There are two apps that can keep you from falling asleep at the wheel on the road to your photo marketing success: Evernote and  iCal. When used in conjunction, they’re even more powerful.

1. Good content always comes first. Evernote is a great app to capture portfolio shoot ideas as they come to you; great ideas can happen anywhere, anytime. Don’t let them slip away. Rope and tie ‘em.

2. Then use iCal’s reminder function to actually schedule your portfolio shoots. Commit to scheduling a minimum of 6-12 new images per year. Put them on your calendar now even if you don’t have the actual idea fleshed out yet. Create deadlines with multiple alarms for every aspect of the shoot.

3.Use Evernote again to capture any promotional ideas, leads, and resources that inspire you about marketing. Use the Tags feature.

4. Then schedule action steps related to your marketing ideas into your calendar. Use more alarms. Move a task to the next hour–or the next day– if you don’t complete the task on time. Keep the alarm active until the project is totally complete. Getting sick of hearing the alarm go off can be a powerful motivator. And it will create new habits.

5. Finally… schedule a victory reward for the work you’ve done to support your creativity and your intention to move your marketing forward.
Don’t skip this step!

Carolyn Potts, photography marketing consultant, former photo rep, and compassionate butt-kicker, shows photographers how to get more work. Although, only 3 alarms were needed to write this article, there are several more alarms to go before her new website launches. In the mean time, find her at www.cpotts.com , http://bit.ly/FaceBookPottsConsulting and http://carolynpotts.net.

While I was getting ready to write this post, the radio began playing Michael Jackson’s early hit “ABC easy as 123.” It struck me that that song’s message –about keeping things simple–applies as well to marketing your photography. Just remember to use “ABC” and “123.”

A. Always promote your best imagery. Trim your portfolio regularly. Markets evolve. So should you. When the dead wood is gone, new content can grow in its place.

B. Be you. Discover and commit to a marketing activity aligned with your personality, skills, and resources. Not everyone has the personality to excel at in-person networking. Not everyone is technologically adept at social media. Find a strategy you like. They all work, but only if you…

C. Commit to consistency. If you want results, nothing beats consistency. Remember, it takes at least 7 impressions before a prospect can even remember your name–even if they LOVE your work!

And to be a successful marketer of your photography:

1. Do it. Do what ever it takes to make yourself do it. To actually achieve consistent results, you need to master doubt, fear, and procrastination. Mastery over any limiting beliefs you have about marketing, will always precede your external victories.

2. Delegate it.  To do that, you need to hire–or bribe–a willing teammate to take it off your plate. Learn to leverage your time. If there’s someone else who can do it well, use your valuable time to focus on your core business: image-making.

or

3. Team up with an accountability partner. If your consistency often flags, get a friendly, deadline-dictator to hold you accountable on your goals and deadlines. This will help build your self-confidence so you can achieve some real wins–ones that will help you overcome any further marketing resistance.

Fellow photographers are a great support system, but don’t overlook teaming up with a non-photographer. Find someone who needs support in sticking to their New Year’s resolutions (e.g., losing weight, quitting smoking, cleaning out the basement, etc.). On the road to achieving a big goal, everyone inevitably falls off track at some point, but with support, getting back on board is so much easier.

You can get better at marketing your work. It’s essential for your success–especially in today’s market. But it doesn’t have to be hard.
Just remember A, B, C.
It’s easy as 1, 2, 3.

Carolyn Potts, photography marketing consultant, former photo rep, and compassionate butt-kicker, shows seasoned & proactive photographers how to get more work. She’s also promised her accountability partner that she will finally get her very outdated website updated by end of 1Q2012. In the mean time, find her at www.cpotts.com , http://bit.ly/FaceBookPottsConsulting and http://carolynpotts.net

Are you being heard? Do you know how to effectively communicate with your potential client if they’re part of different generation? Is how you’re saying what you’re saying, turning off your potential client?

Marketing communications that are designed to get more business, must take into consideration the recipient’s preferred mode of communication. Snail mail works for some, social media works for others, and real-world word-of-mouth referrals work for everyone.

