Sarah Petty Shares the Joy of Photography Marketing
Byinterview by Aggie Villanueva
After the interview be sure to read Sarah’s 10 Tips for Thriving in Today’s Uncertain Times
From the time she was a child, Sarah Petty knew she wanted to own her own business. After earning her MBA from The University of Illinois, she taught marketing and business courses at a local college. She started out in the marketing department of Coca-Cola, and eventually became the marketing director for a top Central Illinois advertising agency.
After spending many years teaching other business owners how to market and grow their businesses, the time was right for her to launch her own. Sarah Petty Photography was born. After experiencing tremendous growth in her business and receiving six PPA AN-NE photography marketing awards (one of the most coveted awards in the industry), Sarah now enjoys teaching marketing to other photographers. She prides herself on having extremely “meaty” marketing strategies and being able to clearly interpret them to photographers.
Sarah Petty, along with owning a boutique photography studio in Springfield, IL, is one of the most in-demand speakers in the photographic industry. Petty invests much of her year traveling and speaking to photographers teaching them how to be successful in small business. From financial analysis to marketing planning to workflow simplification, Petty has helped many businesses succeed. Petty teaches small business owners to build their brand, produce profits and have the time to enjoy their lives. Her emphasis is on creating boutique businesses which are ones with a defined target market, clear product mix and ones that don’t compete on price.
Aggie: Thank you so much for this opportunity to learn from you. There’s not a lot of information “out there” about you, Sarah. You said you knew from the time you were a child that you wanted to own your own business. How did you know? What prompted this desire?
SARAH: I came from a small business family. I always loved that my Dad was in charge of his own world. I learned an extremely hard work ethic. Right out of college, I went to work for Central States Coca-Cola in the corporate marketing department. While I loved it and learned a great amount, I felt as if I was one small, small part of something huge. It is hard for one person to make a significant difference at a massive company like that. That experience solidified my desire for entrepreneurship.
Aggie: Sarah, what kind of child were you? Were your entrepreneurial gifts evident even then?
SARAH: I played sports my entire life. I was 6 feet tall in 8th grade and sadly, am still one of the most uncoordinated people you will meet. I grew up listening to Zig Ziglar on our long trips to Iowa several times a year and since then, I have always loved to motivate and inspire others. I think those years of listening to so many great leaders helped me skip a lot of hard lessons most people learn the hard way. Also, I am not a patient person so I was able to discover my passions young and get busy turning them into a career.
Aggie: Why the switch from teaching business and marketing at the university to becoming a photographer?
SARAH: Actually, I was working full time as a marketing director at an advertising agency and doing photography for fun. Once I finished my MBA, I missed having that camaraderie every week. So, I began teaching business, marketing and management at a local community college mostly for the fun and the challenge. I got pregnant with twins in 2000 and spent most of the year on bed rest or in the hospital. I decided then that it wasn’t fair to my clients to only work part time and it wasn’t fair to my little babies to work full time, so I left the advertising agency. I really opened the studio for fun to see if I could do it. Thanks to my advertising agency experience, I was able to create some dynamic marketing pieces, host a grand opening for nearly 300 people and my business took off.
Aggie: I think all women understand the choices of motherhood, and so many of us hope to turn desires into a career, as you did. You went straight from earning your MBA to teaching marketing. Obviously you have the gift of interpreting boring, complicated facts. When did you first realize this? And when did you switch to interpreting them to artists, probably the densest group concerning anything to do with business?
SARAH: I have always loved marketing as a passion. It is funny because it is hard for me to ever enjoy shopping experiences because I am so critical of how small businesses operate. I notice all of the things they could or should be doing. On the flip side, I am the first to notice something above and beyond and appreciate it.
I have always been the person in the lives of others to help encourage them to accomplish their goals. I love to see people do what they love and get paid for it (assuming those things are legal – ha). When I entered the photography industry, because I grew my business so fast (and because of my education and experience in the marketing field), I received opportunities to begin speaking. I was hooked because I began to receive emails and notes from people telling us how something I said clicked with them and it changed their life. That is powerful.
Aggie: Tell us about your years in the marketing department of Coca-Cola. How did you land such a prestigious job?
SARAH: Landing a job at one of the top brands in the world really was a case of being in the right place at the right time. The divisional corporate offices were in my city at the time. They had an opening; I walked my resume in, had 3 interviews and was hired the next day. It didn’t hurt that my boss played NCAA Division I football with Joe Montana at Notre Dame when they won the national title and I just came off a 4 year Division I volleyball career. We hit it off from the first minute we met.
Aggie: There’s a lot to be said about being in the right place, but we also must have the right knowledge and experience, as you obviously did to land the job. What is the most important marketing tip you learned while at Coca-Cola?
SARAH: The most important thing I learned at Coca-Cola was the power of a brand and the commitment every company needs to make to their identity. I had a thick binder for each Coke product (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, etc.) with strict guidelines as to how the logo and artwork were to be used. Now, when I see small businesses using more than one logo or simply allowing their business name to be set in a font, it sends a red flag immediately.
