Preface: this is a long post, but worth reading. I was watching Creative Live with Jasmine Star and was inspired to write this post. Her credit is below.

Let’s say that Lady Gaga was getting married. Gaga picked three photographers she really liked, you included. Her time is valuable, so she invites all three photographers to sit in her mansion for a simultaneous interview.

She says in a poetic voice, “Each of you have two minutes. Tell me why I should hire you.”

So, why you?

If you don’t like Lady Gaga, pretend it’s the Queen of England or whoever you fancy to photograph.

Why is Your Brand Important?

Customers are offered a myriad number of choices. With choices, you need differentiators to stand out. Otherwise, if we compete solely as a photography service, we quickly become a commodity. To avoid that, your brand will help you compete aside from price alone.

We are not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people business serving coffee.

Howard Schultz
Pioneer and Chairman of Starbucks

Notice how Schultz did not commoditize his business?

Brands communicate how we see ourselves. Through brand association, we belong to a larger group that defines more than just us. Gloria Vanderbilt was one of the pioneers in branding for jeans. She had her name embossed in script on the back pocket, as well as her swan logo. Now we have other clothing companies that do the same – True Religion, Juicy Couture and etc.

Brands are Categories

According to The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, the goal in commerce is to be first in customers’ minds; not necessarily best.

I mentioned in a previous article about being first rather than best –

Anyone know of Buzz Aldrin? He was the second person to step on the moon. We don’t remember him because it was Armstrong who registered first in our minds. I’ll give you some more examples using beer / ale since I’m a huge fan.

• Jamaican Beer – Red Stripe
• English Ale – Newcastle
• Dutch Beer – Heineken
• Belgian Ale – Fat Tire

The list goes on… So according to Al Ries and Jack Trout – positioning as a leader requires one to brand first in said category. Otherwise, create a new [sub] category.

So even if you create the best tasting imported English Ale, you will never beat Newcastle. So create a new category such as the first Imported English Light Ale.

Here’s another example – mustard. Since the mustard market was already taken, Grey Poupon decided to become the premium mustard. “Premium” became their sub-category.

How It Applies To You

Just as how no other brand can take the place of America’s Steak Sauce – A1 Sauce – you can’t take the place of someone else’s. In a previous article, I wrote –

Let’s think wedding photography – who was the first person to burn a bride’s dress? John Michael Cooper. Let’s say that I were to burn 20 dresses tomorrow for a shoot, but who’s going to be remembered? John Michael Cooper. In fact, I will only reinforce his name by doing what he already did.

So ultimately, you have to create a new category [if you can't be the first to brand it].

Here’s the loophole. Since most photographers are not aiming for a worldwide awareness, branding just for that one bride will suffice.

So as long as that bride will know you as the (blank) photographer, you’re always going to be remembered that way. Ultimately, there can be multiple lifestyle photographers or multiple Anthropologie-like photographers…because Bride A and Bride B and Bride CCC will unlikely cross paths.

3 Items To Brand Creation

Branding is a holistic attachment that we share with the company – relating to our sensors (taste, smell, look, touch, sound).

1. Logo –

Starbucks is focused on the visual branding of its cafes with organic curves and its green and white logo.

2. Color

There is a whole psychology to color and its corresponding mental triggers. For example, red usually means power, impulsively, sexuality or increase of one’s appetite.

3. Tagline

This is what most people struggle with. What words define you?

Jasmine Star mentioned it yesterday on Creative Live (not in verbatim) –

What 3 words define you? And how will the images that you post online reflect it?

Before I gave my share of the company to my brother, Furious Photographers represented one word – “edgy”. From the colors, words, fonts…they all represented edgy.

It took me weeks to conjure this, but I think I have a way to help you define yourself so that Lady Gaga will know immediately what you represent. What is…

1. One word that defines you – edgy, spirited, casual, destination…
2. One word that defines your photography craft – wedding, lifestyle…
3. One word that defines your target audience – young, chic, modern, luxury, Asian…

Ready? Here’s the formula (feel free to customize it):

Example: I am a casual wedding photographer for modern couples.

Sacrifice

According to The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing‘s Law #13 – the Law of Sacrifice is summed up in one line – you have to give up something in order to get something.

