Month: October 2008

This article may be talking about approaches to reach consumers during these tough times, but the general concepts offered apply to B-to-B marketing as well. What can you come up with that will be different and engaging for your targets?

Caitlin has some great advice about making calls on her blog.

I hear many people complaining about taxes–I personally think they should be higher (lots higher on some folks and corporations). This stand will not be popular among many of you, and I’m fine with that. My way is very unlikely to come about here, so no reason to get your knickers in a twist. 

Anyway, the Europeans (IMO) have it much more right. They fund things like the arts better (and then there is universal health and much cheaper university…). If we did the same, then we too could have 3-day programs for our creatives to improve their businesses…free.

As it is we don’t. Programs offered by groups like ASMP and APA have fees. They are very low, though, especially when you consider the cost to put these events on. Usually the events cost around $25 or less for an evening event and SB2 was (if memory serves) around $300 for the weekend…and yet people complain about them. People who don’t live in the cities where the events take place, complain that the events are not offered online, etc.

By choosing not to live in, say, Chicago, the complainer is benefitting from the lower cost of living, compared to the city. The trade off is that you don’t get everything that the city offers. If the complainer wants what the city offers, s/he either has to move or to pay the extra cost to travel to the city for the event. There is no right to something for nothing in the USA. I checked, 🙂

 

Besides, a big part of the benefits of the event, any event, is the human interaction. You really need to be there to get the most out of any lecture, presentation, whatever. And producing the materials to appear online or in DVD format takes a lot of time, effort, and, yes, money, which means they are not going to be cheap to buy. 

Attending events like those offered by the pro groups are part of your continuing education. Lawyers and other professions MUST take continuing ed. courses to stay licensed–these events are the same sort of thing for your profession. The cost is an investment in your business, and a very important one. SO stop kvetching about the inconvenience and cost and just go–go and meet people and learn. It’s good for your business and good for you.

I was recently interviewed about steps photographers might consider for their marketing during this economic downturn. What can one do to save money–what marketing tools are more cost-effective, etc. Here’s what I think:

1. If you can avoid it, do NOT cut your marketing budget. Yes, there are some hard choices to make these days for lots of folks–if you are choosing between paying your mortgage and spending on marketing, pay the mortgage! If, however, you want to buy a new camera and so are thinking that you had better cut back on marketing to save some money, do not buy the camera (or computer, or whatever). Spending money on your marketing will have a better long-term payoff than any equipment purchase.
2. Do not try to save money by doing things yourself. One of the biggest mistakes I see is photographers “designing” their own mailers, sites, emailers, whatever. They look like crap to your buyers and make you look cheap.
3. Email promos are less expensive, but because of that more and more people will be using them. To break through the clutter you need to have them well designed (and programmed) and maybe even to offer up something more with them (links to helpful articles, etc.), where appropriate.
4. Now is NOT the time to play it safe. It never is, but now is the worst for that. Safe puts you in the muddy masses with all the other safe folks and you will not get noticed. Be yourself, as always, and if that means possibly offending someone then that is just their loss–the folks who share your sensibilities will love you for your guts. 
5. If your targets are slow, now is a great time to get personal meetings! Knock on some doors! Throw a cocktail hour (in your studio or a local joint). Reach out!
6. Keep shooting for yourself. Now is a great time for a personal project.
7. Now is also a great time for an interactive project where you try to get your targets involved. Run a contest–best killed project or worst client hell story–and offer a signed print (or tshirt or portrait session–be creative!) as a prize. Or make interactive art–offer an online image and ask for captions or retouching/manipulation or do a virtual exquisite corpse.
8. Keep working your marketing plan and stay consistent with whatever you are doing–and stay on-brand too. If you’ve done a VMS, stick to it. 
9. If you have to cut, really have to, make sure the places you cut first are passive like sourcebook ads (esp. print). Keep reaching out with active marketing tools as much as you can.
10. Remember that if you have to hit your savings, that is why you have your savings (and if you don’t have savings, remember to start saving asap for the next downturn). There are always downturns…and upturns. The phone will ring again. If you have to flip burgers or whatever in the short-term, that never means you have to give up on your dream. It just means you have a bump in the road. You’ll get past it if you really want to. It might not be easy, but you can make it through the hard times.

