Question Featured On: Episode 2 - #AskRussellAnything
First off, don’t be a generalist. Don’t be a photographer that takes pictures of everything. Because then you’re a person that takes pictures of everything. Specialize in something. I do event photography, kid photography, wedding photography, back to school pictures. Pick something where that’s your thing and that’s number one.
Number two, go get a whole bunch of really cool pictures done. But then don’t just take the pictures, bring a video camera and capture the experience of the taking of pictures. Again, it’s a feeling that people are connecting with. The reason they’re going to give you three times as much money as they give the next photographer, because both of you guys have the same camera. So why give you more than someone else?
Number one, I want to know you’re a specialist in what it is I’m actually looking for. Number two, I want to create an experience. Because I don’t know about you, but getting pictures sucks. Especially when you have 5 kids like I do. You gotta do hair, and you gotta comb their clothes and they’re all angry and it’s hot and they’re tired. It’s a bad experience. In fact, I feel bad, my 2 year old, we haven’t got family pictures since she’s been born. And it was about two years, so it’s been about 4 years since we had family pictures because there’s this really negative emotional experience that I’ve had and my wife’s had that has kept us from it.
So if I went to a page and they showed the experience of someone coming and picking up my kids in a limo or something and coming out and giving them flowers and this cool thing, and then the photographer has a video of him playing with the kids and giving them toys. I’m like, ‘Wow, that guy’s awesome with kids. It’s not going to be me jamming Swedish fish down my kids’ mouth to keep them from crying.” Which actually is a true story.
We literally had to bring a bag of Swedish fish and bribe them and that only worked for two hours and then the sugar high made it even worse. It became really, really bad. But if I saw that and saw the experience I’d be like, “Oh wow. That’s a cool experience.” And when he’s like, “Yeah, we’re three times as much but it’s a really good experience.” I’d be like, “Sweet. I’m in.”
So think about that. People are craving experience. I was Shark Tank the other day and it was interesting, Cuban was investing in a business that was a Halloween one, it was a big experiential thing and he said, “The future of entertainment is experiential. Movies and stuff are going to be going down and experiences are going to be going up.” So I heard that, and it’s not just true in entertainment, it’s true in everything.
Why do you guys, why are you funnel hackers? Why do you come to our events? Why do you use our software? I think a big reason, and maybe I’m wrong, I don’t know, but we’re trying to be entertaining . We’re trying to have fun. When you come for our events, it’s like a rock concert. You go to other internet marketing events. (Yawn) a bunch of boring dudes on computers and everyone’s sleeping and you don’t go back. You go once and that’s it. You come to ours and you come over and over again because we’re creating experiences that you think about, you feel and you get an emotional impact and connection with those things.
Why am I doing an ask Russell, Drop the Mic Show here on Instagram? I want you to have an emotional connection to me on Instagram so that every single week you’re like. “I gotta watch this show because Russell connected with me on some level.” Why do I do Facebook Lives? Because I want to connect people on Facebook. Why do I do my YouTube video where I literally carry this camera with me everywhere I go even though my wife’s like, “quit putting that camera in my face!” I’m like, “It’s not on.” Just kidding it really is. Why do I do that stuff? Because I want people on Facebook to have an emotional connection with me. It’s all about experience.
I’m a software company you guys, for crying out loud. I’m a software company. That’s the most un-emotional product in the world. Yet, we’re making this an emotional experience for you guys, which is why you come, why you stay and why you pass and share our stuff, which is a plug for you guys to pass and share my stuff. So there you go.
That’s it. So I hope that helps. Oh, that was it right? Did I answer the question. Alright we answered the question, I’m dropping the mic. That was the last one right? This is number ten. The last mic drop of the night until we pick the winner. So here we go, we’re dropping it.
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