Masthead header

Four tips to creating the brand of your dreams. CHATTY TUESDAYS! A photographer’s vlog!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012 Posted inALL,BUSINESS,CHATTY TUESDAYS

Hey you,

Okay. So you’re a passionate photographer who wants to turn that PASSION into PROFIT …  the only problem is that you’re not really sure where to start or what to focus on. You know you need to create a brand for yourself, but you barely even know what that means.

Not to worry – if you want to discover four tips to creating the brand of your dreams, you’ve come to right place!  This week’s Chatty Tuesday video will give you lots to think about and will encourage you to TAKE ACTION on establishing a strong brand of your own.

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts in the comments section! The conversation that goes on in the comments section always inspires me and I want to thank all of you for being a part of it!

Big hugs and I hope you have a beautiful Tuesday!
xoxo
Alex

P.S.  “A tiny change today brings a dramatically different tomorrow.” – Richard Bach

Posted inALL,BUSINESS,CHATTY TUESDAYS

  • http://www.benjamin-jphotography.com Ben

    Hi Alex, great video!

    My five words are: unique, fun, informal, yummy (slightly weird one) and stylish. Three things to apply to the business… blog posts about food and recipes I share with people (that’s the yummy); the tone of my emails to clients and all documents is very conversational rather than formal/businessy and; I don’t have an formal style group shots on my website.

  • http://www.alexbeadonphotography.com Alex Beadon

    Hey Ben!

    I am loving your five words and think they suit you and your business perfectly – and I’m LOVING the way you relate to people through the food recipe posts (love!), and the conversational communication along with the types of shots you show on your site – but you are already doing those three things aren’t you?

    What could you apply to your business that would strengthen the feelings of your brand (unique, fun, informal, yummy and stylish) that you haven’t already done? What could you do to step it up? To really “wow” people with an immediate feeling of who you are and what you’re all about?

    It’s such a hard question to answer, but so worth it if you can find an answer on how to solidify your brand in all of its communications with the outside world as much as possible!

    Big hugs :)
    xoxo

  • http://www.alibeephotography.com Ali

    Great video, Alex! I would say my five words are: dreamy, unique, amazement, fun, creative. Three things that I can apply to my business that will help my brand are: not treating my clients like only clients but more like a new friend that I just made, continue to improve and provide images for my clients that will amaze them, be more creative with props and photoshop techniques to keep my work unique, creative, and dreamy. As far as getting people interested, this is where I’ve hit a bump. Things were taking off from February until now. Things have slowed down quite a bit so I’m trying to bring people in by advertising my new photo package which is more expensive but it offers props, more creative photoshop techniques, and unique images that you can’t get anywhere else. I think I need to get some fun business cards made. Maybe set up a 4th of July discount offer. I’ve noticed many people have an issue with the money aspect of it, so I’m trying to figure out how to minimize that issue without cheaping down my prices.

  • http://www.benjamin-jphotography.com Ben

    Ahhhhh man! You’re tough! Well, I have been playing around with an idea recently that I need to feedback on. As yummy is a word and food is a part of the brand I am considering, a few weeks before the wedding, sending my couples a ‘Date Night Kit’. Basically a recipe to cook together with all the ingredients they need and some wine. Possibly with a cd they both like or a movie they have always wanted thrown in as well. I like it because it’s food related so it’s ‘on brand’ and its completely unexpected.

    Other things… this is getting tough. I may have to think more and come back to you!!!

    Ben x

  • Pingback: Are You Branded?

  • http://www.alexbeadonphotography.com Alex Beadon

    Hi Ali!

    I am so happy you enjoyed the video :) I think your five chosen words suit you perfectly – great job choosing them.

    Here’s what I want you to think about:
    You said you want to treat your clients like new friends. How can you do that in dreamy/unique/amazing/fun/creative ways? Instead of just being friendly instead of professional, how can you really give them that dreamy experience? I’ve just started experimenting with gifting my clients things that are inline with my brand and who they are as people.

    Also, you said you want to be more imaginative with your photography which I think is amazing, but how can you make their experience on the shoot more magical? A lot of the times as photographers we get caught up in the final product when what matters just as much is their experience. How can you make it dreamy? Be imaginative!

    I know you had said you were struggling with marketing and getting people through the door- I’m about to answer your FB wall post :)

    Big hugs
    xoxo

  • http://www.alexbeadonphotography.com Alex Beadon

    Ben – I am loving that idea!!! :) Very imaginative and very inline with your branding! Try it out and see how couples respond to it! Let me know how it goes :)

    Big hugs
    xoxo

  • Verena

    Great, great chatty Tuesdays episode! Trust, happiness, skill, collaboration and open-mindedness would be my personal 5.

