{"id":21253,"date":"2014-10-26T15:24:15","date_gmt":"2014-10-26T22:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=21253"},"modified":"2014-10-26T15:24:15","modified_gmt":"2014-10-26T22:24:15","slug":"1000-true-fans-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/26\/1000-true-fans-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"1,000 True Fans in Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Berkeley,
Berkeley, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I currently wrote an article titled: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Advice for Aspiring Full-Time Photographers<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which had a lot of interest. I have also been connecting a lot of young photographers lately (high school and college students)\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and wanted to focus on doing more blogging which aimed at the younger photography population. Of course this doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just have to be age\u00e2\u20ac\u201d it can also be based on experience. So if you consider yourself as a young photographer (age-wise), experience-wise, or want some insights about the economics of being a full-time photographer, this article might be of some insight to you.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1,000 True Fans<\/h2>\n

I recently read (actually re-read many times) an article by Kevin Kelly (founder of Wired magazine) titled: \u00e2\u20ac\u01531,000 true fans<\/a>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It is probably the best piece of marketing advice for anyone aspiring to make a living (not getting rich) doing what they love.<\/p>\n

Pretty much the sum of his article is that for an artist to make a comfortable living (doing what he\/she loves) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d all the artist needs is 1,000 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true fans.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Now how would you define a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true fan?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kelly uses an example: someone who is willing to spend up to a full-days wages (let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say $100) once a year.<\/p>\n

So if you do the math, if you multiply $100×1000 people, you get $100,000 (actually a very good living \u00e2\u20ac\u201d enough to support a family quite well).<\/p>\n

Of course the number doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily need to be 1,000. It can be less (500) or more (5,000). But the general gist is that you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need hundreds and thousands (or millions) of viewers, readers, or fans to make a living at what you do.<\/p>\n

Myself as a case example<\/h2>\n

So let me do a case-example of myself:<\/p>\n

I currently have around 60,000+ fans on Facebook, 20,000+ followers on Twitter, 10,000+ on Instagram, and other fans on other social media networks. My blog averages around 12,000-16,000 page views a day.<\/p>\n

I currently make around 90% of my living from teaching street photography workshops, and around 10% doing miscellaneous other things.<\/p>\n

Currently I charge (on average) around $500 (early-bird) for each workshop I teach. Each workshop I generally get around 8\u00e2\u20ac\u201c14 students, so it ranges from ($3000-$6000) profit per workshop I teach. I currently teach around 1\u00e2\u20ac\u201c2 workshops a month, so my income varies from around $3,000-$15,000 a month. In the past my yearly income has ranged anywhere from $36,000 to $120,000. This doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t include all my expenses (which are a lot).<\/p>\n

I would say on average (after expenses) I earn currently around $3,000\u00e2\u20ac\u201c6,0000 a month\u00e2\u20ac\u201d which is more than comfortable for a guy without any children. My expenses are low (I only spend around $1,3000 a month in rent for a 1-bedroom in Berkeley with Cindy, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t buy new cameras, and try to not buy things I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need). The only more expensive things I spend money on is film, developing, and coffee (I consider this more as an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153expense\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for getting blogging done).<\/p>\n

Anyways, to sum up\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not getting super-rich off teaching workshops through street photography (otherwise I would have chosen to become a lawyer or a investment banker). But at the same time, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153starving\u00e2\u20ac\u009d artist either. I live comfortably, have enough to go out with Cindy, put away a little money into savings, and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stress about finances. I live a good comfortable life.<\/p>\n

On average I have around 15\u00e2\u20ac\u201c20 students attend a workshop per month, which amounts too around I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say around 150\u00e2\u20ac\u201c200 students a year.<\/p>\n

Now that is a lot less than the 1,000 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true fans\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that Kevin Kelly mentioned\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but he still brings up a good point: you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need a million \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true fans\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to make a comfortable living doing what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you just need enough \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true fans\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to keep you going.<\/p>\n

Finding 1,000 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true fans\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in your photography<\/h2>\n

So obviously I teach street photography workshops for a living, and that is my passion and what brings me the most joy in my life. But teaching is not for everybody.<\/p>\n

Here are some different types you can earn a living through photography (not a comprehensive list):<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Photography teacher (teach at a high school or college, teach workshops, teach private courses).<\/li>\n
  2. Full-time photographer (shoot weddings, commercial gigs, portraits, babies, etc.).<\/li>\n
  3. Web developer for photography-related apps (Flickr, Google+, Facebook, Instagram, Pro Camera, or any other photography-related start-up).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Those are currently some of the professions I could personally think of (related to photography) which I personally deem as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153viable\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure there are tons others\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but these seem to be the most viable way to make a living through photography.<\/p>\n

