What Should Photographers Focus On In 2023?

VISIBILITY, DURATION, FREQUENCY, and CONSISTENCY

As we slowly begin to let go of the miserable business climate most small businesses, creatives, photographers…, well, just about anyone in the creative arts community have had this past 2 years, we still find ourselves facing massive uncertainty.

And creatives do not like uncertainty all that much.

A recession is a challenge, but one that can indeed be met head-on with great work and expanded channels of service. More on that later.

(The AI crap that is being positioned as 'art' will no doubt impact some of us, but I expect litigation to begin in the first quarter that may curb some of that insanity. Hopefully. I see signs of growing unrest that bring me a bit of hope. I am not referring to AI tools like Topaz, Photoshop, or Blink (Adobe), I am talking about the output from MidJourney being labeled as art... and it ain't art. it is output.)

Uncertainty drains us of our fire, our passions, and our confidence. Whether we have control or not, the daily uncertainty mounts to be a crushing load to carry on our shoulders.

I do not expect that to change in the first quarter.

But I DO expect us to get it under control and find ways to let the uncertainty push us in new, and hopefully exciting directions.

Believing that who is president, who is a billionaire – who is not, political correctness insanity, and the general degradation of civility that surrounds us will hold us back is simply NOT TRUE.

None of that shit matters. None of it. We control ourselves and our actions... or lack thereof.

We must stop blaming the world for our inaction and just get on with the doing.

Some of us are finding ways to move forward, others are catching on, and soon dealing with this post-pandemic bullshit will be as annoying as dealing with the slow-paying client, or over-inquisitive landlord.

We will get through it.

We won’t let it bury our creativity but instead, we will have it bolstered by new perspectives.

And what should photographers do?

I think that the best things to focus on are these four marketing facets: Visibility, Duration, Frequency, and Consistency.

Working in combination, these three simple ideas can help propel you through murky waters. For one, you forget the murkiness while concentrating on the projects in front of you. Getting more visibility becomes a real and distinct project.

VISIBILITY.
Are you shooting new things?
Are you learning new things?
Did you do something new last year?
If not, why not?
And also if not, why not now?

I believe there are a few places where it is still a good place to concentrate on sharing your work.

I have spoken about Behance before and will continue to be bullish on this elite work-sharing site. it is one of the best places to be if you are commercially oriented. I also believe Twitter and YouTube are vastly underrated. Especially now.

ACTION:
Open a Behance account and keep at least three projects there, rotating as new ones come along. Be active a few times a week and interact at least 15 times each week. Strategically interact, of course.

Instagram… well, Instagram is up to you. The good folks have decided to prioritize twerking teens over any sort of substance at all. There are still reasons to be there, but they are growing thin. I am going to use it to sell my books and courses, and perhaps a photo or two. But IG is now a video platform for entertainment, and that changes the focus of the visitors.

ACTION: Keep posting, but moderate the amount. Be consistent as possible, but look at perhaps doing carousels and videos to get more interest… although the interest of who is still a question.

YouTube. Making videos of still images is a possible start, then branch into short entertaining videos about any subject. We are creators. We do not have to limit ourselves to YouTube videos on using the contrast slider in Lightroom… ya know!

ACTION: Think about taking your projects, creating slide shows, and presenting them with music or voice-over. Perhaps you start shooting some behind-the-scenes while out shooting and convert them into photo stories in motion. Lots to think about there.

LinkedIn. a deep dive into the bare minimum. LinkedIn is worthless if you do not USE it to contact and market to the people you want to be in front of. As a passive posting site, it is quite disappointing – but as a research tool, it can be quite rewarding.

TikTok. I don’t care about TikTok. If you want to do that, go for it. I see relatively little for me to recommend it.

Twitter. I have come around to see what Twitter can do now that they are talking about creating more visual content (photos, videos, and long form articles). This could be a new source for getting in front of a lot of people. Cautiously optimistic.

DURATION

Get in it for the long haul.