  • Heidi

    Hi, Alex!
    First of all, I have to thank you for all of your wonderful posts and the inspirational help you give for free! I’m only 18, but I’ve been doing my photography business pretty successfully for over a year now. The plateau my business has reached can be fixed with your posts, I know it! So, thank you so much!
    The words I pick are joy, color, substance, fun, and sincerity. I want all of my client communications to be professional yet sincere and real. I hope to put joy, color, substance and fun into my shoots with the client, as well as preparing for the shoot and especially the finished product! So, in particular, I will fix my website up to make it more professional yet inviting and real, and learn more about your actions and Photoshop tutorials(getting ready to shoot my third wedding!!).
    Thank you so much, Alex!

  • http://www.kassadiclickphotography.wordpress.com Kass Click

    Hi Alex! So I know that this is a super late post, but I just stumbled across this blog! All thanks to Pinterest! & I’m loving it so far! It’s gotten me so motivated to do great things and really put my business into action after graduating college! I know that the reason I’m not as successful as I could be is because I’ve got a million eggs in one basket with an internship, Mary Kay business, my photography business, having a life, school and my livestock judging team at school! However, my goal is to really jump start my two businesses (tying them together) after this November 2012! I’m excited, and learning from this site is helping me put it into action! Anyhow, my five things I want my business to be built on are uniqueness, fun, creativity, spontaneous and trust. Three things I think can impact my photography for the better is, I want my customers to not feel like just another customer or another number. I’m all about personal relationships. I love them when I’m someone’s client, it makes me feel like I am actually important to that person. I want to make my customers feel the exact same way, and feel that they aren’t my new customer but a new friend! Through my business, I want to talk about my life and things that go on with me. Just to keep my business on a more personal note, I want everyone to have an insight on me so they know what kind of person they will be hiring to take their pictures! Last but not least, I want to have a professional, yet, laid back experience with my customers. Sometimes I feel like things can maybe get too professional and straight laced and I like professionalism, I just think sometimes it can be too much and intimidate other people. A degree of professionalism and fun I think is an excellent combination I want to implement! If you ever have time, I’d love, love, LOVE you to look at my wordpress site and tell me what I can do to take better pictures! I want help and I have so many questions to ask to people I look up too and it’s awesome that you help people the way you do! Thanks so much!

  • http://simplicityportrait.weebly.com alexandra

    love these tips <3 This really helps me. I guess I don't have a very strong "brand" yet. I think if I had to choose words for my company I would say fun, relaxed and playful, but still professional. I hope that doesn't sound crazy! haha. I think it is REALLY important for people not to settle on a photographer just because they need one. A photographer is an artist! We all have different looks that make our artwork unique. I think people need to choose a photographer that speaks to their style- someone who will capture pictures that show their uniqueness!

  • http://www.alexbeadonphotography.com Alex Beadon

    Hi Alexandra!

    Great comment! I am loving your four words, “Fun, Relaxed, Playful – but still Professional!” And I agree with you that people should not settle on a photographer just because they need one, but also because the photographs speak to their style.

    Above all, though, I feel that people will hire a photographer because they like the photographer regardless of how amazing the photographs are. I think it’s easy to forget that no one cares about photography as much as us photographers :) What matters most is who you are as a person, and how you can incorporate that into a unique and unforgettable experience. In my opinion, this is what will make people hire you again and again!

    Big hugs!
    xoxo

  • http://www.littlehouseontheright.com Crissy @ LHOTR

    Hi Alex! Joining a little late but my 5 words are
    Grace-revealed, love, fun, comfortable, and fresh.

  • http://jezandia.daportfolio.com/ Melody

    Also late. Also found you on Pinterest.

    This post was especially useful for me. I’ve been trying to figure out how to make the jump from Amateur to Pro. How to go from shooting for your friends for free to build a portfolio to actually charging for your work. And I think working on Branding is a good first step. If you have other ideas PLEASE let me know. And please let me know what you think of my work.

    5 words: Warm; rich; relaxed; creative; quirky!

  • http://www.lovemonika.com Monika Greenaway

    Hi Alex! Thank you for all of the helpful videos that you put out! Five Brand Words:

    happy, organized, pretty, classy, simple

    Three things that can be applied to make people feel those brand words:

    e-mail templates that will be sent out for each step of the booking process, create a website that is easy to navigate and easy to understand, be timely in responding and on top of what I promise to deliver!