Best ways to advertise my business?
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cjnicolai
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Word of mouth, word of mouth, word of mouth, and word of mouth.
That about covers it.
Seriously, have an excellent referral plan in place and tell people about it. I built my portrait business extremely quickly by giving each of my clients ten referral cards for their friends. Rather than just giving them generic cards, though, I made cards with the referring client's favorite session image on it, so they would be eager to show them to friends and family. The card offered a small incentive for both the referrer and the referree, with an expiration date of 30 days out.
IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT YOUR REFERRAL CARDS HAVE A VERY SHORT TIME PERIOD BUILT IN. I can't stress that enough. Don't give them time to forget about you or lose the enthusiasm.
My referral program was one of the two most important aspects that got my business off the ground. Don't feel compelled to give referral cards to absolutely everyone; I gave cards only to excellent clients whose friends I would want to meet.
The other was a well-planned, well executed display in a business in my target market. I'm pushed for time right now, but will try to explain the display a bit later tonight.
Only once have I ever paid any amount of money to advertise, and I can say that it was not worth it in any way. Word of mouth is the way to go.
- CJ
That about covers it.
Seriously, have an excellent referral plan in place and tell people about it. I built my portrait business extremely quickly by giving each of my clients ten referral cards for their friends. Rather than just giving them generic cards, though, I made cards with the referring client's favorite session image on it, so they would be eager to show them to friends and family. The card offered a small incentive for both the referrer and the referree, with an expiration date of 30 days out.
IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT YOUR REFERRAL CARDS HAVE A VERY SHORT TIME PERIOD BUILT IN. I can't stress that enough. Don't give them time to forget about you or lose the enthusiasm.
My referral program was one of the two most important aspects that got my business off the ground. Don't feel compelled to give referral cards to absolutely everyone; I gave cards only to excellent clients whose friends I would want to meet.
The other was a well-planned, well executed display in a business in my target market. I'm pushed for time right now, but will try to explain the display a bit later tonight.
Only once have I ever paid any amount of money to advertise, and I can say that it was not worth it in any way. Word of mouth is the way to go.
- CJ
pxl8
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Agreed, word of mouth is bringing in about 80% of my clients now, the other 20% are ones I chase down myself. I experimented with advertising and found it was just a massive waste of money.
I do a similar deal with referral incentives as well though the time limit is something I'll be adding tomorrow (thanks CJ!).
I do a similar deal with referral incentives as well though the time limit is something I'll be adding tomorrow (thanks CJ!).
PaulDCocker
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nigelcampbell
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Having spent a large part of my life working in advertising (as an art director - got out before I turned totally evil!) I would agree with what everyone says about word of mouth. But I would also say that you can do a lot with a little when it comes to marketing your business. I would get a website - make sure you choose a name that includes the word portraits (www.beautiful-portraits.com or some such variation) so that people can see your portfolio - then get some cheap cards printed up (www.vistaprint.co.uk) and then pop down to your local sign maker to get a window sticker for your car with your website address on. (unless your car is a heap of junk in which case it may send the wrong message).
Local hair salons often have models in so that they can try new styles or train staff - offer to take some free pics so that they can put up your prints (make sure you photoshop your web address on the bottom of the images) and then give them some cards to hand out.
Always carry the cards with you - you will meet people in pubs, at events, walking in the park etc. hand them out.
A basic website plus some cards and a car sticker should set you back £100.00 if you can't recoup that outlay then your business is not a good one.
Local hair salons often have models in so that they can try new styles or train staff - offer to take some free pics so that they can put up your prints (make sure you photoshop your web address on the bottom of the images) and then give them some cards to hand out.
Always carry the cards with you - you will meet people in pubs, at events, walking in the park etc. hand them out.
A basic website plus some cards and a car sticker should set you back £100.00 if you can't recoup that outlay then your business is not a good one.
I would not advise getting a car sticker done. I can't say I've remembered any business off a car sticker and always laugh when I see some IT guy promoting it that way. It seems like a desperate act. I don't see it as a positive way of gaining business.
nigelcampbell
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I know what you mean Pete - but the statistics (don't have them to hand as I quit advertising) say otherwise. Seeing a window sticker in a car wouldn't convince me to take a look - but then I'm not exactly target market material.
Portraiture is a tough business to get going in - Sadly (I'm not at all proud of this) I was responsible for all the original marketing, strategy and designs for Venture Portraits
Everything from the logo design to the studio interiors. I met a lot of photographers of varying skill and saw just how hard they struggled. That said - with the extra advertising and marketing they did gain business so I know that it works (and many of them were really not that good!)
