strategy

190: Luci Dumas – Your Best-Year-Yet Success Plan

Well, it is that time of year when we think we are going to jump in and finish our plans for the year. January is over and we better get going, right? So we make a list. And, if you are like a lot of us, it is a big and overwhelming list. 

And someone says “you need to make a yearly calendar and just do all the things.”

Or you are in a fog and exhausted from the year before and the holiday rush. And don’t know where to start.

If this is where you are…even if it is July…this solo episode of The Profitable Photographer can help. I offer you several ways to:

  1. Jumpstart your creative marketing plans
  2. Clear your brain clutter
  3. Focus on just a few projects per quarter rather than planning an entire year
190 - Luci Dumas - Your Best-Year-Yet Success Plan - The Profitable Photographer Podcast

Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day…but a healthy photography business is built one step at a time, one project, and one idea at a time.

Hey…feel free to contact me at http://www.lucidumascoaching.com or email luci@lucidumas.com if you want support on anything about your business.

And thanks for checking the show out and subscribing on YouTube!

Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas’ Programs and Contact Info:

189: Jeff Brown – “Scroll to a Sale” Websites for Photographers

The Profitable Photographer Podcast is pleased to welcome fellow profitable photographer Jeff Brown back to the show to talk all about using your website to attract ideal clients!

At 27, Jeff joined the Royal Navy and began a career as a Military Photographer, but after nearly 10 years of service he left the armed forces to set up his own photography company Eighteen months later, Jeff had built a successful six-figure wedding photography partnership and a commercial photography company. 

189 Jeff Brown - "Scroll to a Sale" Websites for Photographers - The Profitable Photographer Podcast with Luci Dumas

After photographing 750 weddings himself, in 2015 he developed an online photography business mentoring program. We are so excited to soak in some of that wisdom today as he shares nuggets from his new book  “Help!! My Photography Website Needs MORE Customers.”

Websites are one of, if not THE, most important part of your sales and visibility. They are our shop window to the world which is why Jeff says it is so important to convey confidence and trust on your site.

He says, “a website should have one major purpose and that purpose should be to either direct a visitor to book a call, book a session or leave their email address in exchange for something.”

To do this, Jeff prefers a “Scroll to Sell” Website which takes people on a journey to an end result and are preferred in recent Google SEO updates. 

What is a “Scroll to a Sale Website”?  I take people on a journey to an end result

  1. Creates a big first impression
  2. Focuses on empathy first by addressing their fears and problems. 
  3. Includes testimonials on the home page. 
  4. Uses descriptive words
  5. Has a call to action 

Jeff also tells us some big news about GOOGLE’s Helpful Content Update starting in 2023

And is offering a special 50% discount on an SEO package if we sign up for a website with his service through thephotographerssuite.com/

info@focusonmarkerting.co.uk

http://www.thephotographersmentor.com

Grab your headphones and listen now!

Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas’ Programs and Contact Info:

188: Michael T. Davis – Creating Story-Telling Wedding Albums

This episode of The Profitable Photographer Podcast is all about love stories! Our guest is here to tell us how we can enhance our hearts to increase sales.

Joining Luci on the show is Michael T Davis, a wedding photographer and storyteller who focuses on preserving his client’s love stories through albums and prints. Michael has been a professional wedding photographer since 2011 and shares his expertise as a coach to other photographers. He loves coaching on how to build albums that sell.

188: Michael T. Davis - Creating Story Telling Wedding Albums

Michael says selling is all about focusing on the client’s story and designing the album in a way that evokes an emotional experience. 

To sell more:

  • Focus on a great story rather than great images
  • Build albums with intention and strategy
  • Become a great listener..Listen to your clients before, during, and after their wedding day

We are so excited to have Michael here and we hope you enjoy this episode! Listen now. 

(Pssst… grab a FREE coaching session from Michael all about album building. Contact him below)

Michael T Davis Photography

Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas’ Programs and Contact Info:

187: Luci Dumas – Starting Your Successful Photography Business (replay)

Happy 2023! This episode is a replay about how to get started selling your work.

It is one of my most popular and I thought is was a good one to start 2023 as we set new dreams and goals. 

I know it can be overwhelming and confusing so I thought I would

187 - Luci Dumas - Starting Your Successful Photography Business (replay) Luci Dumas Profitable Photographer Podcast

give as much info about what to do and think about as I could squeeze out of my brain. This is in no way everything, but it is a good foundation for success.