This is not going to be an easy year ahead of us, nor ultimately an easy decade. The 20’s are always full of tumult and confusion. But we will get through them, and we will thrive IF we embrace the idea of duration.

Planning on a direct mail campaign? Great… 1-year minimum, 3-years possible.
 
‘Hit and run’ is not going to work. It is going to take a while, so dig in, bucko. And get started.

2023 will be a terrible time to start a business. (Hint, every damned year is a terrible time to start a business. Every year.) The best time to have started your photography business was 10 years ago, the second-best time is today. Waiting for the market to ‘get right’ is a fool’s folly.

There is no ‘right market’ to start a business of any kind, especially the creative arts.

I would encourage you to start as soon as possible and get into it for the long haul. Longevity is the goal. Being around long enough, with visibility, are two of the three values we are looking at, and they will be of great value.

You do not have to quit your current job, just get started on the process. You have a long way to go before you have scheduling conflicts. And when you do, you will find solutions.

FREQUENCY

There is an adage from long ago that says that a consumer has to see your ad seven times before they will be interested in purchasing what it is you are selling. I have discussed this with our clients back in the Agency days, and most of us who knew that statistic also knew there wasn’t really any scientific data to back that up, only a general understanding of how human nature reacts to the environment.

I happen to believe it to be true… well, maybe not ‘seven’, but certainly more than once or twice.

Sending out a postcard and waiting for the gigs to come in is nearly delusional it is so unrealistic. Does it ever happen? Of course, but that is the anomaly we all talk about, not the normal thing we don’t.

Truth is that clients may need to see your promo materials 7 times, 8 times, 12 times… hell, 23 times before they are motivated to pick up the phone and initiate a bid process.

Frequency can also be too dense, like some photographers’ emails touting their online courses that reach my inbox as often as three times a day. Yeah, you know who you are.

But a well-designed and interesting email, delivered once per month can be interesting for the prospective client… and while it may not move the needle for a year or so, it is also possible to get a contact as you stay top of mind.

Frequency should be borne out of a knowledge of your clientele, and how fast they go through their processes. Big agencies are slower than magazine editorial editors.
ACTION: Develop a quarterly (or bi-monthly) direct mail campaign. Send a marketing email once per month – try for the same weekday if possible. One big printed piece (or long-form video with high production values) per year.

CONSISTENCY

We all have a problem with this. I have chosen consistency as my word of the year. Inconsistencies create doubt, and doubt is not a great marketing tool. Commit to a long-term effort and schedule it into your week. Seriously – why would your marketing take a second chair to that of your clients? You are in business, and you need to stay in business.

My suggestion for engaging all four.

Visibility:
Find ways to get your work in front of possible clients that few others are doing (Behance, YouTube, Medium, Twitter, direct mail, email), and push for more unique and inventive ways to be seen. Have shows, make books, find ways of getting local and regional press.

Duration:
Start now, today, and invest time into your research as well as a few bucks into your direct mail. Waiting till your severance pay runs out is a very bad plan.

Frequency:
An email per month, direct mail 4-6 times per year, phone calls (cold calling is back “in”) when appropriate as well as staying current on social media like Behance, Linkedin, Twitter, and Instagram.

Consistency:
If these ideas are going to work, consistency is the best play to make them do so. Plan your output. Plan your frequency. Create a system for getting it done that doesn’t kill you with friction.
 
Create a plan that seems comfortable for you and those who are going to receive your work. Be less sales-oriented and more helpful. Be friendly as well as sharp on current struggles that are universal to all businesses.

This is not the time to crawl into a cave and curl up in a ball.

We have to work, struggle, and fight for our right to exist.

If not now, when?
If not us, who?

(I wrote some of this for 2021... we did not expect the Covid crap to continue for another year and change... what a terrific loss to the world.)

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I am a photographer, designer, and photo editor. You can find me at my self-named website or at Project 52 Pro System (enrollment begins January 6, 2023) where I teach commercial photography online. This is our tenth year of teaching, and it is the most unique online class you will find anywhere.

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You can find my books on Amazon, and I have taught two classes at CREATIVELIVE.