Firstly I’d like to take this chance to wish everyone a very happy new year……now it’s time to get back to business!
The biggest question I’m asked by other photographers is How do I get more leads?
Luckily you’re in the right place here at Current Photographer and the first thing you should do is subscribe to the weekly tips to grow and enhance your business. There is already a wonderful archive with tons of great information so take a little time out, turn that TV off, brew a cup of tea and sit back and consume!
We’ve already shared lots of great ideas but what I’m going to be concentrating on in the next few weeks is specific marketing campaigns aimed directly at photographers.
What is important with any marketing campaigns or strategy is that it requires you to put the work in to make it successful. The key to being an overnight success is often based on years of hard work. It’s not just about having a Facebook page, tweeting once and a while or just printing off a few flyers.
Here’s a few things to consider:
- Plan everything well in advance – November isn’t the time to be thinking about your Christmas promotions….now is!
- Don’t be afraid to experiment or modify the ideas we suggest – there is no real winning formula, just a few good ideas!
- Make a plan for the year and know when you intend to launch different campaigns.
- Create a campaign timetable – this will help you push your campaign forward and not end up as an idea on a post-it note!
- Use database software to organise, track and record the information you collect along the way.
With each campaign we’re going to put together a plan sheet which is an essential component for it’s success…. proper planning and preparation and all that….
Campaign Title
Giving each individual campaign a title is the first (and simplest) way to keep track of exactly what you’re doing.
Description of Campaign
A short paragraph outlining exactly what’s involved.
Target Market
Are you aiming your campaign at a specific target market…. if so which one?
Target for Campaign
This can be anything from increasing website traffic to financial targets. It’s important to set goals to work for even if at first they might seem unrealistic.
Time Frame – Set Up
How long will it take you to put all of the components of your campaign together and more importantly when you intent to do that.
Time Frame – Campaign in Action
Is there a start and finish date for your campaign or any other time you’ll have spend working on it? For example a long term campaign might need your attention once a week whereas one off events might just require a couple of days work. It is important to at least get an idea of how much of your time will be required for each campaign as to judge the effectiveness of it.
Costs – Set Up
Quite simply what are the initial set-up costs.
Costs – Ongoing
Are they any ongoing costs for your campaign?
Tracking
What systems you have in place to track the effectiveness of the campaign? This should measure the target for your campaign.
Feedback
How will you be measuring and recording feedback for your campaign?
Other Companies/People involved
Does the campaign require any outsourcing?
Notes
It’s always nice to have a notes section, especially to record any changes you make.
Using the Community
One of the best things about sharing these ideas is YOU, the Current Photographer community. Please use the comments to share your own personal experiences or suggestions and together we can make these ideas even better!
It all starts next Friday and the best way for you to keep updated is to subscribe to the RSS feed.
Hopefully we’ll make 2011 a successful year for everyone!
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Michael has been working as a photographer for the last ten years. In that time he has shot over 100,000 peoples’ portraits and worked in four different continents. In 2001 Michael graduated with a degree in photography from Manchester Metropolitan University.
Great info RT @TrevorCurrent New Post: Marketing Campaigns for Photographers https://currentphotographer.com/marketing… #photog #togs
Excellent marketing tips Michael. Although it has been 20 years since I worked for the newspaper USA TODAY as Regional Marketing Manager, I will let you know that we planned 3 years out and worked forward week by week. It is never too early to become excited about a new marketing promotion or campaign. One can either plan to fail or fail to plan! Do sign me up for your newsletter!
RT @TrevorCurrent: #Marketing Campaigns for Photographers via Contributor @memorygate https://currentphotographer.com/marketing… #photog #togs