marketing success stories...

MissB

I've found with my other buisness... marketing seems to be the biggest challenge of it all. You'll invest a ton of money in advertising... and its a craps shoot whether or not the investment is worth it. With my baby carrier business at least it was easy to pin point the market. With photography its so generalized..especially in lifestyle portraits... I just haven't figured out where to invest my time and energy...and money in marketing myself... there are a few questions I have for everyone here...

1. Where have you seen the best marketing success?
2. Are there online resources that help customers find you...other than your website?
3. How much of your business is simple word of mouth referrals?
4. How often do you mention your a photographer and hand out cards... whats the return on that approach?
5. Are the pay per lead websites worth it??
6. How long did it take for you to see some sort of steady income?

Im sure I have more questions... but I will stop here... thanks ahead of time!

Becky

msf

Im also interested in the repsonses here,

From what ive read over the years, radio ads dont work for photography. newspaper can, if you run an ad long enough, which can be costly. Someone somewhere mentioned that some newspapers have a special advertisement once in a while, where they let the advertiser to write an article that is promoting their business, written as if it was from a writer.

From what ive heard, the best way to advertise this business is word of mouth. But thats going rather slowly for me atm. I got to learn how to network.

Ive tried craigslist, but that hasnt really worked out. I got a few for free portrait sessions from that to build my portfolio, but half the people cancelled before the date. It seems to be hard to even give stuff away.

Im going to try craigslist again, and run an ad regularly for the different types of photography I do. Its free so if it doesnt work, no cost to me but time.

If there are boards around town where you can post stuff, you could put something on that. I just ordered some post cards for this reason. Im trying to work on my brand recognition. More peopel that see my logo around, the more that may think of me when it comes time for pictures.

Another method is mass emailing. If your area of interest in photography is something that warrents this, then you could find people's email addresses and send them information.

Another idea I had, but nto sure I will do this, is to write down the addresses of the better houses in the area, and snail mail them a postcard with examples of family portraits I have done. This can get a bit costly, but if theres one taker, I should at least break even.

Cygnus Studios

The fastest form of advertising is an article written about your business. First, they are free to the business, and secondly, more people read the articles versus the ads in the back.
Most small newspapers and magazines are constantly seeking material for publication. As much as lead news stories contain the horrors of the day, the feel good stories sell.
There are now as many if not more e-news outlets as there are print outlets. Photography is one of the few less than day to day professions out there. If you think about the business people you know, how many have jobs you rarely here about?
The key is showcasing your work in a different light. The story of a fine art photographer is kind of a cool story. A wildlife photographer who captured some interesting animal is also a cool story.
It really isn't that hard to get an article written about your business. The best part is that on occasion, the story gets picked up on the wire services and that will lead to all sorts of attention.

emeraldrose

good thread

MissB

I agree with the media attention giving your business a boost.. I had an article written about my bundleboo business back when I was trying to get my patent published... just a Work At Home mother... and I found people from all over town stopping me about the editorial. It was an interesting story even in my mind.. but I wonder how to approach the media on this one... Im still mother of three... twice over business owner... whats extra special about this that will make them bite?

MissB

anyone else have any input?

Mox

How would you even go about approaching the press? I think my story would be interesting enough for a little blurb in my small town paper - I honestly hadn't even thought of that, but I'm intrigued.

MissB

I had a PR person do up a press release when I became patent pending... I found the editorial contact information online for my local newspaper and faxed in the press release. Then followed up. They then contacted me back for an interview. you don't have to get a PR person to write up a press release tho.. its a simple format you can google and find yourself. Make sure to mention that you are local (big plus)...and any interesting points that might spark interest to make them want to write about you...any galleries you'll be attending... local events... awards you might have won. Best of luck!

Cygnus Studios

Mox wrote:

How would you even go about approaching the press? I think my story would be interesting enough for a little blurb in my small town paper - I honestly hadn't even thought of that, but I'm intrigued.

