Marketing cost for photographers

[tcphotodesign]

I started this forum so others would add their two cents worth about what and how they arrive at covering the costs of marketing for their business.
If you are in business or trying to be; this forum is for you.

How do I count thy ways of marketing ones self in photography….

What is effective and why and for what kind of photography and what is not, is there a multi phase process, how long should one expect to get regular clients, how should your web site look, should you specialize in one thing to make marketing more productive etc…..

I know there are a zillion examples and scenario feel free to share what you are currently doing to market yourself and what has worked and what does not, and why. What kind of photography you do and where your main source of business comes from, via marketing.

Don't be shy, if your new to photography I want to hear from you too- What and how do you budget for advertising, web, yellow pages, direct mail, source book, wom (word of mouth), Google etc.

We want to hear your stories'

[jsanz11]

I really don't budget. My only forms of advertising or marketing myself are word of mouth, referal from other wedding related businesses that have my brochures & business cards on display at their registers. When a couple is interested I invite them over to my home since I do not have a studio and we sit in chat in the immidiate formal living room of my home entrance and I show them work & present myself and who I am so they get to know me the photographer as well as my work.
When I started off it was 1 client a month for wedding photography. Now it's jumped to 2 to 3 a month. I guess my way of marketing myself is by showing myself to potential wedding clients, school principles because school photography is another form of photography I take. I try to make my clients feel comfortable with me.

[tcphotodesign]

Thanks for the reply. Is this the only work you do, meaning photography itself? Or is this a side line of work for you?

[sfaust]

What is effective and why and for what kind of photography and what is not

This depends on the various markets. For commercial photography, cold calls, advertising in the creative guides, direct mail to agencies, networking with art buyers, creative directors, agency execs, etc. There isn't a one shot approach, but your marketing success depends on doing all of these.

is there a multi phase process

Start with what you can afford, and build from there. But keep a goal on multiple avenues for your marketing plan.

how long should one expect to get regular clients

It all depends on how good your marketing materials are, your portfolio and work, if your services are correctly targeted to the right audience, and so on. No quick answer here. For some, it could be a month. For others, it could take years or never happen. Assuming a reasonable marketing plan, enough cash to fund it, and a well targeted approach, it could develop clients immediately.

how should your web site look

Professional. Only show your best work. It should be every to navigate. Avoid flashy graphics and music. Put yourself in your clients shoes, and go visit other photographers sites and see what works, and what doesn't.

should you specialize in one thing to make marketing more productive

Specializing can help separate you from the crowd, but it doesn't necessarily make your marketing any better. They are both fairly separate. Ie, you could be a generalist with an awesome marketing plan and be bulldozing all over your competition. You could also be an awesome specialist and be struggling because of a poor marketing plan. A well targeted and effective marketing plan will be productive regardless if you specialize or not.

share what you are currently doing to market yourself and what has worked and what does not, and why.

Direct mail, cold calls, print advertising, networking, and referrals have worked best. I also use internet marketing techniques, volunteering, schmoozing with agency contacts, on-line professional directories, etc. They all work to some degree by themselves, but together they work very well.

What kind of photography you do and where your main source of business comes from

I focus almost entirely on commercial photography, but also do an occasional model portfolio, portrait, or aerial work. All my income comes from commercial photography. My marketing budget is about $12K per year.

[jsanz11]

For me it's a side thing. Although this past year I made 3 times more than I did as ateacher so probably by 09 It will be come my full time job and i'll leave teaching at the age of 25 :D
This school year will be my 3rd year teaching PE. The school I teach at opened the door for me allowing me to do school photos thus building my portfolio and showing it to other schools which lead to my 2007 & 2008 success for my business. Now that i'm even diong good booking weddings and also contracted by several semi-pro teams locally I don't see how I could continue teachinga nd running my photo business at the same time.
-joey

[tcphotodesign]

This depends on the various markets. For commercial photography, cold calls, advertising in the creative guides, direct mail to agencies, networking with art buyers, creative directors, agency execs, etc. There isn't a one shot approach, but your marketing success depends on doing all of these.



