Sal Cincotta ~ BehindTheShutter.com Weddings Take it to the next level 1
outline get your business cards out now what to expect today brief intro state of the union where to start? understanding costs creating and establishing a brand creating compelling packages making facebook work controlling your destiny my view of the future behindtheshutter.com q&a creating separation from the pack 2
what to expect i am about as direct a person as you can be my 80/20 rule we are not talking theories... i am the most passionate person you will ever meet this is not a feel good fluff session... expect to learn... expect to be overwhelmed open your mind... hear what i am saying and look for ways to incorporate it into your business vs ways for it to not work my passion is to educate you. i want everyone to make money. Whatever you do... DO SOMETHING!! 3
slideshow 4
legal access to popular music drawing for 50% off 1yr membership... access to their entire library. one free month... use code SAL 5
state of the union we are in a recession everyone is a photographer clients are cheap... they have a friend they want everything for free SO WHAT! Get over it and move on. if you are following sound business principals... most of this is easily overcome 6
where do we start? artists are typically not good business people... which is fine... must have solid foundation. we have to understand costs and some basics. COG = costs of goods (must understand what this number includes) simple break down time to shoot time to edit time to load and backup time to print time to talk to client about wardrobe... any additional meetings.. contracts, etc hard drives, dvds, lens, camera, etc, etc now... after all this has been removed.. then you can talk about health care, marketing, advertising, etc you have to get your pricing under control 7
establishing a brand branding can be this nebulous thing at times what goes into a brand? is it your logo? colors? the name? nike, coke, microsoft, apple who is the face of the brand? so its personal? the way we carry ourselves, dress, car we drive... it all matters. does our brand define our photography and does it even matter? perception vs reality. exercise... pick 3 words to define your brand... and then take a good hard look at everything you do. EVERYTHING. packaging, marketing, advertising, business cards, name, etc is it cohesive and does it convey the message you want it to. 8
creating packages i will be diving into this in vegas... platform class dedicated to this money is like water... it will flow to the path of least resistance have to create compelling packages stop giving away the house in your base package i.e. shoot and burn or negatives in the base or prints... we offer 3 packages... 4k to 8k. we use negatives, albums, time, shooters as pull through. take a honest look at your packages and be honest... look at where clients have been spending their money... ask why and what can you do to get them to where you want them? 9
creating separation in 3 years... we have become one of the most sought after studios in our area how? we are always looking for new ideas... new ways for us to stand out from the crowd... adding video is one of those things we turn around images in 2 weeks or less for our clients... fully edited! this is one of the single most important factors in breaking away from the pack. couldn't have done it without one of our key partners... revolution imaging, they changed my life. we do a day of slideshow on a 60in screen... then post to facebook that night! red carpet preview for our clients to see their images destination engagement shoots perfect your craft... competitions... read... research... experiment... customer service... must excel in this area what is your x-factor? why should i book you vs someone else? 10
facebook are you maximizing this amazing medium? lets talk about some don ts no one cares about how tired you are... or if anyone knows why the sky is blue... or about your cat patches... this becomes noise and clutters their feed and eventually they ignore you or cut you off altogether. don t post retarded pictures that are not representative of your brand and messaging... i.e. you on the beach drinking... who are you marketing to? seniors, babies, weddings... create separate pages and keep the messaging pointed so when they become fans they see what they signed up for we are photogs... stop posting words... going out for some e-shoots... we are a visual medium don t nag or hound people to friend you or like you... its desperate we have 500ish fans... and we get about 2000-2500 visits per month 11
facebook some dos... keep it relevant - brides dont want to look through senior pics post pictures... video... slideshows promote specials link from web site tag yourself in each of the pics and add your logo and a blurb about tagging use this as an add-on to your packages creating a value-add get people excited! 12
controlling your destiny where do you want to go? where do you want to be in 12 months... 3yrs... 5yrs... gotta have a plan! verbalize it. i want to make $200k... 30 weddings... 50 seniors... put a plan together to accomplish the metrics you just created. how are you going to do it? 13
the future... this is my view... lower and lower barriers to entry into our market more and more people with little to no knowledge will enter the market and it will cost less and less video will become a must have bundled product. do it right or dont do it. and we will continue to feel pressure from the bottom 14
check it out check out behindtheshutter.com conference special... one time only... $150 for the year. be sure to attend our platform class in vegas... special... we will be doing a potfolio review and a package review at WPPI U 15
final thoughts... we are not just photographers... we are visionaries... entertainers, directors, and story tellers, but most importantly, we are artists... and this is the most important job of all... follow your passion and never give up on your dreams. 16
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