You can contact the editor or a specific writer. (I prefer the latter). The first thing is decide what the story is and pitch the idea to the paper. Send a small photo that characterizes the story you are pitching. Keep in mind that the first story doesn't necessarily have to be about you specifically.
Recently I got some shots of the whales passing by. Sold a few images to the papers and kept the best for a potential story. The story itself involved the whales with the company name being mentioned eight different times in the story. This lead to other articles specifically about wildlife photography here in the north bay of San Francisco.
Think about what types of photography stories you wish that you could read about, and then create that story. Keep in mind that most writers only know about the photography of the people who work for the paper. They really don't consider all the forms that photography can take.
Work within your medium and consider what you are going to get in response to the article. Don't push weddings if you are not prepared to handle them.
Fine art really works well here in northern Ca. There are articles in some form each and every week. Easy to get into, but hard to separate from the pack. Find your niche, and let the media do the work.

Mox

Thank you both so much for the great information. It's added to my to-do list!

AZTarHeel

Good thread -- I've found a lot of times you've just got to be willing to stick your neck out and promote yourself ... last night, I enquired about photography for a rec baseball/softball league, simply asking the director who did their team and individual photos for them. He said, "we didn't have anyone this year" and I got a chance to pitch myself as an option for next season.

He had some steep requirements that I may end up passing on even if I do get a chance for the gig (see my other thread on dealing with sports leagues) but that conversation never would have started had I not just simply started asking questions and sticking myself out there a bit ...

I think word-of-mouth can be a snowball that works in your favor if you consistently do good work and treat customers well ... Even if you do fair work and treat customers well (and have a pretty good turn-around time, which i struggle with because I also have another full-time job), you may have an edge ...

MissB

great advice!! I totally agree!

emeraldrose

AZ I agree that's what I've been doing. I used july 4th as a self promo type day. I went and asked different people if they'd let me take their pics and sign a model release and I gave them a biz card. Then tonight I went to a concert and took some pics and my camera became a stepping point to hand out more biz cards. I'm not a sales person by nature (though I am an extrovert) and I don't like throwing things in peoples face, but by being genuine and friendly and just throwing the idea out them to them I've had several people say their genuinely interested (and hopefully will sell a few prints from the 4th). I haven't gotten any responses yet, but it's only been a few days and who knows. And I plan on following up with a thank you print and note for the shots on the fourth.

barnyard

I was one of the photographers that covered the grand opening of the Mall of America. The local paper did a story that was front page, above the fold of the 'local news' section. We framed the article and hung it in the client waiting room. We milked that for years. At the 10 year anniversary of the mall, the paper called me for quotes and included a photo that I took.

Did the same thing when I photographed Jack Niklaus during the design and build phases of Bear Path golf community.

Those exposures gave me instant cred.

The little things that I did, that paid off, included: sending a bouquet of flowers to big spenders. If they worked in a cube farm, I included a helium balloon (that way the other cube dwellers would stop and ask.)

People that prepaid for my largest wedding package received a gift, delivered on Thursday before the wedding, from Tiffanys. I think I spent $70ish incuding shipping. A box from Tiffanys attracts attention!!!

Seniors whose photographs were featured in my county fair booth, received the photos after the fair.

Speaking of county fairs.... cheapest booth space on the planet. In our area, huge numbers of people. I made sure to man the booth during specific times and was low key when there. Some of my greatest clients were met at the fair.

Thank you cards to everyone (except memory mate clients.)

I taught a community ed class on photograhy, that was good and I got paid. I included a section on how to produce a GOOD travelogue (in the old days, we called them 'slide shows."

The things that I found to be a total waste of time included: Mary Kay makeovers. Come to think of it, that was THE biggest waste of time, no return. None.

Another that did not work out so well, I had matchbook covers printed, they looked awesome, on the inside, no matches and the line, "We're matchless."

That was just plain stupid.

I think another positive was refusing to work with some people. In a couple of cases, that meant refunding deposits.

One thing we never did, that I still wish we would have: a thank you bbq. Do up a couple of pork shoulders and have pork sandwiches and root beer floats.

Tom B

emeraldrose

barnyard wrote:

I was one of the photographers that covered the grand opening of the Mall of America. The local paper did a story that was front page, above the fold of the 'local news' section. We framed the article and hung it in the client waiting room. We milked that for years. At the 10 year anniversary of the mall, the paper called me for quotes and included a photo that I took.

Did the same thing when I photographed Jack Niklaus during the design and build phases of Bear Path golf community.

Those exposures gave me instant cred.