In layman’s terms, it means that we need to have focus (cannot be opportunistic). Taking my aforementioned example, “I am a casual wedding photographer for modern couples.” It means that “classical couples” will never hire you. It also means that you can’t shoot pets, seniors, newborns, maternity…and post it on your blog. Ultimately, those images will reflect your brand.

And if there is confusion with your brand, you won’t even get hired for modern couples, let alone weddings and etc.

Conclusion

With focus, you will be clear as to what defines you. So if the next time someone asks, why you? You will be ready.

If you don’t have focus, you run the risk of being part of the ubiquitous mass of photographers trying to shoot anything and everything that pays.

In the end, it’s better that Gaga declines you because of a style she disliked rather than being declined because you weren’t sure of yourself (image of lacking confidence).

What I want you to do now…

• Help others answer, “why you?” by sharing via Retweet or Facebook buttons below.
• Follow and thank @jasminestar for the inspiration.
• Comment and let me know if this post helped you with branding.

Whew that was long,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. I hate to beat the proverbial stick, “what makes you YOU?” or “what makes you unique?” Let’s just say that this is only the beginning. I will elaborate with future posts.

P.P.S. You might be able to tell that I LOVE Lady Gaga (for more than music). Law of Sacrifice – all Gaga non-friends might non-friend me. I hope that’s not the case though. You can bet that I will reference to Gaga more in the future. Love or not, she is an icon to be reckoned with.

P.P.P.S. It took me about two bottles of Fat Tire to write this post. I was thinking…just thinking…since beer gets my brain juice going, maybe we should all have a happy hour hangout. Anyone interested? I think I owe Joel Llacar a beer or vice versa.

Do you know of the feeling after having visited Disneyland as a kid? It was a mixture of excitement, happiness and exhaustion. Well, an equivalent for photographers would be WPPI Sacramento Road Trip.

I had the honor of being invited to speak in Sacramento about the Making and Marketing of Fusion Movies. For those who are not familiar with the term, it’s combining motion clips and photo stills to create a video.

We were very fortunate to have the energetic Bambi Cantrell as our host and the following as our speaker lineup.

Andy Marcus

Andy talked about creating and sustaining one the most successful high-end wedding business in the country coupled with techniques of how people can execute them immediately.

Me and Jeff

We had two presentations squeezed into one slot. It was Jeff’s initial fusion presentation that inspired me to attempt fusion movies.

Upon realizing the difficulties of composing a fusion movie, I tried to conceive ways to simplify the process of which I shared my experience in the second part of the presentation.

As clarification, the concept of fusion movies is not to replace still photography; only to supplement it. And since it’s still in its natal stage, the concept of fusion is still very new. So until ubiquity results, embrace it and have a position of difference.

(sorry no picture – just had iPhone with me at the time)

Jonathan Canlas

Jonathan enforced the idea of finding balance in the arts by photographing things that we love in conjunction with our paid work all while keeping focus on what is most important to us. To him, it was his family.

Kay Eskridge

Kay shared how to create a variety of portrait programs designed to establish relationships with clients to ensure you become their lifetime photographer.

Some Wonderful Sponsors

There was a slew of companies that had delightful products that helped photographers with their businesses. And many had discounts!

Exhibitor Dinner

Dinner at El Torito was an opportunity for everyone to unwind and share some laughs!

Since I was the photographer, I couldn’t get myself in the picture. So I did the next best thing – paste myself LOL!

From front to back (left)

• Candice Cunningham
• Jerry Weiner
• Alan Weiner
• George Varanakis
• Arlene Evans

From front to back (right)

• Sean Johnson
• Bambi Cantrell
• Sarah Calahan
• Kay Eskridge
• Kate Volpe

I found the WPPI Road Trip to be such a wonderful idea. It was an opportunity for new and seasoned photographers to hone their skills throughout the year rather than waiting for the annual convention.

I had a lot of fun! Thank you WPPI and all of the people behind the scenes! See you all at HQ soon.

xo,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. One thing that I love about public events is that I get to put real faces on the many online profiles I only get to see via Facebook or Twitter. You’re all so rad!

