The best stock photo websites that can help you attract and engage your audience.
Whether it be for advertisement campaigns, social media posts, or your next blog posts, getting the perfect pictures that align with your thoughts and mission is definitely a challenge.
In this article, we will share the best websites to get stock photos in 2021. So let’s dive right in!
Shutterstock is undeniably one of the best and largest stock photo sites having an almost infinite variety of content for the users. The website is popular for holding the greatest stock photography collection on the internet, with over 190 million files. Impressive right?
The search feature makes finding the right stock photos a whole lot easier through millions of files. You can get the perfect stock photos to use in ads, blog posts, social media, etc.
Apart from all the high-quality stock photos the website offers, Shutterstock also has different subscription options to choose from. This allows you to get the best prices for your high-definition photos.
StockPhotos.com is another popular stock photo website geared towards small to medium-sized businesses. The website is created and operated by a specialized team of experts, offering more than 6 million royalty-free images to its users.
The website offers several subscription plans to help its users get flexible rates on their stock photos. And the best part is 100,000 new high-resolution images are added monthly in the library. You are always going to get new pictures that will give you an edge over your competitors.
Pexels is a treasure for many bloggers and small businesses since the website is rich in high-quality stock photos covering a wide range of topics.
One of the features that sets Pexels apart from other stock websites is its search feature. The search feature is simple and allows you to set guidelines to help find the best stock photos as per your need.
Pexels serve as one of the ultimate choices when looking to set up an e-commerce website. Their picture library has a lot of visually appealing pictures, the majority of which are breathtaking landscape images, so they might be perfect for your e-commerce store's background.
Having a database with over 1 million free high-resolution stock photos, Unsplash is one of the leading websites to acquire stock images.
Why is Unsplash one of the greatest choices out there?
The uniqueness of the stock images Unsplash delivers to its customers makes it one of the most favorite websites. To top it off, Unsplash adds 10 royalty-free photos every 10 days. This means you can never run low on quality licensed stock photos with Unsplash.
Burst is another spectacular resource for business owners and entrepreneurs to help promote and attract customers. Shopify launched burst to help entrepreneurs in their journey to showcase their products, services, and website in a much better and effective way through the help of these stock photos.
Burst is an excellent platform for licensed photographs mostly related to the business niche. This website is a treasure for all the people selling merchandise on Amazon, eBay, Aliexpress, and other e-commerce websites. With a wide range of images available related to your niche, Burst should be your top pick.
You can’t miss iStockPhoto when talking about the best stock photo websites in 2021. With 18 years of experience in the industry, iStockPhoto is the longest-running website that delivers premium stock images to its customers.
The website offers several features for its users, which make it stand out from the competition. The iStockPhoto's intuitive search feature helps users to locate images quickly and conveniently. Moreover, the vast library of photographs, graphics, video, and audio is ideal for you if you're not technically savvy.
And the most important feature- the unique reverse search feature. This allows you to see if any of the photos you're interested in have been used by other e-commerce businesses. You don’t have to worry about copyright claims from your competitors!
With the growing competition, it’s natural that you want to stand out and attract more traffic. And there is no other way to retain your visitors than attract them with appealing and eye-catching images.
These stock photo websites are some of the best sites available to get high-resolution images from. But choosing the right one depends on your requirements, budget, and niche. Make sure to research and select the ideal website according to your need before deciding to try it out.
]]>“This business is hard work. It takes resilience, determination, grit, an ability to pick yourself up no matter how many times you get rejected, & just keep going.” -Olivia Bossert
Being patient sucks, right? I know how tough it can feel when you look around you (or look on Instagram) and see what looks like everyone else’s success. I speak to many photographers weekly expressing frustration as they feel their progress is too slow. Building a career - any career - takes a very long time. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard the words “I’ve been at it for 6 months/ one year/ two years/ three years and had few clients/ no success/ no magazine publications” etc.
I’m afraid that I’ve got to tell you that any amounts of time are NOTHING in the grand scheme of things. Even ten years isn’t actually that long when you look at the fashion photographers who have been in the industry their whole lives.
To give you some context: I first started to practice photography when I was about 15 years old. I started getting “paid clients” at around the age of 18/19 (mainly just family portraits, photos of kids, dogs…anything!). I then did my 4-year degree in Fashion Photography at Falmouth University. I took a two year break approximately from shooting after that, and now, it has been about 4 1/2 years of me truly focusing on my career as a fashion photographer.
I’m 28 now, so that’s 12/13 years of “working as a photographer” - and I’ve still got so many more things to achieve. I’m still only just scratching the surface!
Please don’t be fooled by people who tell you that they went from 0-100 clients in two months (that’s probably an exaggeration but you know what I mean). True success very rarely happens that fast. Lines like that make for good marketing because we all want to be able to fast track our success right? But a true, sustainable career can’t really be fast-tracked. It can be accelerated, of course. I teach a course called “Pitching With Confidence”, which is all about how to start pitching to brands and magazines. I truly believe that pitching is an essential skill that all photographers (and all creatives, to be honest) need to have. It really does work!
Even then, pitching isn’t a golden ticket to overnight success. Will it speed things up for you? 100% it will. But don’t think that just because you’ve sent out 100 emails in two months that your career will magically take off.
This business is hard work. It takes resilience, determination, grit, an ability to pick yourself up no matter how many times you get rejected, and just keep going.
I get asked all the time: “How do you find the motivation to keep going?”, and for a long time I didn’t have an answer.
Now I do: It’s my “why”.
If you’ve read the book “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek* then you’ll know what a “why” is, but in a nutshell - your “why” is the reason that you do what you do. Most successful brands and businesses have this sussed. My own personal “why” is this: I have a deep, rooted desire to create. I know how cheesy this will sound, but I HAVE to make things. I can’t really function if I don’t. That’s my motivation; the reason that I get up every morning, sit at my desk and think: “How will I be able to make the things I want to make?”
In order to make what I want to make (in my case - fashion images) I need to make an income. That means either having someone pay me to take the photos I want to take, or getting paid using my skills which means that I can fund the ideas that I want to make.
THAT is what motivates me and that is what keeps me coming back, day after day, week after week, month after month. That, and I just really love clothes, haha!
We see so many more “success stories” these days than we ever used. So many articles online about “the successful 18-year-old millionaire” or the 30 under 30s Forbes list, and it can make us all feel more “less than.” I have down days like that too - trust me! But I think it’s very important to know that success can be whatever you want it to be. Your version of success will not be my version of success. To me, success is simply being able to do the work I want to do and make a living doing it. It’s being able to choose the jobs I want to take on and say no to the ones that I don’t. It’s * eventually * being able to take a whole summer off to sunbathe on a beach. It’s being able to travel to places I’ve always wanted to go. To you, success may be totally different.
If you’d like to listen to more about success, this podcast episode by Alice Benham is fantastic!
Anyway, this blog post has been a bit rambly, and not quite the usual “how-to” that you might be used to, but it felt like something I wanted to say, and this was the best way that I knew how to say it.
To summarise: don’t be disheartened if you’re feeling like your career as a fashion photographer is taking a long time to come to life. Good things truly do take time, and as long as you dig deep, find what motivates you, focus on that each and every day… you’ll make it. I promise.
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Published in Awakening Vol.3 Issue.10 (Print + Digital)
Writer/ Creative Director/Photographer/Stylist: Olivia Bossert
www.oliviabossert.com @oliviabossert
HMUA: Georgina Yates
www.withgeorgia.com @withgeorgiamua
Model: Sophie @Gingersnap Models @sophie.spark
📍London, United Kingdom
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When you’ve got a brilliant idea for a new business it can be pretty tempting to jump straight in without any planning. But creating a business plan will help you to validate that your idea is going to work long term. It’s essential to check there’s a demand for your products or services, and how much people are willing to pay.
You’ll also do some competitor research and find out who you’re up against and how you’re going to do better. Overall a business plan will also provide you with a roadmap for how your business will develop in the first few years.