The little things that I did, that paid off, included: sending a bouquet of flowers to big spenders. If they worked in a cube farm, I included a helium balloon (that way the other cube dwellers would stop and ask.)

People that prepaid for my largest wedding package received a gift, delivered on Thursday before the wedding, from Tiffanys. I think I spent $70ish incuding shipping. A box from Tiffanys attracts attention!!!

Seniors whose photographs were featured in my county fair booth, received the photos after the fair.

Speaking of county fairs.... cheapest booth space on the planet. In our area, huge numbers of people. I made sure to man the booth during specific times and was low key when there. Some of my greatest clients were met at the fair.

Thank you cards to everyone (except memory mate clients.)

I taught a community ed class on photograhy, that was good and I got paid. I included a section on how to produce a GOOD travelogue (in the old days, we called them 'slide shows."

The things that I found to be a total waste of time included: Mary Kay makeovers. Come to think of it, that was THE biggest waste of time, no return. None.

Another that did not work out so well, I had matchbook covers printed, they looked awesome, on the inside, no matches and the line, "We're matchless."

That was just plain stupid.

I think another positive was refusing to work with some people. In a couple of cases, that meant refunding deposits.

One thing we never did, that I still wish we would have: a thank you bbq. Do up a couple of pork shoulders and have pork sandwiches and root beer floats.

Tom B

you are just a font of information. and can I say i loled when i read your line about the cube dwellers lol. question what do you mean about mary kay being a waste of your time? What did you do with Mary Kay? I was thinking about joining up with them to do photo parties so that women can get their makeup done and get pictures done, figured it might help both our causes.

barnyard

emeraldrose wrote:

question what do you mean about mary kay being a waste of your time? What did you do with Mary Kay? I was thinking about joining up with them to do photo parties so that women can get their makeup done and get pictures done, figured it might help both our causes.

That is exactly what I did. I probably photographed 20 make up parties, shooting before and after shots. The consultants paid me a per person fee and I had the rights to all the reprint orders. I never got a reprint order. The most common comment I heard while shooting was, "I would never wear this much makeup."

That tells me, they were unfortable with their looks. If they are not happy with their looks, they are not buying photographs.

Looking back, I don't think I even got any referrals for other business.

Could not have been a bigger waste of time.

Although, I will grant that I did learn how to apply makeup and that was useful for shooting senior girls....

Tom B

barnyard

emeraldrose wrote:

you are just a font of information.

That's because I have nothing to lose. Does not matter who you are, you will not steal any of my business, because I am not in the biz anymore. I work for UPS now. I quit because I wanted weekends off to be with my family and needed benefits and retirement plan.

Because of that, I will freely share my successes and failures....

I bump into former clients regularly and they all lament my decision to quit.....

I miss the many faceted challenges, on the one hand....

On the other, it is nice to have a boss say, "deliver that and when you are done, go home, you are done....."

Tom B

kd2

MissB wrote:

1. Where have you seen the best marketing success?
2. Are there online resources that help customers find you...other than your website?
3. How much of your business is simple word of mouth referrals?
4. How often do you mention your a photographer and hand out cards... whats the return on that approach?
5. Are the pay per lead websites worth it??
6. How long did it take for you to see some sort of steady income?

Becky

The best marketing for me has been word of mouth. I belong to a professional networking organization and I also train people how to network and grow their businesses through word-of-mouth. I've taught business networking for five years.

Effective networking is based on building relationships, so that's one of the first things I teach business owners to do. I teach them to not only build relationships with prospective clients, but with other business owners who can refer them business. In my networking group, I have 25-30 other business owners and we are all on the lookout for business for each other. They hand out my cards and I do likewise. I get referrals (not cold-calls) on a weekly basis from this group. If you're interested, check out a local Business Network International (BNI) chapter in your area, they're worldwide.

In addition to joining a professional networking group, I recommend doing things to increase your visibility. Getting your name out there is important. Visibiity = credibility = profitability. Join or visit other social or business networking groups. Volunteer. Be active in the community. Get other people to know who you are as a person and they will be more likely to refer business to you. Again, building your business through word-of-mouth is based on relationships and relationships take time. But it's time well spent. I teach people to be farmers not hunters. Instead of "hunting" for business, learn to plant seeds and develop mutually beneficial relationships.

