Okay, the nationwide SEO workshop was a big success! I understand that many of you could not make it, which is why I have the instant download DVDs available soon.

I mentioned that the videos will be ready December 1st, but I have to postpone it to Thursday 12pm PST (December 3rd) because I am filming a few more videos to add to the series.

Check out the samples; I’m confident you all will like them!

SEO Volume I and II = 19 VIDEOS
Virtually every nugget of knowledge I have about SEO is all video recorded with easy to follow instructions

Subscribe to the following email list to download one of the videos! It is SEO 101 about Google PageRank (PR) and how it works.

Blogging Techniques = 36 VIDEOS
Learn how I convert my traffic into inquiries

Read the sample blogging techniques I shared on [b]school’s webinar here.

Questions?

I imagine that there will be questions about the DVDs, so ask away. You can contact me at any medium that you feel most comfortable with:

Email
tofulawrence@gmail.com

Comment
below

Twitter
@tofurious

Facebook
www.facebook.com/tofurious

Cell Phone
(626) 872-4095 – text or call (leave msg if I miss call)

I will address all of the concerns in a video in the next couple of days. I want to make sure that everything is ironed out before the sale date on December 3rd.

Cheers,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. I’m not a vegetarian anymore (was for about 5 years though), but I love tofu more than anything else. That’s why when I saw that Jasmine Star and Lauren Hillary were eating tofurkey, I smacked my forehead – why didn’t I get that?! Instead, I passed on the turkey this year and had Chinese food. Keep in mind that I’ve never seen or had a tofurkey before, so all I can imagine right now is a golden brown block of tofu. Am I right? I’m pretty sure not. Either way, I’m salivating…

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:

1. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – being found on Google
2. 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!

1. SEO Volume I and Volume II
2. 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…

Strategic online marketing was the crux in my business success. I have owned and operated a couple of other businesses before wedding photography [and Tofurious] and neither have compared to the results yielded by what I shared with my workshop attendees.

I am honored and humbled by the number of attendees who signed up for my strategic marketing workshop. Best wishes to you all!

For those who did not get a chance to attend, there will be a digital download in the near future. The only difference is that I will not be able to give customized attention along with a few other things (that I will discuss later on).

Miami

Roy Llera Photographers – a fun team of Miami wedding photographers
Todd Good – is good
Lydia Shannon – spunky girl who recently cut her hair
Doreen Kline – not from Miami but close enough – Naples

Miami is a trip – the ocean is warm! Also, there are albino pythons everywhere!

Thanks to the Photogene App on iTunes for the good times.

Washington DC

It’s Capital Hill ahh! Too bad when I went it was rainy, so that means:

• Segway Tour
• Smithsonian
• Lincoln Memorial
• etc…

Jan Michele Photography – loves having all of Washington DC as her studio (lucky!!!)
Meaghan Elliot Photography – a chocolate connoisseur
Rodney Mickle – art and fashion wedding shooter

New York

The Big Apple! My week in NYC was quite interesting. I met so many interesting people!

Sunday

• Arrived and went straight to meeting at Mandarin Hotel with Yanni and Grace Ormonde; thanks Mike for connecting us!
• Went to have dinner with Jason Groupp and Susie
• Went to have drinks with Mike Colon, Ray Santana and Tracie

Monday

• Concept 2 Execution Workshop with Jason Groupp and John Michael Cooper

An inspirational image they used as an example:

Tuesday

• Day 2 of Concept 2 Execution
• Guest speaker for online webinar with Showit Web

Wednesday

• Tofurious SEO and Strategic Online Marketing Workshop
• Jason Groupp’s Pre-PPE party with One Light stickers by Zack Arias

Thursday

• Photo Plus Expo (PPE) – it’s like WPPI except for non-wedding photographers too!
• Went to Tweet-Up!