A number of people have emailed, twitter‘ed, facebook‘ed me about bridal shows. All of the messages were about the same.

I don’t want to be another business card or brochure that they’ll never see when they get home. How can I be different? If there was one thing, what would it be? And…I don’t have a big budget.

To be different with no budget is not going to be an easy task. However, there is a way. I’m not going to lie though – I have never done a bridal show. However, I did attend one with a friend before. And I do have some experience in trade shows.

Gate Keeper

The strategy I am going to discuss is “Gate Keeper,” which is the barrier to entry. It’s part of the decision making process for a purchase. And this strategy can be applied in other areas outside of bridal shows.

Example 1 – I first saw this concept in a movie (pity because I don’t remember the name), but it would hit the nail on the head.

The protagonist opened a new club. He wanted it to be the hottest club in town. So he had a lot of club promoters talk about it everywhere. On the opening night, he had a DJ play music like normally. The outside walls of the club were decorated with a string of people.

Throughout the evening, the decoration grew longer and longer. Celebrities even came by in their flashy cars, but were not granted entry. In fact, no one was granted entry. You can imagine that a lot of people were pissed, but it became the hottest club in town.

Example 2 – Sex and the City – S01E05 – The Power of Female Sex

Similar scenario except that it was with a restaurant.

Example 3 – my trade show booth at WPPI

Considering that I’m not a hot celebrity or that I did not have free bags or money to give away, I think I did pretty well. I judged it based on two things.

1. The length of my line (which ceased to dwindle)
2. The number of people I’ve never met before (and vice versa)

The latter was rather valuable in my analysis. People lined up for a minimum of 40 minutes just to talk to me about business strategies and many times never having even heard of me before that day. I did, however, have Nintendo for people to play with just as how Lady Gaga gives pizza and bottled water for her “Little Monsters” while in queue.

Your Bridal Show

So if you’re going to have a bridal show and have little to no budget, get some stanchions and create a line for people to have a consultation. Genuinely be there to help the bride though. And here’s the key – take your time.

I already know that some of you will think, “but Lawrence! What about the people who don’t want to wait in line? We might lose their business.” Well, let’s just assume that they weren’t your business in the first place.

You could do two things.

1. Spread yourself thin and leave zero impression with 1,000 brides (with pamphlets and business cards).
2. Leave a super strong impression with the 70 brides that you can talk to in one day. And maybe even book a number of them.

I know that it sounds unorthodox – to expose yourself to a minimal number of people and making it as difficult as possible for people to speak to you. Just remember that you’re worth it.

What I want you to do now…

• If you found this post useful, share via Retweet or Facebook buttons below!
• Comment other ways you might stand apart in bridal shows (or in business).

Your buddy,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. Here’s one more tip – treat it as a fun project. Don’t treat it as if you need the business; and bookings just might come your way.

P.P.S. I loathe shoes with laces because there’s a chance for it to touch a public restroom’s floor, but I love Converse shoes. The dilemma.

My girlfriend (Julie) used to race over to Borders or Barnes & Noble after middle / high school (she’s not in HS anymore just to be clear) to filter through all of the teen magazine racks including the famous Tiger Beat. She would lap up all of the teen gossip and pin the posters up in her bedroom. As pragmatic as Julie was, her logical filters would sometimes willingly turn off and she would do everything to support celebrities. I have a point to this.

Based on my observation, Proactiv used to target 18+ individuals because they

• had access to internet because Praoctiv is not available in retail stores
• had access to a credit card because you can buy Proactiv over the phone via infomercials

Their strategy was to go to where the fish is (to those who have the capability to buy online). I don’t think the teen market was even a consideration at the time based on the celebrities they chose to have endorse the product – Jessica Simpson, Katy Perry, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs and Alicia Keys.

In an era of Myspace and Facebook, teen pop star Justin Bieber’s internet influence was something to be reckoned with.

On the day it was unveiled, Bieber’s endorsement clip received 125,000 views on YouTube and another 500,000 views on Proactiv’s website… Roughly 60 percent of Proactiv sales are over the Internet. Most of the orders that have come in since Bieber signed on have been from the mothers of tweens. -Pop Eater

Decision Making Unit

What Proactiv did was to use the teen market as the initiator for the purchase of their products, which is timely because that is when most people start breaking out. With strong infatuation for teen idol Justin Bieber, mothers of teens become the buyers. I wrote a similar article about this with Zoloft.

