Loaded with marketing tips, success secrets, spelling mistakes,
'cuss words, odd-ball ideas and the occasional insult.
For the professional portrait and wedding photographer

February 2007

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Photography Marketing Strategies
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Just got off the phone with the owner of 5000cards.com. The owner and sales rep, Kapil Sunak, and I had a long chat. I found this company through a post at our photography forum. I found the website very well laid out and their services very competitively priced. So, I ordered 5,000 full color 8.5 x11 flyers.

It's not everyday you get the owner on the phone. I assume he handles sales calls because he's good at it, and he recognizes that this is such a key area that to delegate it would be very challenging. Especially since he may have a proven system for selling. If you need any full color printing created for you wedding price lists, portrait promotional pieces or senior sales letters, I urge you o check em out!

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How about using gift certificates distributed through other, non-competing merchants in your area. I literally built my studio business from the ground up by affiliating myself with other business's. Free sessions for pets from the local pet food store or vet. Free family session from the local car dealer, furniture store. Free engagement session from the bridal shop or jewelry store. Get creative! It's a fast, easy and cheap way to get your name out there and get the phone ringing. Here's a site I found that has some cool templates for you to use for your gift certificates.

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Senor frogs

Last month, as you know, I was in Cozumel. One night after visiting downtown Cozumel and the local Carnival activities, we stopped in at Senor Frogs, a popular night club for young folks. Man, this place ROCKS! I was so excited, I was in the midst of marketing madness, all in progress, right before my eyes.

Whoever thinks that this place is haphazard and random (can't blame you if you do, with all the fast-paced mayhem that goes on in there) is fooling themselves. There is nothing gratuitous. It's all planned, and you can bet planned for maximum profits. This place uses a very tightly organized system that they follow to a tee.

They even have a membership program deal where you pay a fee and drink all you want. There wasn't a corner wasted nor a service left unturned. .

The DJ, my guess, was trained, chosen, and given a specific format to follow. Not the typical stand behind the booth, play what you want affair. Remember, this is all a planned. Every detail, every minute. Every dance was a theme. One time they created a huge conga line which ended with a bartender free-pouring shots into every dancer's mouth. This is not new, it's called the "free sample." Gets everyone in the right groove.

They had a photo souvenir corner, of course not only as a memory keepsake, but for extra sales:
The DJ was amazing. Non-stop dancing and interactivity. Every song was unique and fun:

At one point a screen came down and they played a funny 3 minute music video, then pwweeeeeeepppppp!!, the screen was gone, more dancing:

They had swings (fun!):

Free popcorn:

That's us:

They are even smart enough to collect names for their database via their website. I did just that and here's the reply I received, in keeping with their fun-loving sense of humour:
"The email address you have entered has been pre-subscribed to the mailing list you chose. Prepare to be spammed. Just kidding."
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Yellow pages ads

I know, I know, Yellow Pages ads don't work for you, not in your town or city, tried em, been there, done that. Most people have this opinion and it's false. Listen, any sales media will work if you have the right sales message in front of the right targeted group of prospects.

Do people look up photographers? Of course they do. Not as much as they used to with google taking over, but many still do. If a bride, or a recently moved in to your area family looks up photographers in the YP, are they qualified leads? YES!! Of course. They're looking up photographer ain't they??!! Most ads don't work because they fail miserably at selling. Just a boring enlarged business card. bllllllaaaaaa!

Recently while travelling and in another city I browsed through the local Yellow Pages. Odd? yes, but instructive. I like looking a what other industries are up to, and what other photogs are up to in other areas. You'd be surprised what you can borrow for your own photography studio.

Analyze these ads:

YELLOW PAGE SAMPLE AD 1 Counselling Service
This guy is using loads of sell. He has a headline and many hot spots that likely address many of the pains and frustrations in his typical client base.

YELLOW PAGE SAMPLE AD 2 Plumbing Service
This plumbing service had FOUR FULL PAGES! Somethings gotta be working. Again, look at the sell, and the pains they are addresing, the offers and guarantees.

YELLOW PAGE SAMPLE AD 3 Plumbing Service
Same plumbing service, another age. I like the booties on the guy. This answers a question that many women would be thinking about pre-emptively: "will some fat toad with plumber's butt track dirt......."

YELLOW PAGE SAMPLE AD 4 Cosmetic Surgery
Very loaded, colors, many offers and benefits. You might be thinking "yuch!", but my guess is this guy is flooded with clients and drives a brand new B MW bought and paid for. Seehow he carves out niches within his niches.

It's important to keep an open mind, and see what others are using, and finding creative and innovative ways to borrow what they have and apply to our photography business. Look at the way they are getting into the customers conversation that's going on inside their heads.

Photographers are notoriously bad at doing this effectively. We shamefully use a few photos, loads of negative space, very little info, and we think people will call us because our slow loading, hard to navigate flash website will do the job because, dammit! we're good. We're aaarrrrttttttteessttttss. Put your ego aside and learn how to speak to each of your niches.

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Success Corner
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ONE OF THE BIGGEST dangers when attending association driven events is not so much the"cliqueness" or the "I wanna be like that guy" self-imposed peer pressure that goes on, but the vulnerability that we sometimes allow ourselves to fall prey to. Sorta like how bad High School was for many of us. It can be fun, new friends, and great learning and inspiration, like summer camp, and then some. It's important to see these events for what they are, and maintain our own focus in life. OUr own identity. Associations are aweome, don't get me wrong. I belong to many. I love the educational aspects and the friendships.

Here's something I totally DO NOT understand. Photographers attend conventions, spend a small fortune getting there, sit through many presentations, most of which they will not remember, and maybe buy some cool new lens or whatever at the trade show, and not invest in much educational material.

It baffles me, especially when the presenter presents stuff that is good and makes sense and could actually help your photography business. Some attendees are actually offended by sales pitches. Most presenters are notoriously lame at making any sales pitches, as if they are shame-filled for doing so.

Fact is, any three hour presentation can, and rightfully so, and should be construed as a long informercial for whatever else the presenter can offer. As long as there is as much information as is possible to cram in sucha short span of time, the presenter is effectively telling the attendees how they can benefit.

You can't possibly get much out of a short presentation. If a photographer is good, and actually went through the effort to create educational material designed to help me, I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT! And may even invest in it, because I WANT MORE OF WHAT THIS PRESENTER IS SAYING BECAUSE THREE HOURS JUST AIN'T CUTTING IT.

It's too short, so, I get to take that presenter home and really get into it. Home study style. My own coach! Mentor! As if being offended by this because of some lame, self-absorbed reasoning that "it's wrong to sell and it goes against my principles and sensitivities." Go away. Get a life. It's all about learning. You can tell the level of success by the size of the library.

What's worse, and a testament to our laziness and procrastination, is the fact that of those who do buy educational materials, the majority won't even crack open the DVD. Shame.