Archive for Business
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Facebook Timeline Cover
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A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting a social media Masterclass at The Societies annual photographic convention here in London. I shared a few social media marketing ideas, many of which I have published here. One idea that I’ll be using in the very near future (and that I shared in my talk) fits in nicely with Facebook’s announcement on Tuesday that Timeline will be rolled out to everyone in the next few weeks.
If you have been using timeline already you’ll no doubt have played around with different cover photos.
You’ll also might have come to the same realisation as I did that it’s not easy to find an image which fits neatly into the 850 x315 space.
Now imagine what Joe Public is trying to fit into that awkward space.
As photographers we have the wonderful advantage that not only can we shoot an image for that particular size but we can easily crop an image ready to fit.
However your share your clients images on Facebook try and include one that is cropped for the Timeline cover.
What next?
Planning and Developing Your Marketing Campaigns
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As its convention and trade show season I’m sure that you’ll be overwhelmed with ideas and inspiration for marketing campaigns. The biggest problem is that you might have come across a golden nugget that at this point in time isn’t quite the right fit for your business. The last thing you’ll want to do is to leave those ideas in a notebook which you’ll slide into a draw and ever read again.
One of the seminars I attended over the last week at The Societies Convention here in London was hosted by the hardest working photographer in the portrait business; Sandy Puc. Sandy shared her ‘salsa box’ concept which is basically three sets of colour coded folders filled with notes and ideas.
You have a folder for ideas you need to get onto right now, another for some time in the near future and another for the not too distant but not near future…..or something like that but you get the idea.
As part of my own business plan for 2012 I have started my own marketing planner. Being a bit of a geek and always one for dipping in and out of ideas I needed something that was cloud based and I could get to at any point. Evernote has proved to be the perfect tool as not only I can access and edit it from my office computer but I can also work on ideas from my iPad and phone. Using an online resource means I can also reference suppliers, products, blog articles, pinterest boards and even online storage where I might keep artwork. Read More→
Favorite Rants, Ideas and Thoughts on the Business of Photography
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The 1st of January 2012 will be the last of my posts at my personal photography blog project PhotoCreative365. Since December 31st 2009 I have posted daily thoughts, ideas and inspiration for photographers. Tomorrow I’ll be publishing a list of the most popular posts from the past 2 years but with over 1000 articles that still leaves out quite a few of my favourite rants, ideas and thoughts on the business of photography. There’s lots to read so get stuck in!
Enjoy……
Client Capacity
Client capacity is exactly what the name suggests it is. It’s the most amount of clients your business can handle whilst allowing for those extraneous variables and hiccups like re-shoots, extra travelling and larger orders/assignments.
Just so we’re clear – I’m not afraid to undercut you
I keep coming across articles and blog posts from photographers where they warn of dangers and pitfalls of hiring an amateur photographer. Indeed I’m sure I’ve written articles or dispensed similar advice myself at some point. And it’s true, if you want a professional job done then hire a professional. That’s just good advice.
The Digital File Anticlimax
I run a high volume baby portrait business and for the most part many of our clients aren’t the worlds most affluent. This means we made a decision to sell products that are affordable but have a high profit margin. I mean of course: prints and digital files.
Give yourself a boost
I don’t know about you but I’m sick of the term ‘hard times’. Unfortunately that is the reality of the world we live in and it’s pretty rare to find a business that hasn’t been effected by the downturn, current financial climate or whatever other label you want to put on it.
Beware of public opinion – Misinformed or otherwise
This week my friend’s half a million pound a year business closed its doors less than a month after a completely inaccurate (and later retracted) story in The Sun newspaper. My friend didn’t run a photography business but it’s still a worrying thing to think that public opinion can be so dramatically swayed. Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The 1st Year Baby Promotion
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This isn’t by any means a new type of promotion, in fact the MPA here in the UK have been running pretty much the same promotion since 1988 (Cherubs). It is however very successful and something that I have been using since the start of 2011.
This marketing campaign does rely on a couple of things:
Leads… lots of them. Here in the UK there are a handful of places to buy in leads. For this campaign to be successful you do need to play the numbers game so it’s very much a case of spending a fair amount on those names and numbers.
An incentive. It could be a free photo or even a cash prize (the MPA promotion offers both).
What you offer
3-4 photography sessions all taken 3-4 months apart in the baby’s first year. It’s up to you whether you charge or not for the sessions but it might be worth charging a deposit refundable or otherwise. I’ve found charging a small sum of £20 works if you are shooting in a studio. Clients are a lot less likely to miss appointments if they’re already finically invested.
After each shoot you either host a viewing a few days later in your studio or at the clients home. Even if you’ve only been dealing with the baby’s mother try and arrange a viewing where both parents are present. Unfortunately this can be as much of a hindrance as it is a help as men in general are little less excited about baby photos. Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Fish
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On my way to a meeting the other day I passed through Vauxhall station in London and saw a sight which first made me think of a great idea for a marketing campaign but also of an old customer service video I watched years ago while working as a boil in a bag chef (I’m no Gordon Ramsey put it that way).
Firstly I should share the source of my inspiration. Towards the exit of Vauxhall station are a number of different convenience stands from coffee shops to news stands but there is also a stand selling fresh fruit. Nothing unusual about that as we’re all told to eat our five a day, unless you’re Japanese then it’s 17 a day!
