What Matters To You?

We've created this blog for you- the small business entrepreneur and professional photographer.  Because we value you as a reader, we'd like to make sure our content stays relevant and interesting.  In the poll below (or in the comments), please let us know what topics are important for you so we can focus our time on sharing information that is valuable and resourceful to you and your business:





Thank you for your continued support!

Anne Ruthmann is a lifestyle & wedding photographer from Boston, MA. She spent 10 years practicing marketing & management in corporate and non-profit businesses before pursuing her passion for photography as an independent small business.  She loves helping others find creative and low-cost solutions to business problems.  Follow her on Twitter to see her daily adventures and thoughts.

WPPI 2012

It's another year and another WPPI, who is going??? Personally, I'm still on the fence but haven't been counted out of the game yet. If you have attended in the past make sure to check your spam folder for a special discount code from WPPI for registration.

I am planning on doing another hotel post (was going to do it now but MGM's site is down!) and an update to cheap eats as the one from a few years ago is out of date... are there any other tips that you guys would like??? Let me know in the comments!!

Below is a review of past articles on PLC regarding WPPI.

WPPI PLC Post Round Up

How to Plan for a Great Tradeshow and Convention Experience

Review: WPPI 2010

Review: WPPI 2009
Survival Tips for WPPI
Tips & Tricks for the Tradeshow

What to Pack/Bring to WPPI

What to Wear to WPPI

COREY ANN

Corey Ann is a wedding & lifestyle photographer from North Canton, OH. She is a mix of everything - fashionista (runs Clothes for Pros, clothing suggestions for photographers), travel guru, deal hound and geek rolled into one. She's had a website online since 1997 and a blog since 1999. When not plotting world domination or her next trip, she can be found reading one of the 100+ books she reads a year. Follow her on Twitter.

Where to Find Great Free Photo Business Education

Learning about photography is often the work of amateur photographers, while learning how to run a business is often the work of professionals photographers. Unfortunately, no matter how creative you are, if you want to make a living from your photography, you must understand the business side as well as you understand the photography. For that reason, I'm pretty jazzed about some great and FREE opportunities to learn more about the business of professional photography. If being a professional photographer or working for yourself is one of your new year resolutions, than check out these great opportunities to learn for free:

1. CHASE JARVIS LIVE
This is one of my favorite new additions to the world of professional photography education. Chase Jarvis Live is sponsored by Polaroid, which means he doesn't have to charge you for the content he's creating. He's recorded live interviews and ARCHIVED them for your FREE viewing pleasure to revisit whenever you have time. I've seen three so far and I have to say it's well worth your time to sit down with some morning coffee once a week to check it out. What's great about Chase is that he pulls in people from outside of the photography world- people who approach business and entrepreneurship from many different perspectives. I'm confident you won't be disappointed and you'll learn at least one new thing from each episode, even if you've been in the business for a while. If I could give Chase an official Photo Lovecat stamp- I would, because he's nailed the lovecat way. Visit the link below to check out the series:
http://blog.chasejarvis.com/live/

2. THE JOY OF MARKETING
I went back and forth about including this as a resource because the free content is a marketing pull to bring you into paid content options, however, I figure you're a smart cookie and if you should be applying money to your credit cards instead of accumulating more debt, than you'll resist the temptation to get the paid content until your finances are in order. That being said, the FREE offerings are so good that I HAD to mention it. Solid, direct, concise material for building your business, your brand, and your marketing strategies. Way to go Sarah Petty! Most of the stuff that you might want to pay for is actually available for free during the "live events." So, watch out for those and put time aside in your calendar to keep the livecast on in the background while you edit. Sarah's program has been around for more than a year now, so there are some real gems that you can access right now on the website before the next live event. Check it out on:
http://www.thejoyofmarketing.com/free

3. PUG, SMUG, ASMP, AND MEET-UP
After moving my business three times, I can definitely say that meeting other photographers in your local area and developing a local support network of colleagues is a key to running a successful business. In the Boston area, we have a lot of photography and meet-up groups, each one with their own particular flavor. All of the ones I've mentioned are free to join and are worth investigating to find out what's available in your local area. Here's a way to figure out which one is best for you:

PUG Meetings- sponsored by Pictage but open to everyone, these are great for meeting your local wedding & portrait photography community, sharing business ideas, and connecting with other professional photographers for assisting or second shooting trades. Each local PUG has a different feeling and community, which you'll learn more about after visiting a couple times. If you're a wedding or portrait photographer, this is a great free resource and way to connect with other professionals in your area:
http://www.pictage.com/thephotolife/pugs

