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There are going to be some opportunities to see me in person (and pick my brain) which I wanted to share.

On October 11th, I’ll be joining Selina Maitreya at her event I Know This Much is True in Los Angeles. APA-LA is bringing Selina in for this event, and I am her guest for the second part of the evening event–just like here in San Diego (see previous post). Come see us–and bring all your marketing questions!

On November 7th, I’ll be speaking at ASMP-Phoenix. I’ll be presenting a variation on my Beyond PMS talk, coving things like what tools work, how to make good tools work better, and how to get marketing things done. We’ll also spend some time on pricing and, as always, there will be a lengthy Q and A session at the end.

While I’m in Phoenix on the 7th, I’ll be offering personal consultations all day before the event. You need to reserve time in advance (50 or 100 minute sessions) as I have worksheets you’ll need to complete ahead of our meeting, so that I can prepare ahead of time. That means we can spend all our time together working, rather than going over the basic info, etc. Contact me directly to book a consultation. 10% of the fees will go to ASMP-Phoenix and the rates are discounted for the event.

Also, don’t forget about the ASMP Strictly Business 2 events in early 2008! In each city I’ll be offering private consultations (same options–50 or 110 minutes–and discounted rates) the day after each of these weekend events. The 30-minute mini-consultations offered via ASMP (as an add-on to SB2) are already booking quickly, so don’t wait until the last minute to book time if you are interested in working together or you might miss out on a private face-to-face meeting completely.

Last night I was honored to be Selina Maitreya’s special guest at her presentation to the San Diego APA and ASMP chapters. It was a fantastic evening.

First off, I want to commend the two groups for working together to bring Selina in. In too many locations APA and ASMP chapters hardly talk to each other, much less put on combined programs. This is, I think, a sad example to set–not working together, that is. I am extremely proud of our local folks for stepping outside their insulated comfort zones and reaching out for the betterment of all. Way to go guys!

Selina’s presentation offered important information for photographers, albeit in a format that made them scratch their heads a bit at first. This isn’t a “how to” presentation like we’ve seen in the past, but rather a call to action and thought. Its impact, however, is important, I think. It also happens to mesh well with many of my ideas and observations on how the industry was, is, how best to navigate it for future success. I encourage all of you to see Selina if she comes your way, and to buy her new book.

For those of you in Los Angeles, she will be presenting there next month on October 11 (Thurs), and offering private consultations while in LA (these are already booking up so contact her now if you are interested!). Though only sponsored by APA, all you ASMPers (and the unaffiliated) should come as well. I will again be her special guest for the Q and A session at the end. Bring all your questions–this is your chance to pick 2 consultants’ brains for the price of admission!

Looking for the perfect item to remind yourself and/or your clients of your value, creativity, or just my favorite mantra of “I don’t suck”? Look no further than the BAP spreadshirt shop.

There’s a link on the Parts Department page of the BAP site too, in case you lose this post.

Yesterday I learned about another source for a marketing product many of my clients could use. I contacted the company to say that I might be able to recommend their product to my clients, but I’d have to see samples first.

Their response was that they’d be happy to send samples–as long as I paid for the shipping. When I pointed out to them that this was not a great way to market their products, they replied that when they sent samples out, they rarely got them returned so they make potential customers (and reviewers like me) pay for the shipping to make up for it.

Sigh.

If you are going to offer a service that makes products (like printing, web design, etc.) you had better be prepared to give samples to potential customers without expecting them returned. Obviously for web design this is easy–show sites, but for print products, you’re going to have to make physical samples. Nice if they are returned, but don’t expect it and don’t penalize everyone ahead of time by making them pay. Making and sending samples is part of the cost of your own marketing!

Needless to say, I told that company they could keep their products until they changed that policy, then we could talk.

There’s an old saying in French: Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose (the more things change, the more they stay the same). This is true in our industry as much as it is anywhere. There are discussions and fears all over about new technology and its implications, especially as it relates to value. It has always been thus–especially in advertising.

When radio came about, it took a while for previously print-only advertisers to get the hang of the new technology and for companies to figure out how best to exploit it for financial gain. Same for TV. Now the same thing is happening with the ‘net and broadband services in general.

However, as the money pulls back from traditional TV, more and more is getting spent in web-based advertising. Also, newer technologies may permit a greater integration of TV and targeted advertising that we’ve hardly dreamed of–imagine watching a show and seeing a product you want to know more about–click on the product with your TV remote to be taken to that product’s site, on the fly, where you can learn more and even order it. That isn’t too far out there any more.

This presents photographers with significant opportunities, if we keep our heads about us. In the short term, yes, pricing and value are going to be difficult to quantify. However, rather than assuming the lower potentialities, try to look at the greater ones. In time, the prices and costs for these newer media uses will, I believe, rise to reflect their greater value to the advertisers and we should be ready to reflect this in photography license prices. That will be easier to do on the higher end if we push for greater prices now, rather than lowering the bar.

Of course, for those of you who are using media buys as a factor in your license prices, these new uses pose a difficult problem. Until the media is quantified (which will be done by others than us) there is little to go on for pricing. For these uses, I suggest perhaps doing a variation like determining the number of potential “eyeballs” and charging for each of them. Ask a client how much reach, in terms of people, they expect to get, then multiply that by something between tenths of a cent and a couple of cents per potential person.

After all, web banner ads, for example, are priced all over the place, but usually based on CPM (cost per thousand impressions)–like for BusinessWeek.com, 1 million impressions would cost $40K to $108K, depending on the banner size (that’s $40-$108 CPM). $40 per 1000 means the media costs 4¢ per appearance. Pricing your usage license a few tenths of a penny per view would seem a more than reasonable valuation (.5¢ would be 12.5% of media cost–a significant percentage from the advertiser’s point of view, but it is, at least, a starting point).

