TO SPEED UP YOUR PHOTO SALES
SLIM DOWN
Here at PhotoSource International we often get the question:
"How can I become successful at publishing my pictures especially during
these somber economic times?"
Oddly enough, the answer is quite simple -- but it's not an
answer most photographers expect. And that might be one reason why the answer
is so elusive to many people. We might expect the answer to be: "Be born
with TALENT." or, "Work hard!"
Yes, talent and working hard of course, are important, but we
all know photographers with a lot of talent who are going nowhere. We also know
a lot of "hard workers," who are going the same place. But to get
to the point -- the prime answer is simply this: if your desire to become a
published photographer is so strong that your personal constitution will allow
you to "put up with and do without," then success is just around the
corner for you.
Put up with? Do without? Sounds simplistic. And it is. Whenever
we follow up photographers who have come to us in the past with dreams, goals,
and aspirations of publishing their pictures -- we find that years later, the
ones who have met with success are the ones who have persisted and persisted,
and endured.
First of all these photographers have "put up with" the inherent drudgery
jobs, the rejections from art directors, the unpleasant tasks, the necessary
non-glamorous chores one faces daily in this business.
As they face their day, they don't avoid the tedious chores.
They have True Grit. They know that if they neglect the irksome task it won't
go away, but will grow into a larger problem the next day, and by the end of
the month, could create a complicated, time-consuming, catch-up mess or even
an insurmountable barrier.
And what are these unpleasantries? As a stock photographer you
face many daily tasks: refining e-mails or queries to prospective photobuyers;
photoshopping; Googling for prospects; making phone calls for everything from
research to clarifying assignments; cataloging, cross-referencing, applying
metadata to your images; researching for keywords; sending off light boxes to
prospects; and answering emails and twitter responses.
If you are new to the field of stock photography, you'll nevertheless
recognize these drudgery jobs as parallel to those in operating your household…
every uncleaned paint brush or tool unreturned to its shelf, every unanswered
letter in that pile of important letters, or that unbalanced check book are
examples of the 'things we don't like to do,' that pile up until it becomes
a habit with us not to get them done. Once this procrastination becomes habit,
it becomes our "style" -- or, us. "Wishing away" those drudgery
jobs never works.
We can stick our heads in the sand and grow accustomed to our
house needing a paint job, the garden that needs weeding, the uncut grass, and
the Christmas wreath still up in February, or the fender needing repair. Or,
as the stock photographer: the list of photo editors that should be contacted,
or those keywords that need to be added to your blog. It's quite simple: you
cannot become a success at anything, unless you realize that your goal or your
purpose must be worth more than the inconvenience of tackling those chores most
people just don't like to do.
In our experience, we find that those stock photographers who "give up"
and throw in the towel do so not for lack of talent, but because they are victims
of their own failure to recognize this essential point: "Put up with the
drudgery."
The second dictum is, "Do without," the creature comforts.
Hopefully, this is necessary only in the initial stages of your career. How
long you will "do without" depends on the goals you have set up for
yourself. Some goals are short range and are easily attainable. Other goals
you might set for yourself are long range, extremely worthwhile, and rewarding
to the soul, but not immediately rewarding to the pocketbook.
CREATURE COMFORTS
In order to get established as a stock photographer, you have to frequently
do without the conveniences Madison Avenue is continually reminding us we must
possess: air conditioning, HDTV, latest model car, etc. In order to cover operating
costs, meet new software costs, or the purchase of new updates, or postage costs,
you must often change a lifetime of supermarket habits to economize. One must
"do without."
If you begin today to economize, plus tackle each "drudgery
chore" as it comes along, you'll be surprised to find that you get into
a habit of being a successful stock photographer. Not only that, what were once
irksome tasks will become joyous ones for you, because you'll welcome and recognize
the tasks as real accomplishments on your journey to your goal as a successful
stock photographer. If you persevere, and develop the inner constitution to
"put up with and do without," you will begin to ensure your success
where others have failed.
Rohn Engh is the best-selling author of “Sell & ReSell Your Photos”
and “sellphotos.com.” He has produced a new eBook, “How to
Make the Marketable Photo.” For more information and to receive a free
eReport: “8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer,” Learn to Sell your photos