Portraiture is a tough business to get going in - Sadly (I'm not at all proud of this) I was responsible for all the original marketing, strategy and designs for Venture Portraits
Everything from the logo design to the studio interiors. I met a lot of photographers of varying skill and saw just how hard they struggled. That said - with the extra advertising and marketing they did gain business so I know that it works (and many of them were really not that good!)
Brains
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It does work. I own and operate several businesses and use car advertising. When I travel to a particular town/city I can more or less guarantee an order through within the week from that place. May be just sheer coincidence
Word of mouth is one of the most powerful methods.
Google adwords also work. My ROI is approximately 400%.
nigelcampbell
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You did Venture!? Ban!
I really can't say sorry enough - if its any consolation Brian Glover-Smith (the CEO) ripped me off and never fully paid me for all the work I did.
LOL - It's a fair point. I think a more reserved word of mouth approach is best if you want to retain your artistic integrity - but making money and keeping your integrity - well that's really the trick.
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You can get your vehicle signwritten for probably £100 and as Brains up there says, it works! Things to remember though, make sure the advert says in big letters what you do and in even bigger letters the phone number, 99% of possible clients will see your vehicle for 3-4 seconds tops. Nobody cares that your name is JOHN SMITH if they can't see that you are a photographer 0123456789
If you're going to use the vehicle privately you can always buy magnetic signs, they cost more but stick very well and peel off when you want them to.
Yellow Pages works, if fact I reckon it's the only published advertising I ever used that did work, especially if you want to get some corporate jobs.
If you're going to use the vehicle privately you can always buy magnetic signs, they cost more but stick very well and peel off when you want them to.
Yellow Pages works, if fact I reckon it's the only published advertising I ever used that did work, especially if you want to get some corporate jobs.
nigelcampbell
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Oh it's such a shame that the logo on the side wasn't a little more to the right - then it would say SPY ASS when you opened the back door!
nigelcampbell
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It's a franchise operation - you give them a LOT of money - they send a trainer (ha!) round to teach you how to take over contrasty high-key shots and then screw with them in photoshop doing too much selective colour and other hideous things. Then they make you buy a lot of leather armchairs for your studio and supply you with vouchers, leaflets and other marketing materials - and they take a slice of your action.
(Actually that's not how they would sell it to you)
pxl8
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Venture also seem to have a remarkable ability to turn a £25 voucher deal into more than £1000 of sales - a couple of my recent clients both ended up in that situation last year, one of them even went ahead and ordered.
But at £75 for a framed 7x5 is it any wonder...
But at £75 for a framed 7x5 is it any wonder...
AndyBorzi
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Venture must be doing something right otherwise they wouldn't have lots of town/city centre studios. :shrug:
In our brief foray into Wedding and Portrait photography, we got a few customers coming to us after seeing Ventures prices - which was nice.
Our main source of new clients was the Yellow Pages and a few by word of mouth. I did have a website that did quite well as it was fairly high on search engine lookups. I did hold a first page on Google for a while!
Even though we gave the business up nearly 2 years ago, we still get calls from prospective clients who saw our ad in the Yellow Pages!
We did consider having a display etc in one of the local shopping centres but never actually got round to it but thinking about it, I don't think it would have paid off.
We paid for a Wedding Show once and although we had lots of interest on the day, we got no follow ups at all.
Have you thought about visiting local Nurseries or Schools and speaking to the Head to put your details on their notice boards for parents who pick up/drop their kids there? You probably need to be police checked to get anywhere with that one! Fortunately, my wife is a teacher and she got a fair bit of portrait stuff through word of mouth at her school.
I was quite cheeky when we first started, I went into a local professional tog studio and chatted with them about the business etc They were very friendly and helpful and suggested that we referred clients to each other if we were unable to help a client if fully booked etc. We got 3 or 4 bookings that way, and we referred a fair bit back to them.
Best of luck!
In our brief foray into Wedding and Portrait photography, we got a few customers coming to us after seeing Ventures prices - which was nice.
Our main source of new clients was the Yellow Pages and a few by word of mouth. I did have a website that did quite well as it was fairly high on search engine lookups. I did hold a first page on Google for a while!
