Talk to me about marketing

[rab3rd]

I am really at a loss on this one. Surely some of you pros would be kind enough to share marketing ideas with us.

Im not looking to go full time, just part time. Have some fun, get challenged and maybe make a little hardware money along the way.

[Cajungaltx]

Rob - who are you marketing to?

I looked at your site and only see one person... so WHAT are you marketing?

[rab3rd]

Im not marketing to anyone, yet. I am just trying to learn the different approaches taken by other photogs.

As far as my site goes, I dont know which one you looked at but neither are really set up to use as a marketing tool. One is just a blog that no one reads but me and the other is just my smug mug site.

[movingex]

Well buckle your seat belt because marketing is going to be a rough ride if you don't know who or what you are marketing. Trust me, I've been trying to figure this one out for a while, and all I've accomplished so far is to spend hours and hours trying to figure it out.

Two very important questions you must identify:
1. What is your product (what specific type of photograpy)
2. Who is your target market (who specifically are you trying to sell to)

You won't get very far without first getting these two questions answered. The answers to these questions will help determine what type of marketing will be most effective. Then there will be a whole nother wave of questions to answer.

Hope this helps to get you thinking

[rab3rd]

Yes I already know all that. I am not asking people to tell me how to market me, I am asking how people market themselves.

[Ernst-Ulrich Schafer]

Get your face in front of as many people as you can on a regular basis!!!

[movingex]

Originally Posted by rab3rd

Yes I already know all that. I am not asking people to tell me how to market me, I am asking how people market themselves.

I understand what you're saying now.

[Outlaw]

My best advice (and what I do) is to 'F8 and Be There,' be where your clients are.

You have to have a balance of exposure and impression - you want folks to know who you are and what you do, and want them to have as favorable an impression as you can make via your art and marketing.

I don't think you can beat a mix of business cards, a good portfolio web site with blog, an e-mail newsletter, and Facebook.

Business cards - needless to say, put them in potential clients' pockets, and the friends and family of potential clients.

Web site - Show off your art, explain your policies, blog about your experiences using good local keyphrases to draw search engine traffic. Here in Bandera, I want to be first or as close to it for phrases like "Bandera TX photographer" and "Bandera Texas photo studio", as well as surrounding towns and communities. If you just write about what you're doing and where on your blog, you'll naturally build up some good SEO.

E-mail newsletter: Once someone visits your web site, you don't want them to just bookmark and walk away - you want them to give you permission to market to them, to stay top of mind. Encourage visitors to sign up for your e-mail newsletter so on a monthly basis you can put your business and art in front of them. MailChimp is a great free service for this.

Facebook - Again, be where your clients are. The're all over Facebook. Make a nice profile for yourself, post photos and goings on in your world that are local and interesting to your geographic area (I post a lot about food and restaurants in my county), comment on other people's wall posts, and just be a human being. Add a few new people from your area each day as friends, and start building that familiarity and name recognition so that when one of these folks has a photography need, or knows someone who does, you're the one they think of first.

There are myriad ways to market your business beyond this - co-op marketing, working with non-profits, setting up booths and putting on photo events, using local and online classifieds, newspaper advertising and trading event photos for bylines, always carrying and being seen in your community with your camera, YouTube, workshops - but the above mix is really your bread and butter marketing in the modern digital age. It's where I get the vast majority of my new clients, and how I keep the referrals coming from past customers.

Edit: Most importantly, focus your efforts on owning your zipcode. Don't try to be everything to everyone - pick a niche, pick a target client, and own that slice of the market. Start with your block, your street, your neighborhood, your subdivision, your apartment complex, your school district - and own it. It doesn't take much volume to book yourself solid.

[rab3rd]

Thanks James, that all sounds like great advice.

[rab3rd]

Thanks Ernst. And thanks Donna for getting this thread going. ;-)

[J Eddington]

Many people will argue that business cards are not marketing tools, but information tools. SO think on that. Do with it what you want. But maybe a marketing card might be of more benifit.
Social Media, Facebook and Twitter, a blog are all good media.
Testimonials from clients on a Marketing card that you can hand out. Testimonials with photos on one side with your information on the back or a promotion that you are running.
"Elevator Speech" This is a short (15-30 second, 150 word) sound bite that succinctly and memorably introduces you. It spotlights your uniqueness. It focuses on the benefits you provide. And it is delivered effortlessly. This gets new people interested. And it is not Hi, I am Rob. I am a photographer. Get creative

Your web site should give people a reason to call you. Call you NOW. (I fail at this)

I market in different ways to different types of clients.

[ChristopherCoy]

Rob,

I tried social media, but found that I was doing a TON of work, with miniscule return, so I've laid off a bit.

I do keep my website, and blog, although neither have been updated in some time.

My best return was a benefit I organized for the local animal shelter. I did 'mini sessions' and a portion was donated to the shelter foundation. Initially I only made $800 in session fees, but made 4x that much in residual print sales.

I'm currently working with a vets office to initiate a VIP program with their clients. Their clients will receive a "VIP" session, and one of the images from their session will be displayed in the veterinarians office. The have the option of purchasing that print at a 'discounted' cost after it has been there for at least three months. And they also have the option of 'discounted' print sales from their session. All I'm giving away is my 2 hours of time for the session. I'm hoping it generates a lot of word of mouth.

Speaking of, its a cliche, but word of mouth has had a big impact on my marketing as well. I can't tell you how many clients and inquiries I've had from referrals. I hope to install a referral program this year to build on that.

If I see a dog that I think is extraordinary, I'll give the owner a session. They come in, get their pets photos done for free, and sometimes they buy prints. I try to limit these as much as I can, and if/when I do I build the 'hype' about free sessions and how I only reserve these for 'special' dogs.

Janice just sent me an idea that I love and am going to try and use soon. Appointment cards for Vets offices. My images on the front, their information on the back. I provide the cards to them, and every time they give their clients an appointment reminder, a potential client is viewing my work.

I cross market with other pet businesses in my area. We've done a 'meet the professional' type of thing, where we all set up our booths at one of our shops, and have an 'open house' kind of night. I also have my information in all of their stores, and they have theirs in my studio.

I also offer free services to reputable rescues. I take pictures of their rescues, and they used them for their adoption pages/websites. I watermark each image, and ask that credit be given somewhere in their pet pages.

This year I'm working on a year long project, that will be a 'breed of the month' kinda thing.

This year I also hope to start more direct mail or mass email campaigns from all the addresses and email addresses that I've accumulated.

I'm also going to try and get out there more, and attend more 'dog day' type events.

I keep a list of advertising ideas, and a folder of images. When I see something I like, or an idea that I think I can tweak to fit my needs, I write it down, or save it in a folder on my computer.

[Ernst-Ulrich Schafer]

Great post Chris.

Rob, Become the Community Photographer, it does take time but the benifits will gain you alot of business.