Photographing seniors for mom, grandma, and the senior!
Tuesday, Sep 29, 2009

During one of my senior projections today, my client was commenting on some of her other friend’s senior portraits. “They don’t even look like them,” she said to me with a laugh. Some say that my style is more traditional, and they might be right. But, I capture the true personality of each of my senior clients. To me, that is more important that creating something edgy, unless of course, the senior’s personality calls for it. Some will have the look for high fashion on-location; others will be more suited to the studio. The degree of impact is determined by the client, not me as the artist. A tilted camera angle, Photoshop action, and a kid laying down on some railroad tracks may be artsy and cool, but grandma isn’t going to put it on her wall. Sometimes we need to remember who has the check book…it’s the parents! Am I saying to not push the envelope and try something different? Absolutely not! I am saying to be mindful of the parents and the sellable images? You bet! My good friend Kirk Voclain said it best, “Shoot the edgy stuff for your marketing, the kids choose the photographer. Shoot some traditional during the session, the parents have the checkbook!” It’s all about finding that fine line; today’s senior was a great example of that! –B.H.

“Do I Really Need a Website?” –You 10 Years Ago
Monday, Sep 28, 2009

Remember the days before the “internet?” Phonebooks, post cards, newspaper ads, radio; these were the marketing mediums of the day. Then, all of a sudden, the internet comes along and throws us all for a loop! What the heck is a URL or a “search engine” anyway? Remember the dial-up sound AOL used to make? LOL! Ok, here’s my point, enough memory lane. 10 years ago many business owners were skeptical of the internet. Much like cell phones back in the 80’s, the majority of people didn’t have them, the same was true with the internet. Within a few years though, business owners were playing catch up. As we know, all things digital change in an instant, you have to be on top of things. Today’s social media boom is much like the advent of the internet some 10 years ago…thanks Al Gore! All kidding aside, social media sites are now ingrained into our mainstream society. Don’t believe me? It’s in the numbers. It took Google 10 years to hit 50 million users a day. Facebook did it in 19 months and there are now over 300 million active users, many of whom spend 20 minutes a day on it. Twitter increased it’s usership from 1 million to 5 million in 2008. There will be over 50 million Twitter users by this Christmas. If you’re not taking advantage of the marketing opportunities social media sites have to offer, you’re not just leaving money on the table, you’re handicapping yourself for business in the future. Here’s my advice to photographers out there: (1) If you pick only one social media site to be on, choose Facebook. (2) Personalize, don’t over commercialize. (3) Give your studio a personality, don’t hide behind a logo. (4) Update often and follow-up with leads (5) Limit your time, try not to spend more than 30 minutes a day updating. For more tips, feel free to email me! –Josh@mystudiomentor.com

Doing what you LOVE!
Sunday, Sep 27, 2009

My wife Terri and I just returned from the Send Out Cards convention in Salt Lake City. We first began using the SOC card program at the studio for 2 years ago with tremendous success. We have also been sharing the concept with other photographers from all over the country and helping them become card senders in their business. One of the compelling speakers at the convention was the famous, Steadman Graham. He has a nine step Success Process that I thought fit us photographers perfect! Here’s step one: “Before you decide what you want for your life, you first must understand who you are, what influences you have in life, and why you think and act the way you do. Self-awareness is where success begins. It is difficult to understand the world and how you respond to it until you first know yourself. What are your strengths? What moves you forward? What holds you back? What are your weaknesses? What are your patterns of behavior? What are your passions? Sometimes the biggest obstacles to success are those that we unconsciously put in our own paths. Past hurts, business failures, career downfalls, and negative attitudes will hold you back. Focus on your life and what you love and care about, and you will never work a day in your life.” We all love photography and that is why it never seems like work! The hard part is earning what we deserve for the amount of time we spend loving our job! With the SOC card program we’ve incorporated a system into our relationship marketing business model, that makes keeping in touch with our best clients fun, easy and cost effective too!! If you would like to find out more check out our website www.sendoutcards.com/hudsons to send a couple cards on us! Or just call me for a personal walk through at 206-226-2119. See you tomorrow! BH

