Many small business owners have trouble with marketing. They think its difficult, an acquired skill that takes years to learn.

In reality, marketing is something you have to work at for the life of your business. Yet it isn’t difficult to learn or do. You just have to realize it is a part of your business and you have to do it. Many of the things that will help you be most successful you already know. See how many things you are already doing.

1. Understand, know and love what you are selling.

Sounds easy enough; yet in reality many people create packages they aren’t really sure about. If you don’t have faith in what you are selling and know it inside and out, you’ll never be able to sell it to a prospect. And they really want to buy!

Marketing doesn’t have to be complicated. And you don’t have to create complex messages. In fact, the simpler the better. If you aren’t sure if your packages are simple enough, explain them to a family member or friend that doesn’t spend a lot of time in your business. Can you explain it in a few sentences and have them get it? If not, go back to the drawing board and rewrite your content. You should be able to quickly describe what you do, what you have to offer, and have them wanting more information.

2. Have your information in a variety of ways.

If you’ve ever told someone what you do, what is the next question they usually ask for if they are interested? They ask for more information. People are skeptical by nature. They don’t hear a few sentences and immediately buy, especially if it’s a larger ticket item. In order to appease their instincts and help them determine if they can indeed trust you, they ask for more information to prove in their minds that you are legitimate. While you don’t have to have volumes of content, you do have to have your content in a variety of ways. Your website is the easiest, especially if its in blog format, because you can add a ton of content to it any time you choose. You can also have postcards, brochures, videos, and a variety of social profiles. Make sure they all say the same things and frame your business in the same way. They should be able to move from one place to another, improving your image in their minds.

Dig Deeper: 5 Tips To Make You Better At Blogging

3. Talk about what they want to talk about.

Have you ever sat through a sales presentation that seemed to go on and on? Even if you wanted the product/service, or even tried to stop the sales person to buy, they continued to rattle on and on through their pre-established sales pitch. Boring, right? The key to being great at sales is to put the ball into your prospects court. Sure, you have certain things you have to get out onto the table. But when it comes right down to it, your prospect is the one who needs the information. Instead of moving through a planned out pitch, start out with a question. “What are you looking for in a photographer?” Then sit back and listen. Modify your sales pitch to match their language and you’ll be a sales “rock star” in know time.

4. Follow up means everything.

Most people will not jump at your sales pitch and sign on the dotted line the minute they meet you. Instead, they need gently persuasion to push them along. This is true in every stage of your business, not just with your prospects and customers. If you want action, you must be the instigator. If your client needs time to make a decision, tell her you will call and check in three days from now … and stick to it. If a prospect needs to check with another family member before signing up, call her back to move the process to the next level. Call. Mail reminder cards. Email. Whatever you choose, schedule it and do it. Its up to you to see things though to fruition.

5. You will be forgotten if you don’t keep in touch.

While its important to keep in touch throughout the sales process, its equally important to keep in touch after the sales is complete. People are busy and they don’t think about you or your business on a regular basis. If you keep a low profile to avoid annoying people, all you will accomplish is being forgotten. It doesn’t take much to stay in someone’s mind. On occasional postcard. A monthly newsletter. Regular posts on Facebook. Whatever you choose, make sure you stick with it and are there for the next time your client begins thinking about photography.

6. Talk in stories.

Think back in time. Thousands of years ago, people handed down their history not through lectures and sales pitches, but through stories. The more exciting they were, the easier they were to remember. The same holds true with the best sales people in our industry. They don’t sell by talking about what camera they use or what paper they print on. They sell through stories.

“This bride was one of my favorites. She spent days trying to find the right dress, and wanted to spend time alone with her husband-to-be before the ceremony so she could really see how much he loved the way she looked. So we found a little spot out behind the chapel and had him wait for her. When she walked in, he started to cry. Look at his face in this photograph. She absolutely loved it. She loved the emotion that shows on both of them in this series of images. In fact we got so many great images of this session, we created a mini-album just for this moment. They treasure it to this day.”

See how this story helps you sell? Yet I haven’t made one sales pitch. That’s how powerful stories can be.

7. Always ask for what you want.

People have this way of assuming others know what they want. We lose the ability to ask for what we desire. If you think about a 2 year old, you know there is nothing shy about them. “I want it. I want it.” They’ll go on for hours if you let them. Yet after no, no, no, we eventually lose the ability to ask for what we want.

