Lessons

Lesson Info

Going from 0 - 5K Part 2

Adding wow to your website invest in your first three website images why somebody's going to your website they're going to look at your portfolio the first image comes on oh yeah I seen that before goes to the second one that's o k the third one goes on it's okay there are gone they're not looking at your website any more because there's too many options right now to go to so that's how important it is is that you've got to capture that audience within your first three pictures I don't care how much money you have to spend on that but you need something to grab something you can use those three image is for the rest of your career and those are going to help you okay so keep investing in those it's kind of like when they talk about top forty songs or hit songs and it has to grab you within the first thirty seconds they only make the song about what three and a half minutes long but the first thirty seconds must wrap you and contain you that's what it is your website you could probably ...

still is same thing they're going to give you thirty seconds maybe even less right then that's what you got to do that it's better to showcase twenty amazing images than sixty averaging good pictures just make sure that what they're looking at is good, good, good good good tease them you don't have to show him everything but if you tease them then at least you're going to get a email and so my strength was this I always felt like okay if I could talk to this person or if I could meet with this sit down with this person and have a face to face I am goingto just close it I'm going to nail it because I'm going to go in I'm going to know my strength I go I've got a great personality and so if I could just get some sort of contact with them I'm gonna win this thing and when something you got to realize this because that there's so many options if someone does have a sit down with you you're probably within the top two or three you're a finalist okay because no no bride has any time anymore to go sitting down with photographers in the old days they used to but they didn't have the internet back then I remember when I got married oh my gosh I had to go to this photographer and that I would to be honest I wasn't that much into photography can you believe that that baffles my mind right now but anyways manhunt come on like I got one more let's just two's one right and we chose it a terrible one but anyways nobody wants to go so if they go you're there you are almost there roll out the red carpet for them develop your portfolio one network your little heinie off three set a goal of twelve weddings a year okay your first goal should be twelve weddings a year. Why is that is because frequency matters for example I'm going to give you example and let's pretend you are the bride ok? You go on your bride and you're looking at two websites you're seeing billy's website and billy's website he shows a wedding being posted once every four months then you go to bombs website and bob's got a wedding posted every single month but you can you know what I don't I'm not an artist but on I don't know which is better I don't know what to choose and I'm choosing between billy and bob because he's fitting my price range I'm going well who are we going to choose experience I'm going to choose that one with frequency so initially to get this going you've got to show that you consistently do it you've got to get twelve weddings man beg borrow steal whatever you've got to do, you've got to get twelve up to show that you are serious and that you are in the game or else nobody is going to hire you you're going to get a mercy hire you don't want that you want somebody that shows is you from out of nowhere and said humps selecting this person not that one your business can't start until this happens you will not go anywhere in this business without it just quit right now if you're not committed to get this twelve ratings of the year, please just quit and I need to see that and I'm impressing on this is because I do I mentor people right now and they're not doing that and they know who they are out there right now on I'm speaking to you right now please show me an urgency that you want to get twelve weddings a year you're going to fail without it you must create rave you must have a reason why people want to, um talk about you, right? So let's unpack this a little bit what is ray to speak a right with wild enthusiasm to speak or write with wild enthusiasm? Think about it is anybody speaking or writing with wild enthusiasm wasn't about you about your not about too, but first you're lovely and beautiful but about your business about your work are they because that's what it takes you don't have that you're not developing that so what? Let's let's see what type of things have rave, right? Yeah, well, what is the innis things right now? Creative live right it's probably where the largest if not the largest lead teaching platform for photography, right? I don't know anything larger uh what else the iphone used to until you know china went down because the owner died but the inventor died but well what are things well first of all rave there has to be an innovative right little those just a creative life for example creative life is innovative have anybody did what creative does what creative love live is doing right now offering these free amazing workshops bringing the world's best photographers to you for free no it's quite such a hit it's innovative style right did they just come along here and then we're just in some kind of warehouse and then got to steal chairs here flunky little camera and just sit down no way did start that way but it has style they're going to go they're going to go big they're goingto you know how so they're always asking me scott oh yeah how could we designed herself like whoa I don't know right they really wanted do it with some style it has function it has a place it is functional it fits in need if it's a need for all those people that wanna you know learn photography but there's not enough resource is in their area it doesn't fit their schedule on and so forth and creates the need also on top of that and then all of a sudden it's like you have tohave it because then it becomes a status symbol at that point toe have that right and that's partly the reason why you know although these other phones air cool just like the iphone because a certain cachet with it it's a luxury ban it cost more than all the other phones right and all the cool artists have it you know so there's a certain status symbol with having things like that or your car or whatever that's what you want to be you want to be that status symbol you want to say oh wow I hired so and so oh