Friday

• Took train to Rhode Island to meet with Grace Ormonde, Yanni and Wedding Style Magazine team
• Made presentation and strategic marketing planning
• Had delicious dinner at Spain – I got baked swordfish with risotto. Yanni shared some of his veal with me and Grace gave me half of her lobster; I was stuffed.
• Dessert at Pistachio
• Dessert 2 at hotel – I got creme brulee
• Knocked out in hotel room chair

Saturday

• Took train back to New York
• Caught last part of PPE and met up with some cool peeps
• Had dinner with some old NYU buddies

Sunday

• Caught flight to Dallas then to Hotel Zaza

NYC Workshop Attendees –
Jason Groupp – NYC’s most awesome wedding photographer
John Michael Cooper – very different wedding photography
Seshu – Connecticut documentary wedding photography
Shannon Kelley – Knoxville, TN wedding photographer
Tim Dinofa – modern south NJ wedding photographer with very neat handwriting
Steven Young – amongst the most awesome NYC peeps
Willi Wong – NYC modern and lifestyle type of guy
Jacobus Photography – Jared + Rachel Jacobus!
Jason Miller – Washington DC guy but missed the DC workshop I guess
Jim Altieri – CT!
Tina Jay Photography – Philly!
Kim Percival – just Kim (leading a double life)
Darren Squashic – fresh and fun blog
Ahmetze – NY and NJ awesomeness

Dallas

The Dallas Hotel Zaza was not as good as Houston’s…just sayin’. Nevertheless, the attendees were great!

Meegan Weaver – needs a WordPress blog!
Scott Pickering – tried his hand in other things but now trying something new – photography
Table 4 Weddings – THE Southern Ninja Photographers
Jason Huang and Andrew – Sit in Table 4 because that’s where the cool kids hang
Catie Ronquillo – loves red velvet cake, big earrings and weddings

Nationwide Tour Ended

The other cities were mentioned in other posts. All in all, what a surreal experience. I have so many people to thank for helping me make this happen. You all know who you are – thank you so very much!

See you all in Tofu House,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. New England seafood is soooooo gooooooood. Maybe it’s because West Coast has more pollution and floating diapers [in Santa Monica]. Anyway, this workshop has been pivotal.

P.P.S. So who’s going to WPPI? You should. I will be offering literally the ultimate giveaway(s). Nothing’s permanent, but lots of good ideas are flying. I might need some helping hands too – any offers? Thanks in advance! xoxo

When I visited Houston and Dallas for my Coffee Tour, I asked a number of people where I should host my SEO workshop. It was unanimous – Hotel Zaza.

Hotel Zaza Houston – boutique hotel
5701 Main Street
Houston, Texas 77005

It is awesome place to host a wedding! The Zaza Hotels are as unique in service and accommodations as my fingerprint is to yours. Just imagine this – they have a complimentary shuttle service to anywhere within 5 miles (no biggie, right?). The exception is that they drive you around in either a black Escalade, stripped down police cruiser or Mercedes van…interesting.

Hotel Elevator Backgrounds

Lobby Furniture

This is Julie (@bullysaurus) sitting on their grand piano.

While there, I hosted my workshop with a number of attendees – a combination of wedding and children photographers.

Allison of Phreklnose Photography – an ultra cool children photographer in The Woodlands
Joanna Garcia – Houston wedding photographer living the dream
Eric Yeh – work hard, play harder. Shooting happy people and living their dreams
Kim Ashford – mom, wife, Baton Rouge wedding photographer
Morris Griffin – starting out but eager to learn
Clark Lara – Clark (photographer) / Rica (wife and better half) are lovers of ice cream
Aaron Hogan – lighting and emotion freak

Over and out,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. Hotel Zaza is seriously this shiznits!

Seattle was so much fun! I met new peeps (non-wedding photographers too), learned about other businesses, and caught a fish!