Before you launch your business you need to answer some hard questions about how your finances are going to work. How much money is it going to take to launch your business? What profits are you going to make, and how long will it take before you start to see profits? Do you need to look at business loans or finding investors? Will you start the business in your spare time?
You need to consider the other costs of your business; whether you’ll need to rent office space or if you can operate at home to start with, and whether you need to hire staff. Answer these questions and come up with a plan for your finances so you know the budgets and timeframes that you have to stick to.
A solid brand is the foundation of your new business. To start branding your business, you need a unique brand name, brand values, and purpose that will help you to establish your identity. When you’re coming up with a brand name you need to check that it’s not already in use and that you can register a relevant domain name. Your branding also includes colors, fonts, website styling, packaging, and promotional materials.
You’ll need to formally register your business, apply for any licenses, and get the relevant business insurance.
Marketing planning is easily overlooked when launching a business but ultimately marketing is going to make or break your business. You need a comprehensive marketing strategy to draw customers or clients to your business.
Research your target market - find out everything about them so that you can come up with a plan to draw them into your business. Choose appropriate marketing channels - if your business is purely online focus on channels such as paid advertising, social media, email, and content marketing. Offline marketing such as flyers, posters, trade shows, or events are key to local or offline businesses.
It’s pretty impossible to launch a business these days without a website. Even if your business isn’t based online, having a website is one of the best ways for potential customers to discover you.
Consider what kind of website you need. To launch an ecommerce website it’s best to use a content management system that's designed for online stores. Likewise, a website that exists purely to market your business could be built using a straightforward website builder such as WordPress. Although you can also add ecommerce functionality to a WordPress site using the WooCommerce plugin.
You’ll also need to make your website optimized for search engines — write SEO-focused copy including keywords relevant to your business, make sure your site is easy to use, and it’s mobile-friendly. Setting up a blog for your website and consistently publishing content can also help with organic traffic.
Not only is social media a great marketing channel but it helps to extend your online presence and validate your business. You don’t need to set up accounts for every social media platform, but pick the key ones that your target customers are using.
It’s important to avoid getting your personal finances tangled up with your business. Start by opening a separate business bank account. And put processes in place for financial processes such as expenses, wages, and taxes - it’s a lot easier to stay on top of your accounting from the start. Accounting software is usually a good way for new businesses to manage their finances.
Every business is going to have certain logistics - whether it’s suppliers, distributors, packaging products, shipping or IT infrastructure. Ensure that everything is set up and in place to run smoothly from the word go.
They might be tedious to write, but terms and conditions and company policies are absolutely essential to launching a new business. You’ll need policies that cover returns, refunds, warranties, or guarantees so that you can give a consistent response when any issues arise. Terms and conditions are an important part of protecting your business.
There are a lot of things you’ll be able to do manually while your business is small. But you should research and set up software and apps that will help you to operate more efficiently so that you can focus on growing your business.
One of the best ways to ensure your business is successful is to consistently review and analyze your progress and feed this back into improving it. Set up goals and targets that you can track, and listen to customer feedback for insights that you might not be able to pick up on yourself.
This checklist covers all the basics that you’ll need to launch a new business. While it’s important to take time to plan your launch, and all of these steps are important, not everything is going to be perfect straight away. Don’t spend too long on the setup and put off launching your business, it’s essential to get things up and running as soon as you can.
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Written by: Kayleigh Alexandra from Writer Zone
"Micro Startups is your online destination for everything startup. We’re dedicated to spreading the word about hard-working solopreneurs and SMEs making waves in the business world. Visit the blog for your latest dose of startup, entrepreneur, and charity insights from top experts around the globe @getmicrostarted."
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]]>Quitting your day job to follow your passion. Turning your hobby from something you do in the basement at weekends into an internationally known household name. You’ll never have to worry about waking up on a Monday or being short of cash again.
What are the steps in between though? Whatever your passion is, it’s only a potential goldmine if you do things properly. Below we’ve listed some essential steps to give your hobby the best chance of developing into a business you’ll find success with.
Nobody ever started a brand by getting ahead of themselves.
Small brands regularly take off because they understand their limitations and the breadth of their appeal. Your little craft brand may well be poised to have an active audience who anticipate your every release, but it won’t appeal to everyone.
The key to a successful side hustle, whether expanding on a hobby or trying your hand as an entrepreneur, is to make sure it fits within your current schedule. Trying to do two 9-5 jobs in one day is impossible and will leave you drained and resenting your hobby. You never know how your life is going to change outside of your hobby. If you’re going to give up on one job, it’s not going to be the one with guaranteed income.
Don’t try and pivot to concepts you don’t understand either. If content creation and social media aren’t your strong points it’s best not to attach your brand to reams of sub-par output and instead focus on establishing the core of your brand and the quality of your services first.
One of your first steps as a new business should be making sure people can find you.
Your website is the sun your business revolves around. It’s where virtual customers browse and purchase products. Where they book sessions for your classes. Where they learn about your story and get invested in your brand. Without a website the average person has no way of knowing your business exists. You can’t just stick your number in the phone book and wait for business to roll in, the world has moved on. Having a website turns your home or your favorite coffee shop into an operations office.
The quality of your website and the perception it puts across to new visitors about your website is essential. You want something that reflects your brand and its values. Even if that’s minimalist and small-time, it doesn’t mean you should skimp on the quality. Audiences have become accustomed to a certain standard of service and will move onto a competitor if you don’t match their expectations.
What makes you unique?
History’s greatest business ideas have all had very simple unique selling points. When transforming your hobby into a brand, think about what separates you from potential competitors and what unique attribute will attract customers.
One way to succinctly define your USP is by imagining the kind of customer you want to attract. Consider thinking about their...
The majority of artistic hobbies that succeed as businesses do so because they are run by people who love what they do. This passion, combined with a well defined USP, can help everything fall into place and set your brand apart in a crowded market
This section could be titled “Take your time”. There’s no need to rush anything, it’ll only give you more work cleaning up after yourself. Improper planning is one of the main reasons small businesses fail. Take a step away from practicing your hobby and invest some time into research.
Through researching your competition you’ll pick up what they’re doing well, what gap they’re not filling that you could exploit and how they’re presenting themselves. Look into the market leaders and brands at the level you are, a full scope allows you to take ideas from both ends. Look into the customer base, who are your targets and what are their habits?
You’ll find things you would never have thought about otherwise, like do you need to start testing envelope types or invest in new equipment? Research doesn’t just save time and money, it helps define your ideas, company and brand.
You may not like Facebook, but just like with a website, if your business isn’t socially active it doesn’t exist to many people. A strong, active portion of your audience will either want to learn more about you or connect with you through social media.
Proper social media practice isn’t just about making accounts on as many platforms as possible, you need to find the platform that fits your brand and audience. Certain audiences will react differently based on the conventions of the platform.
Small businesses often neglect or get frustrated with social media because they don’t have a defined social strategy. Social media is the perfect space to develop your brand identity, letting your personal and business personality shine and highlight what you do best. So much of social media is visual, so use it to build that element of your brand.
Don’t try and turn your hobby into a brand it can’t be. If you’re trying to sell your art, emulating the practices of a tech giant probably isn’t the best strategy. The success of other small businesses can often lead entrepreneurs to think that’s the only way things can be done. The truth is there are many ways to do things, you just need to know what works for you.
Try and work within a strict budget. Chances are, you’ll go over it, but it’ll help keep your research and idea sessions grounded. We may be talking about turning hobbies into dreams here, but don’t live in a fantasy. Don’t plan to expand into brick and mortar before you’ve made your first sale.
The opportunity to grow your brand after some initial success may seem tempting, but sit on that initial success for a bit and make yourself secure while further defining what makes your brand special.
Transforming a hobby into a brand isn’t quite the same as starting a new business. You’re bringing something you love and have years of experience in with you on this new venture, but it’s important to play things smart. Take advantage of platforms to build your brand the way you want to and think it’ll appeal to people. Most importantly, make sure you don’t lose the love for it.