Similarly in weddings, whether parents or other influencers are present, make sure to connect emotionally with your bride. Duh right? It’s not so “duh” when you keep pitching your portfolio images rather than creating conversations.

What I want you to do now…

• Share this with your friends via Retweet or Facebook buttons below if you found this article interesting.
• Who loves Bieber or has a daughter who loves Bieber?

Yours truly,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. This is why I find Twilight so fascinating. The character Edward Cullen (not Robert per se) appeals not only to teens, he is also very hunky to mothers and grandmothers. I know because I see them reading it in trains and in Trafalgar Tour groups (35+).

How many times has someone talked about their products and it sounded like, “blah blah blah?” …I have no idea what you’re talking about or how it pertains to me, but I’ll nod and pretend that I do.

Today I was at the market and was intrigued by how Celestial Seasonings labeled their tea products. Rather than just calling their floral Egyptian chamomile tea as what its ingredient suggests, they branded it as “Sleepytime”.

“Sleepytime” automatically lets me know that it’s a soothing tea that I can drink before slumber to relax my body. Doesn’t that sound better than floral Egyptian chamomile, cool spearmint from the Pacific Northwest, and lively Guatemalan lemongrass?

Benefits are what customers will gain or experience by using the product. The real question is, “how does this help me?”

Features are characteristics that the product has; not what it can do for the customer.

Apple Iphone 4 Marketing

Can you identify which are benefits versus features?

Answer: their bold titles are the features and light gray text are their respective benefits. They clearly know what they’re doing

How To Apply This Into Your Business

1. Know who your customer is
2. Think in their perspective
3. Focus more on results (benefits) that they can relate to

Here are some examples. I also made one up for event planners – it can be inaccurate because I’m not one, so just play along.

Wedding Photographer – my advice is to avoid talking about what cameras / lenses you have, bragging about how many megapixels it has or how fast it can shoot.

Instead, focus on how you won’t miss a moment because it can go “click click click” really fast and how the camera shoots in such high quality that they can blow the image up to wall-sized prints.

Wedding Planner – (I apologize ahead of time if I’m butchering this up) – avoid talking about features like spreadsheets or cool programs that you will be using.

Instead, focus on how the program will send your clients updates with diagrams and timelines, so that everyone will be on the same page leading up to the wedding day.

(Although I relate best with wedding photography, I understand that my readership is pretty diverse, thus the wedding planning example).

Notice how benefits make more sense to consumers? It’s like saying Rolex uses kinetic mechanics – say what? Kinetic engineering allows the watch to never rely on batteries. You just need to keep moving for it to function.

What I want you to do now…

• Share this with your friends via Retweet or Facebook buttons below if you thought this post was pretty cool.
• Comment whether you think the title of this post is a benefit or feature. Why?
• Write about other worldly examples that use this model (except for Celestial and iPhone). It’s good exercise to recognize and ultimately apply.

Your neighborhood Spiderman marketing strategist,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. If I could be any super hero, I’d be Magneto (no need for any tingling spider senses). Oh how fun that would be…

P.P.S. I want to test a new lab. Can anyone share their experience with WHCC except that they have a wickedly cool booth at WPPI? Don’t snicker.

Every year at WPPI, I’m working diligently at my tiny booth sharing business strategies; I sort of look like a tarot card reader except that I’m free. Okay, maybe not completely free – you do need to wait for a considerable time in line and give me high fives and hugs after a consultation. In the end, I never get to explore the trade show. Thanks in advance!

P.P.P.S. Good news! For 2011 WPPI, I’m a Master Class speaker! My topic is “Marketing is a lot like Dating”. So if you’re interested, mark your calendars. And yes, I know that it is 6 months away, but do it anyway.

A few days ago, I had a Tofurious fan email me asking how to use social media to get more business – namely Facebook. From my understanding, he was relying on a facebook fan (business) page and not a personal page.

Me: Why a fan page?
Him: Because everyone told me to do it.

I’m in no way a Facebook guru, but here are my thoughts.

