FAQ for Photographers: Building a brand and selling myself.

I will be the first to admit it.

Yes, I was also a skeptic.

A skeptic of this whole social media thing (just seemed like a big ole party of narcissism). A skeptic of self-promotion (seemed kinda shamelessly sleazy and definitely not easy for a -mostly- introverted kind of girl). A skeptic of joining forums, commenting on blogs, sending replies on Twitter, etc. (why try so hard to be part of the bigger conversation if I don’t feel like I have anything worthwhile to contribute? and won’t this only keep breaking down “real” human interaction, the face-to-face, meaningful kind?).

That was then.

This is now.

Now, after having done a LOT of research via blogs, books, forums, Facebook, and Twitter, I’ve come to find that in order to keep my head above the water, I don’t have any other choice but to participate in the conversation while simultaneously building a distinguishable brand out of… wait for it, wait for it…. MYSELF! Eeeeek! I literally have to sell myself. But why?

I thought Jasmine Star phrased it really nicely in one of her recent FAQ blog posts (must-reads, by the way):

“Isaac asked:
What in your opinion is your competitive advantage? I’m going to ask a side-question as well that is related, but what do other professionals and/or your clients say draws them to you?
I’m going to be really, reeeeally honest right now. I don’t have a competitive advantage. There are literally thousands of photographers here in Southern California. All who take good photos. Many of who shoot with the same camera I do. Most of who edit in Photoshop the way I do. All of who love the art of photography just as much as I do. What sets me apart? ME. So, if this can be a considered a competitive advantage, then by all means, I’ll rock it out. However, this also means that anyone can be their own competitive advantage…which is awesome! Everyone is truly and uniquely created and that’s precisely what photographers should leverage as they’re greatest competitive advantage.”

And I’ve been reading all sorts of stuff that basically says the same thing: Mastering and selling your art is essential, yes. I’m selling a service. However, I am also selling an experience, and that experience is, when it comes down to it, ME. And it’s taking some major adjustment to get used to this idea. I’ve always seen people who talk about themselves all the time or update everyone on what they’ve been working on or what their latest achievements are as being… well… stuck-up and self-centered. And I’ve never wanted to be, or to be perceived as being, that way. I’ve always been the keep-your-head-down-and-work-your-butt-off-and-maybe-you’ll-get-recognized-for-it type. Which is partly because I can, at times, be socially awkward. (I can hear the collective gasp as I type this… :) ) Of course everyone likes being recognized, but there’s something about the spotlight that is intensely intimidating and embarrassing for me. So to have to learn how to graciously accept praise (and humbly accept criticism) AND praise myself in a very public way is… hard. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no saint. I love attention as much as the next person. But purposefully drawing attention to myself is not as easy as it might be for other people. Heck, I would LOVE to be able to do it without batting an eyelash. But it’s hard. Plain and simple.

However, I MUST do it, because that’s the only way I can build the Morgan Trinker brand. A brand isn’t just a logo… the golden arches, the Nike checkmark, the white apple…. it’s an idea, a feeling, associated with a person and that person’s business. Think Martha Stewart. Rachel Ray. Oprah. Donald Trump. Brad Pitt. For the most part, the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear these names isn’t a logo. It’s an emotion or idea you connect with what that person stands for. Luxury. Self-help. Down-home cooking. Exquisite event design. High-profile. Established. Industry leader. Favorite things. Likable. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Obviously, those weren’t very specific descriptions, but you can see where I’m going with this. We attach feelings to people based on the brands they’ve built. And a lot of times, our spending habits and entertainment preferences reflect the impact that these brands have on our thinking.

Yesterday, I tweeted about the branding success by the name of Dolly Parton. I bet you $20 bucks you’ve already come up with ten thoughts/ideas/emotions you connect to her just by reading her name. They might be positive, they might be negative, but there they are. (If you want to know MY feelings about her, check out this blog post I wrote last year in her honor.) Anyway, CNN recently did a “Revealed” series on her and as I watched the video, I was particularly struck by the discussion of “Brand Dolly”:

Narrator: “After more than four decades in the limelight, Dolly has perfected the art of being Dolly.”

Dolly: “I’m in the Dolly Parton business. And I feel like I know how to run that very well. [...] I’m a very professional me. I can’t tell you how to be or tell someone else how to be. But I know how I’m supposed to be.”

Narrator: “Dolly Parton is arguably as famous for the way she looks as for the songs she sings. Over the years, her iconic image has graced the covers of thousands of magazines. [...] As Dolly’s music shot her to stardom, her flamboyant image also got people talking.”

Dolly: “Well, when people look at me, they see a lot of things, like, I guess first of all, you think ‘Oh my lord, why would somebody go out in public lookin’ like that?!’ But I know I’m a bit over-exaggerated. I wear too much makeup, too much hair. How I look is just a country girl’s idea of glamour. Back in my early days, I wanted to be pretty and I wasn’t, and I didn’t have anything, so I think when I got to where I could, I overdid it, and then I became comfortable with that, and that’s just how I’ve always felt, you know, just comfortable. This is how I look and I think people now, through the years, I’ve shown them that I’m a little more than what might meet the eye. Hopefully!”

Narrator: “But it wasn’t just an image she was creating. Dolly was more than aware that her iconic look was becoming her business. Brand Dolly was born. The strength of her brand is the result of years of her hard work to maintain it. [...] Whenever Dolly is in public, Brand Dolly is in action.”

Dolly: “I do protect my brand, and I do protect myself. It’s an image, and I’ve created it, and I protect it. I think I owe it to the public. I think I owe it to myself. And I’m comfortable doing it. [...] I would not go out in public without being made up and my hair fixed unless my husband was dying of a heart attack or something, and then I’d have to think about it. [laughs]”

Kenny Rogers: “Dolly has become a caricature of herself, and she plays that: Know me, know what I am, then watch what I can do.”

And how true it is, that her enormous fan base is as much a testament to her music as it is her image… because both work in harmony to create Brand Dolly.

The trouble for me, I think, has been figuring out my OWN brand. Deciding who I am, what makes me uniquely me, and how that can be a leveraged as an advantage over my competition. Because there will always be the rock star photographer with more experience, more expensive equipment, more off-the-wall creativity. So the only way I can stand out is to be myself, and connect on that personal level with other people, so that this is more than a business transaction… it’s a relationship, a connection, a signature Morgan Trinker experience. And because of this, Brand Morgan must always be in action, whether working at Starbucks, walking Gretchen at the park, leaving comments on Facebook, writing blog entries, etc. I have to start being a more professional “me.”

If you, like me, are trying to figure out how to build and maintain Brand You, here are some excellent resources to get your wheels turning:

The Business of Being Creative – blog by Sean Low

Photo Lovecat- blog written by photographers Anne Ruthmann, Christine Tremoulet, and Jillian Kay

Big Pink Cookie- another blog by Christine Tremoulet, devoted to running a creative small business

Seth Godin’s Blog – You may have heard of/read some of his fabulous business books, like Tribes, Small is the New Big, and All Marketers are Liars. The books are great, but his blogs have lots of handy information as well.

Good luck to you in building Brand You…. and hopefully as time goes on, Brand Morgan will be stronger and more recognizable than ever!

…. even if neither of us achieves the status of Brand Dolly. :)