I promised you more giveaways so here we go!  This week I’m giving away a full registration to WPPI ($399 value) and a set of our Hodgepodge Mix actions (separately.)  NOTE:  You are responsible for your own travel, lodging, etc.  The WPPI Registration is for the 90+ platform classes and the trade show.

WPPI (along with SYNC) is my favorite trade show of the year.  You can’t beat Vegas, 16,000 photographers, and the best line up of speakers on the planet!  This will be Life. Camera. Actions. third year exhibiting and we absolutely love it.  A little known fact is that I actually launched LCA at WPPI in 2010.  The website literally went live THE DAY BEFORE!  That is probably the most insane thing I have ever done but it was totally worth it and it helped put LCA on the map!

Because we have so much fun at trade shows, we have decided to start vlogging (video blogging for you old folks.)  This is our first vlog and we didn’t really have a “vision” of what we wanted it to be.  We wanted to show behind the scenes of what it is like to exhibit at one of these trade shows.  What we ended up with was something totally different (and way better!)  These videos will only get better from here!

Please let this load to about halfway before playing.  Enjoy!

btw, if you are on your phone, then this whole post probably looks screwed up.  You’ll have to check it out when you get to your computer.  Sorry!!!

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5 seconds ago I just felt like giving away some actions. So here we are!

We are doing a giveaway of our BRAND NEW Retrolux Actions and Hodgepodge Mix.
Click the names to see before and afters!
There will be 2 winners.

Check out the widget below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out this video to see the actions in action and to find out how you can get 25% off all our PSE actions when they release!  You can also check out all the actions buy clicking “Actions for PSE” in the menu bar above!

So to recap, go share this video or a link to this site on two places online and come back and leave a comment with links to where you posted it. I’ll check them out and send you a discount code for 25% off so you can get the best actions on the planet for an amazing price!  This offer will be good for 1 week after the actions launch so you may post your comment any time between now and then.  If for some reason you don’t hear from me by the end of the week, email me at brett (at) jarnaginphotography.com

If you are a regular Photoshop CS2 or above user and would like the 25% discount you may share the video as well.  Just specify in your comment what version of PS you have!

The easiest way to share is just to click the “Share on Facebook” and “Tweet This Post” links below

Why People Refer

Have you noticed that you have a handful of clients that are always referring new people to you and others that never send anyone? Even if everyone gets the same level of service, some clients are just naturally wired to send referrals. This type of person is invaluable to a business.  So why do they do it?  Referrers want to make sure their friends get the best of something and have a great experience. In return their friends appreciate the referral and think of them as a “go to referrer.” The book, The Referral Engine, talks about how this most likely goes back to our hunter-gatherer days when we were dependent on each other to find food sources. A fisherman who always knew the best spots to cast and shared that information with the tribe would be a very valuable member of society. So, it is important to recognize that most people want to give referrals because they are wired to do so. We also have to realize that people only want to give good referrals because if they didn’t, it would make them look bad. Think back to our fisherman analogy – if he were always telling people the wrong places to fish he would never be trusted and would have a lesser social status.  Sending others to the best fishing spots makes him feel important because he is important!

Lets take a look at some of the things we can do to motivate people to refer others to our businesses.

Be Remarkable

It sounds obvious, but if you want your clients to remark about you, you have to provide a remarkable service (check out Seth Godin’s The Purple Cow.) Step one of being remarkable is exceeding your client’s expectations – not just meeting them. Have you ever heard anyone just say, “I was satisfied with their services”? If someone said that to you, would you be excited to hire that person? Would them just being satisfied be enough to make you pick up the phone and call?  Definitely not!  You act on a referral when your friend passionately tells you why you should use that product or service.  To exceed our clients expectations we must first define what they are.  Photographers are lucky because most people don’t expect much more from them than just delivering good pictures. Surely you are already doing that, but to blow your clients away you need to bring a lot more to the table. Think about what you could do that would be so impressive that it makes your clients WANT to talk about you to others. Here are a few things we do and have done to blow people away. Please put your own ideas in the comments field so we can grow our list!

-send out a thank you card and brownies
-do a same day slideshow at the reception
-memorize the names of the entire wedding party and family before the wedding day and use them often
-post our favorites to Facebook when we get home from the wedding
-post a sneak peak slideshow the day after the wedding
-blog the wedding before the proofs are up
-post their proofs in a week
-send them a card and a gift card to a restaurant on their anniversary
-give them a free session when their first child is born
-do the unexpected

Ask For Referrals

If you go above and beyond your client’s expectations they will want to return the favor but sometimes they don’t know how. Believe it or not, simply asking for referrals can help “train” your clients to refer you. We let our clients know that if it weren’t for amazing people like them who send us their friends, we wouldn’t be in business. We also give them the tools they need to make referrals. For seniors we make “senior rep cards” that have a handful of their images on them and a discount code so they can give them out at school. When they book using the discount code, the friend gets 20 free wallets and the referrer gets $20. Many photographers do referral contests where the top referrers can get prizes (gas card, iPad, xbox, etc.) What is important is to implement some referral systems in your business and be sure to recognize your top referrers publicly, which brings us to the next point…

Thank Your Referrers!

