Sam and Gillian Devine are running a workshop for Photographers to get more leads and customers from the website and email marketing. Join the event here

Jeff Brown is known for many things but especially encouraging photographers to use LinkedIn. Jeff Has a new version of his LinkedIn book “The Photographers missing link”. The first version of the book was written in January 2022, and the size of the book has doubled since then. Jeff says that many of his opportunities come from LinkedIn as well as customers.
Jeff says 41% of millionaires are on LinkedIn. The 26-34 age group is the biggest group on LinkedIn, so they a perfect age range for wedding and newborn photographers. 82% of B2B buyers prefer to buy from LinkedIn rather than doing a Google search. The average earnings are $82,000 a year. This is not Facebook marketplace with people wanting everything cut price. Only about 5% of people on LinkedIn post. Jeff says that LinkedIn is a comments based platform while Instagram is a vanity platform. He says constantly selling on Linkedin doesn’t work. He suggested mixing personal stories with business posts really helps with your engagement and helps your posts to be seen by more people. Jeff also says it’s comments that are important on LinkedIn, not likes. That is where relationships are built. Marcus like LinkedIn for posting images as there are no restrictions on what you display. Jeff says remember the image stops the scroll. A square image takes up more space than a portrait image so that works better. Above the image there is a snippet of the post that users see. Make sure that this is engaging and encourages people to stop and read your post.
Jeff then starts to talk about LinkedIn newsletters. This is a great way to get content out to followers and helping you to stand out as a specialist in your field. He says he is also using his newsletters to help him create a book, so the content is dual use. The newsletter should not be about what you have done this week. It needs to have a specific focus.
Sam asks how often to send newsletters; Jeff says that 2 weeks to a month is ideal. He said also that LinkedIn automatically recommends your newsletter to other LinkedIn users. Marcus asks Jeff about using LinkedIn’s AI to create or improve posts. Jeff tried this and was not impressed at all. It takes away the personal edge, it uses language you wouldn’t usually use. He also says AI comments are easy to spot and nothing to do with the original post.

Jeff says know your target audience and get into their networks. Photographers often start out working for free to build their portfolio. Jeff says avoid working for free for those with no network and are starting out. Instead approach people with a large following who could easily afford the work. Then make an agreement about what they will do for the work (such as 5* reviews and social posts). Also make it very clear how much the work would normally be and make them do some work to get the free photos.

As a quick win Jeff says niche your LinkedIn profile and connect with your target audience. And of course, read Jeff’s new book.
You can find Jeff on LinkedIn here.

Join in the chat on the Shoot to the Top Facebook group here.

And browse all our previous episodes and sign up to the newsletter here.

Sam is running a “Capture Clients Workshop” with Gillian Devine. Gillian and Sam will be focussing on email marketing and website design and how you can use these to get more clients and grow your business. There will be lots of practical advice that you will be able to take away at the end of the day. To book on click here.

David Harrison was a Commercial Photographer and is now moving towards making his passion, wildlife photography, part of his business. David had an Uncle in South Africa when he was young. When he was 21 he got to visit South Africa and go to the Kruger park. On his first day he saw a lion by the side of the road. David has been back to Africa many times since then.
David commercially has been working with a range of businesses doing all sorts of different work. But he now wants a change and he is still working out exactly how the wildlife photography will become part of his business. He is thinking about setting up retreats on safari in Africa.
David says on safari you are always living in the moment, even if you can’t see any animals at that time. He says it is very relaxing and helps people live in the moment. Marcus says that you can capture wildlife photography here in the UK. David agrees and says that you can create a wildlife haven in your garden by simply setting up a bird feeder. You can extend that more by having a log nearby so the birds use the log as a perch near the feeders, which can make for great shots. It is also easy just to get out on any day and see what wildlife you found. It could simply be some trees and other plants.

Sam suggests spending time photographing birds on the feeder will help photographers develop their skills at photographing animals. David fully agrees with this and says we should fully practice all the photography we do. He says he isn’t surprised that those that win Wildlife photographer of the year spend a very long time with the wildlife. Marcus points out that one winner of this was an image of a fox taken in the UK.
David explains that also with wildlife you need to work with what turns up, rather than what you planned. Wildlife doesn’t always do as you planned. Standing still and waiting is also good. Waiting and observing and then the great shots will often appear.