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Written by: Kayleigh Alexandra from Writer Zone
"Micro Startups is your online destination for everything startup. We’re dedicated to spreading the word about hard-working solopreneurs and SMEs making waves in the business world. Visit the blog for your latest dose of startup, entrepreneur, and charity insights from top experts around the globe @getmicrostarted."
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Don’t bother shaping your brand around things that don’t bring you joy. Personally, I find zen in the personal interactions that extract expressions from my clients. If this sounds like you, then there is a space in portrait photography that you can occupy. If you could care less about makeup and the beauty of branding, then why are you expecting to succeed at commercial photography? Clients can innately sense your insecurity and uncertainty. If you force yourself into opportunities where you hold no joy, your work will come across as inauthentic. The majority of your audience won’t know why they don’t connect with your work but it will lack the passionate undercurrent that sets the great apart from the good.
Relatedly, think about the circles you navigate outside of your photography that can fuse your passion for your work. When I was in college, I was in a rock band. I had long hair and wore jeans tighter than would likely be advised by any medical professional. Being in a band put me in a lot of venues and, having owned cameras since before I could legally drive, it was natural that I inevitably managed to capture countless images of bands who took the stage before or after me. Because I had credibility in that space and could capture the spirit behind the music, I wasn’t afraid to show people some stuff they ended up liking. I got paid (not much), got a bit of exposure and most importantly gained some confidence in my worth in the field.
There is nothing more important for a photographer than to know how to tell a good story with zero words. Be it a single image or an editorial set--from creative direction to post-production--you must show the same care to every small part of your images as you do for the big, bold parts. As the viewer’s eyes cross from one side to the other, from the top to bottom of your work, they will treat each component as a different chapter in a book. You can’t decide what story they extract, but you can be intentional about every element in order to help them get closer to the point you are trying to make. You will have a hard time in the beginning of your career capturing a story you don’t understand. Start with what you know.
Your brand will be shaped by your experience and requires constant vigilance and cultivation. My work, and my style in the studio is rooted in strength. I love making my subjects feel and look strong. I did not just randomly choose this point of view. Though it takes a bit of a back seat these days, a large portion of my earlier life was spent in the gym. I coached lifters and passed about as much time weight training as I did studying when I was at university. I think it is safe to say I preferred the gym to the classroom for much of my youth. Now, fitness is a huge part of my business as a commercial photographer. I know this world because it was my world.
I am fiercely protective of my persona and what my work evokes. I am obsessed with making sure that every image of myself or my subjects is aligned with strength as a brand. Even for images that don’t fit the conscious mold of “strong”, there is an undercurrent of strength running through all of my work. If you want to work for a huge athletic brand, look at what they are pushing out and make something in your style that is on-brand for them. If you want to work for a sleek and sexy liquor brand, maybe don’t fill your portfolio with highly stylized photos of golden retriever puppies and holiday shoots of families. This might require, if there are super disparate types of work you enjoy making, some creative compartmentalizing of your brand and your work.
Much like your mother used to say, you will be judged by the people you hang out with. Why bother being attached to potential collaborators whose work you don’t respect?
Nobody can succeed alone. Your team will become an extension of your personal brand. The best teams are built on the shared hustle and values. Put together a team with compatible mindsets and aspirations and let that attitude flow through your production. Working with a team allows for each member to focus on their specific task, and with that singular (but cohesive) focus comes excellent execution and portfolio content that will impress your prospects and help turn casual followers into partners and clients.
Next time you’re browsing social media, don’t waste time comparing your work to others. Stay poised for your next collaboration. Think about who can help you achieve your goals and how you can help them achieve theirs. Be a giver and a mentor, not just a taker.
In the Instagram age, a lot of us are spending time creating images and sitting in front of our MacBooks pumping out “bangers”--that’s all well and good, but in order create the legitimacy in our industry that we claim we want so desperately, we need to show other industries why they need us.
They do need us. We see it multiple times a day in the subpar marketing content flooding our environment. If you don’t know how to build computers, you get yourself to the Apple store. If you can’t cook (or… let’s be real… just don’t feel like cooking), you go to a restaurant. Businesses can’t always have high-end image makers on their roster, so they hire us. If they’re going to hire someone, why shouldn’t it be you? You can’t help others do their best work if you can’t prove that you can do these things yourself. No one will trust you to market them if you clearly can’t market you.
I truly believe there is a piece of this pie out there for everyone who is willing to pay attention to their self-image and style with the same meticulous detail they apply to their work. Discover what you love, let it permeate your style, and only let people into your professional life who won’t let you forget who you are.
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Written by: Cameron Story @cameronstory.photo
Photographer: Cameron Story @cameronstory.photo
Stylist: Charity Littrell @sweetbettycheeks
HMUA: Celeste Antoine @celeste.antoine
📍Los Angeles, California
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You’ve probably heard the term Iconic thrown around quite a bit over your day to day life, but who, as a creator has become an icon while pursuing their creative passion to the fullest? From starting with nothing and no platform to building an incredible empire for themselves, who has actually made it happen?
The answer is thousands if not more, of people who have shaped their industries just by being themselves and wanting to create something their way. While we can’t go through every one of them we would like to talk about one creator who truly stood out to us over the past few years.
Danielle has always had a large part of my heart. Being someone who actually read her original blog, this was before her Instagram come up, she was always reporting on styles she loved and new trends she found in the industry. Watching someone start dabbling in blogging quickly adjusting to turn the side hobby into a career is incredibly challenging as it imposes a lot of self-doubt in the early stages.
Her smartest decision was when she jumped onto Instagram. She was on as soon as it showed up and didn’t treat it like everyone else did. While everyone was filtering selfies and posting random photos, Danielle treated it as a business. Because of this decision, her posts acted more like a daily outfit inspiration and blog rather than a collection of life images. She made it work and eventually that paid off, being an early adopter of the platform gave her a boost in her niche and at this point, her blog was returning a profit from ad space and sponsored blog posts.
The real reason Danielle became iconic was not that she was fast at adopting new platforms nor was it that she had millions of followers. It was her business savvy attitude and decisions. She had gone from blogger to business mogul within a few years. She had created one of the most sought after brands in the Influencer generation, crafting the brand “Second Skin” overalls and furthermore developing her own swim line. It’s one thing to import tee shirts and put a label on them but Danielle goes behind the scenes on everything she does, allowing her followers to be there every step of the way, from concept to design to material choice, this was not a simple fast-fashion business, these were designed by her from the ground up. Her designs garnered so much attention it seemed that every “it girl” on social media was obsessing over them and she was selling out faster than she could produce.
This led her to the expansion of her teams and realizing there was another group of people who needed her help. Influencers needed project management software and as she had already been through it all, she knew how she was going to make it better than anyone else.
Enter MOE, Danielle’s brainchild software company that ended up pulling in over a million dollars in funding and launched at a breakneck pace. She wanted something done and she wanted it done right, so she became a tech startup owner and she now has a full team working on MOE to become the best project management software for Influencers.
It takes a lot to become an ICON or to be ICONIC but without a shadow of a doubt, I would give this powerhouse the title any day of the week. Changing the way people perceive influencers and breaking into a male-dominated tech industry to flex her business prowess. It’s no wonder she got slotted herself a spot in Forbes 30 under 30.
Creator & Designer @daniellebernstein
Founder & Designer @shopweworewhat
Founder & CEO @moeassist
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An oversaturated market doesn’t mean it’s impossible to stand out, nor should you give up on your ambitions just because there are other people in the space. Maybe you’ve just decided you want to pursue a passion of yours and take it from hobby to your full-on hustle.
Here is our Editors breakdown of how these three things helped her break into an oversaturated market, make her mark and be seen by thousands.
Being original doesn’t mean you have to create brand new concepts nobody has ever done before, it means being yourself and creating your work the way you want it, not because someone else told you to be like everyone else.
I find documenting and being personal with your work pushes people to get to know you more and relate to your work, once they see a bit of what goes on with your work and how you operate it gives them something to relate to and share with their friends. This helps you grow effectively.
Fighting against the flow of mainstream habits and trends is not always easy. It’s tempting to try and copy what everyone else is doing because they may have seemingly found success with their methods or niches.
