Promo code BDAY takes 50% off the merit badge, making it $44.50 for today only!

So, go buy the Projection and Sales Merit Badge if you’re the slightest bit curious about how to nail in-person portrait sales.

Oh, and we have FABULOUS prizes from peeps we love at Brand Camp headquarters!  Just leave a comment telling me which prize you’d like to win and why!

Totally Rad Lightroom Presets will revolutionize your workflow, smack your images in the face with color, make your black and white conversions easy-peasy AND make you giggle at their names.  All in a day’s work for the best Lightroom presets on the planet.

Easy as Pie and Pastry School, the companion follow-up guide, have set the bar for portrait pricing in the photographic industry.  Alicia Caine shares her pricing strategies, her tips and tricks for time management, and common sense ways to do what’s best for YOUR business in her best-selling e-books.

Get Schooled is the It guide for those of you interested in making school portraiture fun, hip, creative, and profitable.  Courtney DeLaura shares step-by-step methods for getting the school gig, making it memorable, and turning the traditional school photo on its head.

Thanks to all of you for your support, encouragement, love, Twittering, Facebooking, and sharing here at the Brand Camp blog!

::hugs::

Want to read it on the blog? HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRAND CAMP BLOG!

Wait until the product is glorious before release.

Totally Rad peeps have been harassing the Doug for YEARS to get onto Lightroom Presets.  But he’s taken his time, watched what the competition offered, tweaked it to his (totally rad) tastes, and ultimately attempted to one-up himself.  A profitable product is great, but a truly remarkable product that’s also profitable is the goal.

In the wedding & portrait world: yes, you can throw together a dog portfolio or add an ‘available for commercial work’ tag to your website.  But taking the time to hone your skills, craft a killer collection of images, and/or learn more about the commercial process will probably be better for you.  And for your clients.

Take time to listen to your users.

When Doug sent his goodies off to peeps for review, he didn’t want to hear ‘Yay!  Awesome!’ He was looking for honest feedback that would lead to a better user experience.  I suggested a tall, grande, venti-type of breakdown to control the power of the preset effects.  Other suggested adding basic Lightroom tweaks to the process to correct exposure, recapture highlights, etc…all tweaks that were not part of the initial plan.  He may be a master of the technical stuff, but his greatest entrepreneurial strength lies in his ability to capture what the market wants at any given time.

If you’re a portrait photographer and 90% of your clients ask for digital files, make them available.  Don’t sell yourself short, by any means!  (I recommend pricing from $1500+ for portraits.  Pricing strategy here.)  But don’t be stupid enough to think you can change what the market wants.  Those clients who really want digital files will find someone who offers them.

Reward your users for their awesomeness.

When I ask Doug to sponsor a workshop, hold a contest, offer a promo code for reader-created blog articles, or reward a fan for an exceptional recipe, the answer is always “Yes.”  Without hesitation.

If you have clients who consistently refer you to others, reward them.  Flowers, chocolates, go-cart rides, a trip to the spa, a portrait session, one-on-one camera lessons, or a handmade gift.  A phone call.  An hour of babysitting.  A latte and some girl talk.  Whatever it is, make it unique to them.

And of course, go buy the Totally Rad Adobe Lightroom presets.  The images in this post feature the Purple Nurple preset!

Want to read it on the blog? BEHIND THE CURTAIN: TOTALLY RAD LIGHTROOM PRESETS

Now that you’re in business time mode, there’s just one question to ask: are you scared yet?

That’s it, and it’s the premise that will help to build an exceptional brand: are you scared yet?

Are you copying the marketing promotion of a prominent businessperson or coming up with your own, utterly brilliant concept?  Are you actively seeking media coverage for your brand?  Are you involved in social media in some way?  Have you tackled a ground-up web design (with the help of a professional, of course)?  Are you taking risks — or do you know how things are going to turn out?

Likewise, are you producing the products recommended by x artists on x forums and websites?  What if you created a product that didn’t exist before you, and that can only be created by you? What if you took an active interest in bettering the lives of others in your profession by releasing the product to the general public? What if you made your idea into a company, KNOWING FULL WELL YOU MAY FALL FLAT ON YOUR FACE? Again, I would argue…you’d be scared out of your wits.

…and in being scared, you would be on the road to being exceptional.  Try, fail, try harder, fail brilliantly, and then get down to business.

Want to read it on the blog? IT'S BUSINESS TIME: PART II.