Marketing tactics?

AspectArts · August 1, 2009

I know that was a broad title, but I wasn't sure how to label it otherwise

I'm a photog in a town with a pop of 5,500 people, moving to a city of 86,000. I've established a credible reputation and a steady business in my hometown purely on word of mouth. Obviously that isn't going to fly in a city where I know approx 10 people. lol

What marketing tactics work best for you? What doesn't work? We will be moving in mid-September and I want to jump in with both feet and aggressively get my name out there, or my hubby will make me get a job (lol).

I need to find out what the going rates are in my new city, but many photogs don't have their prices right on their website (I don't either)... is it in good taste to ask them?

I've heard about "Guerilla Marketing" books, are they good sources of info? Any other sources that you like? Maybe even threads here... I searched "Marketing" but didn't come up with much.

Thanks so much! This is a huge (kind of scary) step for me, and I appreciate any direction!

Snowgirl · August 1, 2009

AspectArts wrote:

I know that was a broad title, but I wasn't sure how to label it otherwise

I'm a photog in a town with a pop of 5,500 people, moving to a city of 86,000. I've established a credible reputation and a steady business in my hometown purely on word of mouth. Obviously that isn't going to fly in a city where I know approx 10 people. lol

What marketing tactics work best for you? What doesn't work? We will be moving in mid-September and I want to jump in with both feet and aggressively get my name out there, or my hubby will make me get a job (lol).

I need to find out what the going rates are in my new city, but many photogs don't have their prices right on their website (I don't either)... is it in good taste to ask them?

I've heard about "Guerilla Marketing" books, are they good sources of info? Any other sources that you like? Maybe even threads here... I searched "Marketing" but didn't come up with much.

Thanks so much! This is a huge (kind of scary) step for me, and I appreciate any direction!

Hi there. I'd suggest you do some marketing research right away. Find out what competition exists in your new home city and what services they offer. Then, define YOUR target market, see if any of the competition services that particular niche, and build a business plan for developing (bad pun) your photography business in the new location.

I'm in a similar boat at the moment. Although I haven't moved, I have recently given up my "day job" to do photography full time so I'm scrambling with the same issues.

Good luck! And there are some excellent references out there on marketing. The BEST book I've gotten my hands on is "Best Business Practices for Photographers" by John Harrington. Can't recommend it enough!:ivar

Art Scott · August 1, 2009

My city ...Wichita ks is usually way behind on a lot of things... a few years ago they started this thing called Final Friday Art Crawl, in out old town section....it was to help build busines in the old town (most resturants and bars and such) and to help local artists get shows......so I have been going out to FF every month with cam and t-pod strapped on shooting all thur out old town or making it look as ifg I am shooting.....shoot the outdoor entertainment everything I seee....hand out business cards like crazy and go to the main bookstores (barnes and noble and borders...both have public advertising areas for free......put out b-cards and flyers......I also spend time shooting in the parks (getting wildlife....finally starting to get decent shots with my new BIGMA )....always have cards ready to hand out....always.

When you are ready to open your "doors" for business in the new town get a 'press release" written up and out to all the news media in the new town...most will run the release for free and may even send a reporter to interview you.......
Make sure flyers and cards have your cell phone and website on them....get people to your website to see the fantastic work you do.........

If you have a fav resturant in the new city ...see if they will allow you to put up a few framed photos to advertise with or to sell and offer them a decent commission....also leave behind B-cards in a holder to sit by cash register.....

Get flyers on all the church bulletin boards that you can.

Keep a boxor 2 of general flyers in your car trunk so if you find a new place to put them out you can right now.....keep a log book of every where you advertise with flyers and b-cards so you can easily replenish every couple of weeks or once a month as needed...........
Start now so yo can start booking for October and on forward.....leave September free so you can move and settle in....maybe even the 1st half of OCT...........

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

emeraldrose · August 2, 2009

this may not answer your specific questions, but we've brainstormed a lot of great ideas - http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=136255

AspectArts · August 2, 2009

Thanks for the suggestions!
That link looks very informative, I'm off to read it...

Cygnus Studios · August 3, 2009

AspectArts wrote:

I've established a credible reputation and a steady business in my hometown purely on word of mouth. Obviously that isn't going to fly in a city where I know approx 10 people.

