Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area.
Matt Druin of matthewdruin.com is a returning guest and one of the most helpful photographers you'll ever know. It's not unusual to find Matt happily sharing and helping, in detail, anything he can to answer questions, give advice and share his experiences to see other members advance their business or solve issues. In this interview, Matt shares his back up strategies and how you can live debt free as a photographer.
It was a discussion inside the Members Facebook group that led to this follow up interview and the accompanying videos for this episode. After a recent discussion on backing up, it was clear, Matt takes this process more seriously than most photographers I know, myself included. Following this episode, I'm certain you'll be changing your approach or at the very least, rethinking what you're doing to protect your files.
In addition, Matt recently shared a reasonably new approach he's using to reply to client enquiries with a video message. He says the way it's being received by prospective clients is better than he's ever had in the past and he shares exactly how and what he does to simplify this approach to make it a no brainer for anyone who wants to give this a try.
Lastly, Matt get's into one of his obsessions… living debt free. In this part of the interview, Matt shares some strategies and the mindset required to start living a debt free life or how to get there in the first place. Coming into the quiet season in the northern hemisphere, Matt has set himself up so that he doesn't need to work for the next 3 months and anything he decides to shoot, is all cream.
Here’s some of what we cover in this interview:
What’s on Offer for Premium Members
If you’re a premium member, you should have received an email with links to your version of this episode where you can hear lots more content and we dive deeper into some of the earlier topics plus some new ones that I pushed for and include:
If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interview with Matt, get access to an amazing back catalogue of interviews and ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet.
Plus, access to a members only Secret Facebook Group where you can connect with other members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take what you hear in each episode and put it into action. You will not find more friendly, more motivated and caring photographers online.
How to set up your Lightroom Catalog for efficiency
The complete backup strategy from shoot to archive
What is your big takeaway?
Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything away from what Matt shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below, let me know what your takeaways were, what you plan to implement in your business as a result of what you heard in todays episode.
If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Matt or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them below.
iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs
Each week I check for any new iTunes reviews and it's always a buzz to receive these… for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, it's confirmation that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they really are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!
Secondly, iTunes is the biggest search engine when it comes to podcasts and it's your reviews and ratings that help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners means more interviews and ultimately a better show.
If you have left a review in the past, thank you!
If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes and you can leave some honest feedback and a rating which will help both me and the show and I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL of your website and your name.
Alternatively, if you've left a review for PhotoBizX and are looking for more backlinks to help your SEO, leave a review for the new Photography Xperiment Podcast and email me your key words or keyword phrase and where you'd like me to link to.
Here are a couple of recent reviews:
Inspirational
In iTunes by Fellygish from Australia on November 10, 2016
This is a great podcast, it slows my editing to a crawl as I listen to this, because I keep jumping onto the websites of the guest speakers to check them out, jumping into my Evernote to write notes down. My brain is buzzing!
Wish I'd Found PBX Years Ago!
In iTunes by Derbyshire Wedding Photographer, Chris Seddon in the UK on November 1, 2016
I heard of Andrew's podcast when a photographer I know (Paul Rogers) appeared as a guest and shared the link on Facebook. Since then, I've been a PBX addict!
Over my 6 years as a photographer I've been a member of photography groups in Flickr, LinkedIn and Facebook. As helpful as they were, none of them come close to the help, advice and motivation I've discovered since joining PBX a couple of months ago.
The sheer wealth of experience, knowledge and willingness to share within the members Facebook group is worth the price alone. It's full of people who will be going through the same challenges as you, or have come out the other side and can help shed some light on the topic. And then you have the podcast episodes themselves. The variety of guests is fantastic. Whatever niche you're in, there's probably a couple of episodes focusing on that. And it's so interesting and useful to listen to how things are done in different avenues of photography. So many things can be adapted to work for your business so it's always worth listening to every episode.
I'm slowly working my way back through the years. So if you have any doubts about joining, don't. Take my word for it. You absolutely won't regret it. It's been such a huge help for me and kickstarting my business again. Giving me the extra drive and focus that I needed. And it's so comforting finding people in the same boat and working it out together.
Definitely one of the best communities I've been a part of.
Thanks for making it happen, Andrew.
The NEW Photography Xperiment Podcast is live and available
Following the success and support shown by listeners after the experimental format of the recent interviews, the new Photo Xperiment Podcast has been launched and is available on this site and in iTunes now.
Interviews are underway and I'll be looking for new guests, not restricted to wedding and portrait photographers. If you have someone you think would be a good fit, let me know in the comment area below or email me, [email protected].
The idea behind these interviews is to get into the headspace of the photographer and find what makes them tick, what drives them, their thought process, philosophy on shooting and how they achieve what they do with their photography. So yeah, a little technique type content too.
