Offline Marketing

Sorry, I am new to this board. I appoligies if I am beating a dead horse. My
company is a small homebased photography company doing everything from
commercial product photography all the way down to pet portraits. We just
started back up after my father passed away so all the marketing money is
our own cash on hand (not much). We have tried to promote the fact that we
have been in business for 30 years (we have, I just didn't own it then).

Can anyone give some tips on how to promote my company cheap but
effectively? I am looking for marketing tips to be done offline. There are a
ton of websites for marketing on the web, but I don't need that right now.

Any advise you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Frederick
Freelance Foto Service

"Frederick Claus" <fjclaus@photographyspecialist.com> wrote in message
news:bh2t4k0rij@enews3.newsguy.com...
>
> We have tried to promote the fact that we
> have been in business for 30 years (we have, I just didn't own it then).

What is it about your having been in business for 30 years that will attract
customers? Photography is an art and the photographer is the artist. If your
late father was the photographer, you're not going to be able to sell his
work anymore so having been in business for 30 years doesn't mean much to
the potential customer if the business is in new hands and there aren't 30
years worth of work examples of the current photographers.

> Can anyone give some tips on how to promote my company cheap but
> effectively? I am looking for marketing tips to be done offline. There are
a
> ton of websites for marketing on the web, but I don't need that right now.

Well, you might not think you need it. Not knowing where you are, or what
your photography specialty is, it's hard for anyone to give advice. If you
deal with the public, I would say that you certainly do need online
marketing. Your competitors are enabling their customers to see samples of
their work. If you don't have a site, get one.
If you do weddings, etc. I'd bet there are many local sites to promote with.
(I have a wedding site in my hometown and offer very cheap listings for
local photographers. And it works well for them. The site comes up first in
Google for the name of the town or the town name and state with wedding
photographers as the search term.)

--
McWebber
No email replies read
If someone tells you to forward an email to all your friends
please forget that I'm your friend.

"Frederick Claus" <fjclaus@photographyspecialist.com> wrote:
> Any advise you can give would be greatly appreciated.

First some specific advice for your situation.

1) Send out postcards to all the people that have used your father's business
over the last five years. Simply tell them that while your father has
passed away, the family business is still going strong. Invite them to come
in and get a new family portrait. You might want to cap it with a statement
that they should do this while they still can and before something tragic
might make it impossible. They'll get the implication of that statement.
No harm in pulling on the heart strings.

2) Do a big cleaning of the studio from top to bottom. Everything. Not
just what the customer sees but everywhere. Even those attic spaces that
never get used. Replace anything that's faded. This will help with your
mindset. You'll feel better and feel better about the business. You'll feel
like you're giving it a second lease on life.

3) Don't discount a website. Your business is about visuals. The net is a
good place to showcase that. However, I recommend you find a niche for your
region and use the website to promote that. Note I said "region" and not
"neighborhood", "city", "state", "nation", or "world". If you specialize,
your business' reach will likely be regional. Your specialty being what
people will travel a decent distance to take advantage of.

Now for my standard business advice for on-going businesses.

"What I recommend you do is determine what your sales territory is. What's
its radius? Take out your customer list and plot them out on a road map.
Plot all of them. If they're from the same city/town, keep track of the
number so you get a distribution picture. To determine your radius, you'll
need to make a judgment call on which of the far-out pins is within your
sales territory and which should be discounted as oddities. Draw on the map
the outer perimeter. Measure that line from your business' location. Now
add 10% more and draw that new perimeter in a different color. Double that
amount and draw that new perimeter in still another color. Then go and talk to
people outside that double perimeter limit that are in the same business you're
in. Literally, drive there. Do not do the following over the phone or email
or through snail mail. Show up on their doorstep during the slow time of their
business day. Tell them that you run a similar business at such-and-such a
location and ask if they consider you competition. If they say you would
be, drive further away from your proposed business location until you find a
business that says you're not. If you have to go to a different country, do
so. Don't let state or national borders play any part in this decision
process.

Once you find a business that says your two territories won't overlap, ask
if they wouldn't mind answering some questions about how they run their
business. Tell them you don't have all the answers but you're seeking them.
Play to their egos. Have a list of questions written out on notepad, but do
NOT write down their answers. Instead, bring a tape recorder (yes, put it
right out in the open ... no need for spyware ... and besides it plays to
their egos as their words are being treated as worthy of being recorded) and
concentrate on getting as much information out of them as possible ... as
well as picking up the other half of the answers they give in body language.
If they say something you don't understand, speak up and ask for
clarification. Let them wander off your list of questions since where they
wander to might be a place you never thought of asking questions about and
should have been. But keep an eye on the questions you've written down and
try to ask them all before the interview concludes. Of course, always yield
to customers that come in.

