{"id":22106,"date":"2014-12-29T02:00:49","date_gmt":"2014-12-29T10:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=22106"},"modified":"2014-12-31T10:17:41","modified_gmt":"2014-12-31T18:17:41","slug":"the-10x-principle-the-only-difference-between-success-and-failure-as-a-photographer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/29\/the-10x-principle-the-only-difference-between-success-and-failure-as-a-photographer\/","title":{"rendered":"The “10x Principle”: The Only Difference Between “Success” and “Failure” as a Photographer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dubai, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

I recently read a book titled: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How Google Works<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and came across the \u00e2\u20ac\u015310x principle\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that Google apparently follows.<\/p>\n

The idea is quite simple, elegant, and powerful: to be successful in any field, do it 10x better than anybody else<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In the book, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Zero to One<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, author Peter Thiel (co-founder of PayPal) also touches upon the \u00e2\u20ac\u015310x principle.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

This is how I interpret the differences between the 10x principles between the Google Book and Peter Thiel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s book:<\/p>\n

At Google, employees are always encouraged to think of making \u00e2\u20ac\u015310x improvements\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to an idea (thinking big) rather than just aiming for mediocre and incremental improvements.<\/p>\n

In \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Zero to One<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, Peter Thiel says that entrepreneurs and businesses succeed by being 10x better than their competition, and creating a monopoly in their industry (more on this later).<\/p>\n

The 10x Principle Applied to Photography<\/h2>\n

I recently did a free talk at Gulf Photo Plus in Dubai on street photography, and a young woman in the crowd asked me what advice I would give aspiring full-time photographers.<\/p>\n

I thought about it long and hard and suddenly the \u00e2\u20ac\u015310x principle\u00e2\u20ac\u009d came to mind.<\/p>\n

Therefore I told her: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you want to be successful in your photography and make it your living, think about how you can be 10x better than anyone else in your field. Think about how you can offer 10x better customer service, make 10x more creative photos, or offer 10x more value than any of your competition in the market.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

I then asked her, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How do you think your photography can be 10x better than anyone else out there?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

She paused for a second \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and thought to herself. She then responded that it was a good question, and she would need more time to think about it.<\/p>\n

How to be 10x better than anybody else out there<\/h2>\n

To be 10x better than anyone else is tricky. But it forces you to think \u00e2\u20ac\u0153outside the box\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201c and to think really big.<\/p>\n

I recently heard a podcast by Tim Ferris<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0(author of “The 4-Hour Workweek<\/a>“) and he said something along the lines of:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Most people aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t motivated and inspired because their dreams aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t big enough.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tim\u00c2\u00a0also recommended the book: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Magic of Thinking Big<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (which I read before I started my blog, which helped inspired me to get started).<\/p>\n

The easiest way to be 10x better than anyone else in your field is to enter a really small niche (where you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any competitors).<\/p>\n

For example, when I started this\u00c2\u00a0blog on street photography, there were no other blogs on street photography. Therefore it was easy for me to be 10x better than my competition (because no competition existed).<\/p>\n

Even now\u00c2\u00a0I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know any other blogs out there which are dedicated purely to street photography, which helps my blog stay on the top of Google search results and to create a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153monopoly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of street photography blogs in general.<\/p>\n

The importance of building\u00c2\u00a0a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative monopoly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/h2>\n

Which brings me to the point of a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative monopoly<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Peter Thiel says in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Zero to One<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Monopoly is the condition of every successful business.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What is a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative monopoly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? The idea is that you dominate your creative field, that nobody can really compete against you.<\/p>\n

For example, Google essentially has a monopoly over the search engine market. Sure there is Yahoo and Bing, but they are minor players.<\/p>\n

How can you create a monopoly in your business? Well, you first need to find a unique problem that people have, and be the best at solving that problem<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Peter Thiel expands on this idea:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153All happy companies are different: each one earns a monopoly by solving a unique problem<\/strong>. All failed companies are the same: they failed to escape competition.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Why is a monopoly necessary to succeed? Peter Thiel says that if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re too busy in the trenches fighting against your competition, everyone is struggling to survive (and nobody makes meaningful profits to stay alive):<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Competition means no profits for anybody, no meaningful differentiation, and a struggle for survival.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Therefore by creating a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative monopoly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in your field\u00e2\u20ac\u201c you are outside the arena of competition. You create your own category \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and are so good at what you do that you effectively have no other competitors.<\/p>\n