Start with what you can afford, and build from there. But keep a goal on multiple avenues for your marketing plan.



It all depends on how good your marketing materials are, your portfolio and work, if your services are correctly targeted to the right audience, and so on. No quick answer here. For some, it could be a month. For others, it could take years or never happen. Assuming a reasonable marketing plan, enough cash to fund it, and a well targeted approach, it could develop clients immediately.



Professional. Only show your best work. It should be every to navigate. Avoid flashy graphics and music. Put yourself in your clients shoes, and go visit other photographers sites and see what works, and what doesn't.



Specializing can help separate you from the crowd, but it doesn't necessarily make your marketing any better. They are both fairly separate. Ie, you could be a generalist with an awesome marketing plan and be bulldozing all over your competition. You could also be an awesome specialist and be struggling because of a poor marketing plan. A well targeted and effective marketing plan will be productive regardless if you specialize or not.



Direct mail, cold calls, print advertising, networking, and referrals have worked best. I also use internet marketing techniques, volunteering, schmoozing with agency contacts, on-line professional directories, etc. They all work to some degree by themselves, but together they work very well.



I focus almost entirely on commercial photography, but also do an occasional model portfolio, portrait, or aerial work. All my income comes from commercial photography. My marketing budget is about $12K per year.
Thanks! You did an amazing job of responding to my posting. Although I am not sure where someone gets 12K a year for marketing, it's like what comes first the cart or the horse. To begin with, the equipment is expensive, I think I got off cheap when I purchased my first semi pro SLR and all the stuff in my bag, I think it went around $3,000 including the bag. Then my computer needed replacing, that was about $3,000. Then the first set of strobe lights went out on me, to replace was about $1,900. In the mean time, No jobs coming in and no money for printing of marketing materail and no advertising, I've been on Google about 3 months, and got one paid job. I get about 400 hits on my web site each month.

It's sorta strange, it seems that if you show too much on your web site then people think it's not your best, if you show limited number of images, then you take yourself out of a broader market it seems t me. I can't make a living photogaphing birds, nor post cards, but products and land/seascapes maybe. I can do a nice job on events. Maybe that is my opening? It's sorta like, you can have a great resuarant, and if no one lines up at the door people won't come in, but if they see a line, then they stand for hours to get in...you know what I mean?

[tcphotodesign]

This depends on the various markets. For commercial photography, cold calls, advertising in the creative guides, direct mail to agencies, networking with art buyers, creative directors, agency execs, etc. There isn't a one shot approach, but your marketing success depends on doing all of these.



Start with what you can afford, and build from there. But keep a goal on multiple avenues for your marketing plan.



It all depends on how good your marketing materials are, your portfolio and work, if your services are correctly targeted to the right audience, and so on. No quick answer here. For some, it could be a month. For others, it could take years or never happen. Assuming a reasonable marketing plan, enough cash to fund it, and a well targeted approach, it could develop clients immediately.



Professional. Only show your best work. It should be every to navigate. Avoid flashy graphics and music. Put yourself in your clients shoes, and go visit other photographers sites and see what works, and what doesn't.



Specializing can help separate you from the crowd, but it doesn't necessarily make your marketing any better. They are both fairly separate. Ie, you could be a generalist with an awesome marketing plan and be bulldozing all over your competition. You could also be an awesome specialist and be struggling because of a poor marketing plan. A well targeted and effective marketing plan will be productive regardless if you specialize or not.



Direct mail, cold calls, print advertising, networking, and referrals have worked best. I also use internet marketing techniques, volunteering, schmoozing with agency contacts, on-line professional directories, etc. They all work to some degree by themselves, but together they work very well.



