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Why Have More Followers?

Cindy looking at laptop with red jacket. Kyoto, 2017.
Cindy looking at laptop with red jacket. Kyoto, 2017.
Cindy looking at laptop with red jacket. Kyoto, 2017.

What’s the purpose of having more followers?

I. What having more followers means to me

Cindy color. Kyoto, 2017
Cindy color. Kyoto, 2017

Okay, so I can’t speak for you, but I can speak for myself.

  1. The benefit of having followers, is that if you want to make money from your photography (like I do teaching workshops and selling products), having followers and an audience is good. Generally, the bigger your audience or following, the more likely someone will purchase one of your products or attend your experiences.
  2. A sense of security or pride: Knowing that you have a following, gives you some sort of self-confidence.
  3. The more you grow your followers or audience, the more you have a sense of “progress” or forward advancement or growth.

II. More followers, more problems

Cindy with leaves covering her eye. Kyoto, 2017
Cindy with leaves covering her eye. Kyoto, 2017

Here are some problems:

  1. The number of followers doesn’t matter. The quality of followers matters. Kevin Kelley has a theory of “1,000 true fans” that all you need is 1,000 “true fans” (someone who will actually spend money on you) to make a living. For myself, that number is much lower. If I sell a workshop spot for $2,500 or $3,000– I only in theory need 2 students a month to make a comfortable living, which is around 24 “true fans.”
  2. If you don’t see your follower count go up, or if you see your follower count go down, you feel depressed and shitty.
  3. The more followers you get and the more famous you get, the more you become a slave to your audience. Why? You want to please them at all costs, and therefore you become more fearful of deviating from your personal “style” or formula. This has happened to me… I became afraid of sharing new styles of pictures, fearing my audience would not like it. Also, having fear of really speaking my mind or saying controversial things, because I might lose followers, and therefore I lose money, go broke, become homeless, and die.

III. Why have more followers if you’re just making pictures for fun?

Portrait of Cindy outside our Airbnb apartment. Kyoto, 2017
Portrait of Cindy outside our Airbnb apartment. Kyoto, 2017

If you are just taking pictures for fun, or as a hobby… what does having more followers mean to you? Before I made a living from photography, this is why I craved more page views, followers, or “fame”:

  1. The chance to get “discovered” by a publisher, and to have my works be exhibited internationally. To travel. To gain glory, and to feel “successful” and good about myself. Lesson: better to publish or “discover” yourself, rather than waiting for someone else to “discover” you.
  2. To perhaps get “sponsored” and get free gear and equipment. Lesson: getting free gear and cameras actually turns you into a slave.
  3. Affirmation: I didn’t have enough confidence in my photography, and therefore wanted others to tell me how good my pictures were. Lesson: don’t “crowd-source your self-esteem”— by making your self-worth as a photographer based on how many “likes” you get on a picture.

IV. What does having a follower mean to you?

Once again, there is nothing wrong with wanting more followers.

Just ask yourself, “What does having a ‘follower’ mean to me?”

No wrong or right answers. Just be brutally honest with yourself.

Once you contemplate that, read my resources on photography entrepreneurship and how to gain more followers, and to build an audience in photography.

ERIC


PHOTOGRAPHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP 101

ERIC KIM x HENRI NECK STRAP  by HAPTIC INDUSTRIES // Portrait by Benjamin Thompson

If you want to make a living (or a killing) from photography, download:

PHOTOGRAPHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP MANUAL by ERIC KIM


PHOTOGRAPHY ECONOMICS 101

London man with French fry.

  • PRODUCERISM
  • What Is The Value of a Picture?
  • Your Photographic Labor is Not Free

PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS 101

CAMERA MONEY GBP by ANNETTE KIM

  • Chapter 1. How to Make a Photography Blog
  • Chapter 2. How to Price Yourself
  • Chapter 3. How to Find Your Market
  • Chapter 4. Why Teach Workshops?
  • Chapter 5. How to Build Trust
  • Chapter 6. How to Market Yourself
  • Chapter 7: Why Should Someone Attend Your Workshop?

