When was the last time you opened one of these? Ours go straight in the recycling. What happens when you (or your customers) decide you're over Facebook, or stop clicking on Google Adwords? In this video Gary Vaynerchuk asks a bunch of event marketers how many of them said five years ago that they'd never have a Facebook account … but now they do. He says we need to ask ourselves where our customers will be hanging out in two years time. Hey, you could be on Snapchat or Vine! There's no point fishing in the wrong spot, and those fish are schooling all over the place. Partly because marketers To View More >>

Everyone is a media company these days. How often have you heard that? You need to get content out there - content your audience (and customers) look forward to - words and photos, blog posts and image galleries... But media companies have editors, sub-editors, graphic artists and on and on. You have you. If it takes half an hour to create your content and half a day (or a hired hand) to format and publish it, you're screwed. It just won't happen. The only people who need high production values are people who get hired to practice them. Video producers need awesome videos. You need awesome photos. To View More >>

Although a lot of you love our albums (us too!) we operate on the simple principle that you're running a business, and if you can't make money selling them you shouldn't buy them. But there's no doubt many photographers do struggle. Partly that's because they sell a la carte, and have persuaded themselves that their clients don't want albums. I don't buy it. A la carte is often shorthand for having a cheap headline price, and no levers you can pull to make a better sale. (I'm not saying a la carte's a bad idea, but it needs close thought). As for people not wanting albums, it was the same story To View More >>

The other day I proposed a way to encourage enquirers to look past your prices and make personal contact. It was partly a way to start identifying people who should be your clients, and withdrawing (politely) from those who probably shouldn't. You need to demonstrate to the first group why you’re the right photographer to spend their wedding day with! The 3% rule The 3% rule is our way of saying that you can't succeed by trying to appeal to everyone, and you definitely shouldn't try. It stems from the time, years ago, when we tried to estimate the number of professional photographers in the To View More >>

Have you seen the movie Hitchcock yet? Even without hobbits, elves and superheroes it's very entertaining. Alfred Hitchcock and his wife Alma were a family business, as many people reading this probably are, and it's interesting to watch the movie through that lens... 1. The movie focuses on the making of Psycho. No one else believed in the project, so they mortgaged their house to make it. Sound familiar? 2. They worked best when they worked together. He was the famous one but Alma was clearly important to his success. 3. They made Psycho come alive in the editing room by arguing about the little To View More >>