MINIMIZE YOUR INVESTMENT.

brandcampblog — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:08:57 +0000

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.

WHAT ABOUT THE NEWBIES?

brandcampblog — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:00:59 +0000

Had an e-mail from a lovely photographer this week, and promised a public response.

So I bought the audio from a very well publicized call-in teleconference last week. And, don’t get me wrong, a lot of it is excellent and I consider my money was well spent.

But the deal is that a lot of these photographers have been around for 30 years and they are talking about marketing. They have an advantage over a newer photographer in that people in their town have undoubtedly heard of them. And some of them are in a small town without a ton of competition.

Would have liked to hear more people who have started a business in the last couple of years in a busy market. Marketing for an unknown person is different from marketing for someone who has been around forever. Plus, with the economy, it’s a whole new game.

My humble food for thought, for those who haven’t been in business for 10+ years? (Note: I actually do these things. And I’m working on the patience thing.)

1.) Start a referral program.

Get off the computer and make friends. Real-life, in-person friends. Service-based regional businesses like portrait photography are based largely on word-of-mouth. You can advertise with Google AdWords for 6 years before getting your perfect client, or you can ask your previous perfect client to refer people to you and offer a sweet reward for doing so.

One client referring three clients = four clients, who refer three clients = seven clients! You’re building a base!

2.) Make friends with a business owner.

Many of my clients come from, of all places, a display in an award-winning bakery. Not a children’s boutique or a children’s spa — the natural businesses to align with mine — so think outside the box. If you frequent a business and enjoy both the products it offers and the owner, why not ask if you can display with them? Offer free artwork for their business, and use their services as often as possible. Exchange links on your websites, and build one another up.

3.) Throw a pity party.

Allow yourself a brief pity party that goes something like, “I HATE IT AND WANT TO QUIT AND IT’S STUPID AND I DON’T WANT TO RETURN THAT CLIENT’S CALL OR BALANCE THE BOOKS OR UPDATE MY WEBSITE OR EDIT ONE MORE MOTHER ‘EFFIN PHOTO IN LIGHTROOM!!! THIS!! IS!! HARD!!”

Truth be told, I do this once every three weeks. Allow yourself to feel what you’re feeling. Acknowledge that this business thing isn’t easy, then move on. You can do this.

Brand Camp Blog » displays