For Photographers

Wrong Number

No Comments

The good thing about Bell, the Canadian phone company, is that it serves as the perfect example of what *not* to do in business.

It appears that Bell has quietly dropped two of its fake fees. But sadly, it hasn’t dropped all of them. Bell, through one of its sister companies, actually referred to its fake fees as a “made-up fee.”

Bell is currently in the midst of class action lawsuits regarding its System Access fee (aka “government licensing fee”) and its 9-1-1 fee. Both of these cell phone fees were just recently cancelled. Although in some areas of the country, the fees still linger for some unknown reason. To be fair, the two other cell carriers are also involved in the same lawsuits.

Why wouldn’t a business tell its customers that it has eliminated some fees and has thereby lowered prices? Read on.
Continue reading →

Out Standing Out

No Comments

sports photographer

Does it feel like you’re working in a crowded market? Too much competition and not enough elbow space for you to grab the ball and run with it? How can you get the attention you deserve?

The easy answer is always, “Be different. Set yourself apart from the others.”

But the million dollar question is, how do you set yourself apart from the crowd? Do you have to be outstanding to stand out?
Continue reading →

Royal Pain

No Comments

Another long post.

I just finished three days of following Prince Charles and Camilla through Toronto and southern Ontario. The Royal couple are currently on an 11-day official visit to Canada.

My first thought is that this is a colossal waste of taxpayer money. I can’t imagine how many millions of dollars are being spent on this. Many events were not open to the general public and most media events were only for a handful of pre-selected media organizations.

However if you consider, or at least pretend, that this is a marketing or public relations event, then perhaps it might be money well-spent if it had been properly planned and executed. This applies to all marketing efforts and not just royal visits. The client, (in this particular case, the Canadian taxpayer), must get their money’s worth.

Why spend time and money promoting a product, service or brand when that effort is only half-assed or squandered? Why just go through the motions? Marketing success needs both media and public exposure. Otherwise it’s just a tree falling in the forest.
Continue reading →

Bad Business Slogans

2 Comments

A slogan or tagline can sometimes be good for a business. Creating an effective slogan requires careful thought, correct spelling and good grammar. Here are some photography business slogans that may have missed their mark:

• We’re #1 in service and inconvenience

• Best Profressional Photographer In Town

• Fully expreienced perfessional

• Not just a photographer but a lens maestro

• Other photo studios come and go. We’re not going anywhere.

• Why go elsewhere and be cheated? Come to us first.

• Passport pictures – Come in and get your head shot.

• We’re not satisfied until you’re not satisfied

• If you’re in a hurry then so are we

• Our prices show that we care for your money

Continue reading →

Free Samples

No Comments

A little while ago, I did a small public relations photo for a yogurt product being given away. After the photo, the young lady gave me – you guessed it – a free sample of the yogurt. It was so delicious that I later bought two boxes of the stuff.

The purpose of a free sample is to eliminate all risk to the consumer. The customer has nothing to lose by trying a free product. There will never be any buyer’s remorse when it’s free. Not many folks are willing to take a chance on a product that they’ve never used. Why risk their time and money on the unknown?

Welcome the free sample.
Continue reading →

Advertise You Not Them

No Comments

There are a lot of folks who have either an iPhone or a BlackBerry. I know a couple of photographers in Toronto who carry both: company-issued BlackBerry on one hip and a personal iPhone on the other.

If you have one of these devices, and haven’t done this already, you may want to remove the third-party advertising from your e-mails. Unless, of course, you want to brag that you have a new toy. :-)

By default, e-mails sent from an iPhone end with “Sent from my iPhone.” Similarly, e-mails from a BlackBerry end with something like “Sent from my BlackBerry on the Rogers Wireless Network.”

Replace these with a promotion for your business.
Continue reading →

Half-full or Half-empty

No Comments

If you weighed a 10-lb bag of potatoes and found that it weighed only 5 lbs, would you be concerned?

If a store clerk said that a 10-lb bag of potatoes weighs 10 lbs only if you buy it in the morning, would you be confused?

Let’s talk about camera flashes, in this case, the Nikon SB-800.

I was shooting a photo today with a Nikon D3 and an SB-800 flash manually set to 1/2-power. Deciding to add more flash, I upped the flash to full power. Surprise! The flash exposure remained the same. What’s going on and where’s my extra light?
Continue reading →

css.php