VirtualPhotographyStudio.com

Learning the tools of Photoshop can be a huge undertaking for novice and a seasoned pro. We have found a site with easy to follow Photoshop Tip Tutorials. You can click on many of the tools and instantly view a Photoshop Tutorial for the particular tool. Tips for how tool the Photoshop Slice Tool of how to use the Photoshop Pen Tool can be found at 925PhotoshopTips.com

How long have you had a photography business website? Is it pulling in visitors that are taking action?

Unfortunately many small photography business owners today have fallen in to the “build it and they will come” mentality. Everyone has a website, right? So the owner spends a few hundred (or thousand) dollars putting up a website that is little more than a glorified brochure. After a few months, they begin wondering why they spent the time, effort and money necessary to put something online that just doesn’t work.

If you see yourself in this category of photography business owner mentality, take heed!

One of the simplest ways of getting targeted traffic in to your website is by chatting online with other people from around the world. It’s easy. It’s free. And it takes just a small amount of time each week to produce remarkable results.
A message board is a place on the web where users post and read announcements on topics of common interest. Users interact with other users on the message board by submitting a form with their message, allowing the message to be posted directly to the board itself for all to see.

The beauty of a message board is your response is permanently attached to that board, and can be archived and viewed by thousands of people over the course of weeks or even months. By placing a link to your website in your signature line, you guarantee that your website will be promoted for free again and again.

There are thousands of message boards online today. Boards exist on many topics in many industries, and you can usually find one that has a fairly specific interest. The key is to find a message board where people congregate with interests in what you are selling. For instance,
• A business that provides wedding invitations should find boards where brides-to-be post.
• An author with a book on small business marketing should find boards where small business owners post.
• A cruise specialist should find boards where people are discussing travel
You get the picture. Think about what you sell and whom you sell to, then find those people online in a message board.
Finding groups online is easy. But building up relationships and finding boards that work well for you takes time. Don’t lose patience. Instead, find a few boards that interest you and continue to work them several days a week. Start by looking at:

Groups.google.com
Groups.yahoo.com

Both provide a wide variety of groups with a broad range of interests.

Next, spend some time researching message boards with your favorite search engine. Type in “message board YourTopic”, and spend some time on the boards that come up in your search. From there you can continue to research and find niched message boards that provide you with access to hundreds of people that may be interested in your business.
Another resource for you to check out is Ryze.com. Ryze.com is a business-networking site that allows you to create a personal profile, and then have access to thousands of people by participating in their message boards. They have many different message boards, in a wide array of interests. Ultimately, you can create friendship links, and network with people all over the world just by sharing your information in a few different places. Ryze takes the idea of message board posting to the next level with the tools they provide.
No matter which board you decide to post on, and what communities you decide to join, the critical key to making this form of marketing work is to keep posting on a regular basis. Posting once a month doesn’t work. Posting several times a week creates the exposure you are looking for.
Once you find a few boards that meet your qualifications, what should you post?

Message boards are a place to share. People come to ask questions and receive answers. If you are visiting a message board to gain potential new clients, your job is to provide answers, and ask questions that get people thinking about your services. But there are a few key rules to follow when posting online.

1. Message boards are usually not a place to advertise. Instead, they are places where people go to get answers to their questions. Provide honest feedback and helpful tips.
2. Make your messages are detailed. Provide guidance that will directly help the question being asked. Provide links to other useful sites. If you have a report or article on your own website that may be helpful, provide a link.
3. Develop relationships. Let people see your name again and again. When someone joins a board for the first time, let them see your posts and gain knowledge from your information. You will become an authority figure quickly.
Have fun with it. Make it a daily part of your routine, and think of it as you ½ hour daily networking function. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you gain results!

Every photographer does it.

· They attend the local bridal show, and put a bunch of albums onto a table.
· They put an ad into the local magazine.
· They send out flyers to local lists of new mom's.
· They place a stack of brochures at the local clothing store.

Are you guilty?

