Photography Emailers - Is this Spam?

What I really hate is a great lunch ruined by the rest of my industry when I get that inevitable comment "so, what's up with this email thing, it's killing me". It's the constant criticism of the way photographers go about promoting themselves is the charming bulk email that we think of as "reaching out". Yep, that bit where we hit send on multiple thousands of emails sent to creatives is actually not a huge hit with them.

Let's think about why shall we? First off how often have you suddenly decided that "Rolex" or knock-off Viagra from Canada is a great purchase and that the online-retailer is a reputable source. So what's the difference between them and you; you're both sending bulk unsolicited, unrequested marketing materials. Photography is a unique product, you should sell on quality and style, I'm a big proponent of direct mail, opt-in email and on-line content (hence a blog with a twitter-feed). What I am against is the use of your potential clients primary source of communication (email) to scream your "message". It's insulting and demeaning to you and them that you think that tossing a quick email into their inbox is suddenly going to make you their top-choice.

So what's the alternative; unfortunately you're going to need to focus on networking, public relations and targeted direct marketing. Meet those creatives that can hire you in person, build a name for yourself and your work with a defined style and genre and then match the two together with marketing materials that have genuine value.

So how does this happen. The key protagonists in this practice and the organizations that represent the photographers’ professional interests (funnily enough they sponsor each other – funny isn’t it) are AdBase and Agency Access, who sell those details, and APA and ASMP who represent thousands of professional photographers. The basic practice is that once every ninety days a representative from AdBase and Agency Access and ask for the personal details of your clients and a receptionist hands them over. Then a photographer buys access to the list and pings thousands of unrelated creatives they have never met.

If you’re interested in trying to stop this flood of unsolicited mail feel free to contact them and let them know how you feel:

Agency Access www.agencyaccess.com
Click on the contact info

AdBase www.adbase.com
Nelson Nunes President & Co-Founder
nelson@adbase.com

American Society of Media Photographers www.asmp.org
Click on contact info and contact the board

Advertising Photographers of America www.apanational.com
Constance Evans, National CEO
ExecDirector@APAnational.com

I believe this practice is killing the perception of photography; it devalues us and our clients. If you want to do something else then here’s an online petition I set-up:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/photographerspam/index.html

Go sign it, tell others to sign it, spread the word and who knows APA. ASMP, Agency Access, AdBase and thousands of individual photographers may pay attention. Or they may not. I would love to hear from other people on what they think of this issue.

Flash; it ain't always good...

Websites; kinda critical to a photographer but as with most things in life there is a right way and a wrong way to do a website. The most important thing is that the content is relevant to your key client group(s), the contact info is readily available, the branding message is clearly tied into your business card and other collateral and that the stuff actually looks good.

It doesn't need to zoom, whiz, crash, bang or perform internet gymnastics. That stuff might be part of your brand or necessary to impress some high design clients but it's not that important.

So why do we all have these fancy flash sites that are totally unreadable to search engines, unable to be bookmarked, slow to load and aren't always easy to navigate. As you buy those "off-the-shelf" solutions try and focus on why you need the site; to put the images that are relevant in front of your clients. Make them easy to search (try one navigation system not free - I keep seeing thumbnails, forward and back arrows and slide shows - all I want to do is see one at a time), number them if you can't bookmark them - so clients can tell you clearly what they like. Make sure your contact info is on every page and make sure you have a contact page that will get to you as swiftly as possible and has some info on who you are and what you shoot.

The "off-the-shelf" solutions will work, but try and see if you can tailor it to make it a better sales tool, not just a cool-looking site.

Direct Mail - Why don't they call!

Well, the simple answer is they didn't connect with your piece. Direct mail is a really good tool to get work in front of an array of people that would otherwise miss out on even knowing you're out there. It also has a terrible rate of return. So how can you make direct mail actually pay off. I've got some simple advice:

1) Value - make the direct mail piece have some degree of value; this could be in the type of paper you use or a physical gift associated with the imagery (wine, chocolates, beer). The concept is to make the creative realize you value their time.
2) Repetition - you need to send more than piece to the prospect. You really do. They receive hundreds of pieces a month (some hundreds a day) so you need to tap them on the shoulder more than once. I recommend four; it takes three impressions to really effect someone and this gives them a chance to completely miss one mailer and still remember you.
3) Target - don't swamp everyone in the industry, don't subscribe to AdBase and throw thousands of mailers are people you have no chance of leading. At first target firms locally; these will be firms you can visit easily, you know their names, their clients, and you may even know creative staff that work there. By targeting a small number you will be able to afford the mailer, you can follow-up with those contacts and you can ensure your mailer is relevant.

The bottom line is that direct mail does work when the recipient is carefully selected, feels valued and is repeatedly contacted (including a follow-up call at the end).

Computer Software - Geek Time!

Yep; you're sitting there with bootleg PS CS3 kicking ass with the pretty pictures; but you're not kicking ass with your business. So what should you use that beautiful fancy computer for besides editing.

Taking names; the secret to effective networking, which is kinda the secret for good business is tracking who you meet, when you meet them, what your relationship to them is and every bit of contact information you can gather. To do this you'll need a piece of software called a CRM, Contact Relationship Management. It's easy if you use a PC and not so easy on a MAC - sorry! I use Act! by Sage. I would definitely recommend finding something and using it; at this stage you can just use your email software program to ensure you are tracking the basic contact info that you can then import it to your CRM solution later on. Just make sure you are writing every thing down with as much detail as possible; the important thing is to make sure you know who you met and what they do and how to contact them again.

