Vital Signs: Merits and Degrees: It's how you use them that counts
Last week's Vital Signs covered the basics on how you earn merits and work towards degrees. It is not an easy task—it takes time and dedication. But what do you do once you've obtained your degree? You've just put in all of this hard work—what can you expect in return?
Part of the value of a PPA degree is that it has the potential to do more than just hang on your wall. Your degree has the ability to improve your business and help make a name for yourself within the industry. It won't happen on its own, though. What you get out of your degree is up to you. Not everyone is going to know that you earned a degree, or even what it means, so you have to get out there and market. Just like college graduates promote the degree they've earned to get jobs, use your degree to get what you want.
The Value of a Degree As a PPA member, you have probably heard about the value of PPA membership. You've heard about the benefits, what they can offer you and how they can support your business. In fact, you probably joined PPA because of the value of the membership. The same idea can be applied to a PPA degree—the value of a degree is worth the time and effort it takes to achieve the degree.
To help demonstrate the value your degree offers, we've compiled some ways that earning a PPA degree can benefit both your business and your career:
Help justify and explain your prices—When (or before) customers ask how you have come up with your pricing, you can back yourself up with the PPA degree. Often, if customers see an additional achievement in your background, they might accept your prices more easily. And if your clients (or potential clients) don't know about PPA's degree program, you can explain the steps you've taken to earn this accomplishment.
Be recognized for your accomplishments—Let photographers, industry members and clients know about your achievements. After all, people might not know about your degree until you tell them. Reaching a certain status point in the industry (earning a Master of Photography degree through excellence in photographic competition, for example) may increase the trust that others put in your ability. Increase this recognition by explaining how you earn the degree. It's a visible acknowledgement of your skills.
Push yourself to continue learning and achieving—The photography industry is constantly changing; new techniques and technologies keep us on our toes. Earning your degree means that you were active and dedicated enough to earn the required merits. It's not possible to earn a degree without being aware of what is going on in the industry. And don't stop learning once you've earned your degree—continue attending events, speaking and entering competitions.
Market yourself AND your business—Odds are your clients come to you for your knowledge and quality photography. Why not add to that the fact that your photography and/or expertise has been recognized by the world's largest professional photographic association? In addition, if you want to make a name for yourself in photography, a great stepping stone is a PPA degree. Adding that qualification after your name can help prove your dedication to the craft…and maybe even get you more speaking gigs or publishing opportunities.
Six Degrees of Marketing In order to get the most benefit out of your PPA degree, don't stop after you've received it. Continue with marketing your accomplishment. Just like the six degrees of separation, the six degrees of marketing allow you to connect with more people. This results in more prospective clients and a more profitable business.
Add the degree after your name—As a professional photographer, your name is often associated with your business. Just like doctors add their degrees to their names, be sure to add your degree to yours. Whether it is on your website, your company marketing materials or your studio door, adding your degree after your name is a great way to promote your business.
Use the PPA degree logo—Help draw interest and initiate business by using the PPA degree logo (and regular PPA logo) on your website or marketing materials.
Send a press release—After you receive your degree, send out a press release making the announcement. You might receive free publicity, which can draw people to your website and possibly secure more business.
Explain the degree—When meeting with new or potential clients, provide a brief explanation of the degree and what it entails. Such a topic can come up when explaining your prices, providing your background or discussing special products and services. Letting potential clients know that you have been recognized for your skills and knowledge might just help you close the sale.
Send an e-mail or postcard—Contact existing customers and let them know about your achievement. It provides a nice reason to reach out to them, remind them of upcoming appointments, etc. Remember, though, that you don't want your communications to clients to be all about you. Maybe you commemorate the occasion by offering a special group session or open house. If you earned a Master of Photography or Master of Electronic Imaging degree, maybe you could share low-res images of the photographs that helped earn you the recognition.
Share your experience—Whether you are speaking at an event or simply having a conversation with fellow photographers, take the time to share your experience (in regards to earning the degree). You never know who will pass the information on to potential clients…and it certainly doesn't hurt the process of establishing yourself as an expert in your field. The more your name is out there (in a good way), the more likely it is that clients will learn about you.
However you add value or market your degree, the most important thing to remember is to use it. Don't let your degree sit around collecting dust—make it embody what it represents! Achieving your degree is a big accomplishment, and we want you to be recognized for it.
What You Can Do Now
Send a press release announcing your degree. You can find different press release templates on the Resources section of the PPA website, or you can call 800-786-6277 for a more specific release.
If you've recently earned a degree, don't forget to add it to your information on Find-a-Photographer. You want to make sure that potential clients know your qualifications! You can update your Find-a-Photographer profile by logging into PPA.com and clicking the link on the MyPPA page.
Visit the Merits & Degrees section of the OurPPA Forum to see what other degree recipients (and those interested in earning degrees) are talking about.
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