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Finally…the DVD Release: Tofurious SEO Workshop and Blogging Strategies

Lawrence — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:37:23 +0000

How do you market your business? There are many ways to market yourself, but you can read about how I did it below.

Two months ago, I had the privilege of sharing what I had learned about strategic online marketing with many photographers ranging from top 10 in the world to those with less than 10 months in business.

My workshop focused on two items:

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – being found on Google
Blogging Techniques – converting traffic into inquiries (examples)

Reasons Why I Chose SEO

The traditional form of advertisement (word of mouth) is only effective amongst the current client base. Outside that circle of influence, there is a large audience that is untapped. The goal is to be found by those who do not know you.

Why This?

There is probably a ton of options out there all claiming to be SEO experts, but when it all boils down, I can prove it with my inquiries and online ranking. Plus, it’s more than just SEO that makes a sale.

Being found is only half of the battle. The rest is strategic marketing (sample) through blogging, which will convert traffic into clients.

Some Testimonials

I didn’t have the chance to put together everyone’s testimonials, so it’s incomplete and a bit scattered.

Lots Of My Heroes

Aaron Dieppa, Becker, Ann Hamilton

Jasmine Star

Gene Higa, Keats Elliot, Catherine Hall

Dane Sanders

Sara France, Jose Villa

Mike Colon

Robert Evans, Doug Boutwell, Shaun Austin, Peter Garr, and more…

Catherine Hall

Tiffany Fosnight (Adeline & Grace Photography)

Doug Boutwell (Totally Rad Actions)

Kameron & Lyndsay (Shooting Gallery)

Kara Schultz

If Interested…

There will be a digital download coming very very soon so subscribe!

SEO Volume I and Volume II
Blogging Techniques (sample)

Invest into your business by arming yourself with new marketing strategies (auspiciously for the new year).

Sincerely,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. If there is one thing you could get for XMAS, what would it be? My Honda Civic is looking a bit bleh… Hmmm…

Are you frustrated? I was there.

Lawrence — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:07:25 +0000

UPDATE: The Tofurious SEO workshops are now available!

Please click on the following image to proceed, but I still highly recommend that you to read the content of this blog post first

Dane Sanders

“ROI (Return On Investment) on SEO – No Nonsense” -Dane Sanders

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Sara France & Jose Villa

“SEO is complicated…really deep, something I don’t even want to touch…” -Jose Villa

“Now I feel like an expert.” -Sara France

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Responses to Posts

Wow! I wasn’t sure if people would like the questionnaires, but the responses were amazing! Thank you for taking the time and effort to answer the surveys!

When asked: How do you advertise and is it effective?
Top answers:

Do not advertise and rely on word of mouth – not working well
Online and local print ads – not effective enough / cannot get destination weddings
Blogging – “almost a waste of time”

Some of you may already know this (those who subscribe or follow this blog), but I once faced the same frustrations.

I spent $550 / month on TheKnot and was getting little to nothing out of it
My referral network had run dry
My efforts in building my website / blog were not helping me book more weddings

Believe me, it was not a fun time. I had financial obligations with no solutions to fix them. A company offered to do the SEO for me for $1,225 / month, but that still did not guarantee results.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

The aforementioned quote means a lot to me. I spent a lot of time learning and experimenting until I got the results I wanted. I know there are lots of photographers experiencing the same frustrations.

There is plenty of room on the internet for all of us to use SEO to make more money, book more weddings and get the best possible clients!

If you are interested in more information, please subscribe to the mailing list. Thanks!

Sincerely,

Lawrence

P.S. I secretly like McDonald’s despite it being very bad for my health.

Lighting Workshop With Furious Photographers & Bui Brothers

Lawrence — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:27:26 +0000

Greetings,

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Thank you everyone who could make it out! We had local photographers from Orange County to super cool ones from far away – San Francisco, San Jose, San Antonio(Texas).

Due to overwhelming interest, the beginner’s workshop sold out in a few hours. Intermediate and advanced ones coming in the near future. They will be much smaller than this one because of the technical aspects of learning creative lighting.

Beginners – 3 hours

Understand what equipment to use
Get a feel of the difference between studio strobes and mobile lighting kits
Locate sources of ambient light and how to angle / compensate for them

Goal: Student will be able to setup a 2-3 point lighting scenario and properly calibrate for subjects

Intermediate – 5 hours

Learn how to frame an image effectively
Use of harsh / creative shadows
Understand how to reflect or deflect light
Play with ring lights, barn doors, honeycombs, grids, etc.

Goal: Student will be able to use creative lighting setups and calibrate for virtually any scenario in a matter of a few minutes

Advanced – 5 hours

Must have strong grasp of lighting
Use of snoots for pin-point lighting
Advanced level post production
Learn how to fashionably pose subjects

Goal: Student will be able to book badass gigs based on flippin’ sweet lighting setups

Models Information

Need a model or makeup artist? In fact, they can even do their own makeup and hair so it saves you the trouble!

Tracie Cotta – model / makeup artist

http://traciecotta.com

http://modelmayhem.com/ivebeenshot

traciecotta@gmail.com
@traciecotta

Kyuri – model

http://www.modelmayhem.com/880296

headcase.kyur@gmail.com

Some Student Work

The first image (my fave) is by Jenny Liu Photography (Orange County photographer)

All images taken at Ritz Carlton (Laguna Niguel) after marketing workshop

Cheers,

Lawrence

P.S. You all ROCKED! Just too bad, I did not take any pictures myself boo…