Facebook Personal Page Perks

1. Forced Notifications

When someone comments, you will get alerts. This way you can reply and create dialogue with friends, clients, colleagues.

Fan Page: You do not get notifications. You have to comb through all of your posts to realize updates.

2. Dialogue

Going back to reason #1 – after becoming friends with a new user, you can comment, and they can comment back, and you can reply, and they can reply back. You will get updates whenever this happens.

Creating conversation is probably the most important aspect in creating fans, turning prospects into clients, etc.

Fan Page: Since you won’t get notifications, you can’t carry out conversations in full sync.

3. News Feed

Going back to reason #2 – after becoming friends with new users, you can see what they’re up to. You may

• comment on their images
• share stories
• click the “like” button
• create dialogue (#2)

Fan Page: You do not get news feeds from your fans, thus minimizing dialogue.

4. Album Tagging

After a wedding or event, upload the images and tag the wedding party. Eventually, the guests and friends will tag themselves. Befriend them! Might as well continue the conversations post event.

Plus, they’re all probably about the same age and are likely to be engaged

Fan Page: I know that you can do the same, but you don’t get notifications, thus…

Facebook Fan Page Perks

There are two things that Fan Pages can do that Personal Pages cannot.

1. Fan Pages are indexed by search engines. To be honest, I think my blog can do a marginally better job at SEO.
2. Fan Pages have no fans limit whereas Personal Pages are limited to 5,000 friends.

Speaking of the latter, what is the likelihood of getting over 5,000 wedding clients in the first place? If you’re Lady Gaga or Jessica Claire, I understand why a Fan Page is necessary. But for peeps like me, 5,000 is plenty.

What I want you to do now…

• If you enjoyed this post, share it with your friends via Retweet or Facebook buttons below.
• Comment below if you agree or disagree. Remember, I’m no guru, so I’m always learning.
• Go befriend me! Or follow the fan page. I promise I won’t duplicate posts.

Happy Friday,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. WPPI Road Trip is coming up! You get a free ticket to WPPI next year by attending this.

P.P.S. I have this solar-powered bobble head on my desk that does nothing but nod. I like to ask it questions like “am I going to win the lotto today?” or “I look pretty good in this shirt, huh?” He’s my yes man! We all need one of those.

P.P.P.S. So before you do something, ask why. Don’t just do it because everyone else said to. In fact, question what I say too.

Do you agree or disagree? Personally, I’m on board with same sex marriage. I don’t think love should have boundaries. Banning it is almost as bad as racism.

Anyway, since I’m a business strategist and this blog is about marketing, let’s talk business.

An estimated 18,000 same-sex couples married during the six months when such marriages were legal in California in 2008, and the California Supreme Court later ruled that those marriages would remain valid.

Reported LA Times

August 18, 2010, same sex marriage will be allowed again in California. It will be debated again, I’m certain, but it’s another window of opportunity – for couples and wedding vendors. In this slow economy, wedding vendors are tackling each other for jobs. Imagine how cool it would be to have an extra 3,000 weddings a month in circulation in California.

And since most same sex couples do not have kids, their allowances for celebrations are potentially more. I could be wrong, but that’s just my logic.

We think that Americans will understand that we are people. We lead exciting lives, boring lives. We love our families, our friends, the children. And so, it’s a great day.

Lisa and Anita – married 2008 per CNN

Same sex marriages are also permitted in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa and New Hampshire.

• If you agree, feel free to share it via Retweet or Facebook buttons below.
• If you don’t, I still love you.
• I would love to hear your thoughts via comments.
• For those who have photographed same sex marriages, how was it? Comment your experience!

Sincerely,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. I live in California and didn’t hear about it until Twitter. I sometimes think I live in a cave. Or is Twitter the new way to get news?

P.P.S. I know, hot topic. Don’t hate me.

Jamba Juice continues to pique my interest…in negative ways. Jamba Juice, you know I love you, but seriously, I need to have a little chat with your CMO or CEO.

Recently, Jamba Juice ran a Cheeseburger Smoothie parody video to show how silly it is to mix focuses. The jab was at McDonald’s for serving fruit smoothies. Jamba Juice felt that other businesses were encroaching into their industry. *cough* just like how they are now serving coffee flavored smoothies that do not taste like coffee */cough*

Ultimate Showdown? Of What?