Some other businesses that have a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative\u00e2\u20ac\u009d monopoly can include some of the brands: Apple, Nike, Leica.<\/p>\n

If you want the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153best\u00e2\u20ac\u009d smartphone or the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153best\u00e2\u20ac\u009d laptop\u00e2\u20ac\u201c what brand comes to mind? Apple. You think of the iPhone and a Macbook Air or Pro. The iPhone is an incredible device, as people can interchangeably say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153iPhone\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to mean smartphone (just as they call tissues \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Kleenex\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, even though not all tissues are made by Kleenex).<\/p>\n

Here are how some brands successfully utilized the “10x principle” to their businesses:<\/p>\n

1. Apple<\/h3>\n

Apple dominated their field by being 10x better than any of their competition out there. When they first started to innovate: they made their products gorgeous (certainly 10x prettier and more elegant than their competition), they made their customer service 10x better (speaking to the helpful guys at the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Genius bar\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in-person instead of being on-hold with random people from India as you would with Dell), they also made their marketing and branding 10x better (you feel sexy and creative owning an Apple device).<\/p>\n

2. Nike<\/h3>\n

Nike still dominates the sports market more than any other brand out there. If you want the coolest shoes out there, you will buy a pair of Nikes. If you play basketball, you want a pair of Air Jordans. If you play soccer (or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153football\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in Europe), you want a pair of Nike\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. Nike\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s make you feel stronger, make you feel like you can run faster, and the swoosh is extremely desirable (much more than any other brand).<\/p>\n

3. Leica<\/h3>\n

There is also no other camera that is as sexy and elegant as a Leica (the Fujifilm x100 series cameras come close, but they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re essentially a Leica copy-cat). The Leica is one of the most coveted cameras out there, because of their simplicity and minimalism (their cameras are probably 10x more simple than any other camera out there), their quality (10x better than competition, hand-made in Germany), and their brand (all of the most famous photographers in history have traditionally shot Leica, think Henri Cartier-Bresson). In terms of price, they are also 10x more expensive than their competition (which gives them a monopoly over the high-end photography market).<\/p>\n

How to build a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative monopoly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/h2>\n

So if you want to be successful and build a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative monopoly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in your field\u00e2\u20ac\u201chow can you do it?<\/p>\n

Well, first of all you need to create a great business that will endure in the future<\/strong>. Peter Thiel shares the idea that the value of a business today is tied into the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153expectancy of profits in the future.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Therefore a great company or business must grow and endure (and not die) in the future<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say you are a commercial photographer or a wedding photographer\u00e2\u20ac\u201c how can you create a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative monopoly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d over your field? Well\u00e2\u20ac\u201c you can start off by having a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153competitive advantage<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in which you are 10x better than your competition. If you want to be noticed for your photography, you want to strive to make photos that are 10x better than anybody else out there<\/strong>. Or you can create a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative monopoly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by shooting in a way that nobody else is shooting out there (either by your process, the camera you shoot with, the medium you work with, etc).<\/p>\n

Peter Thiel gives some examples of ways to build a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153competitive advantage\u00e2\u20ac\u009d:<\/p>\n

1. Technology<\/h3>\n

You can be 10x better than your competition by building something brand-new.<\/p>\n

So for example, this\u00c2\u00a0blog was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153brand new\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in the sense that there were no other street photography blogs out there.<\/p>\n

If you are a professional wedding photographer\u00e2\u20ac\u201c don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just be a generic \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Wal-Mart\u00e2\u20ac\u009d wedding photographer. Perhaps you can go super-niche. Cater to hipsters. Do hipster-weddings where you only shoot film. If you shoot corporate headshots, perhaps you can be the person who shoots medium-format and prints out photos of your clients super-big (10x bigger than anybody else).<\/p>\n