How good is the return? It's excellent for me. When I decided to go professional as a photographer most people didn't even know if I could hold a camera correctly. But because I'd already built strong relationships in my previous career, my referral partners didn't hesitate to pass out my info. They trusted me and knew I'd take care of their referrals. My photography business has grown quickly because of word-of-mouth marketing. (And I always try to pass business to my associates, too.) I even pass business to other photographers in my area and they do likewise. We all win.

Anyway, I really encourage growing your business through word-of-mouth. To me, it's the most cost-effective way there is. If you want to read any books on the subject, check out books or articles by Dr. Ivan Misner. He's known as the father of modern-day networking.

I hope this helps! If you'd like more specific info or links to articles, let me know.

kd2

Oh, and that's interesting about the Mary Kay parties. I just did one in April which was a Mother/Daughter event. It was great! My sales were much higher than expected, I booked additional sessions immediately after and have a few more lined up--a wedding is one of them.

barnyard

The MK parties were a mixed bag..... I did know other photographers that did well with them and I also knew others that joined the pity party with me.

Looking back, it is one of the things that I might not ever understand. Every other aspect of my studio grew every year.

Tom B

msf

barnyard wrote:

The MK parties were a mixed bag..... I did know other photographers that did well with them and I also knew others that joined the pity party with me.

Looking back, it is one of the things that I might not ever understand. Every other aspect of my studio grew every year.

Tom B

I mentioned the idea of mary kay parties to the wife, and she seems to think they wouldnt like a guy being at one fo these things. Those of you that did these parties that are men, did you have any problems?

The person I knows that does mary kay is moving this week, figures I would have learned about this now. : ) but theres probably no shortage of mary kay women.

barnyard

As long as you are respectful, no problem. Although, there were a couple of times that I think a woman could have done a better job.....

Tom B

MissB

how does that work?? She pays you upfront per face? If so, what would she pay you?

BTW, the networking advice posted earlier is fantastic.. im googling my area right now. Everyone here is so generous with the advice... fabulous group Im so proud to be a part of it!

msf

Do you setup a background to take the pictures against?
If the host is paying you to take each persons picture, what do you provide them in return? a print of each person? a digital file to use as they see fit?

I hope you dont mind the questions.

emeraldrose

I was personally thinking of using mary kay to do portrait parties where I would set up my portable studio and after they've done their make up each woman would get 15-20 minutes of fame and then I'd also do group shots while the other women are talking, listening to music (if they picked a theme it'd revolve around that) and eating. What do you think? It's been years since I've been to any party like this so I'm unsure how it all works.

kd2

The Mary Kay gals I worked with had a 4-hour special event. It was promoted as a Mother/Daughter event where clients would get makeovers and have the opportunity to have a quick 15-20-minute photo session with me. The MK gals did all the scheduling and anyone who wanted a session had to RSVP ahead of time to reserve a time slot. I had 13 or 14 sessions booked. Each mother/daughter couple paid a $10 fee and that fee went towards their print package. They could only choose one image to print. I had an order form with 3 print packages.

I usually don't like working with such quick sessions, but we only had the room for a set amount of time so everything had to move very quickly.

I did take a backdrop and lights, but when I got to the location I found a pretty little garden spot outside so I used that and it was perfect. Many of the moms brought young daughters and the mother/daughter portraits were just precious.

The MK gals got images to add to their portfolios, I got new clients, and-- since this was purposely scheduled before Mother's Day--all of the attendees got beautiful Mother's Day portraits. I don't do any printing on site, so I delivered the packages after I did the edits and got the images printed.

I don't and won't do these types of events on a regular basis because it's not my preferred way of working. But the MK gals are dear friends of mine so I mainly did it as a way to help them with their annual event. It really turned out well for all of us and it was a lot of fun.

msf

kd2 wrote:

The Mary Kay gals I worked with had a 4-hour special event. It was promoted as a Mother/Daughter event where clients would get makeovers and have the opportunity to have a quick 15-20-minute photo session with me. The MK gals did all the scheduling and anyone who wanted a session had to RSVP ahead of time to reserve a time slot. I had 13 or 14 sessions booked. Each mother/daughter couple paid a $10 fee and that fee went towards their print package. They could only choose one image to print. I had an order form with 3 print packages.