What’s up with the calendars?
Wednesday, Sep 23, 2009

So my dad and I have received many emails in regards to the image of the week we just posted on Tuesday. If you haven’t seen it yet, take a moment and check it out. Photographers from all over are asking, “What’s up with the calendars?” For the past couple of years we have done a themed calendar for our Premiere Portrait Club clients, which is about 350, give or take a few. At the end of the year, our calendar is given as a gift to thank them for staying loyal to us. Back in 2007 the theme was Tuscany since Terri took a trip there that year. This year the theme was Images of the Northwest. Our 2010 theme is A Day in Seattle, where Terri documented a day in Seattle, sun up to sun down. Each one of our PPC clients will receive a copy of this calendar for free. Some will pick them up at our unveiling party, which will be at a local restaurant, and some will receive it via mail with their winter issue of our PPC newsletter. Yes, this is a big expense for us, but it’s also a great way to say thank you to our best clients. Not to mention, a great marketing piece! You see, the calendar is in front of them for the entire year! We also mark special dates and events within the calendar for them, so they know exactly when our portrait safaris are! Just think of how many of their friends see the calendar, not to mention their beautiful wall portraits in their home! Relationship marketing is all about keeping in touch, why not do it with a calendar! Hope this answered some of your questions, have a great night! -Josh

Blog on Follow-Up- Part Two: Using different mediums to maximize YOUR studio’s marketing efforts!
Sunday, Sep 20, 2009

Happy Sunday everyone! Well, my Seahawks lost the 49ers today, which kind of bummed me out. No worries though, my Washington State U. Cougars beat SMU yesterday in overtime! It will probably be our only win all year, so I’m pretty stoked! Alright, let’s get down to business here and talk some marketing. As promised in Friday’s blog, here are some ideas you can start implementing right away that will maximize your follow-up efforts. (1) Use your email newsletter to generate follow-up leads. What do I mean by this? Basically, whenever I send an email newsletter to my clients (at least one every month) I embed links in my copy. These links could be back to a specific web page promoting a type of photographic product, or it might be a PDF flyer attached to the email. In a nut shell, I want to entice my prospect to click on one or more of my links so I can track who is interested in what I am promoting. For instance, we just sent an enewsletter out for September to our clients. Right now we send to about 1200 people with an open rate of 30-40%, which is excellent by industry standards. The main story was about our Portraits in the Leaves Safari that is coming up in Oct. I embedded a link with the text “For more information on dates and times click here.” If someone took the time to open my email, read it, and click on a link like this, they are in a sense “raising their hand” for a follow-up. I usually send a letter or a Send Out Card to them the next day. You’re probably thinking, “Why not just send an email?” Great question! I’ve found that following up in a different form is more effective. I couldn’t tell you why, but it works. Try it for yourself! (2) Give people a reason to “opt in” on your Facebook page. For us, a great lead and follow-up generator this summer has been our Facebook fan page. “Become a fan and you’ll get a $50 gift certificate towards Hudson’s” is our incentive to capture their information. Once they’ve become a fan, we have them email us their name and address. When we mail the GC, we also add a nice letter about our studio and any up-coming events they may want to participate in. I can also send a follow-up email to make sure they received their GC. That’s 3 different “touch points” right away. Marketing and follow-up is compounding, the more contact you have, the more likely they are to book with you! (3) And finally…pick up the phone or send a card! With today’s digital environment, who takes the time to make an old fashioned phone call? This also goes for an actual card too. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten an email inquiry and simply called them back instead of emailing my prices out. The response is always, “wow, you actually called me!” This is a good way to separate yourself from the competition immediately. I also send out a ton of greeting cards. Each one is custom and pertains specifically to a conversation or an event that the prospect can relate too. I also add any images that will help sell my point and I also add a picture of myself or the studio staff. This is a good way to add some personality to your follow-up as well. Many of you have heard of Send Out Cards, industry leaders such as David Ziser, Sandy Puc, Kirk Voclain, and of course, my dad Bruce Hudson use this incredible service. It’s hands down the best relationship and follow-up marketing tool out there right now. I can’t imagine doing my job effectively without it. Tell you what, since my Cougs won yesterday, I’m in a pretty good mood. The first 10 people who email me at Hudson.joshb@gmail.com with the subject “Send me a follow-up card” will get an actual card that I’ve sent to a client recently, just so you can see what I am talking about here. Alright, there you go, some of my follow up secrets, email me if you have questions. Bruce will be blogging tomorrow and posting a new image of the week. Take care everyone! -Josh

A day of follow-up: Take the time to follow-up and watch your appointment book fill up!
Friday, Sep 18, 2009

