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Marketing Basics

Most marketing experts say you need to strictly adhere to a plan and adopt specific tactics and objectives in order to be successful. Well, as a photographer with a creative soul whose spirit prefers shooting wonderful images more than being awash in spreadsheets, I follow three pretty simple rules: I cast a wide net in the right waters by having a great website, practice targeted email marketing, and make sure to stay in touch with current and potential clients.

By practicing this style of marketing, I have been able to maintain a thriving studio in today’s competitive environment.

Casting the Big Net

The Internet offers a huge sea of potential clients, so one of the key things for me is to cast a wide net with a great website. This net is my 24 hour presence and my virtual storefront, so it’s important to show my best work. Personally I love the way liveBooks displays large, high quality photos and permits me to change or move around images in a snap. I cannot tell you how many times I have had a potential client tell me they decided to call because they saw my site. Since I switched over to liveBooks, my revenue has risen over 50 percent. One client even told me he looked at more than 250 photographers’ websites before narrowing it down based on site views alone. It came down to me and one other candidate. I got the job.

Of course you can never be sure who’s surfing the Internet, so that’s why I make it a point to constantly include fresh images and keep the range of displayed photos wide. I can point to an example where just after updating my site I reeled in a big client, the National Mango Board, who in turn referred me to their agency. I was hired to shoot a campaign for them including recipes and beauty shots of mangos. As it happens, the account executive that we worked with loved my photography and decided to tie in the American Lamb Board and sent them to my site for their feedback. Once again my website came through for me without my knowledge. That union led to another client through the same agency, the National Peanut Council.

Consistent Email Marketing Pays Off

Besides this wide cast, I like to use personalized email marketing to nab or influence individual targets—the ones I know. I call this my narrower net. My list is up to three thousand names, mostly clients, peers, people I have met and think might one day be a source of business or referral. My email marketing is not highly polished or sent out at consistent intervals. I send out HTML emails that feature a fresh image whenever I have the opportunity. My images are simple and clean with appetite appeal! I add a few personal sentences and hit the send button. I think recipients appreciate the sentiment and see this as a greeting card, not a marketing push. Just staying in touch reminds people of your work. A few holidays back I sent out about 500 emails with the martini glasses. Nearly ten percent responded with well wishes and I netted two big jobs. Today I count 80 percent of my clients to be repeaters, so email marketing is a real inexpensive mainstay for me.

Face to Face is a Narrow Net

The old fashioned way which is geographically limited is getting out there as much as possible to network face to face. People like working with a photographer they have met and are comfortable with. I always carry my business card that has a mouthwatering photo on the back. Combine this with a great website and consistent communication through the Internet and you have a winning recipe.

Lou Manna is an award-winning commercial photographer, author and teacher based in New York City. You can find more of his work on his website and blog.