Author: Leslie Burns

Here’s what sounds like a fun and creative contest…and it involves shooting FILM! Even better, the rules are clear: the photographer owns the images. Woo hoo!

Make sure to read the details, though. It might be more challenging than you first think…but that’s a good thing. 🙂

For those of you who don’t get the Manuals in your email (and, thus, get them a month before posting!), there is a new one posted on my site.

You’ll probably have noticed the posts have been a bit here and there lately. That’s partially because it’s the holiday season with all its added stuff-to-get-done-ness, and partially because my father unexpectedly had a heart procedure on Monday. He’s doing well now and already back home (got a 2nd stent at 81 years old), but I was understandably not thinking too deeply about work during the hospital-related events.

Now that he’s on the mend, my only excuse is, happily, the season.

ASMP has posted a preview of some of the video you’ll see at Strictly Business 2. Go here, then look to the right-hand side for links to Flash and QT versions.

If you haven’t signed up for SB2 yet, what are you waiting for?

Sometimes we need to be reminded that, no matter how much we love what we do for our careers, it’s just work. I don’t mean that in a disparaging way at all–but I do mean that, while important, work needs to be kept in perspective.

There is a balance to be struck between career and other parts of life. While you will hear me say “If you really want it, you should be willing to do whatever it takes to follow your dream–including working second jobs, etc.” you also need to remember that your family and friends are incredibly important to your success as well. They need your time and attention.

Those two ideas aren’t in conflict but they can get convoluted at times. Usually, friends and family get sacrificed in pursuit of career. That can be just as dangerous to your success as ignoring your business.

Having support from friends and family is vital to being successful. We all need cheerleaders at times, and people who will sympathetically listen when we bitch about clients who are difficult, and people who won’t judge us on what we produce. It’s not our clients’ job to tell us it’s okay when we screw up, or to love us, or to be there for us when we are hurting or struggling. Our friends and family hold those “jobs.”

However, you need to give to them to keep the relationships healthy (for both of you). If you are choosing to work rather than spend time with your spouse (or kids), regularly, then you might need to re-think that decision. If, for example, you are indeed working an extra job to bring in money while you build your business, you need to deliberately schedule some time with your sweetie. S/He’ll understand you can’t spend hours every day, but if you make the effort to schedule a fun Saturday afternoon or something, that will go a long way towards feeding the relationship. Turn off the cell phone and email and spend that bit of time completely with them.

Take some time to give to the people you love, if for no other reason than so that they will continue to give to you (but hopefully just because you want to give to them, too). Call your parents, spend 30 minutes playing a game with the kids, take a walk with your lover. Feed your soul with these relationships and you’ll find that you will be better able to focus on work when working–making better creative, doing better marketing–generally being more productive (and happy) in your work.

Successful marketing in the creative industries today is not formulaic. I can’t tell you how often I hear from photographers (especially on forums) who say that they just want to know what to do–as in “give me the formula for success.” These people are looking for something like:

3 postcard mailers + 6 email promos + website = 25% increase in business

Trouble is, there is no formula. There are common tools which usually work at some level and some others that are usually less successful, but even within those categories the phrase “it depends” still is supreme.

For example, a print mailer is a good thing, generally speaking, but only if the image(s) on it are fantastic and it’s a part of a whole campaign, not a one-off shot in the dark. Oh, and if the design sucks, that’ll reduce its effectiveness. Same for printing. And if it’s a postcard it probably won’t be as effective as a folded mailer…except, of course, when it is, especially because of reasons like image choice and design.

Then there is targeting. If you aren’t targeting well, then you’re wasting a lot of your marketing budget. You *could* send out 6000 cards each mailing to a list of buyers who buy lifestyle photography and maybe you’ll get a hit here and there. Or, you could spend more money on each piece, making a higher-end-looking mailer (maybe a mini-book?), and send it out to only 1000 much more targeted targets–ones you know have used work like yours in some way and with whom you really want to work.

Instead of throwing it out there and seeing what sticks (old school marketing, imho), by building a highly targeted list you can then devote more money and energy to seeing the commonalities of your targets and making pieces that really speak to those targets. You don’t have to worry so much about “70% may like X but the other 30% will be offended” and the like, because, as you target, you’ll see that your best targets are more alike than not.

So no, there is no formula for marketing success other than doing the research, being consistent, and having the persistence to keep trying for the rest of your career.

Two, actually, for the ASMP Strictly Business 2 tuition!

After drawing quite literally out of a hat:

…the winners of the SB2 tuition scholarships are Cheri Homaee of Ohio and Jim Bryant of Washington! Congratulations to Cheri and Jim!

Everything you always wanted to know about getting a rep, especially for fashion/editorial work, in one blog post.

There have been many posts lately on ASMP’s Pro/Student forum about pricing issues, like standardizing usage prices. I’ve been trying to offer my opinions while staying out of the fray, but I’m getting frustrated with some of the debate. People get very emotional about these issues and then it gets difficult for them to look at ideas dispassionately before jumping to conclusions about their merit, etc.

As readers here know, I think the idea of standardizing usage licensing prices is at the least interesting and worthy of further investigation. One of the arguments against it is that it isn’t done that way; another is that no one should get to dictate prices. I think neither of these attitudes is helpful in looking at possibilities.

The WGA is looking at new methods and models for pricing usage for the creative products of its members. They seem to understand that just because something wasn’t done that way in the past (or was done, sort of, but didn’t work in the past) doesn’t mean it might not work now. Why can’t we in the photo industry get that?

Life and business and technology (etc.) are changing at incredible speeds and we have to be willing to look at ideas openly in order to find best possibilities for us all. What was may not be now; or what was, then wasn’t, may be again. Who knows? But if we dig in our heels and say “This is the way it is done. Period” we’re going to be left on the side of the road with our egos intact and our businesses in shambles.

The other side of this coin are those people who say things like “Creative Commons licensing is here to stay so we have to accept giving away usage.” They are only seeing that one issue in monetizing creativity and basing everything on it. Equally but differently blindered, so to speak.

Today there are a billion outlets for creative material usage and each set of those uses may require different methodologies for pricing. Today sure as hell ain’t yesterday and tomorrow will be completely different, so you better wear a cup, as they say. But during this fundamental transitional period, we owe it to our businesses (and to the value of our creativity) to look at all the monetizing ideas possible–no matter how crazy or against the previous grain they might be–before rejecting any out of hand.

Then, if (huge if) any new methods gain endorsement from any of the major photo groups, each business owner will still get to pick her/his own way. Even if prices are standardized, no one will dictate them and no one will be forced to use the suggested standardized prices, for example. As always, it will be a choice. Just like today where photographer A uses FotoQuote to price a gig while photographer B throws in all rights for a tiny sum–each makes his her own choice and lives with the consequences.

But as a group, we can and should look at what the changes in media and technology bring to the table. New methods for monetization are certainly possible if not probable. Let’s see what our best minds can come up with. After all, they said no one would ever pay $4 for a cup of coffee (Starbucks) or buy books online (Amazon), and Google has broken every “rule” about monetizing anything and made one hell of a business.

Grey NYC moved a department to the second floor…from offices with a view to a cubicle farm. A creative director there responds in this hilarious homage to Sinead O’Connor. (Thanks Åsk for the link!)