OK, I know what you are thinking, not a Mac vs. PC debate. Don’t worry even though I am a huge Apple fan I am not going to talk about the benefits of their computers (at least not today). But ipad rather how we can all take a look at the brand they have created recently and how some principles can apply towards our own business. As I sat down today to watch the Apple special event play out over live blogs on the internet I kept thinking what an amazing job they have done with their marketing. I basically took off 1 1/2 hours from work to watch them launch a new product and give me a marketing pitch. The buzz and hype that they create with new products is just amazing and the culture they have created over the past few years has really turned the company around.

So how can we as photographers learn from what Apple has done over the past few years? I think there is a ton of things we can learn from Apple about marketing. I know the artist inside me always wants to forget about doing any type of marketing and just focus on being creative but the reality in todays competitive environment is you have to not only be an amazing photographer to do well but also have to market yourself well. It took me many, many years to finally get this but once you do have a good marketing strategy in place you get more business and then get to shoot and be creative more.

I’ll cover a few different points over the next few weeks. The first thing I have learned from watching Apple over the years is when Steve Jobs releases a new product he and his team not only think they have a good product, they believe they have the best product ever created. If you listen to his keynotes he will talk about how their products are groundbreaking, revolutionary and will change the world. With the passion that he has for his products you are usually left really believing that product is revolutionary and just have to have it. Apple rarely talks about price (although they did today with the iPad), but instead focuses on how amazing their products are. And they really do describe them as AMAZING!!! (with all caps and exclamations, they shout out to the world that their products are the best). So the question of the day for us photographers is… are the products we are offering and the images we are creating truly groundbreaking and awesome? They should be and we should strive for that in all of our work. Then once our work is there are we communicating that to our clients, is the message we send out to them telling them that we are the best photographer they can choose? Are we telling them when we first meet with them that our photography is unique, it can’t be matched by anyone out there.

Are we bold enough to fully believe in ourselves and share that true belief and passion with our clients. The buzz and branding that we create for our business really starts with us and how we speak about our work and what we do. Sharing our passion and confidence is key, so next time you are meeting with a potential client really pay attention to your words. Maybe even tape yourself if needed to listen to later, and watch the words you use to describe your business, your photography and the products you provide.

What do you think we can learn from the way Apple markets?

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