MINIMIZE YOUR INVESTMENT.

I got some questions about how to get displays to work for you.  One photographer said she feels like ponying up $800 for a display and getting zero return is just not working. I know of a lovely local who ponied up over $10,000 for fancy marketing brochures.  She keeps them in the basement of her storefront because they were too expensive to give out to just anyone…

How do you minimize your marketing investment while maximizing your impact?

Make good use of graphic design.

Grab a marketing brochure template from Design Aglow or Sarah Q, then customize it a touch to include your branding elements.  Switching out a background and a font will go a long way toward helping your brand stand out without hurting your potential client’s eyes or insulting their design sensibilities.

Simplify your message.

If you’ve mastered Marketing School, use your brochure to outline your unique selling proposition and your company’s features and benefits. That’s it.  No pricing menu — too overwhelming.  No specials or time-sensitive promos — you’ll have to throw away brochures, for sure.

Find a vendor to produce reliable, cost-effective results.

Sure, 25 5×5″ metallic postcards from WHCC are stunning — but at over $1 each, they don’t provide enough information about the business for the cost.  I recently got 1,000 8-page brochures printed on recycled paper stock from Got Print for less than $500.  The same brochures from other vendors are twice as much, while old-school catalogs from BellaGraphica are about $4 each.

When it comes to displays, rely on collages to sell your work.

A single 20×30″ canvas featuring your favorite four to six images and logo will go a long way toward selling your work.  Buying 6 20×30″ canvases for a space is going to put you back $600-$800, a costly solution when you plan to change the images out every four to six months.

If canvas isn’t your thing, feature a large(ish) framed print.

Not a custom-framed print.  Just a 16×20″ print in a frame that costs less than $50.  Hit up a thrift store for an antique frame or spray paint one from your basement.  Troll the aisles of Target until the perfect frame pops into your cart.  Get creative without breaking the bank.

Potential clients passing by your work won’t be looking at the frame, they’ll be looking at the image.  Save the custom framed samples and corners for your studio or your in-home sales sessions.