Go niche\u00e2\u20ac\u201c be super-specific. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be too general. If I tried to make this\u00c2\u00a0blog appeal to all<\/em> photographers out there it certainly wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be as popular as it is now. Can you imagine how boring this blog would be if I catered to wedding photographers, nature photographers, and HDR photographers? By choosing a niche of street photography\u00e2\u20ac\u201c it gives me focus on having a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative monopoly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in the street photography blog scene.<\/p>\n

Going back to commercial photography\u00e2\u20ac\u201c perhaps you can offer 10x the customer service over your competition. Be super-attentive to your clients, offer freebies (free prints), offer free consultation services, respond to your clients 10x faster than your competition, and hustle 10x harder than anybody else out there. Be 10x more communicative with your clients, and make them feel that they got a great value for your services (give them 10x the value for their money).<\/p>\n

If you want to start your own photography blog, think about how you can be 10x better than your competition. Perhaps you can publish 10x the content than any other blog out there (think PetaPixel<\/a>). Perhaps you can publish less, but make your articles 10x higher-quality and 10x more in-depth than your competition (something I have been trying to do with my longer-form articles on my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Learn From the Masters<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d series). Perhaps you can have a blog that is designed 10x better than your competition.<\/p>\n

Or you can start your own blog on a photography niche which isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t yet tapped. If you want to start your own street photography blog I highly recommend you to do so, by making it either 10x better than the blog that I have, or make it more specific (cater just to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fine art\u00e2\u20ac\u009d street photography, to just \u00e2\u20ac\u0153street portraits\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, or just podcast based (like Michael Meinhardt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Talking Street\u00e2\u20ac\u009d podcast)).<\/p>\n

2. Network effects<\/h3>\n

Another piece of advice that Peter Thiel gives is the importance of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153network effects\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to have a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n

The concept is this: the more users in your network, the more useful it will be<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For example, the only reason that email is useful is because everybody else has it. Instagram wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be any fun if nobody else used Instagram.<\/p>\n

So if you are building up a business, you can create a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153network effect\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in many different ways.<\/p>\n

If you already have happy clients, perhaps you can ask for them to give referrals to other people who might need your services. If you have a photography blog, try to continue to build up your community and have assignments, competitions, or feature your members. You can also build up your \u00e2\u20ac\u0153network effects\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by building up your social media presence (gain more followers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) or by building up a mailing list where you provide 10x more useful content and information than anybody else out there.<\/p>\n

3. Economies of scale<\/h3>\n

This is related to the previous point\u00e2\u20ac\u201c but the bigger your business is, the bigger your \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative monopoly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be.<\/p>\n

Therefore, think big with your business. Perhaps if you are a wedding photographer trying to build your business\u00e2\u20ac\u201c don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think of yourself being the only photographer. Perhaps you can continue to build up your brand, and then get other photographers to work under your brand. Then you can take more of a managerial approach.<\/p>\n

If you run a photography blog (like myself) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c you can get more contributors and guest bloggers to write for your blog. As a single author and blogger, you can only create so much content for your audience. The most successful blogs out there have many writers out there.<\/p>\n

Think big. Rather than trying to see how you can help and add value to just dozens or hundreds of people, think of how you can add value and help millions of people<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So for example, my blog only has a limited reach. I currently have around 10,000\u00e2\u20ac\u201c15,000 pageviews a day (around 5,000\u00e2\u20ac\u201c7,000 unique visitors a day). This means I am reaching around 150,000\u00e2\u20ac\u201c210,000 people a month (which is still a lot)\u00e2\u20ac\u201c but limited.<\/p>\n

I am trying to branch out more, by doing guest blog posts, and also creating more videos for YouTube (which has a virtually unlimited reach). At the moment of this writing, my videos have close to 3 million views, and I hope to continue to increase my reach to help even more people out there.<\/p>\n

And also as a side-note: the point isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t to spam millions of people. It is creating a strategy how you can add value to the lives of millions of people out there<\/strong>. Think about how you are also solving problems as a photographer or a blogger out there. The better you are at solving people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problems, the more valuable you are as an individual in the economy, which will help you become more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153successful\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (through fame, monetary means, or by status).<\/p>\n

4. Branding<\/h3>\n

Branding is one of the best ways to gain a competitive advantage over your competition.<\/p>\n