When seeking new business, remember that the person you want to work with might be from a much different generation than you–either far younger or much older. And within those generations, there are VASTLY different styles and methods of communicating. Failure to recognize those differences could make you appear at best, slightly out of the loop, and, at worst, downright rude and crude.

The well-respected Pew Research Center has posted a great quiz entitled “How Millennial Are You?” Take it and see how close–or far–you are from being able to communicate effectively across generational lines.

Boomers: sending endless emails to a Millennial with increasing levels of irateness about their lack of response is probably less effective than sending them a text with the same information. Millennials: imagine how your grandmother might feel if you were constantly using your smart phone to update your FaceBook status while you’re having dinner together.

Imagine you’re traveling to a different country. E.g., you’ve heard about those “ugly Americans” who travel to Paris, ignore all the local customs, refuse to learn even the simplest of phrases, and then wonder why the French often seem “cold?”  You won’t make the same mistake when sending your communications across generational lines if you show a little willingness to find out what communication style your client prefers and make attempts to “learn their language.”  N’est-ce pas? LOL!

Carolyn Potts, photography marketing consultant; international speaker; and former rep, who scored higher than the average boomer on the PEW quiz , shows various generations of photographers how to get more work. www.cpotts.com, http://bit.ly/FaceBookPottsConsulting and http://carolynpotts.net and Twitter: @PhotoMktngCoach

Besides your taking care of your camera gear, computer, and your fearless attitude,  do you have a maintenance routine for…your eyes?!?

If you don’t, a computer-heavy assignment can lead to eyestrain. While not life-threatening, eyestrain can cause double vision and other symptoms–ones which are not so great when your career depends on good vision. Check Mayo Clinic’s site for great info on symptoms, remedies and prevention tips.

Carolyn Potts, international photography marketing consultant, and a former photo rep, who recently spent so much time in front of her computer that she gave herself eyestrain, shows photographers how to get more work. Find her at www.cpotts.com , http://bit.ly/FaceBookPottsConsulting and http://carolynpotts.net

I am writing this the day after the 500-point drop in the US stock market which was felt around the world.

If your 401k now looks like a 101k, it’s hard to feel creatively inspired.  Understandably, many people are freaking out.  But remember: fear kills creativity.

However… there’s always another way of looking at any situation.  E.g., maybe now’s the time to do a portfolio piece that would illustrate those anxious feelings? Hmmm…..

Is this market news going to bad for business? Maybe.  As I walked with a friend and we past a newsstand’s screaming headlines, she quipped:  “If it bleeds, it leads.”  Fear is good for the media business. It attracts more customers.

As Charles Dickens wrote in the opening paragraph of Tale of Two Cities in 1859:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

If you adopt “it was the worst of times” thinking, you put your most valuable business asset –your creativity–more at risk than your stock broker did with your portfolio. If you succumb to fear-based thinking, if you allow that to take over your mind, you lose peace and intuition which are the very conditions which foster creativity. We are in an age where intellectual property (IP) is now driving large sectors of our economy (e.g, Apple, Google, FaceBook,etc). Your imagery is IP and is part of that economic engine. Lose the mental states necessary to create good IP, and it’s like a manufacturer having an explosion on an assembly line in the industrial age.

To defend against creativity-killing fear, here’s how I’d modify the famous morale-boosting 1939 poster issued by British government: “Keep Calm, Keep Creating, and Carry On.”

Carolyn Potts, photography marketing consultant; international speaker; and former rep, shows seasoned & proactive photographers how to get more work. www.cpotts.com , http://bit.ly/FaceBookPottsConsulting and http://carolynpotts.net and Twitter: @PhotoMktngCoach

Time spent online with social media must have a clear goal–otherwise it’s just a time suck.

Do you start your day with a cup of coffee and a check-in to your social media feeds?
Does reading the overnight updates on FaceBook, Twitter, and LinkedIn make you feel secure that you’ve not missed something important?

But…are you able to limit your check-in time to 15 min.? Unless they’re on an assignment, few people I know have the discipline to keep from “falling down the rabbit hole” of the online world. They get seduced by following one interesting link after another.
After another.
After another.