    So let us try to crunch some numbers, and see how many \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true fans\u00e2\u20ac\u009d each of these careers would need for you to make a living.<\/p>\n

    Making a living through photography<\/h2>\n

    For Kevin Kelley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s example, he thought that a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153comfortable living\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for an artist to make a living out of what he\/she did was around $100,000. That is a damn comfortable living.<\/p>\n

    I think it is more realistic to say something like $36,000. Once again, that is a very low yearly salary\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but enough to survive<\/em> and \u00e2\u20ac\u009dmake a living\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    1. Photography teacher (teach at a high school or college, teach workshops, teach private courses).<\/h3>\n

    If you are a full-time photography teacher (at a university, college, or a high school) you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re probably going to be earning at least $35,000+ \u00e2\u20ac\u201d which isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a great living (but enough to survive).<\/p>\n

    If you teach workshops on your own, you need to clear at least $3,000 a month. Assuming you taught 4 workshops a month (all on the weekends), you would need to earn at least $750 a week, which amounts to 10 students each paying $75 a week. I think this is definitely do-able.<\/p>\n

    Also a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true fan\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is someone who is willing to pay money to attend your workshop. Focus on cultivating your \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true fans\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by giving them great information that builds value to their lives (how-to tutorials, free e-books, free presets, your personal experiences, advice, etc.).<\/p>\n

    2. Full-time photographer (shoot weddings, commercial gigs, portraits, babies, etc.).<\/h3>\n

    Once again, you need to earn at least $750 a weekend, which is definitely possible shooting weddings or commercial gigs.<\/p>\n

    If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re starting off as a wedding photographer, you can probably charge $800 (and get away with it). And during the week shoot other commercial gigs (to make your living).<\/p>\n

    But know as a full-time photographer, you have to hustle hard. And even though you might not charge a lot for a wedding (let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say $800) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d there will always be someone out there willing to shoot it for even less (let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say $500).<\/p>\n

    Needless to say, the market for professional photography (I think) is hugely over-saturated. You can only make it if you hustle hard, network like crazy, have marketing skills, and differentiate yourself from your competition.<\/p>\n

    For a full-time photographer, a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true fan\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is someone who loves your work so much that they are willing to spend money to hire you for their wedding, headshot, corporate event, or whatever.<\/p>\n

    Focus on making beautiful images (the best images you can create) and put yourself out there by going to lots of parties (lots of business cards), networking, and building connections.<\/p>\n

    3. Web developer for photography-related apps (Flickr, Google+, Facebook, Instagram, Pro Camera, or any other photography-related start-up).<\/h3>\n

    I think if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a high school student or college student\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d recommend to study computer science (do photography as a minor or on the side for fun). Why? You can build cool photography-related applications, which might end up being a great way for you to (indirectly) make a living from photography.<\/p>\n

    Worst-case scenario, if you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t program or do something photography-related, you can always end up getting a normal job (as a programmer), and shooting for yourself before\/after work\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and on the weekends (which is totally cool too).<\/p>\n

    If you create your own photography-related startup, think about how many \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true fans\u00e2\u20ac\u009d you need to download your app, and perhaps shell out 99 cents to either pay for the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153pro\u00e2\u20ac\u009d version of your application, or pay for extras like filters or added functions. Create a truly amazing application and product, and position your features correctly\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and people will pay the money.<\/p>\n

    Other tips to make a living as a full-time photographer<\/h2>\n

    If you are super die-hard about making a living as a full-time photographer, here are some more practical tips:<\/p>\n

    1. Keep your expenses low<\/h3>\n

    It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter if you earn $10,000 a month as a photographer. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re spending $9,000 a month in expenses (and just buying random stuff you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d that is bad business.<\/p>\n

    My advice is to keep your expenses super-low. Meaning: don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t buy new gear (unless you really need it). And even if you need new-gear, just get whatever is the best \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bang-for-the-buck\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for commercial work.<\/p>\n

    Do all of your marketing, design, and financial work yourself (so you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to hire someone else to do it for you).<\/p>\n

    Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t rent out a studio where you have to pay rent from. Work out of your apartment (or your parent\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s basement). Keeping your overhead (monthly expenses for space) low is an essential.<\/p>\n

    Maybe you have to eat cup-ramen for a few months, but if you really want to make a living as a photographer\u00e2\u20ac\u201d starting off, this is the sacrifice you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re probably going to have to make.<\/p>\n

    2. Appease your 1,000 true fans<\/h2>\n

    Honestly, if you want to make a living as a photographer nowadays (or any other artist), I think it is around 80% marketing, and 20% of your art.<\/p>\n

    There is so much competition out there\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and good marketing isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just spamming people to follow you or whatever.<\/p>\n

    What is good marketing? Once again, try to please your 1,000 true fans.<\/p>\n

    If you find someone who is following you on social media, send them a thank you\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and perhaps create a conversation and engage with them.<\/p>\n

