18 Reasons Why They Leave Your Site In Under 10 Seconds

Have you ever entered a site and you can’t hit the back button fast enough? Something about the page is an instant turnoff, and you back out or get out of the browser window as fast as possible.

I did that this morning when I entered a new page from an email I received. And it got me to thinking about all the reasons a site doesn’t work. And by understanding what doesn’t work, you can reassess your own site, and determine what you can do to make it work – to make it more attractive to the people that are coming there for the very first time.

1. Autosound. This is what got me this morning. I entered a page and started looking around, and a voice started to talk with music in the background. The only problem was I couldn’t find where it was coming from – no audio or video button was noticeable on the page, so I had no way of turning it off. I backed out of the page as fast as I could. I work from a home office, so sound doesn’t really matter. But imagine if I would have been in a busy office. That sound – whether its voice of music – would have made me hit “delete” even faster.

2. Popups. Popups are a dying breed, but they are still around and visible on some sites. I don’t mind an occasional popup asking me to sign up for a free report – once. What really bugs me (and a lot of other people too) is when the popup appears again and again, every time I click to a new page. I get it – you want me to sign up. But that’s not a way to motivate me to the next step.

3. Slow load times. Everyone online has what I call online-ADD. If something doesn’t happen FAST, we move away. We won’t wait 15 seconds for a photograph to load – it’s either there now or I move on. If you load more than thumbnails, or have a slow server, you risk losing your best customers.

4. No purpose.

Photographers, Still Having Trouble Posing Your Clients?

You meet your client in the middle of a beautiful park. There are several types of trees, amazing displays of flowers, a bridge over a stream … and hundreds of people taking advantage of the nice day.

You freeze on the spot. What are you going to do with your client? How are you going to avoid all of these people? And how are you going to give them a portrait experience they are willing to pay for? And possibly refer their friends to you as well?

It all comes down to knowing how to pose your client. When you know how to pose them, it doesn’t matter what the situation is. You’ll know how to jump in, find the right, look, and direct your clients into the perfect pose that they’ll love, and buy.
Learn more about Posing The Easy Way Here>>

How To Take Better Pictures

Have you ever wished you could take better pictures?

As a photographer, I know you love taking photographs. You probably bring your camera everywhere, ready to snap the candids every chance you have. But what about posing people for a more professional portrait. Can you easily jump in and set up groups easily? Or does it put a touch of fear into your heart?

Andrew and I have been busy creating a wonderful new program for everyone that nodded their heads when they read that last question.

We both understand that feeling well. When we first started out, posing was hard. When you have a group of people looking to you for guidance, where do you start? And before you ever get started, where do you meet them? Can you really find places right around your studio that will create great backgrounds?

That’s the idea behind 9to5PhotoTips.com Head over and watch our first few videos. We take the complex and break it down into very simple steps. We want you to be able to take one idea, learn a little about it, head out into the field and apply it immediately.

Head over to 9to5PhotoTips.com and watch the videos. Then leave me a comment or send me an email – I’d love to know what you think.

25 Ways To Generate Leads For Your Photography Business Today

25 Ways To Generate Leads For Your Photography Business Today

1. Submit your stock images to one of the many online stock agencies such as IStockPhoto. Stock companies allow you to build a bio page, and list links to other sites and information. Use this to selectively promote yourself to people that enjoy your work.

2. Send a press release to your local paper submitting a story idea. Newspapers, television, and radio shows are always on the lookout for a good storyline. Provide them with a story that’s relevant to the season, and makes for good news.

3. Visit a local networking group and offer to photograph the group for the website. Many of today’s networking groups have a website to promote their services. Adding photographs provide a personal touch, and will allow you to capture attention as a photographer.

4. Send out letters to your past clients with a new promotion. Your best client is a past client. Make them an offer they can’t refuse.

5. Visit a local chamber of commerce and sign up for the next networking group. Your chamber of commerce offers a variety of groups for you to network with. Choose a few groups and visit them to make a handful of new connections.

6. Find a complementary business willing to hang samples in their offices. Provide them several framed images at no cost. Because these images will potentially hand in the office for many months, make sure you use your best work, and provide top quality in both mounting and framing.

7. Post a comment on an online message board. Make sure you provide a link back to your website, yet don’t blatantly sell your services. Provide good quality content, and show you know your industry well.

8. Call three prospects and promote your business. Think back over the past couple of weeks to the connections you’ve made. Choose the three that have the best possibility of becoming a client, and connect with them over the phone.

9. Create flyers and hand them out at a networking event. Make your flyer short and to the point. The purpose should be to make them connect with you, either by brining in a coupon, or visiting your website for more information.

10. Write an article for one of your association newsletters. Most trade publications have a shortage of quality material. Offer an article to use, and use it to educate your association members.

Click here for the additional 15 Ways To Generate Leads For Your Photography Business Today

Helping your photography business, how to start a photography business and wedding photography business visit virtualphotographystudio.com

Your Photography Business – Recession Proof It

What are you doing to your photography business to guarantee yourself an income … no matter what?

I’m out on social sites like Facebook and LinkedIn a lot. So I see a ton of conversations all related to the economy. People are worried about their jobs, wondering if they’ll still be employed six months from now, and trying their hand at building up a hobby to a reasonable income, so that it won’t hurt quite as bad if their job does disappear.

But what if you could build up your hobby to a full time income – a Six Figure income – and never had to worry about the J.O.B. every again?

I was actually in that same circumstance eleven years ago. Andrew was full time in our photography business, and we had built our photography business up to a good income – about $60,000 per year. Good enough for one income source, but not for two. Yet I knew if I quit my job, I could work hard and build that even further.