Have you ever done someone a favor and then not been thanked for it? Chances are, you weren’t so quick to do that person a favor again. Photographers get referrals all the time and often take them for granted (or don’t know where they came from.) Make it a habit of asking new clients where they heard about you and then going out of your way to thank the referrer. You can even post a blog, Facebook status, or something else public about people who refer to you. Doing so reinforces that behavior and encourages them to send more people your way. It also shows your other clients that sending you business is very appreciated which will make them more inclined to do so. Not only that, but other potential clients see that your business is good enough for people to talk about, which means it is good enough for them to hire you. Soon everyone wants to talk about you and spread the word!

Have I Mentioned Being Remarkable?

Yes the very trait that gets you referrals in the first place is what keeps them coming. If someone went out of their way to refer their friend or family member to you then you have to provide amazing service. If I refer you to an accountant and he screws up your taxes, then I look like an ass and I’ll never refer anyone to that accountant again! We always have to be on top of our game providing the best possible service to each and every client we get because, after all, “word of mouth is the best advertising.”

-Brett Jarnagin

…

Ummmm…..can we say “an honor”??? Thank you SO much Brett, for trusting me to speak with your lovely readers coherently and intellectually!!!!! I will TRY to refrain from using excessive amounts of exclamation marks and smiley faces. :D

Whoops.

Ok….I’ll start over.

Hello fellow lovers of Life. Camera. Actions. We are going to start off today’s branding and marketing discussion with a quick little exercise. Take a look around the proverbial “room” at everyone here. What do you all have in common? OK…this is going to be a “duh” moment. Ready?

“You’re all here!”

No really!! I kid you not! THAT is the answer. (THAT is the very cheesy answer.)

The absolute most important trait a business-person can have is the willingness to learn…whether it’s in editing, branding, marketing, or the technical backend hubbub. (It just so happens that Brett gives you TONS of resources right here on this blog…so you should def stick around.)

Getting right into the meat of the matter at hand….(ewww…..is that even a saying??)

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What is a brand? You’ll be surprised to learn that this MIGHT just be one of the most difficult questions to answer. Is a brand a logo? Is a brand a color pallet? Is a brand a consistent style of product you give to your client? What about a slogan?

A brand….is NONE of these. Not even put together. Put all of those together and you get one HAWT mess. Not necessarily ugly…but not necessarily worth anything either.

So to answer the question, YOU are your brand. Every successful photographer will tell you the same thing. Yes. Your clients will see your photos first….but they won’t click that contact button unless they are positive they are going to like YOU as well.

The Players:

Scenario 1:

YOU are walking down the street and you see this amazingly hot Dude/Chick/Klingon walking towards you.

Do you immediately say “Wow! I want to get into a long term relationship and spend tons of money on him/her/it!!”?

Nope…you would normally do your lookin’ and keep right on walking. You probably won’t even remember him/her/it tomorrow.

Scenario 2:

You are at an amazing party (thrown by Usher…because he’s awesome) and you see a hot dude/chick/Klingon across the room.

You strike up a conversation. You get to KNOW said hot dude/chick/Klingon. You find out they love Pride and Prejudice, Oreo Cookies and Usher. You find out that you have stuff in common! You GO ON A DATE!!! YOU FALL IN LOVE!!! And spend lots and lots of money on each other. :D

Do you see where I’m going with this?

Your goal, my friend, is to BE the hot dude/chick/Klingon at the party. You want to be the one everyone at the party wants to KNOW! They WANT to have a long term relationship with you! They WANT to spend money on you!

So, the first step in developing a successful brand…is to do some inner soul searching. So start practicing your “Ohmmmmms” and light a few candles. Get the mood going. And ask yourself “Who am I?”

Ask yourself EVERYTHING! What is your favorite color? What was your happiest moment? What is your favorite hobby (and no….you can’t say photography)? What do you LOVE that makes you a little quirky? (Cupcakes? Robots? Robots having cupcake fights?….don’t take my example…..) What do YOU love that your clients can connect with?

A lot of branding coaches use the “Starbucks” analogy. And it’s a good one! Starbucks is awesome. Starbucks has personality. Starbucks has set themselves apart from all of the other coffee houses on the corner with their amazing frappacino’s and cinnamon cakes. Nom. Nom. Nom.

Oooo!!! Ooooo!!! Experiment time!!

I shall call it “If Starbucks Were A Person”:

Directions: Answer these questions as if Starbuck’s Coffee were an actual person. Post your answers in the comments section AND DON’T LOOK AT ANYONE’S ANSWERS UNTIL YOU’VE POSTED YOUR OWN!!!

