I watched a funny Youtube video the other day by a comedian who’s entire act revolves around showing a bad Powerpoint presentation (if you’ve ever used Powerpoint, you’d laugh too).

How could you adapt this idea as a way to market your studio? One way would be to create a 10-minute talk and slide show about “bad” photography. Here’s the first sentence:

“In 1888 George Eastman patented a camera that used rolls of film. If he ever saw this photograph, he would have smashed it with a hammer.”

Gather about 15-20 bad photographs, or take them yourself. Make a funny talk about the bad photography we all take, or if you are not a good speaker, give a more serious talk on how to take a good picture. Either way, make it breezy, informal, and informative – and keep it under 10 minutes long.

Once you have your presentation ready, call up the local Kiwanis, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, etc. and offer to be a guest speaker at their monthly meeting. Tell them you have a 10-minute presentation, and that you’ll need a projector and screen (or bring your own). Every group needs a new guest speaker every month, so it won’t be long before you get a return call.

Here’s the key to success: have a pre-written introduction for them to read before your presentation, and hand out business cards immediately afterward. You’ll both establish yourself as a photographic expert in the community, and put your card in the hands of influencers who can get you assignments in the future. In addition, if your presentation is very funny, you’ll soon be getting calls from other groups asking if you can speak in front of their membership too.

If you can put together a great 10 minute presentation, you can turn it into a powerful marketing tool that will put you miles ahead of the competition.

I read a great article recently about the benefits of WOM – word of mouth marketing. Almost every photographer will tell you their best marketing bang comes from satisfied customers who tell their friends.

The article broke down what it is exactly about WOM that makes it so powerful, and how you can use this knowledge to your advantage.

First, it said that WOM “works” because it comes from a trusted source. The source could be a friend or family member, but it is most often an influencer. For example, if you want to sell senior photos, hire the most popular boy and girl in high school to promote your studio. If you want to sell business portraits, shoot the president or the best salesperson in the company.

Imagine tomorrow morning on Oprah’s show she said you were her personal photographer? Your phone would be ringing off the hook before the show was over. Find the influencers in your community, make them your customers, and your WOM marketing will be explosive.

Second, the article said that WOM works best when it delivers a product that solves a problem, not because it is “cool” or “hip” or “trendy”. Here’s an example: the next time you offer a baby photo special, instead of focusing your marketing on package prices or the number of poses, focus on conveniences like free parking up close, day care for the other kids during the shoot, or sessions completed in a half-hour or less.

If you can make it easy for a mom to get her child photographed AND the photos look great AND the price is fair, you’ll not only have a customer for life, you’ll have an influencer that will push your WOM marketing to a whole new level.

During tough economic times, it’s easy to get discouraged by poor sales. Below is the fifth of ten specific things you can do starting today that will give your business the boost it needs to survive:

Click here if you missed part 1 , part 2, part 3 or part 4

Networking is the art of considering every person you meet a potential customer. It is a powerful tool used by every successful salesperson.

Consider this: almost every person you meet today will hire a wedding photographer, a senior photographer, a family photographer or a portrait photographer at some point in their lives. Why shouldn’t that photographer be you?

Only by putting your business card in their hands can you be sure a potential customer will think of you first.

Unfortunately, networking has a bad reputation. Most people think of the brother-in-law who corners them at every family gathering and tries to sell them life insurance. But professionals know that networking is based around always having a business card in your pocket, and giving one to every new person you meet. If they are interested, they will ask you about photography…no sales are required.

Where should you go to network? Imagine where your perfect customer likes to be. People who have the money to spend on portraiture in a bad economy aren’t sitting around the house. Instead you‘ve got to be seen and noticed in places your customers will be: local charity events, grand openings, or live theatre for example.

Speaking of getting noticed, if you haven’t updated your wardrobe lately, now is the time to invest in a stylish jacket, haircut, glasses, etc. If you’re not sure what to wear, clip out a few photos of photographers from a magazine you like and take them to the store as a guide.

When you look great, you’ll feel great, and people will remember you. When it comes to networking, that’s all you need.

During tough economic times, it’s easy to get discouraged by poor sales. Below is the forth of ten specific things you can do starting today that will give your business the boost it needs to survive:

Click here if you missed part 1 , part 2 or part 3

Cultivate referrals. A referral is an endorsement of you by your customer to their friends. It should be the logical conclusion of every sale. The secret is not to call them referrals (sounds like sales) but instead call them “introductions.”

Ask for an introduction any time you get a complement from a customer.

When your customer says “my portrait was perfect,” the next thing you should say is something like “Thank you. Can you introduce me to anyone you know who might like one too?” Now wait a moment. If the customer immediately pulls out her address book, accept 2 or 3 names from them, and say thanks. If the customer seems unsure, you can add, “I depend on nice folks like you telling others about my work. If you could help me with just one or two introductions I’d appreciate it.”

