Marketing Essentials International

August 1st is right around the corner.  From a business stand point it’s a time everybody should be using to do at least one thing you’ve never done before to create a little buzz in your market, your community.   Here are some ideas and thoughts on where you can get some help!

Postcard Mailing: How about a new promotional piece?  WHCC and Marathon Press both offer some terrific support in designing a postcard mailer.   This is such a simple thing to do, starting with selecting 2-3 outstanding images.  Copy on the back can be anything from a special offer for the next few months to just an announcement of you being available – new contact information, etc.    And the list of who to mail it to?  Try www.listservicedirect.com and pull demographics based on your target audience by zip code. 

Partnerships with non-competing companies: As an extension of a direct mail campaign, how about designing an over-sized postcard and include another company to share the cost.  A wedding photographer fits together with a florist.  A limo company is great with a portrait photographer targeting high school seniors and homecoming events.  A commercial shooter would work well with a local printer. 

Fall Promotions:  You have to plant the seed to get people thinking about photography, but the fall is perfect.  You’ve got all the best holidays in the back half of the year.  The kids are finally going back to school and Mom is ready for some time to herself.  Mom is also the decision maker when it comes to professional photography, but you have to get her thinking about the idea of a new family portrait as a holiday gift idea this season.

Special Offers:  Talk to your lab and see what makes sense in putting together a great offer.  Personally I hate discounts, but I love free goods.  Look for ways to add on value rather than just discount the pricing.  For example, it’s stronger in my opinion to give an additional 8×10 than it is to put out a 15% discount.  Better yet, many of the labs and album companies also offer framing opportunities or special albums and you should be able to actually create something unique.  And if you need help writing this stuff up, or for that matter with anything on your website, marketing support, etc. check out Ghostrighters!

Canvas Prints:  I’m a huge fan of canvas prints, but in my case they’re more fine art.  I have two 20 x 50 panoramics in my living room that were done by Simply Canvas.  What I love is people’s reactions, because most people outside our profession have no idea what they’re looking at.  Well, August is a good time to look at your entire fall selection of products and what you’re offering your clients this holiday season!  Does your own product line need a face lift?

Diversity:  Maybe it’s finally time you announced your ability to photograph kids as well as weddings.  It’s just one example, but if your skillset is solid is it time to let people know you’re ready to handle more of their photographic needs?

Workshops and Conventions:  Maybe August is just a great time to figure out what you need in new gear and decide what workshops, trade shows and conventions you’re going to attend in the next six months.  The clock is ticking on being able to attend Skip’s Summer School, but coming up you’ve got WPPI’s Road Show,PhotoPlus East in New York, Pictage’s Partner Con in New Orleans, Clay Blackmore’s new road show, Matthew Jordan Smith in Dallas, the Akron Photo Series and there’s a rumor thatJane Conner-ziser and Jack Davis  are about to hit the road for a command performance of their program in additional cities.

Getting extra help: August is a great time to consider all those photographers and instructors out there who also offer programs, DVDs, podcasts and webinars to help you grow your business.  Check out Dane Sanders and his Ask Dane resource, Sarah Petty, Kevin Kubota, Doug Gordon, Bambi Cantrell, Jerry Ghionis, Yervant, Mitche Graf, Ken Sklute, Jim Garner and for anybody I left out – cut me a little slack -  it’s 6:00 am as I’m writing this – email me with your link and I’ll add your program in tomorrow! 

Podcasts:  We’ve gotten great feedback on the podcasts we’ve been doing at GoingPro.  Here’s a chance to take advantage of the free downloads and just listen to suggestions from me and Scott Bourne on ideas related to building your business.  We’re now doing three a month on the 1st, 10th and 20th!  It’s FREE guys, but you have to hit the download button to be able to listen to our suggestions and we’re about to expand the series with a few surprise guests!  There’s also a ton of helpful information on Scott’s blog, PhotoFocus!

The point is, summer is coming to a close, but your business is about to potentially blossom with an opportunity to take advantage of fall and holiday seasonality, but you’re the only one who can make something happen!

I flew down to Sarasota yesterday, working hard to squeeze in a fast visit with my folks before Summer School.  On the flight down I was repeatedly reminded why I hate flying in the summer – it’s tourist season!  It’s that one time of year when everyone in the world becomes an expert in seat selection, carry on luggage and protocol when flying.  

So, for today’s blog, humor me and see if you can relate to the following:

1) If you can’t pick it up by yourself then for God’s sake don’t bring it on the plane!  Yes, lady, I’m talking to you, the one on AirTran 200 yesterday who needed the two boy scouts to help you get your bag into the overhead.  One of those kids is now singing soprano while the other popped two blood vessels in his neck and is still in surgery!

2) If you’re on the plane and you’re sneaking in that last phone call use your “quiet voice”.  Nobody cares about the inner office memo John still hasn’t sent out – we don’t care how much you love your wife – and honestly, the kids will stay up until you get home whether you tell them to or not!

