Your About section is the one location you have on your site to just talk about why you’re a photographer. It’s a waste of space to talk about what you’ve done. People aren’t interested in what awards you’ve won in print completion, what degrees you have or what conventions or events you’ve attended.

This is your opportunity to open your heart about why you love photography, working with clients, documenting the human spirit and capturing memories. This is about who you are as a person.

Stay away from an endless stream of testimonials. They’re nice, but ineffective. Seriously, when you see a series of testimonials on any product or service you’re buying for yourself do you honestly believe they’re legitimate? If you have a quote from a celebrity, a well-known magazine in which your work was featured that’s fine, but the repetitive stream of clients who are thanking you for your past work is a waste of valuable real-estate on your site.

Your About section should relate your passion for the craft. It’s an opportunity for you to reach out to your potential client and really show them who you are.

Show your sense of humor. Play off of words like “trust” and “integrity”. Share your belief in the importance of being unique.

Don’t let your ego drive your About section and NEVER talk about your competitors. Negative selling doesn’t do anything except create a curiosity for clients to go look at what you’re complaining about!

Today, thanks to video, you’ve got a chance to take your About section one step further. Justin and Mary Marantz, photographers in Connecticut did it on their site and created one of the finest About pieces I’ve ever seen. Here’s the link and as you watch it, pretend you’re looking through the eyes of a future bride!

You’re About Section of your website together with your galleries are the two most important components of your website. In the next post we’ll wander intp your galleries with some great suggestions on how to make your website an effective marketing tool, not just a place to list your phone number and show a few pictures!

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This post sponsored by Album Epoca

Today as a result of the Internet and Social Media, every photographer has the potential for the greatest “reach” in the history of photography and communication.  Reach is an old advertising term that started out as simply meaning how many people you could touch with an ad or publication.  Twitter, Facebook, blogs and your website give a photographer today more reach than most of your local newspapers had just a few years ago.

At the core of everything you do is your website. It’s home-base and the equivalent of a bricks and mortar store before the Internet.  What amazes me is how little attention is given to most websites. Here’s my point…

If you were building a new house or better yet a new studio, you’d pay attention to every detail. You’d spend hours deciding on flooring, tile or wood…do you want carpet in your office…then, you’d decide on the size of your shooting area. How big a dressing room do you want? Do you want a full kitchen and the ability to entertain clients. You’d spend an incredible time considering window and skylight placement and the exposure of the building to maximize natural light. The list goes on and on.

Well, if that’s the case then why do so many of you spend so little time on your websites? Your website is your front door – it’s your store – your bricks and mortar equivalent for reaching hundreds of potential clients. Yet, so many websites look like bombed out buildings in Beirut!

“In today’s information age of Marketing and Web2.0 a company’s website is the key to their entire business.” Marketing Speaker, Marcus Sheridan.

So, knowing your site is the key to your entire business, isn’t it time you really took a look at your site and went to work on turning it into an incredible shopping destination for every potential client?

Over the next few posts we’ll look at each aspect of your site, but for today, you only need one thing. Take a good look at your website and start your “to-do” list of things you could be doing better!

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Welcome to the GoingPro podcast.

You can direct-download the MP3 here.

Or get the entire GoingPro stream here - http://goingpro2010.podomatic.com/

Skip and Scott answer audience questions about the business of photography.

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This post sponsored by Adorama – More than a camera store

“It doesn’t matter what your business model is as a photographer. It matters what the customer’s buying model is.”

WoW! That just won’t leave me alone. I hate to admit it because nothing is harder than change, but change we must. Gone are the days when we can just send some negatives to the lab, order some cheap 8×10 prints, put them in a black folder, mark them up 400 percent and call it a day.

Digital delivery is here – the cloud is part of our lives. What are we going to do about it? Nobody has fought harder to protect the intellectual property rights of photographers than I have but lately, I see that as a mistake. Conversations with Trey Ratcliff have been particularly impactful for me in this regard. He’s embraced Creative Commons and seen his business soar.

I see other signs. Brides are increasingly more interested in having their weddings in digital format. Everyone wants a DVD or CD. For years I’ve said don’t do that! But now – I’m leaning the other way. Why?

The customer’s BUYING model trumps my BUSINESS model.

If the customer wants digital files and I don’t provide them the customer won’t buy from me. That’s a problem.

In the past, those of us in the industry with some authority fought against the “shoot and burn” business model. I am still against THAT model in the sense that shooting a wedding for $500 and giving the couple all the un-retouched files is a bad idea.

But if you charge enough, and get paid well enough, then I have no problem giving up the digital files. In the end it simply doesn’t matter what you or I think about this. All that matters is what the customer thinks. The customer is going that way – and the customer is going that way with or without us.

This requires much more thought and more discussion but I know one thing – I don’t want the customer going down the road that I am not on.
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This post sponsored by Album Epoca

I couldn’t have been more wrong or for that matter, stupid in my assumptions. It actually was one of the best conventions I’ve ever been to, reminding me of the early days of WPPI.

• David Ziser and his team put together an incredible platform including Vincent LaForet, Scott Kelby and Jerry Ghionis, just to name a few.
• Attendance broke the 1000 mark, incredible for a state convention like this, but proof of the saying, “If you build it they will come!”
• The trade show had an outstanding cross-section of vendors and actually sold out on booth space just a few weeks prior to the convention.
• The hotel, although a Marriott, set a new standard in service. Seriously, I’ve never been to a hotel with a staff more on the ball for helping their guests. From the guys at the front door to every waiter and waitress you felt appreciated.

Last on the list was the spirit at the convention. This group was excited to be there. Unlike the lack of enthusiasm at IUSA in New Orleans, this crowd was pumped! They were appreciative of the vendors for their support, excited about the speakers and the information being shared and everyone seemed to be involved, as if they had a personal stake in the convention.

The more I’ve thought about it, they did have a stake! This is their industry with a great show on their turf with speakers and vendors trying to bring them the help they need the most. This show is now on my list as an annual favorite – you should put it on yours!

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