The Business Side of Visual Media
Being a photographer, videographer, and/or music producer is fun. You get to take photos, make a movie with your camera, or create a beat from scratch; however, transiting from a freelancer or hobbyist to starting a visual media business is not as simple as taking a couple of pictures. When you decide to transition from a freelancer or hobbyist to starting your own visual media company, then you have become a business owner. Some of the things that you must be aware of are your finances, marketing strategy, pricing, branding, etc… Now, I am not going to sit here and write about how running a business is hard, you must be patient, or there will be a lot of challenges along the way. What I will do is write about each of the topics listed above to give you some insight into each one.
Finance In Visual Media
Managing your finances is not just critical for your business, but for your personal life too. When you overspend on equipment or marketing, then you are doing more harm than good. As a photographer, you may have to be weary of the cost of equipment, traveling, or editing software. A videographer’s expense could be a video camera. As a music producer your expenses may include equipment, such as microphones, or studio time. As you can see, there are many expenses to be aware of, and yes, they can add up fast. We recommend that you have a budget in mind, have a strong pricing structure, and track your income and expenses. Having a budget will let you know how much money you have, and where to spend it. We also recommend that you track your income and expenses. Like we said earlier, you want to be aware of where your money is coming in from and where it is going out to. The worst thing you can do as a business owner is to let your money run freely without your consent. Having an efficient tracker of every income and expense in your business can do wonders and will allow you to manage your finances.
Marketing
Like managing your finances, you also want to make sure you have a strong marketing plan. Marketing, in my opinion, is one of the most important fundamentals in business. If you cannot market yourself or your business, then it is doomed to fail. People need to know who you are, what your business is, and what it can do for them vs your competitors. Again, I am not going to explain to you how hard marketing is, how expensive it is, or how you must play the long game. I will say that there are 2 paths to take to marketing yourself as a visual media business owner. If you have the budget right now and are not experienced in marketing, then I recommend that you hire a digital marketing team. There are many digital marketers or agencies that are very experienced and can help you scale your business. Like I said earlier, look at your budget for a marketing team.
My second recommendation is that if you want to save money on advertising, then I recommend that you learn basic digital marketing techniques, such as SEO or social media marketing. This may be a little time consuming, however it is a nice DIY project that can potentially save you thousands of dollars. If you want to save time and money, then you can always use an online marketplace, hint…hint. Most of the time, they save people thousands of dollars and time because they allow you to display your work, without the need for a website, and offer you free marketing as it is their job to drive business to you. I highly recommend that you look more into that, hint…hint.
Pricing Your Visual Media Services
Pricing your products and services is a key fundamental to understand in business. Having a strong pricing structure will allow you to not underprice or overprice your products or services. As a business owner, you should be paid for your skill level and your value, however, make sure that it is affordable for your client base. When it comes to pricing, especially as a newcomer, it can sometimes be hard to find the right balance between affordable and market value for your products or services. My overall advice for anyone who needs help setting a strong pricing structure is to understand your niche, your clients’ demographics, and your industry market value so that you can sell your products or services correctly. Pricing is often trial and error, so do not be afraid to play around with your prices and always remember to be flexible about changing them at any time.
Branding Your Visual Media Services
Finally, let us talk about branding. Branding is the process of creating an identity or reputation for you and your business. When it comes to branding, it is important to know that being perceived in a positive light in your niche is critical. Your targeted audience needs to know that you are an important figure in your industry so that they can be attracted to you. They also need to be able to pick you out from other competitors in your field. If no one knows about you, then they will not buy from you. At the end of day, people buy from people that they know, like and trust.
Are You Ready To Grow Your Business Online?
Doing digital media as a freelancer is fun and rewarding. Being a business owner is fun and rewarding. As with all things in life, it is not just black & white. There are a lot of things to understand and consider before becoming your own boss. I am here to tell you that if you believe that you have what it takes to start your own visual media business, then do it and remember that we have your back.
Here at Wolf Wonders, we help digital media individuals grow and scale their business through our online marketplace. Our online marketplace guarantees to help digital media individuals and customers find their perfect match. Join the Wolfpack today.