Truth: Self-Promotional
Efforts Are CumulativeSelf-promotional marketing efforts bear fruit over a period
of time (two to four years). We always play catch up with our
spending and with the time and energy we put into our efforts.
It takes a great deal of front-end time showing your work,
sending mailers, and contacting prospects before you receive
an opportunity to bid on a job. Most photographers refuse
to believe this fact and cease efforts long before their pro-
grams have had an opportunity to make an impact on the
marketplace. Pull your expectations of results into alignment
and know that you may not see significant results for quite
a while.
Certainly review your progress as you move along. Does
your Web tracking show a healthy open rate for e-mails sent? Is
your Web traffic increasing? Are you getting appointments?
Are prospects mentioning that they’ve seen your direct mail? Is
your Web site receiving traffic from your Web portals? Is your
portfolio being requested? These are some of the signs in the
early stages of a sales and marketing program that your efforts
are succeeding. You might be thinking, “Great, Selina, but
what about the jobs?” Those come later. It’s very rare for a
business to take off right away. It needs to build and you must
give it the time to do so. Unreal expectations sabotage all of
your efforts, so get your expectations in line and keep
plugging away.Lie: No One Sees Photographers
AnymoreBoy, do I hate this one. My most successful clients (yes there
are many successful photographers!) show their portfolios or
have agents that show their books in person to prospects.
Whenever our end of the industry is slow, prospects are most
likely slow as well. When clients are not busy fulfilling assign-
ments, they have time to see you and it’s a good time to show
your portfolio. Get your book to between six and eight buyers a
month. Agents like John Sharpe in Los Angeles know howPART4 / TOOLSChapter 20.qxd 6/25/07 7:22 AM Page 128