After you've interviewed one owner, go home and digest what was said.
Listen to the tape on your way home. Think over it all. Adjust your
business plan accordingly. Yes, you should be working on a business plan
even though you're already in business. More on that later. Adjust the
questions on that notepad and on your next free day, head off in another
direction and do the same thing. Interview the good, the bad, and the ugly.
If you're lucky, you'll interview one that is going out of business or has
just went out of business so you can hear the dark side. Likewise,
interview those businesses you think are bad. Keep in mind that since
they're still in business, they are probably doing something right ... if
just being the only game in town for your products/services.

Share as you give. Let them know what you think is a good idea. Ask them
to read over your business plan right there before you. Naturally, don't
leave a copy of it behind. What one of these business persons is going to
tell you will be better than ALL the advice from all the business professors
on the face of the Earth. Even from the ones that are going out of
business!

Don't forget these individuals after you interview them. Send them a nice
thank-you snail mail letter for taking the time to answer your questions.

Do this at least once a month ... if not once a week. This process worked
great for a little-known single-location pizza-parlor owner by the name of
Tom Monaghan ... the founder of Domino's Pizza.

Lastly, see if the good ones are willing to sit on your Board of Directors
(or Board of Advisors, if you don't want to give them any control power).
The rest of your Board of Directors should be made up of marketers. Your
Board of Directors should help you keep the big picture in mind and an eye
on the future."

Additionally...

"Work on a business plan. Regardless if you're going to get a business
expansion loan or not. No matter if your business has been in business
since the dawn of time. A business plan forces you to think of all aspects
of your business. Question every aspect of it. Think how you can do it
better, cheaper, and faster. Always remember to K.I.S.S. it. Keep It
Simple, Smartass. [Yes, I know it is usually said as "Keep It Simple,
Stupid", but it is the smartasses that make things more complex and
difficult than they need to be.] And forever keep in mind that this is a
business you're running and a business is to turn a profit. It doesn't turn
a profit and it's just an expensive hobby of yours. As for how much time to
invest into your business plan, only put as much as you want the business to
succeed. Oh, and also realize that studies have shown that those that work
less than six months on their business plan have a 90% failure rate. Those
that work six months or more on their business plan have a 90% success rate.
And to start off, get a copy of Michael Gerber's "The E-Myth". Oh, and if
you're already hating to get up in the morning to open the place up for
business, sell it and do something else. Remember that this ride through
life is a one-time experience. Don't spoil it by doing what you hate."

And finally...

"Lastly, ONLY buy used. Never buy anything that doesn't ABSOLUTELY have to
be new. All it has to look like is being in good condition ... and not even
that if it's in the backroom and your customers will never see it. Go to
sheriff auctions, business liquidation sales, garage sales, etc. and hunt
for bargains. Keep your expenses as low as possible and buying used is the
best way to do this. If you do buy something new, it should be with a great
deal of thought on why it has to be new and not used. Again, if the
customers see it, it only needs to look to be in good condition and that's
it."

Good luck!

Scott Jensen
--
Like a cure for A.I.D.S, Alzheimer, Parkinson, & Mad Cow Disease?
Volunteer your computer for folding-protein research for when it's idle.
Go to http://www.distributedfolding.org/ to sign up your computer.

McWebber,

I am in a small island town in Western New York. The 30 years in business I
use is to show that we have been a family owned company for many years. It
is more for our years in business, and the fact that we will be around for
many years to come. Too many photographers in my area are closing up shop
after being in business only a few years. One company in my area has even
closed up shop after taking deposits from many brides.

I have a web site, just not a very well put together one. Do you think doing
work and donating cash and products to the local charities will help? I had
a window demonstration in my home a couple weeks ago. The first thing he did
was to show me thank you letters from many charities and local non-profit
groups they have helped. Does that really mean anything?

McWebber.. You mentioned you run a photography site in your town. Another
problem I have is getting weddings. I have many brides calling me for
prices. When I give deliver my prices I never hear from them again. Now
judging from the other photographers in my area, my prices are the lowest I
have seen. Is it my low prices that are not making them come back, or my
presentation? They have never talked to me face to face, or viewed my
portfolio, just seen my prices.

Any advise?
Frederick

"McWebber" <mcwebber@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:bh3bhj01ik2@enews4.newsguy.com...
>
> "Frederick Claus" <fjclaus@photographyspecialist.com> wrote in message
> news:bh2t4k0rij@enews3.newsguy.com...
> >
> > We have tried to promote the fact that we
> > have been in business for 30 years (we have, I just didn't own it then).
>
> What is it about your having been in business for 30 years that will
attract
> customers? Photography is an art and the photographer is the artist. If
your
> late father was the photographer, you're not going to be able to sell his
> work anymore so having been in business for 30 years doesn't mean much to
> the potential customer if the business is in new hands and there aren't 30
> years worth of work examples of the current photographers.
>
> > Can anyone give some tips on how to promote my company cheap but
> > effectively? I am looking for marketing tips to be done offline. There
are
> a
> > ton of websites for marketing on the web, but I don't need that right
now.
>
> Well, you might not think you need it. Not knowing where you are, or what
> your photography specialty is, it's hard for anyone to give advice. If you
> deal with the public, I would say that you certainly do need online
> marketing. Your competitors are enabling their customers to see samples of
> their work. If you don't have a site, get one.
> If you do weddings, etc. I'd bet there are many local sites to promote
with.
> (I have a wedding site in my hometown and offer very cheap listings for
> local photographers. And it works well for them. The site comes up first
in
> Google for the name of the town or the town name and state with wedding
> photographers as the search term.)
>
> --
> McWebber
> No email replies read
> If someone tells you to forward an email to all your friends
> please forget that I'm your friend.
>
>

