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09/06/2005 08:43:50 AM · #1 |
Hi,
Is anyone sharing their marketing ideas with the rest of the group? If so, please post here.
Thanks
Owen
My tip: Approach a wholesale art distributor about promoting your work. With established clientelle, they are able to do more leg work for you than you could ever do alone. I did this recently with Greeting From Newfoundland Ltd.
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09/06/2005 09:01:35 AM · #2 |
Originally posted by orussell:
My tip: Approach a wholesale art distributor about promoting your work. With established clientelle, they are able to do more leg work for you than you could ever do alone. I did this recently... |
Great work Owen, your prints are fabulous! |
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09/06/2005 09:14:59 AM · #3 |
Owen, word of mouth works best for me at present. Until I'm finally able to retire from my day job (bank auditor), referals from past clients work just fine. I've done 4 weddings in the past year - none of which were directly solicited by me, and have another booked for next year.
I'm also working on my portfolio of wedding and fine art prints (...maybe "fine art" is a bit presumptuous at this point). After that, I'll work on beefing up my website.
Having a more professional approach to selling is another objective of mine. That means understanding how to present oneself and negotiate with prospective clients. It means having professional-looking business cards and contracts.
The luxury of a good day job while ramping up on a photography career is also real helpful. But, more directly to your question... I believe marketing is all about making impressions. Study what the successful pros do, emulate them, and, above all, project confidence in yourself and your ability to get the job done.
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09/06/2005 09:18:29 AM · #4 |
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09/06/2005 09:30:46 AM · #5 |
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09/06/2005 10:13:47 AM · #6 |
One of the best books I've seen on marketing:
Power Marketing for Wedding and Portrait Photographers
Another almost indispensable book (although somewhat indirectly related to marketing):
Legal Handbok for Photographers
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09/06/2005 10:24:39 AM · #7 |
What about eBay? Anyone tried it? As a registered business with Revenue Canada, how do I charge taxes outside my province on goods purchased from me?
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09/06/2005 12:15:24 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by orussell:
What about eBay? Anyone tried it? As a registered business with Revenue Canada, how do I charge taxes outside my province on goods purchased from me? |
I have been selling my photos on eBay for a few months straight now and have had mixed results.
I will generally put up 10 at a time, with a flat rate and no shipping charges. I have calculated my costs and found a price that accommodates all that - keep in mind that eBay charges listing fees that vary depending on what options you choose AND charges a fee for each item you sell.
I go through Paypal as that is the easiest method for most people, and there is a fee for that as well - annoying considering eBay owns Paypal but what can you do?
Previously I was charging $25.00 for an unmatted/unframed 11x14 photograph. I would say on average I would sell about 3 per 1 week auction run.
I recently raised my price to $30.00.
Now this scenario is a bit different so it can't really be used as a comparison. My photos are of New Orleans, and as you know with the disaster that makes them of more interest than they were previously. Because I knew the added interest would be there, I decided to also offer 20% (or a min. of $10) of each sale to the American Red Cross through eBay's program. All the better to have a higher likelihood of selling and being able to give that much more to a good cause.
All of these factors have led me to sell 14 photographs out of the 20 I had available and I still have approximately 1 day left on the current auction.
I am making a very small profit - about $6.50 per sale and still donating to a good cause, $10 per sale so I think I will be adding another photograph to the mix and renew my current listing when it ends.
The biggest thing I was NOT ready for was the response. When you get 1-3 sales per listing and you are suddenly selling more and quicker, its easy to get overwhelmed. Couple in the fact that I'm out of town again and unable to ship until I get back - well it makes for interesting times. This go around I know I need to make sure I have enough stock before I put the listing up. I'll likely be making another print purchase to do just that when I have more free time.
Oh another thing I found was people asked if I had any other sizes and I was then able to point them to my dpcprint.com site and offer the 4x5, 8x10 or 16x20 size as well, which works out since those funds will be donated too. I purposely offer 11x14 on eBay since it is not a standard size that I have available through dpcprints and is a nice inbetween from the 8x10 to 16x20 jump.
