Nashhagen

Here’s the truth 👇 I would venture to say close to 90% of the people teaching how to get brand deals and travel collabs don’t actually know how to create a sustainable career. Many have gotten a few free trade deals, maybe 1-2 paid gigs and now are an “industry expert” sharing all their secrets to get paid to travel with no followers. Here’s the problem, it’s a pipe dream that not even they could accomplish. Btw when you see stuff like “scored a 3 night 3k collab” most often that means the value of the stay is 3k and they got paid a big fat 0. Idk about you but I can’t pay my bills with a free stay lol. You need skill to make this work. Not just with a camera and editing, but with storytelling, marketing strategy, and much more. It’s not as simple as a phone and laptop connection as many claim, but it can be done. So here’s what you need to know… 1. Without hard case studies, it’s nearly impossible to get paid deals. If you don’t have them that should be your priority #1. If you don’t know how I have tons of videos on my IG and YouTube about it. 2. It’s a numbers game. If you only send 10 emails, chances are you won’t get a deal. You need to constantly be pitching and eventually build a system around it. 3. You have to love it. If you just want a few free vacations every once in a while this isn’t for you. This is for people that take it seriously and actually want to treat it like a business (cause it is) 4. If brands aren’t willing to pay you, maybe it’s because you’re not valuable enough yet. Hard truth but still truth. Work on your skills, create a better offer, gather more proof of results then try again. 5. If you sound like a copycat of everyone else, you have no unique value prop so therefore will likely get ignored. You’re a creative so be creative in your outreach, offer, sales process, etc. and stand out Like I said, I’m not a guru, but I have been consistently working with the top brands in the travel industry for the past 5 years.

Starbucks is finessing you with this simple trick 👇 ✅ Save this to reference for later They use a trick called price anchoring. Essentially this is strategic pricing design made to make the mid tier option feel like a deal. You can implement the same thing in your photo or video business. Just like Starbucks I almost always offer 3 packages. Before creating an estimate I’ll get a range for the clients budget and expected deliverables and work backwards from there. Let’s say for this example their budget is between $3-4k per month Package 1 a No frills deliverables at the middle of the clients budget (around $3500) Package 2 everything they need for just a little more. Than the top of the budget (in this case 4500). This gives room for negotiation. Package 3: pull out the stops for just a bit more say ($5500). Alternatively you could price this way outside the budget like 7k which makes the middle look even more appealing. The goal of the top package isn’t to sell it, although if you do it’s a bonus. The goal is to make the middle feel as appealing and as much of a bargain as possible. In order to make this work you need to offer more than just a deliverable. I like to offer strategy calls, implementation calls, and other bonuses to juice up the offer but obviously you have to take it on a case by case basis. 👉 Follow @nashhagen for more creative business tips! Be blessed and stay stoked 😎🤙 #creativebusiness #creativeentrepreneur #photographybusiness #videobusiness

One of the most common questions I get is how to film a hotel so here’s 3 tips on how to create better hotel videos… even on your phone like I did. For context this was for the lobby of a city hotel which was the main selling point. 1. Sell the experience. Where many people go wrong is focusing too much on a person or subject as opposed to experience and space. The goal of the model is simply to allow someone to picture themselves in the experience. That’s it. 2. Establish Use wide shots to create a sense of space. 3. Use prop For this video it was mostly about the space, but if you are using models I’d highly recommend using props. For example on this one I could have set up a cofee scene with a book at one of the tables. 👉 Follow @nashhagen for more creative business tips Be blessed and stay stoked 😎🤙 #hotel #hotelphotographer #resortphotographer

Stop treating your clients like a tinder hookup. If you are only in it to get something, your clients will see right through it and it will likely be the last time they want to work with you. Instead you want to treat it like a courting relationship. Take it slow, bring value, build trust, then make an ask. Remember brands are run by people so when you treat them like a human bank account, you’ll get exactly what you deserve back… nothing!

