Photography Marketing ideas for the professional photographer

K.I.T. - Low pressure marketing for the commercial photographer

If you’re an independent commercial photographer, you probably already know the importance of KIT. (keeping in touch) Nothing can replace being able to produce good photography, except possibly a close personal relationship with a few key clients. :+) I’m not saying that you don’t need to keep improving you photographic skills, but you also need to improve your marketing and personal relationship skills too.

Have you ever heard the phrase “out of sight, out of mind?” That is oh so true in the world of commercial photography. Let’s face it. There are plenty of jobs out there that many photographers could handle. If your time is in such high demand that you only want the jobs that only you are capable of doing, read no farther.

But if you’re like me and you would like to be shooting more than you currently are now, being at the right place at the right time, can mean thousands of dollars to your bottom line each year.

There are many jobs each month that cross the desk of an Art Director or Graphic Designer that could be done by a number of photographers in your town. If you’re like me, you want that Art Director or Designer to think of you when that job lands on his desk. I’m not that proud. I’ll be glad to do that mundane job. I can always find something to do with the money… The twenty-four thousand dollar question is… How do you make that happen? How do we get the Client to think of us when that job hits his desk?

The best way I know to increase the odds of having that creative think of you when that job comes up, is to be fresh in his memory. That’s why keeping in touch is so important. The more you keep in touch, the more you are on the mind of the client, the greater your chance of getting the photography project. It’s a numbers game.

I’ve listed a few ways that I use to KIT with my potential clients. Here they are.

Ways to KIT for the professional commercial photographer

Phone call – If you have an excuse to call, that’s great. The trouble is, it’s hard sometimes to think of a reason to call someone you don’t know very well, just to chat. And you can’t really call and just say that you want them to send you some work. Remember, your goal is to just be on their mind in case something “photographic” should pop up. This isn’t hard sell. As a matter of fact, you want this to be just the opposite. You want it to be a little on the social side. You want to build a relationship, make a friend. And whatever you do, don’t overdue it. If anything, underdueit. (how come overdue is a word and underdue isn’t?)

Direct mail postcards – Post card mailers are great. Maybe a little formal, but they have their place. You don’t want to over due them though. Personally, I feel that 2-4 mailers a year is enough, Again… If you mailer happens to land on someone’s desk near the same time as a project, you might get a shot. The reason I say that 2-4 is enough, is because I remember clients talking about one of my competitors and saying how they just dreaded this guy’s next mailer. You can definitely overdue it with mailers or anything else. And of course, the mailer better be the best that you can due and appropriate to the client too. Don’t send your food shots to the healthcare client.

Web page update – Actually, updating your web page doesn’t directly help you keep in touch, but what it does do is to give you a great excuse to KIT.

Lunch dates – Expensive but effective. Personally, I have to enjoy the person to have lunch with them. It has to be good time, or you’re wasting your time and money.

Portfolio interviews – Even with the Internet, you still need to have a three-dimensional portfolio and you have to show it around. Clients will use your web page. But many of them still want to “see your book”. And the more people you can get to see your book, the more work you will most likely end up getting. When you first start out, everything seems easy. Everyone is willing to see you because you’re new. The problem begins when you want to see them again and you don’t really have that much new work in your book. You feel as though you can’t show them the same stuff. It’s really a dilemma

Photography Portfolio drop offs

I have a few portfolios that I have made up for the purpose of messengering around town. People seem to be a little more receptive to accepting a portfolio if there is no rush and no pressure from the photographer. It’s sort of like a mega mailer. The great thing about this is that you can do this even when you’re busy. All it takes is a few phone calls and you can move your books book around town. Your assistant can do that when they get a little down time. The trick is to have predetermined list of people you want to see the book. I usually create a list of agencies, design firms, and even web design firms that have very few people. I like to see the larger agencies in person. The personal interview is always better than the drop off, but the drop-off is always better that doing nothing.

So pick the low percentage possibilities and send your book there. If you can update the book significantly enough, you can send the book to the same place about once a year without making a nuisance of yourself.

Kit Emailers – I find emailers to be one of the best ways to KIT . They don’t take much time, they’re personal (make sure they’re personal) and they’re FREE! All you need to do is think of an excuse to email someone. Here are some of my favorite excuses to contact someone: Let them know that I’ve updated my Web page. I send them one of my latest images and ask them what they think. I send them a really good joke. I ask them “how’s it going? As a follow up to a post card. You can email more often than you can other forms of communication, especially if your relatively good friends with the contact. Just a couple of lines are all it takes.

Parties and Trade Association meetings – Personally, I can’t bring myself to attend these kind of events very often. I guess that I’m just not a social kind of guy. I bet they’re effective though…

The thing to remember when you’re developing your kit plan is to contact people as often as you can without being a pain or looking as though you’re desperate. The more you talk with someone, the more they get to know you. The more they get to know you, the more likely they are to give you a shot at a project.

I like to have a plan of my KIT or marketing plan for the year. Don’t get me wrong. I never follow the plan, but it’s fun to make on up anyway. It give me a benchmark to feel guilty about later…

The really big challenge of keeping in touch is to NOT overdue everything and damage the relationship. Always be sensitive to the vibes. If you sense that maybe you’re overdoing it a little, back off and let things simmer for a while. Do your best. That’s all anyone can ask.

If you have any comments or suggestions regarding anything you find in these pages, please feel free to contact the author and he will be glad to respond.

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