Follow @tofurious for twitter updates
Subscribe to mailing list for cool news

I hosted my wedding photography marketing workshop for various photographers at Grand Hyatt in Seattle. The view from the hotel was breathtaking! I was on the highest floor (30th) and I had a wonderful view of the water. Every morning I would trek down to Pike Place Market to see new things!

Workshop Attendees

Chris Waters – known as the “C” in JAC
Eternal Reflections Photography – spaghetti loving wedding photographers specializing in all things glamorous and fabulous
Jenny GG Photography – cool chick / cooler photog
Rockie Lee – Image Explorations dude
Candice Cunningham – octo-shot espresso camera-slingin’ photographer
Josh Thompson – Ventura photographer exploring Seattle for a day
Paula Wessels – need your website!

The very first Starbucuks in Pike Place!

I just had to seek it out! I even got their special bag of coffee beans. I can’t wait to get home to grind them – slurp!

I am a coffee fiend – yum!

Space Needle

Since I did not get to go to the top of the Space Needle, it only gives me an excuse to return to Seattle in the future. There is a restaurant at the very top! I wanted to eat there, but @bullysaurus and I arrived 2 minutes too late – ah boo!

New Friends

I must thank @SeattleMaven for all of the wonderful tour / food advices while in town. I even got a chance to meet her along with @moniguzman (blogger for Seattle PI) at Top Pot (a delicious donut place).

Ah – a social media tweet-up! Good times!

When I was at Top Pot, I could not resist the smell of the wonderful donuts, so I bought 4 dozen to Dane Sander’s Pictage talk that same evening…so delicious *salivating

So many wonderful places with so little time to visit them,

Lawrence Chan
@tofurious | mailing list

P.S. Rockie Lee invited me to speak for Image Explorations in Canada next year. I was honored and happy to do it. The only part that worried me was the fact that I’M OPENING ACT! For those of you who know me, I’m a bit of a recluse.

I had the great honor of meeting a number of wickedly cool wedding photographers yesterday. Just like Chicago’s workshop, many of the attendees were not local to the hosting city, but still came out. I had attendees coming from all over California and from Canada!

If you are a bride, please check out the photographers below! If you are a photographer, follow @tofurious and subscribe to the mailing list!

The San Francisco SEO and marketing workshop was hosted at Hilton in the Financial District. I had the privilege of staying in one of their business suites and had a pretty wicked view (not the best, but very nice at night). I don’t mind having an office like this.

Right next door was Chinatown where R&G Lounge was a skip away. For those who have not been there, try the salt-and-pepper crab!

Awesome San Francisco (and Canadian) Wedding Photographers

The Memory Journalists – wedding photography led by Jennifer Dunham Starr based in Folsom, CA
Tiffany Fosnight – Adeline and Grace are wedding and boudoir rockstars in Napa Valley
Marin Kristine – Bay Area boudoir and wedding photographer
{ WLQ } Photography – San Francisco based engagement and wedding photographer
Rebecca Wilkowski Photography – SF and Bay Area Green photojournalist
Jessie Cho Photography – SF and Bay Area wedding photojournalist
Dave Shilling Photography – a tall white guy from Sacramento who shoots rad pictures
Lori Paladino Photography – SF and Bay Area wedding and lifestyle photographer
Jerry Yoon Photography – San Francisco wedding photographer woot
Kirstie Tweed – wedding and portrait photographer based in Banff, Canada
Sara Goetz – wife of Chris Goetz and operate from the Bay area
Ashley Summer – a girl who shoots all types of things – bang!
Kameron Olds – Shooting Gallery with brides as targets

I love the city of San Francisco. I’ve even considered to move to the Bay Area and start a new wedding photography business. Who wants to let me second shoot?

Be well,

Lawrence

P.S. Seattle’s Dick’s Burgers < In-N-Out

P.P.S. I am using this post to do some test If you guess right, I’ll think of a cool prize to give away.

Hello!

@tofurious | subscribe to mailing list

On Monday – September 7th, 2009 – a number of Orange County wedding photographers attended the very first public Tofurious SEO workshop! I was humbled to see so much talent in the room – especially those whom I admire as heroes.

