That headline is not to shock, it is to make a point.
True story: a man I know who works at a very well known ad agency got a LinkedIn “Let’s connect” email from a photographer. The man doesn’t know the photographer from Adam and, like what I hear from most buyers and other creatives who may influence photo buying, finds such approaches on LinkedIn particularly icky. I’ve mentioned this before to you fine readers, and I mean it. It’s bad form and pisses people off.
Feeling more than a little frustrated with this sort of thing and rather than respond directly to the photographer, my friend tweets the following–tweets it, mind you, and never mentions anyone in particular:
Dear Photographers: If I don’t know you, I’m not going to connect with you on linkedin. Think it through next time.
Next thing he knows, he gets an email again from the original photographer. It reads:
You don’t have to be an [sic] prick about it. Think it through next time.
This photographer has just slit his professional throat.
I don’t care how bad your day is going, I don’t care if someone actually acts like a total asshat (and, btw, I don’t think my friend did anything out of line), you never, ever call someone who is/was a target a prick. Or anything else, for that matter. Why? Because like all people, people in advertising talk and your reputation is vital. Your work can be the hand of god photography, but if you are a jerk, you will not get the gig.
“but if you are a jerk, you will not get the gig.”
Or any others for a long, long, long time. Guy should return his camera to the Best Buy because he won’t be needing it again.
The photographer’s a total jerk. But you’re wrong about the “bad form”. Many of the researcher/buyers I’ve contacted have thanked me for doing so and for bringing their attention to a potentially useful source of quality stock images. And I’ve never had one complaint, or refusal to be placed on my mailing list for infrequent newsletters. Of course, my unsubscribe link is prominent and permanent.
John: I’m glad you have had good results, but I stand by my point. I can tell you I have had many, many buyers tell me exactly what I reported here. LinkedIn is not the place to “troll” for targets.
I would never tell anyone off like that, but I have to say that I contact AD’s and AB’s that are in my groups on Linkedin, and ask them to connect. I have never been turned down. A couple of my requests have been ignored, so I don’t pursue them. Once they accept my invitation to connect, I send them a thank you. I then add them to my list of recipients of an email from Agency Access. With the first email, I explain that I send these out every six weeks, and explain that if they would rather opt out, I would remove them from my list. Out of hundreds of recipients, I’ve had eight people opt out, and only one complained about the emails…in almost two years. I’ve had quite a few send me a reply actually thanking me for putting them on my list. I don’t if there was any other problem between this photographer and this art director, but my experience has been the total opposite.
Here’s the thing, Jon: the people who get pissed won’t necessary tell you, but they most definitely WILL talk amongst themselves. Some of those non-responses (btw, are you being turned down so don’t fool yourself with the “I have never been turned down”–you have) are likely people who are bitching to their colleagues about you bothering them.
To everyone: I don’t get the push-back here–I have these great contacts with people who buy photography. They tell me things and I pass that info on to you folk, and then y’all say “No, that’s not what they think.”
To be sure, that photog was not too swift on the uptake. Will no doubt be another story of survival of the fittest. Then there was the CD who, a while back, tried to ban every creative that used Agency Access ,et al. Rudeness in either direction is just plain stupid.
I agree with Leslie. Linkedin is not the place for me to connect with ‘strangers’. About 95% of my Linkedin-connections I know in real life. I prefer quality above quantity. As a photographer, whenever I have a gig that not suits me; I will recommend someone in my Linkedin list, someone I know. Because I know the other photographer, I can trust he/she is the right person on the assignment. And trust is vital for me on Linkedin.
Is it really about Linkedin, Facebook, or just a direct phone call? Really? It is about common
courtesy and respect. I have heard directly about photographers being rude or berating when they do not get a job, or someone has to cancel an appointment. Generally, I think are you kidding me? People do that shit? However AD friends have let me listen to their voicemails with these messages. It is 100% true! Most will never call you on it but never expect a job, or a reference from them ever.
The photography word is getting very dog eat dog at times lately and some are just not rising above it. Like you were told as a child. Give respect to get respect. Just simple manners.
Note that this advice should apply to many agency people also.
I’m beginning to think we’ve got some apples and some oranges here. I expect that art buyers/art directors/others who commision photo work are deluged with sales pitches from photographers and are possibly much offended by twhat they see as harassment. My business is basically stock photography and some commercial/corporate work in my own community. My procedure regarding potential buyers/researchers is very similar to that of Jon DeVaul and the reaction of my email recipients is very similar. I use Constant Contact, mail about once a month to a list about 1,100. Know your market – give it what it needs.