Out of curiosity: How many contacts do you have in your list?
Commercial artists often have smaller contact lists on their promo/newsletter client lists than reps do. At SternRep, we can have anywhere between 4k and 10,000 names for any promo. I usually see about 200 – 600 names on artists’ client lists. (Tell us how many you have.)
As important as marketing is for all of us, it does not come close to the importance of having an A+ portfolio. Spend 75% of your budget on upgrading your portfolio of images, such as testing.
What is this “YOUNG” business approach you have mentioned? Do you mean naive and accommodating, or do clients want younger people? How can we do that?
A young attitude means seeing the business as it is now, rather than comparing it to how it was in the past. It’s about having excitement for new ideas and approaching both technical and marketing efforts with fresh creativity instead of letting changes in the industry weigh us down or keep us from evolving.
How would you advise a photographer about how to get more work?
Focus specifically on the client or industry you most want to work with, and shape your portfolio around that market. Start with one area and master it. Then you can expand and grow.
Outreach is simultaneously one of the most necessary aspects of our career and one of the most uncertain pathways. There is no one absolute, consistent way to do this, but the foundation of our business depends on it. As Nike said, Just Do It.
Is it ok to add people to your mailing list without asking, or should you only contact people who have given you their email address directly?
People can always unsubscribe from your mailing list, so ensure there’s an option. Just make sure the work is applicable to the people you’re including. The key is to do your LinkedIn upkeep, ensuring your target clients fit your specialty.
Marketing outreach has no set plan for success, and we can take all those closed doors as a deterrent, or we can keep showing up—trying new ways, knowing the right moment could arise. But we must be actively out there; it’s up to us if we want the doors to open. Be in it to win it!
SternRep’s IG Story last week hit the jackpot with specific client names viewing our story instead of the social media push for massive views. Let’s be realistic with our marketing goals, know who you are posting for, and make that happen. Getting several clients to see your work is a SCORE and WORTH your IG engagement time!
Other than consistently sharing their work, what are the best ways photographers can use Instagram?
Instagram can be the best marketing tool available to us, but we need to use it correctly to make it work. Find your clients and engage with them. Be consistent with posts and Stories, and bring your authentic self to this marketing platform.
Marketing Outreach 101:
If you want to really connect with clients, you need to be the one to go through the efforts of extending a specific invite selection of dates/times/locations all for them to easily say – “YES!”
