ShineSparkL Marketing Education for Photographers: Top 10 posts of 2023
Looking ahead to a New Year! Photo courtesy of Talia Dezso Photography.
I started this website/ blog in 2018, buried under blankets on my couch, sick beyond anything I’d ever encountered. I could barely work my part-time job at a local nonprofit, and was turning wedding clients away. About 6 arduous months later I would be diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, but as I tried to manage between medical visits, tests and being barely able to even leave the house to do any of that, I languished for hours at home, my mind racing but my body unable to keep up.
I found myself on Facebook late at night, endlessly scrolling as my health issues kept me awake. I found myself answering a ton of marketing questions on photographer forums - before, I had been too busy to notice that so many struggled with it. And when I started to search my previous answers to copy and paste to a new post I would come across, I wondered why I didn’t just write the advice that I was giving into a central spot and then direct everyone to it. I was receiving amazing feedback that my responses were helpful and easy to understand, so I created a Wordpress blog which eventually led to this website. I also created a Facebook group so that members could specifically talk about marketing and now we are well over 6000 members! Even when down and out, I found a way to be productive, and it actually helped me in my healing process to focus on something positive that I was able to do.
I appreciate everyone who has supported Marketing and Business for Photographers (MBP), and it makes me happy that I’ve been able to help many. When I left my career in marketing, I thought that was the end of that chapter for me, that I was out of that field and left it behind me for new things ahead. And now I am grateful that those marketing agency years, some of them very challenging and very demanding, were valuable to transfer to an industry that I absolutely adore. Over the years I have received such positive feedback and love from those who found help from my posts, the Facebook group and through my paid guides and services, that I know I’m making a difference in helping others find success in their photography careers. What a wonderful gift to have sprung from a dark time in my life, proving that adversity can make us stronger.
2023 saw a re-brand of Marketing and Business for Photographers to ShineSparkL Marketing Education. I woke one morning in late 2022 with a message from my intuition that I needed to look at this business more deeply. I documented details of the re-brand in a few posts on the blog to demonstrate the ups and downs of branding. In the end, ShineSparkL is everything I could have hoped for and more. It infused new energy into this business and I had some great insights into elements of MBP that had been holding me back.
In 2023 I also made a milestone decision in my life; to leave my part-time non-profit job and pursue photography and marketing full time. I had been working at my two (three?) careers somewhat successfully for a better part of a decade. Post-pandemic, the part-time work became busier and close to full time, and I found it difficult to do it all. In June of 2023 I scaled back from 35 to about 7 hours a week, just to maintain a small role and connection with the organization that I loved. And photography and ShineSparkL became my primary focus. It was scary and out of my comfort zone but I am proud that I made a decision for my well-being and to honour my life’s work. And so many new opportunities surfaced, such as being a guest on the Hair of the Dog Podcast talking about soul-aligned marketing (take a listen!), and a guest educator at their annual summit!
Here is my annual list of the top 10 blog posts, for 2023. This is determined by the ShineSparkLers who have visited the site. If you haven’t already taken a look, grab a coffee, tea, or beverage of choice, and read on for some inspiration to bring you into a new year.
Top Ten Post of 2023: Marketing education for Photographers
“Pay what you can” photo sessions: Yes, or No?
In second place in 2022, this post moved to be the most popular in 2023! It has gained in popularity as time has gone on. While it’s concerning to me that so many are searching for how to do a pay what you can because it’s such an unstable way to start a business, I’m glad photographers are finding my post because I illustrate the pros and cons of this approach (and hopefully inspire them to educate and not to have to resort to it!) I also clarify why it may not be the best strategy if you’re starting out. When it’s tough when new to find clients, the pay what you can seems like a good idea and a way to quickly drum up business. The problem? We have to consider the consequences of all we do in our business and this one happens to have a few negative ones we may prefer to avoid.
This was a new blog post in 2023. It’s an important one because how many times do we see photographers asking for where they can find a post/ blog/ article on '“educating” clients by listing all their expenses like gas to drive to and from sessions and their Adobe subscription. Every time I come across a posting asking for this, I counter with this post that has an approach that matters more to clients. No.one.cares about your expenses. You don’t really care about the expenses of any business you patronize. You don’t wonder how much they pay to keep their lights on and you wouldn’t even know what software systems they are using. It’s not the right thing to focus on to convince people to work with you. An Excellence Statement focusses on benefits to the client and that’s what they ultimately care about. It also nicely addresses the education aspects without the cringy list of expenses. And as I say in the post; the mere existence of a document with the word “Excellence” in your business is a deterrent from discount or deal-seekers. Insta level up!
The Little Luxuries Handbook
Elevate and enhance your client experience! Take it one step further than an Excellence statement and start implementing luxury concepts into your business. One chapter is dedicated to Education Through Excellence and has more detail than the blog post!
The handbook contains low to no-cost ways to stand out from other photographers using psychological and design elements used in luxury markets.
