best to make it authors and topics outside of photography. It sounds so stupid to suggest the obvious, that reading can create inspiration, but so often it’s just a simple one-liner that hits home.
So, I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorites here on Successful-Photographer. I don’t care how good a year you might be having or how positive a person you are, everybody has had to deal with their fair share of challenges.
- From Mary Kay Ash: We must have a theme, a goal, a purpose in our lives. If you don’t know where you’re aiming, you don’t have a goal. My goal is to live my life in such a way that when I die, someone can say, she cared.
- From Mark Twain: Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
- From Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA: Only those who are asleep make no mistakes.
- From motivational author, Wayne Dyer: When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way.
- And one of my favorites from Gandhi: Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
No matter how tough a year you’ve had or what challenges in life have been thrown at you, you’ve got to make the time to focus on a little inspiration every day. Most of us take a daily vitamin – well, think of it as a vitamin for your soul. I’m hoping one of these five quotes might just get you thinking differently about some aspect of your business and your goals.
Skip Cohen has been involved in the photographic industry his entire career and previously served as President of Rangefinder/WPPI and earlier, Hasselblad USA. He founded SkipCohenUniversity.com in 2013. Skip is a co-host for “Mind Your Own Business” and “Beyond Technique,” webcasts through Photofocus.com, writes for several publications including Shutter Magazine and is actively involved in several advisory boards for non-profit organizations.