So if dozens (or is it hundreds?) of other photographers are doing EXACTLY what you're doing, can you expect any results different then those other photographers?

When you're just starting out, the best way to get your name out there is to follow what everyone else is doing. Why reinvent the wheel? But once you establish yourself, how do you take the next step, and become better than everyone else? How do you grow you business to new heights?

It involves thinking outside of the box. You need to come up with new ideas, things that no one else has tried, and get new business in unique and untried ways.

While many people continue to attend photography classes year after year, this will continue to get you ideas that other photographers use.

Instead, try attending seminars and expos for other industries. Like a product creation seminar. Or a scrapbooking expo. If you have a local convention center, see what shows are coming up.

Check out a women's expo or a kid's expo. Both will provide you with a ton of thoughts from many different industries, and will give your marketing a boost and fill your mind with ideas. And while you're there, get acquainted with some of the other presenters and/or vendors. Finding complimentary businesses to run special promotions with is easy when you're spending the weekend together. Make it a goal to find two partners, and then try a wide variety of ideas. It's fun - and you'll gain a new friend!

Every photographer does it.

· They attend the local bridal show, and put a bunch of albums onto a table.
· They put an ad into the local magazine.
· They send out flyers to local lists of new mom's.
· They place a stack of brochures at the local clothing store.

Are you guilty?

So if dozens (or is it hundreds?) of other photographers are doing EXACTLY what you're doing, can you expect any results different then those other photographers?

When you're just starting out, the best way to get your name out there is to follow what everyone else is doing. Why reinvent the wheel? But once you establish yourself, how do you take the next step, and become better than everyone else? How do you grow you business to new heights?

It involves thinking outside of the box. You need to come up with new ideas, things that no one else has tried, and get new business in unique and untried ways.

While many people continue to attend photography classes year after year, this will continue to get you ideas that other photographers use.

Instead, try attending seminars and expos for other industries. Like a product creation seminar. Or a scrapbooking expo. If you have a local convention center, see what shows are coming up.

Check out a women's expo or a kid's expo. Both will provide you with a ton of thoughts from many different industries, and will give your marketing a boost and fill your mind with ideas. And while you're there, get acquainted with some of the other presenters and/or vendors. Finding complimentary businesses to run special promotions with is easy when you're spending the weekend together. Make it a goal to find two partners, and then try a wide variety of ideas. It's fun - and you'll gain a new friend!

Every single business plays by the same rules: you only have three ways of increasing your sales.

1. Gain new clients
2. Sell more to each client per sale
3. Sell to each client again and again throughout the life of your business

As you can imagine, gaining new clients is your most expensive way of marketing. These are people that may not know you, have never heard of you, have no relationship with you, and have no reason to trust you. You have to work hard to gain their trust, and turn them into a client. According to marketing statistics, it takes up to 12 messages before a prospect notices you and turns into a client. Which means 12 postcards, 12 ads in a magazine, etc.

Once you've made contact with a prospect, and they've turned into a client, how much can you sell them? Selling isn't a bad thing - it's the only thing that will keep you in business. The key is to create packages, products and services that you love to sell, your clients love to buy, and can sell very easily. And remember to upsell all the time. Always be thinking about the McDonalds concept - "would you like fries with that?"

In order to use this method effectively, your pricing and packages have to set up to offer your customer a variety of choices. If you photograph an event and hand your clients the files, you'll never be able to upsell your client. Instead, create packages that allow your client to upgrade, and get what they truly need. (And if you feel you still have to offer your clients the digital files, make them a bonus with your highest priced package.)

Once you have a happy client, and she's satisfied with her purchase, sell to her again and again. She's already sold on you, and she's more than willing to come in again. IF you offer her the right products and services. Many businesses focus on sending out postcards and other materials trying to bring in new clients. Instead, send out materials offering your current clients other options. If you've just completed a session with her 3 month old baby, she'll definitely want a 6 month session. And if she's happy, she'll tell her friends as well.