I do things a tad differently than most, so keep in mind that what works for me is usually different. I moved to the San Francisco area about 19 months ago. The area is littered with photographers of every shape and size. I really have no idea what the average price is, and I simply don't care.

First you determine what area you wish to be known in.
Then you need to determine what you need to live.
This will determine what your rates will be more than what someone else is charging.

Now if you need to earn significantly more than others it will mean that you will have to work at it a lot harder than the others.

If you want to be in the fine art market, you need to find out where that market is. You will have to find a way into that market.

Too often online photographers limit their market to whatever small town that they live in. Now if that is all you ever want, that is fine, but living in a specific area does not necessarily limit you to that area.

There are dozens of destination photographers who live here in the Bay area that travel all over the world shooting images. They rarely work here.

The vast majority of my commercial clients do not live or work anywhere near California. We do almost everything by UPS or Fed Ex.

Once you have decided what type of photographer you want to be, determine where the clients are that will use that type of photographer.

Every type of client has areas of interest outside of photography. Business people hang out with business people, kids hang out at places that cater to kids. Soccer moms hang out at areas that cater to them. This is the one constant in any area of business. Learn where your market is. Focus your marketing efforts in these areas.

Too many people try to spray an area and hope someone finds it. It is like throwing darts in the dark.

The amount of social networks (online and in person) growing across the country is amazing. There is an online site called meetup (search google) that groups people together by interest, in areas all over the place. It is yet another tool that can be used to find your target audience. The key is to not overthink this. Don't limit yourself to what a photographer would do. Business is business no matter what the product or service. The same basic principles will always apply.

kd2 · August 3, 2009

I just attended a marketing and branding session a couple of days ago. It was taught by a lady who took her interior design company from basically a local no-name to being a huge presence poised for national recognition in just 2 years. Here are some of her tips:

- Find your niche
- Focus on that niche
- Don't try to compete
- Dominate your category
- Make a great first impression
- Build your presence
- Position yourself as an expert
- Do something to get attention (have a contest, etc.)
- Leverage others (she talked about how she built relationships with Macy's, Hawaiian Air, Marriott, etc.)
- Think of others' needs first.

dstainer · August 4, 2009

Think Like Your Target Audience
Some ideas to consider:

1. Local cable advertising: find out if your local cable operator has an ad channel used for yard sales, local pizza shops, local handyman services, pets to adopt, etc. If they do, the advertising cost is next to nothing, but the reach can be great--as these types of channels are often underreported from a traffic standpoint.

2. Yellow-pages on and offline. Under obvious categories like wedding and event photography, etc.

3. Photography-specific directories: many people search online (like a city search or county web services website) under the name of your city, and wedding photographer (for example). Get yourself listed.

3. Craig's List: although you need to be careful of this for obvious reasons and do a great job of screening.

4. Develop a nice promo brochure with business card. Distribute to local businesses, PTAs, high school teachers and coaches, local government, local tourism council, chamber of commerce (they can also help you promote your services), libraries, local event and wedding planners, caterers, limo companies. Think like a bride. Where do they go to plan a wedding? Distribute brochures to wedding touch points. Think the same for other aspects of your photography. One of these businesses also may be willing to promote your services to their email or mailing list, and you can also find out what they personally do to promote their services, such as attend wedding shows, other events, etc.

5. Pay some local kids a few bucks to canvass key neighborhoods and find a local printer to do a door hanger. Inexpensive yet effective, especially for senior/kid portrait-type services.

6. Booth at local fairs and art shows.

7. Contact local paper photography department and ask their advice for promoting your services in that town. They may offer some unique insight and/or promo avenues. Same with a local photography club.

8. Find other places to post flyers such as grocery store bulletin boards, library bulletin boards, town square glass kiosks, etc.

9. Research search engine marketing. You may want to consider purchasing some "local" keywords that are frequently searched, yet won't cost you a lot.

10. Offer to display your art in high traffic locations for free, with some contact information visible.

Just a few ideas. Good luck. Think outside of the box, and put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. Where would they look if they needed a wedding/event/child photographer.

