Monday Q+A

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, yet I don’t know what are the right steps to take. 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 personably 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 versus 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:

How do I get over bidding anxiety? I’ve passed up asks for bids because of fear.

A:

Bidding is an unknown fluctuating entity without an industry standard of set rates. Bidding a job is baffling; everyone will have their process. I use my direct human connecting skills backed by my knowledge of day rates, creative fees, usage rates, etc. You have a community of producers, consultants, reps who could be helpful resources for you. Learn to trust someone to help you bid. It’s worth the cost as it usually pays for itself just by getting the job with higher fees than you probably would have put in for yourself. Use a pro, allowing you to be the creative artist flourishing with the tasks that don’t give you anxiety.

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 usage anymore and/or are photographers not charging 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:

How do we market to our personality strengths & EQ (emotional intelligence) vs. our actual craft? How to market the soft skills I have in conjunction with the artistry skills.

A:

Soft skills, as you call them, are how you build your marketing plan. These skills are what will get you in the door, invited back, and truthful feedback. How you shape selling your photography talents is by being yourself. Clients are humans who want to connect and know who you are. Clients may see the work of 50-100 photographers per day, so how do we stick in their minds? Show who you are in your marketing because that is half the story of what you are selling.

Q:

If a newer photographer makes it to the creative call stage, how honest should they be about what they do and don’t know?

A:

The short answer is: it depends. The full answer is: the process of bidding and getting on the creative call should have a well-strategized plan based on all the job’s specifics, your relationship with the client contacts, and your portfolio. We can never truly calculate the outcome, even when we think we get a clear read because of the chain of decision-makers. I highly recommend going to the rep of your choice and getting into a temp rep situation to help advise you on all the specifics which could affect losing or getting the job.

Q:

How much influence do art directors have in the decision making process of selecting a photographer for a project?

A:

The decision-making process of selecting the photographer goes through many twists and turns, mostly involving the producer, creatives (art director/creative directors or designers), and the clients. The producers usually bring in the selection of photographers for the creatives to choose their top 3. The creatives will then inform the producer who is their top choice. Our goal is always to be the ‘recommend’ to the client, but ultimately, the client decides.

Q:

Background to my Question: I have a client, they just won best social media in their industry in Canada, and they recently started using my images across their social media platforms coming into this new year. I want to reach out to more clients in this industry and I’d like to use this client as a case study in my deck… specifically I want to strengthen the case with their social media analytics (assuming the analytics are favourable).

Question: Is it couth to ask a client for their social media analytics in relation to the posts using my imagery in order to beef up my marketing decks?

A:

The analytic results of your images proving the compelling quality of your photo skills are a respectable request. As much as it’s OK to ask, I don’t know many companies that would have that information handy or be allowed to give it out. The way to combat this dependence on the client is to research their social media followers, amount of engagement, and the success of their business before and after. You can include this data in your treatments as you’d be speaking your potential new client’s language.

Q:

Hi Andrea! I have a question regarding one-sheets that maybe might be helpful for the community. Would you suggest including a project minimum? I’ve been getting a lot of requests for “rate cards” and I usually say it’s project dependent.

A:

Photographer’s rates depend on the type of work you do. If you can simplify this request with a rate card, it would save you time. My goal as the agent is to save time by quickly finding out if we should continue this conversation by quoting a price range. I’ll say, “Our day rate fee for this would usually be somewhere between 4,000 – 10,000, depending on many factors like shot count, shot list, day count, the creative component of the images, and what the licensed usage rights are. What is your budget?” I find a price range to be the fastest way to get to the next step.

Q:

Hello! I have a question. My producer and I did a major bid for the product launch using many models, it involved a huge production of set building, and various teams for what they asked for. We ended up not getting the project, it was nothing that was asked of us as far as production, sets and look. Is there a way to approach the agency when bidding that allows us to be bidding the same job – apples for apples?

A:

While we can’t predict or control the bidding process, we can ask every question to help us understand the production details. The key is to have an A+ producer and make sure you get on a creative call, as that is where we get our answers. The purpose of three-way bidding is to protect clients in a fair apple to apple comparison, so they are not overpaying. Our goal is to protect ourselves by understanding all the information, even when we may have to dig around to get that info.

Q:

Hey there, I had a meeting today with a client that I would really like to work with. The meeting went great but they asked what my test rate is and I’m kind of at a loss. Any suggestions on pricing a test would be greatly appreciated.

A:

A test rate usually falls within half of what the regular day rate can be for a client. The logic behind the test rate is how it does not include usage licensing fees. This principle is the same premise for how I price a pre-light day; always have the estimate read, “no usage included” next to this fee.