Whether it’s Black Friday, Christmas gifts, or simply clients wanting to wrap up their projects before the holidays, the end of year is  great  for product sales, and a great time to drive new business.  It can also be a time of frantic emails, tight deadlines and a few too many late nights. But it doesn’t need to be! The secret to a smoother, more successful holiday season is to START NOW. Here are five things you can do  right now  to save on hours and stress later. 1. Order your samples early Decide what products you're going to offer and order samples, so To View More >>

We’ve all been there — your client loves their gallery, gushes over the moments you captured… and then skips over the album. You say they’re available but no one bites. It can be disheartening, especially when you know how meaningful they are. And the same goes for other products! But here’s the thing: if your pricing page only mentions “albums available” without any visuals, story, or context, it’s completely understandable that clients pass them by. They’re not saying no to the album—they just haven’t been given a reason to say To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook Social media platforms encourage you to feed them constantly. Fair enough, they have the audience. But you need to feed yourself!  You’re lucky Photographers are fortunate in that their work generates rivers of desirable online content. You need to avoid giving away the Crown Jewels, and you need your clients’ permission to share, but your photography is a wonderful online resource. The ideal Things aren’t always ideal in the real world, but nevertheless… — Real friends are better than Facebook friends. To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook Bad taste takes a while to show up, but as soon as it does it’s embarrassing. How to avoid it? Start by keeping it simple. If in doubt, leave it out. The half life of crap In her book The Mesh, Lisa Gansky talks about “the half life of crap” – about cheap manufactured products and how long they last. Or rather don’t last. Her point is that the half life of crap products is way too short. They get boring or they break. They end up at the back of your garage or as land fill. Our poor planet can’t afford To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook There’s no room in this business for cynics. Ambassadors of Love Sure you love photography … but then this whole business is about love. Love and other emotional drivers — like the desire for connection, significance, family pride, and the human need to remember and be remembered. My Dad wanted a photo of my mother to fit in the breast pocket of his battle tunic in North Africa. Eighty years later I still have it. They married after the war. We have a few formal group photos. All us kids can do is try and judge what To View More >>

How to talk about products? In a nutshell, in your own voice, with conviction! Let's start by saying there are three aspects to this: Talking about products. Sharing about products. Believing in products. Talking  about products We'll be brief because we've covered this in a separate article, about how to sell more without being  "pushy" or "sales-y". Photographers who  love  selling probably don't need our help, so it's addressed mainly to those who're shy about it — which is possibly most of us. In that article we discuss how to build "talking about products" into To View More >>

What can we learn from A Day of Bliss? Gorgeous brides. Striking grooms. Exquisite venues. Enticing food. Charming families and friends. Alluring music, and dancing.  These phrases describe the events that Wolfgang Freithof and Chiaki Sato photograph. And imagine — A Day of Bliss Photography Studio shoots up to 70 such weddings each year. They certainly enjoy the high-level of success that most wedding photographers aspire to, so what can we learn from them? 1. Experience Matters As you might expect, you must first work hard to earn this kind of success. Combined, Wolfgang To View More >>

Here to help Yes, we have a support team ready to deal with your feedback,  questions and problems . And although sometimes it feels easiest to speak to someone directly, often it's better to message the team, or look up our online resources. (Often it's quicker too, especially if you're on the other side of the world in a completely different time zone.) I'll discuss all three here, but however you contact us, we're definitely here to help! If you phone, and we don't pick up, please leave a message When you call one of our free phone numbers, we're To View More >>

This weeks 'Share of the Week' goes to James Kelly Photography, based in the UK, who shared a great Queensberry flushmount album video and words about the importance of printing. Thanks for sharing, James. There’s a wee thank you on its way to you. "Let's talk about the digital files. "The truth is, the high-resolution digital files should not be at the top of your priorities of the final product when deciding on a wedding package/photographer it should be the album. Yes by having those files, you will be able to print them as you please and make a wedding book etc but To View More >>

Don't you love the ENTER PROMO CODE box when you're shopping online? Everyone loves a bargain! Workspace coupons allow you to offer discounts in your shopping cart … but why give money away? A few suggestions to think about: – Offer free shipping or a discount if clients spend over a certain amount.  – Throw in something extra. Something that doesn't cost you much time or money, that adds value to their experience without reducing yours! - Offer package deals — maybe digital files with their studio box, or a set of canvases from their To View More >>