I usually don't like working with such quick sessions, but we only had the room for a set amount of time so everything had to move very quickly.

I did take a backdrop and lights, but when I got to the location I found a pretty little garden spot outside so I used that and it was perfect. Many of the moms brought young daughters and the mother/daughter portraits were just precious.

The MK gals got images to add to their portfolios, I got new clients, and-- since this was purposely scheduled before Mother's Day--all of the attendees got beautiful Mother's Day portraits. I don't do any printing on site, so I delivered the packages after I did the edits and got the images printed.

I don't and won't do these types of events on a regular basis because it's not my preferred way of working. But the MK gals are dear friends of mine so I mainly did it as a way to help them with their annual event. It really turned out well for all of us and it was a lot of fun.

This thread has been very informative, never thought about doing a MK event. Thanks everyone.

If you dont mind me asking, how much were your prints for this event? You mentioned a $10 fee going towards a package.

Half the reason I like this idea is to get exposure. Im trying to get my name out there. Its not as easy as I had thought.

emeraldrose

msf wrote:

This thread has been very informative, never thought about doing a MK event. Thanks everyone.

If you dont mind me asking, how much were your prints for this event? You mentioned a $10 fee going towards a package.

Half the reason I like this idea is to get exposure. Im trying to get my name out there. Its not as easy as I had thought.

amen

kd2

I'm almost embarrased to admit that my packages were very inexpensively priced for this event. But my purpose for doing the event was for exposure for me and the MK gals wanted to add value and and incentive to their event. I didn't go into it with the idea that it would be a big money-maker for me, and I was pleased with the results. I had a $25 package (1-8x10 and 1-5x7), a $35 package and a $55 package. (I made it clear that these were special MK event prices only, not my standard pricing.) I also had individual prints available at regular price (but they had to purchase a print package). Total sales for me (from 13 clients each having a 15-minute session) was around $900, I booked additional sessions and I have a batch of new people who are passing out my cards and referring me to others.

msf

kd2 wrote:

I'm almost embarrased to admit that my packages were very inexpensively priced for this event. But my purpose for doing the event was for exposure for me and the MK gals wanted to add value and and incentive to their event. I didn't go into it with the idea that it would be a big money-maker for me, and I was pleased with the results. I had a $25 package (1-8x10 and 1-5x7), a $35 package and a $55 package. (I made it clear that these were special MK event prices only, not my standard pricing.) I also had individual prints available at regular price (but they had to purchase a print package). Total sales for me (from 13 clients each having a 15-minute session) was around $900, I booked additional sessions and I have a batch of new people who are passing out my cards and referring me to others.

The prices dont seem to bad. You an only charge whet the local market can support.

I hope you dont mind me asking, what are in your other 2 packages? Did you offer larger prints/canvas/proof books? What package was the most popular?

$900 isnt bad for a 4 hour event and some extra time for processing.

kd2

msf wrote:

The prices dont seem to bad. You an only charge whet the local market can support.

I hope you dont mind me asking, what are in your other 2 packages? Did you offer larger prints/canvas/proof books? What package was the most popular?

$900 isnt bad for a 4 hour event and some extra time for processing.

I definitely wasn't disappointed with the $900!

My $35 package included 2 8x10s and 2 5x7s and 4 wallets.
My $55 package included 3 8x10s, 4 5x7s and 4 wallets (huge discount, I know).

I offered additional prints up to 16x20 size. I only offered prints, no books or specialty items. The $35 and $55 packages were the most popular (and additional prints).

When selling the packages, I made a point to remind them to get additional prints for hubby's desk, mothers and mothers-in-laws, other family members, etc. I told them this session was just a sample of my work and if they liked it, they should see what I can do when I have them for a full-up family session.

I also told them that I very much appreciated any referrals and if they wouldn't mind, would they like to take additional business cards. (They did!) One of the most frequent comments I got was how much "fun" they had at this little session and that was absolutely the impression I wanted to leave them with. (Again, it's all about building those relationships!)

As a "vendor" at another event, it's important to remember that the MK gals are also trying to make sales. So I was mindful of that in my pricing since I knew that many times people go to these events with a set limit of how much they can spend. I also wanted the event to be profitable for my MK friends. So I really went in with the idea that this would be more for exposure for me.