There are many industries that are particularly hard to compete in. In fact, any industry that can be inexpensively accessed by an amateur is going to be filled with thousands of "knock off" professionals. Photography is one of those fields, but those who do it well will influence every part of our culture with their invaluable creativity.
Ok, so it's obviously hard to compete in a market that is over-saturated, but there is an upside. Any skilled, experienced photographer can capitalize on the increase of novices.
Here are ways, I believe, that photographers can dramatically increase their revenue. Many of these ideas are low cost projects, and they will all cause you to stand above the crowd.
#1 Host a Workshop.
Educational marketing is a very powerful tool. In fact, the reason your reading this article is probably because I'm teaching you something for free. If done correctly, a workshop can be relatively inexpensive and there are multiple streams of income available to the host. The most obvious income will come from ticket sales, but, you can also record the workshop and resell it online as a "course in photography". As the "expert" in your field you can offer one-on-one consultations with the attendees for an additional fee.
#2 Start a Community Runway Event.
I suggest every company get as involved in their community as possible. As I have said before, A community defines a company, one cannot exist without the other. Hosting a local fashion show is an easy money maker. There will always be young aspiring models willing to jump at the chance to walk a runway. As with the workshop, you can charge per ticket. You can also charge a runway fee to the designers who are showing their pieces on your stage. In a project like this I would encourage you to donate a portion of the sales to a community charity. If you advertise that tickets will go toward improving your city, people will be all the more willing to attend, and you will be investing in the community that is investing in your company! Of course the shots you take at the event will also improve your portfolio.
#3 Donate to a Museum.
One of the quickest ways to get free exposure for fine print photography is to donate a piece to a museum. Again, this is a win-win situation. You will get massive amounts of people looking at your work, and you will be donating something valuable to the artistic community in your city. Don't forget to write off the donation at the end of the year.
In any business, find a niche that isn't being addressed and create ways to service it. The person who does what no-one else is doing will get noticed every time.
Bryant Jaquez,
Redding California's premiere small business marketing consultant.
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