Aggie: Many use these hard economic times as an excuse not to pursue their photographic business. What was the economic climate when you started yours?
SARAH: I started photographing professionally part time in 1998 but opened my first studio and went full time two weeks before 9/11 in 2001. So, my entire business has grown in this tumultuous economy.
While yes, the economy is making us all work a little harder, I think it is Mother Nature’s way of cleaning house. Like a storm that comes through and knocks down the weaker limbs and many leaves, the strong branches can weather the storm. The same is true in business. If you run a strong business, take care of your customers, grow as your business can justify, market well and keep a good handle on your financials, you should be able to withstand.
Aggie: You speak to helping small business owners. Most artists can vouch that our budding photography businesses could hardly yet be considered anything as grand as a “small business.” Most artists start with no money and no business education. Sarah, what would be the first matter of importance for us to address?
SARAH: There is a huge difference between being a photographer and being a small business owner. If you are a talented photographer and you decide you are going to make a living by starting your own business, the first place you should start is to learn as much as you can about running a small business. The E-Myth, by Michael Gerber is one of my favorite books. He explains the difference between a technician and an entrepreneur and the how one works IN his or her business and the other works ON his or her business. There really is a big difference.
Aggie: I can see what a huge difference that makes. Your mission when you opened your photography boutique was “To celebrate children at every age, to unveil the spirit of a child in my images and to help families decorate their worlds with highly personal artwork. Artwork that matters.” I guess all artists begin with similar affirmations. We want to impact the world. How do we get from our heartfelt missions to realizing them without spending four years in college studying business: something I can’t imagine any artist undertaking.
SARAH: Well, if you think about it, you are competing with people who did go to business school. You are competing with people who have the budget to hire award-winning ad agencies. I asked Seth Godin this same question a few months ago when I interviewed him and he said that nobody is entitled to stay in business. I loved it when he said that because I believe that, too. I have to work every day to keep my business healthy.
With that said, the best thing a right-brain thinker can do to compete and succeed is to find a mentor. Find someone who is where you want to be. And like investing in a college education, this isn’t an inexpensive venture. Also, learn your financials. My favorite teacher is Ann Monteith with her Guerilla Management course. Much of the money is made in understanding how money is made in a business.
Aggie: Guerilla Management sounds like just what we artists need. You cover running a business from start to finish, not just marketing. How can you teach artists about (gasp) “financial analysis and workflow simplification?” The very words sound foreign, but they are obviously of great importance.
SARAH: I think what makes some business owners succeed while others fail is the ability to make good decisions. If someone is a fabulous artist and simply can not grasp the financial side no matter what type of torture they endure, then he or she needs to find someone to help them. Whether it is a business partner, a spouse or an accountant, finding someone who is strong in your weak points is one of the best ways to catapult you to success.
Aggie: I heard in one of your podcast lessons that “branding is you.” Is branding really that simple?
SAHAH: Well, what you probably heard me say is that your logo is to your business like your face is to your personal identity. You need a strong logo to help people know who you are. Then your brand is how people feel about you. You can’t build a strong brand on a weak identity.
Aggie: Once we get branded, how do we get our brand out front with little or no money?
SARAH: Aggie, I get asked this a lot. Who is to say that a small business should be able to grow and compete without any money? There are so many photographers out there who want to make a living doing this, don’t have any money to invest and yet, expect to take a big paycheck. The reality of it is, most small business owners don’t take a paycheck for years.
But, the good news is that more than money, you need relationship building skills. You must partner with other businesses and charities to keep your business growing and healthy.
Aggie: I’ve heard that building relations is the cornerstone of all marketing and even sales. That’s one principle changed my attitude toward sales, which I hated. After sitting in on just one of your workshops I gleaned something else that will changes the way I advertise. You said that small businesses can’t afford to offer discounts. Then you explained that our “incentives must be value-added.” Could you explain how that works?
SARAH: I love to teach how to build a boutique business. Among other things (such as defined product mix and outstanding customer service), a boutique business is one which doesn’t compete on price. Why? Because trying to use price as a sustainable competitive advantage doesn’t work. It isn’t sustainable because there is always a Wal-mart or someone willing to do it cheaper. Also, when constantly discounting your products, you not only attract price-sensitive buyers, but you train your client base to wait for a sale.
By using value added incentives vs. discounting, you can attract a less price sensitive buyer and keep your margins. For example, instead of having a one day sale when products are 30% off, you would offer a free 8×10 when people purchase a wall portrait. If you work the price of the premium into your cost of sales, you are not cutting into your margins.
Aggie: You teach a lot about putting on events to promote customer excitement. That works great for studio photography. Outdoor and landscape photographers usually work from our homes and in the field, and don’t do portraits. Do you have any suggestions about generating excitement about our work for those doing photographic art/fine art photography?
SARAH: For you, I would recommend partnering with others in the community to achieve like-minded goals. For example, work with a charity to create a fabulous calendar which they can sell to raise money for their charity. Then create a campaign around it including book signings at local bookstores, etc. It will create goodwill and exposure for you and the charity will benefit.
