some marketing thoughts : DONT BE PASSIVE !

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some marketing thoughts

January 9, 2008

I’ve been getting a lot of email lately from some pretty cool blog readers inquiring about marketing.

To me a marketing program or plan is like a pizza. A pizza is only whole if it has all of the pieces. Sure you can feed yourself if you’re missing some pieces but the more pieces you’re missing the less people you can feed (it won’t be as effective as it could be).

When I was younger my idea of marketing was to place some ads in certain locations then wait for the phone to ring. What was I thinking! Passive marketing is just about as bad as doing nothing. Well actually it might be worse because doing nothing is relatively free.

So how should you market yourself? Do you want some concrete advice that’s set in stone and sure to make you wealthy? I bet you do. Unfortunately everyone is different and has different goals they want to accomplish. But I have made a list that might help out.

Don’t stop with this list, I often find that there are at least 10 more ideas behind each item in a list. In terms of effectiveness the more you do the better off you’ll be.

And most importantly marketing is a cumulative effort. No one or two pieces of the pizza are going to get you consistent work. The more times a potential client sees your brand/images over a period of time (without being annoyed) the more likely they will remember you when a project comes up. The key is to be consistent throughout your branding/design materials.

Online portals
Workbook.com
Photoserve.com
Altpick.com
Blackbook.com
Gosee.us

Personal website
Updated regularly
Professional design/branding

Physical portfolio book
Yep you still need them. They are even more important now than ever and it’s a really easy way to stand out.
Sent out to buyers on a regularly basis. Don’t forget to pay for FedEx both ways if it was your idea. If they call it in they pay.

Email promotions
Once a month sent to a highly targeted list of buyers
Outcome and status tracked to improve on the numbers the following month

Print promotions
Sent every month to same list of buyers that has the same image as the email
Sent to AD’s and AB’s when I see cool award winning work in CA, Archive etc.

In person visits
For crying out loud, show them you care
Research the agency or company before you meet
Make friends not sales
Keep in touch with past clients

Personal work
Shoot tons
You should always be changing and evolving

Enter contests
Yep should be part of your plan and if you get in you’ll win a lot of publicity

Blogging
You’re reading this right?

Press Releases
Notify pdnonline.com and photoserve.com when you have news about your company. They update their home page with new assignment work, awards won and other news.

Right about now you might be asking yourself, “Does ED do all of this?”
—– You bet and much more —-

Got better ideas? I’d love to hear them

Posted by Ed McCulloch Filed in marketing, photography business