f ō t ō r a c l e | the oracle of photography

Lawrence Chan from Tofurious successfully used a combination of marketing techniques (including social media) to become the most inquired wedding photographer in the industry. Lawrence Chan’s LA Smug presentation is for part-time and full-time wedding photographers who want to better understand their target market and to maximize social media to generate more business.

f ō t ō r a c l e . c o m presents 20 Questions with Lawrence Chan of Tofurious…

Peter Garr:  Several months ago I had the pleasure of attending your SEO Workshop and was amazed at what I learned about the marketing power behind Search Engine Optimization.  What can we expect from Tofurious in 2010?

Lawrence Chan:  I will continue blogging and offering digital products, but will focus heavily on social marketing and branding.  I feel that a photographer has to wear many hats when the only one that fits best is shooting.  It takes precision and balance in order to juggle all of them, so I am hoping that my experience in business will offer some guidance.

Peter: WPPI 2010 is coming up right around the corner from March 4th through 11th.  What does Tofurious have in store for people going to WPPI in Las Vegas next month?

Lawrence:  Good question!  I have found great success as a marketing consultant in the wedding industry, so I will continue exercising that muscle.  I will have two items at booth 1240:

1. One on one consultation by me
2. Portfolio review by my guest – Grace Ormonde of Wedding Style Magazine

Peter:  You traveled throughout Europe last year.  Of all the cities you visited, which was the most memorable and why?

Lawrence:  This question just caused a flashback of good memories.  I am leaning towards Nice, France because I found a small business that served, in my opinion, the absolute best and most fluffy mint and chip gelato ever!

Peter: You mentioned in a recent blog post that you recommend “Confessions of a Shopaholic” by Sophie Kinsella as a must-read marketing book.  First, what marketing insight do books like “Shopaholic” and similar offer photographers?

Lawrence:  Quoting from the blog, “Rebecca Bloomwood (protagonist) is the true epitome of a consumer. While she humorously delves into her reasons (or non-reasons) for compulsively buying things, the better we understand how a consumer’s mentality works, the better we can create a marketing campaign for that specific audience (or any audience for that matter).” There are other philosophies that I drew from the series of which I will save for a blog post in the near future

Peter:  What inspired you to read “Shopaholic” in the first place?

Lawrence:  I, too, am a shopaholic.  Here is something else I learned from the book: one has two options in this situation – “make more or spend less.”  Fun philosophies for life!

Peter:  What are some other books you recommend?

Lawrence:  I recommend Dan Brown books, Harry Potter series, and the Twilight Saga.  Although business books offer guidance, I feel that it is equally crucial that we step away from our work and see things through a different lens.  Plus, having a little adventure in our lives cannot hurt.

Peter:  When and how did you get into photography as both an interest and as a business?

Lawrence:  To be completely honest, I started as a business (not of interest).  It’s a numbers game.  However, after the exposure, I came to appreciate the joy of shooting pictures, so the scale has tipped.

Peter:  Tofurious likes tofu.  That’s a no-brainer.  What the world is dying to know is whether Tofurious likes Tofurkey.  Have you ever had Tofurkey?

Lawrence:  Actually, I never tried Tofurkey!  I intend to try it this year.

Peter:  You’re the special guest speaker at the February 2010 L.A. SMUG.  With February being the month we celebrate President’s Day, which historical U.S. President is your favorite and why?

Lawrence:  Benjamin because he’s on the $100 bill.  Just kidding – I don’t want to sound superficial, but I’ve learned to keep politics private hah!

Peter:  February also marks Valentine’s Day.  What was your most memorable Valentine’s Day?

Lawrence:  There was one evening where I took Julie to Stinking Rose and had so much garlic that the evening [and morning] was memorable.

Peter: Your presentation at the L.A. SMUG is about understanding our target audience and maximizing social media to grow our businesses.  What are some benefits photographers can expect by applying your techniques?

Lawrence:  The goal is for photographers to book more weddings!

Peter:  What do you think is the single most important thing photographers should be doing today in order to book more clients?

Lawrence:  Focus less on the art and more on business – specifically marketing oneself.

Peter: I know you recently worked on what sounds like a very interesting project in Denver with some well respected and well-admired people in our industry.  What’s the CxO Fight Club all about?

Lawrence:  The name suggests that five companies will fight against each other.  Instead, we were there to collaborate with each other with the hopes of elevating the industry.

Peter:  In addition to many talents you both have, you and Jasmine Star both share a passion for Chipotle.  What’s your favorite item on their menu?

Lawrence:  I personally favor the chicken salad with black beans, rice, spicy corn, hot chili, a dab of sour cream topped with a pinch of cheese.  However, I do have a hankering for their new chicken pozole, but that’s only offered at their flagship restaurants in Denver.

Peter:  Who’s your greatest influence or inspiration as a photographer and why?

Lawrence:  Gosh there are so many! When I first started, it was Jessica Claire and David Jay.  Now the list is super long.

Peter:  Who’s your greatest influence or inspiration as an entrepreneur and why?

Lawrence: Jeff Jochum – hands down.  He’s just a downright cool guy!  I’ve never had any mentors before him, so I can’t compare, but it’s rare to find someone willing to help without expecting anything in return.  He inspires me to do the same.

Peter:  How would you finish this sentence?  ”To succeed as a photographer, you must …”

Lawrence:  …have clarity in your business model.  With advancement in technology and affordability of DSLRs, the increase of competition is inevitable.

Peter:  What’s a typical workday for Tofurious like?

Lawrence:

8:00 am – wake up
8:30 am – gym 
10:30 am – answer emails 
12:00 pm – eat lunch  
12:30 pm – work, work work 
6:00 pm – make / eat dinner 
7:00 pm – work, work, work
7:30 pm – Two and a Half Men 
8:00 pm – work, work, work 
12:00 am – sleep

Peter:  Where do you see the photography industry headed over the next 5 years?

