Great marketing takes time.

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“Great marketing takes time.”  Truer words were never spoken.

Successful marketing is a lot like successful farming; it starts way before you see the harvest. You can’t throw some seeds in the ground today and expect the ripe fruit in your hand tomorrow.

Master marketing guru, Seth Godin, laid it all out in his post the Seven Marketing Sins.

Impatience is at the top of Seth’s list for good reason. Humans have a tendency to be impatient (I know I am!) And sages have been cautioning us about developing patience for a long time. E.g., Aesop  advised that “Slow and steady wins the race” in approx. 500 B.C. (Yes…that long ago,!!!).

Remember all those musicians who quip in their Grammy acceptance speech that it only took 10 years for them to become “an overnight success?”  Most good things often take way longer to bear fruit than we initially expect. But it’s so sweet to eventually enjoy the fruits from the harvest that we’ve steadily tended.

Lots of Portfolio Reviews!!

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Next week, I will be part of the portfolio review teams of both The Palm Springs Photo Festival and the ASMP MSP Portfolio Reviews event. The PSPF reviews are Sept. 27-29 and the ASMP review day is Oct. 1st, 2021. Both events are being held virtually via Zoom.

You can register for any of the remaining review slots via accessing the above event links.

Note: for the PSPF reviews you need to sign up for 6 reviews. There are still reviewers available in all categories– but they’re going fast.

The ASMP’s event has a limit of three reviews/person and their registration is open until Sept. 27, 2021.

I always look forward to seeing some great work. I also love providing photographers with feedback that moves them forward in their careers, and, hopefully, sparking connections for them to my network of colleagues in either the commercial or fine art photography worlds.

See you next week?

Portfolio Reviews get a pandemic pivot

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There are two major portfolio review events happening this September.

ASMP Reviews and the PSPF Portfolio Reviews.

Both review events are great opportunities for photographers to connect face-to-face with those in the photo business that can help move your photography career forward.

Register for one or both events ASAP as slots are limited.

Both events are now going to happen virtually via ZOOM. (What isn’t happening via ZOOM these days?!?!?)

ASMP’s Portfolio Review event happens first on Sept. 3rd, 2020. Their registration deadline is Aug. 31. Registration link is HERE

The schedule of who is doing reviews at what time is on that link. Happy to report that I’m on the review team of both events.

The second event is the Palm Springs Photo Festival Portfolio Review (PSPF). Normally, the PSPF review events are held twice per year (in early May in Palm Springs, CA and again in mid-October in conjunction with PhotoPlusExpo).

This year PSPF’s reviews will also be happening virtually via ZOOM. Info on the PSPF Sept. 21-24 reviews is HERE

If you want to see when I’m reviewing at PSPF and the rest of the reviewers’ schedules go HERE.

You only get one chance to make a great first impression. Want some tips on how to make the most of your 20-minutes with a reviewer? I’ve got some tips HERE

Looking forward to meeting lots of new photographers and seeing some great work. And I’m really looking forward to the day–hopefully in the Spring in 2021–when we can all meet again in person and not just virtually!

 

Join me online on July 1. I’ll be the featured guest on ASMP’s Wednesday webinar.

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I’ll be interviewed by ASMP’s Executive Director, Tom Kennedy. We’ll be discussing two of my favorite subjects: Marketing and Mindfulness. These two business tools have never been more important for photographers to understand and implement if they want to survive and thrive in today’s radically-changed economy.

Click on this image for more info and to register on the event page.

Next photo event: Portfolio reviews at Palm Springs Photo Festival.

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I’ll be in Palm Springs, CA next week (May 6th-May 10th) doing portfolio reviews. It’s a great career-building opportunity for photographers in both commercial and fine art photography.

Who else will be at PSPF? Let’s connect!!

“Marketing and Mindfulness” comes to Chicago on April 24th

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After last month’s successful keynote presentation in Dubai at the Destination Wedding Planners Congress, I’m returning to Chicago to present again to the Chicago Creative Coalition. My talk is part of C3’s three-part “Re-Presenting Yourself” business education series.

I will expand on the Marketing and Mindfulness talk I presented to C3 almost exactly one year ago in April of 2018. I’ll share more tips, techniques and strategies that every creative person should know about in the age of 24/7 distraction if they’re to get the best results from their marketing plans.

Colombia College will again be the host venue.

Event details and registration links can be found on the C3 web site: here

Thanks again to the Daylite team at Market Circle for logistical support.

Presenting my “Marketing & Mindfulness” talk in Dubai

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I’m delighted to report that on March 29, 2019, I will be one of 4 keynote speakers on the CAPTURE event track of the 6th annual Destination Wedding Congress being held March 27-29 at the Atlantis Hotel on The Palm in Dubai. Previous DWP highlights (2014-2017) can be seen on this page’s videos.

I’ve been invited to present my latest photography marketing talk: Marketing & Mindfulness. In this talk, I explain how photographers and other visual content creators must work on their “Inner Game” if they want to succeed in this 24/7, information-overloaded global economy.

We are all flooded with constant opportunities to distract us from properly utilizing our most important business assets: our time, our attention, and most importantly for artists, creating new work.

The CAPTURE track of the conference is brand-new to DWP this year. It’s the business development and marketing track geared to visual storytellers (photographers, videographers and drone operators). During the CAPTURE track, image makers will to learn how to create more effective marketing plans.

Many photographers will be attending DWP to have face-to-face networking opportunities with the dozens of top-tier international destination wedding planners. These are the people who want and need to hire the best visual storytellers who are located anywhere in the world.