This is the photo I currently have up: 
This is the photo I will be offering soon: 
So.. take from that what you will, I think in general it is very hit or miss, some people had good success if I remember correctly, while others struck out the first few times they tried.
There is a way to charge tax on items through eBay, my state does not have a sales tax though so I'm not very versed in that.
Talk about longwinded eh? Heh. I apologize for the length.
- Sia
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09/06/2005 04:44:28 PM · #9 |
i highly recommend a simple website...
i just got a call from a 'major' sporting goods manufacturer who needs some particular images shot this weekend. the guy i talked to simply went to google and typed in 'nascar photography +richmond va' and he called his first hit... not yet a done deal, but there's a good chance i might get the job! |
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09/06/2005 04:51:16 PM · #10 |
where are some free sites though that a computer-slow person like me could work up?
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09/06/2005 07:00:55 PM · #11 |
What skip said.
A simple website, and push it. I have had some embroydered badges made, got a cheap jacket, and put it on the back.
If I'm out shooting sports or an event I wear the jacket, and as I'm generally in front of the crowd lots of people see the web address.
I put the website online early August, and it's just clicked over 3000 hits since then, and I've sold 50+ prints of local sports events which is basically all that's on there so far, I really need to finish the other pages! That's next weekends problem :-).
A short domain name is soooo important for this to work though:
(Subtle website plug..)
And my other advice: Work for free, or charge real money. Never work cheap.
Cheers, Me.
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09/06/2005 08:22:51 PM · #12 |
I'm not really in full force as a business yet, but quite a few of my sales are word of mouth. My biggest highest price single print came from someone who stumbled upon my Smugmug site and emailed me wanting to make a purchase. Other sales come from a local consignment shop. They take a large chunk but I'm selling more than I would be if I didn't use them, so for now it's working well for me. I also have framed images in a real estate office and will soon have some in a local furniture store.
I use Smugmug right now but I'm in the process of getting together another site just for my better images. That way I can choose the printer and I can see the prints before they are shipped out.
I hope to get some business cards together soon as well.
Edit: Oh, and if you have a web site, create an email signature that contains your contact info and website info. You never know who will pass the info on and with the Internet some stranger across the country may like your work and contact you.
Message edited by author 2005-09-06 20:24:25.
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09/06/2005 08:49:04 PM · #13 |
In addition to my portraiture work, I work with two party planners. Definitely get in with a few of these if you can. I DO NOT shoot weddings, but will shoot candids at receptions as a suppliment to the hired wedding photog. But both my party planners don't get into weddings that often. Usually they handle large, upscale birthday parties, anniversaries or company/institutional gatherings. I provide about 100 candids and/or backdrop setup-party guest portraits. I edit only for light/color balance and USM, if needed. Then I provide the party planner with a CD of the images. What she does with them from there is her ballywick. Both my planners can make as much as they want off resales of prints, I don't want the hassle of taking individual reprint orders, frankly. I work about 3 or 4 hours each gig (at my own pace to get about 160 shots gross to edit down) with a full day and a half of editing (usually) and make $400-$500 per engagement, depending on time and number of guests. I also shoot one of the planner's magazine ads on a per job basis. It's a nice gig, fun environment, usually good food and lots and lots of people to whom I can hand portraiture business cards.
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09/06/2005 09:31:26 PM · #14 |
Thanks for all the great suggestions.
Another thing I'd like to suggest is approaching magazines and newspapers to publish your work, if for nothing else, the photo credit and exposure. Don't be shy and be very persistent. I've been very lucky this past summer: I've had my pictures in the Newfoundland Herald several times, I've been interviewed by an alternative newspaper called the Independant, featured in our local paper the Georgian, and most recently featured in the Downhomer magazine which has a decent circulation among Newfoundlanders all over the globe: //www.downhomer.com/Contents/page_1.asp . I even snagged an interview on our local CBC supper hour news - just a blurb but something.
Owen
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