Marketing for Photographers [John Hartman]

The PhotoTellers--Photography Podcast

Are you a Photographer looking for practical, proven tips to improve your marketing? Especially if you're new in business, and you want effective--not expensive--tips, today's conversation on The PhotoTellers is for you! Grab a pencil and paper . . . this is a quick conversation.

My guest is a third-timer here on the show. He's Mr. John Hartman, and he's spent over 33 years teaching Photographers how to market their businesses. If his name sounds familiar, you may know him as the Light Painting Guy. Find those conversations HERE and also HERE.

Here's one of my favorite parts of my conversation with John:

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JOHN: If you're going to spend money on institutional advertising, you probably are well-off enough in your normal marketing business to be able to do this "image advertising." But that kind of advertising is NOT designed to bring in business. And a lot of people who are new to marketing; that's their mindset about marketing: "Well, it's a waste of money." Well, marketing is only expensive if it doesn't work. So if you if you invest one dollar, and you get 10 back, then how many dollars should you invest?

BILL: As many as you can!

JOHN: As many as you can borrow--that's right. So that's how you want look at marketing: not as another expense, like the light bill, but as a way to drive business. And there really are only two ways to drive business. One is through marketing, and the other is through innovation. If you're not an innovator, if you're not a marketer; you don't have a photography business, you have an art gallery.

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What might you learn from today's episode? Glad you asked. Here are a few teasers:

• Barriers to Photographers being effective marketers
• The danger--and ultimate failure--of being an "also" or a "me too"
• The best way for a family photographer to earn new clients
• John's experience being a member of an art cooperative
• The value of the physical print to advertise yourself
• How to break into a new market
• Advertising is different than marketing! Neglect this at your own peril
• "Marketing is only expensive if it doesn't work." How much should you invest?
• The effective silent auction offering that doesn't limit you to one client

This is only the tip of the iceberg! If you want to see more of John's helps for Photographers, hop over to JHARTMAN.COM.