Digital Prophet
28th of June 2005 (Tue), 12:49
You know there are so few words in the english language that illicit sucha a varied range of responses as the word "Marketing". Whether you think it means making a sale or whether you think it means one more thing that someone is trying to sell you it seems to have different connotations to everyone that hears it.
But, in the end, no matter how we define it marketing is something that we all have to do. Maybe you are like me and to this point have just been doing the "who knows who" marketing which can easily be described as "semi-interactive word of mouth". Maybe you are one of those people that is convinced that as long as you have a website you will have clients. And maybe that works for those of you. Or maybe that is all you are doing because you don't have the time. Hell my website is a glimmer of what it should be and still has a message from November. I am just too busy.
And for that I suck.
So I decided to stop sucking and draw on resources I have at hand. I called one of my close dear friends (who happens to be very hot) and asked her "Close dear friend who happens to be very hot, where do I begin to get a handle on how to market and consequently grow my small yet girthy business." Wait got my wire crossed. But the point is that she recommended an author to me named Seth Godin (http://sethgodin.typepad.com).
So went to Amazon and looked up his books (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/103-3316822-1055064). It didn't take long before I decided that this fellow spoke in a way that even a retard like me can understand. So I ordered a couple and have gotten some very interesting points.
But the point here isn't that I think you SHOULD read Seth Godin books. The point is that we as photographers need to understand that we are businesses. We are entities that need marketing and plans for expansion and develop just like Coke, Luby's, Ford and McDonald's. I am just waking up to that fact and already I can tell you that in a short time I have realized that alot of what I have "thought" just needed to be fine tuned to produce a plan of "action".
If you don't like Seth's writing style then keep looking. There is bound to be a writer you do like. Or take a class or read a website. I just know that I have been exploring a world of information that I didn't know existed until just recently. And I encourage others to do the same so that we can all elevate not just our photography business but the business of photography.
- Digital Prophet -
But, in the end, no matter how we define it marketing is something that we all have to do. Maybe you are like me and to this point have just been doing the "who knows who" marketing which can easily be described as "semi-interactive word of mouth". Maybe you are one of those people that is convinced that as long as you have a website you will have clients. And maybe that works for those of you. Or maybe that is all you are doing because you don't have the time. Hell my website is a glimmer of what it should be and still has a message from November. I am just too busy.
And for that I suck.
So I decided to stop sucking and draw on resources I have at hand. I called one of my close dear friends (who happens to be very hot) and asked her "Close dear friend who happens to be very hot, where do I begin to get a handle on how to market and consequently grow my small yet girthy business." Wait got my wire crossed. But the point is that she recommended an author to me named Seth Godin (http://sethgodin.typepad.com).
So went to Amazon and looked up his books (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/103-3316822-1055064). It didn't take long before I decided that this fellow spoke in a way that even a retard like me can understand. So I ordered a couple and have gotten some very interesting points.
But the point here isn't that I think you SHOULD read Seth Godin books. The point is that we as photographers need to understand that we are businesses. We are entities that need marketing and plans for expansion and develop just like Coke, Luby's, Ford and McDonald's. I am just waking up to that fact and already I can tell you that in a short time I have realized that alot of what I have "thought" just needed to be fine tuned to produce a plan of "action".
If you don't like Seth's writing style then keep looking. There is bound to be a writer you do like. Or take a class or read a website. I just know that I have been exploring a world of information that I didn't know existed until just recently. And I encourage others to do the same so that we can all elevate not just our photography business but the business of photography.
- Digital Prophet -