You want to be fresh, you want to be remembered for what you do. To be remembered and to stand out from the rest you need to use the one thing you’ve always had but forgotten you had it. You need your originality.
If you are not already familiar with this phrase get used to it and if you think everyone is your competition, take that mindset and just kick it to the curb. Connecting with like-minded creators and building a relationship will be your biggest asset in your career.
Growing alongside other creatives in similar and different fields opens opportunities that you may not have had the chance to take. During my time being in so many different groups and meetups for creatives I’ve seen this happen first hand. I’ve been able to see people get new freelance work, find business partners and start new projects, all because of the motivation and knowledge they have pulled from the meetups.
The more you work with those around you and build a community of like-minded, crazy, and fun people just like you, the more opportunities you have. This allows you to meet people you would have never met before and helps you grow faster than you could on your own. You will be able to collaborate and share with each other's audiences to further your growth.
Not the movie with Matt Damon, but the term. Having grit and stamina is what helps you win, being a creative or making your way in the world isn’t done overnight. It takes months if not years of hard work and dedication to get yourself to a point where you feel it’s worth talking about to others. Sometimes it’s not worth talking about it at all because your peers and the general public might not have anything nice to say. A majority of the time, you need to have grit and stamina because you are in it for the long haul. Remember you don’t have other people to rely on, you just have yourself. Being a one-person army, being the Creative Director, Marketer, Salesperson and Customer Support agent is really hard. I’m not going to pretend it isn’t hard, so just be prepared, get organized and work very very hard.
If you take the time to do all of these steps, you’ll find yourself seeing opportunities present themselves, and you’ll slowly get better at creating unique content. You will be offered gigs out of the ordinary and eventually, you’ll be asked how you got to where you are now. And when it comes down to that conversation you’ll tell them the same things we told you.
All the best,
Written by: Mathieu Roy @themattroy
Head of Marketing at Creators Magazine
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Content Creators are responsible for helping you contribute information to digital media. They target a specific audience through various forms of content such as; blogs, managing /updating websites and writing articles and assist you in creating content in a timely and “consistent manner.
We recently asked our readers what the biggest challenges they face as Creatives and content creation and creative burnout were at the top of their list.
First let’s start with why it’s important to be consistent, no matter what platform you are on. Creating content daily, weekly or monthly is important. It allows you to quickly build an engaged following by promising your audience that they will receive your content at certain times. This keeps your audience engaged and always looking forward to your new posts and updates. Building a relationship with your audience through updates and posts also increases shareability and trust. If your audience trusts that you consistently put out great content they are more likely to share it with friends.
Okay, I understand it’s important but I don’t think I can create content every (day/week/month).
I’m glad you thought so. The term content can mean many things. This does not mean you have to push out a photoshoot or cinema level video once a day. It just means updating people with what you are doing and engaging with them any way you can. Creating content consistently can be as easy as doing an Instagram story every day or sending a tweet. The more you can do, the faster you can build your following and create that brand awareness.
We use the pillar method to be able to produce large amounts of content every day. We start with one major Video or Blog we have created that is long but has a lot of valuable information. We then chop up all the good parts of the video and blog and spread it through our social platforms each day. We generally get 8-10 posts/stories from one long piece of content, allowing us to seemingly have a never-ending supply.
This sounds cool and all but sometimes we too burnout. Creative burnout is a problem that affects most of us at some point in our creative career. Here are a few tips to help you when it hits.
Consider a distraction like switching tasks. It may mean working on your personnel content for a while to change focus. Walking your dog, grabbing a coffee with a friend or taking a nap are all excellent ways to make you a more productive creative and is good for your mental health.
Collaborate with some like-minded creatives. Having friends/colleagues who have gone through similar issues will have the knowledge/wisdom to help you.
Another suggestion is to keep to a schedule like a 9-to-5. I know that’s hard for a Content Creator because most of you work from home. However, clearly defining your work time allows you the evening to rejuvenate. That may mean binge-watching a Netflix series, reading a great book or going for a workout.
No matter what challenges you face, being a successful content creator starts with the habits you form from being consistent with content creation to overcoming burnout. All of this will enable you to create some awesome content for your target audience.
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Written by: Mathieu Roy
Head of Marketing at Creators Magazine
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Many of us find ourselves daydreaming of projects or ideas we have that to most may seem crazy but to us, it is a burst of excitement. You might be wanting to start a youtube channel, a podcast or even a new idea for a photoshoot. However, sometimes that burst of excitement is often short-lived due to some self-doubt or just not having enough time to make it happen.
The common idea of “this has been done before” or “why would anybody want to look at what I am doing” is what kills so many potentially amazing ideas and opportunities. Once you realize that people are after the individuality of you as a creative rather than just you creating a product that people want things to change. The internal discussion changes from why would I do this so how can I do this and make it happen.
This is what you need to do to turn your idea and goal into a reality. You will need to Plan, Action and a Follow-Through, but most of all you will need grit.
Many entrepreneurs of successful businesses owe their company’s original success to their grit. Their ability to hold out in the long term, dealing with struggles and obstacles as they came but never giving up on their ambitions. This may seem extreme for those who are reading just looking to start a social media channel or more but even a little bit of grit goes a long way. Something to think about.
When it comes to New Year's resolutions roughly 8% of people who think of them actually meet their goals. Now it’s not new years and I’m not asking you to write resolutions, however, the most interesting fact about New Year's resolutions is that they are exponentially more effective when written down!
This means that actually having your plan written down and visualized is an easy and effective set to actually get your project/idea that much closer to fruition. I suggest researching your project and list everything you need to have done to make it happen. Do you need equipment, models, actors, settings, rentals, set up channels, etc… All of this needs to be written down so you can start crossing these things off of the plan. It gives you micro-goals to hit to make the big one happen.
Pretty simple. Action makes things happen. I know it’s crazy. This is simple but at the same time starting to make this happen can be hard simply because of anxiety and pressure from everybody else. You just need to know you are doing this for you and nobody else. There’s no simple way around this step other than just doing it.
Goals, projects, and ideas can take a long time to happen and become something you are proud of but it is all worth it in the end. Our project took 8 months before it started to pay off and become something that other people recognized.
Be sure to keep yourself in check and always at the end of every day make sure you take one step forward closer to your goal. That could be as simple as posting an image on Instagram, writing a blog, or just updating your followers on social media.
Rome was not built in a day and there is no rush to get to your finish line so quickly. Enjoy the journey no matter how tough things get!
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Written by: Mathieu Roy
Head of Marketing at Creators Magazine
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As creatives, our strongest ability is our creativity and unique personality. Often times we like to rely on our creative skill and hope it does the job of finding new clients and growing our network for us. If you are the type of person who can’t go and meet new people unless you have prepared in front of the mirror several times, this guide may give you some relief.
Once you have decided that going to your next event will be in your best interest, you need to know how you are going to start conversations and have ideas worth sharing and talking about. It sounds intimidating but honestly, as long as you present yourself as the expert on your subject (whatever that may be) you will be drawing in others around the event who will be engaged with your conversation.
Here is what you will want to have prepared. A topic you think would benefit the people you converse with and an idea to pitch to your audience. All while remaining genuine and actually being interested in their work and asking questions.
For example, if I were a photographer looking to get into the fashion industry and I wanted to get more clients or referrals, I would talk to every designer I could find a fashion show or fashion-related event and chat with them about having outstanding editorials and product shots would increase their conversions on their custom designs. Then if they are interested I can let them know I actually have a great idea for an editorial I have been dying to try out and leave them with my business card if they were interested in getting in touch or learning more.
Now that you have a general gameplan for the event, you’ll need to find one to actually attend. Doing this is as easy as pulling out your phone and opening up your browser. We don’t make excuses like, “there are no events in my area” around here. Here is a list of the best places to score yourself new clients, friends or both.
- Meetup.com is a website built for finding like-minded people hosting events.
-Facebook has a tab that allows you to see all the events in your area and search them within a certain radius of where you are or where you are going to be.
