Elevate Your Creative Business: Mastering Pricing and  Marketing with Tamera Darden

Elevating your creative business involves mastering both pricing and marketing, two critical components that can significantly impact your success. Pricing can be a complex challenge, as many photographers struggle to find the balance between valuing their work and setting rates that reflect their true worth and expertise.  Proper pricing ensures that your work is valued appropriately, reflecting the skill and effort you invest while also attracting clients who appreciate and are willing to pay for value. On the marketing front, effectively promoting your offer helps you reach your target audience, build your brand, and establish a strong presence in the market. By developing a clear pricing and marketing strategy, you can position your creative business as a premium choice, attract more lucrative opportunities, and achieve sustainable growth and success.

In this episode, we discuss how creatives can negotiate, set their price points, secure better deals, and build successful businesses with a special guest, Tamera Darden. Drawing from her own experiences and success with Darden Creative, Tamera provides valuable insights on establishing effective marketing and pricing strategies that reflect the true essence of your work to attract the right clientele. Tamera is a photographer, producer, and founder of Darden Creative, which specializes in modern, bright, and colorful photography for beauty and lifestyle brands. 

What You Will Learn:

• [00:01] Intro and what’s in for you in this episode
• [00:33] Tamera’s background and what she does in the photography space
• [01:42] About Tamara’s book, The Photo CEO, and the inspiration behind it 
• [12:56] How Tamera found her lane with Darden's creative
• [20:06] Where to get started and how to test your business idea 
• [23:28] Defining your gear, style, and the use of the content 
• [26:47] Why women don’t charge enough
• [28:46] Marketing and how to hone the strategies that work 
• [32:37] Letting go of the idea ‘you are bothering people.’
• [36:07] How to book more by charging more
• [40:56] Healing from coach hurt and building your business 
• [45:36] Learning how to balance the salty and sweet in business 
• [47:20] Negotiation and 5 tips for negotiating for your brand
• [55:53] A sales script to guide and help you feel confident in a negotiation  
• [58:30] How to be better as a creative and a photographer 
• [01:03:47] Researching your competitors and setting your price points 
• [01:11:30] How to reach out and learn more about Tamera 
• [01:12:37] Ending the show

Standout Quotes:

• “People should be able to go to your website and know within the first 5 seconds what you do: if they have to second guess what you do and what you offer, you’ve lost that person.” - Tamera [24:47]
• “People care less about the gear; they want to know if you can get the job done.”- Tamera [25:54]
• “The Repetitiveness is what builds authority and credibility in the lane that you are in.”- Rhea [26:28]
• “One of your roles as a business owner is to market your offer and find your people.”- Tamera [28:46]
• “Know what your non-negotiables are; before going into a conversation know what you will and will not do.”- Tamera [49:47]
• “People won’t schedule a call with you about your services if they are not interested in working with you.”- Rhea [55:02]

Resources Mentioned 

The Photo CEO by Tamera Darden: https://www.amazon.com/Photo-CEO-Smarter-Photography-Business/dp/1954905157#:

Let’s Connect 

Tamera Darden

Website: https://www.dardencreative.com/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/dardencreative

Rhea Whitney 

 Learn more about me here: https://rheawhitney.com/

Follow me on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/RheaWhitney/

Connect with me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RheaWhitneyPhotography