Sorry, but McDonald’s isn’t even trying to compete with you, Jamba. It’s parallel to having Starbucks compete with Denny’s, IHOP, or 7-11. Yes, they sell coffee too, but no one is going to go to IHOP just for coffee.

There are two questions that I will answer –

1. Is it better to be first or best in a focus?
2. Should I compare myself to my competitors?

First vs. Best

I wrote this in another article, but I’ll repeat it. Anyone know of Buzz Aldrin? He was the second person to step on the moon. We don’t remember him because it was Armstrong who registered first in our minds. I’ll give you some more examples using beer / ale since I’m a huge fan.

• Jamaican Beer – Red Stripe
• English Ale – Newcastle
• Dutch Beer – Heineken
• Belgian Ale – Fat Tire

The list goes on… So according to Al Ries and Jack Trout – positioning as a leader requires one to brand first in said category. Otherwise, create a new category. So if you’re not the first Belgian Ale, be the first Light Belgian Ale. I have a point to this.

So Jamba Juice is already branded as the juice smoothie king. They should only focus on that and stop side tracking with coffee or even mentions of cheeseburgers.

Comparison To Competitors

If you’re not the best in the industry, compare yourself to the best. Itemize them and show how you’re better. That’s what Burger King, Carls Jr. Jack in the Box always do – compare.

However, if you are the king of that industry (not necessarily best), you never compare yourself. Have you ever seen Newcastle talking about other inferior English ales? No. They don’t need to.

For Jamba Juice to not only try to compete with McDonald’s prices, but to compare themselves with them in the juice market is a major fail in positioning with consumer’s minds. It’s like having Canon or Nikon making an announcement as to why they’re better than Sigma.

What I want you to do now…

• If you love Jamba Juice, help them via Retweet or Facebook buttons below.
• Comment below how you can apply these strategies into your own business.
• Classwork: go buy a case of your favorite beer / ale / beverage and comment below which category it owns – treat it as “practice.”

My best to you Jamba Juice,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. What’s your focus or category in the industry? It’s tough, I know.

P.P.S. I’ve been making a lot of sandwiches recently and I want to share with you all a wonderful cheese I found – it’s a Wisconsin Havarti Cheese by Dofino mmmm…

Business books are sort of useless if you cannot apply it to your own business. They are insanely valuable if you can. Otherwise, they’re just cool theories.

The depth of understanding is relative to your experience. For example, there are times when I read a business book again and find the words making more sense. It’s the same as revisiting a national park 10 years later and loving it for more than its majesty.

One of my recent digestions includes “The Paradox of Choice” by Barry Schwartz. It has a wealth of examples that make the point of why less is more. It may sound like common sense, but this strategy can be applied to more than just images (I know that’s what most of you are thinking).

I will warn those who decide to read it that Schwartz will use so many examples that you will want to throw the book against the wall! However, I understand his approach – its worth is equal in value. If you ever come to one of my talks, ask me about it and I’ll summarize it for you in one hour.

Startup Strategy

Many artists have shared that they find business stuff boring; I sometimes do too. Since the landscape for the wedding photography business is changing, I wanted to teach business strategies via seminars. I wanted to compress all of these business books coupled with my experience and teach it.

Two experimental workshops were recently held in Orange County.

1. Day One – 0-3 years in business – expounded on tactics and strategies all while understanding the importance of goals for a business. I led the discussion with my experience as a photographer and strategist.
2. Day Two – 3+ years in business – started with the understanding of goals and moved down to strategies and tactics. My partner led the discussion with his corporate experience.

Long story short, we have dramatically different teaching styles. I resonated much better with Day One rather than Day Two. I have concluded that the dichotomy might cause confusion in the future, so I am leaving the company and no longer doing the workshop.

Just like what I mentioned earlier, strategies [are useless if you cannot apply it to your own business]. I did not find the materials ready yet, thus my decision. However, my help is still extended for all attendees. I won’t be in the forums because I don’t want to confuse anyone of my position, so email me directly!