If you get 2-3 names, call (or e-mail) them immediately and say, “I just finished photographing your friend, and they thought you might be interested in something similar for you.” If they are interested, book a session. If not, say “Can I e-mail you some upcoming specials at my studio?”

Either way you have a potential new customer.

Here’s an extra tip: if the referral makes a purchase, immediately reward the original customer with a special gift (a small framed print from your fine-art collection, for example) so that they make the connection between the gift and the referral in their mind.

These words may feel uncomfortable to say at first, but if you (and your staff) memorize them, you’ll be amazed at how many extra sales they will bring in.

Not that long ago it seemed like every other marketing article said you had to have a website. It was so obvious, soon everyone assumed that every business had a website, and nobody wrote the articles any more.

What a mistake.

Having a high quality website is one of the most cost-effective marketing decisions you can make. It is your online catalog, your storefront, and your 24/7 sales staff. Yet three out of four professional photographers still do not have a current website, professional e-mail address, or an online marketing presence.

“Our website is critical to our success,” says Chelsea Mills, marketing coordinator for Gerych’s Florist in Michigan. “Google the word “gerych” and we’re there. Go to our website and you see gorgeous photographs of all the products and services we offer. How else could we have grown from a local florist to a nationwide one without a website?” she added.

Ms. Mills is not alone. According to most e-commerce professionals, 80% of consumers begin their search for a product or service online. Yet the majority of photographers continue to cling to the mistaken believe that they get business by “word of mouth”, and that a website isn’t important.

“My website is my business card,” says Sam Sarkis (www.samsarkisphotography.com). “When people are from out of town or cannot meet me at the studio, I depend on my website to show them examples of work I’ve done in the past, or what they can order. It is also important for my customers to see my specials.”

If you are a professional photographer, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I own my own (or my studio) website name?
2. Can you see great examples of my artwork on my website?
3. Is my e-mail address myname@mystudioname.com?
4. Am I proud of my website? Do I tell others about it?

If the answer to any of these questions is “no”, you are leaving money on the table every day that you delay.

One of the best parts of my job at JD Photo Imaging is that I get to talk to photographers — lots of them.  Some have been in business for many years, while others are just starting out.  But regardless of experience or type of work, most photographers have one thing in common: they trust word-of-mouth advertising to build their business.

When I visit a studio, I usually ask “How is business?” If the photographer says “great” we talk about new products.  If the photographer says “rotten” I ask about their marketing plan.  Most of the time their answer is “I don’t spend a lot on advertising – my business relies on word-of-mouth.”

My experience tells me that this answer can spell trouble for a studio.  If you rely on word-of-mouth to advertise your business, you are limiting your ability to grow and profit.

I like to use JD Photo Imaging as an example.  Our lab has served Mid-Michigan for over 35 years.  We’ve printed thousands – perhaps millions – of wedding, senior, and underclass images, and yet at local trade shows I am regularly approached by photographers wanting to know what it is we do!  Even large corporations like GM, Ford, FedEx and Coca-Cola continue to advertise long after everyone in the country knows their name and what they offer.  Why should a smaller business like a photographic studio be any different?

I understand the aversion people have to advertising.  We all see a thousand advertisements a day – many of them are cheap and tasteless.  In the best possible world, we shouldn’t even have to advertise.  Customers should hear other people talk about the great products and services we offer, remember the conversation, and find us later when they need us.

It isn’t that simple.  The truth is, some customers will be influenced by a phone book ad, some by a flyer or coupon, others by a web site, and some will depend on a recommendation from a friend.  Therefore, one of the goals of advertising is to make sure our name and phone number is available to every customer – no matter where they look for us – when they are ready to buy.

But being easy to find is only part of advertising.  The best ads don’t try to sell something – instead, they present a solution to a problem the customer is trying to solve.  For example, some of my customers became frustrated trying to create unique, one-of-a-kind wedding albums using Photoshop.  So I introduced a service that uses our lab’s in-house graphics department to custom design each album.  Telling my customers about this service with a postcard is advertising, but because I’m trying to solve their problem it’s the kind of advertising I’m proud to do.

Here’s another example.  If I was a senior photographer I’d imagine a teenager standing in front of me asking, “Can you make me look pretty/handsome/cool even though I think I’m not?”  Isn’t that a real problem teenagers have?  To solve it, I could promise to take many more shots than average to ensure that they would find a pose they were happy with.  But having a solution to their problem isn’t enough – I need to let my potential teenage customer know about it.  Again, that’s the kind of advertising I would be proud to do.

I’m not saying that word-of-mouth doesn’t work – it does.  It’s cheap, powerful and cuts through all the advertising clutter we see every day.  Recommendations from others are always more valuable than advertising alone.  But having customers advertise for you should only be one part of your total marketing plan.