Resources
Each of the buttons below brings you to the Amazon page for the corresponding source book. My book shows the overlap, the foundational principles that exist at the intersections of these different books.
My goal was to build a reference that helps forumulate an overall strategy. These source books show the tactics of each author’s teaching that can help you execute that strategy.
They are listed here for when you are ready for a deep dive into those specific ideas.
"Worth Every Penny" by Erin Verbeck and Sarah Petty — The foundational argument for why photographers should charge more and compete on value, not price.
"Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill — The mindset infrastructure that underlies every successful business, including a photography practice.
"How to Grow Your Small Business" by Donald Miller — A clear framework for organizing a photography business around what clients actually need, not what photographers want to offer.
"Make 'Em Beg to Buy From You" by Travis Sago — How to position a photography service so that demand pulls clients toward you rather than requiring you to chase them.
"Get Different" by Mike Michalowicz — Marketing strategies for standing out in a market where most photographers look and sound identical.
"Artpreneur" by Miriam Schulman — Built specifically for creative professionals who struggle to reconcile the business side of their work with the artistic side.
"The Photographer's Missing LinkedIn" by Jeff Brown — A tactical guide to using LinkedIn as a photographer, written for photographers specifically.
"The 1-Page Marketing Plan" by Allan Dib — A simple, complete marketing framework that forces clarity about who you are targeting, what you are offering, and how you will reach them.
"Profit First" by Mike Michalowicz — A cash management system that ensures a photography business actually generates profit rather than just revenue.
"One Million Followers" by Brendan Kane — The mechanics of building an audience on social platforms, including what actually drives growth versus what photographers assume drives growth.
"Platonic" by Marisa G Franco PhD — The psychology of building genuine professional relationships, which is the foundation of referral-based photography businesses.
"The Conversion Code" by Chris Smith — How to turn website visitors and inquiries into booked clients, with specific attention to the follow-up process most photographers neglect.
"The Infinite Game" by Simon Sinek — Why building a business for long-term sustainability requires a fundamentally different mindset than competing for short-term wins.
"Hook Point" by Brendan Kane — How to capture attention in the first three seconds of any marketing message, which determines whether anyone reads further.
"Lean Marketing" by Allan Dib — A stripped-down approach to marketing that prioritizes what actually moves clients to book (vs techniques that feel productive but don’t do anything).
"The Pumpkin Plan" by Mike Michalowicz — strategy for identifying your best clients, eliminating the worst ones, and building a business around the work that actually sustains you.
"$100M Money Models" by Alex Hormozi — How to structure photography offerings and pricing so that the business model itself generates growth.
"Dotcom Secrets" by Russell Brunson — The underlying architecture of effective photography websites and sales funnels, stripped of the tech jargon.
"The Gap and The Gain" by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy - framework for measuring progress that sustains motivation through the long arc of building a photography business.
"Unreasonable Hospitality" by Will Guidara — How extraordinary client experience becomes the most powerful marketing a photography business can generate.
"Rigging The Game" by Dan Nicholson — How to define success on your own terms and build a photography business around the life you want, not the other way around.
"Key Person of Influence" by Daniel Priestley — How to become the photographer who is sought out rather than the one who competes for every job.
"Marketing Made Simple" by Donald Miller — A practical companion to StoryBrand principles, focused on building a photography website and email strategy that actually converts.
"Disrupting LinkedIn" by Yakov Savitskiy — Specific tactics for using LinkedIn to reach the corporate and professional clients that most photographers want but few know how to attract.
"The Introvert's Edge to Networking" by Matthew Pollard — A networking system built for photographers who find self-promotion uncomfortable but understand it is necessary.
"10X is Easier Than 2X" by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy — Why bigger goals often require less effort than incremental ones, and how that applies to building a photography business.
"The Win Without Pitching Manifesto" by Blair Enns — A concise case for why photographers should position themselves as experts who are hired, not vendors who compete for jobs.
"Atomic Habits" by James Clear — The system underneath every sustainable marketing practice: small consistent actions compound over time.
"The 2-Hour Cocktail Party" by Nick Gray — A simple, repeatable method for building the kind of professional relationships that generate photography referrals.
"Selling Above and Below The Line" by William Miller — How to navigate the difference between the person who contacts you and the person who actually decides to book.
"The Next Conversation" by Jefferson Fisher — Communication strategies for handling the difficult conversations that every photography business eventually requires.
"Never Split The Difference" by Chris Voss — Negotiation principles from an FBI negotiator, applied to the conversations photographers have about price, scope, and difficult clients.
"Expert Secrets" by Russell Brunson — How to build authority and a following around your specific photography knowledge and point of view.
"They Ask, You Answer" by Marcus Sheridan — The principle behind building a photography website that answers the questions clients are already searching for.
"Marketing in the AI Era" by Yaniv Navot — How artificial intelligence is changing the marketing landscape and what photographers need to understand to stay relevant.
"How To Write Copy That Sells" by Ray Edwards — The mechanics of writing photography website copy, emails, and proposals that move clients from interest to booking.
"$100M Leads" by Alex Hormozi — How to generate a consistent flow of photography inquiries rather than relying on referrals and hoping the phone rings.
"The Small Big" by Steve J Martin — The small, specific changes to how photographers present and communicate their work that have an outsized effect on whether clients say yes
How to create the conditions where more clients want to book you than you have capacity to serve.
"Storyteller Tactics" by Pip Decks — A practical card-based system for structuring the stories photographers tell about their work, their clients, and their process.
"The First Meeting Differentiator" by Lee B Salz — How to use the initial client conversation to establish value and differentiate before price ever enters the discussion.
"Objections" by Jeb Blount — How to handle the hesitations and pushback that photographers encounter when clients are deciding whether to book.
Traffic Secrets" by Russell Brunson — How to find the clients who are already looking for a photographer like you and bring them to your website.
"The Guide to Going Viral" by Brendan Kane — The mechanics of content that spreads, and how photographers can apply those principles without compromising their brand.
"The First Minute" by Chris Fenning — How to open any professional conversation, email, or proposal in a way that immediately communicates value and respects the client's time.
LinkedIn Riches" by John Nemo — A direct approach to generating photography business through LinkedIn outreach and relationship building.
"Do It! Marketing" by David Newman — A practical, action-oriented marketing system for photographers who have read enough and need to start executing.
"$100M Offers" by Alex Hormozi — How to build photography packages and proposals that clients find so compelling that price becomes a secondary concern.
"Negotiation Made Simple" by John Lowry — A straightforward negotiation framework for photographers who need to protect their rates and scope without damaging client relationships.
"The Money Habit" by Mike Michalowicz — The financial discipline practices that keep a photography business solvent through the irregular income cycles of creative work.
"Entrepreneur Revolution" by Daniel Priestley — An argument for why photographers should think of themselves as entrepreneurs building assets, not freelancers trading time for money.
"PR Strategy Manifesto" by Mickie Kennedy — How photographers can generate press coverage and editorial attention without hiring a publicist.
"The Power of One More" by Ed Mylett — The performance and mindset principles behind sustaining the effort that building a photography business over time actually requires.