MVB-1: Minimal Viable Brand Overview | ESSENTIALS For Photographers

WHAT YOU MUST HAVE TO BEGIN THE JOURNEY

ANNOUNCING A MARKETING MATERIALS AND PROMO CREATION WORKSHOP

No, I Don't Hate Designers.

I got an email from someone kind of upset at me for "telling people they don't need great design"...

And I never said that, nor do I believe that. I will say that a logo will not keep your gigs flowing in no matter how good it is. I will say that making sure you spend your assets wisely when starting out is a good, and possibly business saving strategy.

I think spending thousands on a brand when you only have a few thousand in the bank is wasteful and strategically a disaster.

I call this class MINIMAL VIABLE BRAND.

I don't call it "AWESOME BRANDING IDEAS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS".

That would require more expenditure than I think you need going out the door.

And if you are going to compete, you need to be OUT IN THE WORLD meeting people, showing your work, making more images.

You cannot do that if you spend all your time and money worrying about what color your font is going to be.

Can you get a wonderful brand for not much money?

Absolutely. There are tradeouts, barter, Fiverr, Freelancer... there are many places to get branding tools that rock for less than other places.

THAT IS LIFE.

If you got a job across town, would you make sure you got a good running car to get you there, or would you refuse to go that far because you don't have a Range Rover? Get it.

Overview of a Minimal Viable Brand

The bare minimum stuff you need to have and know before you head out to get clients.

We start out with a checklist that you can print out and have to make sure you have ticked off each and every one of these important items. Download the MVB PRINTABLE Checklist and print it out. Put it in front of you and check off what you already have. And then we see the holes and gaps and get on them.

I will be adding modules every few days and after they are finished, I will keep them updated with information. Signing in for the email list will help keep you informed as to major updates, and new additions. This meant to be an ongoing class, and it will remain free.

Before we start this journey on MVB, I must address the 800-pound gorilla standing over there in the corner.

Your portfolio.

Look - your portfolio has to be up to snuff. It must be ready for primetime, and you must be working on it constantly for it to be that.

That means new work, as often as possible. It means portfolio reviews with peers, friends, and professionals.

And it means it should be appropriate for the folks you are going to be showing it to.

Architecture clients don't want to see fashion.
Fashion clients don't want to see food.
Product manufacturers may not be that interested in your night sky photography.

Sounds crazy?

It shouldn't. This happens all the time.

We are not going to do a module on your portfolio. There are other places to address that.

But a few stipulations:

You should have at least two areas of competence even though you are specializing in one.
You should have at least 20-30 images in each of those competency areas.
They should be the cream of the crop, and appropriate.
You should be adding to it weekly.

There are portfolio resources out there to help you get the right images together.

I have a free course on what you need in your portfolio here.

This course is directed at photographers who are close to launching or have just launched their business and need to make sure they have what they need.

Each of these modules may be updated at any time. When new resources become available, or I discover them, they will be added to the module pages. Please forward this class to anyone you think may benefit from the information.

Here are our modules.
You can access them on the right side.
(NOTE: you have permission to download and customize all templates and forms as noted by the MVB FORM DOWNLOAD designation. Those links that go to external pages are not covered by this permission.)