I wrote this post on Adbase, a service that blasts emails to agencies on behalf of photographers, back in February 2009. And it has engendered more comments (22) than any other post to our blog. I just got another one today. Here it is, along with my reply:
Hi Doug,
I came across your blog and I must say that I appreciate your honesty. It can be a very tricky business, the art of marketing to creative people who are extremely busy. My question is, Do you have a tendency to notice promos more than just postcards? And by promos, I mean a postcard with a keepsake such as a notepad with the artist’s work.
Thanks
Kimbrely
Kimbrely,
You know, I only notice really interesting photography when it comes to a photographer’s promo. There are so many photographers out there doing so much similar stuff, what it really takes is something that looks different. That’s all it is. If more photographers put more effort into creating an unusual vision they could put less into their self-promotion, because every promo piece would work harder.
That’s the simple truth. It’s your unique, or at least unusual, vision that will get me to do the single best thing you could hope for out of a promotion: and that’s to not throw it away. To keep it. The really good ones go up on creatives’ walls. And they stay there sometimes for years. And all the while that creative is looking for an opportunity to work with you.
On the wall, in a highly-valued file of photographer’s samples (no one keeps a sample from someone they don’t really want to work with), it doesn’t matter. Keeping it is what leads to the phone call.
Good luck. Have fun.
ID-ology 