Marcus asks what it’s like to be on safari with David. He says it’s almost impossible to explain what it’s like to be on a safari vehicle in Africa first thing in the morning. The sunsets and sunrises are always amazing. There is then the experience of being out in the middle of no-where. There is also the not knowing what could be around the next corner. Then suddenly you see your first animal. Seeing the big cats it is so exciting in the wild. Sam says it’s also about the animals being so big and potentially so dangerous to you.
Sam points out that there are many budgets for safari and it doesn’t have to be really expensive. David says that’s true and the price often adds extra “bells and whistles”. He says the wildlife doesn’t go to the luxury lodge’s vehicle first!
To get the Shoot to the Top podcast delivered to your Mailing list in your inbox please click here
You can chat to Sam Marcus and other listeners and guests at the Shoot to the Top Facebook group

There is an event for photographers about using website and email strategies for business success. This is run by Sam and Gillian Devine on the 27th November 2024.

You can get more details and book a free place by clicking here.

Sam and Marcus say that some photographers websites have no writing at all, which is terrible for SEO and getting business. Some things to think about before writing your website are:

• Make sure you know your target audience – See this show for details.
• What your call to actions are –see this show for details.
• Plan your site – see this show for details.

Once you have all of those things done you can start the writing.

While you are writing think constantly about your ideal client. What are their problems, why are they coming to you?

If your writing is too generic it doesn’t engage anyone.
Be concise. We all know our businesses too well and can give far too much detail. Avoid this. Be clear and concise. Too many options causes confusion.

When writing a page be very concise at the top of a page. So the first 5 sentences at the top of the page should cover everything needed for the page. But then further down the page go back to the different topics and dig into more detail. Then even further down the page circle back and give even more details about the same topics.
You need to think about keywords. You can listen to the SEO shows here about keywords. It’s important to use the keyword / phrase enough on a page, but without going mad and including it in every sentence.

Focus on feelings, outcomes and results. Don’t focus on the nuts and bolts of what is included in a package. Focus on what you will gain from working with you in a big picture way. How will they feel working with you? People buy with feelings and then justify their purchase with logic.Testimonials can help with this. Ask clients to mention feelings in testimonials.
Remember that no one will browse your website for no reason. They are coming to your website because they have a problem and they are wondering if you can solve it for them.
Sam does not recommend a testimonial pages. He recommends spreading testimonials across all of your pages, not all of them in one page.

Know what you readers care about.

About pages. Sam says please don’t tell the story of how you got a camera when you were 12 and fell in love with photography. Every photographers site says this. Remember that people care about themselves, and the problem they are trying to solve. So an about page works best if it’s about how you have helped people in the past with your photography. Some small snippets about your life is great, but that’s not the aim of the about page.
Structuring your pages using bullet points, numbers lists, sub-headings really helps make it easy to follow.

Marcus asks about the use of AI. Sam says AI is great for helping but not creating. So give it your writing and ask for ideas. But don’t use AI to create content.

Repetition. People do not read your website like a book. They jump from place to place and so you need to repeat lots to ensure all visitors get your key messages.

Andrew is a Sydney, Australia based photographer. He started an interview based podcast 12 years ago and now podcasting is what he spends most of his time doing, his wife runs the photography guests. In that time he has spoken to over 600 guests. He finds that the listeners get the most from listening to the average photographer working hard in their business. But he has spoken to some very famous photographers including Ben Chrisman, Gable Clintop, Gable Peterson, Sue Bryce.
Andrew says he used to be part of the AIPP going to conferences and learning a lot. He was also an avid podcast listener and wondered why there weren’t podcasts where you can learn the things you do at these conferences. So he set one up where you could.

