After sharing my favourite images from 2021, I thought I would offer a quick business update as well. Its been a really positive year and again one which has seen an overall growth in my business. So much so that I've almost doubled my turnover from last year. Looking back I've seen year on year growth and hopefully this trajectory will continue into next year. So whats the reason for the growth? The main reason has been a really strong year on print sales. It has been without doubt my best to date. A contributing factor has been the gallery in Coniston. I had sold my work in another shop for a number of years, but sadly this never took off. However the gallery in Coniston has seen a really positive start and a mixture of mounted prints and framed prints have sold really well, a big thanks to James at the gallery for his support. The New Year will hopefully see me become the premier photographer in the gallery with more wall space and a wider collection of mounted and framed prints on offer. Hopefully the increased space will raise greater awareness with the showcasing of my work. Website sales have also been stronger this year and hopefully this will be another area which I can grow and improve on. The calendar preformed well again and has become a bit of a constant for my business over the last four years. I've also sold a few more digital downloads to companies this year for use on marketing material and hopefully this will continue and I can grow my portfolio of clients and this side of the business. 

The Gallery - One of the number of reasons for a strong year was the introduction of the gallery in Coniston

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Going Digital - My digital images being used on marketing material for multiple clients:

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Website traffic has increased this year with quite a large volume of visitors, so thats been a real positive and hopefully this can continue. I've worked hard to keep my website on the first pages of google with regular updates, blogs and content. My social media has seen growth on both Instagram and Twitter, however I'm still struggling with Facebook and seem to be stuck on the same followers I've been on for years. I just can't seem to grow that page and thats something I look to address this year, as I still see facebook as very important to my business, maybe more so than Instagram. I believe the gallery has helped my website as well as doing the odd craft market as this helps to raise more awareness of me and my products and services. One area I'm going to step back from is the workshops. While these have been enjoyable, they do take a lot of time and now I'm back in full time employment I have less time on my side and something has to give. I certainly enjoy being out with the camera capturing images and the selling side more, so regrettably workshops has had to make way and printed products will be my main focus moving forward. 

In Print - A really strong year on prints. Introducing mounted prints ready to fit into standard frames have sold well and the introduction of better packaging and branding:

Mounted 1 print

The plan for 2022 is to further increase my portfolio of images for both my online shop and the gallery. I see the gallery as an area with real potential to grow after a positive first six months. I may look to add a few more products but I will definitely be focusing on prints, mounted prints and framed prints first and foremost. I will also be looking to increase my digital download business and hopefully add more clients to my portfolio. This is an area I would loved to grow and I've enjoyed working with different clients. I will continue to regularly add content on to my website and keep it up to date. Social media and in particular, Facebook, will be a major focus point this year as I look to grow my page to 3000 followers (thats going to be tough). I will maybe look to do a couple more craft fairs this year, as is a good way to get out and meet people and raise awareness of my business and images. All in all a very positive year for me as a photographer and from a business perspective. So I have plenty to work on and I'm keen to build on the momentum of this year and build further. Once again thank you for all who has supported me this year by buying a print or calendar, this really does help me to keep going and there is nothing more satisfying than knowing my products are on display on peoples walls. 

I wish you all a happy, healthy and enjoyable 2022. All the best and keep smiling.

Tim