If you want more photography clients you need to create more conversations. I used to sit around watching photography marketing videos all day and figuring out the latest algorithm hack, but I realized, none of it mattered if I wasn’t having consistent conversations with prospects. I was wasting my time. Inputs create outputs. More conversations means more clients. Don’t overcomplicate it. Be blessed and stay stoked 😎🤙 • • • • • #creativebusiness #creatortips #photography101 #photographybusiness #photographymarketing #photographycoach #photographercoach

7 Rare skills you need to be a successful creator that no one talks about 👇 Everyone likes to talk about flashy stuff like camera moves, and editing. This is the stuff that really moves the needle… 1. Resilience 2. Persuasion 3. Vision 4. Consistency 5. Delegation 6. Problem solving 7. Self-Motivation Be blessed and stay stoked 😎🤙 #contentcreatortips #contentcreationtips #contentcreation

Do this to close more brand deals 👇 ✅ You’re gonna want to save this one for later Stop talking to the wrong people. I’m not talking about pitching the intern (although if your pitching emails like [email protected] you should definitely stop haha) I’m talking about talking to the right brand. If you are pitching Nike, Red Bull, and Sandals just like everyone else, you don’t stand much of a chance especially when you’re just starting out because those brands get hit up 100s and sometimes 1000s of times every day. Not saying never pitch them (I do all the time) just saying you will have a better success rate of actually getting paid with this method: Instead you should focus on brands that are in a niche you want to target but have these 3 characteristics: 1. Have between 5-20 employees (means they are in growth phase and likely spending on marketing) 2. They have a painful problem you have experience solving. More video is not the answer. More business is so find a way to connect your content to the result the brand wants. 3. You can realistically help them get a win in the next 3 months. If you want to know how to find those types of brands, comment leads and I’ll make a video breakdown. ✅ Follow @nashhagen for more creative business tips Be blessed and stay stoked 😎🤙

What the real issue is👇 It may sound crazy but production companies are routinely charging multiple 5 figures for work you’re willing to do for free. Why? It’s likely not because they have… ❌ Better talent ❌ Better gear ❌ More followers In fact, look up any production company that has produced a Super Bowl ad and you’ll likely find a very underwhelming follower stat 😂 Here’s the real reason… perceived value. Notice the word “perceived.” Productions can charge multiple 5 figs for jobs because they know the end product will make the client more money. 🚩They aren’t pitching “I can make 5 reels and 10 photos” 🚩 And they also aren’t saying “I’m gonna be in Costa Rica these dates and would love to collab” Because both of these scream that you are desperate and have no idea why the client should care about what you’re pitching. Your best case scenario is a free exchange 💀 What productions are pitching is how the content they produce will result in more revenue for the client they are working for either directly or indirectly. Businesses invest money into people and services they perceive will get them a higher return on their investment. This means your #1 goal needs to be to show companies how you can make them more money. People don’t pay for videos, they pay for what the videos do for them😎 If you’re unsure how to show clients that you content makes them more profitable, DM me “CREATE” and I’ll show you how. Be blessed and stay stoked 😎🤙 #travelcreator #beautifuldestinations #travelandleisure

Nobody tells you that… 👇 Your passion has to align with the clients need in order to get paid. I’ll give you a personal example. Back when I first started photography, I was all about shooting landscapes. I loved being meticulous about framing, chasing the best light, and spending hours refining every detail in the edit. And I got pretty good at it! But there was a problem… Trees and mountains don’t pay the bills 🤦🏻‍♂️ What I quickly (but not quick enough) found out is that it’s really hard to make a living taking pictures of nature. Sure I could sell prints or sell at art shows. Maybe even the occasional art commission, but was that sustainable? Hardly. So even though that was a passion of mine, I couldn’t make a living at it. Now did I stop taking landscape photos? No. In fact for a long time I refused to take pictures of anything that wasn’t natural lol. But eventually I shifted my main career focus to something that aligned with both my passion and potential clients needs. That’s when I found resorts and destinations. It combines my love for beautiful framing and lighting with the clients need for show-stopping imagery of their offerings. So the moral of the story is… Find something that you are passionate about but there’s also a need in the market. If you’re not passionate but there’s a need, it’s a recipe for burnout. If you are passionate but there’s no need, you’ll go broke. The key is to find the happy medium. And if you need ideas for what that could look like, DM me CREATE and I’ll help you out! Be blessed and stay stoked 😎🤙 #creativebusiness #travelinfluencer #travelcreator #travelphotographer #landscapephotographer