In this podcast, I share with you why the first step to creating a profitable photography business is to have a clear vision, a dream that is specific as well as a bit of fantasy, a simple business plan, and a defined goal.

I cover the importance of “Pricing for Profit” and how to do it, making the telephone your best friend. And how the right conversations set up the entire system. I share a few thoughts on why selling in person is best for your clients and you if you want a profitable business selling lifetime treasures (in my opinion of course).

And I also share about the value of

  • education of all types…including coaching and courses
  • practice practice practice your photography skills, sales, and more.

Let me know your intentions for 2023 and what sparked your imagination from this episode….and enjoy!

Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas’ Programs and Contact Info:

186: Luc Boulet – Copyright Changes for Photographers and Artist

Did you know your right to photograph is protected under the constitutional right to freedom of speech? Well, it is! It’s a little more complex than that, though, which is why we are so glad to have our guest with us today to explain all things legal photography! 

The Professional Photographers of America worked for 10 years to get Congress to pass a bill that allows photographers and artists to sue in Small Claims Court. 

Luc Boulet - Copyright Changes for Photographers and Artist The Profitable Photographer Luci Dumas

My guest, Luc Boulet is the man with the answers about all things legal when it comes to photography.

He is currently the Government Affairs Manager for Professional Photographers of America and represents their interests across the country in state legislatures, federal agencies, and on Capitol Hill.

Paying attention to the legal stuff can be overwhelming for many creative-types… that’s why we are so happy to have Luc on the show to help break it down! 

On this episode he’ll cover:

  • The legal right to photograph in National Parks
  • Our rights as photographers 
  • What to do if your photographs are used without your permission
  • The importance of registering your work

Don’t sweat the legal stuff…we’ve gotcha covered.

Listen now.

And connect with Luc at:

Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas’ Programs and Contact Info:

185: Amina Mohamed – Cameras for Girls Program and the Joy of Volunteering

Is it time for you to give back? Is your heart calling you to use your talents to help others?

Our guest, Amina Mohamed, is here to talk about her non-profit called “Cameras for Girls” and her efforts to bring the art of photography and photojournalism to young women across Africa who likely would not otherwise have had the opportunity to explore it. 

185 - Amina Mohamed - Cameras for Girls Program and the Joy of Volunteering - Luci Dumas

In 2018, she started an initiative with a mission to teach photography and business skills to marginalized females across Africa who endeavor to become journalists. She gives each of them a camera and has taught 47 young women in Uganda and 10 women online in South Africa– 65% now have full-time jobs. Truly amazing.

In addition to her volunteer efforts, Amina has spent fifteen years exploring her passion for photography while working in film and television as a producer and production manager on numerous movies and documentaries. 

Amina is here today to speak to all photographers about how to proceed when you are called to give back and make the world a better place using your photography. 

Here are some of her tips for getting started: 

  • Figure out what you are talented at
  • And which segment of society you want to help
  • Don’t worry about registering for any “official” programs
  • Look for places to volunteer (but be careful about “voluntourism”)

Listen now to hear Amina’s amazing story and find out more about tapping into your inner volunteer!

And connect with Amina at:

Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas’ Programs and Contact Info:

184: Carly Sullens – Digital Artistry and New Renaissance for Photographers

This week on The Profitable Photographer Podcast we are thinkin’ OUTSIDE THE BOX with multi-talented artist and photographer, Carly Sullens. She helps us understand how to use the new tools in the current Creative Renaissance to create digital photographic art limited only by our imaginations.

Carly is an award-winning photographer, artist, digital painter, and educator. 

With a master’s degree in art therapy, Carly studied painting, psychology, and art history in both undergraduate and grad school. She added photography to her repertoire several years ago. Eventually, she began to apply her painting training, turning photos into works of art. Her photographs have earned tons of awards, including “Image Excellence.”

Carly combines her painting and photography worlds by exploring how photographs can be deconstructed and transformed into a new reality. 

She says, “The idea behind my work and what I teach is to push the artistic potential of photography and compose a new artistic image. Whether that be through digital painting or composite.”

In addition to art for the sake of beauty and exploration, Carly is also a trained art therapist, helping students tap into their own creative genius. “Art and symbolism speak to all of us in unique ways. To be more creative is to learn to sit with imagery, yours, and others and to listen.” 

