We see it everywhere, photographer’s saying that they are struggling to get clients, you can’t succeed in photography anymore, the market is saturated with photographers undercutting each other, just about giving away the digital files, and it’s killing the market.

I’ve even seen people say that it’s not possible to make a living at photography anymore.

Really?

Tell that to the thousands of photographers making over $300,000 / £200,000 a year.

But sadly, for many, this is their reality.

It Doesn’t Have To Be Your Reality

But it doesn’t have to be YOUR reality. Seriously, I mean it. I’m am tired of hearing all the naysayers.

So let’s get something straight here. You CAN make money in any market and in any economy. This is as true for photographers as it is for any industry.

People are creating prosperous photography businesses in all kinds of markets and economies.

If you have any doubts, there are plenty who have done it. And there will be more to come.

Your success is based on one thing and one thing alone – you and it’s time to take control of your destiny.

A Few Truths

Lets get a few things out of the way here.

Everybody has money for what they want, what they really want. It doesn’t matter where they are in the scheme of things – rich, blue collar, on welfare…

We’ve all come across people who say they have no money but spend a small fortune on cigarettes and alcohol, or a satellite TV subscription and how about that humongous TV. And don’t forget the expensive smart phones and their subscriptions. These things cost hundreds, yet you see school kids walking around with them, and not just in affluent areas.

People have money for what they want, what’s important to them.

Does anybody need a $4 cup of coffee? No, but that doesn’t stop Starbucks from growing and growing…

Nobody needs an iPhone that costs hundreds, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped Apple making a fortune….

The Market Is Too Saturated

And the next thing. So what if photographers are a dime a dozen in your market?

Be unique, don’t copy other photographers, show how you are different.

Focus on what is unique about you and your business. Focus on standing out, showing people why what you do is unique and valuable. Photographers grow photography businesses in recessions, photographers achieve record bookings and sales in a recession. Sal Cincotta is a great example of this. He looked at his market, and then he stood out, followed his own game plan.

Sal isn’t alone, Sue Bryce exploded her business in recent times. There are plenty of businesses in all kinds of markets and industries, including photography, that did just that in the global recession of a few years ago.

Imagine what is possible in a stable economy or good times even.

But you have got to take responsibility.

It’s no good putting a website out there and hoping clients will be drawn in. This is business, and it doesn’t work like that.

Trust me, I know. I made that mistake and consequently I spent some very hard years learning my lesson.

Being Successful Doesn’t Take Rocket Science

But the good news is the secret to being successful is not complicated.

In fact it’s pretty straightforward, and the simpler you make things the easier it gets to be successful.

It’s not rocket science,  and when you take responsibility for your photography business you can be successful. In any market. In any kind of economy.

We have never had it better, and we’ve never had so many opportunities.

You Don’t Need More Tactics

But that comes with the downside of a myriad of distractions in the form of tactics – social media, Ads, videos, content marketing, SEO – the list goes on.

We don’t need more tactics, we need a good strategy that we plug a few select tactics into.

The tactics are interchangeable. It isn’t that any one tactic is superior to any other, it’s a case of which tactic is best for you and your business. And the answer to that lies within a good strategy.

Look at what one client has achieved recently. He  took a strategy and achieved something he’d been reaching towards for a months and in just 2-½ days he got 78 leads.

He could have used any number of tactics to implement the strategy that another of our members shared, Facebook was just the medium, the tactic, but the strategy could have been transferred to a different channel.

Now imagine how powerful taking strategies to the next level could be for you and your business – a strategy that encompasses your whole business, focused on taking your business from surviving to thriving and beyond…

Tell me below in the comments – what is your business strategy? Or do you get caught up jumping from tactic to tactic?