Here’s what you need to know👇 Recently got back from a week long trip with @MSC Cruises US on the #MSCWorldEuropa TBH I always knew cruises were fun but it wasn’t until the last few years that i realized how awesome they really are! MSC World Europa is literally a paradise. It has The longest dry slide at sea 33 bar lounges and restaurants 7 pools and even more hot tubs A water park with a drop slide and so much more! And starting in April 2025 you don’t have to fly to Europe to experience this because #MSCWorldAmerica is launching in Miami and has a lot of the same venues. Can’t wait! #MSCPartner #MSCCruises #cruise #cruiseship #summercruise

Let’s 10x your pricing in 60 seconds 👇 Hands down the best way to price your projects is based on the end result or what many people call value based pricing. Before I explain make sure to follow @nashhagen for more free creative business sauce. ⚡️Value based pricing Here’s how it works. Day rates and hourly rates assume your only value, is the TIME you physically spend shooting the content or editing. Which by that logic means that if you spend 2x as long shooting you would get paid 2x as much which means it should be at least a 2x more effective video right? 😵 Not even close! What value based pricing does is takes the value away from the time you spend making the project, and instead puts it on the anticipated end result. Why are companies wanting you to make content in the first place? Is it because your time is so valuable and they just want a piece of it? No. It’s because they want more awareness, leads, sales, status etc. So if that’s the end result they’re after, then you can tailor your pricing to speak to that. Here’s an easy example. You make a web banner video for a site that’s currently converting at 1% They get 50k visitors/mo The average sale is $100 So they get 500 sales for a total of $50k in rev If you make a video that just helps increase the conversion rate by .5% (so now it’s 1.5%) They still get 50k visitors They still sell for $100 But now they get 750 sales for $75k in rev. You just helped ad $25k/mo in rev which is $300k/yr with 1 video. So you tell me. Do you think that video is worth more than a $2000 day rate? I would venture to say it’s worth at least $20k Be blessed and stay stoked 😎🤙 #creativebusiness #videobusiness #creativeentrepreneur

This is your sign to book that bucket list @MSC Cruises US cruise. Everything about the #MSCWorldEuropa is world class. From the on board entertainment and dining, to the attention to detail and artistry throughout, and of course the epic Mediterranean itinerary. Can’t wait for this class of ship to debut in Miami next spring. #MSCWorldAmerica I’m looking at you! Drone shots by @niceafts #MSCPartner

Being a great photographer doesn’t guarantee jobs unless 👇 One day I found myself staring at thousands of dollars of gear, an account that had nearly 50,000 followers, and absolutely no clue where my next client was gonna come from. That’s a scary place to be. To be honest I knew I had the skill set. I had worked with some of the top filmmakers and photographers in the world at this point. I had even seen other photographers who’d been in the industry for less time than me landing consistently big clients. What was the deal? Then it clicked. I thought that I just had to increase my skills, my cinematography, my following in order to get clients. But the more I focused on them, the more my sputtering business was running into the ground. Because you can be the best photographer in the world, you can have 500k followers, you can shoot on the Arri Alexa or the Phase, but it all means nothing if the people that have the budget to hire you, don’t know you exist. The key here is people that have both the desire and budget to hire you. Thats what I was missing. Everyone was telling me to build my following, the problem was I wasn’t building the industry connections I needed. The best known beats the best 100% of the time so here’s how you can become both the best and the best known 👇 1. Have something worth selling. If you don’t have client results that needs to be your #1 priority. I have quite a few videos on here talking about how you can do that. 2. Make a list of 1000 dream brands you’d like to shoot for. This should only take 1-2 hours. If you’re just starting out aim for smaller brands with an obvious need for your skill set as opposed to going for the top right away. 3. Create a conversation with those brands. If you want to know what to say, DM me “REACHOUT” and I’ll share a free resource. Assuming average metrics you can assume between 2-4 of those 1000 will close for a $3k/mo retainer which is $6-12k in new monthly revenue. If this was helpful be sure to follow @nashhagen for more creative business tips. #creativebusinessowner #creativebusiness #photographybusiness #contentcreationtips

Living the dream on @msccruises.us It’s my first time to Europe and I can’t think of a better way to see the Mediterranean for the first time than on the world class #MSCWorldEuropa. From an active volcano in Sicily, to the breathtaking islands in Capri and the incredible architecture throughout the Mediterranean, this trip was truly one of my favorite trips I’ve ever been on. Can’t wait to share more! #MSCPartner #mediterranean #mediterraneancruise #eurosummer