Checking numbers; so you're making money, how much money, when is it due, how much did you make this month, this quarter, versus last year and from whom. This information is absolutely critical; firstly to pay your bills, secondly to pay the people who help you and thirdly to buy fancy new gear (oh yeah and maybe have a little left over). You're going to have a few more options on this one in the MAC world; for me I'm using Quicken on the PC. It's ok but I hear that Quick Books is more powerful on reports but I don't think it automatically updates like Quicken (it is literally linked to your bank account and simply downloads transactions). Again the most important thing is to put ALL the data in; fill in the fields, especially the memo, as this will keep track of the who, what and why happens to your money.

So this software ain't exactly sexy; but it is really useful and although you won't see the benefits today you will see it very swiftly as you can figure out how to reach your clients and how to handle your finances. If you find MAC solutions send in the suggestions.

The Simple Things...

Okay, so here is the simplest three things that I think all photographers need to really quickly ask and answer to set them up for success. I genuinely believe that if you follow these three simple rules you'll really start to find that making money is understanding a few simple truths. So here goes:

1) Figure out what it is you do...

This is becoming increasingly important in a photography market where specialization is becoming a watchword; buyers want to select specialists, narrowing your portfolio will make it much easier to select images and create new images, and perhaps most importantly knowing what you do will make it much easier not only for you to tell people what you do but for your network to describe what you do.

Now then you're thinking but I do everything, or you might be thinking I do several things. Alright first off NO-ONE shoots everything WELL and this is the point of business is to focus on selling the things you do well, NOT the things you kinda do. Secondly if you do several things ask these three questions of just one of those genres at a time; you'll have different strengths, clients and prices for each.

2) Figure out who buys it...

Once you know what you shoot figure out who buys it; is it a B2B sale (business to business), B2C sale (business to consumer - family portraits)or an agency sale. After that's figured out who would be the buyer; do those business have an internal marketing person, is the consumer predominantly female in their mid-twenties (wedding sales) or new parents (kid portraits), or at an agency is it the art director or the art buyer. Then is that business a large business; if you were shooting large architectural firms that design huge airports, or specialist interior firms for restaurant interiors. Is that agency one that specializes in automotive or travel and tourism. All these facets can be researched and by doing so you'll be calling and emailing and mailing the people that really want to buy what you're selling.

Finding out this data is easier than you think, you can buy it from a company that sells leads (AdBase or Agency Access specialize in ad agencies), you can find organizations that serve the needs of your clients (the American Institute of Architects is set up to help architects) or you can pick up the yellow pages. Whatever method you use you need to maintain a database of the names, the addresses, the phone numbers, the websites, the emails and, most importantly, the contact history for these contacts (you can use ACT, Maximizer or Goldmine for this). Without this information you can't measure how your relationships are going or who you are actually talking to. So gather that information, gather it comprehensively and maintain it. Those contacts will change and move so you need to keep in contact with them as normally they stay in the same industry and in the same sort of position but simply move up in their career.

3) Figure out how much to charge...

This one might sound simple but it is REALLY important; you need to know how much you charge for what service and why. This is fundamental so that you can make a living and deliver bids rapidly to clients that want decisions made rapidly.

Your pricing can be built upon a mixture of your costs and the basic market pricing structure you work in or it could be a completely new way to price those services. Just figure out how to do it, quickly and accurately.

Build a master template of your pricing, find out how much subcontractors cost for specific services and keep that on record so that you can rapidly ballpark basic services and know you can make money.

Conclusion

So there you have it; three really simple things that you can spend ten minutes or ten hours brainstorming. Start with really small answers and build more detail and know that if you shoot more than one genre you can build one than one set of answers. I truly believe that knowing the answers to these three questions you'll be able to easily meet clients and you'll be able to respond to their needs quickly and succinctly with the confidence of knowing that you're really serving them.

Good luck and give me some examples of your solutions; here's one of mine:

1) Architectural interiors less than 10,000 square feet, with careful interior detailing, colors, textures and patterns.
2) Boutique architectural firms with interiors specialists and marketing staff.
3) I typically charge a day rate with a set number of images and a usage fee for self-promotional buy-out.

Knowing this I can keep my ears open for those clients, make those relationships and quickly price them. Also I can see other clients that I can also sell those same services to - such as my architectural photography mixed with food for high-end restaurants.

What's this Blog About and Who's it For?

The concept behind this blog is to address the issues outside of photography that directly relate to the business of photography. I'm a professional photographer specializing in architecture, food and narrative people and product. The majority of my photography is commissioned by businesses and ad agencies with a specific creative brief so some of my experience may not be relevant to your situation but a lot of it will be.

So who is this blog aimed at:
1) Students of photography - yep you've learnt a lot at university and now you're thinking of how can I turn beautiful images into a bit of cash.
2) Emerging professionals - you're up and running and you're thinking how do I tweak my system we'll try and give you a suggestion.
3) Established professionals - yep, if you're there and have some other thoughts, suggestions, ideas and questions please send them in.

What are we going to talk about:
1) Marketing
2) Selling
3) Networking
4) Business plans
5) Business tools
6) Portfolios
7) Anything else you or I can think of...

What isn't this blog about:
1) The blog isn't about how to take a better photo; there's a lot more places to go for that info.