    I think it is better to engage closely with 1,000 true fans than never interact with 1,000,000 (not as interested) fans.<\/p>\n

    Engagement is one of the keys to build a relationship, a sense of trust, and love with your audience.<\/p>\n

    If you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t engage with everyone\u00e2\u20ac\u201d then pour out your soul and heart into everything you do. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a photography blogger, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just write for clicks and spam your website with advertisements. Rather, write from your experiences and be open and true. Be transparent, wear your heart on your sleeve. Write touching stories about your personal experiences in photography. Be open with your advice and knowledge, and give it away for free.<\/p>\n

    I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t honestly think there is a future for making a living through photography purely off display advertisements (honestly when is the last time you clicked on a banner ad?) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d it will be through (I think) teaching workshops, selling products (books, information, t-shirts, etc.) and experiences (workshops, trips, speaking engagements).<\/p>\n

    When it comes to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153marketing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I always think to myself, is this article I write, Instagram photo I upload, or comment I leave going to add value to my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true\u00e2\u20ac\u009d fans? If I think it is going to add value\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I do it. If not, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do it.<\/p>\n

    Also know that by appealing to your 1,000 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true fans\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to piss a lot of people off. After all, not everyone out there is going to be a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153true fan\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. You might get \u00e2\u20ac\u0153haters\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, trolls, or people who are just halfway interested in what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t try to appease them (they will waste your time, energy, and attention). Appease the people who are truly rooting for you.<\/p>\n

    3. Give it time<\/h2>\n

    I blogged for around 2 years solid before I was able to start making a living off teaching street photography workshops. This meant that while having a full-time job (and still being in school), I would wake up quite early, and blog at least 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). I put a huge amount of effort building up my social media channels, by engaging my audience on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Flickr, YouTube, etc. Unfortunately at the moment\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I have too many followers to have an authentic engagement (and engage very little). But on the flip side, I try to engage by writing more emotional, helpful, and insightful articles (which I think will help my 1,000 true fans).<\/p>\n

    So know that if you want to make a full-time living in photography, it won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t happen over-night. Give it time.<\/p>\n

    Conclusion<\/h2>\n

    There is nothing wrong about having a full-time job (before you do your photography full-time as a living). And honestly I think in a lot of ways, being a full-time photographer is less glamorous in reality than it seems.<\/p>\n

    But if your passion, soul, and life is only about photography\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and you want to pursue it full-time, I highly encourage you to do it. I give you all the love, support, and enthusiasm to pursue your life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s calling.<\/p>\n

    You can do it. Just be thrifty, create value to your 1,000 true fans, and stay true to yourself. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sell out\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (disobey your own internal morals or virtues to make a quick buck)\u00e2\u20ac\u201d do what feels authentic to you.<\/p>\n

    Now go out and cultivate those 1,000 true fans.<\/p>\n

    Make sure to also read Kevin Kelly’s original article: “1,000 true fans<\/a>“<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Related articles on Marketing and Photography<\/h2>\n

    Below are some articles that are related to marketing and photography, and the philosophy behind it which I recommend:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. A Photographer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Guide to SEO, Blogging, and Social Media<\/a><\/li>\n
    2. A Letter to My 18 Year Old Self: If I Started Street Photography All Over Again<\/a><\/li>\n
    3. Advice for Aspiring Full-Time Photographers<\/a><\/li>\n
    4. On Social Media and Street Photography<\/a><\/li>\n
    5. On Patience and Street Photography<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      10 Things Photographers Shouldn’t Do in Social Media<\/h2>\n

      Some more recommended advice on things (not) to do in social media):<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Don’t follow a bunch of people (just to get a “follow-back”)<\/li>\n
      2. Don’t add your photos to 100’s of groups on Flickr just to get more “views” and “favs”<\/li>\n
      3. Don’t upload photos everyday (unless they are all really good photos)<\/li>\n
      4. Don’t spend more time on social media than going out and taking photos<\/li>\n
      5. Don’t be jealous that other photographers have more followers than you (someone will always have more followers than you)<\/li>\n
      6. Don’t check your social media stats several times a day<\/li>\n
      7. Don’t spam your posts with #hashtags<\/a> (limit it to under 2-3)<\/li>\n
      8. Don’t favor quantity > quality<\/li>\n
      9. Don’t Instagram your food<\/li>\n
      10. Don’t forget– the most “social” thing to do as a photographer is to meet other photographers in “real life”.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        I currently wrote an article titled: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Advice for Aspiring Full-Time Photographers\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which had a lot of interest. I have also been connecting a lot of young photographers lately (high school and college students)\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[934],"class_list":["post-21253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts","tag-marketing"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/berkeley.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}