Ryan Carver - Sun Shots Photo - Gulf Shores, AL - www.sun-shots.com

(1) Have fun and love your job, and people will flock to your attitude.

(2) In-your-face marketing works better than "open a book " marketing. I.E., spend as little of your marketing budget as possible on phone book ads, and instead pump it all into nice brochures that you can pay high schoolers to hand out only to people who drive $50,000 + cars. That way potential clients don't even have a chance to look at the crappy competition.

(3) Never show anyone a photo that is not perfect. People tend to look for reasons not to use you, and a bad portfolio can kill you. . .

Thanks again. Also, I am in need of some major advertising shift. We have plans of going from a two man show, to a 5 man show, and need some input.

Doug Vieau - Metro Photo & Frames - Wayzata, MN - metrophotoandframes.com

Like most town retail centers we have a few special sale days in the summer called "crazy days." The town and the landlord ignore the rules about signage and sidewalk sales.

Always a lot of work for just a couple of days.

Tim Ulmer - Ulmer Photo - Stockton, CA - www.ulmerphoto.net

Every time I attend a memorial for a passing of a dear one, I can't help but see the slapped together collection of snapshots. Taped, glued, dog eared etc.

Well, I pitched in and began selling memorial posters. I scan them using the flippy Howtek scanner and build a Photo Shop template - drop in all the pictures - resize and Voila! a cool $50.00 for a 24x36 poster . I know that's cheap, but heck.

Guess what - we sell at least 5 to 6 posters per occurrence.

Not to mention - that's right - we often get the reception images to print. It's good contact with the public and we are perceived as providing a very valuable service.

Note: this cuts down on the family feuds as well, since the images are preserved for all to share.

Come to the PMA Dixie Division Annual Meeting in Virginia June 1-3 for 2 chances to hear the best of McCurry - and maybe a one-on-one business counseling session.

Saturday morning - Best of DIMA 2007 Expanded and Updated -

Bill expands on his popular DIMA '07 session nicknamed "33 Money Saving Ideas You Can Do Within 33 Hours of Returning Home". If you missed the Digital Imaging Marketing Association's 2007 meeting in Las Vegas this is your chance to get the best of Bill's wisdom and real world solutions culled from successful photo companies around the world in this new and expanded version

Saturday 1:00--5:00 - Optional one-on-one consultation time with Bill McCurry

Register in advance to meet Bill for a one-on-one business consultation.

These 25 minute sessions are available on a first come, first scheduled basis for a nominal fee to PMA Dixie of $20.00.