I just had someone email me a question about the cover of my new book–why did I choose to use an illustration rather than a photo? The answer is that I know waaaay too many photographers and so choosing one for an image always runs the risk of hurting the feelings of many others. This way, none of you are hurt…

…or all of you are equally hurt, but I figure you’ll forgive me. 🙂

 

The illustration was done, btw, by one of my brothers. I wanted it to be reflective of my t-shirts and I think he achieved that.

…Nick Onken’s blog, you should be. I don’t always 100% agree with him, but mostly I do and, no matter what, I find myself thinking more.

I had intended to keep this a bit of a secret for just a few days more, but as the info already getting shared by bloggers who got my private email announcement, I guess the cat is already out of the proverbial bag–my new book is finally available! Woo hoo! 

My best advice about marketing–now in a handy, compact, 168-page tome. The margins are narrow and the pages are filled with words, so there is no wasted space. This sucker is chock-full of helpful info!

For now, you can only order it from Lulu.com (that is likely to change in the future, but when exactly is a hard call). The bad thing about that is that it may take a while for you to receive a hard copy version as it is a print-on-demand system. The good thing is that you can order the pdf version and get it for less money and get instant gratification upon download.

I encourage buying the eco-groovy pdf version. Save some bucks and save a tree.

To thank all of you who have been loyal blog readers and patient while I got this book done (all while starting law school!), I want to offer you a token of appreciation. When you get your book (print or pdf), send me an email with the last word of the last footnote on page 115 (footnote #66); as long as I receive it by November 30, 2008, I’ll send you a code for a 10% discount for the purchase of one or both of my video presentations (usable until December 31, 2008).

Note: if you got the private email list offer, this cannot be combined with that, don’t be greedy. 🙂

 

Thank you to everyone who gave me encouragement and those who literally helped with the production of this book. I’m so excited I can share it with everyone now!

Of course not. Mr. Godin points us to a blogger who makes that point damn clear. Music is just like any art, including photography–you aren’t ever going to be anything special if you are like the others. You have to do things that might upset some folks and attract others. 

I just don’t get why so many photographers (and other creatives) are so afraid to follow their art. If you wanted to be safe, normal, liked, average, or anything else in the realm of the beige, why the hell did you choose to be an artist?

I just ran across this older article by Bob Sutton of The No Asshole Rule fame. Note this quote:

[…] if you want to develop new products and services, I urge you to keep your creative people away from your biggest customers—and for that matter from critics and anyone whose primary concern is money.

Doing so helps creativity blossom. Psychological research shows that people are especially hesitant to try new things in front of “evaluative others” like critics and bosses. 

I think that, in your case, should be expanded to include other photographers and your spouses/partners. If you come up with some great-but-wacky idea, don’t share it with anyone who might shoot it down–if YOU believe in it (esp. if it’s a marketing idea or a new idea for your vision), then execute it and critics be damned!

I’m hearing lots of creatives saying that they don’t know what to do now. The economic situation globally is really nasty and it’s scary. They’re worried that if the markets (as in stock) keep falling, they won’t have any work.

I say, turn off your TVs and stop reading about the problems on the ‘net. Just ignore what it happening and do your own work.

No, I’m not crazy. 

Worrying about the stock market and the overall economic situation won’t do any good. You have pretty much no control over what is happening on Wall Street, so stop worrying about it. It will either get worse, stay the same, or get better in the short term (and it’s pretty much guaranteed to get better in the long term). Your teeny investments (big to you, maybe, but teeny on the whole scale) aren’t going to change the markets so just leave them be if you don’t absolutely need the money in the very near future. 

Instead look at your own life and business and focus on that. What can you do to improve your business and your life–in the long term? If you are slow, use this time to work on your art. Learn something new. Read some trade books and general business books. Invest (time, especially) in changing your business to make it what you always wanted it to be (Judy Hermann can help you navigate that change).

Seth Godin has a good post on a related topic here–it takes effort to get where you want to go.

Of course, if you are in personal financial difficulties, you will have to make some tough choices and maybe do some things you never envisioned. Listen to what some of the best experts are suggesting (like Suze Orman or even better, your own financial planner who should be looking at these issues), choose a path, commit to it for the long term, and follow it. Even if you are in serious debt, you can make things better–it just takes time and effort. 

By focusing on your own situation and those things you can control, your mental state will improve along with your personal financial state. It’s going to be a tough ride for a lot of us for a while. Take a breath and remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint.