![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/ERIC-KIM-RED-CROWN.jpg?resize=619%2C537\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say you wanted to build your own house. Would you want to build it on quicksand?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
MODERN PHOTOGRAPHER<\/strong><\/a> is your new philosophical and practical primer to succeed as a modern photographer in today’s digital world.<\/p>\n Another question: if you are a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153share-cropper\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d working the fields of your master, do you really \u00e2\u20ac\u0153own\u00e2\u20ac\u009d your own land, crops, capital, and yourself?<\/p>\n I have a personal example: my mom worked as a waitress at a popular sushi restaurant for nearly a decade. She advanced through the ranks, and became head waitress. She helped improve customer service, and as a result, sales. Yet after a decade of diligent service, she got let go. She built up all of that value for her employer, but once she got let go, she had nothing to prove for it. She wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t able to build any personal capital or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153xxxxx\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for herself.<\/p>\n Anyways, the purpose of the story is this:<\/p>\n \n Avoid building your business in quicksand, or land that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t \u00e2\u20ac\u0153really\u00e2\u20ac\u009d belong to you.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n That means, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t build your business, platform, or startup on social media.<\/strong><\/p>\n The rule is this:<\/p>\n \n If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not paying for your platform (website, blog, marketing communication channels) you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re being suckered somewhere.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n For example, my mistake in marketing and entrepreneurship was spending so much time, energy, focus, and resources building up my Facebook following. Now, to access more of my fans, I must pay a lot of money to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153boost\u00e2\u20ac\u009d my posts, to access more of my fans. And as a platform, Facebook isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t being utilized as much as other platforms.<\/p>\n For example, nowadays most photographers have flocked to Instagram. Yet, photographers don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realize that Instagram is owned by Facebook (Facebook purchased Instagram for around $1Billion dollars).<\/p>\n The problem with focusing your energy building your Instagram following:<\/p>\n All of this motivated me to delete my own Instagram: the best decision I ever made.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ever since I deleted my own Instagram, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m more focused than ever to build my own website\/blog. Not only that, but I have fewer distractions.<\/p>\n By using social media, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re constantly distracted \u00e2\u20ac\u201dcomparing yourself, your progress, and your \u00e2\u20ac\u0153like\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153follower\u00e2\u20ac\u009d numbers with others. But as a principle as an entrepreneur:<\/p>\n \n Ignore your \u00e2\u20ac\u0153competition\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d because you have no real competitors. You are in a category of your own, therefore it is pointless to try to compare yourself with others.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n My humble suggestion:<\/p>\n \n Rather than build your following on social media, start your own photography blog, and website. I recommend using the free and open source \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Wordpress.org\u00e2\u20ac\u009d platform hosted on bluehost.com or 1and1.com.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And to communicate with your followers, I recommend you to build an email newsletter.<\/strong> With my email newsletter, I have an email \u00e2\u20ac\u0153open rate\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of around 30%\u00e2\u20ac\u201d which is massively more than any \u00e2\u20ac\u0153engagement rates\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on social media (For example on Facebook, less than 1% of my audience actually \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sees\u00e2\u20ac\u009d my posts in their over-saturated and polluted feeds). Email is the oldest and most durable form of internet communication, and will continue to be so at least for the next 40 years (email has been used since the 1970s in the popular sense). The service that I currently use and recommend is mailchimp.com.<\/p>\n Marketing, Branding, Entrepreneurship Principles For Success<\/em><\/p>\n If you use Facebook, Instagram, or any other social network \u00e2\u20ac\u201dI recommend you to start your own photography blog instead. It is essentially the same thing, except you \u00e2\u20ac\u0153own\u00e2\u20ac\u009d your own content, yourself, and how you decide to communicate and transmit your pictures and information to your viewer\/reader\/follower.<\/p>\n I recommend bluehost.com or 1and1.com as your website host, and WordPress.org as the platform.<\/p>\n Register your own website domain, and I recommend using your first and last name whenever possible.<\/p>\n For example,<\/p>\n erickim.com<\/p>\n or if that is not available, add the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153photo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to your domain name:<\/p>\n erickimphotography.com<\/p>\n The reason why<\/em> you want to add your own name in your domain name: your name is the most valuable \u00e2\u20ac\u0153brand\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that exists. Your name will stay with you for your entire life \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you want to build to the legacy, the valor, and the glory of your name \u00e2\u20ac\u201d rather than trying to imbue meaning into some cheesy business name like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Midnight Images\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Decisive Moments Photography.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n Generally the companies and brands that have existed for a long time (traditionally) have been family names, or the name of individuals. For example,<\/p>\n And when you meet people \u00e2\u20ac\u0153in real life\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d the best business card to own is:<\/p>\n \n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just google me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Ideally, your first and last name should become #1 in Google. The way to rank higher in Google for your name is to write relevant, interesting, informative, and empowering information (in your field or genre) on your own personal website or blog. And have more high-ranking, popular, or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153legitimate\u00e2\u20ac\u009d websites linking to you (Google ranks your website just like how Academic citations work\u00e2\u20ac\u201d the higher the rank of the academic who cites you, the higher your ranking goes up).<\/p>\n Once you have built your website or blog, start posting. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry about your design \u00e2\u20ac\u201d yet. It is fine to start off with a standard blog or website template. What matters the most:<\/p>\n \n Content is king.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The quality of the information you put out there is critical.<\/p>\n My suggestion:<\/p>\n \n Post information, content, pictures, or videos which would interest YOU.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Be your own ideal customer. Be your own ideal follower.<\/p>\n You will have no idea how to please the masses. But you know what appeals to you.<\/p>\n Therefore, create your website or blog to cater to your personal tastes, aesthetics, or judgements. It is better to create a website, blog, or platform to please you \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and then have your audience find you<\/em>, rather than trying to build a website or platform pleasing a foreign or outside audience.<\/p>\n To simplify,<\/p>\n \n Be yourself, and let your audience find you. Seek to please yourself, not your audience.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Okay now, you have your website, blog, or platform.<\/p>\n The difficult part:<\/p>\n \n How do you get people to see your stuff?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I like the idea of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153guerrilla marketing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bootstrap marketing.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Which means, to be a hustler, scrappy, and to pride yourself on being the underdog.<\/p>\n Easiest suggestion:<\/p>\n \n Start small, then build yourself up, steadily, over a long period of time.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n A human newborn is pretty much non-self sufficient until around age 12 or so. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s around 12 years of tending for a creature, and being patient \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and building up this organism.<\/p>\n Why should your business, platform, or self be any different?<\/p>\n It might take you 10-12 years of being in your business or industry before you start to really make waves. A great redwood tree starts from a tiny sapling, and takes EONS before it reaches heights that block out the stars.<\/p>\n Start small, by sharing your blog posts, website, with friends and family \u00e2\u20ac\u201d share via email, text message, messenger apps, or posting to social media. Post to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, links to your biography in your Instagram, or whatever platform that allows you to link.<\/p>\n But the goal is:<\/p>\n \n Drive traffic to your own website, blog, or platform.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n You do NOT want to drive people off your platform. You want them to stay on your website, blog, or platform.<\/p>\n LEARN MORE: How to Start Your Own Photography Blog<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n HAPTIC INDUSTRIES<\/strong><\/a>: Creative Tools to Empower You.<\/p>\n HAPTIC INDUSTRIES ON AMAZON ><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The story of HAPTIC<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Unleash your creative potential with CREATIVE EVERY DAY: Mobile Edition<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n BUY CREATIVE EVERY DAY ON AMAZON ><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n HENRI WRIST STRAP<\/a><\/strong>: Never Miss the Decisive Moment.<\/p>\n ERIC KIM STRAP: JUST SHOOT IT<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Marketing, Branding, Entrepreneurship Principles For Success<\/em><\/p>\n MODERN PHOTOGRAPHER<\/strong><\/a> is your new philosophical and practical primer to succeed as a modern photographer in today’s digital world.<\/p>\n Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say you wanted to build your own house. Would you want to build it on quicksand?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67763,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_ek_photo_artist_note":"","_ek_photo_thesis":"","_ek_photo_camera":"","_ek_photo_place":"","_ek_photo_human_moment":"","_ek_photo_sequence":"","_ek_photo_question":"","_ek_photo_canonical_claim":"","_ek_photo_ai_summary":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/ERIC-KIM-RED-CROWN.jpg?fit=619%2C537&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70172","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=70172"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70198,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70172\/revisions\/70198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"THE](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/The-Modern-Photographer-Product-Pictures-76-800x535.jpg?resize=800%2C535\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\nDigital share cropping<\/h2>\n
![\"Sharecroppers](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/E216A6E2-A876-47EB-BBA2-EA5A96F23F53-800x593.jpeg?resize=800%2C593\")
What really belongs to you?<\/h2>\n
![\"Blue.](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/ACBFD31C-6798-465D-9DEC-E0E549F48E3A-800x531.jpeg?resize=800%2C531\")
My regrets in digital marketing<\/h2>\n
![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/6328E62A-1D6F-4F01-BA10-68458DF4AC59-800x1208.jpeg?resize=800%2C1208\")
Instagram is Facebook<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/cindy-cindy-grey-800x500.jpg?resize=800%2C500\")
<\/p>\n\n
Building my own platform<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/87AE9C1D-2880-4F12-AEE9-F3277A06BEA5-800x1067.png?resize=800%2C1067\")
<\/p>\nWhy you should make your own blog and newsletter<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/364CD527-275F-4894-8B31-C60BF9F8C362-800x1067.png?resize=800%2C1067\")
<\/p>\n
\nThe Modern Photographer<\/a><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\nHow to build a photography blog<\/h1>\n
![\"Deconstructed](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/eric-kim-composition-simple-tokyo-800x532.jpg?resize=800%2C532\")
Step 1. Register your own photography blog\/website<\/h2>\n
![\"Blue](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/E0580378-800x530.jpg?resize=800%2C530\")
Why use my real name?<\/h3>\n
![\"ERIC](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/E0580337-800x530.jpg?resize=800%2C530\")
\n
The best business card<\/h3>\n
![\"modern-photographer-cover-576x1024\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/modern-photographer-cover-576x1024.jpeg?resize=576%2C1024\")
<\/p>\nStep 2. Start posting<\/h2>\n
![\"Cutout.](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/66D695F0-1DEC-4CE8-85B9-50583F8A7763-800x530.jpeg?resize=800%2C530\")
![\"Follow](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/305A5246-5F43-4D54-8A9F-D72169374E2D-800x533.jpeg?resize=800%2C533\")
![\"Cindy](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/00B2F5CC-F1FB-4369-8671-C49E0477227C-800x530.jpeg?resize=800%2C530\")
Step 3. Be seen<\/h2>\n
![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/E1FD9FD2-19FE-4342-B15A-601FACCD4785-e1510930394680-800x1208.jpeg?resize=800%2C1208\")
![\"Fluorescent](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/722B3C12-BDA7-426F-B035-087EA3CB0036-800x530.jpeg?resize=800%2C530\")
![\"Mask](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/96AA270C-A6C6-4186-999D-5FF27F91D734-800x530.jpeg?resize=800%2C530\")
\nHAPTIC INDUSTRIES<\/a><\/h2>\n
![\"HAPTIC](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/HAPTIC_WHITELOGO-1024x1024-800x800.jpeg?resize=800%2C800\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nUNLIMITED CREATIVITY.<\/a><\/h2>\n
![\"CREATIVE](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CREATIVE-EVERYDAY-HAPTIC-PRESS-3-800x600.jpg?resize=800%2C600\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nHENRI WRIST STRAP<\/a><\/h2>\n
![\"HENRI](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3217-800x535.jpg?resize=800%2C535\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nERIC KIM STRAP<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/eric-kim-wrist-strap-12-800x1197.jpg?resize=800%2C1197\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThe Modern Photographer<\/a><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n