Tips on running portfolio-building model calls
This post was in the top ten last year as well. Last year I promised more about model calls, and came through with this blog post: Photography Model Call: For Beginner and Established Photographers. The new blog post came in 12th this past year so close to the top ten! It goes into a bit more detail about how I structured a model call and promoted my new and detailed How To guide that’s available in the ShineSparkL shop.
Prices on the website: Who are they really for?
This post stayed strong in fourth position! This is a favourite and I love it because few photographers and even photography educators aren’t really teaching the perspective I have on whether to show pricing or not. Most responses on group posts is an opinion of the poster as to whether they like to see pricing and it goes mostly like this: I would never hire someone if they didn’t disclose their price on the web. And that just wins my point that your price reveal is dependent on your ideal and not on the opinion of how other photographers like to shop. Price reveal is actually a significant part of your sales strategy, so really should be considered well beyond the black and white decision of yay or nay. The question shouldn’t be which one, it should be “which will be the most effective in booking the clients I want to work with?” It becomes about your client, not you and what you like when shopping. You are often NOT your client.
Marketing a Luxury brand for photographers: 3 Beginner Tips
This post is new from 2023. I’m not surprised it had great traction as I think every photographer, feeling a lull in bookings in 2023, was searching for ways to tap into new markets. Especially market segments that can afford photography, as economy fears and inflation may have shifted where people sit in a segment and how much disposable income may now no longer be disposable. A major focus of ShineSparkL for me has been research into luxury, as it is really fascinating: a field that has strong roots in psychological principles, taps into natural human tendencies and desires and is activated by marketing, advertising and sales strategy. What I’ve learned so far with my deeper dive is that luxury is a state of mind as much as it is a material state and thus it must be implemented at many levels: Mind, Brand and Business Pillars. And it absolutely must start with mindset. A fearful, imposter-intimidated, and doubtful photographer will have a really hard time embodying luxury in their business and making it stick because that deflating energy repels people who are willing to hand over large bucks to get what they want.
Also a new post in 2023 and also not surprising because just like the previous blog post about luxury, photographers were searching for ways to increase bookings amid economy shifts and post-pandemic circumstances. As I wrote this summary I read the post again, and actually inspired my own self! I wrote it in April of 2023 so re-reading it served as a great reminder that all of our pillars (body, mind, energy, widsom and intuition) can use a fine-tune and reset when things get slower. We often get into an even deeper lull when we don’t have unity in our pillars, such as exhausting yourself trying to find clients, or acting on dozens of Internet “tips” rather than listening to our intuition which has a golden nugget that could transform those efforts. This post is relevant anytime, not just “this season” as I stated in the title!
Are you everywhere but feel nowhere with your marketing?
This blog post made the top ten in 2022 as well, and is about how people come to the Internet and say “I’ve tried everything and I’m not getting results.” This is a signal, a big one. Stop what you’re doing! You must refocus. When people offer tips and tricks and what worked best for them, you need to take time to sift through all their recommendations before even trying to implement and then as you implement you discover it was a wrong fit and you just wasted tons of time. It’s like going into a change room with a bunch of clothing that other people picked, and now each outfit may not be your size, or the colour you wanted, or a good fit. If that’s you, there is a better way! This post talks about how to stop the hamster-wheel run and help get you on the right marketing track.
The 1-word swap that can create a seismic shift in your photography business
Last year, this post was published in December of 2022 so was active only for one month and still made it to the top ten posts. And it stayed strong in 2023. I think it’s because of the “1-word swap” part. Everyone wants a silver bullet, a magic pill. This post was the closest as I could come in providing that! It also proves that a small and almost imperceptible change could have bigger impact than dozens of ineffective marketing activities.
Marketing for photographers: don’t forget the guide in price guide
Also a newbie of 2023 and I love this one! I enjoyed writing it because again, it’s the little things that are often ignored in marketing. Everyone has their eye on Facebook Ads, SEO and blogging, and while these bigger activities are important, we cannot forget the details. Details are critical to help these big things become powerhouses! I also enjoyed writing it because I love word play and it helped get the point across. A price list is a list of prices. A price guide - there needs to be guiding! You can’t treat it as a list and you don’t want to. If you’re sending a guide without the guiding part, then it’s fulfilling only half of its destiny, and that other unrealized half can be a clincher of bookings. Let’s help a guide fulfill its destiny and fill your calendar!
5 January planning ideas for photography client booking success
This blog post is very relevant because it’s January again! Save this post and revisit it every January as it encourages you to reflect and strengthen your business before busier season hits. To me, these are basics and foundational items that help support things all year long.
In 2023 the re-brand to ShineSparkL was my priority. Now that it’s settled, I have some big dreams for 2024! My word of the year is “elevate” and it means many things - elevate my own photography and elevate my fellow photographers with marketing education and inspiration. My goal is to fill my year with beautiful photos and to help others do the same, through education. Visit this blog often. Shop and find some valuable tools and resources to solidify your business.
Wishing you all sparkle and shine into this beautiful new year!
~Lucy