Become the Ultimate Photographer By Design!

Join in for one of my 2009 Workshops! Every month, I’ll be offering a weekend of training that will have more impact on your bottom line and professional satisfaction than any other investment you will make this year!

> Get clear on what branding is at its core
> Supercharge your branding process.
> Let me guide and personally coach you on your branding decisions.

Give yourself the gift of jump starting your career that will save you years of trial and error.

The Workshop is designed around two keys that will propel you as a professional photographer.

The first is Brand Identity Assessment (who you are to your target market).
The second is your Marketing Game Plan (where you want to go).

By investing in yourself in this way, you will establish your branding trajectory and, more tangibly, the appropriate communication devices will have the greatest impact on your bottom line.

Examples could include how best to leverage your website, blog, list building mechanism/newsletter sign up, shopping cart, audio/video delivery, community development, social media, web metrics, advanced analytics, email marketing strategy, business cards, stationary package, email signatures, marketing workflow and your entire brand communication strategy.

This essential workshop is dedicated to one thing: helping you discover your unique brand qualities and giving you a plan of attack to make your business dreams a reality.

HIGHLIGHTS

* Identify the narrative to build your business around
* Discover your greatest resources available to you right now
* Learn how to leverage your strengths to build a brand you are thrilled about
* Develop a tangible action plan to transform you business
* Find an authentic community to be real with, who are committed to your success

If you are just making the transition into the profession or need to take your existing photo career to the next level, the Fast Track Workshop will prove to be one of the best investments you can make for your photography career! Fast Track is designed to take you from start to finish and be comprehensive enough to give you everything you need to brand around your greatest resource: YOU!

MAJOR TOPICS

* Personal Strength Inventory
* Strategy vs. Tactics… what they are and when to apply them
* Engaging our industry with confidence
* Presentation: Helping clients perceive you accurately
* Creating value engines that result in immediate sales incentives
* Tangible tools to have your brand reflect your core values
* Networking: How to create value for others so they remember you at the right time in the right way

Tip: We are only accepting 10 people per workshop, 4 of which are pre-reserved for Fast Track Founders. Since there are still a handful of Founder memberships left, you may want to snag one of those memberships and save over $200 on the workshop alone in the process - not to mention get a ton of free resources on top of the Workshop. For more on that, *CLICK HERE*.

*RESERVE YOUR SPOT BY CLICKING HERE RIGHT AWAY!*

Check out the details of what BECOMING A FOUNDER gets you and you’ll see pretty quickly how much of a screaming deal it is. Not only do you get the Workshop included*, you also get lifetime on the exclusive Forums, free copies of the book in any form you’d like and special advance access to all Fast Track announcements.

Can’t wait!
-Dane

*P.S. Only 4 Founders are guaranteed space at any one workshop so if you’re going to go that route, move quick to sign up. Once you’re a Founder, email me directly to dane@fasttrackphotographer.com and let me know your workshop preference. If you want to find out ahead of time what’s still open, that’s great too.

P.P.S. All dates will be in Orange County unless specified otherwise.

I was thinking about you and my long drive to Northern California this week to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. And then I thought that if you’re like me, you probably like to maximize your time when you travel too. So, since one of my favorite things to do on trips is to listen to audiobooks, I thought it would be cool to give the faithful a PRE-THANKSGIVING SALE and offer my Audiobook for HALF-PRICE.

Yup, I’ll read you my book personally for $12.50… no tax, no shipping and you get it right now if you want it. The only catch is the deal goes away on Turkey day.

What’s totally cool is it includes a FREE pDNA and surprise eBook. That’s like a $55 value for $12.50… but it’s only for three days and it’s only because I love you :).

It’s just a little thanks for all the ways you guys bless me.

To get the deal CLICK HERE and enter “audioturkeylove” in the promo code. Remember though, it only works until you start feeling guilty for eating too much so snag it now.

