Monday Q+A

Q:

 I know you have mentioned client contact list companies like Bikini and Agency Access, and I’m wondering if you still recommend these lists or any others? It seems our world is changing with AI and social media in ways that may render the info these lists provide obsolete. Do you still use them?

A:

This will be my first year trying not to use these companies, since AI seems to handle a lot of this info. Also, a lot of this info is changing faster than ever, which we can handle more quickly on our own. I’d say if you need large lists quickly, then these companies can still be helpful, but if we have time to sort through names/clients to specific places, we are doing that on our own right now. I’m curious about what others are doing these days, so please share your list-building process.

Q:

Any advice on sending an unsolicited email when reaching out to a client that I want to work with? I just finished a project that I would love to share with them, but I don’t know the right next step. I would love any thoughts or suggestions on how to approach this. Thanks!

A:

The question is, how do we make our marketing less UnSolicited and more Solicited because an unfamiliar name has higher odds of being deleted.

Here is a list of the top 5 steps to having your work seen vs. deleted:

1. Emails need to be short, quick, and to the point. Having a referral or something personally relatable will always help. IF you want a response, ask a question giving them a purpose to keep the conversation going. 
2. Find the right person in the position who looks for photographers. 
3. Make sure you send your work to a client with relatable imagery, rather than sending food images to Nike. 
4. Invest in the consistent long-term process of marketing vs. a one-off promo now and then. 
5. Engagement is readily available these days and can happen in many ways, so try them all and see what works. Engage, engage, and keep engaging!

Q:

Hey! I was looking over your website for consults. What I really need help with is someone to explain making bid contracts and licensing to me. Is that possible? Your options on the site didn’t touch on that.

A:

Hello! Yes, we do that type of consulting offered on AskSternRep.com. It’s one of our secret specialties, focusing on how to make an estimate clear and concise so clients can see all the particulars they need to know and which terms need to be included. Blink Bid offers a solid bid form, and we can go through it with you to ensure you are covered in your specifics.

Q:

Recently, I’ve lost a few bids because I haven’t given the client an unlimited license. Is this an industry trend? Are clients not paying for usage anymore, and/or are photographers not charging for usage? In my bid, I gave the client all the usage that they asked for, but lost the bid to another photographer who just gave them an unlimited license. 

A:

Giving away image usage licensing rights for free gives up the critical framework that supports a career in photography. The only way to win this battle is to be the best photographer you can be. The better you become, the more clients will be forced to stick with photographers who charge for licensing rights. Those who give it away are on a lower playing field, mostly used when a client does not have a high-end, specific style and can use a more general, undefined look. The only way to not be undercut is to be the precise resource raising their business to that next level. Be the solution, making them look even better for using you!

Q:

 I have been asked by a client for my fee options to renew usage on some of my images for 1 year and for perpetuity. The base fee was $3000 a day for these beauty portraits. I am wondering for digital and print, how to price this. How would you handle this?

A:

The answer to all fee renewals (if not spelled out on the estimate) follows the same consistent proportional percentage breakdown, mirroring the original usage/fee cost. If you charged $3000 for digital and print usage fees for 1 year on the initial estimate, then I’d follow that, asking for perhaps $2500 or $2750 for another year. A lot of this depends on the client’s budget, so I always negotiate with a “collaborative negotiation” positioning myself to open the conversation for an ongoing work partnership. 

Q:

What are the do’s and don’ts of cold emailing or DM’ing potential clients and reps?

A:

1. Contact the correct people who are looking for your type of work; don’t waste their time.

2. Use their name (and spell it correctly). 

3. Keep it short. 

4. If you are copying and pasting, make sure it doesn’t look reused or obviously generic. 

5. Sound human; imagine if you were receiving this email or dm. 

6. If you’re asking for something, limit it to one clear request. 

7. Ask a simple question that’s easy to respond to so we don’t have to overthink how to answer.

Q:

How do you quickly evaluate a photographer’s Instagram account?

A:

My usual way to quickly “judge” a photographer’s IG account is to see when they last posted on their grid. It’s not about the number of followers that makes them a photographer to take seriously; it is how often and how active they are with their second website.

Q:

What’s your opinion of IG? Do you think the pros outweigh the cons? And do you think only posting BTS/announcements as opposed to actual photos would be career suicide?

A:

My overriding opinion about choosing any type of marketing is all about IG. We can’t dance around this; telling half the story is like saying we want to show clients we can handle providing images for their marketing needs, but we can’t do it ourselves. We have to be doing at least the basics, or it’s equal to not having a website (oy!). Only posting BTS/Announcements would be using it as a temporary, occasional publicity outlet, which would send out the message that you don’t feel confident in your completed work. 

Q:

If you had to name one of the most thoughtless or foolish ways to offend a client, what would it be? 

A:

One of the surefire ways to turn off a client is to misspell their name or call them the wrong name. How many seconds would it take to check their name before clicking “send?”

Q:

Once a photographer secures a rep, can we feel relieved knowing that the rep will secure regular work for us, maybe once a month or more? I believe this is an essential question since photography is a precarious profession, and I’m curious if representation can mitigate this. 

A:

Simple answer: NO

Think of it like this: a rep can open doors, but it’s still you and your portfolio showing up to those meetings. 

We have the contacts, and you have the goods. The real question is: what do you need in order to land the jobs? Is the answer something where a rep can help you grow your portfolio and make you more findable or credible with exposure? Figuring this out before you look for a rep may save you time and help you determine whether a rep is truly the right path for you.