If you’re looking for a way to tap into your creative genius, Carly says:

  1. Go within
  2. Notice the patterns that show up over and over
  3. Explore your emotions

And if you’re interested in taking up photo painting:

  1. Choose the right photograph
  2. Be sure the image has good highlights and shadows
  3. Test your digital brushes
  4. How you paint the pixels is up to your artistry
  5. Focus on fundamental principles like perspective, form, and color

It’s never too late to learn a new skill and add to your artistic portfolio. You never know what potential you’ll tap into.

Listen now

AND DON’T FORGET Carly’s free guide to photo-painting at https://paintedcamera.com/5strategieschoosingphoto 

Connect with Carly:

Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas’ Programs and Contact Info:

183: Luci Dumas – Handling Objections

“Salesmanship begins when the customer says no”…today’s quote from a coffee mug by Sandra Bynton

This solo episode by me, Luci, you know…your hostess with the mostest…is all about how to deal with objections from your clients.

No matter how great you are at photography, marketing, attracting ideal clients, or planting seeds for eventual purchasing, you need to know how to handle those inevitable objections. 

How? By having a strategy (and lot of responses in your back pocket) so you will have a great session and order you are really really happy about. 

In this episode, I cover the following topics:

  1. How to“Head um off at the pass”. I.E., anticipating and solving potential issues in advance.
  2. The value of becoming the trusted advisor.
  3. What to do first when someone asks a question or makes a comment that sets you back on your heels, or risks the entire success of the project.
  4. How to use the“Feel, Felt, Found” tool that is like magic.

And I offer several responses to common questions like “can we order more later” or “do you sell digitals?”.

Don’t miss this one. It can make all the difference in the world.

And thanks a zillion for listening! Luci

Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas’ Programs and Contact Info:

182: Jeff Dachowski – Up Your Photography Sales Plan

We are amping up our photography sales this week on The Profitable Photographer podcast.

Special guest Jeff Dachowki joins us to spill his secrets to big and meaningful sales.

Jeff Dachowski - Up Your Photography Sales Plan Luci Dumas Profitable Photographer Podcast

Jeff is an award-winning Master Craftsman Photographer. He owns a highly profitable studio with his lovely wife Carolle in New Hampshire which has been on its feet since 2003.

He is also the President of the Professional Photographers of America (or PPA for short), a PPA International Approved Juror, Certification Judge, and a Vatican Approved Photographer. Not only that, he is also a super fun and great human.

What’s Jeff’s number one tip to making big sales? SELL IN PERSON! 

It gives you a better opportunity to connect and collaborate with your clients. 

And always remember that you are valuable and worth it–You are the only place your clients can get what you offer.

Jeff also says to make sure to:

  1. Pick at least one impact piece to focus the conversation on
  2. Let your client know the importance of each piece
  3. Let the client add to their own shopping cart

Photographs are the most talked about piece of furniture in our homes. Your clients WANT to buy from you! 

Listen now!

Connect with Jeff:

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174: Luci Dumas – Storytime and Discovering Your Path to Success

Hey listeners, this week I decided (on a suggestion from my editor) to tell some stories from my life that relate to my career choices, both as a photographer in business and a business/success coach and podcast hostess. 

From selling flowers to neighbors, babysitting, and writing a “Dear Luci” column for a newsletter, to hot tips on how to have an easier session with children, I am sharing some of my memories, and the clues that helped me choose a career path that was a natural fit for me.

Why? And how does this fit with the idea of being profitable?

I hope to:

  1. Inspire you to think about your own life stories to give you an understanding about your career choice and niche. 
  2. Entertain you and let you know a bit more about me. 
  3. And share some lessons I learned on my journey from a little girl having a yard sale to an entrepreneur that has had a great career for 40 years.

I would love to hear your stories…over coffee in San Diego, lunch in Nashville at the PPA Imaging Expo in January, or even a phone call or zoom meeting.

By the way…I LOVE COACHING

I want to coach you if you are ready to have a major shift in your photography business.

And I am offering 5 FREE “Business of Your Dreams” Strategy Session to people that reach out in Oct. Just email me

at luci@lucidumas.com

message me on Facebook or http://www.lucidumascoaching.com

Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas’ Programs:

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