Check out these phenomenal OC wedding vendors!

Joel – Los Angeles based wedding photographer
Jay Hsiang (studio) – Destination wedding photographer based in Los Angeles
Amanda Rae – an awesome Ventura County wedding photographer
Chris Schmitt Photography – another cool LA wedding photographer
Henry Wang Photography – Los Angeles wedding and portrait photographer
Kien Trinh Photography – Orange County wedding photographer
Miguel Pola Photographers – Orange County wedding photographer
Scott Land Photography – a selfless Southern California wedding photographer
Caren Lazarus – Wedding and bridal hair accessories!
Peter Garr – Southern California wedding photographer & LA Smug Leader
Michelle Johnson – Los Angeles engagement photographer
Chelsea Elizabeth Photography – Sassy Santa Barbara portrait photographer
Shaun Austin – Kiss Wedding Books (World’s Simplest Album Company)
Jeff Jochum – cool marketing guy from Smug Mug
Robert Evans – Celebrity wedding photographer
Candice Cunningham – awesome inventor of Camera Slingers
Doug Boutwell – The most rad photoshop actions for wedding photographers
Jenny Liu – sassy girl with a camera
Jeff Neal Photography – guy who taught me how to use the tilt-shift lens
Lynnette Coalson – one fun San Diego photographer!
Furious Photographers (blog) – Doug the edgy fashion wedding photographer
Gayla Elizabeth – who owns a rad print lab
Lynnette Coalson

Make sure to subscribe to the mailing list | and follow @tofurious for more updates!

Sincerely,

Lawrence

P.S. NEVER reserve a seat in front of the emergency exit row on an airplane because the chairs DO NOT recline!

Okay, wait no longer. The curtains are about to open.

@tofurious | subscribe to mailing list

Intro

Details About Workshop

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More Kind Words

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Want to watch older videos / testimonials?
http://www.tofurious.com/category/search-engine-optimization/

Intro
Jasmine Star
Mike Colon
Gene Higa – Keats Elliot – Catherine Hall
Dane Sanders – Sara France – Jose Villa
Robert Evans – Doug Boutwell – more from OC

SEO Workshop

What is traffic if you cannot convert inquiries to clients?

1. Part 1: SEO and all you need to know to drive traffic to your website
2. Part 2: Blogging Practices – learning how to convert inquiries into clients

I get an average of 2.4 bridal inquiries a day and have a traffic of 24,000 unique visitors a month (all achieved in a short amount of time)

Check Out My Daily Wedding Inquiries:

Check Out My Traffic Stats For My Blog

Official Workshop Dates And Locations

Got a studio you are willing to lend? Contact me!

SALE ENDED :: CONTACT FOR AVAILABILITY

DISCLAIMER:

• Purchases are not refundable (even if acts of God prevent you from being able to show up)
• Tofurious reserves the right to refuse service to anyone
• One purchase equates to one seat (not couples/companies/partners)
• Workshop only offers tools for SEO; bonus stuff like admission to Tofu House (SEO community) and link building is offered at the discretion of Tofurious to maintain a network of credible websites

ORANGE COUNTY – $2000
Monday, September 7, 2009
1pm-5pm – Location: Costa Mesa Hilton
Sale Ended

CHICAGO – $2000
Thursday, September 24, 2009
1pm-5pm – Location: TBA

SAN FRANCISCO – $2000
Monday, September 28, 2009
1pm-5pm – Location: TBA

SEATTLE – $2000
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
1pm-5pm – Location: TBA

HOUSTON – $2000
Monday, October 05, 2009
1pm-5pm – Location: TBA

DENVER – $2000
Thursday, October 08, 2009
1pm-5pm – Location: TBA

MIAMI – $2000
Monday, October 12, 2009
1pm-5pm – Location: TBA

WASHINGTON DC – $2000
October 16, 2009
Friday, 1pm-5pm – Location: TBA
EMAIL ME – tofulawrence@gmail.com

NEW YORK – $2000
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
10am-3pm – Location: Jason Groupp’s Studio (lunch provided)

DALLAS – $2000
Monday, October 26, 2009
1pm-5pm – Location: Hotel Zaza!!! Concept Room – Far East
Potential model shoot afterwards

City Not Listed

Email me for details about getting your city listed. If you can get 5 people, I can host a semi-private workshop. You can be the Satellite Tofurious Director! Rad title, eh?