Sam asks about the photography industry. Andrew says its very similar the world over. You get out what you put in. You can make a great living and a great life, but you have to put in the time and work to make this happen. Sam asks time and work doing what. Andrew says everything in the business. Accounts, marketing, HR sales. Marcus says that marketing is so much more important than it ever was. Andrew says most people focus too much on getting more leads rather then working more on educating and converting those leads. So Andrew says it is important to ensure that you focus on how you convert leads into customers. Andrew says he was talking to a dog photographer who generated 150 leads at a dog show, but he is struggling to convert them. Unless he gets that proves sorted then then the show will be a waste of time. Andrew says he needs to work on a script, that doesn’t sound scripted to talk through on the phone. To move them from a lead to a customer.
Marcus moves onto problems photographers have. Andrew says many photographers count themselves as natural light photographers. Andrew thinks photographers using natural light only are often under skilled and lead to learn more about lighting. There is a show about lighting which you can find here. Marcus says you have so much more confidence having a full understanding of lighting. Sam asks what photographers should do to learn more about lighting. Andrew says Youtube tutorials are the simplest place to start. But then people also like teaching in person and getting some tuition from a photographer who offers training. The other thing is to simply get some lights and get out there and try them.
Marcus asks about marginal gains that photographers could do in their business. Andrew says optimising your price list to allow your clients to spend more is a good thing to do. He talked to Sarah Louise Jackson a photographer in Melbourne. Her pricing was setup to persuade customers to move up to the next level. Tony Tafe a headshot photographer in the US changed prices for headshot photographers in the US and made it easier for customers to spend more.

Sam asks if there is anything he has learnt from guests on his podcasts recently. He says he was talking to a family photographer who at the end of the season has an exhibition showing 1 shot from each photoshoot she has done. And everyone in the exhibition comes, brings their family and friends and she sells lots more photoshoots at the exhibition. He says for commercial photographers LinkedIn is very important and Jeff Brown is an expert on this, you can listen to the show with him here. Andrew says the technique Jeff uses on LinkedIn is to alternate business and personal posts. People interact with the personal post which then helps to boost his business posts.
You can find Andrew and his Podcast here.

Nathan Pidd and Mike Robertson are VIP Creative. Together they run a video and photography business in Hull. Nathan had been doing photography as long as he can remember. He met Mike through a mutual friend and Mike helped on Nathan’s first wedding. In the business they have now, Nathan heads the photography side and Mike heads the video side. After three years of running the business alongside full time jobs, they decided to run the business full time.

Nathan explains his training was through a fine art degree that then moved into lens media and really enjoyed using Photoshoot. After university he ended up opening up a print shop at the university and then also started teaching at the university.
Sam asked how they managed with running a business after all of the focus on creativity at university. Mike says the accounts and marketing is something they have always struggled with. So their marketing does takes a back seat. They do outsource some things like accounts.
Mike says when they started out they thought they would be able to finish early and work three days a week. But now he finds he works much longer hours than he ever has done before, but he enjoys it. Nathan says he was scared to be a photographer by himself, so having Mike alongside him make that move much easier for him. Nathan says it’s great as they both have different skills.
Sam asks if they have advice for others thinking of setting up a business as partners. Mike says they have creative differences and that can cause problems. You have to also make sure you get on really well as you will be tested on the way. Although you will have differences you have to agree on the core of the business. Mike also says think is this the person I can manage with when the going gets tough.
Marcus asks if they have a niche and they say no. They work with a variety of businesses across video and photography. With their time in the industry they have done a wide range of things. Mike thinks this helps to maintain their creativity. Nathan says they also enjoy the challenge of doing different things from one day to the next.

Marcus asks about their setup. Nathan says he is a “lighting nut” and that’s the first thing he focusses in on set. They also use the lighting for their video work as well as the photography. They also work together, so most projects they do together as a team. On site they work together and tend to have specific roles that they automatically get on with. They say their knowledge of sound and lighting means that the videos they produce have very high production values.
Sam asks how they persuade people to use them and not their phone to make videos. Mike says the client needs to appreciate what they do, so they see the value. Mike also says they need to do both. Take photos and videos on your phone, but then also have the higher quality professional photos and videos too.
You can find out more about the podcast on our website

Join the Facebook Group here

and get the podcast delivered to your inbox every week here.

This show is about working with models but is also working with all sorts of different people on a shoot.
How do you find a fashion model for a test?