and I'm so excited about it I want to brag about it and that's what you have to have with your business so how do you create rave? We know what it is we've defined it defined it and we've unpacked it a little bit about some of the qualities of what ravens but how do you crave it? Well I'd give you a hint this is in paris we could go to this cafe we can all sit there have our wine or cappuccino and talk about life and watch the world go by now be amazing right? But what a hint no one raves about a mediocre restaurant nobody says oh my gosh you got to go to this sushi place that we went to last night it was completely average the atmosphere it was ok and was a little bit cold in there actually no one's going to talk about that mediocrity so what does that give you a hint that rave? Actually, they have to speak that you have to have some quality extraordinary quality to what you're doing. Okay, so why is rape the best way to get all this marketing it's? Because it's free you don't, it doesn't cost anything. I create zero marketing and that's and what it is is that in my career and, um, two of the guys running about to interview in the next second, we don't do any marketing at all I never really did in any marketing and the marketing that I did do that I spent on it didn't do me a lick of anything I've had other businesses also before that twelve years, we'd spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on marketing and never really got us anything at all. So let me tell you right now, I've probably spent about a half a million dollars on marketing throughout my career didn't do anything for me, I didn't do nothing for may, okay? And I know there's some cases where works, but for me it didn't, um and so what we do is we just produce what our product, our product our service are are networking our personality that did everything for us because what happens with certain marketing plans or marketing things? We take away way take a shortcut we think that, oh, I'll just advertise on this that will bring so many people and I need only twelve, so I don't have to do anything. I don't have to work on my business that hard because it's going to do it for me, but no, you gotta work hard on the content on who you are, you need to produce a product that is extraordinary, extort, that is the first and the foremost thing you must do, so you must have an extraordinary element to your business, and then everything else will follow and you won't even need to market at all. They'll just be talking with wild enthusiasm about to and you're going to have get mohr and maura amazing opportunities you're going to be asked to be going to paris to italy, to new york, to wherever and your world is going to expand, and you will not believe it and that's part of the extraordinary life, but she first haven't. It must have an element of being extraordinary. Yes, I just wantto make a comment from folks online who this is very counterintuitive, tio what we hear often about about marketing so people are really intrigued and interested to hear mohr and having some ahhh oz, and I just want to read off one comment from peter v quinter, who is in vancouver and also crimson bamboo wow that quote is the best eye opener ever good content requires no marketing that is so true and will get me so excited about creating rather than about marketing efforts so you're really you're really making people think differently great yeah it's true that's all I did was create that content and everything opens up for you ah handful of key fanatics about you khun singlehandedly create a successful business all you need is a few fanatics and influential people that get into your camp and that's it and I remember now we give this story well no I won't give this story is like talking about it later on in the day but it's so true uh just having you just need a few people uh wanting to be in your camp that just love you and usually these people that the way it works I'll talk about it a little bit uh later too but the way it works is influential business is influential people that have success well businesses are always looking for quality people why? Because there's a shortage of quality people there's a shortage of people who condolence for with style grace and professionalism there's a complete shortage of that and so they're constantly looking for the one that has it you must have it it factor to you so you go out and they're looking for that and you become that to go I've got my eye on the person I like this person. This person has potential. They can help my business. And so they're constantly looking for that uh so and that's why it works so then then they bring those people up. Influential people, managers, leaders, etcetera are constantly looking for good talent that can represent their company. Well, that's, why? It's important it's important because these people that are influential people that you associate with now you become representatives of them. Think about it. Who do you want representing your company, right? You want the best and the brightest people so just become that and they will find you and they will help you tremendously. You can't keep a good man down, they will find you. It may take you years, but they will find you. Definitely. Um kita branding any business is to produce unique quality and have us and see her passion about it. You have to be passionate about what you do. Why is that? Why is passion necessary on doing anything? Open it up to you guys. Why is passion necessary? Yes. Create endurance. I like that one keeps your dream alive when the reward aren't great and we all gonna test that that can happen that's, why we become artists were massacred us, right, we like, ah, ah ah it's it's hard so when you know you're just eating cup noodles for lunch or whatever because that's all that's in the budget for peanut butter sandwiches or whatever right, where we going like what by doing this? Because I lodi doing I don't I can't let it go I love this it keeps it going if you don't love it when you start even coming noodles and peanut butter sandwiches you go you know, I think I'm just gonna go back to my regular job just go right back you can't you can't endure it because those times were gonna come to passion breeds innovation that's the key thing is that if you're passionate about I was passing it about light and I was passionate about teaching people. So therefore through that process I came up with that revolutionary little card that I gave you there's nothing like that in the world there's have been a lot of people that, uh, that have taught photography right there's been a lot of lot of instructors that are very knowledgeable, but they never created that card. I was the first one to do it because I