In my posts a couple of months back about album marketing I suggested that you need an entry-level price that doesn't scare people. That prompted Darlene to tell a good story... "If a bride has a Mercedes budget and your prices start at Ford, she won't even come look at you. I've seen that in action with some of my clients. "One guy from a rust-belt town was charging $1500-3000. He told me, 'I can't sell your albums – they're too expensive and I can't get $5000 for a wedding round here'. "I told him he'd be surprised to learn, then, that one of his competitors (20 minutes away) was using To View More >>

I don't like long posts, and I'm always at Ian and Nigel to keep 'em brief so I apologize. This recent post prompted Ken to comment and me to respond with this, my longest ever... Ken asked whether our industry's main challenge wasn't "crap photography" but competitors with stupid pricing, for example, "2 photographers, hi-res images and Queensberry with 60 images for £1500." Ken suggested that people like that shouldn't last in business but they keep coming back... So I presume that if in fact they're surviving, they're probably a high volume, low margin outfit - possibly with healthy post-event To View More >>

The trouble with Seth Godin (I linked to him yesterday) is that once you start reading him it's hard to stop. Next day he's talking about how, when you're starting out ... or you're struggling ... or the economy isn't hot, it's very tempting to "take what you can get". And that has consequences. As if that's not enough, his very next post says: "If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do work that matters, this is it. You can't say, 'but I need to make a fortune instead,' because that's not happening right now. So you might as well join the people who can say, 'I love doing this.' To View More >>

Not every business owner can call themselves a professional photographer. But every business owner needs to be a marketer.  Creativity lends itself quite nicely to marketing so the chances are, if you're reading this blog but don't claim to be a marketer already, you'll be quite good at it. I was reading an article by Paul Williams yesterday that made me realise this: The current economic climate is forcing every business owner (that's you) to become a marketer. The recession is a "training ground for us to hone our businesses. The difference (or benefit?) with the recession is that EVERYBODY To View More >>

I see the Druids are celebrating the sun at Stonehenge, but Down South 21 June is the shortest day. Not that we have much to complain about. We don't even get frosts in Titirangi (loosely "fringe of heaven" in Maori) but it's sure cold in the wind and shade. Early morning I rugged up and took the dogs down to the beach and thought that, even when the tide's out on an overcast day in Winter, life's not too bad. Hopefully it's the shortest day for the economy too. The worst of Winter may still be ahead – the moneymen (and some of us) screwed up, and the consequences are still playing out ... but To View More >>

These articles are about strategies to combat the recession. I ended my last post by posing the question on everyone's lips: what happens if my bookings drop? You'll need to have read my previous post to make sense of what follows, but to recap, based on the numbers in the graphic below, if I get 30 wedding bookings and average $5000 per job my income is $71k. If I could get 40 bookings I'd make $114k, even if my average dropped to $4600. All good, but what happens if I can only get 20 bookings? The answer is my income drops to $28k! I could still achieve my $100k income goal with just 20 weddings To View More >>

Follow the links for "the story so far" in our series on the recession... Yes, times will be tough for a while but you shouldn't assume the sky is falling. It makes no sense to sacrifice your business and market reputation to survive the short term challenge. Instead you may need to pull your horns in and find ways to prosper while others decline. A good place to start is by analysing your budget and business model, and we have a spreadsheet to help with that. Most people react to the threat of declining sales by saying, "I've gotta cut my costs". Everyone needs to work out their own figures, but To View More >>

I posted the other day about this being a great time to consider whether any of your business policies and touch points aggravate your customers, and if so fix them. I included a PS saying we know we’re not perfect, and "if you reckon this is the pot calling the kettle black, please leave a comment or email us". I was glad I did because Mark went to some trouble to leave a lengthy comment detailing his frustration with us. My point here is not so much to talk about his particular issues (we've been in touch, of course, and we  pretty much have to take what he says on the chin, and fix the To View More >>

More feedback on my email, Your next album company It's hard to compete ... We've seen a massive influx of photographers from Eastern Europe charging very low prices and supplying reasonable products.I understood the impact of this EU "migration" in British hotels and restaurants, but I honestly hadn't thought about the impact on photographers (Jo and Kirsten will be shaking their heads!). Even so I feel that this kind of competition is always with us ... in one form or other. The purpose of outstanding presentation is to add value to your photography. That's why,whoever you use, your albums must To View More >>

More feedback on my email, Your next album supplier Changing to Queensberry is like changing my Ford Focus for a top range Audi ... Not sure many people are going to cope with that. Depends what you mean by "many". But certainly we never expect most people to choose Queensberry. Products that differentiate need to be aspirational (ie more people want them than can have them). That applies to your own "products" too, of course. In business, rather than ask how much something costs, it's useful sometimes to ask how much it's worth. And how it positions you in your market. There were 42 album companies To View More >>