If you don’t track where leads are coming from, there is no way to know where to put future time, effort and money.

Reviewing Google Analytics is an important part of tracking website traffic and understanding your Internet sales funnel.

Tracking clicks from your latest e-mail campaign will help you become a better e-mail marketer.

Tracking your social media statistics is important to understand what works to drive the most engaged traffic.

We have wonderful technology available at our finger tips. This doesn’t replace important old-school marketing information.  This information comes from the most important thing you can do when you finally receive that e-mail or phone call requesting your services.

Ask the right questions:

• How did they heard of you?
• Why did the prospect chose to call you?
• What images did they like the best?

Ask the questions that will make you a better marketer.

Rosh Sillars is a photographer, author, blogger, and podcaster supporting the photography community at http://www.roshsillars.com.

2012 will offer more choices than ever for your marketing dollar and time.  Where do you want to spend it?

The first place is your website, which is the core of your marketing efforts in the 21^st century. Even if you use offline marketing, prospects still check you out online.

What are they seeing when they get to your site?

Update your online portfolio.  Make sure your site is easy to use, loads quickly, and clearly describes what you do. Update often by adding new pages with great photographs and descriptions of your talents, style, philosophies and adventures.

Not only will your prospects appreciate the ease of use and great information, but Google will reward you with increased traffic.

Last January I decided to spend a year working on search engine optimization in order to drive more traffic to my portfolio website: www.rosh.com.  My goal was to become the No. 1 ranked site on Google when someone searched for Detroit photographer.  Unfortunately, I’m the lucky guy who lives in the same town as photography SEO guru Blake Discher.

So, how did I fare? My site climbed from No. 17 to No. 2 in Detroit photographer searches.   Sometimes I’m No. 3, depending on Google’s mood.

In 2010, I attracted 32 visits to my rosh.com website with the keywords Detroit photographer  In 2011, I had 148 visits for the same keywords. Even better, I can track more than $20,000 of income related to those keywords alone.   This does not include all the other related keywords that sent quality traffic to my website on a daily basis. By quality traffic, I mean visitors who care about my site, such as prospective clients.

Did I fail?  You be the judge.

No matter how good my SEO skills seem to be, they mean little if my website doesn’t offer value to those who click on my name.

Whatever your marketing strategy –  search engine optimization, social media, e-mail or direct mail – they all will fail or offer less impact if you don’t keep your website up-to-date.

Make sure you start 2012 with a good foundation before you spend your valuable time and money.

Rosh Sillars podcasts and blogs about marketing photography at roshsillars.com

As a photographer I’ve always wanted to share an insider’s view of who I am as a professional.  Unfortunately, for many years there wasn’t a good way to go about it.

Blogging had been around for a while before it hit me that I could use this tool to share more than what I did on my summer vacation. I discovered I could write in-depth about what makes me tick and my work as a photographer.  I wanted to write with my clients and prospects in mind and share information beyond the two-dimensional photographs in my portfolio (as important as they are).  I was enthusiastic about the project.  Sadly, when I was faced with my first empty page I didn’t know what to write.

Writer’s block. Don’t let it happen to you.

Here are 15 blog topics to get you started:

• Your workflow
• Behind-the-scenes video
• Your favorite photographs
• Photographers who have influenced your work
• Your ultimate photography assignment
• When you discovered photography
• Your first camera
• The equipment you use
• New photographic techniques you are testing
•  Your most dangerous assignment
•  The photograph you missed
• What do you photograph for fun
•  What is your specialty and why?
•  What is your favorite Photoshop technique?
•  What is it like to work with you?

What would you add to the list?  Create your own blog topic list and keep it on your desktop. The next time you are faced with a blank page, you will have the inspiration you need.

Rosh Sillars is photographer at www.rosh.com and blogs about digital marketing for photographers at www.roshsillars.com

Personal projects give you the freedom to think beyond the limitations of your client photography.  Yes, digital has allowed us to experiment a little more while photographing on assignment. Unfortunately we can only use so much of our client’s valuable time for personal experiments and pushing the limits.

Take time to pick up the camera and try something completely different to make yourself a better photographer.

Keep the fun in photography. One way I do this is when I am on the road. I enjoy photographing the people, the landscapes, and the distinctive details of the cities I visit.  Many of the images are touristy.  Just have fun with it. This is important for all photographers.  It is especially important for those who have been photographing for decades.

When we regard photography as a job, it shows in our work.

Look for inspiration in magazines or on Flickr. Do a Google search for a unique photography topic to get ideas and concepts that challenge your creativity.  Look for ideas that will help put the excitement back in photography.  If nothing else, pick up your camera and explore your neighborhood.

Have a little fun.

Rosh Sillars is a Detroit photographer.

Determination is an important part of sales.  You need to do what it takes to connect to and build quality relationships with decision makers.

While sitting in my office, I overheard one of my sales representatives talking with a prospect.  The prospect wondered how my sales rep found his number and knew to call about the company’s new project. It was a case of perfect timing.

My sales associate explained he was at a local networking event and overheard a conversation about the new project. Knowing he couldn’t stay at the event to pursue this potential lead, he took a few notes and followed up later.