When you have a stomach-ache and you go to the pharmacy, do you grab the $2 generic stomach medicine? Hell no, you feel like you are dying, and want the maximum relief for your pain. You dish out the extra $3 and buy the $5 Pepto-bismol. There are also studies which show that because we trust brand-names, there is actually a placebo effect and we actually do feel better. Even though the active ingredients in a generic stomach medicine and a Pepto bismol bottle are the same, the Pepto bismol will actually make you feel better.<\/p>\n

This might also be the effect of owning an expensive camera (like shooting with a Leica camera). To be honest, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t objectively tell the difference between photos that come out of a Leica M240 and a Fujifilm x100T, Sony A7, or 5D Mark III. But when you shoot with a Leica, you feel like you take better photos (because of the power of the Leica brand). You feel more creative, inspired, and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153artistic\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with a Leica.<\/p>\n

This is also sad to say\u00e2\u20ac\u201c but if you went to a photography gallery opening with a Leica around your neck, people are going to take you more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153seriously\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and think you are a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153better\u00e2\u20ac\u009d photographer (than if you just had a Fujifilm x100 around your neck). Of course this is bullshit (often the more expensive the camera, the worse the photographer is). But once again, this is the power of brand perception.<\/p>\n

To take this analogy futher\u00e2\u20ac\u201c if you were hiring a lawyer for an important case, who would you trust more: the guy who pulls up in a cherry-red BMW M3 or the guy who pulls up in a silver Toyota Corolla?<\/p>\n

If you are hiring a designer for your website, who would you trust more: the hipster designer with a Macbook Pro or the designer with a 3-year old Dell laptop?<\/p>\n

So how can you build up a strong brand?<\/p>\n

I think one of the most important things is to create trust<\/strong>. In Seth Godin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s book \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Permission marketing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he talks about the importance of differentiating yourself from your competitors by building up your trust with your audience slowly and over time, by consistently adding value to their lives, and not being pushy with advertising or marketing.<\/p>\n

For example, the reason that people will shell out $1,000+ for one of my workshops is that I have blogged about street photography for over 4+ years, and they trust me. I have built this trust by researching the best street photographers out there, creating in-depth articles that are helpful and add value (while offering it for free), through my YouTube videos, and through engaging my audience through social media. I am fortunate enough that most people who are interested in street photography have heard my name somewhere before.<\/p>\n

Once again, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re buying a laptop\u00e2\u20ac\u201c the specs of a Macbook Air and a similar Windows-based laptop might be around $500\u00e2\u20ac\u201c800 different. But you buy the Macbook Air because it makes you feel more creative (power of branding). You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re into Yoga, sure you can buy the Champion athletic workout clothes at Costco, but no\u00e2\u20ac\u201c you pay 3x extra for the Lululemon brand because you trick yourself into thinking that it will make you perform better in your Yoga).<\/p>\n

Building a brand takes a long time, and requires a huge amount of effort, love, attention, and by consistently delivering things of quality. Creating trust via a brand is like creating trust with a friend. You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect to become best friends with someone just after one meeting. You need to meet them over-and-over-again, through many years, many interactions, by making yourself vulnerable to them (telling them secrets), and also by listening to their problems and their troubles (being emotionally available to them).<\/p>\n

Be extraordinary<\/h2>\n

If you want to succeed over the long-term, Peter Thiel tells us that we need to have an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ambitious long term vision.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He tells us that business is like chess: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You must study the endgame before anything else.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

I think the way I would define \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in a a business is by delivering 10x the value and help (compared to your competition) over a long-period of time (not dying or becoming irrelevant<\/strong>). Some of the best brands and companies have existed for decades (think Louie Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel).<\/p>\n

Focus on the long-term. If you are starting off as a freelance photographer, starting your own business, or your own photography blog\u00e2\u20ac\u201c don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think about quickly making huge profits and gaining millions of followers. Aim on first creating a business, brand, and a presence that will exist for a long time. Focus on long-term survival before becoming super rich or a social media superstar.<\/p>\n

How do you create a business that will exist a long time? There are no shortcuts\u00e2\u20ac\u201c it requires hard work, sweat, blood, tears, and grit. And there is definitely \u00e2\u20ac\u0153luck\u00e2\u20ac\u009d involved\u00e2\u20ac\u201c but the harder you work, the harder you hustle\u00e2\u20ac\u201c the more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153lucky\u00e2\u20ac\u009d you will become. Realize that you control your own destiny and success.<\/p>\n