~Dan
www.danielstainer.com

AspectArts · August 5, 2009

Think outside the box................ that's key for sure, I think. Thank you all for the super helpful tips!!!!! It's given me a starting place, and lots of them just make sense. Off to brainstorm I go...

Cygnus Studios: any idea how people first promote themselves as destination photographers? That is my long term plan and dream... but I have no idea how to start that when I haven't done anything "destinationish". Doesn't help that I was born and raised in my small town and I haven't travelled much so I don't know people in far away places that I could work for...

fredjclaus · August 5, 2009

AspectArts wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions!
That link looks very informative, I'm off to read it...

Lisa,

Also take a look at a website called "Smalltownmarketing.com" I know you said you are moving to a large city, but the ideas this man talks about are still valid no matter what city you live in. He was giving two of his ebooks away for free last month too. I picked them both up but I'm not sure if he's still giving them away. They are a good read if you are interested. I think he sells them for 20.00 a piece if you can't get them for free.

AspectArts · August 7, 2009

fredjclaus:
Thank you!!! I just downloaded both books (yes they are still free) and my quick preliminary browse shows a wealth of marketing information and direction. That second book is 260 pages!! lol, I have some reading to do!

fredjclaus · August 7, 2009

AspectArts wrote:

fredjclaus:
Thank you!!! I just downloaded both books (yes they are still free) and my quick preliminary browse shows a wealth of marketing information and direction. That second book is 260 pages!! lol, I have some reading to do!

Glad you like them Lisa. I was shocked that he was giving them away but I took advantage of his generosity and downloaded them. I know what you mean about the information. I'm reading the marketing book right now, that one only has 218 pages.

GerryDavid · January 21, 2011

AspectArts, how did things turn out? Which guerilla marketing techniques did you use and which ones worked for you?

Ive thought about putting information on cars under the wipes in parking lots for a business that has the sort of customer that I am tryign to target *like babys r us* or even putting up 8x10 "posters" on posts on popular streets that have a lot of foot traffic by college kids, but I am not sure if this is even legal.

Can anyone suggest who to contact to find out?

zoomer · January 21, 2011

Get out and meet and form relationships with established wedding vendors....you only need a couple them referring people to you and BAM you are in.
Word of mouth is gold.

Any marketing/advertising that puts you name in a list with more than three of 4 other photographers is a waste of time.

Don't waste you time on flyers are any kind of untargeted advertising.

Craigs list is ok for 6 months just to work with a few people to sow the seeds of word of mouth advertising then raise your prices and get off there.

GerryDavid · January 21, 2011

Flyers can be targeted, as I said if your going for baby photography, the toys r us parking lot is gold.

The wedding vendors is only good if your going for weddings. Ive found craigslist to be almost a total waste of time, with the exception of a couple free portraits I did to build my portfolio, I still use those images today.

The rest either ask questions and dont book or book and dont show.

jandrewnelson · January 22, 2011

Great thread and very interesting to read. But I'm afraid I didn't find much that relates to the type of photography (freelance photojournalism) that I do.

I've been shooting, traveling and writing for about (six months out of each year) five years now and I'm looking for ways to increase the number of offers I have so that I can be choosier about which ones I accept and hopefully spend more time at homebase in Asheville NC.

So if anyone has any ideas on this, feel free to speak up. If I don't hear any ideas other than what I'm already doing, then I'll take it as confirmation that I'm on the right track.

Thanks!
Jerry
www.meesoon.smugmug.com

Art Scott · January 22, 2011

[QUOTE=GerryDavid;1541632
Ive thought about putting information on cars under the wipes in parking lots for a business that has the sort of customer that I am tryign to target *like babys r us* or even putting up 8x10 "posters" on posts on popular streets that have a lot of foot traffic by college kids, but I am not sure if this is even legal.

Can anyone suggest who to contact to find out?[/QUOTE]

First check with your city offices, I not sure which division to send you too....2nd check the doors of the businesses you want to use their parking lot for solicitation....most state on their doors or have signs at parking lot entrances stating no soliciting......especially of close to or in a mall of any type......

Good Luck

philsphotography · January 28, 2011

What is the web address to the marketing book you all are talking about?

Thank you,

Phil

www.philsphoto.com

Marketing tactics?

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