SMUG Meetings- sponsored by SmugMug and open to everyone, the SmugMug community is generally made of amateur, part-time, sports, and fine art photographers. Since I still have yet to attend one, I can only imagine that it's very similar to the PUG meetings in that it's a great place to connect with other like-minded photographers and to learn a little something new at each meeting. Here's a link to find Smugs in your area:
http://www.smugmug.com/smugs/info/

ASMP Meetings- the American Society of Media Photographers is generally geared toward established professional commercial photographers and photojournalists. Unlike PUGs and SMUGs, there is a fee to be a regular member of a local ASMP chapter (much like PPA), however it's minimal compared to other memberships and it generally includes perks and discounts that you wouldn't get otherwise. I included it on this list as a FREE resource because there are generally plenty of informal get-together events happening on a weekly or monthly basis where you can meet the group and find out if it's the right fit for you. Since many of these people are established professionals with strong opinions, tread lightly and figure out the personalities and politics before asking too many questions, but don't let that stop you from checking out whatever they have to offer for free. Find your closest chapter here:
http://asmp.org/chapters/your-local-chapter


Now that you're armed with some great options for improving your business in the next year- I hope you'll let us know what you've found useful and if there are any resources we should add to our list! Check out the ones we've already listed in the past as well:
MORE Great Photographer Resources

Anne Ruthmann is a documentary lifestyle & wedding photographer from Boston, MA. She spent 10 years practicing marketing & management in corporate and non-profit businesses before pursuing her passion for photography as an independent small business. She loves helping others find creative and low-cost solutions to business problems. Follow her on Twitter to see her daily adventures and thoughts.

When Should You Rebrand? (and when NOT to rebrand)

Good Reasons To Rebrand:

• You are not attracting your ideal clients
• Your product, service, or style has changed and is no longer reflected in your brand
• Your brand is out of date because it was created for a different market or decade
• Your current brand has acquired a bad reputation
• Your brand is easily confused with another established brand in your field
• You want to publicly demonstrate growth or innovation

When NOT To Rebrand:

• You just want a fresh look even though you are attracting great clients
• You are moving to a new location but continue to offer the same service and products
• You have rebranded or just established your brand within the last year
• Your current brand is well established and has a great reputation in the industry
• Your competition got a new look and now you feel like you need one

Really, the only good reason for rebranding is when you want to change the direction of your business and/or the kind of client that you attract- any other reason may do more damage than good to your business momentum.

If you have decided that it is time to rebrand for the right reasons, consider the following questions carefully:

1. What does your current brand fail to communicate or attract?

2. How will a new brand better communicate your product or service and attract your ideal market?

3. Based on the strength of your current brand's reputation, what is the minimum amount of change that will have the maximum impact toward your goals?

There are many different ways you can make changes in order to serve your goals- consider which ones will have the greatest impact:

SERVICE CHANGES:
Changing your service methods are one of the easiest ways to change the perception of your brand without changing a look that has already established itself in the market. By simply improving the service aspects of your business, you can boost your word of mouth marketing and reputation in the marketplace. Consider the excitement that comes with new food offerings at your favorite restaurants, or a return of a seasonal only favorite item. Just be wary of making changes too frequently in the customer experiences so that your clients don't suffer from a type of "facebook frustration." Here are some examples of service changes you may want to consider:
- Reorganization and optimization of website menu and navigation
- Improve response times to inquiries and problems
- Improve delivery times on products and services
- Streamline customer options and selection process
- Change service or product offerings
- Product packaging and unboxing experience

MESSAGE & TONE CHANGES:
Making changes to the tone and messages communicated in marketing materials can be a subtle way of changing directions and identifying with your intended market. McDonald's has changed it's slogan countless times as well as the formality and informality of its wording in marketing materials. It has moved from "you deserve a break today"- targeted to parents suggesting a break from cooking at home and entertaining their kids, to "i'm lovin' it"- targeted to young adults suggesting satisfaction of a craving when they see the golden arches on the side of the road. Here are several elements of a branding message that you may want to consider:
- Tagline or motto
- Written copy on website and in marketing materials
- Testimonials from clients
- Stories and Case Studies that demonstrate service and product offerings
- Integration of accomplishments or statistics that establish credibility
- Use of social media to deliver value and convey brand messages

VISUAL CHANGES:
This is generally the first thing people think of when they think of rebranding, but as you've seen, it's not the only influence on your overall brand. In fact, if you have an established brand, I'd recommend looking at the other changes you can make before you implement a visual change. We've seen plenty of iconic brands undergo visual changes in our lifetime (Pepsi, Apple, Adidas, etc.) and it's important to note that changes which were received positively in the market often held on to some elements of the former branding. When GAP took too drastic a departure from its former logo, the market responded negatively to the new look, which resulted in GAP changing back to their original logo. If you've created an iconic logo for your company, be very careful about how you change it. You may only need to make very subtle changes in order to attract a new market, convey a new experience, or bring it into a new decade. Consider these various elements of your visual brand:
- Color palette of logo or marketing pieces (website, business card, newsletters, etc.)
- Fonts, spacing, and layout of marketing pieces
- Shapes used in marketing pieces (going from squares and lines to circles and waves)
- Complexity or simplicity of elements used in visual marketing pieces