What I want you to do now…

• If you find business books useful, please share it with the Retweet button below or via Facebook.
• Comment below your favorite business book.
• What area in business would you like to know more about? Comment and I will [try my best to] deliver.

Yours truly,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. Do you know what the best business book is? Other people. Go study them. Ask yourself why we act in certain ways. Ask yourself why we react in certain ways.

P.P.S. I like to pet my biore cactus. Don’t deny that you don’t do the same!!

If you want to engage, pique curiosity and connect emotionally with your clients, you will need an effective about page. And unfortunately for photographers, images do not define you. Images are merely an extension of you and the shutter button.

What I’m talking about is creating bridges with clients. The more bridges you have, the more in tune you will be with them. I summarized 7 ways how you can do that.

1. Promote Transparency

We always hear the same pitch – sell yourself, not your images – but what the heck does that actually mean?

To be honest, it’s quite a complex issue and I can talk for hours on this alone. However, I’m going to skip the elaboration (unless you’re attending my complimentary seminar) and get to some quick solutions. Being transparent means that you define yourself – interests, hobbies, likes, dislikes, etc. This is the reason why I always have a P.S. after every post and Jasmine Star has her Kisses / Disses.

The more things people know about you, the more they can relate with you.

When I was doing my SEO / Online Tactics tour last year, I met Sheryll Lynne from Salt Lake City and we talked about transparency. She shared with me an interesting story.

After she removed her original about section of “I graduated from (this photography school) and have been shooting for (x) number of years…” and changed it to “I’m a Sagittarius…Cupcakes. I love them…” she saw a difference in her inquiries.

Some future inquiries started with, “Hi Sheryll! I’m a Sagittarius too!! Are you available on xx-xx-xx to shoot my wedding?”

What just happened? Common ground. Bridge. Connection. Call it whatever you want. The more of them, the more likely you’ll be able to connect with your clients and vice versa.

…and I love ketchup.

2. Avoid Itemization of Self Worth

Okay, so transparency sounds simple enough? Well, not really. There’s transparency and there’s transparency with finesse.

In a previous article – 3 Reasons Why You Should Not Post Your Rates Online (Item #2) – I talked about itemization of services. Well, it goes equal here. Stop it.

Many people still write that “I picked up a camera since a toddler and have been shooting weddings for over 6 years!” Former – great, but who hasn’t? Latter – itemization of self worth.

Let’s say that a regular consumer saw that you’ve been shooting for 6 years and compared you to Jane (your pretend competitor) who has been shooting for 12 years. Mental shortcut – Jane is twice as experienced. As a result, you lose the opportunity to even prove that you’re a worthy choice.

Doesn’t mean the latter is better than the former, so give yourself that fighting chance by avoiding itemization.

3. Transparency Through Photographs

Don’t deny it. Whom of you do not have a photograph of yourself on your about section? Raise your hand. And a picture with you behind a big camera / lens does not count too…seems Cyclops-like.

1. Get a lovely mug of yourself! There are loads of photographers who would be willing to do it for you too. Comment below saying, “I NEED A PROFILE PICTURE, PLEASE!”
2. Take photographs of yourself at the wedding.

The latter speaks volumes – of how your work, dress, look, appear, etc. Here’s one of me in Jamaica risking my camera gear in a raging river (Ocho Rios).

So no more pictures of your wedding clients, pets, seniors, etc. This goes equal for Twitter avatars…seriously, did I just tweet to a dog or flower? Just kidding

4. Position of Difference

I think this one is self-explanatory. Bottom line question is – why should I hire you instead of x, y, z? I will go into extensive detail via coming seminar.

5. Contact Information

I know, that’s what the contact button is for. Nevertheless, put your contact information there too INCLUDING where you are based.

“I am based in Miami, but open to shooting worldwide – especially Sri Lanka.” Or something like that.

6. Encourage Inquiry

Assuming you have a polished about page now, and clients love you for you, what’s next? Encourage them to inquire. So at the very bottom of your about page, instruct them to contact you.

“So, let’s chat! Coffee, tea, skype, lunch, email or old fashioned phone call. Click HERE!”

7. Being Authentic

Authenticity is a relative topic. Most of the time, the more unpolished someone is, the less threatening you might find him/her. It gives that unpolished person a fighting chance to even demonstrate their assets. So don’t fight imperfection; embrace it.