- Local Chamber of Commerce, If you are looking for more business clients this would be the place to be.
There are so many other ways to find events but doing a little bit of research online goes a long way. We suggest you plan out all the events happening in your area for the next few months and get them penciled into your calendar so you don’t forget!
Finally, after you make it to the event and begin meeting everyone don’t forget to really be a genuine person, it’s easy to tell when someone is just in it to get something out of the other person. Make sure everyone enjoys themselves and ask questions, give opinions and offer ideas when occupying someone’s time at these events. Always touch base if people were kind enough to exchange business cards unless they do it first, then let them know how much you appreciated their time.
Happy Networking, Superstar.
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Written by: Mathieu Roy
Head of Marketing at Creators Magazine
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Knowing your numbers and value you bring to a company is huge for an Influencer. Many content creators don’t know the real value of what they bring to the table and at the same time don’t understand why their earnings, simply don’t measure up to the competition. With any freelance business, if you don’t know your worth or how to convey it to a client, you will likely be walked over. Here’s how you can differentiate yourself from your competitors and start closing more deals with big brands names.
Know that these terms are the most important.
Reach: Find out in your insights on whichever platform you use, what your reach is. Reach is how many different people see your content on a weekly/monthly basis.
Impressions: How many times is your content seen during a specific time frame. This is usually your biggest number.
Views per Video or Story: These will vary depending on what platform you are on but a view is someone actually taking the time to watch your content.
Demographics: Companies are very interested in your audience demographics (M/F/O) and age range. This will let them know that their products are a great match for those who follow you.
A media kit is not only your first impression but also a way to show your statistics and audience information to these companies.
To build the perfect media kit you’ll need to do the following:
Give a short description of yourself, perhaps a paragraph or two explaining your credentials. Maybe you have been in the industry for a while or perhaps you have built a substantial following through a media platform. Be sure to let them know a bit about you and then go into the numbers.
Media kit’s don’t have to belong and boring. Companies like to see a one page kit for Influencers. Have your numbers clear and show your Reach, Impressions and Engagement rate as those are your biggest assets. Once you have the big three down, you can have a breakdown of the companies you have worked with as well as your audience demographics. Be very specific with your audience demographics and have your top countries of followers listed as well. Another incredibly important thing to have within your media kit is your service list. Your service list will show companies how many different options they have with you to get maximum exposure and be sure to include an all in one package! Having 3-5 services is a great starting point.
The reason for having the specifics of your demographics is because the businesses you want to work with know their customer base and they need you to be a solid match. For example, if your audience is localized within your city, province/state or country and you are working with a business in your city, they will quickly see why you are a good match for their business.
Sending your first email is hard, but we will try to simplify the process for you.
Start with your introduction and show the numbers you are most proud of right away. Follow through with an idea you would like to propose to the company that would be mutually beneficial. Ask them if they would be interested in sponsoring a post/video/blog with you. If they respond, awesome! Begin negotiating a solid price point, or product that you would like to have for the post.
Quick and easy, no need to overthink.
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Written by: Mathieu Roy
Head of Marketing at Creators Magazine
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]]>You need to start now or as soon as you can with whatever idea you have or want to pursue. Time doesn't come back to you, so if you decide to sit at home and watch tv or sleep all day. You will never get that opportunity back. I would suggest you start shifting your mindset to start working on something, be productive one way or another instead of burning your entire day.
Even if it is a small step forward try and get something done your future self might thank you for. That could be anything from exercise to building a business.
Stop trying to impress everybody.
Don't go out of your way to put yourself in debt or break your bank just to make yourself look good in front of people you don't know or care about. Buying expensive things when you are not in a position to afford them causes you massive problems later on when you want to move forward in life.
I know too many people buying 700$ apple watches when their net worth is less than six times the cost of the watch they just bought. I have friends who have asked for advice because they have a minimum wage job but have managed to lease a car that costs them 80% of their monthly income.
When you do things like this you limit your future self , all the money you have been spending on expensive material goods like cars, clothes and technology stops you from being able to move out of your parent's home, not be able to travel with friends who were smart with money, or allow you to invest in a hobby or business are trying to grow.
Stop giving yourself excuses.
Giving yourself all of the "get out of jail" cards feels great at the time but does not help you move forward with goals or ambitions. Sometimes you need to be hard on yourself and take responsibility for not having certain things accomplished. I'm not saying be hard on yourself all the time but stop making excuses for why you can't do something over and over again. Really try to go against yourself and ask is this really something I should make an excuse for, is this even a valid excuse? 80% of the time it's not a valid excuse.
]]>The Shiny Object |Syndrome (SOS). This is defined as a disease of distraction. It is a condition that primarily affects entrepreneurs where they have a tendency to chase something new rather than staying focussed on what they are doing. One of the common effects of SOS is a distraction. Here are some ideas I have found helpful in dealing with distractions:
Having a list of ideas/goals written down is a good way to stay focused.
The 'list' as I call it, forces you to visualize what needs to be done and stay on track to completing it. Are you a person who jumps from idea to idea trying to finish many things at the same time? At one point I had five project ideas I wanted to finish within a few months. One of these projects was the Creators Magazine, the others were variations of youtube channels, podcasts, and an online store. Thirty days later and guess how many projects I accomplished? None! That's where prioritizing your projects of importance comes into play. This will help you stay focussed and avoid wasting time by getting distracted. What has also worked for me is to create a daily schedule. This is especially true if you work from home. Having a routine will help you stay focussed and not waste time trying to figure out what to do next. Finally, take time for yourself. I know it's a cliché but taking time to refuel will help you stay focused. Like many of us, when we start to feel tired, we become easily distracted and often reach for our phones to check social media and deal with other things going on. Being able to go for a mid-morning run, take your dog for a walk or grabbing a quick coffee are ways to give your brain a quick break. The benefits will allow you to reenergize and be a more productive Creative.
Be sure to let us know the next project you are working on and remember to stay focussed and avoid those shiny objects.
**(Shiny object syndrome, SOS is fictional and is meant to be a light-hearted spin on being easily distracted.)
Social media influencers are the talk of the town. You can work with them at affordable prices and they give you a much wider reach. Instead of conventional marketing channels like newspapers and TV advertisements, social media influencers use Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. to promote your service/product.
Here are a few benefits of working with social media influencers.
Professional social media influencers are committed to their jobs. They work just like corporate professionals and stay true to their promise. You can easily sign a contract with these professional social media influencers for a particular post or a string of posts.
The most popular social media influencers usually have an entire team of digital marketing experts working with them. They also have their own photographers and content developers to highlight the best aspects of the product.
The affordable pricing structure of the social media influencers helps organizations get an excellent return on investment with them. This pricing structure helps the organization save a lot of money while increasing their reach simultaneously. Most professional social media influencers run their Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channels to spread the word of your product on different platforms.
Unlike the conventional means of advertising, the social media influencers will help you reach your target audience. The focused reach allows your organization to drive up conversions by a significant amount. These influencers usually charge per post, per story or string of posts.
The top social media influencers usually have a huge fan following. They have a lot of fans and fan pages on multiple social media platforms. This kind of reach helps them create a ripple effect. The fan pages of these influencers share the post for free. Therefore, you can further increase the reach of your ad campaign without spending a single penny.
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Having a creative block is something that happens to all artists at one time or another. Whether you are a writer, illustrator, mixed media artist or photographer, most Creatives at some point in their careers have encountered this. One way to help with this block is to connect with other Creators by seeking out or joining a local creative community.
As a photographer, you may be starting out and need to learn the basics of lighting but the youtube tutorial just isn’t cutting it for you. Perhaps you want to learn new ways to improve your workflow or try a different editing style. Maybe you are a model and want to learn how to expand your poses or you want to know how to secure more contracts and increase your marketing skills.
Whatever you decide to label yourself, beginner or professional, being part of a creative community may help you to tap into other Creator experiences’ and learn from them.