The next time you discover you’ve lost an hour or two diving deep into a twitter stream or by following links you find on FaceBook, be careful you don’t succumb to the rationalization that you’ve spent your time doing “internet research.” What kind of “research” are you really doing?

Are you using social media strategically? Is your goal to get followers?  Or to personally and powerfully connect with a client who can give you an assignment?

I’ve interviewed SO many photo buyers who, in theory, like following social media. However, the day-to-day reality and the time demands of their jobs, leaves most of them too overwhelmed to pay more than glancing attention to social media.

Because clients still primarily hire people they know and like, getting to “know” you “virtually” via social media is never as valuable is getting known by someone in person. Those are the kind of relationships that lead to real dollars.

The value of face-to-face will never diminish. Research has shown that humans have a limited capacity for the number of relationships (around 150) that will create a powerful sense of connection and reciprocity. Most people really do give repeat assignments to the people they like and connect with.

If you think it’s impossible to get appointments these days, you might want think harder. People attend conferences, meet-ups, and networking events. Your clients attend them. Time spent online in ‘real’ research will have a much bigger pay-off when you meet them face to face.

Are you thinking strategically when you’re using social media? Or only tactically? A tactic has to be tied to a strategy and a strategy has to connected to a measurable goal. Is getting a lot of followers your ultimate goal? Or is getting an assignment your real goal? There are many paths to getting hired. Make sure the minutes you spend with social media are clearly tied to your strategy and your tactics support your sales goals.

Carolyn Potts, international photography marketing consultant, speaker and former photo rep, actually uses social media but she spends most of her time showing her clients how to get more work. Find her at www.cpotts.com , http://bit.ly/FaceBookPottsConsulting and http://carolynpotts.net

When the next heat wave hits and you’re melting, take it as a weather-related gift to help you stay fresh in your client’s minds…. in the dead of winter.

My 2010 summer marketing ASMP blog post suggested that your beach reading should include some great marketing books (listed in that post). That still holds– as does the recommendation that you capitalize on the fact that ad agencies plan their client’s winter holiday promotions during the summer. Therefore, it’s a great time to send out some cold weather imagery promos during the summer heat waves.

Now let’s flip that.
Go out during the next heat wave and shoot some great summer imagery.
Hot. Dripping. Steaming.

Then make a BIG note in your calendar to load those images into your promotional content delivery system so that they’re automatically sent out during the dead of winter.

Zig.
Zag.

Throughout every season–and for over 30 years–Carolyn Potts, landed hundreds of well-paid assignments for the photographers she repped. Now she shows photographers how to do the same. She’s at www.cpotts.com & FaceBook

What social media marketing has in common with plate spinning.

If you’re wondering if you should add social media to your marketing mix,
there’s a simple test. How many plates are you successfully spinning right now?

Think of each of your marketing initiatives as a plate…. a plate you have to keep spinning–like the old vaudeville plate-spinning jugglers.

Keeping your website updated with fresh content is one plate. Keeping in touch with your existing clients by phone is another. Sending out email blasts and/or printed promos another.

You have to be able to spin what you’ve already got– without crashing any plates– before adding another.

Can you balance it all? If you can honestly report that in the last 12 months you have updated your web site at least 3 times and sent out at least 6 email blasts and/or printed promos, then it’s a sign you have the bandwidth to add a social media plate to your routine (or you have the resources to outsource that plate to an able assistant or a service provider).

Consistency is the single most important factor in marketing. If you try to do too many things at once, the risk of crashing goes up. Build your skills.

If the bulk of your clients are hanging out on FaceBook, then do that channel consistently. Then add a another plate. To really see the power of marketing, get at least one or two marketing habits solidly into your workflow before adding another channel. No matter how bright and shiny another channel seems.

Carolyn Potts, international photography marketing consultant, speaker and former photo rep, shows seasoned & proactive photographers how to get more work. Find her at www.cpotts.com , http://bit.ly/FaceBookPottsConsulting and http://carolynpotts.net

Both videographers and photographers are now actively pitching their clients on their new DSLR-HD capabilities. They’re sending out marketing messages inviting their clients to see them as a “one-stop shopping” solution when it comes to digital content.