Even though we gave the business up nearly 2 years ago, we still get calls from prospective clients who saw our ad in the Yellow Pages!We did consider having a display etc in one of the local shopping centres but never actually got round to it but thinking about it, I don't think it would have paid off.
We paid for a Wedding Show once and although we had lots of interest on the day, we got no follow ups at all.
Have you thought about visiting local Nurseries or Schools and speaking to the Head to put your details on their notice boards for parents who pick up/drop their kids there? You probably need to be police checked to get anywhere with that one! Fortunately, my wife is a teacher and she got a fair bit of portrait stuff through word of mouth at her school.
I was quite cheeky when we first started, I went into a local professional tog studio and chatted with them about the business etc They were very friendly and helpful and suggested that we referred clients to each other if we were unable to help a client if fully booked etc. We got 3 or 4 bookings that way, and we referred a fair bit back to them.
Best of luck!
As a business purely trying to maximize profit, yes. As a company trying to offer a decent service to their clients, no. They hook you in with a "free" studio session or a reduced rate one then charge through the nose for prints. As someone said, £75 for a 7x5! Thats insane. I charge £50 for a print at least twice that size. People pay once they see the results because they want to keep that special magic moment of little Timmy.
nigelcampbell
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To say that Venture's business practices are sharp is a bit like saying that the surface of the sun is a tad warm
cjnicolai
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A few thoughts.
First, £75 for a framed 7x5 is a lot if 1) the client is blindsided by the price and 2) the print quality doesn't stand up to the price.
My framed 5x7's are $195 US (converts to around £95) but there are several key differences:
1) My clients have the complete price list before they book their session.
2) There's no bait and switch; the session fee is high enough to discourage people who would be shell-shocked by my print prices.
3) My prints are hand made on fiber paper and selenium toned. The quality and longevity of the print matches anything you will find in a fine gallery or museum.
4) My work is very unique, and the people who value it are happy to pay the price.
Pete's point is a very good one with regards to car advertising. You do really have to know your market. If you're trying to break into the lower to (maybe) mid-level portrait market, then it would probably work OK for you. However, my target market would avoid you like the plague. LOL.
My clients come to me because I avoid all the gimmicks and cheesiness that tends to come with portrait photography -- and that means in my marketing and in my portraits. They don't want to hire a portrait shooter; they want to commission an artist.
One of my clients from a few weeks ago is an interior designer married to an art collector. Their walls are plastered with original Edward Westons and Dorothea Langes. When she decided she wanted portraits of her sons to hang on her walls (that wouldn't be shamed by the Westons and Langes) she didn't call 1-800-cutepix.
- CJ
First, £75 for a framed 7x5 is a lot if 1) the client is blindsided by the price and 2) the print quality doesn't stand up to the price.
My framed 5x7's are $195 US (converts to around £95) but there are several key differences:
1) My clients have the complete price list before they book their session.
2) There's no bait and switch; the session fee is high enough to discourage people who would be shell-shocked by my print prices.
3) My prints are hand made on fiber paper and selenium toned. The quality and longevity of the print matches anything you will find in a fine gallery or museum.
4) My work is very unique, and the people who value it are happy to pay the price.
Pete's point is a very good one with regards to car advertising. You do really have to know your market. If you're trying to break into the lower to (maybe) mid-level portrait market, then it would probably work OK for you. However, my target market would avoid you like the plague. LOL.
My clients come to me because I avoid all the gimmicks and cheesiness that tends to come with portrait photography -- and that means in my marketing and in my portraits. They don't want to hire a portrait shooter; they want to commission an artist.
One of my clients from a few weeks ago is an interior designer married to an art collector. Their walls are plastered with original Edward Westons and Dorothea Langes. When she decided she wanted portraits of her sons to hang on her walls (that wouldn't be shamed by the Westons and Langes) she didn't call 1-800-cutepix.
- CJ
AndyBorzi
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eek, I think I came across that I like Venture! I wasn't and don't!
I always fancied going along with the £25 voucher thing to see what it entailed. Just never really got round to it and not that keen on their style anyway.
pxl8
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There's a world of difference between what you do CJ and what Venture offers.
Exactly what was in my head. Yes you could put an advert on your car and you could get your average family 2.0 dropping by for a portrait of them and their dog. Wheel them in to the studio, snap snap off they pop. I don't really want to own a studio just to turn out family snaps. Yes you could probably make money from this but for me its not a life. My photography HAS to be more, the clients I attract have to understand that and clearly in cjnicolai's case it works. I don't want to be just another high street photographer.