When we started our creative community, we had local meetups weekly and noticed how quickly we all started to learn from one another and grow. Within a year, many of the people in our group started to find their own unique style and help one another out with all aspects of their creative endeavors. Their marketing, technical skill and style all grew twice as fast as those who were not in the group and trying to develop themselves on their own.
But perhaps you do not have that creative community around you, what do you do then?
You start building your own community of Creatives.
A popular tool to develop your community is either Facebook Groups or the meetup app. The apps allow you to invite all your friends that you know in your area to join the group. After you start getting a few people in, meet up regularly and always ask people to invite their friends.
The more friends you bring in with similar interests the quicker it will grow. Eventually, you will have more than enough people to start doing meetups, drop-ins and perhaps start organizing workshops with professionals teaching the newer creatives.
We began building our Creative community the same way in Victoria, BC and we were able to grow to over 800+ people within a very short time just through word of mouth and social media. One thing we learned was that the value of the group is correlated by the time and effort you give to the group.
Moderating, engaging and providing your own content helps foster a healthy community that everyone benefits from.
For example, if you were to start building your own community of like-minded individuals you could start building traction by uploading content that you have produced yourself to the group, this encourages growth and community participation.
When people start to feel like they are apart of a community and feel safe sharing their own content, they will organically invite other people into the group you have developed, simply because they feel another person would enjoy it just as much as they do.
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Getting paid as a model is really challenging. Like most creatives, you are a freelancer on the search for your next deal with a brand or business to propel you further.
Is it hard? Yes.
Is it worth it? Also Yes.
We have spoken to many models, some who have started small and worked with local boutiques all the way up to models who are working with FENTY, jet setting around the world obtaining deal after deal.
There are so many different ways to start turning your business into a solid stream of income. One of the most common methods would be finding a modeling agency, to work with and start finding jobs for you. This is where things get tricky.
Once you sign with an agency, it can be hard getting out. You will want to make sure you do your homework on each agency in your city or apply to ones online but be sure to do your research. The best method of knowing if an agency is a great match is speaking with the girls and guys who are already signed and see how the agency is treating them. Is their agent finding them jobs? Are they responding to their emails? Has it been several months between jobs? These are things you need to know. Most models in the agency will let you know right away if an agency is good or not.
Of course, this isn’t the only way. The second way is by doing all the heavy lifting yourself, this way it’s more reliable income. You get 100% of what you worked for and it all depends on you.
The best advice we have received from models who have started on their own and built a concrete business was finding a niche and concentrating on doing work with businesses within their niche.
Once you find your niche such as; lifestyle, fitness, or high fashion, then you can begin building your portfolio. When starting out with Time for Print (TFP) work, other developing photographers will help you learn the ropes of flow posing and learning how to be photographed. Once you have a great foundation of shots in your portfolio you can begin reaching out to local brands and businesses. Speak to as many marketing teams as you can that work within your niche and start connecting. Connections will be the way to grow. In order to achieve this, you need to go in person and speak to businesses within your niche and get your name out there. Having a website built or developing your own, will make you look professional and give a place for people to view your work and contact you.
Familiarize yourself with local professional photographers and make the effort to introduce yourself. Once you have established a relationship with a photographer, then you can collaborate with businesses to create a more in depth portfolio.
Working hard at building your reputation and meeting a lot of industry professionals will help you graduate from beginner to pro model quickly.
When it comes to businesses, the goal is to connect with marketing managers, owners and company photographers who are decision makers for upcoming campaigns. This will give you the opportunity to get your foot in the door to become their go-to model.
Here is an example of scoring a gig.
-Your rate is $125/hour.
-You negotiate a deal with several companies for new shots every month for their social media (4-5 hours of shooting each).
-You work with 4 businesses per month (one per week).
-You are looking at roughly $2500 per month. (This may not be full-time income but for some, it’s a great start and you can always add more businesses per month to grow your income. )
Hard but not impossible. You made it this far didn’t you? What’s stopping you from going one step further?
Photo Credits -
Photographer: Mauro Matalone @_mauro_matalone
Model: Anica M @anica_myburgh, Agency: @bossmodelsa
HMUA: Megan Koriat @megkoriat, Gosia @gosiamakeup
Stylist: Luke @lukediva_
]]>*We use Shopify as our website builder of choice.*
Having your website with your packages and rates removes the opportunity for clients to try and barter their way into cheaper prices. If someone sends you a DM about your business asking for rates, you can kindly pass them to your website or your FAQ page on your website to remove those looking for things done for free.
No matter what industry you are in as a creative there are a few key components to creating a fantastic website that converts and makes those on it click further, thus developing the relationship between Client & Creative.
The first thing you need to know is statistics. Like the fact that someone will leave your website if it takes more than 5 seconds to load. Potential clients also spend under 15 seconds on a website before they jump ship.
This means you need to capture someones attention under 15 seconds to keep them onboard.
How to capture someone's attention immediately.
Chances are if someone is coming onto your site they are a potential client, this means that capturing their attention is vital. Contrary to popular beliefs as a photographer and model you need to just have a portfolio website with a barrage of your best work layered on every page.
After reviewing over 2000+ Online websites and stores from every niche I can say this is not the best way to go.
Having your best work mixed in while telling your story and showing your personality is the best way to immediately engage your audience. You're looking to build a connection with this person as quickly as possible so you become a person, not a business. Remember business is relationship building, those who succeed are great at creating connections. Be what you want to be but just don't come off as cold and unwelcoming to your audience.
When you have a website of just photos and a contact page, this doesn't encourage people to connect with you.
Build trust and be the expert.
Your client is putting their utmost trust and faith that you will deliver exceptional quality content, but how do you convince them you are the real deal and your other clients love you? Testimonials and Blogs. Creating 3-5 solid testimonials on your homepage solidifies any concerns with wondering if you are a fun and easy to work with individual. Adding a blog to your website with stories of what you and how you do things lets people know you are an expert in your industry and clearly the best choice to work with.
Set expectations for Clients.
As your client decides whether they want to work with you they will want to know your packages and pricing, as everyone is different and sometimes you may not have a one size fits all package you need to adapt. Creating your packages or product pages with a base price or saying "Packages starting at $$$" is important as it shows them what the bottom line is and sets expectations.
Answer common questions for your audience.
Having a bulletproof FAQ page or a mini-FAQ section on your contact page removes redundant questions coming your way all the time. It allows you to make sure that people who are tire-kicking or those who have not used your service before having their common questions or concerns answered right away so the only thing left to do is send you a message asking when you are available for a shoot.
This article was written by the staff at creators magazine. We are always looking for new ways to improve your creative life and bring you meaningful content every day.
For Creatives looking to get their own website or brand built, take a look at our new Design Agency to help you get started fast! Custom websites starting at $250.
For more Creators content follow us on Instagram!
]]>Here is your full breakdown of everything we learned about the new 2019 Instagram algorithm. We will cover Shadow banning, Business profiles, and how you get more reach.
HOW IT WORKS
The first thing you need to know about the new Instagram updates and changes is that every person's feed is specifically tailored to their actions and behaviors. The algorithm is based on machine learning, the more you engage with something the more you are likely to see content like that or from that user.
The Algorithm also makes assumptions about the content you engage with and post as well. If you decide to post a photo and tag somebody in it all the time, Instagram will treat these users as "friends & family". One of the big pushes the platform wanted to do was create a way for users to see more friends and family showing up in feeds. So rather than in 2017 and prior it was 50% friends 50% other content, it is now close to 80% friends and 20% other.
Summary: Instagram is making you see more friends and family and classifying those as people you tag frequently. New posts are seen first, friends are shown more and is it something you usually engage with.
CHRONOLOGICAL (NOT)
This poor little AI system is trying its hardest to make everything great for everyone. Here's why that's a problem. Users who use Instagram once in a while will see what the algorithm thinks is important for them to see, essentially it's just giving you the highlights since the last time you logged in and viewed your feed. On the other hand, if you are an avid Instagrammer and you keep scrolling for hours on end, the algorithm tries it's hardest to pull everything from its library(the people you follow) but sorts it based on relevancy to what you would want to see. So technically it's semi chronological manipulated feed.
