Tag: marketing

Models: Getting Discovered

As a photographer, I spend a good deal of time looking a model profiles, cataloging possible candidates. There’s a pretty stark line between existing models and those that want to be models. The fidelity of the line, however, may be hard to see from the modeling side of the table.

New models can increase their chances by applying a few little secrets that will help your profile from quietly getting skipped over.

I doubt it’s too far of a stretch to assume that the primary goal of anyone with an online modeling profile is to increase their personal chances of getting approached with a modeling gig.

As a photographer, I spend a good deal of time looking a model profiles, cataloging possible candidates. There’s a pretty stark line between existing models and those that want to be models. The fidelity of the line, however, may be hard to see from the modeling side of the table.

This blog entry is aimed at helping new comers increase their chances by passing on a few little secrets that will help your online modeling profile from quietly getting skipped over. You’ll get inside the minds of those looking at your profile photos, as to be better match yours to what they’re looking for.

Getting Discovered as a Model

We’ve all met a waitress who says she’s an actress and is waiting to be discovered. But as an non-emotionally invested third party, it evident to you know what’s wrong: she’s waiting tables, when she should be acting, in anything, if not for the exposure, then the experience.
RULE #1: Don’t wait to be discovered, get yourself out there — don’t say what you want to be, do what you want to be.

If you can’t take quality photos of yourself, find a photographer online and negotiate a TFP/CD deal (it’s free), then post those photos to your profile.

Clients and photographers have to know what you look like. That means in the modeling world, photos speaks volumes. The more, the better. A model that expresses desire (“I’ve always wanted to model my whole life”), but has no photos has given no point of reference to make a casting decision. Worse yet, this is precisely the kind of person a scammer can target by playing to emotional appeal.
RULE #2: You can’t be discovered with an empty portfolio. Post photos.

First impressions count, and you know this to be true from when you meet new people at social engagements. It’s also true for a virtual encounter. The first thing people will see is your avatar — your profile’s picture should be of you. Low-res, grainy images are unflattering.
RULE #3: Choose a good quality profile picture that makes people want to click on it.

If your profile picture is your resume, which is designed to get a larger slice of follow-on attention, then your profile photos are your interview which showcases what you’re capable of. Unfortunately this is the point where, after a quick browse, many profiles get skipped over.

The problem is not so much the model, but the presentation. If there isn’t enough detail to tell what a model looks like, it’s just about the same as not having any photos.
RULE #4: Presentation is everything.
(MUST READ: See my blog post titled Online Model Portfolios: 7 Common Problems to avoid making a bad online portfolio.)

Speaking of getting noticed, consider how most people find your portfolio: it isn’t by searches or random browsing, it’s by your activity on the system. Participate. Leave comments, join groups, start discussions, post photos. Anything you do raises the chance of someone seeing your profile picture and clicking on it.
RULE #5: Participate to be seen.

All of the rules boil down to effectively selling yourself, in particular, your image. Show the product (you) in the best possible light (your photo gallery) and market it (raise awareness by getting it seen more often).

Reasonable Trial Durations: 30/30/30

I’ve come up with a way for trial software to be fair and recover lost sales opportunities. The secret: 30/30/30.

30/30/30While doing Java development, I was looking for a new IDE for Windows. Naturally, my hunt ended with IntelliJ, with Eclipse and NetBeans close on its heels.

What started the whole chain of thought for me, though, was IntelliJ’s trial period. Frankly, I really respect a company that has enough faith in their products that they let you use them, unencumbered, for a month in order to make an informed purchasing decision.

Oddly enough, though, it wasn’t enough. Allow me to explain.

The purpose behind a trial period is to allow end users to “log enough flight time” with the product that they know whether or not it meets their needs.

And here’s the problem. I have an existing code base of inter-related projects that I need to import into the IDE. And, since this is for work, my schedule is fairly swamped. I can only come up for air to do an evaluation once every week or two just for an hour or so.

What inevitably happens is this: I install the software, validate it installs, then a week or so later, I try to import; it fails, so I table the project until I have more time. A week or two goes by, and I try again, getting closer. Then, when I come up for air and try to get a bit further, the evaluation period is over. I’ve realistically had about less than three hours using the software, and none of it in the IDE writing code.

This happened to me last year as well.

And, what’s the natural conclusion at this point? I don’t know if it will meet my needs or not. Thus, a purchase doesn’t happen.

From marketing’s perspective, they think that the following scenario is the norm: a user downloads the project, tries creating a project, slings a bit of code, gets married to the IDE, and is willing to pay to keep the experience. In fact, I’ve done just this, and I really love IntelliJ.

But, no matter how much love I have for the product, if I can’t move our corporate applications into it from an existing source base, I can’t justify the site-wide purchase. End of story.

Oh sure, I could talk with the kind folks at JetBrains and ask for an extension, and I’m sure they’d give me one.

But that isn’t the point.

Being a software provider myself, I see this as a generic problem. What if I want to produce trial software that’s fair. I can’t have my customers not being able to make a well informed decision for running out of time.

Here’s my solution… 30 days, 30 invocations, 30 hours – Whichever Comes Last

Here’s how it works:

  • You’re guaranteed at least a month of physical time.
  • You’re guaranteed at least 30 invocations.
  • You’re guaranteed at least 30 hours.
  • When all three of the above goals are hit, stop the trial.

Implementing this isn’t be hard at all. It’s also quite fair and balanced.

If you are doing real work, making use of the application for 30 days, then you’re going to quickly chew through the 30 invocations and 30 hours.

If you have just haven’t even tried the software enough, you get 30 attempts.

Finally, the 30 hour rule recognizes if you haven’t had time to actually experience the software.

I’d like to see vendors start taking this approach. It’s a good one, too. It would certainly result in more sales.