We decided that 2012 is going to be your best year ever. To make that a reality, we’ve made your 2012 Photo Business Plan Workbook designed to help you systematically think through your photography business. The workbook is divided into 9 sections and as an additional resource, PhotoShelter CEO and Co-Founder Allen Murabayashi has created a 9-video series that highlight the key takeaways.

The video series includes:

• #1 Define Your Product & Services
• #2 Determine Your Audience & Addressable Market
• #3 Create a Marketing Plan
• #4 Fix Your Finances
• #5 Build Your SEO
• #6 Tune-Up Your Website
• #7 Get Social
• #8 Create An Advisory Group
• #9 Follow Up With Old Clients

Watch them below – and don’t forget to download the 2012 Photo Business Plan Workbook.

#1 Define You Products & Services

Photo buyers have consistently told us that they appreciate when photographers exhibit a clear specialty. When it comes to your photography business, limiting your scope will help you be more effective in the long run.

 

#2 Determine Your Audience & Addressable Market

This section asks you consider your intended audience and the relative size of that audience: Who are your potential customers and what are their needs? Is your audience big enough to sustain your business? These are the key questions that you’ll need to consider in order to truly target your market and build a stronger photography business.

 

#3 Create a Marketing Plan

Some of us start to break a sweat when we even hear the words “marketing plan”. There’s no need to get tripped up on terminology, but every smart marketer understands that you need multiple campaigns through multiple channels to get on people’s radars. Putting together a list of current and future marketing activities will help you in your efforts to get noticed, sell photography and in general, power your photo business.

 

#4 Fix Your Finances

If your photography is your occupation, then you need to treat it like a job, not a hobby. This means maintaining a level of professionalism and accountability in your photo business. There are several things that every business needs, and we address those in #4 Fix Your Finances.

 

#5 Build Your SEO

SEO for photographers is no joke – if you aren’t employing the most basic SEO strategies (at least), then you’re selling yourself and your photo business short. The goal of SEO is unsolicited website traffic – people looking for whatever your service or product is, without yet knowing who you are. In section, Allen talks about three main areas that all photographers can focus on immediately to improve their website’s SEO.

 

#6 Tune-up Your Website

The best photography websites today aren’t just pretty displays for your pictures anymore. Now they’re full-blown sales and marketing tools that can host your photo archive, sell photography online, and more. Bottom line: they’re an integral part of your photo business.

 

#7 Get Social

Video #7  helps you plan for your interactions with the 800 million people on Facebook, 300 million on Twitter, and 400 million on Google+. The numbers sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be – we’re not saying that every social media outlet will work for every photographer. But there’s enough evidence to suggest that a strong social media campaign can translate into real marketing exposure and revenue. Check out the video below for more.

 

#8 Creative an Advisory Board

Chances are, you’ve been hanging out with a lot of photographers in the past several years, which means that you might have developed a narrow understanding of how other industries build successful businesses. Creative consultants would urge you to build an advisory group for your business. It doesn’t have to be extremely formal – just a chance for you to gather around lunch with people from other industries who can provide guidance and constructive criticism. Watch this video for Allen’s picks on what type of people you should consider for this group.

 

#9 Follow Up With Old Clients

The last in our 2012 Photo Business Plan Workbook video series is #9 Follow Up With Old Clients. Assuming that in the past you’ve provided high quality work with a smile, your old clients should be happy to refer you. This video offers tips for getting more work from existing clients.

 

You can download the 2012 Photo Business Plan Workbook at any time.

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