Now, inevitably there will be a number of you who recently bought my Audiobook and are bummed you’re not in on the deal. I haven’t forgotten you either.

First of all, if you’re getting my book you’re most likely not a Grumpy (for more on Grumpies, see the book) which means you are probably thinking how cool it would be to give thanks to someone you know. What a great opportunity to hook friends up for half price.

Second, in the spirit of this being the biggest shopping weekend of the year, I’ve got a special deal for you that will be announced the day after Thanksgiving (Thursday at midnight in fact) that will be pretty awesome. Stay tuned… and please drive safe!

Grateful for you…
-Dane

PS… If you’re an International reader and don’t celebrate American thanksgiving, consider this a small gesture and invitation to be thankful together, regardless of what lands on your calendar.

Thanks to my buddy J Sandifer, who captured my glee when Seth Godin…

(1) forgot my name.

(2) quickly remembered me and my book.

(3) gave the most succinct articulation of what my book is about (i.e, “Dane wrote a book about photography that’s not really about photography“).

(4) answered my question (which was… “When you’re leading, do you or those you’re leading get to decide what strategy you take?”… he then goes on to make a powerful distinction between strategy vs. tactics that you’ll want to replay a couple times to let sink in… (his answer by the way was a perfect shout out to Michele Mollkoy).

(5) made my day by feeling guilty about forgetting my name and gifting me with an über-rare Purple Cow original… Seth later told me I better not sell it on ebay.

I realize I already posted on this here but when J shared the video link with me, I couldn’t resist sharing it with you.

The fact that Seth not only read my book, endorsed it (you gotta see the jacket cover to know what he said), remembered what it said and then had the class to plug it a number of times from stage was, well, remarkable. So, thus, I must remark.

More than all that though, his answer is just too good to miss.

As a side note, as you listen, pay special attention when he uses the words…

• Stand
• Commit
• Believe
• Lead

I say he is spot on. And, the power of what he is saying may just change everything for you (and me) if we take them to heart and put them to action.

Here is Seth’s response to my question…

Keep it purple.
- Dane

PS… here’s the link to Seth’s new book. Don’t waste any time. You can also save a little money (and maybe a tree) by getting the Kindle edition or let Seth read it to you thanks to iTunes.

Is there any good news these days?

I mean, c’mon! Dow drops like a gazillion points.. the world is in the midst of massive downsizing.. folks making easy money just a few months ago are now exposed to dramatic losses and the underbelly of risk is showing itself.. banks are frozen for loans.. would be clients are paralyzed on spending in the midst of more competition than ever.. it’s crazy!.. isn’t it?

What does all this mean for normal small business owners like you and me.. especially those in the photography profession? I say, it’s good news. Here’s why…

1) Those in this business to collect low hanging fruit will now have to grow legs, get a ladder or quit if they want to eat (which will you choose?)! This is good news because people’s motivation will get checked at the door leaving only the folks who were made for this business in the first place. It’s not just Darwinian either. It’s in the best interest of those who fall out. They’re better suited for something different.

2) For those who grow legs or find a ladder, any doubt about whether or not you belong in this gig will fade for good. You’re in the tough times. And, everyone knows that those who can handle those today tend to become the leaders of tomorrow. Make it through this season and watch your confidence soar.

3) This is The Dip we’ve been looking for. This truly is the best moment in the world to either persevere (because getting through this season will define yourself as someone made to flourish and very few will be able to follow you) or quit (because if you don’t have the stomach for these challenges, you should get out as quickly as possible so you can get on to what you were made for… there’s no shame that… in fact, the sooner you tap out the better so you can get on to getting on).

For those who do persevere (because they just can’t seem to not do it), you’re in for a fantastic pot at the end of the rainbow. Just know it’s gonna rain for a while first. When it’s done though, you’ll call it a huge gift in retrospect.

Wanna learn more, buy Seth’s book today…

Lean In or Lead Out my friends!
-Dane

PS… special thanks to Ribbon Farm for the diagram above.