1. What is Mr.Starbuck’s favorite color?
2. What does Mr.Starbuck’s like to do in his spare time?
3. What kind of music does Mr. Starbuck’s like to listen to?
4. Is Mr. Starbuck’s a serious kind of guy…or is he a bit goofy?
5. WHAT is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

I’m curious to see how the answers vary and how they are similar. I’m betting that they are all pretty similar if not identical. Starbucks (A HUGE COFFEE CORPORATION) has managed to reach each person who walks through their door on a personal level. Not everyone LIKES Mr. Starbucks, but that’s ok.

Mr. Starbuck’s goal is to get fans…not customers. And BOY is his fanbase huge. (3.6 million on Facebook!!!).

So…to sign off before your ears fall off, this is just the tip of the iceberg on branding. (But I don’t know how many of you are ready to sit down and read a book in one go on Mr. Jarnagin’s blog, here….I bet most of you didn’t even come prepared with snacks!).

To check out more on this topic, stick around on the Life. Camera. Actions. Blog….hear me blab on and on at the PoeticEdits blog….and keep an eye out for my workshop this coming November 18th! It’s geared towards social media and marketing and there will be an AMAZING styled shoot at the end of the day. We will be working with some of the DC industry’s best. Ticket info will be up on the PoeticEdits blog soon!

Forever yours with smooches, cuddles, smiley faces and all things warm and fuzzy:

-Terra Dawn

(Life. Camera. Actions. “Retro Revival used”)

The grand prize winner who is going to get a seat and Sandy Puc’s Creative Edge Kids Tour is…

Lori Peterson!

The second place winner who will receive our Vintage Touch Actions is…

Lydia Lee!

Congrats guys and thanks to all who entered! We will be doing more giveaways in the future.

Even if you didn’t win you should still check out Sandy’s Tour. It will EASILY pay for itself! The tour dates are in the post below and you can sign up HERE!

I met Sandy back at SYNC in January of this year. She is definitely one of those people who you instantly gravitate towards. She is full of life and overflowing with knowledge. Her experience and willingness to teach has given rise to amazing resources for photographers like Ukandu and Sandy Puc University but her marketing and photography with babies has always been her bread and butter. Sandy is an inspiration to photographers everywhere who want to build a successful, boutique baby business and on her Creative Edge Kids Tour, she’s going to show you how!

Check out this video to see what it is all about!

The Prize!

1st place – One seat to any one of Sandy’s upcoming stops on her tour. The complete list of dates is at the bottom of this post.
2nd place – The Texture Pack actions set from Life. Camera. Actions.

How to Enter

There are lots of ways to enter and you can do them all if you want (maximum of 6 entries per person)
You must leave a separate comment for each separate entry! (so if you post something on Facebook or “like” something, you need to leave a comment with a link and let us know.)

1. Leave a comment below telling us why you would love to attend the Creative Edge Tour.
2. Go “like” Sandy Puc’ on Facebook by clicking HERE
3. Go “like” Life. Camera. Actions. on Facebook by clicking HERE
4. Post the sentence below to Facebook or Twitter (or both)

Life. Camera. Actions. is giving away a FREE seat to Sandy Puc’s Creative Edge Kids Tour! Enter here! http://tinyurl.com/269d7d7

5. Post a blog about the tour and why you want to go!

The Deadline.

Entries must be submitted by Tuesday, July 26th at 11:59 p.m. CST.

The winner will be chosen using random.org and announced on Wednesday, July 27th.

Tour Dates!

(dates marked with *’s will be completed by the giveaway deadline and are not eligible to win.)

Oklahoma City, OK July 22, 2011*
Dallas, TX July 23, 2011*
Houston, TX July 25, 2011*
Baton Rouge, LA July 26, 2011*
Memphis, TN July 28, 2011
Nashville, TN July 29, 2011
Atlanta, GA July 30, 2011
Tampa, FL August 1, 2011
Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, FL August 2, 2011
Orlando, FL August 4, 2011
Jacksonville, FL August 5, 2011
Columbia, SC August 6, 2011
Raleigh/Chapel Hill, NC August 8, 2011
Richmond, VA August 9, 2011
Baltimore, MD August 11, 2011
Philadelphia, PA August 12, 2011
Newark, NJ August 15, 2011
Boston, MA August 16, 2011
Hartford, CT August 17, 2011
Columbus, OH August 19, 2011
Louisville, KY August 20, 2011
Indianapolis, IN August 22, 2011
Detroit, MI August 23, 2011
Grand Rapids, MI August 25, 2011
Chicago, IL August 26, 2011
Minneapolis, MN August 28, 2011
Des Moines, IA August 29, 2011
St. Louis, MO August 30, 2011
Kansas City, MO September 1, 2011
Omaha, NE September 2, 2011

Good luck!

(the images featured are from my SHOOTERS Workshops)