Ralph Waldo Emerson said: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Shallow men believe in luck, believe in circumstances\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Strong men believe in cause and effect.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

So continuously improve yourself, keep educating yourself, and keep growing. Make bold plans, and have \u00e2\u20ac\u0153infinite optimism.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Know that in your entrepreneurial endeavors, you will face a lot of headaches, anxiety, cash-flow problems\u00e2\u20ac\u201c but know that the future will always be better.<\/p>\n

Know that you have agency and control over your life. As Peter Thiel says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Reject the unjust tyranny of chance<\/strong>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Focus relentlessly<\/h2>\n

Another big piece of advice that I learned from Peter Thiel is the importance of focus. You only have so much limited attention, energy, money, resources, and hours in a day. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t diversify\u00e2\u20ac\u201c focus all of your energy and attention in what you are good at\u00e2\u20ac\u201c and strive to be the best at it you can possibly become.<\/p>\n

Peter Thiel says the following:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153An individual cannot diversify his own life by keeping dozens of equally possible careers in ready reserve.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I am constantly swayed by all of these different business ideas that I have. For example, in the past I have sold products (T-Shirts) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but found out that design wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t my strongest point, and it was just a pointless distraction. For me, my primary interest (and where I think I deliver the most value) is through education<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Therefore with my blog and workshops, I want to strive to be the best photographic educational resource on the internet (at least for street photography).<\/p>\n

So I have tried to relentlessly eliminate distractions from my life. I have purposefully tried to limit the other business ideas I have to just focus on creating value through education. I try to do this through my composition lessons<\/a>, through my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Learn from the Masters<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d series, through my book-reviews and analyses<\/a>, through my street photography workshops<\/a>, through my YouTube channel \u00e2\u20ac\u0153street photography Go-Pro<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d videos, my free online street photography video lectures<\/a>, and through articles like these (education for photographers on marketing and business, you can also read my article “A Photographers Guide to SEO, Blogging, and Social Media<\/a>“).<\/p>\n

There is one interesting story that comes to mind on the importance of focus and simplicity in business (also from Apple). When Steve Jobs got kicked out of Apple, Apple started to have a massive nose-dive. They had too many products on the market, and were too fragmented. They offered too many different models for their computers, and started to create other products which killed their focus (like their failed personal digital assistant). Once Steve Jobs re-joined Apple, he famously drew a 2×2 box and said from that point forward they would focus on the following: Pro\/consumer laptops and pro\/consumer desktop computers. He then ruthlessly slashed all of the other unnecessary products, and strove to focus on those 4 products.<\/p>\n

So for yourself\u00e2\u20ac\u201c think about the single thing you are good at, and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t try to diversify too much. Get damn good at that one thing you do, and be the best at it (10x better than anybody else). Continue to grow, evolve, and learn. Create your \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative monopoly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

The importance of marketing<\/h2>\n

There is a common saying in business: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Build it, and they will come.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always the case\u00e2\u20ac\u201c sometimes you can have the best product, offer the best services, and yet have no clients. Because no matter how good you are, you need to effectively market yourself and get people to know about you.<\/p>\n

In photography, Vivian Maier<\/a> and Saul Leiter<\/a> weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t very good \u00e2\u20ac\u0153marketers\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of their work. They were both brilliant photographers, but (perhaps purposefully) didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t market themselves to get their work out there and widely recognized.<\/p>\n

Fortunately Saul Leiter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153discovered\u00e2\u20ac\u009d towards the end of his life\u00e2\u20ac\u201c and before he died he was able to gain a lot of admiration and recognition for his work. Unfortunately, Vivian Maier wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t able to enjoy any sort of success or recognition\u00e2\u20ac\u201c she died penniless and was only \u00e2\u20ac\u0153discovered\u00e2\u20ac\u009d when John Maloof found her negatives at an auction sale.<\/p>\n

Peter Thiel shares the importance of marketing in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Zero to One<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by saying:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve invented something new but you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t invented an effective way to sell it, you have a bad business\u00e2\u20ac\u201c no matter how good the product.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Therefore you need to find ways to effectively market yourself and get yourself out there.<\/p>\n

