Monday Q+A

Q:

What do we do with our email promo “clicked” lists?

A:

To know who CLICKS from our email promo to our website supplies valuable feedback shaping our marketing direction. Analyzing this relevant resource can be what you need to know. 

1. Put them on a hotlist and use every method to follow up with them, including following and engaging on IG. 
2. Look up all the others at that agency or company to get them on your lists. If your work is applicable to one person at that place, it’s likely true for the other creatives and producers as well. 
3. If one of your top dream list clients didn’t have any clicks, you know you have some changes to make. 
4. Compare the marketplace segments clicking percentages to see which category of clients your work is attracting vs. which types are not being drawn in. 
5. When you get an unusual amount of clicks or lack of clicks from one email, use that to analyze what was different, like your subject line, the time or the day of the week, working changes or design. 

Q:

I found a photographer in the same industry who has their rate listed on their website, and it’s shockingly low for the industry standard. While I know there’s no fixed rate among photographers, this person charges $1,200 all-inclusive, while my all-inclusive rate is $4,200, for a similar amount of deliverables. This person is substantially bringing down the industry, and they are not new; they’ve been around for years. Is there a way to inform this person that their fee is too low and is hurting the rest of us?

A:

I wouldn’t give them feedback, as they know what they are doing. Every business has its own operational competitive strategy to differentiate itself from its competitors. We each have to find our ‘special sauce’ to bring in clients who need what we offer. What are you the best at? Use that to shape your business and attract specific clients who will pay for your specialty.

Q:

Do you always expect clients to negotiate? Or do they just walk away sometimes if the price is automatically too high?

A:

 Unfortunately, clients walk away for so many reasons beyond our control. I like to feel out the situation to hear the temperature of their response before fully committing to a price. Odds are more in our favor if we can create a human connection off the bat, helping us open the doors of communication. The conversation can include the openness to flexibility by discussing a price range before we officially submit an estimate. If clients know we are willing to budge, they may be more apt to negotiate. 

Q:

I wanted to know how I can get good feedback from a company that didn’t hire me. I just lost a bid, and that’s fine, but I’d love to know if it was more than not being the lowest cost.

A:

In our freelance business, we should learn how our bidding affects us. Take on the challenge to kindly ask the right questions to the right client after a job is awarded or lost. I’ve gathered the best info from clients by pinpointing specific closed-ended questions, hoping for a quick and easy answer. Example: Did I lose this because I was too high, or was this a creative decision, or both? 

Q:

How do I leverage this abundance of accolades and high-end client work to get more exposure? My past mailers and hand-curated marketing promos have yielded a 3% response rate, and I must say I’m a bit frustrated. 

A:

Emails in general seem to be a dying breed, pushing us to figure out new ways to be in touch. They are no longer the one dependable marketing tool as they now serve one piece of the promotion pie. 

You know I’m all about Instagram, so that is my first suggestion, but of course, we still need to push those promos out. 

Email promo material should go out in two separate ways, which will, in turn, support each other:

1. Mass email lists will have a lower response rate because they are a larger list of unknown clients, but provide us with solid marketing open/click data. 

2. Smaller fine-tuned lists built around those we know, and those who open/click the larger mass emails will get better traction.

Q:

If I email my website or image links to clients who don’t know me, should they be specific to a project or the home page of my website? 

A:

Always do what will help a client save time. Think FAST as the goal: what will help them see what you prefer them to see? Choose one image, one project, or your website landing page, depending on what they look for. If you are expecting potential clients to click through, it’s a lose-lose situation. 

Q:

Why can the best cinematographers serve the story and change their look for each script, depending on the requirements of the script, but if a photographer does that, they are condemned, overlooked, and discarded for being a “generalist?”

A:

We get to choose two types of paths: technical savvy with a lot of variety, or those who provide a more specific, curated style, look, and feel. Both options can work, providing a long-lasting, accomplished career, usually depending on your situation, the size of your market, and your skillset. I’ve repped both of these and found that the careers of generalists depend on the relationships they build, and the specialists get jobs for their portfolios.

Q:

What type of “Personal” section do you NOT want to see on a photographer’s website?

A:

I don’t know if other reps agree with me on this, but I don’t like to see international travel images. If you have international clients, then it’s fine, but that is not what I would use to sell yourself to USA clients who want USA vibes.

Q:

Do you suggest always requesting a 50% advance? If so, what’s the best way to ask for it?

A:

Yes. Always include a request for an advance in your estimate, so it’s in writing once the estimate is approved. I use simple language like, “50% of total due prior to beginning of shoot.” If they ask for a different amount and it’s reasonable, that’s fine with me. I just need a legal guarantee that my photographers will be paid. I’d be scared to work without that reassurance. 

Q:

When you talk about Marketing Outreach, does this include following up with phone calls?

A:

Do unto others as you’d like to be done to you. This sounds biblical but is also very practical in a business sense. I personally do not call clients unless it’s in the heat of the bidding moment when I can hopefully get a sense of the budget for a job. A marketing outreach phone call risks really turning off the potential client, so I would not recommend it.