Okay…bad wordplay there. I mean the as in the definite article…the market in this case. The market is crumbling. Banks are failing and the financial world is spinning wildly out of control.
However thou, you, and your market may just be fine. I’ve spoken with/swapped emails with a few photographers lately who say they’ve been quite busy. There is work out there, at least for now–you need to be getting out there to try and find some of it.
When was the last time you did some local marketing? I mean calling up a local agency and offered to bring in lunch for a portfolio review? Make it an event and they may make time for you. Just be friendly and you might end up leaving with a project. Now, it is unlikely that any project you get like that will be a great project, worthy of your full creative talents, but it’s a project and, if you are slow, that’s a good thing. And even if you don’t get anything, offering something will make you look friendlier and less pathetic which, if you are slow, is also a good thing.
If you are slow, don’t share that information with your clients (local or not). If they ask, say things are okay or that you’re still getting projects or whatever. Be upbeat. Be vague if you can’t honestly be upbeat (“It’s hard for a lot of folks–I feel luckier than some”). Listen to their problems, nod your head, and don’t brag (truthfully or–worse!–not) about your own situation, but don’t commiserate either. People want to work with successful, upbeat, hopeful, helpful people.
At the same time, now is not the time to go overboard being “friendly” to your clients. Don’t extend credit to clients, especially new ones or ones you know already take too long to pay. Be sympathetic, but be firm in your business policies. Get your up-fronts or don’t shoot the project. You have to play a bit of defense to stay afloat these days too.
But even in these tougher economic times, there are still things that need to be shot and people who are looking for photographers to get it done. Staying inside staring at your computer all day isn’t going to get you work–going out and interacting with people will. Trying new twists on your marketing will. Making efforts–more so than in the past–will.