Aggie: Again we’re back to the building relationships principle that changed the way I do business. You make it clear that principle permeated marketing. Teleseminars seems to be the marketing of choice these days. Coincidentally, (or not) it is the education of choice by consumers. In fact, researching teleseminars is how I first discovered you. Do you recommend that artists get into this area?
SARAH: Most people are using teleseminars for business-to-business products and services. Photography is such an emotional purchase I don’t think it’s the best investment of a photographers time for Teleseminars.
Aggie: It seems most teleseminars are offered free. How do we make money from that?
SARAH: Teleseminars are offered for free to be able to show who you are and allow people to decide if they want to start a relationship with you. Businesses do this with the hopes that future sales will come from it. Many times, there will be products offered that day at special pricing to create urgency and help pay for the time of the presenter.
Aggie: Any teleseminar tips for photographers?
SARAH: While I have done many teleseminars at Thejoyofmarketing.com, I have never done a teleseminar for my studio. Here is an idea of how a teleseminar could work. If you are a wedding photographer, you could partner with all of the top wedding providers in your town (florist, banquet facility, baker, etc.) and create some type of free teleseminar for newly engaged brides.
They shouldn’t simply sell their business, they should be using this opportunity to position themselves as experts, giving brides tips they can use on their big day. The bride will naturally gravitate to working with the best, so a hard sell in this case isn’t necessary. You could answer questions, interview past brides, give resources and even offer incentive pricing for a limited time. Where this could get complicated is in creating and investing in the technology on the back end to support this and ensure that it generates sales.
Aggie: In the beginning we may need you to hold our hands until we can digest and utilize all your marketing knowledge. It that why you started your program, Café Joy? What exactly does this monthly program do for us?
SARAH: What I have found is that while I think about marketing every single day, most people don’t. I have seen so many photographers go to conventions, get all jazzed up and then go home and get in the same rut as before. So, with Café Joy, we send our members marketing ideas and inspiration every single month. It is like a monthly dose of marketing caffeine.
Aggie: It’s often said we learn most by our mistakes. What mistakes taught you the most?
SARAH: Like many, I had some photographic talent, but because I was doing it for fun, I didn’t feel I could justify charging much for my work. I charged enough to cover my costs, but when I started studying my financials and realized that I was not making money, I made the decision that if I was going to do this I was going to make money. I was willing to find something else to do if I couldn’t make money. I see so many photographers making this same mistake and I have empathy because I was there, too.
Aggie: If you had only one bit of wisdom to leave those in the photography business what would that be?
SARAH: If you only want to be a photographer, you might consider going to work for someone else as a photographer. Your return might not be as great, but you will do what you love. If you want to be a small business owner, it can afford you so many opportunities in your life and to be a photographer, too. Invest in education, study with those who have been there and come through it and grow as you can justify. There is room for many photographers to succeed in this industry so don’t be afraid.
Aggie: I don’t want to close without giving you the opportunity to speak out, rather than simply answering my questions. Do you have anything further you want to say to photographers?
SARAH: We are in an amazing industry where with a passion and strong work ethic, you can make a nice living. For me, it is about being profitable doing what I love so that I can spend more time with those who I love. Finding balance isn’t easy but every time I invest in education, I find a way to add one more element of balance to my life.
Aggie: Sarah, I can’t thank you enough for spending your time with us and sharing your vast marketing knowledge.
For more information about Sarah
FaceBook Sarah Petty’s Café Joy
Sarah Petty’s 10 Tips for Thriving in Today’s Uncertain Times
-
- Make sure you have a strong identity. If you don’t hire a graphic designer for anything, hire one to create a fantastic logo. It’s the face of your business.
- Figure out what makes you different. If you don’t know why clients should come to you instead of the photographer down the street, this is where you need to focus.
- Keep a journal or notepad with you at all times and constantly be writing down ideas. When you need inspiration for a promotional piece, go to your idea book!
- Create a tagline based on your positioning in the market. Turn on the faucet and let the rusty ideas klunk out. Then challenge yourself to find something emotionally charged that is specific to your business. Listen to your clients’ comments.
- Maintain a great database. It is much easier to attract repeat clients and generate referrals than new clients. Make sure you communicate with your clients!
- Shop locally. This is the best way to build relationships with local business owners. Don’t be afraid to ask them to work with you in a mutually beneficial way.
- Speak around town. Whether it’s to the Rotary or the new-mom group, the more visibility you have, the better.
- Get financial management software and understand your numbers. You shouldn’t be making decisions without them!
- Trade services. Use your talents to help you acquire graphic design services, studio cleaning services, or lower rent.
- Live within your means. If you are new in business, find another source of income until your business grows. You shouldn’t have to go into debt to stay in business or drastically discount your products to stay in business.
Popularity: 2% [?]
BE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE TO VISUAL ARTS JUNCTION
Powered By WP Footer
[...] posted here: Sarah Petty Shares the Joy of Photography Marketing bankruptcy, ebusiness, [...]
[...] See also my interview with Sarah Petty [...]