KEYS TO SUCCESS

  • Why You Must Be a “Personality” in Order to Succeed
  • THRIVE OR DIE.
  • Impatience is a Virtue
  • Create Your Own Category
  • HOW TO DREAM BIG.
  • Will Not or Cannot?
  • Why Not?
  • How to Think BIG
  • How to Stay Ahead of the Curve
  • How to Invest in Yourself
  • The Two Camera Rule
  • MEANINGFUL DIFFERENTIATION
  • Advice For College Students
  • How to Thrive in Uncertain Times
  • CANNIBALIZE YOURSELF.
  • DO AND GROW RICH
  • Does Fear of Punishment Hold You Back?
  • HOW TO GET MORE FOLLOWERS
  • How to Innovate
  • How to Build Your Own Empire
  • YOU ARE ENTITLED TO HARD WORK.
  • PICK YOURSELF.
  • OWN YOUR PLATFORM
  • 10 KEYS TO SUCCESS

Table of Contents

Learn how to make a living from your passion:

  • Preface. BRAVE NEW WORLD OF PHOTOGRAPHY
  • Chapter 1. How to Create Value
  • Chapter 2. ZEN CAPITALISM
  • Chapter 3. Scarcity
  • Chapter 4. How to Brand Yourself
  • Chapter 5. How to Build a True Following
  • Chapter 6. The Blueprint to Success in Photography
  • Chapter 7. HOW TO BE BOLD
  • Chapter 8. How to Sell Out
  • Chapter 9. GO AGAINST THE GRAIN
  • Chapter 10. EXTREME ABUNDANCE
  • Chapter 11. Photography Experience Economy
  • Chapter 12. Why You Should Make Money for Your Photography
  • Chapter 13. How to Become a Famous Photographer

Photography Business 101

  • Practical Photography Business Advice

How to Make Money with Photography

CAMERA MONEY USD by ANNETTE KIM
CAMERA MONEY USD by ANNETTE KIM
  • How to Charge More Money in Your Photography
  • Why You Should Not Pursue Photography as Career
  • Can Photography Make You Rich?
  • How I Earn $200,000+ a Year From Photography
  • How to earn $10,000 a month as a photographer
  • Why you must be an expensive photographer

Photography Marketing 101

  • Why You Should Do Photography Work For Free
  • How I Became an Internet Famous Photographer
  • Photography Blogging Ideas
  • Why You Should Promote Your Own Name
  • How to Build a Following
  • How to Stand Out as a Photographer.
  • HOW TO GO VIRAL AS A PHOTOGRAPHER.
  • How to Master Marketing
  • How to Sell Yourself

SELLOUT ERIC KIM

How to Hustle.

  • Entrepreneurial Advice to My 18 Year Old Self
  • How to Become Insanely Productive.
  • 5 Lessons From Hesiod on Hustling

Entrepreneurial Principles

  • It is Better to Beg For Forgiveness Than Ask For Permission
  • The Free Way to Become Rich
  • JUST DO IT.
  • 7 Steps: How to Make a Living From Your Passion
  • How to Do What You Love for a Living
  • How to Create an MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
  • How to Fail Big
  • How to Invest in Yourself
  • How to Be Bold in Photography and Life
  • Mission: Cover Your Rent and Food
  • 1,000 True Fans
  • The “10x Principle”: The Only Difference Between “Success” and “Failure”
  • Make More Value Not Money
  • We Live in a Photo Utopia

How to be a Full-time Photographer

  • How to Make a Living From Photography
  • The 3 Principles of Making Money With Photography
  • Advice for Aspiring Full-Time Photographers
  • Don’t Go Into Debt For Your Photography
  • How to Brand Yourself as a Photographer
  • Trust: The Most Important Thing You Need to Succeed as a Photographer

Photography Blogging

  • How to become rich from photography blogging
  • How to Make a Living with Blogging
  • 50 Blogging Tips For Beginners
  • How to Start Your Own Photography Blog
  • A Photographer’s Guide to SEO, Blogging, and Social Media

How to Teach Photography

  • How to Become a Photography Teacher
  • How to Teach a Street Photography Class
  • Why I Teach Street Photography Workshops

Social Media

  • Why I Deleted My Instagram
  • The Social Media Blackbook for Photographers
  • Why Do You Need More Likes or Followers?
  • Instagram is Going to Be the Next Facebook
  • Don’t Trust “Free” Photography Social Networks

How to Save Money

  • How Cindy Saved Us $150,000+
  • The Free Way to Become Rich

START HERE >

ERIC KIM WORKSHOPS

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Unleash your creative potential:

2021:

  • April 10-11th, 2021: BOSTON / Discover Your Unique Voice in Photography Workshop [Register Intent Here]
  • May 1-2nd, 2021: CHICAGO / Street Photography Composition Masterclass [Register Intent Here]
  • May 22-22nd, 2021: NEW YORK CITY / STREET PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERCLASS by ERIC KIM [Register Intent Here]

Be notified of when new workshops are live here.


ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER

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HENRI SHOULDER STRAP

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Street Photography Starter Kit

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HENRI WRIST STRAP PRO

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Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Photography Entrepreneurship

My brand-new Udemy Course, "Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Photography Entrepreneurship" now live!

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Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Photography

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