2010 Your Best Year Ever

Going through my emails from the last few days and I came across this one from Sarah Petty's Joy of Marketing and thought I would share. Great advice as usual from Sarah!!

Here are 5 Resolutions to Make 2010 Your Best Year Ever....

1. Live your dream. To live your dream and do what you want, you need to have a plan. When you wake up 12 months from now, will you be living the lifestyle you want? To be able to live your dream, you must have a good map. Would you head to Florida on a vacation without a map? Not if you want to get there the most efficient way as possible. Sure, you'd start by heading South, but you may get disoriented with road construction and begin traveling West. If you don't have a map or even worse, don't look at it, there's a good chance you'll end 2010 in Montana. A plan keeps you focused on your end goal.

2. Be good to others. My favorite saying from Zig Ziglar is that by helping others get what they want, you will get what you want. So figure out how you can work with another business to grow their business and in return, you will prosper.

3. Set limits. Do you ever feel like you are working ALL THE TIME? Brian Tracy, internationally acclaimed speaker and educator says to give yourself time to heal, like you would a wound. If you are hopping on your computer all weekend working a little here and there, it is like picking at a wound. He recommends having a 36 hour timeframe EACH WEEK where you don't work. That is how your engine recharges. I'm just as guilty at this, but am going to work on this in 2010.

4. Invest in yourself. The smartest way out of most difficult situations is education. Find a way to constantly educate yourself on the areas you need help. Because many of us are artists, the business side is scary and can be overwhelming. The way to take the fear away is to learn the answers. They are out there. Trust me!

5. Eliminate obstacles. Make a list of the things standing in your way of succeeding in small business ownership. Is it lack of funds? Lack of equipment? Lack of time? Lack of knowledge? By identifying the issues standing in your way, you are on your way to conquering your objectives!

Whether 2009 was a good, bad or an indifferent year for your business, resolve to make 2010 even better.

Off Site Storage & Backups for Your Files

After seeing the people's house behind mine catch on fire one evening, I started thinking, what would ever happen if I lost my house. Or even just my computer or my backup drive? Then I realized I didn't have my files stored off site. I know a lot of folks burn two copies of their disks and store one on-site and one off. But I didn't have an off-site location to store mine. I decided to created backups of everything to date and when I went to visit my family over the holidays, I left my duplicate DVDs with my mom, 3 hours away. Good plan to start, but what if my system went down and I needed something sooner rather than later? So I began the search for an online backup to use as well. I'm on a Mac and needed something that would work well with Mac, welcome to problem number one. Most of the online backups that were reasonably priced were made to work with Windows. I stumbled across MobileMe from Mac, easily syncs to my computer and I can back-up up to 20GB of files.

I've stored all of my client's purchased jpeg files, proofs and current working files on there. Clients know that there files are on record for one year, so the plan is every 4 months to clear out any files that are more than a year old. I will still have a DVD copy of any files over a year old at both my home and my mother's home, so no need to keep older files on MobileMe for more than a year. For $99 a year, you you get 20GB, not a bad deal at all. For an extra $49 a year you can store 40GB and 60GB for an additional $99. So if I get to the point where I know I'll be storing more than 20GB, I'll have additional options.

Hopefully I'll my system won't crash or my house destroyed by natural disaster, but just in case, it's nice to know that all my current client files, as well as my forms, actions and other purchased files are backed-up online as well.While MobileMe might not be the type of storage you're looking for, I highly suggest if you don't have a backup plan in process, get one now! You never know what could happen to your home or studio and of course computers and backup drives aren't perfect and may fail!

SEO for Photographers - Totally Over My Head!

I've been on a mission for the last year to improve my Google rankings. Currently when I Google Columbus Ohio Photographer - there are 1,860,000 results. Yep, that's a lot of pages to be clicking though for clients to even come close to finding me!! I've done tons of research on SEO from better blogging to getting my splash page right. While I've learned a lot of information from my free (aka internet) research I knew I still missing out.

I was really, really tempted to pick up some new DVDs that are out there specifically for photographers. Till, *gasp* I realized they were over $1,000. What? I don't have that kind of money to improve my SEO! So, I passed on those. I'm sure they're great, but I'm also sure I don't want to spend that kind of money to find out!

So, I keep seeing this crazy Ninja SEO School icon when I'm on various blogs. Honestly, at first, I thought that it was just some lame paid for ad and who knows what silly ebook they were offering. Then I read a few reviews about it and thought what the heck, it's only $39. I can spend $39 way easier than $1,000+. So I ordered SEO School by Naomi Dinford of Itty Biz. This ebook is not for everyone! If you're offended by some profanity mixed in, then it's not for you. Naomi is pretty funny about it, but I wanted to make sure I warned you off the bat! Is this the be all end all of SEO? No. Will it help you to figure out what the heck to do. Yes.

