PPA Today

Email Marketing Basics

We often think of email as the free and easy way to market, but if you are not using it correctly you may be wasting your time, or worse yet, irritating your current and potential clients.

Russel Morgan, for PCmag.com offers some good advice for getting started in the world of email marketing, by examing mailing lists, spam, permission and collaboration in his article, "E-Mail Marketing 101."

"Whether your business delivers products or services to consumers or to other businesses, if you haven't started e-marketing, you are missing a real opportunity."

Read the full article here.

Use Incentives to Boost Word of Mouth Referrals

If you have not seen the Remarkable Marketing website it is definitely worth a visit. A recent article there on Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Offer Incentives for More Referrals caught my eye, and it is just one of dozens of marketing articles that can be useful for any small business. While you are their, check out the e-zine and blog for more useful information.

EXPOnential tradeshow coming your way

Along with the 25 top business speakers in the industry and 16 programs, Professional Photographers of America'€™s (PPA) Make More Money in Photography conferences offer up a three-day Expo. A true education, after all, should be well-rounded...and a tradeshow provides a different angle into the new product trends and services that can change a business.

Free and open to the public, the Make More Money in Photography Expo is just such a tradeshow. It gathers the new offerings from companies interested in photographers' business success and displays them this summer at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tenn. With companies from American Color Imaging to Nik Software, Backupandburn Software to SuccessWare, the creative and business idea opportunities are rising. The Expo hours are as follows:

• Monday, July 30: 12:00pm - 3:00pm
• Tuesday, July 31: 12:00pm - 3:00pm
• Wednesday, August 1: 9:00am -€“ 11:00am

As seasoned attendees know, strolling the floor in between programs is a vital part of the conferences...who knows what new ideas will pop with a little visual nudge. For complete details and to register, visit http://events.ppa.com or call 800-786-6277.

Professional Photographers of America (PPA), a worldwide association, exists to assist its more than 18,000 members in achieving their professional, artistic, and fraternal goals; to promote public awareness of the profession; and to advance the making of images in all of its disciplines as an art, a science and a visual recorder of history. For more information, visit www.ppa.com.

Protecting Your Business with Insurance

What if your camera equipment was stolen today?  What if your light stands fell on a bystander knocking them out?  What if your hard drive, with all the images from today’s assignment crashed?  Are you and your business protected?  How would you recover?  Or will you?

While no one enjoys sending premium payments to their insurance company, the simple truth is that stuff happens in life and in business.  However, knowing that you need insurance for your business – and attempting to determine how much and what kinds you need are two entirely different things. Here is a basic rundown of some of the areas you might want to consider:

Equipment Insurance
As a professional photographer your livelihood is very dependent on specialized equipment.  How would you be able to make a living if that equipment suddenly was stolen, lost or severely damaged?  Can you afford to run down to the local camera store and replace everything?

How to Boost Your Career Fitness in 30, 90 or 180 Days

(Press Release)--Now is a great time to get in shape for your professional future, according to Carla Snyder, vice president, business development of global human capital solutions company Lee Hecht Harrison's Phoenix office.

"It doesn't matter if you need to find a new job right away, think you might be looking in the future, or simply want to grow in the job you already have," Snyder says. "There are steps you can take now to boost your marketability, confidence and odds of success."

Snyder offers the following advice depending on how long you have before you need or want to make a career move.

If you have only 30 days:

• Define a realistic employment goal. It's critical that you can tell people exactly the kind of work for which you are looking.
• Develop a positioning statement. Use this key communications tool when networking      and in job search conversations.
• Recharge your resume. Make it a concise overview of what you have done in the past      and can do in the future.
• Reach out to those you know. Touch base and share your employment goal with      everyone you know.

If you have 90 days, you should also:

• Conduct a situation analysis. Identify what types of companies are likely to hire      someone with your expertise and experience.
• Define target employers. Base your list on your analysis. So when the time comes, you aren't pursuing the wrong targets.
• Expand your network. Use this time to expand the number of people who know you and your capabilities.

If you have 180 days or more, you should also:

• Stretch your imagination. Identify the skills and experiences you already have and      those you need to develop.
• Enhance your skills. Take advantage of learning opportunities provided by your      employer.
• Step up at work. Every day you should make a good impression and properly showcase your capabilities.

Snyder says that once your career fitness is at a healthy level, maintenance will be relatively easy. "Once you've gotten the hang of networking, it will be second nature for you to stay in touch with those you know and make meaningful connections with new people. Periodically update your resume to list your most recent accomplishments and you'll be ready to seize the opportunities that come your way."

 

9 Steps to Smarter Marketing

Check out Eric J. Adams article, The Art of Business: Marketing Smart, on creativepro.com, for nine easy steps to make your marketing fast and effective. Compare your latest marketing efforts to his 9 steps to see where you could improve your marketing.

Breaking Into Galleries

If you have always wanted to see and sell your images through a gallery but didn't know where to start, then check out Connor Leighton's recent article "Breaking into Galleries" in Double Exposure, the online magazine of photoworkshops.com.

A "Call to Arms" for Storage Practices

In the event of an emergency you need to ensure your application media and critical data is properly protected. If you have safe copies of your application software, your business data, and your image files it will lessen the impact to your business.  For some useful suggestions and links on creating a working backup and recovery plan, check out Larry Medina's article, "Katrina issues a "Call to Arms" for Storage Practices".

Seven Sales Skills You've Got to Have

Are your creative skills top-notch but your bottom line suffering? Eric J. Adams, creativepro.com contributing editor explains  how to convert prospects into paying clients in his article, "The Art of Business: Seven Sales Skills You've Got to Have"

1. Learn how to qualify.
2. Learn how to inspire.
3. Learn to sell outside your comfort zone.
4. Learn to love voice mail.
5. Learn to be a great storyteller.
6. Learn the power of incremental commitments.
7. Learn to love the process.

See how you can make these seven steps work for you.

10 Direct Mail Tips

Steve McNamara at marketingprofs.com offers up some profitable advice to make your direct mail marketing work harder for you.

"Every year we conduct a survey of AdCracker.com's subscribers to identify ways that marketers are squeezing more sales from their budgets."

Read his article, Putting Spring in Your Ka-ching: 10 Direct Mail Tips at http://www.marketingprofs.com/5/mcnamaraS1.asp