My job was always on the list of possible shut down. Our office continued to shrink as people quit. And our headquarters in Washington DC threatened to bring us back all the time. With a 3 year old daughter and a ton of family around us, we didn’t want to move.

So I marched in one day and quit. Scared to death. Lost all the benefits (insurance, retirement, etc). And yet it was the most exciting time of my life up until that point. I was now in charge of my destiny. I was no longer at risk of being downsized – I could create as much income as I chose.

So we did. We doubled and tripled our profit year after year from that point forward.

Having a job is sometimes a comfort – it helps keep you from doing what you truly want to do. It gives you just enough income to feel uncomfortable about leaving. While I’m not saying you should ever quit without having other income sources in place, it does make you look at your life in an entirely different way.

But once you’ve made photography your full time career, you start looking at what you can do to bring in more income.

• No weddings in your area during the winter months? Why not become a destination photographer!
• Portrait sales slow in January? Why not photograph babies (HINT: babies are born every single day of the year)!
• Commercial sales slow in the winter? Consider traveling to additional locations for catalog or fashion shoots.

There are a ton of ideas that can help you achieve the status of Six Figure Photographer quickly.

Which is why I’m also so excited to be releasing my Six Figure Photographer coaching program, updated for 2009 and ready in an entirely new format. I’ve listened to all of you who’ve been saving to afford the old manual format. I’ve listened to all of you from around the world who were looking for an electronic format. And the 2009 version is going to be the premier place for photographers to be – those photographers that want to turn a hobby or a part time income stream into a Six Figure success!

If you’ve been wanting a plan to help you build up your business this year, check out Six Figure Photographer. And let me know what you think of the new changes.

25 Ways To Generate Leads For Your Photography Business

1. Submit your stock images to one of the many online stock agencies such as IStockPhoto. Stock companies allow you to build a bio page, and list links to other sites and information. Use this to selectively promote yourself to people that enjoy your work.

2. Send a press release to your local paper submitting a story idea. Newspapers, television, and radio shows are always on the lookout for a good storyline. Provide them with a story that’s relevant to the season, and makes for good news.

3. Visit a local networking group and offer to photograph the group for the website. Many of today’s networking groups have a website to promote their services. Adding photographs provide a personal touch, and will allow you to capture attention as a photographer.

4. Send out letters to your past clients with a new promotion. Your best client is a past client. Make them an offer they can’t refuse.

5. Visit a local chamber of commerce and sign up for the next networking group. Your chamber of commerce offers a variety of groups for you to network with. Choose a few groups and visit them to make a handful of new connections.

6. Find a complementary business willing to hang samples in their offices. Provide them several framed images at no cost. Because these images will potentially hand in the office for many months, make sure you use your best work, and provide top quality in both mounting and framing.

Read the entire list>>

Photography – Digital or Film for the Professional

Are you still based in film, or have you made the switch to digital?

I’m amazed almost daily at the number of photographers that are still film based. Digital has been such a big part of the consumer market for years, yet photographers still love their film.

We even have a niece who has taken a few courses in photography in college, and she’s still taught through film-based classes.

Yet the types of film that were once available are now quickly disappearing. Why? Because you can do so much more with digital. And it’s the way of the future.

If you are a professional, your whole goal should be to make money with your photography. (If not, there is no reason to start a business.) And one of the best ways to sell your photographs – at least from a portrait standpoint – is to sell immediately on the emotion.

If a client comes in, has their photograph taken, they are excited about their portraits. With digital, you can sell immediately with projection (find out how) and double – even triple your sales. With film, you have to spend days developing and putting together your sales presentation before the customer comes back in for viewing. That’s a lot of time for something else to happen in her life – making her portrait not the most exciting thing in her life.

When we used film, we knew every click of the shutter meant we were spending about $1. With digital, there’s no cost. It makes you a more liberal shooter – getting many more saleable images. When we decided to convert to digital, we decided to run parallel for the first year. After the first month, we had several issues with film (lost in mail, ruined by lab, etc) and converted 100 percent over to digital, and have never looked back. 

Because of technology, digital is here to stay. To run your business, you need to have a website and blog, and know about online marketing. And to continue competing with professionals you must learn the ins and outs of digital photography.

Agree … or disagree? I’d love to have your comments.

Sports Photography – How to Get Inspired with Photography – #13

Sports Photography – Take your digital camera out and get ready for some fast action at a local sporting event. Any sporting event will do including soccer, bike racing, swimming, track, baseball, basketball or football and each can have some amazing action shots just waiting for you to capture. Lets look at a few items that each have: Action – shoot at a very fast shutter speed that will instantly stop the action or a slow shutter speed using a panning motion effect can really enhance your view of the subject. Emotion – each event holds immense amounts of energy and emotion. Winning, loosing or just plain excitement in participation. Competitive spirit is the ultimate expression and can hold an award winning image just waiting to be taken.  – Get Inspired Today!

Earn money today with you photography – Photography Money Club. Providing new ideas to your photography business and information on how to start a photography business. Stay up to date with our photography newsletter which provides tips on your photography studio.

Expand your Photography with a Movie – How to get inspired with your photography #9

When was the last time a you watched a movie and walked away feeling great? Movies can inspire in many ways. How the director captured the story, what type of medium was used, angles, textures, setting and plots all play important roles. Grab your friend, spouse, or significant other and head to the theatre. Check out the latest releases or watch for the films nominated in awards which will provide you with some thoughts on changing your next photography shoot.  – Get inspired today!

Break the recession, start to earn more money today with your photography – Photography Money Club. Providing new ideas to your photography business and information on how to start a photography business. Stay up to date with our photography newsletter which provides tips on your photography studio.