I am willing to do 4 more cities before I take a long vacation in Orlando, FL at Disney World (childhood dream)! My availability is:

• November 09, 2009
• November 12, 2009
• November 16, 2009
• November 19, 2009

Hope to see you at the Coffee Tour and SEO Workshop!

Best wishes,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. Today I was Dane Sander’s interviewee. That guy ROCKS! And it’s not because he drives a Vespa, which does give him extra brownie points. He is overall a pretty cool guy.

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

How can I put this? The past few days have been an inspiration overload. If you followed me on twitter (@tofurious) or are on my mailing list, then you would have an idea of my recent events.

On Saturday, a good buddy – Candice Cunningham of Camera Slingers – phoned me up to see if she could use my photo booth of which I gladly obliged. In the midst of our chitchat, she asked if I was going to Skip’s Summer School. Having just come back from a 6-week vacation in Europe, I had no idea what she was talking about.

Nevertheless, I whimsically decided to book my room! To be honest, I don’t need a reason to go to Vegas…

While in Vegas, I finally had the opportunity to meet so many of the people I’ve only talked to via Twitter or Facebook. It was great to finally see them face to face. In addition, I also listened to a good number of panel speakers.

Camera Slinger Party

After being pumped with loads of information, I decided to take a respite on Tuesday and help Candice set up her Camera Slinger party. My role was simple –

• set up my photo booth (which I understood as being a total hit into the wee hours of the night – 5am?)
• wire up the 1000-watt acoustic entertainment system – good pick by Aung and Jessica Conroy

While waiting for some supplies to finish the photo booth, I got a lot of quality time to hang around the suite. Julie and I spent most of our time chatting with Sarah Bergeron and Christy from Bay Photo Lab, whom were super fun to talk to.

By 11:30pm, I got the sound system to fill the veranda with Lady Gaga and the photo booth to glow brightly in the corner. People were trickling in and helping themselves to what seemed like an endless flow of alcohol (served by bartender and photographer – Aung Aung). I didn’t want to leave because the party just got started! Nevertheless, Julie and I hopped into my vehicle and we headed straight home.

Jasmine Star Is Quite Amazing

Okay, the title is clichéd, but not really. Jasmine is a phenomenal photographer and blogger; we all know that. But to what degree of how amazing, I only found out when we sat down and talked for three hours.

The very next morning after coming home from Vegas, I was tired but totally excited about meeting Jasmine Star! I started my morning by going to Starbucks and getting tea for the both of us. I specifically got the “Calm” tea, which was something I really needed.

For the next three hours, we talked about SEO, blogging and business. Jasmine has such a brilliant mind. When I got to the topic of blogging tips and visual strategies, I could almost see the gears in Jasmine’s head turning like clockwork.

After every strategy coupled with concurring nods from Jasmine, I wanted to give her a high five!

Like this video? Embed it into your own blog / forum:

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Tofurious SEO Workshop Debuts Next Week!

If you were on the mailing list, then you would know that the sale for Orange County is on Tuesday of next week. If you are a B-School member, Becker got you all special access through a password-protected site one day before the public can reserve seats.

MEMBERS: Page will go out on Monday morning, so wait for email blast or something I am still in SF so I won’t have time to make the page until that Sunday night.

Cheers,

Lawrence
P.S. I am currently in San Francisco and I love it here!