Archive for Business – Page 4

Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Create a Competition for Charity

I’ve seen lots of different promotions from photographers who have run different competitions and many that do charity work but this marketing campaign is a little different.

The biggest difference is that you will be raising funds for charity but you’ll also be making some money for your own pocket too.

 

What you need

1. Friends
Not just any friends, but lots and lots of what my wife likes to call my “photo friends”. To be more specific, you need a network of photographers either locally or nationally that photograph the same sort of subject as you (babies, pets, seniors etc).

The next thing you have to do is convince them all that you have a wonderful idea for a marketing campaign and it’s not going to cost them too much time or money.

You will need to have all the photographers on board before you begin the promotion of the competition.

2. A Charity
It does help if you choose a charity which will help you with your marketing and promotion. Ideally your charity needs to reflect your area of expertise so if you are a pet photographer then work with animal shelter, if you’re a baby photographer then a children’s hospital might be your choice.

3. Judges
They don’t have to be celebrities but it’s certainly wouldn’t hurt if they were. Obviously they can’t be the photographers entering images but if you manage to sign up a couple of industry experts with judging experience all the better. Read More→

Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Be a Fool

“There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on –shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.”

There’s something about April Fools day which I love. It’s not recognized as a national holiday, Hallmark don’t sell ‘happy fools day cards’ (then again I could be wrong about that one) and there’s no real target market as adults and children both equally participate.

But it is jolly good fun and these days it’s not restricted to silliness in the playground or fake stories in the newspapers.

Google (or should I say Topeka) have led the way online in recent years but its not just the larger companies that have been noticed. The viral effect of social media means that any small business with the right prank can generate themselves quite a large amount of exposure very quickly.

So why shouldn’t a photography business be any different?

Well, be aware that there is such a thing as bad publicity and if you’re a family portrait photographer then tread very carefully.

3 golden rules for creating an effective Aprils Fools prank Read More→

A Photographer’s Diary, The Bigger Picture

I’ve started putting some more nurturing activities into the end of my day to help me unwind and relax; a steam room, sauna and whenever I feel like it, the gym upstairs.

A day sat at the computer as you no doubt know yourself, doesn’t give you much chance for exercise. So a quick walk on the treadmill whilst watching, what is fast becoming, my favourite comedy and then retiring to the leisure facilities with a good book, has become a cherished part of my day.

My old back garden

The one thing though that has become a bit tricky is recognising people that I meet in the steam room or sauna once I’m out of it! Let me explain; I wear contact lenses though remove them before going to gym as lenses are uncomfortable in the steam room. So I wear glasses, though obviously not in the steam room or sauna and this is where the problems begin. Read More→

Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Seasonal Touches

The one great things about the changing seasons is the fact that we can all jump on the promotional bandwagon and take advantage of the numerous holidays throughout the year.

In a way people almost expect a seasonal offer. A couple of days after valentines day I got a call from a potential client asking me what my mothers day offer was! They found my website had a quick look round and after they couldn’t find anything they gave me a call. Luckily I had an offer prepared, I just hadn’t launched it yet.

There are plenty of photographers out there that will be offering all manner of deals throughout the year so it’s your goal to try and do something different. If you can’t make it different then do it better!

Here’s a couple of ideas that you could use in the coming months. Really these are ideal for portrait studios aiming at a young family.

Mothers Day

Free box of chocolates for every mum that books a session on [insert dates]

Photo-shoot and beauty treatment bundled gift voucher
Team up with a local spa and put together a special mothers day offer.

The little chef surprise
Cupcake decoration photoshoot. Client walks away with a print and a cupcake for mum that the kids decorated during the photoshoot

Read More→

H&H Color Lab: Tips to Grow Your Business Using Inbound Marketing

During Digital Photography Café’s live WPPI 2012 coverage this past month, Joseph Cristina and I had the opportunity to chat with David Drum from H&H Color Lab about how they use Inbound Marketing to grown their business.

In the below video you’ll see a great presentation about Inbound Marketing from Social Media Sensi Georgia McCabe. She gives an overview of what exactly Inbound Marketing is and also demonstrates how H&H Color Lab uses it to build trust within the photography community.

We also stopped by H&H Color Lab’s booth to check out some of their latest products including their really cool custom printed iPhone cases.

Be sure to stop by their website at HHColorLab.com to check out all of their products and don’t forget to check out all of their great educational resources. You can also connect with them on Twitter and Facebook.

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A Photographer’s Diary, How is it Thursday already?

This week and last week seems to have flown by, each weeks, it’s gotten to Thursday and I’ve wondered ‘How is it Thursday already? The scheduling my days in a diary is partly responsible I think; it helps me put so much more into a day and keep me pretty true to what I’ve scheduled. The days are more productive and they whizz by.

Last Thursday it was the monthly mastermind call with our regular business meeting. I so look forward to these calls, it’s good to catch up with people who are all busy doing different things and it’s good to just have a chat with other supportive women who have some wonderful philosophies in life.

This call was really pivotal for me. I have decided to give a presentation at a local hotel, to local businesses, councils, schools and press, all about Healing with Photography. This will be the first time I’ve done this kind of thing. I’ve done presentations before yet never for something that is so personal or directly related to me, and I am so looking forward to sharing my work and demonstrating how it can help the companies present and their staff. Read More→