What I want you to do now…

• If this article tickled you in the right way, please share it with the Retweet button below or via Facebook.
• Comment below your favorite ADULT drink because that promotes transparency, thus common interests.
• If you need a new profile image, comment below with your location and email as I’m sure someone will help!

Meep,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. Ya’ll know that I love tofu, but there is one type that I forbid touching my mouth. Stinky tofu. Yeah, it’s called that – no joke.

Maybe you already don’t post everything online, except for your starting rate. Good for you. Did someone tell you not to do that?

Why? What if they were wrong? Let’s explore the reasons why it is so and not simply do what others have said.

Quantity-Based Businesses

There are good scenarios where prices should be posted online. For example, McDonald’s! McDonald’s is a quantity-based product where prices is a one of the many lures that they use. In fact, they encourage you to compare their prices with competitors! I’m pretty sure that they’re the cheapest, thus victory.

Quality-Based Businesses

Ever walk into a Furla or Gucci store? Are prices marked everywhere so that you can see them immediately? No. Why?

Reason #1

Their goal is not to offer the cheapest purse; it’s the wonderful feeling you get when you sling a designer purse over your arm. If it’s utility you’re looking for, there’s a whole rack at Walmart for $20.

You’re not selling a utility. You’re selling an experience.

Reason #2

By itemizing, it allows consumers to make comparisons before even understanding the value. Made up example – Fendi vs. Dior. Let’s just say that both of them have prices up on their store windows and that they’re contiguous to each other.

A shopper named “Julie” might saunter by and get captivated by a beautiful black Dior purse that would look absolutely adorable with a newly purchased evening gown. She gazes up and it reads, $2000.

“Lawrence would kill me if I bought one now. I promised to tone down my spending too,” she thinks to herself.

Oh wait, right next door has a similar one by Fendi for only $1700. And it’s even bejeweled, so it’s mildly ostentatious! Feeling giddy, Julie darts through the grand doors and surveys it momentarily before purchasing.

Without even giving Dior’s purse a chance, Julie made the comparison – size, looks, brand, status are all about the same. What about quality? Who knows, maybe that Dior purse is the purse that Angelina Jolie wears for the red carpet debut for Salt and the price thereafter sky rockets!! No chance now. The decision was made. Dior lost the business despite being a better buy.

Here’s a simplified example: I go to CVS in need of Tylenol. I pop over to the medicine aisle and see that there’s a generic version. Tylenol has Acetaminophen; so does the generic version. Tylenol has crospovidone; so does the generic version… Gosh, it’s practically the same, except that the generic version is $5 cheaper. Done – generic version it is.

We’re not pharmacists. Generic versions might be leagues weaker, but through outright comparison, we made a choice, which may or may not be the right one.

Reason #3

By publicizing rates, it allows consumers to perceivably gain through lost value. So continuing the use of Julie as my character, she saw the immediate savings by comparing the store fronts. She thinks – similar purse, equal status, but $300 saved!

“With that $300, I could get myself a matching pair of shoes!”

Again, poor poor Dior loses out on the business. Fortunately, in real life that’s not the case.

Conclusion

So let’s say that a bride publicly saw that Joe and Jane charge the same price, except that Jane includes an engagement session and an album in that package. The likelihood for said bride to contact Jane and never Joe is very high for the aforementioned reasons.

The goal here is to allow yourselves a fighting chance to share with your clients why you are so wonderful. Otherwise, people will just walk on by.

However, it is okay to put your starting price. Just don’t (reason #2) itemize it by saying it includes this, this, this and this.

What I want you to do now…

• If a light bulb moment went off, please share it with the Retweet button below or via facebook.
• Comment below if you’ve had a similar story because I love stories!
• Got a question? Comment your question below and I will either reply or make a follow-up post

Your friend,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. Julie – if you’re reading this, don’t hurt me. It was JUST AN EXAMPLE. We can go shopping later today because I know that you’re sick.

P.P.S. I was asked via comment last week why I never tell my Tofurious readers what to do. Isn’t learning why much better? I firmly believe in understanding strategies rather than mirroring actions.