Stop and think about everything you want within your business. Do you want them to read certain pages on your website? Do you want them to request more information? Do you want them to fill out a form? Do you want them to choose a package? If you need to write it all down, do it. Then work call-to-actions into every part of your business. “If you want more information, fill out this form.” Put buttons on your site, or physically tell them how to proceed into the next step. Don’t assume it. Make it obvious. If you keep asking, you may not always get what you desire. But if you never ask, you’ll NEVER get it. So keep asking.

What if you could advertise in big magazines, like Elle? Or have your photography be sold out of big box chains like Sam’s Club? And what if you were the only one in your area that would benefit from this form of marketing. Would you be interested?

Click Connection Corporation is a new concept making its way into the U.S. after succeeding to the tune of millions throughout the U.K.

And the idea is simple. Join and become a member of one of two Click Connection formats:

Click, which targets people interested in the family, baby and pet niches.
Fresh, which targets people interested in fashion makeovers.

They both have yearly membership fees, plus a yearly marketing contribution. Then pay per lead that is delivered to you – and you have a new client coming through your doors.

In addition to the leads, you have several other benefits from joining Click Connection.

1. As a member of either Click or Fresh, you’ll receive special discounts on the things you use most – things like frames, labs, albums and retouching houses.

2. Use the Click Connection logos and branding. Being instantly recognized as a part of an exclusive network does have its benefits.

3.Your membership comes with area exclusivity. Which means you won’t be competing for leads – if they are in your area, the referral will come directly to you.

4. They also offer a unique concept with Photopods. These unique tools will be perfect for gift giving, and will be located in a variety of places your clients shop most.

The next step is contacting them to see if your location is still available.

So do you have your New Year’s resolutions list handy? Are you sticking to them – or have you broken them already?

For me 2010 is going to be all about focus. So as a way of passing my “focus” intentions along to you, here is a list of 7 New Years resolutions you should make a photographer – and keep the whole year through.

1. Become the best photographer possible.
How does your photography stand out from the competition? When people look at it, do they say “WOW”? If not, get practicing. Attend a class. Give yourself assignments. Find websites from 10 photographers online whose photography you admire. Use them as inspiration, and head out for practice sessions to see if you can shoot similarly. (Notice I’m not saying copy – use it as inspiration to develop your own style.)

2. Become better at technology.
Like it or not, technology is here to stay. And technology is going to be a strong part of what separates professionals from amateurs. Anyone can pick up a point-and-shoot and take a fairly decent image. That’s why so many photographers are struggling; if a client can’t see the difference between your work and theirs, why should they pay a high price? But if you use technology to make your photographs go from okay to WOW, they’re going to know you are a professional. And be willing to pay for it too. If you need to brush up your skills on Photoshop, I highly recommend Lynda.

3. I will get the gear I really need, and use it to its fullest potential.
What’s your favorite lens? What lens do you hate, and complain about every time you bring it out? Start by selling the lens that’s not suited to your photography, and investing in something more usable. Not sure what you need? Start by renting lenses to find the perfect one for you.

Once you have your gear, learn how to use it in every day situations. Get creative. Think outside the box. I’m always amazed at a great shot when you find it was taken with a small point-and-shoot, or now even an iPhone. It’s not always the camera – it’s the eye.

4. Always shoot RAW.
By reading the last 3 resolutions, this one should be a given without any explanation. If you’re going to photograph an image and use technology to enhance it, starting out with the RAW format will give you the biggest possibilities. Make sure you save your RAW images, and work with a copy. That way you can try many different things without risking the original file.

5. I will become a master at relationships.
Are you connected with other photographers? Do you share regularly ideas and strategies that can help all of your businesses grow? If not, get started today. One of the best ways to grow is to work together in collaboration with other photographers. There is only 24 hours in a day, and 365 days a year. Chances are you don’t want to work that entire time. Instead of turning away the business you can’t do, help out your friends, and keep all of your calendars filled. A strong recommendation will turn a client quicker than any other form of marketing.

Also work at establishing relationships online. If you’re a wedding photographer and you build a strong relationship with a coordinator in another city, you never know when she might hand you a great referral – and it will be the start of your destination business. But you have to build the relationship first. The business comes; it just takes time to nurture and grow.

6. I will share my photographs online.
If you’ve been one of those photographers afraid to put your work online because of copyright issues, change your thought pattern in 2010. Social media, blogs, and online marketing is here to stay. People find work because they are willing to share what they do, and aren’t afraid to have their work shared by others. Instead of being afraid of people “stealing” your work, how can you benefit from it and still make a nice profit? We’ll be exploring those ideas in 2010, so stay tuned.

7. I will treat my photography as a business.
Hoping and wishing will never turn your photography into a business. Planning and goal setting is the only way to see it through.