Of course, I’d prefer those numbers to be higher. $5000 for a million eyeballs seems pretty low to me. However, at the very least we can make a credible argument for it. As the valuation of web use shakes out for the media, it will become easier and easier to determine the relative value of imagery within those uses. In the meantime, this gives us some logical place to begin negotiations.

As I’ve said before in all my writings about pricing, I’m not married to these numbers. I want photographers to push for the highest prices their images’ values will bear. I am simply trying to find logical quantifying methods and provide credible arguments for their defense.

In the previous post, I lied–okay, it was more a sin of omission, but same thing basically. There is one thing you can do right now to make your business better immediately:

Make something. Make your something, your way, and don’t even begin to let anyone else tell you what that is. Not even me.

I hear that fairly often from clients or people thinking about becoming clients, “What can I do now to get more business, like, today?” This is often followed by “I was thinking about sending a postcard” or email or buying a page in a sourcebook because “they just offered me a great deal but I need to decide today.” These are great examples of reactionary thinking.

Reactionary thinking is when something happens (or fails to happen) and you react to that (non-)event. Sometimes (often?) these reactions are elevated to urgency and yet they aren’t given time or enough thought. Think knee-jerk reaction–that involuntary thing our legs do when our doctors thwap us in the kneecap with a small rubber hammer.

Involuntary. Out of our control.

Involuntary reactions are good for our bodies–we want to fight off bad bugs without thinking about it–but they’re not very good for business. When you react (without thinking, especially) you take the eye off your goals, your plan, your road. It’s easy to end up in a ditch.

So, if you’re struggling with your business, tell yourself this like a mantra: there is nothing reactionary or fast I can do to make a positive difference in the long run–I would be better off thinking and planning than doing without considering.

Now, if you don’t have your rent money for next month, you need to do something now to change that situation, of course. Get a loan, sell something, get a second job–whatever. But when it comes to your business, you need to think more before taking actions–because those actions could easily end up making it harder and harder for you to make your rent month after month.

Through planning you reduce the risk of being in that reactionary position in the future. That hard sell for a sourcebook page today? It’ll be there next year too, and if you’re planning on being in business next year and the year after, then you can consider buying a page…in the future. Right now, if it’s not already in your plan, just say “no.” Thinking of sending a mailer? Better to plan a coordinated campaign.

So what can you do now? Plan.

There are rumors that Prince is about to sue the hell out of a bunch of prominent websites–for piracy. The thought is that most of the stuff on the web is actually stolen property and someone has to start somewhere.

I say, good for him. Let’s back Prince in his efforts. This isn’t some recording industry money-grab–this is an artist trying to reclaim his rights, bust like most of you.

I’m a very competitive person. You do not want to play Trivial Pursuit against me because I’m full of odd info and I like to win. However, I’m not a jerk about it. I know how to lose gracefully and if someone can beat me at Trivial Pursuit, then I have huge respect for that person. I also have lots of respect for people who will even try to beat me at that game, because they have courage and spirit. Trivial Pursuit, however, is a game–I think competition is great in games and sports.

Competition sucks, however, in business…from the businessperson’s perspective, I mean (for the consumer, it can be a very good thing).

Okay, competition doesn’t always suck in business, but more often than not it does. Why? Because most people can’t balance respect and competition very well. It’s difficult to keep respecting your competitor when money is on the line–somehow money warps perspective and before you know it, you’re hating your competition.

If you look at the people who share your industry as competitors, you’re going to have a harder time being an effective business person. It puts you into a generally reactionary position rather than an active one. You start worrying about what your competition is doing and stop focusing on what you are doing. Your choices become framed in response rather than innovation. All not good.

Instead, I think it is better to look at others in your industry as colleagues. No one is going to get all the business, no matter what, and if your business is unique, then it will have its own space in the market–you won’t have any real competition.

I run my business this way. This is why I’ve had long conversations with people like Suzanne Sease and Selina Maitreya and others–we’re colleagues. We each have our own way of working and our own thoughts and we respect each other.

I sometimes see it in photographers too. I just had someone today thank me for working with another photographer from his city. How great is that?! How open! Instead of seeing this other photographer improving his business as a threat, he was honestly excited for his colleague.

Take some time today to see if you’re doing more reacting or more acting/innovating. If you’re more on the reaction side, take some time to refocus your business on itself (and off others).

Selina Maitreya is coming here to San Diego next week to give a presentation. The talk, I Know This Much Is True, is being offered by both APA and ASMP–a joint effort of which I am very excited. The more pro groups do together, the more they build the concept of camaraderie and break down the concept of competition.

Also, in that spirit, I will be a special guest in the second half of the event, as Selina and I (and many others) believe that we are not so much competition as colleagues. Our goals are similar–to help our clients as best we can and make our livings doing what we love. We know that working with one of us is an intimate thing and that no one consultant is the right consultant for every client out there. You may be a better “fit” with my skills and personality, or hers, or Suzanne Sease, or someone else; and how can we best serve the photo community as consultants if part of our advice is not “work with the right consultant for you, even if that is not me”?

With that in mind, I would like to encourage any of you who are looking for good advice to book an individual consultation with Selina while she is here in San Diego. You’re sure to gain knowledge that will enhance your business (and easily pay for the cost of the meeting). For locals, I’m usually here and accessible, but Selina is traveling from the other side of the country–doesn’t make sense to take advantage of her knowledge while she’s here?