If you have listened to or read every episode of this podcast, you know I wasn’t always good at marketing.

I had a hard time convincing myself that the product I was serving was worth the price tag. Because I wasn’t convinced, neither were my non-existent clients. I set out to create a service, product and client experience that I wanted to have for myself. Now that I was proud of what I offered and it was time to get the word out there.
Here, I’m going to let you know where I have learned the most marketing techniques. Composed of books, inspiring social media accounts and great podcasts that I would recommend to everyone new to marketing or small business.

Marketing Books

Gary VaynerChuk is a marketing guru, self made businessman and author of books Word of Mouth Marketing; Jab, Jab, Jab Right Hook and Crush It! VaynerChuk gained his marketing knowledge from real world experience- growing his wine business online.

Word of Mouth Marketing’s main point is that people will talk- if your product/service is high quality and worth the price, they will talk about that. If they have anything negative to say, they will! So join the conversation and give customer service 100%. Word of mouth is one of the strongest marketing techniques. Get your clients talking!

Jab, Jab, Jab Right Hook is extremely informational- breaking down marketing strategies across popular social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and more. VaynerChuk gives the reader incite to each platform, how their ever-changing algorithm works and how to retain your voice but match the platform you’re posting on.

My final book recommendation is a textbook from my time at Mitchell Technical Institute: E-Commerce 2016 by Kenneth C Laudon and Carol Guercio Traver. The book is packed with helpful information for selling anything on the internet.

Inspiring Accounts

Visual learners will learn the best by soaking in other marketer’s strategies. I certainly learn visually, so I have a few accounts that I follow specifically to study their marketing techniques. These accounts are not necessarily photographer’s accounts so their unique marketing tequniques often inspire me to do something new and fresh in the photography world.

While I do recommend following people in your industry, I think it’s best to absorb most of your inspiration from other industries to avoid copying your peers.

For example: If the only accounts I ever followed were photographers, I would only encounter ideas photographers have thought. This is no way to bring a fresh perspective to my industry, let a lone my feed.

If the accounts I followed ranged from travel to art to fashion to books and physical health- then I would have a wide variety of inspiration pouring into me that will reflect in my photography.

Business Podcasts

Jenna Kutcher is the first business podcaster that comes to mind. I’ve done my best to listen to each and every one of her publications (that’s a HUGE feet) that I have yet to accomplish. Jenna is a high-end photographer and business coach. Her podcast is often phone call conversations with some of her friends from her industry.

I once listened to Jenna talk about how hiring good people was one of the best things she could do for her business. She said “I’ve never spent more money (employee’s wages) on anything in my life! I’ve also never made more money in my life.”

Over a year later, my mind keeps circling back to that. I know I want to build my team and that every investment might not pay back, but it’s worth the risk.