Summary: things are semi chronological but based on what you engage with more and as you keep scrolling down the feed for longer and longer it becomes less relevant but still chronological.
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
Are Shadow bans a thing and why am I being targeted?
You are not being targeted and this is not a thing. Over a year ago there was an algorithmic bug that would not show you to people often because of you spamming content with the same tags and hashtags. However, we know for sure that in 2019, shadow banning is not a thing and it's all about your timing and content you create. This means you can hashtag to your heart's content and post as much as you want without being "Shadow Banned".
Are Videos better than Photos?
Everything is based on the user, If someone engages more with video content they may see more video content if they engage more with photos they will see photos. Instagram will not give priority to video or photo as it now treats all content the same, this is all up to the algorithm for the specific audience. The only way to truly rank higher is to create great content.
Business profile or personal profile?
There is NO benefit to switching to personal or business, it's a myth. I thought this was a thing for the longest time but I have been proven wrong and my content was just bad. Switching to a business profile will not place you lower in the rankings of feeds.
If I post multiple times a day will I be ranked lower?
No, your content is not lowered in a ranking because of the number of times you post as covered above. The more you post the more opportunity for people to see your work. So really it's not a bad thing to post multiple times a day on stories or photo/video.
All of our fears have been debunked and now we have to accept the fact that if we don't have as many likes or comments as we usually have, it's because our captions or photos were not as awesome as they could have been.
Sorry for bursting everybody's bubbles.
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We've spoken to many personal brands and businesses to find what works best for building that photo loving audience, here's what we got!
1. Transparency is in right now.
Your audience wants to connect with you and they also want to see what you are up to on a daily basis or what is happening behind the scenes. When you start realizing that your followers just want to build a bit of a deeper connection with you try and do that and be fun and engaging!
2. Your audience wants you to listen to them.
Show you care about who follows you or someone else will. Respond to as many comments as you can and show them that you actually read what they have to say. Answer as best as you can and don't just heart all the comments and call it a day.
3. We all love story time.
We all can post a photo on story time, but going above and beyond and creating awesome content for your Instagram story or documenting what you are doing behind the scenes is something that people LOVE. If you have lots of video content in your story it prompts people to share the stories with their friends and thus growing your potential following.
4. Create valuable content.
Taking an amazing photo and just placing a quote on it is cool but isn't worth talking about so you might be missing out on a potential opportunity. instead, try to provide useful information to those who follow you. Do your followers want to know more about your diet, your lifestyle or what you do on the weekends? Let them know in that description setting. Imagine it as a journal or blog rather than a quote location.
You may have tried Facebook and their advertising platform already for your photography, however, I have found several situations that work very well with paid advertising on Facebook.
The first thing on your to-do list would be to grab video footage while you are doing your shoots locally to capture the emotion of your subjects. Couples shoots, proposals, weddings, concerts etc. No matter what your topic is, capture human emotion (smiles and laughter). If you are able to get 10-30 seconds of footage, you have enough to run a *Link click Ad* or a *Video View Ad*. Each of these types of ads can be done through your personal Facebook page.
Once you have set up your Ad you will be asked to choose or specify your audience. This will allow you to target your ideal client.
Are they newly engaged?
Did they just get into a relationship?
Do they attend specific events?
Are they in a professional industry that needs headshots?
All of these are questions you need to ask yourself and you need to know the answers because they are your potential clients.
Marketing your business starts with knowing exactly who your perfect customer or client is. Are they a model, parent, newly engaged, a professional, what music do they love?
Basically knowing every part of who this person gets you closer to knowing what makes them happy and how to get them to be interested in your product. If you know what your customer likes, you can show them exactly what they want to see.
These are all things you need to think about.
If I was a new and upcoming house music producer, I would need to know where my audience is spending their time in order to show them my work.
I wouldn’t want to speak to radio stations to have them play my music, so where would I want my music?
Where does every person like to listen to their music? Well, they probably follow Instagram pages and playlists on music streaming services that release new music. So with this new found knowledge, I would be dedicating my time to reaching out to all relevant pages or playlists that are in my niche and getting them to start showing my music. This would put me in a great position to have thousands of people start listening to my content and share it with their friends.
I know not everyone reading is a music producer but regardless of what you do, understanding that having to do the research on your audience is necessary and being where they are spending their time is important.
So many people decide they will do every niche at once. All to see what one works out best and put everything on their website so they can get the most customers. This is totally at the discretion of the creative and everyone is different but in our experience becoming an expert in one area versus a jack of all trades has helped our creatives grow quickly! Try focusing on one niche and if you want to branch out later, create separate social profiles or sections on your website. If you want to be a fashion photographer, focus on that until you feel you’re an expert in that field.
Ultimately the goal is that you don’t want to turn people off of your work and content you are producing. A little bit of variety is good but switching between diverse niches each week is challenging for your audience.
Example: A wedding/family Photographer posting bourdoir work on the same page often will push some of the audience away as it might be something they don't relate to.
Whether you’re a photographer or a model if you want to get published and paid, you need to shoot lots.
In the Spring of 2017 during a mentoring session, my wonderful mentor shared some wisdom that I will share with you here. He said, shoot more, not a little bit more but lots more. He asked, “How long would it take you to shoot 100 sessions?” I said, “I can do it in a year” and the goal was set.
I had been filming a yoga video for my wife’s YouTube channel (Yoga with Dr. Melissa West), every week for almost 500 weeks in a row and I wanted to improve. I didn’t want to improve just my photography but also my filmmaking skills and as my mentor explained, focussing on just one frame at a time would let me see light better, improve composition and slow my process down.
He was so right. In March of 2018, I checked my numbers and saw that I had done 168 shoots and I haven’t slowed down since. Today (March 2019) I see that I have shot with more than 100 models on over 300 shots.
It’s not about the numbers. But it is. I wanted to improve and by buckling down, contacting local modeling agencies, joining Facebook Groups and putting myself out there for TFP (Time For Print) shoots, I was able to fill my calendar up quickly. Each week shooting with different models, events and for a variety of companies, I was able to develop a style. I must say that when I first started I really didn’t know if I had a style but as I progressed I could see that I had a look that I was drawn to.
What were the benefits of shooting so often? Firstly the fear of not being good enough evaporated. In the beginning, several local models were kind enough to work with me (including the editor of this fine publication) and this gave me the confidence to invite others to shoot. My portfolio grew, my Instagram account grew and soon people started contacting me to shoot. I had the opportunity to shoot as a second shooter on a wedding, assist on various commercial shoots and met and shot with several other amazing local photographers at meetups around the city.
The bottom line is that not only has my photography improved but my filmmaking has improved. My understanding of light has had a profound effect on how I shoot and I am forever grateful for my mentor’s candid advice. I hope this inspires other photographers to shoot more.
Written by Timothy West
@Timothywestcom
Models: Natasha Gottfred & Melissa Morimoto
]]>Written by- M.X. Déry | @xaviermarik
Featuring- Natasha | @Natashagottfred, Stephen | @Blackfishphoto
Months of planning, location scouting, generators for lights, custom made clothes, multiple models and photographers, you would be forgiven for believing that this amount of preparation is reserved for a professional crew shooting an ad campaign, but sometimes it is some non-professional creators working hard to get the shots they want.
All of the elements described above went into a concept planned and executed by Stephen Ban (IG: @blackfishphoto) for a Little Red Riding Hood concept undertaken last May in the woods at Horth Hill Regional Park. I sat down with Stephen in his home-studio to talk about his ideas about his collaborative process.
We were joined by Natasha Gottfred, a model signed with Coultish Management, about her experiences working with Stephen.
“Your shoot concepts are based on a lot of books, movies and shows, right?” asked Natasha.
“I draw heavily from pop culture for a lot of my ideas,” said Stephen, explaining that his first few shoot concepts were inspired by a friend who had done some modeling work.
“I think the more shoots I do, it happens more often that the concept comes first and the casting comes later, but having said that, once you’ve worked with enough people you start to develop a rapport,” he said. “You know this person is versatile enough that they could work in this role.”
