<p>Thank you to those that actually read the question before answering.<br /><br /><strong>David Hoye,</strong> thanks for your input! That's a very good point that you and others have made on selling professionalism. <br /><br /><strong>David Stephens</strong> - thank you also for your in depth response. I don't think there is an ethical obligation, <em>however</em>, if everyone in the industry charged more, we would all earn more (in an ideal world!) Personally I would not want to do the work I do, after all the years gaining experience, equipment and technique, for no profit. I guess not all are concerned with making a living.<br /><br /><br>
<strong>Wouter</strong> (great name by the way) - no, I am not using my real name. Thank you for your concern though!<br>
<strong>Dick</strong>, thanks for your response. Some great ideas there that I will definitely look into. I'm definitely one of those photographers who 'doesn't have time' for better marketing, so I will have to make the time.<br>
<strong>John Horwitz</strong>, I was enjoying your feedback until I got to your last line. So at 16 years old and 4 years in as a full timer, I don't know how to run a business. Cheers for being so helpful.<br /><br /><br /><br>
<strong>David Stephens</strong> - exactly. Thank you for not putting me down just for asking for advice/opinons and telling me I know nothing about running my business! You're spot on however about the in-person sales. I'm terrible at it. I've always hid behind my computer, afraid of criticism etc. Since the start of 2016 I have switched to in-person sales, started offering wedding albums as part of every wedding package (because I was fed up with just handing over a disc), and have stopped shying away from asking for feedback from commercial clients. Every job I do, I now follow up with an email or phone call asking how they are using the images / if it's helping their business etc. I've realised this is just another way to improve and show my clients I care about them. It's difficult at times but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Thank you for all your great suggestions!<br /><br /><strong>E.J - </strong>Thanks for your feedback. Customer service sure does make all the difference, I'll continue to focus more on this.<br /><br /><strong>William - </strong>Thanks for the feedback. In the end after some very helpful replies from the photonet contributors (thank you!) I decided to continue plowing along. Fortunately I had only two weddings to get through in those first really hard months. A few years on my business has doubled, I've met a wonderful man who is 100% a better match for me and am very happy. Thanks for asking!<br>
<strong>Benoit - </strong>Your first line was so true, thank you. I try not to get too caught up thinking about other photographers but it's not easy to not compare ourselves. <br /><br />The repeat business is definitely something I'm working on, spending more time with potential repeat-clients and ensuring they're happy is paying off so far. Rather than stick to a niche, I'm actually thinking that diversifying might help my business... stopping investing time and energy into portraits where everyone has a camera willing to do the job, and focussing more on taking awesome wedding photos and taking on better commercial gigs to improve my portfolio in that area. Not everyone can organise a brief and get exactly what a client wants with commercial work, where dealing with another business means they expect the best.<br>
Thank you also for the advice on be-friending the hobbyist pro. I hadn't thought of things that way. And for the link to the article! Will definitely have a read. Cheers for all the advice.</p>
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