But how do you take on a video project when you’re not an experienced video producer?

If you deliver a product that is any less professional than your mainstay service offering you’re cutting your own throat.

If you create a digital video that takes hours of post production to clean up, you weaken your client relationship, e.g. just like the videographer who “does not know what they don’t know” could screw up when it comes the file prep of a still image.

Most photographers fully understand the issues involved in image prep for usage on a billboard vs. in print. But that same photographer might “not know what they don’t know” when it comes to post-production issues related to creating motion content destined for broadcast vs. smart-phone video.

The ground under the foundation of your business relationship, starts to shift. Your relationship was built on the implicit assumption that as a professional photographer you can always meet your client’s needs. Delivery doubt creeps in. If a client asks you to shoot video “while you’re at it…”  it may be wiser to turn the offer down. Better to refer them to a trusted video producer and manage that relationship on behalf of your client, if you can. From the client’s perspective you’d still be a great problem-solver.

Maintaining your client relationships while building your motion skill set requires a big commitment. To get far enough beyond the learning curve to start safely marketing video production services to your existing client base, you’re going to need a strategy for moving into new media.

As it’s been said before in many of the forums, producing a behind-the scenes (BTS) video is one of the best ways to start and stay close to your client.

First, create a BTS telling your business story. Build tech proficiency by taking apart videos that inspire you. Do shot-by-shot analyses. Look at the mix of camera angles, lighting, lensing, audio and music cues that move the story along, the pacing of the edits, and finally, how does the story start, build, and end? Do you have the necessary storyboarding skills?

Once confident in that arena, move to creating a BTS of one of your client’s projects. It’s the next logical step. And it keeps you close to your client.

For video BTS inspiration: check out http://fstoppers.com or search Google or vimeo.com for “BTS video photoshoot”. If you’re at the beginning and confused about what gear to get, here’s a good buyer’s guide http://bit.ly/photogvideoguide

Carolyn Potts, photo marketing consultant & former rep, shows proactive photographers how to get more work. Read her thoughts on video on her blog at http://bit.ly/FaceBookPottsConsulting or www.cpotts.com

If there’s a jingle for a carpet cleaner or a chewing gum locked in your brain, you already know the power of consistency when it comes to brand recall.

Consistently delivering branded and relevant messages to a target audience is the cornerstone of marketing success. It’s that simple.

Since different audiences often prefer different channels, pick a few channels that you know your target responds to–and that you know you can afford to broadcast to regularly. Budget both your money and your time.

Caveat: a recipe to become overwhelmed–and ultimately drop the marketing ball–is to try to promote on every possible channel. Without a huge budget or staff, it’s just not possible for most photographers to consistently promote on all the channels available in today’s marketplace.

An incredible promotional piece sent out intermittently (regardless the distribution method), will rarely, if ever, create the same “brand awareness” that a campaign consistently directed over time will.

Brand awareness is critical. Why? Because when it comes to that ” Who you gonna call?” moment, you want it to be your name that’s stuck in someone’s brain.

Early on in my career as a rep, I learned it was not always the most-talented or visionary photographer –e.g., who I was repping –who got the assignment. It was very often the one who had the most top-of-mind awareness in the mind of the client.

Despite the increase in the number of “broadcast channels” (e.g., all things digital) available to
deliver your message, do not use marketing channels that you can’t maintain over time. Consistently.

It doesn’t matter if your target audience prefers to be reached via printed promos, emails, or tweets about your latest project; if you want top-of-mind awareness, it’s consistency that creates memorability.

Consistency is so powerful it’s the reason jingles get stuck in your head–and often wish you could get rid of them!

Double your pleasure.. double your fun…

Carolyn Potts, perpetual photo evangelist; international consultant & speaker; and former rep, shows seasoned & proactive photographers how to get more work. Find her at www.cpotts.com, http://bit.ly/FaceBookPottsConsulting and http://carolynpotts.net