Stephen enjoys sourcing the materials before a shoot, asking friends for costumes, figuring out lighting, scouting locations, etc. Eventually though, it is time to find a model for that shoot.
“When [a photographer] messages me,” said Natasha, “the first thing I do is look at their portfolio and if it’s going to benefit me in any way and if it isn’t,
For paid work, the decision is simpler and the focus becomes the photographer’s reputation for being professional. However, when looking to collaborate, models can be very discerning about the projects they accept.
“Some people are amazing photographers, but always use the same angles,” said Natasha. “I look at the variety, who they’ve shot with, the colours and the styles.”
Sometimes, a project can seem like a stretch, but having a good relationship with the creatives involved can have serendipitous results.
“Like the ‘Ginger Shoot’,” added Natasha, in reference to a shoot involving four redheaded models that Stephen organized. “I didn’t know how that was going to work for my portfolio, but it ended up producing some of my best shots, so you never know. You have to put yourself out there.”
Once the project is planned and the models have said yes, the execution and success of the shoot depends on everyone showing up at the location on time.“I can’t emphasize enough how important reliability is,” said Stephen.
For the model, arriving ready to shoot takes preparation and they expect that the photographer is just as organized. Inspiration shots should have been sent before the shoot, some models may appreciate music, and if the shoot is outdoors in cold weather… blankets!
Most importantly though is for a photographer to clearly communicate with the model. Natasha recalls a shoot where she expected the photographer to make use of her natural hair but then had the hair and make-up artists go in a completely different direction:
“I get in the chair and [the photographer] starts putting fluffy clouds on my head. Then it was an afro of fluffy clouds... it wasn’t even my hair at all! Throughout he didn’t say a word to me about the concept he had in mind. I had no idea what was going on, and I’m sitting there looking like a clown.”
“Coming from someone who is relatively new to shooting models,” said Stephen, “it is so much nicer working with experienced models. You don’t have to give them a lot of direction and they’ll just flow pose, but I know some photographers like to micro-adjust.”
interjected Natasha. “I’m like: ‘You haven’t even seen me yet. You sure you want to micromanage me? Give me a second, this is my job.’”
For large collaborations with many unpaid participants committing their time and resources, it is critical to make sure that photographers get the shots they want before calling it a wrap. Getting feedback from models and fellow photographers during the shoot can save you from regret later.
“I think there will be a few concept re-visits to get the shots that I have regretted missing,” said Stephen.
Once the shoot is over, the photographer gets to go home with all the images, leaving the model to sit back and wait. “I try to be really patient with the photographers because I know they have so many photos to edit,” said Natasha. “Usually they are pretty good, like 80% of the time they’ll send me a preview within a day or two.”
She remarks that newer photographers tend to take longer, which can lead to her prompting for updates if they leave her waiting for weeks - not the kind of first impression you want to be leaving!
For Stephen, usually within 15 minutes of reviewing, he knows which shots are going to be great and tries to send models a representative unprocessed, straight out of the camera preview.
“He just slides into your DMs,” says Natasha about Stephen’s post-shoot feedback. “‘Here’s your preview.’”
“I’m really bad with technology,” said Natasha. “I’ve spent hours just sitting there downloading photos one by one because someone will send me 90 photos on Google Drive, rather than Google Photos.”
The way you send the photos can also affect them in undesirable ways, like compressing them, renaming them, or affecting the colour rendering. A low-resolution shot might be okay for a preview, but the final product of a collaboration should be of sufficient quality for a model to use in a print portfolio if they wish.
“It drives me up the wall when they send me low-resolution photos,” said Natasha, noticeably annoyed.
“I need high-res photos!”
Watermarked or not, just make sure they are delivered timely and in an appropriate resolution. However you decide to make that transaction, make sure there is a conversation before the shoot, to avoid leaving a model waiting and wondering when or if the photos will arrive.
While Natasha and I discussed closing remarks for the interview, Stephen began setting up the strobes and a backdrop for a short studio shoot. Natasha laid out the possible outfits while the music began playing and Stephen and myself tested the flash triggers and settings on our cameras. It was nice to be included in this impromptu collaboration, despite having met Stephen and Natasha only a few months ago through Creators.
Written by :
M.X. Déry | @xaviermarik
Featuring-
Natasha | @Natashagottfred
Stephen | @Blackfishphoto
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Great question!
You should actively be looking for other influencers who are in your niche and who are currently working with those brands. Find those brands reach out to them and follow the hashtags they use in their posts because other businesses in those fields use them as well!
Another great way is by joining Facebook groups for influencers and brands. These groups are underused in my opinion and can give you a great runway to start gathering clients.
It starts slowly but once you reach several brand deals you become instantly more appealing to other brands that are watching what their competitors are doing.
You see the best way to grow is to think like your client and follow them!
Be where they are watching (Competitors Instagrams and stories).
For those influencing on youtube be sure to reach out to the brands directly that are sending a product too similar size channels as you!
As we move into 2019 you might have a laundry list of things you want to accomplish. Whether that is making your business grow, working with new people on upcoming projects or starting to pursue your own thing. I am going to help you break into a new cycle of achieving goals rather than just wishing they would happen.
The system I use is broken down into three bite-size sections. They include the following: Minimizing, Reverse-planning and Fear-setting.
Minimizing is exactly as it sounds, simplifying your goals and therefore your life (at least a little). When most people start their goals for this new year, they start writing down numbers. Then they start filling in really small or large goals for each of those numbers. This is great if you want to visualize everything you need to do for this year however it makes them unattainable and you lose focus on the ones that are truly important.
In order to start accomplishing things quickly and effectively, you need to minimize. Start dwindling those goals down, get rid of small insignificant goals you just wrote as fillers. Once you have done this, start to collapse goals into one another. You may notice one goal is tied to another or that a goal could also be built on top of another. Keep doing this until you have a list of under 10 solid goals that are more attainable.
Don’t make it too easy for yourself but don’t be too hard on yourself either.
An example of the above:
Goals: Learn how to become an editor, learn design software, find manufacturers, sell magazines, create a brand.
These can be broken down into one goal, learn how to start a magazine. This is smaller as its a learning goal and encapsulates the above goals.
Reverse planning and how it’s the single most important goal beating tactic. Goals can’t be reached without a solid direction on how to get there.
Imagine I tell you to drive to 1236 Imaginary Lane. Without a GPS or map, you may get there but no guarantee or timeframe for your arrival. This is what you do every year with your goals. You write down the address but don’t have a GPS to get you there.
Here is how to do it.
Start with a timeline. At the end of the timeline write your end goal (you will need to do this for each of your goals). Once you have your goals set, choose a time you would like them to have them accomplished. Maybe for some, it’s 1 year or 5 years or 10 etc… but this works with any reasonable time frame. Please don’t write down, make a million dollars by Tuesday.
You should now have your goal at the end with a time frame on-top (12 months for example). Now start to create intervals. I usually do 3,6, 9 and 12 months as my intervals. So if your goal is to create a magazine within 1 year, what would you need to achieve at each interval to reach your 1-year goal.
Essentially you are building your path by working backwards from your end goal. By seeing your end result, you are able to visualize your previous milestones that need to be reached.
One of my personal favourites and the one everybody I know hates me for is Fear-setting. Yes, the complete opposite of goal setting. I learned this method from a book written by Tim Ferris who has many tips for human optimization.
For this to work effectively you need to grab a sheet of paper or whatever you’d like, just make three columns. In the three columns give them these titles from left to right: Define, Prevent and Repair.
Under the “Define” column, start numbering off the worst possible things that could happen if you tried to do something (Like starting that business, approaching that new person you want to work with or anything really).
Next, under the “Prevent” column, what could I do to prevent or decrease the chances for the Define bullets from happening?
The “Repair” column, what could you do to repair the damage even if the worst case possible were to happen.
Doing this exercise is a great way to understand that your fears might be easily preventable and stop you from creating excuses to not pursue your goal.
With this, I wish you the best in your goal setting for 2019 and beyond!
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