Hey everyone, Josh here, back and still alive from my bachelor party in Las Vegas last weekend! It’s good to get away for a few days, but it’s like I came back to a hurricane of work in front of me. As of today, I am pretty much caught up; I just have some DVD orders to package and ship for tomorrow. Anyway, today I wanted to share with you some of my secrets for following up with clients, prospects, and leads. My dad calls me the master at it; I just think I am way too organized and anal retentive for my age! Here are some of my tips for better and more effective follow-up: (1) You have to do it! LOL We all know we need to follow-up with phone calls, emails, Facebook posts, but most of us get overwhelmed and don’t do it. Now days, people are not spending money on non essentials (furniture, high ticket items, photography, etc.), so you have to be way more diligent! (2) Try to mix it up when it comes to contacting someone. For instance, I’ve been trying to get this family to book a final fitting appointment for about a week now. They came in for the projection and loved the images. We’re looking at a multiple wall portrait sale here. We’ve called and left messages the past 4 days with no luck. Today, I shot over an email. Less than 5 minutes later, a nice reply came with an apology. Turns out they had a death in the family and have been a little busy. For others, I might reply to an email with a phone call, or even a Facebook message. Try to mix it up, you have no idea what form of communication your client may prefer. (3) Make notes like crazy! This is the only way to stay organized, never assume that you’ll remember. I’m 26 and can’t remember when my next haircut is, let alone when I called a prospect or the last time I tried to contact them. Sometimes my desk looks like a Post-It bomb went off, but I know exactly who I need to follow-up with at all times. (4) Make folders! We make a folder for each type of photographic product we need to follow-up on. Family inquiries, seniors, Baby, etc. We even print out the email so we can make notes on them. How many times have you replied to an email and deleted it? You never know, maybe a phone call or a letter several days later might led them to your studio. To conclude today’s rant; I’ll leave you with this. According to my dad, who’s been in business for 27 years, never before has he seen consumers act like they are acting now. The days of sending mailers out and having the phone ring off the hook are gone; you have to be more proactive. Try some of my tips the next time you have a follow-up, they work! Tomorrow I’ll cover some ways you can use cross promotional marketing mediums to generate leads and follow-up opportunities every day! -Josh

A Bruce and Terri Day in Seattle!
Thursday, Sep 17, 2009

Yesterday Terri and I spent the whole day in downtown Seattle creating images for our new 2010 Truce calendar. Truce is the name of our fine art line of photography; it stands for Terri and Bruce! Get it? Last year the theme for our calendar was “Images of the Northwest” and was very popular with our premiere portrait club clients. This year’s theme is “A Day in Seattle.” We created images from sunrise to sunset all over the city, hitting some of the most well known parts. Our goal was to find some unique lines, views, and dynamics that maybe not everyone has seen captured in portrait art before. Once again, all of this was done in one full day. It was one of those personal assignments we all talk about but never take the time for. I’m pumped and excited to see the finished images! It was also great to spend the day with my wife and do nothing but create! I’ll be showcasing some of the images during the months ahead. -Bruce

An anniversary of sorts: The day all hell broke loose!
Tuesday, Sep 15, 2009

This week marks the one year anniversary of the beginning of our challenging economy. All hell broke loose last year as Lehman Brothers collapsed and triggered our economic meltdown. In my 27 years of business, I’ve never seen things come to a screeching halt like they did last year. But, a year later, all indicators in this part of the world are pointing to a stronger 4th quarter! I hope it is the same wherever your studio may be. So, what have we learned from all of this? Here are 5 things I came up with: (1) Be prepared for the worst. What’s the old saying? “Keep your powder dry!” (2) Focus more on marketing and marketing to your existing clients. (3) Focus more on your customer service; bend over backwards in all areas. (4) Work harder! By this I don’t mean in Photoshop. Concentrate on the things that will create cash-flow. Follow up on every lead, send out thank you cards, network at Chambers, etc. (5) Lastly, understand that the challenges we face are usually temporary, so hang in there! I know it’s been a long and tough year for all of us! However, even the most guarded economists are saying that maybe the worst is over. Either way, I am working harder than ever to keep business and cash-flow moving towards the studio!

Old Dog-Young Dog!
Wednesday, Sep 09, 2009

Myspace, Twitter, Linkdin, Facebook! What in the world happened to traditional forms of marketing? It used to be that you could send out a direct mail postcard to seniors, wait about 2 days, and then sit back and watch as your calendar filled up! Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen like that anymore. Do we still send cards to seniors? Yes! Do we do it in conjunction with Facebook and our senior’s only website? You better believe it! There is no way I could have figured this Facebook stuff out without my son Josh. He has become a master at Facebook marketing in just a matter of months, and he has completely transformed our online marketing efforts in the process. Josh did a program 2 months ago for my local marketing group. The packed audience was enthralled with information during the hour seminar Josh put on. After the program, I suggested to Josh that he do a similar program for photographers, and Marathon Press agreed! Well, that’s exactly what is going to happen tomorrow at 5pm PST. Josh’s webinar is geared towards studios who want to get up to speed quickly with on the in’s and out’s of Facebook. You’ll get a comprehensive crash course on how to get going in this rapidly expanding marketing apparatus. I would recommend this webinar to anyone, and not simply because Josh is my son, but because I’ve seen the results from Facebook almost overnight. Never in my 27 year business career have I seen such an immediate impact. This old dog is learning a ton of new tricks…and their working! For more information please go to www.marathonpress.com/education/webinars! Have a good Wednesday everyone! –B.H.

