I’ve schedule the shop to reopen on April 1st 2012 (Update: We are moving to a new house! So I need to push back the relaunch date so that I can get everything organized on the homefront.) It will be fully stocked will all kinds of goodies from crowns to headbands and brand new items too.

If you love the Lace Crown (featured to the left), then you’ll want to check out the shop when it opens because I have a brand new version that has pearls and paper flowers. It is ADORABLE.

So mark your calendar and get on my email list for a special store wide sale to kick off the reopening.

If you have any questions or need a custom order right away, please contact me.

Right now we are giving out a sample tutorial to give you an idea of what is to come. So head on over to DIYPhotographProps.com can check it out.

Enjoy!

Sincerely,

Quantity: 6 print quality digital papers
Format: 300 dpi JPG files
Size: 12″ x 12″
Type: Digital Product with Instant Download after checkout

This product is sold with our Standard Use License, which allows use in personal projects such as greeting cards or your personal website design. It is not to be redistributed or resold in any form without prior written consent.

Great for scrap booking, cards, invitations, backgrounds, designing, and more. This pack comes with four separate 12”x12” JPG files in 300 dpi, one in each color shown. Files can be instantly downloaded immediately after checkout.

Quantity: 4 print quality digital papers
Format: 300 dpi JPG files
Size: 12″ x 12″
Type: Digital Product with Instant Download after checkout

This product is sold with our Standard Use License, which allows use in personal projects such as greeting cards or your personal website design. It is not to be redistributed or resold in any form without prior written consent.

A little while ago, Facebook made changes to the way users see friends & pages in their feed. They now filter the main feed based on what you interact with and how often you visit the website. And I can’t help but notice the effect it has had on a lot of photographer pages, especially the ones who relied on Facebook as a their main (or only) marketing avenue.

Facebook still provides great exposure for photographers. But the lesson here is that it is not a wise decision to put ALL of your energy into one place that you have no real control over.

If you are serious about your business then it should be a fundamental part of your online marketing strategy to have a central place online that you have control over, i.e. your own website on your own hosting account.  Then use tools like Facebook to drive traffic to your place. This is one of the reasons I sell both on my own website and Etsy, why I am on Facebook and Twitter, and why I have one central place for my business online.

By relying on these tools as the foundation of your business you are creating risk, since at any time they could delete you or decide to drastically change. Diversify. That way if something like this happens you aren’t hit as hard.

At a basic level the changes make sense. Facebook is trying to increase the conversation and interaction that happens on their website. So, I say: stop complaining and figure out how to make use of the new changes.

I’ve seen SO MANY photographers posting things like “Like this status if you can see it” or “Facebook has made changes, please like this status”, etc. In my opinion, this is a bit lazy.  Sure, you get confirmation that people can actually see your posts and they “like” it so that you’ll probably show up in their feed again. But Instead, why not step out of the box and try posting updates that people naturally will like? Why not create a sensational page so that you do appear more often in people’s news feeds just because you are awesome?

Need some ideas for an awesome page?

• Post your watermarked images on Facebook and tag your clients or ask your clients tag themselves.
• Provide a “Social Sharing” CD with low resolution, watermarked images to your clients so they can upload, email, and share your work with their friends.
• Share interesting content (blogs, videos, etc) that your clients will like or related to photography (industry news, tips, tutorials).
• Instead of always broadcasting about yourself or trying to sell your next session, ask questions & interact.
• Use Facebook as your page (just go to your page and in the top right click the link that says “Use Facebook As…”) and start networking with others (photographers, designers, event planners, prop shops, etc).
• If you find it works for you, hold giveaways of your own and participate in others by donating services or products. Just make sure you follow the rules.
• Promote events you are a part of.
• Reply to fans.
• Post consistently, but not everyday. Aim for 2-4 times per week and quality posts.
• Treat your Facebook photo albums just like your website portfolio.
• Share the photographs you create of your own family and friends on your personal profile. This reminds people you know about your business and can lead to more work.
• Be funny. (One photographer specifically comes to mind, Jasmine Star).
• Start a creative project and share the results.

This just scratches the surface. What kinds of things are you doing on Facebook these days? Have the changes affected your page at all?

But out of all of the ideas, hopes and excitement I’ve narrowed things down to a list of actionable items that I can realistically fit in.  Because that is the most important part – getting it done! This was something that was very hard for me to learn: You can dream all day but nothing will get done unless you get down to business. Dreaming is funny that way, it makes you feel like you’ve accomplished a lot but you’ve actually just been sitting on your ass. (I bet that is why I am so addicted to Pinterest. They are similar in that way.) So, now I know great ideas are a dime a dozen. What really counts is putting in the hard work. And sometimes it is hard – harder than I ever thought it could be. Getting through the hardest times is what counts. That is not to say that dreaming is worthless. On the contrary, it is key! But its all about balance. So here are a few of my plans and dreams for 2012.

Time management is a huge focus in the coming year- I should say getting better at managing my time. My goal is to get more done with less. Its been a difficult journey the last 3 1\2 years trying to figure out how to run a business, be a good wife, and raise my babes. Because Lord knows when there are deadlines and things get a little stressful kids know exactly – down to the minute – when its time to throw milk on the walls and run around naked with permanent markers. True story.

I am also going to sweep my customers off their feet with great customer service. There have been more than a few instances this year where I have been extremely disappointed with poor customer service – whether it was an online order, car wash, or a trip to the craft store. And a few times when I feel I have let customers down. It just makes me feel sour. I definitely do not want to make anyone feel unloved, unappreciated or worse, frustrated – especially my customers.

Third, I want to help other photographers. There are people out there with AH-mazing gifts. I mean they can do crazy things with photography, but their skills in other areas (to put it nicely) lack. I would like to put my background in marketing & web design to use.

Finally, I’ll be working hard to figure out how in the world I can keep the props in my shop in stock. Albeit, selling out is a good problem to have, it is a problem none the less.

What are you working on in your business this year? Leave a comment, I would love to hear about it.