3) Seats ABC are on one side, seats CDE are on the other…it’s not rocket science and no I don’t want to give up my aisle seat with legroom in the exit row and take your window seat six rows back so that you can sit with your honey.   It’s a 70 minute flight – get over it! 

4) I don’t want to hear the sound track to Sponge Bob Square Pants just because you forgot the headset to the kid’s DVD player.  So, that means the kid is going to have be well behaved, otherwise I’m going to bring a boom box with me on the next flight you’re on and make you listen to the sound track of my grandmother’s old Mitch Miller sing along albums.

5)  And to the passenger up front with the American Girl box the size of my first house – sorry, it ain’t gonna fit in the overhead, or under your seat and yes, you will have to check it.  But I have to admit, watching you try and squeeze it into the overhead was better then any Seinfeld episode.

Okay, so there’s very little embellishment, but plenty of sarcasm.  While you might not feel better being reminded of every bozo who ever sat next to you on a flight, this was actually therapeutic for me and I feel great! 

Hey everybody – make it a great Wednesday!

I’ve written a lot about things that make this industry so special – well, one of them is the way everybody watches each other’s backs.  Incredible friendships develop and it all starts with every one’s mutual love for the craft! 

At the end of last week I got a call from Vicki Taufer.  After a lot of years of waiting, she and her husband, Jed, got a phone call from the adoption agency.  As a result, they’re probably on their way to Nepal as you read this blog.  It was one of those good news/bad news calls.  We’ve all been friends for a long time and I couldn’t be happier for them, but the challenge became who could hold a candle to Vicki’s experience and presentation, since she’ll miss teaching at Summer School.

I’m ecstatic to announce Sarah Petty will be presenting in Vicki’s time slot on Monday, August 9.   Sarah’s presentation style is incredible and she’ll be talking about children, family and pets.  She might even throw in a few things related to senior photography as well.

Her goal on her About page says it all:  “…to celebrate children at every age, to unveil the spirit of a child…and to help families decorate their worlds with highly personal artwork. Artwork that matters.”

The only thing more impressive than Sarah’s images and approach to developing her market is her passion for photography.  I can promise you you’ll enjoy her style and her ability to be approachable and help you with the challenges of building a strong children and family portrait business.  In fact, through The Joy of Marketing Sarah and her team help photographers all year long to grow their photography business.

Just to get a feel for how great a presenter Sarah is, check out her video from WPPI’s Photographer’s Ignite program a few months ago!

What a program we have with this year’s speakers!  See you in Vegas!

It’s Monday morning, affectionately known as “First Tuesday” here and the start of new week.  It’s also the last week of July and I feel like I’m trapped inside an old Jimmy Stewart movie and the hands of the clock are spinning.  The summer is flying by and all the retailers seem to be wishing it away with back to school signage in every window.  As the retailers jump on the band wagon to get us thinking about everything a kid needs to get back to school, I wonder how many photographers are thinking about the seasonality in their business?

Think about it – the fall brings with it so many opportunities.  Vicki Taufer will be doing a “Fall Harvest” theme for children’s photography along with the obvious Halloween promotion.  Sandy Puc will be getting ready for her monster size Haunted House and photo shoot.  Thousands of portrait photographers have a chance to lay the ground work for homecoming portraits.   And let’s not forget November and December and the opportunity to plant the seed for a holiday family portrait!

The point this morning is simply Jimmy Stewart’s clock – you know the one with the magical spinning hands.  There are so many opportunities in the fall as we head into the holidays, but if you procrastinate you’ll miss the window.  So, take a tip from your local supermarket who’s already pitching you with pyramid displays of notebooks and other school supplies.

Now is the time to plan some promotions for the fall.  Now is the time to contact a local limo company or florist or both and work together on a joint mailing to the homecoming crowd.  Now is the time to lay the groundwork for the last quarter of the year and be ahead of the curve instead of watching it go by!

There’s a great quote from Zig Ziglar that I’ve used before,

“If you wait for all the lights to turn green you’ll never get started on your journey!” 

It’s time to get started on planning that next “trip” and your journey into marketing!

I usually keep Sunday mornings short, not because it’s the one day of the week when traffic is light in Cyberspace, but because I don’t feel like writing very much (the truth comes out!).    So, here’s what I’m thinking about this morning and I have to admit, the points are a little random.

It takes twice as many muscles to be miserable and frown than it does to smile.  Instead of asking people how they are and hearing about all their aches and pains, tell them they look great and the response will always be positive.  And for those of you who keep complaining about business being bad – take a break.  Then, do what so many photographers who are surviving today do, think about how to re-invent yourself.  Listen to what your customers are telling you – you can’t create images that tug at people’s hearts if your heart isn’t in it yourself.

And if you can’t get yourself out of the rut, instead of pulling back, maybe it’s time to spend a little more on advertising, promotion and networking…maybe it’s time to invest more time…maybe you need to hang out with other photographers dealing with the same challenges, like Summer School - while I admit it’s a shameless moment of self-promotion, I know what I saw last year and how many photographers left Vegas with renewed energy and new ideas.

The biggest thing is to not give up…

Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touch down.  Ross Perot

Make it a great Sunday and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

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