Naomi does not say go to your wordpress or blogger blog go to xyz and do abc. So if you want a quick fix, keep on searching and if you find it, please call me asap and let me know! If it was that easy, we'd all be doing it! What she does do is explain how search engines work, Google in particular. There were some things that she talks about that I already knew, but there were other things I had no idea about. As I read the ebook I started making changes on my blog and website. Do I have results for you? Not yet, it's been too soon to see if the changes I made have worked. BUT from what I previously knew about SEO and how she explained everything, I'm pretty darn sure that it will help.

The SEO School - How to Become an SEO Ninja covers a few things: What search engines are looking for; how to find the right keywords for your business; the do's and don'ts of both optimizing your site and also optimizing links coming into your site; and a section for bloggers.

You do need to know how to do some minor tweaking to your site. If you're too scared to go into the back end of your blog or website or cannot update your own web template, then do not get this book. If you're fine with changing a few little things here and there (no major code writing involved) then I say go for it. This ebook is for any sort of business, so unlike a lot of other SEO tips and pointers for photographers, this is for anyone with a blog or website.

I've marked down where my blog and website were before I started making changes. I'll be tracking any improvements over the next few weeks and months and keeping everyone posted on how the SEO optimization is going for me!

Free E-book - The Boutique Experience

Sarah Petty shared the below link to her new e-book, The Boutique Expereience. She and Erin Verbeck discuss what a boutique business is and how in this economy it's harder than ever to compete. I haven't read the e-book just yet, but knowing Sarah, there's probably tons of good info in it. To get the e-book, follow this link https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:Join/signupId:66977/acctId:11781 and fill out your info to download.

The New Year Is Almost Here!

I feel like I've been slacking lately with my posts. I'm looking forward to a very productive 2010 for my business. I plan on doing a lot of tweaking to my business model in January and February - finalizing my pricing based off of the Easy As Pie Guide, working in some new products and simplyfing the choices for my clients, making some small adjustments to my senior rep program. One of the most exciting things is working on an online client site - I'll be going paperless. I can't wait to share the online site with you guys once it's up and running!!

I'm counting down to February, I'll be attending the OneLight Workshop with Zack Arias. I am sooo excited that Zack is coming to Columbus, I won't even have to take a road trip for this workshop. I've heard many rave reviews of the OneLight Workshop and I'm pretty sure my mind will be exploding with information after spending the day with him. If you haven't heard of Zack, be sure to check out his OneLight website and also his website. He's an amazing photographer.

If you missed out on the Joy of Marketing Web Summit earlier this week, don't worry, for 8 hours on New Year's Day they'll be re-broadcasting for free!! Check it out over at www.thejoyofmarketing.com/websummitlive from noon till 8pm central time on January 1, 2010 to learn some great marketing ideas from Sarah Petty and her photography friends!

I hope everyone has had a safe and wonderful holiday season!! Check back to the blog often, I'll be keeping you all posted with the cool new products that I'm trying out again this year!!


Full Disclosure: commission on Joy of Marketing sold via my link.

Camera Bags That Make My Life Easy!

Wow - I didn't realize it had been over a month since I've last posted!! I wanted to share my two favorite camera bags with my readers.

First is the Shootsac by Jessica Claire — I just love this bag!! I got my first Shootsac about a year and a half ago. It stayed in my storage closet for a few weeks before I decided to brave it for a session. I must say this bag rocked it for me!! I can throw quite a bit in this handy bag - lenses, memory cards, keys, my blackberry, a flash and if I'm not carrying too much, a bottled water. This great bag conforms to me when I'm running and crawling around for a session. I typically leave on the entire time! Shootsacs are made of neoprene (the material used in making wetsuits) and is super light. I just throw my must have gear in and I'm good to go for a session. The bag offers 6 pockets that are pretty roomy, I can even fit my 70-200 lens in there easily. A nice, long adjustable strap that I wear across my chest like a messenger bag and I'm set! And to make it ultra customizable, you can order from a large selection of different replaceable covers that Velcro in. Different styles and colors help to make the Shootsac customizable to your brand and sense of style.

Jessica also recently came out with the HipSlip - it's a Shootsac for your laptop! I don't currently own one because I have yet to cave to buying my own laptop. I know, sometimes it's like I live in the stone ages!!

The other bag I just can't live without is from ThinkTank and it's the Airport AirStream. I initially purchased this bag for my trip to Chicago for the Unleashed Pet Photography Workshop. I was in search of a small carry-on bag that would safely and comfortably hold my gear, yet wasn't screaming photo bag. After a lot of searching and reading reviews I thought that the AirStream would work for me. It was just small enough to fit as a carry-on for a regional jet flight, yet would hold a body, 70-200 lens plus some additional lenses and flashes. When I first got my AirStream I couldn't believe the quality, in the last 2-3 years I've had over 5 different camera bags, but I definitely noticed the better quality in this bag. This bag includes TSA combination locks, cables & locks to secure to a fixed object, an area for that laptop I still don't own and sturdy wheels for when I'm running across the airport. This bag came with a ton of Velcro inserts to adjust the available space to fit the needs of my gear, which was definitely a bonus. After my trip to Chicago, I got rid of my previous camera bag and now the ThinkTank AirStream is my daily bag for carrying my equipment from session to session.