Happy Labor Day!
Monday, Sep 07, 2009

I hope everyone is having a great holiday today! Everyone always accuses my dad and me of being workaholics! Are we really? I think it’s in the eye of the beholder. How successful do you want to be in your life? I think there is some correlation between the hours you dedicate to your craft versus the amount of success you achieve. But it is always nice to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Today, my dad and I attended a BBQ at my future mother in-laws house on Lake Washington. She too is self-employed, and so were many of the guests attending today. It was nice that all of us could sit and visit. Anyway, I guess the point of this short holiday blog is to work hard, but try to smell the roses every once in a while, your mind will thank you! Take care everyone, Bruce will be back tomorrow to blog after his full day of appointments! -Josh

In search of the Perfect Client- Part Three
Saturday, Sep 05, 2009

In the third and final installment of this blog series, I’m going to share with you where you can find our so called “Perfect Clients.” After reading some of the specific characteristics we blogged about last time, I’m sure you’ll be able to connect the dots on who these people are, where they live, work, and play! Many of my PCs have kids going to private schools. If these parents are willing to invest the education dollars, chances are family means a great deal to them. This also means that the parents are more likely involved at some level with the school. Most private schools in our area have yearly auctions and fund raisers. These auctions have been a great way for us to connect with new PCs and create some amazing family portraiture. Not to mention, 95% of our auction bidders yield above average sales for us. As with huckleberries (read the last 2 blogs if you’re confused), when you find one bush filled with the little guys, there’s always another one close by! Many of my PCs are also involved in their communities. They tend to be very active with their church, country club, or a service group like Rotary, Kiwanis, etc. Organizations like this are a great place to find these PCs. I’ve been a proud Rotarian for over 20 years! Every year our club raises about $280,000 that is directly giving back to the community, no government money needed here! About 40% of my club members are clients of mine. But above just getting new clients, giving back to your community is the right thing to do. When people see that you are not just taking from the community but giving back to it, your business will take on a whole new brand within the community. When PCs see you giving back, it makes them what to be your clients. The last area I’ll discuss today for finding PCs is home improvement. Home shows are a great place to set up a booth and showcase your large canvas wall portraits. Start seeing your work as art instead of just pictures. Beyond home shows, look for opportunities to work with interior designers and showcase your work in model homes. For a number of years we have had our wall portraits on display at the Street of Dreams, which is a parade of million dollar homes every year near Seattle. Any opportunity you have to display large portraits, that are created properly, will be seen as home furnishings, not just photographs. Remember, PCs love to continually improve their home and home décor. A home show environment is a great way to meet, capture information, and show off your works of art! There are PCs is your marketing area right now (if not, you should broaden that area) that would love to be your Perfect Client and invest top dollar in your photography and talent. Terri and I found an unlimited supply of the elusive huckleberries once we figured out where they were hiding. Bottom-line: Even in this scary economy, there are people willing to spend money with you. Identify who your PCs are, what makes them a PC in your mind, and then look for them in the areas that match their lifestyles. Trust me people, I’ve made a good living for over 27 years doing just that, it works! Whether it’s searching for huckleberries or PCs, it’s all the same! Josh will blog tomorrow, Terri and I are going fishing! Look for some images on Facebook! Take care! -BH

In Search of the Perfect Client- Part Two
Thursday, Sep 03, 2009

After Terri and I discovered what conditions the wild huckleberries liked, it was a lot easier to find them, just look where the environment is conducive to them growing. This is no different when you are marketing your studio; it’s all about finding out where your clients hang out! Photographers have a hard time trying to understand why every person calling their studio isn’t super excited about photography. Moreover, not every client is throwing down thousands of dollars bagging them for a wall portrait. The answer is simple: Not every prospect is a perfect client, and that’s ok. Photographers always ask me, “How come your clients spend the dollars that they do with you, and my clients have a hard time spending even a fraction of one of your sales?” My answer to them is this, “You’re marketing to the wrong type of people.” The key to success in this business is concentrating on the demographics of people. We didn’t find any huckleberries until we knew where to look; the same is true when it comes to the perfect client. So who are these perfect clients and where do you look for them? Here’s some hints that you might want to take note of: -They are usually a professional of some kind –They have 2 or more children –They prefer private vs. public school for their kids –Family comes first above all else –They are active in the community(school, church, charity, or a service organization) –They see photography as art –They are into wine and fine dining –They love to entertain –They invest in their home –They are eccentric at times –They tend to be more tech savvy. What I just shared with you are some characteristics of our perfect clients. Tomorrow I’ll share where these people live, work, and play! -BH

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