Archive for marketing – Page 6

Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The Discount Book

There are dozens of different discount or voucher books available for all sorts of different industries. I’m sure at some point you’ve been offered the opportunity to appear in one, for a small fee of course.

Like many of the other marketing campaigns in this series this idea comes from something that already exists and can be successful. The difference being you create your own. Do a bit of the donkey work and save yourself a considerable amount of money.

Putting a discount book together is an easy enough task and just requires a bit of time on the phone and on the computer.

This campaign can work well for most industries but it is particularly good in the wedding and baby marketplace.

The voucher book

A set of discount vouchers which offer between 10% – 60% off retail prices. Thanks to daily deal websites people are used to receiving large discounts but really you want offers that are appealing whilst still allowing businesses to profit.

How many businesses you want to get involved is up to you but what you need is a good spectrum of services within the same industry.

You also need a good balance of specific businesses and not to have too much competition for each specialisation.

Read More→

Starting a Photography Business: Part 52 – Birthday Celebrations

A year ago I nervously started writing this column with the focus on the starting of the photography business and getting the photography website up and running. Yet in the background, out of sight the idea for Healing with Photography had already happened. So it feels kind of fitting that on the birthday celebration of this column, with a little cake thrown in for good measure that a new business starts to take shape in the form of a website.

Essential Props

The website design for Healing with Photography has started in earnest now, I am using the same web development company as I used for my photography website; SmartDeCat have over last few months been working hard to bring new software to the market that makes the whole process so much easier. Seriously, I cannot believe how easy it now is to create my website. Menus have been made slicker and more compact, and everything is easy to find.

Plus of course, it’s a whole lot quicker putting this website together rather than the photography website, as it doesn’t involve me adding lots of photos. Though previous experience didn’t prevent me from making a basic error and printing my companies email address on the about page. Thankfully my web designer pointed it out to me and reminded that the reason you never do this is because spam robots go around collecting this data to later spam your email address.

Read More→

Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Shooting Santa

When I talk about Shooting Santa in the run up to Christmas other portrait photographers often look at me baffled and ask ‘Why do you bother? You can’t make much money doing that.’

In a way that might be true but short term financial gain isn’t what I do it for. My real reason for shooting Santa……. Data collection and promotion.

Last year I had a Santa set-up at a Christmas market which cost me nothing as I agreed to take a handful of ‘promotional’ shots for the event organisers. I wasn’t by any means the official photographer for the event but as they had paid for the Santa they just wanted some images of him walking around a bit. For the sake of a few happy snaps I’d saved myself a nice bundle for the pitch rent and my model fees.

I had done similar shoots in the past and experimented with selling and printing onsite. This always proved to be a logistical nightmare and the weather always threw it’s spanner into the works.

Last year I changed tactics and rather than worrying about making a little extra pocket money I concentrated on getting the numbers in and capturing data.

The set-up was simple enough….. Santa sitting on a chair….. Put child on Santa and shoot.

Instead of putting images online or previewing the shots on a laptop I simply showed the the back of my camera and offered the parents the digital image for a small sum (about £5). I then got the parents details and emailed them the image the very next day. Read More→

Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The Pop-up Studio

Pop-up studios and shops have become increasingly popular in recent years and not just in the photography industry. This is by no way a new type of marketing for photographers, in fact the UK’s most successful photography franchise is built around leads from mall stands.

Not only are these cheaper than a permanent location (unless you’re going to have a popup 54 weeks a year) but it creates excitement around your business.

The Pop-up Studio Concept
Often know as ‘studio days’ the pop-up studio concept has become popular in many different children’s clothing stores and play centres. Basically you are offering studio taster sessions which is more of a bite sized version of what you already do in your studio.

It is important to play the numbers game and to not spend too long on each session. Set-ups in shops are best suited to baby photography as space can be limited whereas play centres offer a bit more space and possibility for a more elaborate set-up. It is also possible to rent space in shopping centres but be prepared to pay a fair amount or these.

Studio Days
Approach local businesses and ask about the possibility of renting a space in their premise for either a single day or more. If successful it is worth doing this on a regular basis, perhaps once a month. It’s always a good idea to do it at the start of the month when people have been paid and are more likely to make spontaneous purchases.

Once you have a business on board then you’ll be able to promote your days with posters and flyers. Visit the businesses during their peak times in the run up to your events to actively promote them. This will also give you the opportunity to make bookings.

Undoubtedly the venue will be happy to promote your events but remember that you are the best ambassador for your business.

Read More→

Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The Rapid Responder

I know for a fact that I’ve secured bookings purely based on a quick and thorough response to both email and phone enquiries. It’s also nice to get response emails that start with “Thank-you for your rapid response”.

We have become somewhat of an impatient society, one that wants instant gratification and information on demand. Whatever you think of this whole state of affairs, one thing is clear: being a rapid responder is becoming more and more important.

Becoming a rapid responder

You might consider yourself pretty much on the ball when it comes to this sort of thing but there might be a few ideas here you haven’t considered. There’s also things you do which might seem a good idea but could be harming your client experience for your business.

Auto responders

Personally I’ve never been a fan of auto responders especially when they’re connected to everyday contact forms. Simply sending an email saying that you will respond as quickly as you can and then sending a manual response minutes later seems silly to me.

That’s not to say they don’t have their uses and they can be very good if you know you’ll be off the grid for a few days.

Be careful how you phrase these types of emails as you could just be telling potential thieves when your studio with thousands of pounds of equipment will be empty.

Read More→

Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Publishing Prices Part 2

Last week’s marketing campaign [Publishing Prices] was the first part of 2 looking at publishing prices on your photography website. I suggested two options which you might want to experiment with and here are the next two options:

3. No Pricing
It’s surprising how many photographers go for this option. Often you’ll see prices tab or perhaps a more popular term these days ‘investment’ and when you click it you’re faced with a contact form. It’s quite a cheeky call to action but it’s certainly better than having no suggestion of pricing whatsoever.

If you aren’t going to give away any numbers then at least hint towards the possibility that you might be either quite cheap or very expensive. Language is a wonderful tool so use it to it’s full potential.

Words like luxury and bespoke suggest you’re tailoring towards the high end of the market whereas affordable and competitive suggest something different altogether.


4. Login for prices

This forth option is probably the best of all as not only can your potential clients receive instant gratification but you also get their information. Read More→