Over 500 attendees are coming from 70 different countries. They represent all aspects of the destination wedding industry. Both destination wedding planners and many of the service providers the planners need to create extraordinary destination weddings. Some of the attending providers are representing the world’s top hotels, tourism boards, caterers, floral designers, etc., etc.

And what would a great destination wedding be without the absolutely essential services of my favorite folks…photographers and videographers?

I can’t wait to meet some of the many creative people coming from so many different parts of the world!

Special thanks go to MarketCircle’s Daylite team for logistical support.

Fall 2018 photo events and news: portfolio reviews and exhibitions

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September and October are always my busiest months of the year. Yours, too?

In September, I was super busy curating another iteration of the fine art photography exhibition  Hope in the Dark: Refocused. Its opening reception was on Sept. 21st  (the International Day of Peace). Again, it was a fundraiser for the benefit of social service agency,  RefugeeOne.  (I’ll do another post closer to the show’s Nov. 16th closing reception and include details and some of the images).

Video tutorial: To help photographers heading to NYC for PhotoPlusExpo (Oct 25th-Oct 27th) who have scheduled face-to-face portfolio reviews–either at Palms Springs PhotoFest at PPE or the APA NY reviews I was going to do a brand new version of my webinar “How to Create Presentations that Work” that I initially did last fall. But I ran out of time.

However, I asked ASMP if they would share the existing video again and they readily agreed. Check it out via the link in ASMP’s Strictly Business Blog to gain access.

I’ll again be doing portfolio reviews at the Palm Springs Photo Fest at PhotoPlus Expo (open to all who register and pay) on Wed., 10/24/18; Thurs., 10/25/18; and Fri., 10/26/18.  My fellow portfolio reviewers often say that while most photographers may have photography talent, many are not fully prepared for face-to-face meetings. This webinar will hopefully help them fix that.

New this year: I’m also doing three free reviews for the first 3 photographers who make a donation during the show  to the APA Copyright Protection Fund. at the APA booth (Booth #158) on Saturday, Oct. 27th. You can either donate at the APA  booth or login into your APA account and send an email to Juliette Wolf-Robin, National Executive Director to indicate your intention to make a donation and get a free review.

I’ll be at PhotoPlus the whole time and am really looking forward to connecting with my consulting clients and old friends and colleagues. There’s nothing like hanging out in person with folks you don’t get to see but once a year.

I’ll also get to soak up some culture in one of my favorite cities. In addition to my annual visit to MOMA I’m going to check out a some fine art photography gallery exhibits. I’ll refer to the extensive listings guide in the great online photography publication The Eye of Photography  to make my to-see list.

One of the best parts I love about NYC is actually just wandering around and taking in the sights, sounds, tastes, and visuals. There’s nothing like it.

Offer for my newsletter subscribers: Shoot me an email if you’re also going to be at PhotoPlus and would like to connect. Use the subject line: “PPE connect?” and include your cel#. If our calendars align, I’ll meet you for coffee in the Javits Center.

Marketing and Mindfulness event on April 25, 2018 in Chicago

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The Chicago Creative Coalition, APA Chicago, and ASMP Chicago Midwest have invited me to present my newest seminar: Get Your Head Together to Get Ahead in Business: Marketing and Mindfulness. This event for those who are interested in stretching beyond any current limiting beliefs they have about marketing, themselves, and what’s possible in their business.

Anyone who’s ever obsessed over a situation –and wished they could stop thinking about it – knows the suffering that mental loops create. Here’s the good news: all of those negative states start in the mind (consciousness). That’s where they can be fixed. On Wednesday evening, April 25th I will expand one of the critical “tripod legs” of success that I covered in my other photography marketing seminar Rebooting Your Business Brain 2.0.

In this new seminar, I’ll be going over the components of  The Inner Game: Managing Your Mind. You will learn what makes up this primary leg of support. You’ll learn how you can get more stability in your business. I’ll help you understand why, in this hyper-connected economy, 24-hr. news cycle world we now live in, managing your mind has never been more important. It is a foundational base for increased productivity and creativity.

You will have a chance to both learn and then do. We’ll go over the what, when, and why. Then you’ll get to directly experience some of the mindfulness tools – so you can shift out of those less-than-effective thoughts.

I will also be showing some more traditional direct marketing tools and processes so you can build a focused plan to land the business you want.

The details:

Wednesday, April 25, 2018
7:00 PM Networking & Noshing
7:20 PM Program

Columbia College
Hokin Lecture Hall, Room 109
623 S. Wabash, Chicago
convenient to numerous El stations
metered street parking and various parking lots with evening discounts nearby

The registration link and more info: https://www.chicagocreative.org/marketing-and-mindfulness

Portfolio Review Event in Boston Nov. 14, 2017

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I’m headed to Boston to attend a portfolio review event. I’m really looking forward to reviewing the portfolios of almost a dozen photographers at the ASMP New England chapter event tomorrow.  It’s being held at High Output (86 Lincoln Street, Brighton) starting at 3:30 pm EDT tomorrow.  It’s free for chapters members and there’s a small fee for non-member photograpers.

Go here for more details and registration links.

Last month, I spent three days at PhotoPlusExpo in NYC where I was reviewing portfolios for the Palms Springs Photo Fest at PPE and for ASMP at their booth on the trade show floor. It was a gas. Saw SO so much good work. Met some really wonderful photographers.

Doing portfolio reviews is one of my all-time favorite business activities. I love helping photographers move their careers forward by providing them with an objective analysis of their presentations.

Here are some portfolio presentation tips for anyone who’s attending.