How can you do that?<\/p>\n

If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a photography blogger trying to build your traffic, offer to do guest blog posts for more popular blogs out there. List-style posts generally do well (any blog with the number \u00e2\u20ac\u015310\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is proven to perform better on social media). If you are a professional photographer, you can ask your past clients if they know anybody else in their network that needs your photographic services (word of mouth marketing).<\/p>\n

You can also offer \u00e2\u20ac\u0153free\u00e2\u20ac\u009d services to effectively market yourself (everyone loves \u00e2\u20ac\u0153free\u00e2\u20ac\u009d). For example as a blogger, I recommend giving away all of your content away for free (and charging lots of money for personal 1:1 services, like workshops, consulting, or shoots). If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a professional photographer, perhaps you can charge premium bucks for the actual photo-shoot, but offer prints or a book for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153free\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as an added bonus. If you do photography workshops, perhaps you can offer the first session or day for free\u00e2\u20ac\u201c to help get people in the door.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

In this article I talked a little about the importance of becoming truly extraordinary in your field by becoming 10x better than your competition. Focus on making yourself \u00e2\u20ac\u0153exponentially great\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and productive.<\/p>\n

See the future as being full of hope and be optimistic<\/strong>. Strive to become the best in your field by creating a new niche for yourself, or entering a popular field and gaining a superior \u00e2\u20ac\u0153competitive advantage\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for yourself by building your network, your brand, and by offering 10x more value and quality than your competition.<\/p>\n

Be insanely focused<\/strong>. The sun itself can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t burn itself through thick materials. But if you focus enough of the sun with a magnifying glass (or a laser), you can burn through steel.<\/p>\n

Realize that greatness requires a lot of sacrifice<\/strong>. You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t become the best at everything out there. Limit the type of work that you do, dominate your niche, and avoid stagnation. Continue to grow, develop, and evolve.<\/p>\n

Focus on the long-term<\/strong>, and build up your business one brick at a time, day-over-day.<\/p>\n

You are great. You have great ideas. Your abilities have no potential. You are a unique individual. There is nobody else out there with your unique combination of attributes, therefore you are already 10x greater than anyone else out there (in one way or another).<\/p>\n

Strive to change the world\u00e2\u20ac\u201c create something great. Be the best you can possibly be. Become a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative monopoly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with no limits.<\/p>\n

Books related to\u00c2\u00a0the “10x Principle”<\/h2>\n

If you want to be inspired, learn more about business and marketing, I highly recommend the books below:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. “How Google Works<\/a>“<\/li>\n
  2. “Zero to One<\/a>“<\/li>\n
  3. “The Magic of Thinking Big<\/a>“<\/li>\n
  4. “The 4-Hour Workweek<\/a>“<\/li>\n
  5. The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Articles on Photography and Marketing<\/h2>\n

    Below are some other articles you might like related to marketing, social media, blogging, SEO, and photography:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. 1,000 True Fans in Photography<\/a><\/li>\n
    2. A Photographer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Guide to SEO, Blogging, and Social Media<\/a><\/li>\n
    3. On Social Media and Street Photography<\/a><\/li>\n
    4. How Many \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Favorites\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Likes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Are Enough?<\/a><\/li>\n
    5. How to Market Yourself as a Street Photographer<\/a><\/li>\n
    6. 5 Tips How Photographers Can Build Their Online Social Media Presence<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Change one thing today<\/h2>\n

      I think information without action is useless. So think about what is one “actionable\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 thing you can do today in your business or with your brand.<\/p>\n

      So what are you going to do to improve your photographic services (if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a professional photographer), your photography blog, or your photography in general to make yourself 10x better than your competition?<\/p>\n

      Share what you plan on doing by writing a comment below, and telling us what you commit to doing!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        I recently read a book titled: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How Google Works\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and came across the \u00e2\u20ac\u015310x principle\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that Google apparently follows. The idea is quite simple, elegant, and powerful: to be successful in any field, do it 10x better than anybody else.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[934,494,1681],"class_list":["post-22106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts","tag-marketing","tag-social-media","tag-success"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/image1.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22106","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=22106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}