tyson crosbie photography

Google has a job

Google’s job is to give you what you want when you want it. It would be completely contrary for them to give you organic results to anyone that hadn’t earned it in real life. The goal of becoming the #1 person for any industry is a great goal, even one I strive to obtain and maintain, but google doesn’t want to tell people you are the best choice unless you are. No company can change that without cheating.

the call

I got a call yesterday from an SEO/SEM company, “usaseopros.com” that immediately wanted to explain SEO to me. They stated that they had found me online and there were some things wrong with my keywords that they could help me with. In fact they would guarantee #1 results on all search engines, read what google says about this:

No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.

This was ironic considering that it was also the first day I had achieved first page results for a competitive keyword on google, “phoenix photographer” organically. I had lots of help in this endeavor and it wasn’t too long ago that this sales call would have probably caught my interest.

Then again I am so critical of sales that I still wouldn’t have bitten the bait.. They made two glaring mistakes right away. First was they introduced themselves under a different name than the URL they wanted me to visit. Second when I googled “usaseopros.com complaints” Check out the results coupling them with a scam.

When I called them out on this they became angry and hung up on me. I might have been a little abrassive (oops).

how I know

I am lucky because I have many friends and clients who I would consider SEO/SEM gurus. From architecture and building it right the first time fame Chuck Reynolds to the whole content/adwords/keywords package client Chase Granberry to SEO product manager for OrangeSoda based out of SLC Utah Rian Fowler. In fact now that I think about it I am surrounded by resources that I’ve learned from.  A former client Pearly Writes and Bump Interactive are active in the #phx community and specialize in organic search engine results.

So I definitely had the upper hand in this sales call, Chuck had already shared the google page on SEO with me prior and his work on my website was a huge part of me ranking in the top ten yesterday. This prior knowledge meant that as soon as the salesman stated the #1 guarantee I knew something was up.

avoid scams

If you want to get into the competitive race to the top results on google please read the article above and educate yourself about what is truely going to help your company. Remember it is googles job to serve relevant results. Once you understand that take the time to choose a company that understands the benefits and limitations of SEO/SEM. And maybe, just maybe being known in your community is more important than being #1 on google.

I don’t know how you feel when shopping for photography but I bet usually its a lot like Beau (pictured). Between the copyrights, prints, post processing and managed rights it can be hard to tell what it is exactly that you are purchasing, if anything. I certainly know it can be confusing, hell it even confuses me sometimes and I do this everyday. So I figured it was time for me to define a couple things for us and to make our lives a little easier.

It is my feeling that a lot of photographers who are still operating on the up sell method of business take advantage of their client’s ignorance. Most notably are the studios around town who offer discounted sitting fees to get you in the door and then nickle and dime you to death buying a bunch of things that don’t have any real value ie: prints, mattes, finishes etc.

You would think when you get to the commercial market things would change drastically. Commercially, you may deal with the management of rights, expiration, distribution limits, reproduction methods, permissions etc. But it all boils down to the same thing. Get you in the door as cheap as possible then make you pay by reducing the value of the photos. Really what is the value of an image you can’t use?

All of this amounts to a poor customer experience and a confusing market where the value of photography swings wildly around from trade for prints (free) to upwards of $75,000 a day.

Business of photography definitions:

The following are what I consider the most important words to understand when purchasing photography.

Image: The digital file, negative or print that is the deliverable product. This can be confusing because the same image of Beau (pictured) can be delivered in more than one way and each way counts as a separate photograph.

Copyright: AKA © That little symbol still carries a lot of power (although maybe a little misguided at the moment) and it is the greatest tool a photographer has to control the value of their product. A firm and clear understanding of what copyright means is a great asset to anyone who hopes to purchase or sell photography.

Grant of Rights: The means by which the photographer sells the images from a photo session. Defines the manner in which the images maybe used by the client.

Managed Rights: If you have ever purchased a portrait session or bought prints from a photographer you have already experienced rights management. It is most easily understood as the restriction on the clients ability to copy or distribute the photos. In the commercial world all aspects can be defined and include expiration of rights, limited geographic distribution and even number, type and size of reproduction. Sometimes the client may even be required to check in with the photographer so they can approve any reproduction before it goes to press.

Exclusive: Means the rights granted are specific to the entity that purchased them, they cannot be transferred and you cannot sell the images to others.

Watermark: Traditionally: A logo or text that is overlaid on the image to discourage unauthorized reproduction. (example: when I post to flickr) Now: I use it as a way to lower the entry level to my photography, and hope that it is a discreetly placed logo and byline. I get the continued advertising and you get an entry level price.

Byline: Is a phrase on the photograph or accompanying the photograph that states legibly: “image by tyson crosbie”. Amy Lamp has an excellent example of an accompanying byline.

Time Value

It has been my intention from the beginning to run an open and transparent photography business; to place value on my own abilities instead of on the products or tools that I sell and use. Personally I value my time as a photographer and that is what I intend to spend the majority of my time doing. I know this makes for a much better customer experience and is exactly why I have a single rate. I don’t up sell anything, I let my clients manage themselves and my contract is only one page long.

I hope to have turned the photo market a little bit on its head by not managing my clients rights to the extent that I become a policeman and by being up front about what I believe my time is worth. It is by directly respecting clients and also valuing their time and intelligence that I have built a loyal and valuable clientele.

Comments

I’d love to hear any thoughts about your past, present or future experiences with the business of photography. Did I miss anything? Is there more I can do to simplify the client experience?