A test is a situation where everyone is working together for free to build images for their portfolio. It is a very typical way of starting the fashion world. Marcus says the first thing is what a fashion model looks like. Look at fashion magazines to get an idea for this. Marcus says that fashion models should look striking / unusual. Marcus says now there is a very positive change from everyone being very skinny to there being more body shapes seen in fashion. Although he says there is still a long way to go here.
A good place to go to find a model to do a test with is a local model agency and then you need to find the newest models on their books. The newer models will be the ones who also want images for their portfolio. Agencies may ask to see your portfolio before letting you shoot one of their models. This can be an issue if this is also your first step into the world of fashion photography. But don’t let this be a barrier to you, give it a try.
Street casting is another way to find a model. So approach people on the street who you think would be a great model. Having a portfolio to show as part of this is helpful.

There also online model agencies. Marcus thinks are not necessarily the best models for fashion shoots. But you can still approach them.
Sam says setting up this test means you have a group of people all starting out in fashion who can all help each other as a network.
Marcus now moves on to posing a model and this part of the podcast is also relevant to other areas of photography. Although he doesn’t like the word posing.
He has three ways to help get a model / subject to pose in a certain way. They are Mirroring, Role play, Observation
Mirroring

He got this idea from the photographer Richard Avedon. Basically you have to get “in tune” with the model and they will naturally mirror what you do without thinking about it. So if you cross your arms they do to.
Role Play
Marcus says he does this a lot in brand photography. Marcus suggests scenarios and then the subject acts them out
Observation

This is about looking deeply at the subject, spotting what they do naturally, remembering it and asking them to do it again.
He says there are many other ways but Marcus thinks these are the most effective. Marcus says one of the most important things on a shoot with a model, or anyone, is the “vibe” in the studio. Music is a good way to create a vibe, both using music the model like, but also the music can be used to effect the mood on the shoot.

Marcus’s final hint is that if you are going to put together fashion shoot make sure you know who it is going to be for as different magazines have different styles.

Gareth says his focus is the monetisation of this autism. One of his obsessions is LinkedIn. And he decided with his knowledge of LinkedIn he should help people get better with Linkedin. Gareth is also a percussionist. Marcus explains we do have a show about what we can learn from the music business.
Gareth has been on LinkedIn just a year after I began. He has been on it 14 or 15 years. LinkedIn has been owned by Microsoft for quite a long time. More recently Microsoft has been getting more involved and they have been pushing users into paying for the use of the platform. Gareth says that up until recently it’s been possible to use LinkedIn as a free user. And if you use Linkedin to find a job then you can still manage free. But if you are trying to grow your tribe and your business it is very hard now without premium. It effects now even how much your posts are seen. LinkedIn give you a score your SSI score which you can find here. Having premium effects that score.

Gareth says that connecting with people is important and he has an connection message he thinks you should use. Gareth says an initial message ensures you get a higher connection rate and you get more of a response after the connection, if you started with a connection message. He thinks now up to 20 touches are needed on LinkedIn before you can get someone to do something you have asked.
Gareth says commenting on other peoples stuff is really important. He also says posting about other peoples work and asking questions is a great way to go. Gareth recommends having a camera in your LinkedIn profile photo. That enables connections to know what you do almost instantly.
Gareth says he works on the principal that he gives away 80% of what he does. He wants people to see him as an authority in this field. So he gives them stuff people can test him on. They use it and then they start to trust him.
Gareth then talks about the SSI. This is based on 4 different scores added together. Those four scores are different aspect of LinkedIn such as interacting and connecting. Posting regularly and commenting and liking other peoples content is another part.

Gareth also recommends resisting using AI to create content. But says it’s great for structure and helping to improve your content.
Top voice is the next topic. For anyone with over 1000 followers you get asked by LinkedIn to comment on some things. You can use this to become a “top voice”. To do this you have to answer and write comments on AI generated content. So Gareth recommends follow the link when you are asked to comment, but then within that topic do not comment and move up to the top level where you can chose topics. You can then see all the topics A-Z. Pick one that is close to you, then in that section pick a sub-section relevant to you. Then comment only on topic in this area. Gareth recommends in these area to be provocative and ruffle some feathers. That will get responses. You only get top voice if your comments get further comments and interaction.

Gareth’s final tip is ensure you have the odd spelling mistake in some things you do to show you are not AI. Also avoid “Z”s in your work, which shows that content has been made by AI using American spelling.