NAME CHANGE:
I place this one last and in its own category because the only reason for considering a name change should be when you want to make a complete departure from your former clients and reputation. A name change from "XYZ Studio" to "XYZ Photography" is not that dramatic if your main service has always been photography. However, if you're a graphic designer, this would convey that you are now ONLY offering photography, thus separating yourself from your design clients and reputation. Consider the impact Netflix had when it created an entirely different brand for DVD service and how separating it from Streaming Video services was not welcomed by its customer base leading Netflix to reverse their new venture. A subtle name change may not have that much impact on your business as long as you retain the original web address for at least 2 years after you make the change. However, if you are going from JD Photo to Jane Doe Photography- it should be because JD Photo was too easily confused with other similar names and conveyed a brand name that was more casual than the type of work you want to attract. Before considering any name change, google the name and see what other websites appear in searches to make sure you can carve out a unique name for your service in the online marketplace.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Test out any changes on your favorite clients or on people that you'd like to attract with your service or product. Get some good feedback from people who would have an impact on your bottom line before solidifying any changes. Just as there is beta-testing with new software, there should be some amount of beta-testing with changes to your brand. If you've gone through the branding process, or are in the middle of it, I'd love to hear about your experience in the comments!

Anne Ruthmann is a lifestyle & wedding photographer from Boston, MA. She spent 10 years practicing marketing & management in corporate and non-profit businesses before pursuing her passion for photography as an independent small business. She loves helping others find creative and low-cost solutions to business problems. Follow her on Twitter to see her daily adventures and thoughts.

What Makes You Different? How to Define Your Style

Differentiation is one of the biggest keys to thriving in a crowded marketplace. If your work looks like everyone else's, than there's no good reason to choose you over someone else, or to pay you more than someone else, unless someone has already developed a personal relationship with you.  When you find what it is that makes your work different and sets you apart from the crowd, you are no longer competing against anyone else- you're effectively creating your own little niche in the market.

A lot of photographers starting out take a while to find their style, and I don't blame them- I was there once too! Even when I was a musician, a painter, and a teacher, I started out by emulating someone else's style before I was able to find what felt good for me and before I had the skills to really create on my own and break the boundaries of what was traditional, trendy, or taught to me. Finding your style can be difficult to identify and may require the help of a few people who love you, but once you've identified what makes YOU different from everyone else, you can finally begin to sell yourself on your uniqueness and attract clients who love what YOU love and are willing to go out of their way to hire you for it!

Here are a few tips to help you find your individual sense of style, and what separates you from everyone else:

1. WEED OUT IMITATION
Go through your portfolio and get rid of anything that looks like something you've seen somewhere else, or that which is a direct copy of something you've seen before. What you're left with is what makes you unique.

2. TUNE INTO YOUR AESTHETIC
Anytime you see something that strikes you as cool or amazing, ask yourself why you feel that way? What captivates you? Is it the colors? Framing? Moment? Lighting? Posing? If you have a hard time identifying it in one image, try collecting a bunch of different images that move you and look at them collectively to see if you can identify any trends that seem to appear frequently. It's often much easier for our minds to make sense of patterns than it is for us to analyze isolated incidents.

3. GET OUTSIDE OPINIONS
Poll your friends, family, clients, and even other photographers! Ask them for three words that they feel best describes your work or your personality. If their answers are what you were expecting, than you're on the right track. If their answers are not what you were expecting, ask more questions to help define the outward signals you're sending to others.

Once you've identified what makes you different and unique- you need to make sure your branding, portfolio, and products are in-line with your unique preferences in order to create a complete and cohesive marketing message that will appeal to people who appreciate your sense of beauty and art. Put the images and things that YOU love first, not just the ones that you think will sell best. You want clients who will hire you for what YOU do best. Share your uniqueness and you will attract others who appreciate it. Give people a reason to be intrigued, to stay longer, to explore more. Pretty is nice, but different is interesting... and interesting attracts more attention and sells better against the competition.

Anne Ruthmann is a lifestyle & wedding photographer from Boston, MA. She spent 10 years practicing marketing & management in corporate and non-profit businesses before pursuing her passion for photography as an independent small business. She loves helping others find creative and low-cost solutions to business problems. Follow her on Twitter to see her daily adventures and thoughts.