The next day, my rep called people he thought might know a little about this new project. He looked up information online, including LinkedIn, to identify the most likely decision maker.

The prospect was actually impressed.  My rep has an appointment next week.

The road to new clients is not always a straight line.  The best opportunities often come about when you pay attention to details and make the extra effort.

Rosh Sillars is a photographer and consultant for http://www.synecticsmedia.com

An important part of social media is managing your brand.  Your brand is your reputation. Google has a few features that will help you manage the reputation of your brand.

The first thing you should do is open a Google alerts account or use the newly released Me on the Web section of the Google dashboard: https://www.google.com/dashboard/.  These tools alert you when someone has mentioned you on a website, blog, or open social media sites such as Twitter.

Google has options and information to support you in case an unwanted web page or image is indexed by the search engine. You’ll want to go to: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/removals. You need to be logged in to a Google account to access this information.

Conduct a vanity search – commonly known as Googling yourself – and see what you find.  For a more social angle, search topsy.com and  at the free social monitoring system, socialmention.com.

You never know what you might find.  Often the surprising results are not what negative things people are saying about you, but the positive comments.

To keep it social, take a moment to thank them.

Rosh Sillars is a photographer and marketing consultant for http://www.synecticsmedia.com.

My aha moment at SB3 hit me when I realized that industry changes have challenged photographers to use their creativity to adapt their skills and talents to other industries.  Today, photographers hold their heads high and say, “I’m a photographer and a writer, a videographer, a designer, a teacher or a consultant.”

It is tough to keep the standard of living we once had when we worked solely as photographers.  Technology has lowered the bar of entry to our field as well as many other occupations.

In order to stay competitive, photographers must make their rivals irrelevant by creating a niche that separates their work and services from other photographers. Combining talents is an excellent way to accomplish this goal.

Rosh is a photographer, host of www.thedrivenbusiness.com blog and co-author of the book The Linked Photographers Guide to Online Marketing and Social media.

What with all the noise on the Web, it can be tough to keep current with updates to social media platforms. Here are a few worthy of noting:

Linkedin has updated its company search.  Now you can search companies based on criteria such as location, how close companies are to your network, or keywords related to the business.

Facebook has updated all pages for personalities, brands and businesses to look more like personal pages.  You can now use iFrames to customize the page as well as comment on other people’s pages using your brand name.

HootSuite has updated its analytics to make it easier to follow the online conversation about your brand and the reach of your messages.  You can even create custom social media reports. It’s very slick.

The newest version of Foursquare has been released.  Features worth noting are user or visitor recommendations and new merchant promotional opportunities.

What would you add to the list?

Rosh Sillars is the host of the http://www.newmediaphotographer.com blog and podcast, and co-author of the book “The Linked Photographer’s Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media.”

The best place to find new clients is through old clients.

Pick up the phone and say hello.  You have clients out there ripe with new opportunities. If you don’t know that, it’s because you haven’t followed up in a while. Never assume anything.

Maybe your client was a one-time assignment, maybe business was slow or perhaps you lost your main contact at the company.  Whatever the case, the relationships are warmer where you’ve done business before.

One-time assignments don’t have to end when the job is over.  Ask clients who they know who might need the services you offer.  Ask for a referral.

Business may have been slow for some of your clients in the last few years. The ones that survived the economic storm had to retool and reinvent themselves. The department you worked with may not have opportunities right now. Don’t give up.  A new division, department, or spinoff may need support.  You don’t know until you ask.

A lot of people lost their jobs during the recession.  Where are they now? What happened to your best contact from three years ago?  If his former employer is growing again, who filled his position?

Check LinkedIn for answers to the questions above.

It’s amazing what a little action on your part can do to shake off the dust and open the door of opportunity. Even better, you might find a few new clients.

Rosh Sillars is the host of the podcast, newmediaphotographer.com and co-author of the book “The Linked Photographer’s Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media.”

Great headlines draw people in to read your blog posts.  Are your headlines interesting?

Statement headlines such as “My new business portrait” are not attention grabbers.  More enticing headlines include: “How to create great portraits”, “What do you think of this portrait?”, or “Six ways to photograph business people”.

If you really want to find a great resource for headline ideas, visit your local grocery store.  The check-out lane racks are full of great ideas.  Learn from the professionals, who have mastered the art of enticement. Who can resist their magazines?

Numbers work in headlines. One of my biggest hits was “189 business ideas for photographers”. Create top 10 lists, but don’t overdo it.  Ask questions and share how-to tips.  You might think people are tired of these common practices, but the fact is they still drive traffic.

Not every headline is a winner.

Test headlines in the social media to see which ones people click on more.  It’s easy to do.  Use a link shortener that employs analytics such as bit.ly or su.pr to paste URLs from images from Flickr or Twitter. Give each one a different headline. Use the winner for your blog post.

You work hard on your blog posts.  Don’t let poor headlines keep people from reading.

Rosh Sillars is a veteran photographer based in Detroit.  http://www.rosh.com and co-author of the book Linked Photographer.