I love the combination of the AirSteam to carry everything and the Shootsac to carry just what I need on each session. Talk about the best of both worlds! These are definitely two highly recommended bags for your money!

Full Disclosure: Commission earned on sale of ShootSac via my link.

Pricing Your Photography — Easy As Pie? Well Yes, It Can Be!

I've been in business for one year and I'm on my third round of pricing. Yes, third. Guess what, for 2010, I'm revamping once again! I thought I was happy with my pricing, but I'm falling short on selling those specialty items like large like canvases and session albums. I do great in print sales, it just I struggle with those other item. And my sales are all over the place from low to high, and boy oh boy, who doesn't want most sales to be on the high side! I'm never sure if my prices are too high or too low. After talking with Bev Hollis at Unleashed |fine pet photography workshop, I knew that the most current version of my pricing still wasn't exactly right. Bev suggested I check out Easy As Pie Cookbook by Alicia Caine. I proceeded to do a bit of research to see if Easy As Pie would be worth it. So, I finally clicked the buy button.

I will tell you that some of what I've read in the Easy As Pie Cookbook isn't brand new news to me. It's similar to other pricing information I've read on forums while re-working my pricing. But, what Alicia does is explains exactly how to determine your costs for you to increase those sales. She offers a step-by-step process on how to find those prices that will work for your business. She even suggests a different pricing for those just starting out vs. more seasoned professionals. I especially love the sections on pricing those specialty items including storyboards, session albums and those dreaded digital files. Once you get all of your a la carte pricing figured out, then you get to jump into pricing your collections to drive your customers to purchasing what you want to sell them.

While I have not signed up for The Pantry from Alicia, it's next on my list. I'm so excited to start working on my 2010 pricing!! Be sure to check out Easy As Pie if you have your own pricing issues and just don't know where to start!

Want to hear from Alicia before you buy? Check out her interview with Totally Rad from July 2009 here!

UPDATE! Thanks to Alicia - she just sent me a discount code for $20 off cookbook+pastry school purchase!! Be sure to use code NCBlog20 for your discount!!

More New Stuff from WordSmith!

Darn that Joyce, she's done it again. Yesterday I got the {what to wear} seniors guide and also the WordSmith's senior pricing menu (template). As usual, these are both stellar guides!! I had been using a mix of stuff to make up my current senior what to wear. While it was slightly informative, I've still had issues with a few of my seniors this year just not getting it when I tried to tell them how to dress for their sessions. The WordSmith guide is a total life saver for me!! There are two versions, one for the guys and one for the girls. Joyce hits all the key points with dressing for your figure, adding accessories and a clean face instead of clumpy make-up. Super easy to read and to customize for your business, this guide is a total winner!! I can't wait to combine this with my other senior pieces for 2010 and get my seniors dressing their best. Don't forget when their clothes are a bust it really does hurt the end result.

I haven't had the change to dive into the senior pricing menu (template) from WordSmith, but at a quick glance of it, it's exactly what I need. I'm currently re-working my pricing for 2010, and this template gives me a clean, easy to read and informative way to convey all the pricing info to my clients. I'll probably also use it for my non-senior session. I tend to overkill with my pricing lists, so this will keep me in-check with not over doing it!

Head on over to WordSmith asap to get a great deal on both these products. Joyce is running a sale on both through Tuesday, October 20th. After that these pieces won't be on sale again till 2010.

Full Disclosure: Samples received from WordSmith

Are You Tweeting?

I recently signed up for a Twitter account. Not that it's helping tons with finding new clients, but I love it for connecting with other photographers and various vendors that I use. I've been painfully trying to find my clients on it, but no such luck. Maybe Ohio folks aren't as hip to Twitter as some other areas. I did put my Twitter badge on my photography blog, for my clients that stop by the blog who want to find me on Twitter. If you're on there - be sure to follow me - @DanielleNeil. If you're not on there, you should be! It's a great way to get updates from vendors, follow your favorite photographers and of course chat with current friends. See you on Twitter!

Speed Up Your Lightroom Workflow!

I've had Adobe Lightroom since it came out but never really knew how to use it. I typically just made some minor Raw adjustments and then worked on my images in Photoshop. I recently purchased the Kubota Raw Workflow for Lightroom V2. This video had been SO helpful!! I downloaded the video and immediately started watching. I've already cut my working time in almost half after learning Kevin Kubota's tips and tricks. I know have all my images organized and easy to find. I've learned tons of new tips to edit my images in Lightroom without even taking the images into Photoshop unless I want to add some artistic effects. If you're struggling on how to use Lightroom I highly suggest watching the video!