Lawrence:  I envision the use of various technologies to captivate clients – videos, iPad portfolios, etc.  Cameras are no longer the only extensions of our businesses.

Peter:  Where do you see yourself headed over the next 5 years?

Lawrence:  Tweeting from France

A big THANK YOU to Lawrence Chan for answering this month’s 20 Questions on…

f ō t ō r a c l e . c o m.

Lawrence Chan from Tofurious is the special guest at this month’s
Los Angeles SmugMug User Group (SMUG) meeting.

LA SMUG

Thursday February 18, 2010

7:00 PM

The Global Cafe
11002 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604

FREE and open to ALL photographers.  Tell your friends!

More info at Meetup.com

Last month I decided to dive headfirst into one of the hottest topics  in the world of business and photography this year — Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short.  The concept behind SEO is to strategically create an online presence that  places your website higher in search engine rankings, namely Google’s, in an effort to increase traffic to your website.  I decided to invest my time and energy into SEO because I believe that ranking high on search engine results pages is the best way to market my wedding photography business online.  Before attempting any search engine optimization, the highest search result I had on Google for the phrase ”Santa Clarita wedding photographer” was page 10.  The only way I was able to appear on a higher search results page was by paying for Google Ad Words.  I’m happy to say this is no longer the case.  Keep reading to find out where I appear on search results now.

In September I had the pleasure of learning everything I could about SEO from three different sources:

• an intensive live workshop
• an intensive online webinar
• a downloadable  book

The results I’ve had with the information I learned from these three resources are impressive.  More on that later.  Keep in mind that I have a in-depth background in information technology and web engineering, so my experience may be different than yours.

Tofurious SEO Workshop

First, I attended Lawrence Chan’s Tofurious Workshop in Orange County, California this past Labor Day, September the 7th.  Lawrence’s workshop is very popular, and deservingly so.  Lawrence (aka Tofurious) is a smart, funny, laid-back, and easily likable guy.  He’s also a marketing genius and I’m sure he has a lot more to teach the professional photography community about marketing than just SEO.  Spend some time on his blog and you’ll see for yourself.  His SEO workshop in Orange County was packed to capacity with some of the most popular wedding photographers in L.A. and the O.C.  I saw many familiar faces, including my friends and fellow members of  the L.A. SmugMug Users Group, Henry Wang and Joel Llacar, as well some of the great speakers we’ve had at the LA SMUG in the past, including Jeff Jochum, Robert Evans, Shaun Austin, and Candice Cunningham.

Lawrence covered SEO from the very basics to the advanced.  Some of the topics he covered were:

• Google Page Ranks and Tools
• Metadata
• Blogging
• Link building
• SEO for SmugMug

He provided all attendees with a a workbook so that we could follow along with his presentation and participate in the several exercises he challenged us with.  Lawrence also took plenty of time to answer questions and interact with the attendees.  In addition to the workshop and workbook, all attendees also received the following

• A cool Tofurious t-shirt
• Membership in the exclusive Tofu-House online group where other workshop attendees network and share information with each other and where Lawrence personally answers your SEO questions
• A soon to be released workshop DVD produced by none other than The Bui Brothers.

The Tofurious Workshop really gave me a true sense of understanding what SEO’s all about at it’s core, and how it’s more than just a technical endeavor.  I began implementing what I learned and started seeing results immediately.

SmugSchool SEO Webinar

On September 16, about a week after the Tofurious Workshop,  I attended the SmugSchool SEO Webinar.  SmugSchool is an online school with classes taught by web engineer and designer David Wolf of WolfSnap Designs.  Because this was a webinar and not an in-person workshop, I was able to participate  without leaving the comfort of my cushy office chair.  David covered many of the same basic and advanced SEO concepts that I had previously learned, plus spent a lot of time discussing the following technical marketing concepts that were fresh to me:

• Advanced SEO for SmugMug
• URL shortening
• Online forms

These topics added a unique perspective to the SmugSchool Webinar and made me realize there’s more than just one angle to SEO.

Photographers SEO Book

After attending the Tofurious SEO Workshop and the SmugSchool SEO Webinar, someone recommended I read the Photographer’s SEO Book.  This book covers almost all the same topics I had already learned and puts them all together in one thorough and low-cost PDF book.  The Photographer’s SEO Book is divided into three separate books:

• Photographers SEO Book
• Google Analytics
• Blogs

The Photographer’s SEO Book covers the following topics for photographers thoroughly:

• Google
• SmugMug
• WordPress
• Link building

After having read the Photographer’s SEO Book and attending the Tofurious SEO Workshop and SmugSchool SEO Webinar, I know I have a very well-rounded understanding of SEO for photographers.  I learned that SEO is not an exact science, but an ever evolving practice that requires technical knowledge, effective communication skills, and interaction with people ranging from our clients, our vendors, and our peers.  I’m convinced that each SEO training resource I utilized taught me something unique, something that one resource had that the others didn’t.  From Lawrence, I learned many things that only he had a perspective on, and from David I learned many things that only he shared a perspective on, and the same goes for the Photographer’s SEO Book.  Each one of these resources filled a piece to the puzzle that is SEO.

And my results?  See for yourself.  My blog now appears on page one of Google when searching for “Santa Clarita wedding photographer” as well as many other search phrases.  I have similar results on Bing, Yahoo, and Ask.  I’m still amazed at these results.

I especially want to thank Lawrence, David, and Zach for teaching me so much about SEO and helping me to connect with people through Google.

“Teaching is the greatest act of optimism” – Colleen Wilcox