Smile! 😃 Another week of events is approaching, and it’s a short one:

Hey! Andres here,

Welcome to the networking desk! Every week I share local networking events, and a tip for something I came across this week for my business, hoping it would help someone else out there.

This time is photos!

My website and google business profile grew a lot after getting professional photos, but not everyone has the budget for that. How do you get around it?

We will dive into that and more:

• Photo tips from a non-photographer business owner

• Local events

• Cool new coffee shop for meetings

Alright, let’s do this.

“Lean forward moment” of the week - 📸 Photo Tips For Brands

As someone who designs websites, I encounter a really wide variety of pictures. From very nice pictures that make the website 10x better to all stock images which makes it ok but harder to deliver a message.

However, I am not here to tell you to go get expensive photos.

Nah, I’m too cheap for that instead… Let me give you some tips so you can at least tell your story a bit better using photos.

First, let me clarify some things:

1. An expensive camera will NOT make your pictures better, it is actually all skill.

Out of these 2 images, which one is a phone and which one is from an expensive camera?… yeah they are both great, so unless you can spot the certain things you would not realize that the iPhone photo is the one on the right.

Although you can argue an iPhone is an expensive camera, lol.

2. Photographers are too expensive - Ok, so yes and no, I do think it’s worth it. Heck, I have pro photos on my website, but I don’t think everyone needs professional photos right away (sorry photographers!) but hear me out.

When you are starting or early in your business career, it’s hard to even understand your core offer, let alone the “story” you want to convey with your business. I often revise content for my clients because it no longer follows what their business is. This is ok, so to start is totally ok to have your own photos.

Now, please let’s improve your technique a little bit so that at least you can look professional on your website, social media, or anywhere else.

Use photo grids!

This is like a life hack that improves photos a lot, I don’t know why so many people want to get the ceiling in the photo rather than the people standing in front of them.

Please do yourself a favor and turn on grids.

Here’s a video on how to do it, or look it up for your own phone, trust me it will even help you with your personal photos

Take pictures that show your story or brand!

Basically show people what to expect.

Get pictures of the business, someone doing the job, interacting with customers, etc.

Here’s how to do that in video format:

1. Telling a story: The “Wide - Medium - close up” Technique https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PE-K1uoq35c

2. How a photographer thinks of these angles while taking business shots, focus on the type of picture not the quality or edits, for now you don’t want to have perfect images, you just want to be able to have original images and show what you do https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCydCA9fD1k

3. This one is for products. Doesn’t apply to all, but I think is a great video. Please, please! Do NOT just take pictures of the product in your unmade bed (I’ve seen it all lol) your phone can take great photos you just need the right steps.

Now, use cases.

You got all these nice photos, what now?

Time to add to your Google Business Profile, Website, and social media if applicable.

I recommend having the following pictures for these profiles mentioned:

• Inside location (3x)

• Outside location (3x)

• Employees

• Video horizontal - video vertical

• Providing service

• Product pictures

• Headshot

the location pictures can be great for GBP, while some of the others can be great to reuse in multiple places, the idea is to let the client see what to expect, the less unknowns the more comfortable they will be doing business with you.

All I would want you to take away from this is: 

Don’t let all these rules and recommendations give you paralysis by analysis, just do it. Always aim to take action, imperfect action is better than inaction, specially in business.

🖥️ Convert more website users into clients

No ad from me today. I’m working on making a better offer (yep, even I don’t have it all figure out yet in terms of offers) but if you need anything website related respond to this email and I’d be happy to help 🙂 

🗓️ Now, the events…

Local shop of the week - Wise Coffee, Duluth

Not an ad – just a cool spot you can visit

I went there this week, and I was quite amazed at the customer service level, and the matcha tea tasted great!

The space has a separate quiet area which is great to sit and work. 100% recommend!

How was today’s newsletter?

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Thank you for reading! Quick thing before I go:

1. If you are new or would like to read older posts, check out this page. There is a backlog of previous weeks of “The Networking Desk”

2. Know someone who would benefit from this newsletter? Be sure to share it with them! 📩 (just copy the link or forward this email) I will keep putting out great newsletters for them and for you. That’s a promise.

See you next week.

- Andres Inciarte