What was unusual was the back wall display, it is covered with about 50 4×6 photos of the stand owner showcasing his fishing catches.
Yep, 50 pictures of the same man holding different size fish at a fruit a veg stall.
At first glance I thought it was quite bizarre, but then I thought it was quite brilliant. The owner of the stand obviously has a passion for fishing and a shop on a place where although there is a tremendous amount of footfall many people are passing through at the typical Londoner ‘head down’ fast pace.
But people stop when they see his display and conversations begin. As someone somewhere I’m sure once said, starting a conversation is the beginnings of a sale. (If I have just made that up then feel free to quote me). Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The Personal Trainer Promotional Image
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For portrait photographers gyms can be a good source of referrals but they are often overlooked. But if you think about it every yummy mummy wants to get back in shape after childbirth and gyms are often filled with young parents with a descent income.
Getting a gym to promote your services is fairly easy as they often need images of their staff and personal trainers for promotional purposes.
Approaching the gym
Offer a discounted or free photo-shoot which includes a set of images for each personal trainer and/or instructor. These can be in the form of digital files or even posters promoting their respective classes. In return the gym will promote your services to their clientele. This can be in the form of posters, flyers or even a special discount card for members.
As with the Gift Vouchers for Local Businesses the gym could use the vouchers as an incentive for membership sign up.
There is also the possibility of sharing databases or offering cross promotions. Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The Local Business Group Shot
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This marketing campaign is useful not only as a networking tool but also as a way to introduce your business to the local community.
You could try this at any time of year but I’ve found it works particularly well either when you first open your studio or in the run up to Christmas.
What you offer local businesses
- A group photo of the staff either taken at your studio or in their place of work.
- Put together a staff discount pack and including some of your Local Business Discount Cards we talked about in last week’s article.
- Offer a complimentary print or even the digital file which they can use either to put on their wall or in a company newsletter.
If the staff want to order extra prints then it’s worth making this an option. At the very least this should cover the costs of your promotion.
It’s not a bad idea to post the group photo on Facebook and link to the company’s page. This will begin a social media relationship and cement those made in person. Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The Local Business Discount Cards
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Here in the UK there is a almost unspoken rule on the high street that businesses share their staff discounts. Unspoken as most big brands don’t allow this but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t had the odd half price coffee here and there!
That said, most high street stores have a high staff turnover and many bosses tend not like their staff giving out discounts left and right.
This marketing campaign aims to bring back the sense of being part of a local business community. I should stress that the aim of this campaign is not just to get half price coffee but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be a little added bonus.
Creating your discount cards
Ideally you want to create something that isn’t just a badly printed card from your desktop printer. Plastic credit card style cards are cheap and easy enough to create and all you need to do is to decide on how much of a discount you want to give away. 10% is generally accepted as standard but it’s entirely up to you.
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Teach Photography Basics
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Let’s face it, everyone today is an aspiring photographer whether they are taking pictures of their kids with a camera phone or shooting over your shoulder at a wedding with an entry level DSLR.
Photography tuition and training is a busy marketplace, especially at the semi-pro level (these are the ones with the spare cash after all) but I think some photographers often overlook people that could potentially turn into photography clients as well as tuition clients. It’s all very well training other photographers who want to go pro but at the end of the day what is the likelihood of them asking you for a family portrait session?
Back in the days when I was working as a cruise ship photographer I hosted a series of photography basics classes aimed at people with very little knowledge of their camera other than knowing that the big button makes the picture (that’s not a typo it’s a direct quote).
The first class we offered (which was free) would always attract a full house of up to 200 people. That was about 10% of our rather uniquely captive audience.
Follow up classes, for which we charged a rather modest $20 for, would usually be compromised from about 10%-20% of the freebie crowd.
$400 might have been a drop in the ocean (excuse the pun) when it came to our $60,000 weekly target but it did help us build relationships with our clients in a different way than we had before. Most of the time we were hassling the passengers for pictures on gangways and in the restaurant so this sort of interaction was a welcome change.
We sold cameras and probably more photos than we did before so it did prove a success. Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Sell a Non-Photography Product
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Perhaps it’s my entrepreneurial spirit they made me think of this marketing campaign, or perhaps it’s just another good way to create some interest in your business.
The products or services you sell don’t have to cost tens of thousands of pounds (or dollars), they can be simple, affordable and convenient.
The nature of running a photography business is that at least in the beginning, you have to pretty much do everything yourself from bookkeeping to website design. After a while you might even consider yourself an expert in some of these areas. As I write this I am on my way to do a bit of website consulting work. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no expert but there’s certainly things I can show people that they don’t have time to teach themselves.
In terms of physical products you don’t even have to create the product yourself. As photographers we often have a steady client base which other businesses would be certainly interested in taking advantage of.
Ideas for services
If you are a wedding photographer then it makes sense to partner with other businesses that are dealing with the visual aspect of the wedding. I am of course referring to make-up artists and hair stylists.
Offering a complete package of photography, hair and makeup will not only make your life easier because you will undoubtably only work with hair and MUA’s that aren’t a pain in backside but it will also tick two more boxes on the bride and groom’s to do list.
