Required reading for anyone starting a business

[The Stig]

http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#2QtpZ7/www.newmediaphotographer.com/2009/08/who-is-your-target-market//

This hits the nail on the head. If you don't have this piece in place, your business will never go anywhere. Fairly common sense, but sadly it seems forgotten more often than not.

[Picture North Carolina]

Excellent link. Short piece, and to the point.

I especially love this quote:

"Who do you wish to attract to your online community? Fellow photographers are nice, but generally they don’t pay the bills."

I can't even begin to count how many people I've seen here on POTN talking about how important blogs and social media are, but when you go to their blog or facebook page, it's all about photography! It targets the the interest of the type of person who is here on POTN!

In big bold letters, people: your target is not other photographers! It's the mom looking for a wedding photographer, it's the art director looking for a photog to shoot an interview, it's the sales manager about to roll out a new product. And NONE of them give a damn about your photography-related ramblings.

I will disagree... partially... with one thing the article seem to weight heavily. I am not going to say social media is not important. However, on the other hand, there are certain sectors - certain people - it does not apply to.

For twelve years I have been dealing solely with corporate clients. No weddings, no portraiture, etc. Some of the CEO's, sales managers, and art directors have actually become personal friends. And without a doubt, there is one thing I know about these people: they do not "...hang out on Twitter..." as the article suggests.

It's not because they're old or anti-social media or anti-anything else. It's because they simply do not have time to play around on Facebook. They are too busy trying to build their businesses to waste time.

So don't place ALL your eggs in the social media basket. Balance. Traditional, old-school, boring, bland marketing has its place, too.

Here (on POTN) and in other media, I often read people writing about how some are "clueless and resistant to change" (talking about social medial). Well, there's another side of the coin they are clueless about.

They don't recognize the fact that there are potential customers - successful, hard working people - who have better things to do with their lives than waste time tweeting in the Twittersphere.

[airfrogusmc]

Yes CH I would NEVER get my corporate clients on line and the only people I would get would be what I call tire kickers(just looking for a quote, they already know who they're using) or low end clients I wouldn't want anyway. The type of work I do the way I get clients are CONNECTIONS and word of mouth. In my field they would never hire someone from a web page.

Working inside the field for years and having friends that already liked my work and liked working with me was KEY. 9 years and every year a slow but steady growth. The first half of this year was the busiest I've had so far.

It took me 5 years to land one of my largest clients. You string a couple dozen stead clients together that will give you consistent work you can make a living and a nice one at that. I to have good friend that are CEOs, VPs, art directors, graphic designers, account managers and those friendships and relationships are the glue.

I think, knowing really knowing your market inside and out is key. That way you know the language, the type of work they need, the environments you will be working in, etc so you can use whatever it takes to get clients. Whats just as important to longevity is not only getting clients but then once you're in the door keeping them. Thats what pays the mortgage, college for the kids and a vacation once in a while.