If you haven’t legally set up the business side, what’s holding you back? It’s a fairly easy process to start a photography business, and you can get help from a variety of sources, including your local Chamber or small business development center.

If business was slow in 2009, what are you going to do to change that in 2010? What new services can you offer? How can you reach out to clients in a new way? In order to get different results, you have to do things differently. So get started in a new direction, and put aside the things you found not to work last year.

image source

If you follow me on Twitter, chances are you saw this come through as a re-tweet a couple of days ago. I was so impressed with this idea, I decided to include it in my One Great Idea area to share it with everyone, whether you are on Twitter or not.

To read the whole story, you can start here by reading Clint Watson’s blog.

Let me just sum it up for you, and then give you my take.

Brian Kliewer is not a photographer. But he used a great idea that could easily be implemented by any photographer in business today.

He’s a fine art painter. He has a small website where his clients can go and view his work, and purchase his paintings. He started this campaign with a small email list of 84 people.

Nothing big. Nothing fancy.

Yet he followed in the footsteps of a mentor, and came up with a great idea called “100 paintings in 100 days for $100 each”.

Brian didn’t start out with the paintings in hand. He created the idea, then spent every day painting, photographing it, putting it up online, and hopefully selling it.

How well did he do?

At the end of 100 days, he sold 79 of them. That’s $7900 in 3 months that he wouldn’t have earned without this promotion.

And the publicity he gained through this event brought him in several other painting deals, and increased his email list by 46%.

Sounds great, doesn’t it.

Takeaway Idea:

Don’t reinvent the wheel – take an idea someone else has success with, and modify it to fit your needs.

As a photographer, why not create something similar with your photography. What could you do to create something that you can sell to your list, and have fun with the idea too?

The 100/100/100 is a great idea, but you don’t have to stick with those numbers. Maybe you’ve taken some great sunset photos over the years. Why not mount and frame them, and have a “50 sunsets in 50 days for $50 each” campaign? Send a postcard out to your clients announcing your new campaign, and let them know everything will be coming through your email list – they have to join in order to find out the new photographs.

Don’t have 50? How about 25? “25 photographs in 25 days for $25 each” would still bring in $625, help build your list, and open up your mind to new possibilities. The 25 series would help motivate you for further campaigns, and get your clients excited about your potential.

“But I’m just a portrait photographer. I don’t have sunsets or nature photos”

Even if your passion is babies, you can find a way to have fun with this. Think Anne Geddes. She started out as a baby photographer, and would ask the moms if she could take a picture or two for fun for her own use. Her collection grew, and she eventually became a fine art portrait photographer that photographed babies for her books, not as personal portraits. Run a contest. Let your moms know what you are doing, and the best become a part of your 50/50/50 deal. Yes they have to sign a model release for it. But imagine where you could be a year from now if you do this.

Good luck!

Think of how a pendulum works. It slowly swings back and forth. From one side to the next. It never stops, just swings from one point to the next, and always returns.

Business works in much the same manner. At some point you’ll have the best of times, with money flowing freely. And at some point you’ll have the worst of times, with financial crisis looming in the horizon.

Now let’s talk photography. At some point the photography industry is at the top of the heap, allowing photographers to charge whatever they want, making huge sums of money. And at some point photographers flood the marketplace, only being able to barely hang on.

I’ve seen them both. We were at the top of the heap during the 90′s, easily bringing in 5 figures per wedding client. It came easily. Friends referred friends, and every wedding we could make what some photographers are currently making in one year.

So will the pendulum ever swing back to the good times? You bet. And the clear winners will be:

1. The photographer who takes photography seriously, and becomes the best photographer she can.

2. The photographer that concerns herself with the business as well as the photography. If you can survive hard times, the good times will be easy.

3. The photographer that dotes on customer service. No matter what the economy, she gives her clients 110%.

4. The photographer that continues to mentor under the best in the business. If you’re not busy, take the time to study and become better.

5. The photographer that creates a marketing plan and sticks with it. The company that keeps marketing through thick and thin truly understands the power of marketing.

6. The photographer that comes up with something new – a new twist – and finds the clients willing to buy it.

7. The photographer that isn’t out for the quick buck, and caves into “what everyone else is doing”. The biggest statement I hear from photographers on why they charge one low fee and hand over the digital files – “everyone else is doing it”. That’s not how to get to the top. The way to the top is to give what no one else is giving.

8. The photographer that stays active in the community.

I know there are a ton more ideas – what are some of yours?

image source dougieladd