Start a Photography Business the Smart Way – Key #3 – Photography Marketing

If you are just starting a photography business, or if you have one already, and want to make it more profitable, photography marketing is one of the all time most important keys. I often say that photography marketing is the “engine” of your photography business, because it absolutely is. If you mess up the marketing, your photo business goes nowhere.Here’s 4 little known photography marketing secrets that will help you build your business success. They certainly have mine:Photo Marketing Secret #1: Never depend on word of mouth – it’s not enough. It certainly is true that one of the best forms of advertising is to have someone tell a friend about you and how “great” you are. But here’s the problem: There isn’t enough of this going on to make you any serious money. So do NOT depend on this to sustain your business.Photo Marketing Secret #2: Don’t market too big – pick a target market and go after that with a passion. Most photographers really screw this up – by not doing it at all. When it comes to photography marketing, professional photographers are famous for thinking that “everyone” is their target market. “If they have a pulse, they are a prospect” they think. This is a huge marketing mistake.You see, most of us professional photographers don’t have a huge marketing budget. So it’s very important to pick and choose carefully who it is you want to work with, and then concentrate on getting to them, and them only.For example: My target market is: “Warm Fuzzy Females Who Value What I do.” By “Warm Fuzzy” I mean those type of people who are right brain dominant, who are extremely emotional, romantic, sensitive, and excited about photography and what it can say for them.Photo Marketing Secret #3: Set a specific budget – almost no photographer does this and it’s a big mistake. You MUST determine how much money you are willing to invest to “buy” clients this year. That’s what you’re doing – you’re “buying” them. So how much should you pay? It’s different for each photography business, depending on what your capital situation is. But a good starting point is to take between 5% and 7% of your PROJECTED GROSS SALES for the upcoming 12 months. This at least gets you started with budgeting.Photo Marketing Secret #4: Exhibit your photography around your community – and exhibit the types of photography you want to do. And you do NOT need to pay money for these exhibits. I have written other articles and will write more on this – but for here, just let me say that you can get free exhibits of your photography all over your town – in malls, movie theaters, restaurants, hair salons, office buildings, and many other locations.How? By showing the location how THEY WILL BENEFIT by displaying your photography in their establishment. And how will they benefit? Because you will go back to the studio and call those people whose photos you just put up in their establishment, and those people will tell all their friends (because it’s a big, exciting thing to them!) So people all over town will be talking about that establishment – and it didn’t cost a cent for them!These four little known secrets are the backbone to my photography marketing, and they will work well for you, too.

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Lifestyle Living Options Appeal to Successful South Africans Including the Legendary Gary Player

We all dream different dreams, so it is inspiring to discover the wide range of choice when it comes to lifestyle living options in South Africa, particularly in the Western Cape.Further inspiration comes from discovering what direction successful South Africans take when it comes to choosing their particular lifestyle living dreams. With 2010 World Cup Soccer looming, it is interesting to look at what some lifestyle living options in this great rainbow nation are, 16 years after the celebrated Nelson Mandela became the first black president of the country.There is absolutely no doubt that some of the more popular lifestyle estates in South Africa appeal to golfers, especially those from Europe who happily escape their winter in favour of teeing up in the South African sunshine. There are also local golfers including Ernie Els and international golfing legend Gary Player, who have both been involved in designing golf courses for lifestyle estates in South Africa, the southern-most country in Africa. This adds instant appeal to many of those who see South Africa as a potential investment country for property options.Considered by many to be the most successful professional South African golfer of all time – and a highly acclaimed designer of golf courses worldwide – in a recent quote, Gary Player said that people like him, whether South Africans or internationals, were increasingly choosing to live their dreams of a safe, healthy, gracious lifestyle. His own track-record is proof, as he has invested in property throughout South Africa, including, reportedly, the Founder Estates at world-famous Boschendal Wine Estate in the Western Cape.This demonstrates that active-production wine lifestyle estates are also incredibly popular in South Africa, such as Benguela Cove in the Overberg. Most estates allocate annual wine-quotas to residents whereas others offer some kind of investment shareholding.Considering an investment in a country retreat whether it offers great golf, superb wine, or simply pristine nature depends entirely on your own lifestyle choices which tend, however, to be largely emotional. For a busy executive, surviving a demanding week in the city is eased by comforting thoughts of relaxing on your private country patio on Friday evening with a glass of wine, enjoying a stunning sunset as the braai crackles nearby.Turning a lifelong dream into a reality is a frequent retirement goal – moving to the quiet countryside for fishing, golfing, hiking or simply having the solitude and surroundings to capture the beautiful vistas on canvas or write that great novel. Technology and the Internet have opened new opportunities for “knowledge workers” to relocate their families out of the faceless city to small rural towns where schools, friendships and life provide deeper personal satisfaction and the cost of living is significantly lower.Whether your rural home is intended to be full-time or part-time, as a discerning property buyer with an eye on the value of your investment you would be smart to heed the old advice of “location, location, location” as the three most important things to consider when buying into country lifestyle living. You want to look for reasonable accessibility to life-supporting services like medical care, internet access, shopping and security. Next are the lifestyle choices: privacy, seclusion, gorgeous views, pristine nature and possibility for outdoor activities like golf, hiking, ocean sports and more.Once you have identified your own personal choice, you will be ready to start your search for a property that offers you lifestyle living at its very best. That is exactly what I did!

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Is Budget Car Insurance Cost Effective?

Budget car insurance is widely available on plenty of broker quote sites online.If you have really good credit, you will automatically pay a lot less for car insurance than most people. Most insurance companies will pull a copy of your credit report as a matter of prudence.It has been proven that there is a direct relation between your credit score and how likely it is that you will file an insurance claim with an insurance company. This means that if you are a high claimer and are looking for budget car insurance, it may prove difficult.If you are seeking budget car insurance you could be construed as high risk.In addition, your insurance company wants to know that you will pay your bills on time, so if your credit score shows that you pay bills late as a matter of routine, you may have some problems getting budget insurance.Unfortunately, a lot of companies will judge you automatically via your credit score, including budget car insurance companies.If you drive a fancy car, you can expect to pay more for insurance. New cars cost more to fix, so do expensive cars. Don’t expect to get great budget car insurance if you drive a luxury car.Some auto insurers have a rating system according to your car make and model. Each car has a number on that rating system from 1 to 27. Factored into these numbers are risk factors such as theft and also the overall safety of the vehicle. For example, older model cars that do not have air bags will probably be more costly to ensure as well therefore budget insurance will not fit this criterion.If you find what you think is really cheap budget insurance, pay special attention to the “hidden” costs. If you are paying via installment payments, you can definitely expect to pay a lot more over the long run because of administrative costs and interest that are factored into those payments.When you get a budget car insurance quote, read the fine details.Sometimes what you think is a good deal for budget car insurance may not be in the end.If you have a newer vehicle, for example, find out what value your insurance company considers “replacement value” on your car. It may be worth it to pay a little extra to get the value of your vehicle at the time you insure it, rather than the blue book value. It may surprise you to find out that most insurance companies will not give you replacement value if you write your car off.If you switch insurers, be sure to cancel the existing policy you have with your previous insurer, or you may end up paying both policies. Just because you decide to go with a lower cost policy does not mean that your previous insurer will automatically cancel your insurance policy.It is a good idea to be aware of all the ins and outs of a lower cost insurance policy. Just because you are paying less for the cheapest car insurance does not mean that you are getting the best deal in the long run.Due diligence is a must as budget insurance may not be the best option.

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