I focus almost entirely on commercial photography, but also do an occasional model portfolio, portrait, or aerial work. All my income comes from commercial photography. My marketing budget is about $12K per year.
I went to your site, very nice work. No mention of college or self taught though...
The flash site, $$$$ this is an ongoing issue for me, seeing how I have two young kids.
video games, movies, clothing, and yogurt shops= $$$$
I wish I had a studio like yours. I should take a photo of what I have and post it.
feeling envious now... :s

[sfaust]

Although I am not sure where someone gets 12K a year for marketing, it's like what comes first the cart or the horse.

Marketing usually comes before the clients. Its an expense that is necessary, and will generally require more dollars to start than it needs to maintain itself. There are three things that I feel are mandatory to start up a small photography business. $$$ for marketing (website, advertising, etc), $$$ for liability insurance (protect your current assets), and $$$ for covering expenses for the first year (operating expenses). Lack of adequate funds is one of the most common causes of business failures.

$12K is relative, and about appropriate for a business of my size. It could be overkill for a portrait studio, and not nearly enough for a high end commercial studio. The key is spending the right amount of money to keep your name in front of you clients.

In the mean time, No jobs coming in and no money for printing of marketing materail and no advertising, I've been on Google about 3 months, and got one paid job. I get about 400 hits on my web site each month.

As long as you hold off on advertising and marketing, you clients aren't going to find you. Having a website doesn't help you unless you use various other marketing techniques to drive potential clients to your site. 400 hits a month is mostly internet fluff stumbling across your site. I doubt 80% of them are even relevant as far as potential clients go.

It's sorta strange, it seems that if you show too much on your web site then people think it's not your best, if you show limited number of images, then you take yourself out of a broader market it seems t me.

Thats where specializing helps. However, if you want to hit a broader market, show your best images in each area in a separate gallery. Ie, people interested in portraits will go to your portrait gallery, and not really care what's in a nature or landscape section. You can do very well servicing a broader market, but then again you will need to spend more money on marketing, since you now need to concentrate on multiple markets.

I can't make a living photogaphing birds, nor post cards, but products and land/seascapes maybe. I can do a nice job on events. Maybe that is my opening?

Birds, nature, landscapes, travel, are all very competitive markets. Not only is there a ton of photographers trying to work in that market, but you are also dealing with micro stock photography as well. In order to survive there, you need to be very targeted at specific clients, and top notch work.

Events could be a good place to start. The marketing is easier since you can spend time networking with event venues which will save you some money on mass marketing. Your audience is more targeted. The money is pretty good too usually in the $100 to $200 an hour range. And if you take this approach, DONT neglect the liability insurance. It will put all your assets at risk, and no matter how careful you are, things just happen. Why loose your house over trying to save $30-40 a month!

[splitfyre]

Great thread

[sfaust]

To begin with, the equipment is expensive, I think I got off cheap when I purchased my first semi pro SLR and all the stuff in my bag, I think it went around $3,000 including the bag. Then my computer needed replacing, that was about $3,000. Then the first set of strobe lights went out on me, to replace was about $1,900. In the mean time, No jobs coming in and no money for printing of marketing materail and no advertising....


I should have addressed this earlier. Lets approach this from a different angle. You spent $7,900 on equipment, and didn't have anything left for marketing. So you have the tools to do the job, but no way to let everyone know.

Suppose, you limited yourself to $3,500 on the basic equipment you need, and the other $4,400 on marketing, promotion, liability insurance, web presence, etc. You would have your name in from of people, and attracted some clients. When hired, you rent the additional equipment you need and include that in your costs.

You will start to build a clientele, have some funds to start purchasing equipment you need to reduce your rental fees, and will have more money for continued or new marketing efforts. Its a smarter business approach that would be far more successful than having the gear and no marketing/clients.

Taking some business courses would have lead you in that direction, as its one of the classic business mistakes they teach you to avoid. So before you purchase anything else, start putting some funds towards marketing, even if you need to sell some of the non-essential equipment to do so.

[splitfyre]

Marketing is key.

[Steeltowndubber]

sfaust - I truely appreciate your input to this thread - Thank you....