These interviews will not focus on the business of photography – that'll be preserved solely for the weekly and unchanging format of the PhotoBizX podcast.
To hear these interviews in your podcast app, you will need to subscribe to the podcast – these interviews will not be delivered automatically if you're subscribed to PhotoBizX. Open your favourite podcast app and search “Photography Xperiment Podcast” or enter the feed URL, https://photobizx.com/feed/xperiment/ into the search field of your podcast app.
November is a crazy month for specials and discounts!
Black Friday is fast approaching and you'll have one weekend to grab The BIG DEAL where you can get a 12 Month PhotoBizX Premium membership for USD$120!
The best price you'll ever see for the membership… ever.
I'll be sharing information how you can get hold of this special at the end of the month… stay tuned.
As with any Premium Membership, you'll get access to the full back catalogue of interviews including those with guests like; Fer Juaristi, Jonas Peterson, Sue Bryce, Ryan Brenizer, Yervant, Jerry Ghionis, Nordica Photography, Gabe McClintock, Peter Hurley, Two Mann Studios, Jen Huang plus others.
In addition you'll receive an invite to the most helpful and supportive Secret Facebook Group for members only with your membership.
Schedule posts to Instagram
12 days of Christmas Giveaway
Karen Alsop of Story Art has launched her 12 days of Christmas Giveaway which include some fantastic prizes, over $10,000 worth, including a 12 month Premium Membership for PhotoBizX, Adobe Cloud annual memberships, a Wacom Tablet and heaps more.
Details are here: https://storyart.education/12-days-of-christmas/
The Adore Girls Workshops
I interviewed Boudoir photographer and business owner, Jamie Pfister from the Adore Girls in episode 190 and what she shared in that one hour was an eye opening look at what it takes to build and maintain a successful photography business in such a saturated market.
The techniques and strategies she shared on her marketing, advertising, social media, and “tribe building” were the first time we'd heard things like this in almost 200 interviews.
Now you have the chance to learn a whole lot more from Jamie and her associate photographer, Courtney Bell in Vegas on February 8th 2017.
All the details are here: http://www.theadoregirls.com/workshops
The Adore Girls’ boudoir photography studio, which opened it’s doors in 2012, is the most successful boudoir studio in Nashville, TN – a city that is currently saturated with photographers who also specialise in this genre. 2016 has been The Adore Girls’ most successful year to date and they are on target to gross $400,000 by the end of December.
Topics that will be discussed during this four-hour class include:
- Your Brand – Know who you are, why you shoot boudoir, and what type of experience you want to provide your clients.
- Your Website – The best and most effective ways to design your website, including layout, portfolio image selection, what type of information to provide (and how much), and a call to action for new leads.
- Social Media – How to effectively use Facebook and Instagram to generate and maintain interest in your studio, including the importance of having a private Facebook group for your studio in addition to your public page.
- Initial Contact – The importance of prompt response times and how to speak to your clients on the telephone (even if you hate it).
- Consultations – Why in-person consultations are so important for both you and your client, and what you should say to help persuade them to book.
- The Session – We will walk you through an Adore Girls’ boudoir session from beginning to end, discussing techniques we use to calm our client’s nerves, gain her trust, help her feel comfortable stepping out of her comfort zone, and, most importantly, to make sure she has FUN during her session! We will also discuss the importance of beginning each session with a set of headshots, when you should and should not show images to your client on the back of your camera, and how to help even the most awkward clients pose naturally.
- The Image Debut – How to harness your client’s “afterglow” feeling leading up to their Image Debut, the importance of a short turn-around time, and our tried-and-true most effective sales techniques.
- After the Session – The importance of good, personalised customer service, referral programs, and how to maintain a connection with your clients long after their session is done.
Full details including early bird specials are at: http://www.theadoregirls.com/workshops
Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:
Episode 175: Matthew Druin – Living Debt Free as a Destination Wedding Photographer
Episode 180: Kirsten Lewis – How to Attract Bookings for your Day In The Life Shoots
Schedule Instagram Posts with https://www.grum.co/https://www.grum.co/
The Story Art 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway
The Adore Girls Boudoir Photography Workshop
Thank you!
Thanks again for listening to the show and thanks to Matt for coming on and sharing his thoughts, views and ideas for running a fantastic and successful photography business.
If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!
That’s it for me this week, hope everything is going well for you in life and business!
Thanks and speak soon
Andrew
bring back the good old days! lol
Haha… YES!
Back up over kill. IMO LOL I back up every wedding on impost then send one to the cloud,. Once your in the cloud your good. TO have 5 copies I would lose my mind trying to remember what I did last. For sure many do not do any backup. I save the raws but not the full res edited jpegs. I do export a blog ready set for use on the net Thanks again for the cast.