had such a sincere passion about teaching people and putting tools in their hand for a little cost that's what red the innovation so once you're passionate about something, you will know the ends and out of that culture or that interest re so you will see needs that no one else sees because you are in it and because you see that need and then you can create and that's when innovation begins but in order to see that need you have to be completely absorbed in that culture once you become absorbed in that culture everything becomes evident tio so extraordinary is the only path to rave the purple cow that's a great book because that's telling you how to market nowadays and you need to create a niche you need to create something that on li you do now and it's not about servicing everybody it's creating a new unique product and serving just a small target market and that's enough for you because now you can mark it to the world is not like the old days where you can on lee market to the people that you can go in hand flyers out too we have the web now so now you khun gather from a world audience it's just you just need to target yourself and there's plenty of people there that will fit that um so you got to ask yourself what can I add to the industry copying the newest trans aren't enough right? You got to say how can I add to this industry that is the question if you're going to do it if you're going to get into this game is to say what can I add? Not just copy, I mean it's great that you go ahead and copy all my posing moves and oh my oh my posing and all my lighting fine, but guess what? That is a starting point for you that is not the end because why you're going to be coming up here one day and you're going to build on top of that and you're going to invent and innovate on top of what I just told you let's say you wanted to come and speak here you got it add something more than I just gave or else why would they ask you here it's already been done? Just go back to scott robert tank a winning you must come into this indigenous and say I'm going to give something to it I'm going to understand this so well that I can give back to it okay here's, your game plan for rave first one to two years you get twice is good two times a year because in the beginning you can learn faster because they're so new you can get two times against the entity year your four times it's good because now you have creative life so there's no excuse maybe I should put that eight times okay, because because of creative life I'm changing this you have to be eight times better in one year okay the next three to five years after you build that you've got to get twice is good every year because it's going to get harder to get good it's just like learning an instrument right? We're learning the guitar oh math we got these down one hundred chords no problem but then after that you've got to really build it take it's harder to get good when you get good does that make sense anyways yeah if you're not getting better you're getting worse coach pat riley I watch a lot of sports okay? I love sports because it's a lot about success patterns and I love it and I'm intrigued by it okay, so if you're not getting better you're getting worse you got to keep adding something to your game every single year no matter what once you start think once you've when the art artistic industry once you feel like oh I'm at the top I've made it then uh guess what you're doing your business is going to drop okay so over deliver on create rave your photography is twice a cz good is your competition at that price point that's what you need to be you need to be twice is good at that price point it's not that I deserve I think my work deserves two thousand how I thought of it is in order to get two thousand dollars I need to produce four thousand dollars work so when I was at five thousand dollars, I go, I need to produce ten thousand dollars work. So when I go to ten thousand dollars, I thought I think I could produce twenty thousand dollars work. So that's your mentality. You have two overdeliver and that's. How you got the rave? So this is it. Your client hires you? Usually what? Maybe even a year in advance. Is that possible? Okay, so they hire you on that quality that you are. You go to your wedding, you are twice is good. You deliver the product. Oh, my gosh. You know, you are good when I hired you, but look at thiss then what do they do? They tell all their friends would a fantastic photographer. You are zero marketing. Okay, big picture developed your portfolio network. Your little heinie off set a goal of twelve weddings. Frequency matters. Your business can't start until this happens. You must create rave. You set a goal at twenty four weddings per year. Whatever you got to do to get at that price because you've got to be twenty four now, even as it's twenty four thousand dollars and whatever you just get twenty four because really twenty four for a single man operation that's about all you can really do are all she'll go insane you could maybe do thirty or forty in a few years if you're doing full service, but you're going to burn out after a while. So up to me a sustainable level is about twenty to twenty four weddings and that's your max, you can't go any more than that for a one two person operation to person you go more global form one man operation that's it and so what happens is your exposure is more important than the money at this point. See what the twenty four weddings does. It gets your work to a lot of people. So that's what you need it's? Not about getting hired at that price. I rather get hired at a lower price and more people see my work then get my price and only two people see my work. So you need to develop your own kind of nailing list. And so that's why you got to get twenty for even if it means going down to five hundred dollars? Do it because then a lot of people have seen you okay? And then rave happens exponentially. It starts exploding on you. You're getting better and what you do is you on ly book twenty four weddings a year and then because and then it starts to go crazy, so maybe you know it is twenty four weddings is two weddings a month but what happens is this. What happened with me would be a b three weddings in one month, another three in another month and another three. Oh my gosh, I'm going at the rate of thirty six weddings. If I continue at that pace, I raised my rates until it goes down to two in love, and then you get better and better, and then it starts to build up again, and cold man is going three, three, three. Again. I gotta raise my rates, and you keep raising your rates at that point, rates raise rates on ly with demand. That is the one key you can't raise your race without demand.