Marketing Ideas

[dmpool]

I'm looking for some clever marketing ideas to promote my website and services. I just recently came back to the photography age. The last time I was shooting for money it was all 35mm and developing prints in my basement. Now, I'm movin on up to the Digital Age and I'm trying to get my foot back in the door. As you are all aware, there is a lot of competition. I'm marketing myself as a "catch all" freelancer. commercial, portraits, events. No weddings again yet, I'll have to wait til I retire from my real job to find the time for weddings again.

I printed up a whole slew of postcards and sent them to businesses in the area which I thought may be intereseted in commercial photos. What's the best way to reach potential clients? I posted on Craigslist and I'm considering a newspaper ad.

My brain is fried....................I need some fresh ideas!!

[Calnumismatist]

Marketing any business is best by word of mouth. Some claim that ads work, some have great success with commercials, however, getting others to spread the word always works and costs very little.

Join your local chamber of commerce. Get involved in your local community.

My personal preferrence is the "giveaway"

While many will knock the idea, I can tell you first hand it works. In Oct 2006 I made local, national, and international news (including the Today Show) by giving away a $500 product.

If done correctly, some free work will go a long ways. Getting others to market your service for you will work better than anything you do for yourself.

[gfp]

Facebook is a good tool apparently. If you create a business profile, and then become a fan of it with your personal profile, then all your friends will see it and some may become fans as well. Then their friends may see it, and possibly become friends, so forth.

I havent researched my space as a marketing tool yet, but its a possibility.

With all my research, the 2 most important things are: word of mouth and a website for people to see. Craigslist is a 3rd since its free and community based.

[James_1971]

AS GFP already stated FACEBOOK! i currently promote my Photo restoration & retouching services on there with great success . also on MYSPACE & Twitter as well and i also use craigslist & Ebay, theres so many avenues of free advertising on the net its crazy. theres a small price on Ebay for listing but its nothing crazy

[arezai85]

Good this is very useful to me Thanks.

Ali

[MIKEZILLA]

be really careful using craigslist and such. it makes an impression, and not a good one. someone really doesn't think a "professional" photographer is going to be placing craigslist ads so it makes you look a little desperate and very low-end. 99% of photogs of craigslist are those guys who will do a wedding and give a disk for a $100.
you are what clients perceive you to be. and they come up with that from the way you present yourself.
also, i don't think it's a great idea to be a jack of all trades. find a niche and market yourself mainly to those clients. of course it's ok to go outside that area occasionally.
develop a nice portfolio, possibly by doing freebies or tfcd or tfp or whatever. get a decent website, nice business cards and things will slowly come together.
you're going to be tempted to start with dirt cheap pricing............do not do this. you will become known as "that cheap photographer". what you want to be known as is "he's pricey, but worth it".
of course all of this is just my opinion and you can take it for what it is worth.

[explora56]

I believe Mikes opinions to be sound and well worth reflecting on and putting into practice. It is important to find a niche do not try to be all things to all men look for a USP (unique selling point) something that is notable and sets you out from the crowd maybe a style a particular development technique something a little different think about it.

Good luck bounce your ideas here people will always try to help.

Bill

[cameraman]

I've shot and sold images from about 140+ events over the past 3 years. Mostly sporting events. Although this may not be your chosen channel/market to break back into...you are getting your images in front of thousands of people. I've had requests and generated a ton of other business from these events.

With that said...being the "official" photographer for the event typically qualifies you under their insurance and copyright terms. (Insurance...not always..but often...meaning you are part of the event just as their staff is). This legitimizes your presence at the event with your gear. And most, if not all, larger mass events, collegiate, high school sports etc. will either have a release on their application or ticket or on a sign posted at the entrance which in a nutshell states your picture may be taken and used. (Not trying to drum up a legal debate here).

With all that being said...

Every event I have shot I have shot it as the official photographer. As part of most of those deals...I give them a few promo shots or highlight reel cd. But...I receive permission and promotion in return. Alot of it. Onsite signage and announcements, website logo/link, inclusion in newsletters, etc.

One marketing tool and concept to both drive sales and cover your butt is to use an online service to market your image which has the necessary tools to increase sales and protect the subjects "right to privacy" option. I chose EventPictures.com. I can open or close access as much as I want via event passwords, unique event url's, etc. The site can be used for weddings, stock, fashion, sports, etc.

take care and good luck!

[krauzianimage]

Aside form the free side of Facebook, they have skillfull ways of taking your money. You can buy ads from them if you can figure out interesting keywords to match your services with. They are the cheepest Cost Per Click that I have found.

[DSRay]

Sounds like we share stories, although I am retired. Anyway, I did the postcard thing too and got absolutely no response so after thinking about it, I put my portfolio on DVD with music using Power Point. I made it about 5 minutes long and made sure it was self starting so all the potential client had to do was get it in the right drive. I made a list of potential clients from the Yellow pages and personally delivered them and meeting the people if possible. I also mailed a few to neighboring cities.

The DVDs cost me just under $5.00 each for materials and I have already (within a week) book three jobs. I am now planning to release a portfolio twice a year. There's just something to be said about face to face marketing.

[BryanPass]

start using google, yahoo and bing business places, while placing you studio name in local business directories. these mediums will help get your name out there a bit.Also, Start a blog and showcase your photos(make sure its right click protected)


Bryan
http://www.digilabspro.com