Keep your current customers and add more values.
Word of month is the most important/effective marketing tool
for photography.

If your customer want digital, then offer a free one-year
web-based gallery for them. Always include your business
card in all letters you send out. Have your website
professionally designed if you list your website on yellowpage.
Networking and break into new market. For example, team
up with web design companies because most of their customers
want to have a good photo post online. Leave your business
cards at wedding stores....

Yi
------
http://www.shansoft.com/










"Frederick Claus" <fjclaus@photographyspecialist.com>
:bh9bqu02tsq@enews4.newsguy.com...
>
> McWebber,
>
> I am in a small island town in Western New York. The 30 years in business
I
> use is to show that we have been a family owned company for many years. It
> is more for our years in business, and the fact that we will be around for
> many years to come. Too many photographers in my area are closing up shop
> after being in business only a few years. One company in my area has even
> closed up shop after taking deposits from many brides.
>
> I have a web site, just not a very well put together one. Do you think
doing
> work and donating cash and products to the local charities will help? I
had
> a window demonstration in my home a couple weeks ago. The first thing he
did
> was to show me thank you letters from many charities and local non-profit
> groups they have helped. Does that really mean anything?
>
> McWebber.. You mentioned you run a photography site in your town. Another
> problem I have is getting weddings. I have many brides calling me for
> prices. When I give deliver my prices I never hear from them again. Now
> judging from the other photographers in my area, my prices are the lowest
I
> have seen. Is it my low prices that are not making them come back, or my
> presentation? They have never talked to me face to face, or viewed my
> portfolio, just seen my prices.
>
> Any advise?
> Frederick
>
> "McWebber" <mcwebber@my-deja.com> wrote in message
> news:bh3bhj01ik2@enews4.newsguy.com...
> >
> > "Frederick Claus" <fjclaus@photographyspecialist.com> wrote in message
> > news:bh2t4k0rij@enews3.newsguy.com...
> > >
> > > We have tried to promote the fact that we
> > > have been in business for 30 years (we have, I just didn't own it
then).
> >
> > What is it about your having been in business for 30 years that will
> attract
> > customers? Photography is an art and the photographer is the artist. If
> your
> > late father was the photographer, you're not going to be able to sell
his
> > work anymore so having been in business for 30 years doesn't mean much
to
> > the potential customer if the business is in new hands and there aren't
30
> > years worth of work examples of the current photographers.
> >
> > > Can anyone give some tips on how to promote my company cheap but
> > > effectively? I am looking for marketing tips to be done offline. There
> are
> > a
> > > ton of websites for marketing on the web, but I don't need that right
> now.
> >
> > Well, you might not think you need it. Not knowing where you are, or
what
> > your photography specialty is, it's hard for anyone to give advice. If
you
> > deal with the public, I would say that you certainly do need online
> > marketing. Your competitors are enabling their customers to see samples
of
> > their work. If you don't have a site, get one.
> > If you do weddings, etc. I'd bet there are many local sites to promote
> with.
> > (I have a wedding site in my hometown and offer very cheap listings for
> > local photographers. And it works well for them. The site comes up first
> in
> > Google for the name of the town or the town name and state with wedding
> > photographers as the search term.)
> >
> > --
> > McWebber
> > No email replies read
> > If someone tells you to forward an email to all your friends
> > please forget that I'm your friend.
> >
> >
>
>

By the way, www.zuga.net has a nice
forum for the business side of photography.

Yi
--
www.shansoft.com

"Frederick Claus" <fjclaus@photographyspecialist.com> wrote in message
news:bh9bqu02tsq@enews4.newsguy.com...
>
> I have a web site, just not a very well put together one.

I would fix that right away. It's worth it, even if you buy a template, to
get a professional looking site online.

> Do you think doing
> work and donating cash and products to the local charities will help?

If a local charity is having an event, perhaps you could donate taking some
pictures at the event and giving them 4x5's later. You might even get some
reprint business from the individuals. Just make it clear to the charity
that the donation is to the charity, not to the individuals in the photos.
If you do too much for free, people can perceive you as not worth paying.
Often people remember those that cost more. "He was expensive, but good." As
opposed to, "I don't remember, it was free." Photographing events that the
local paper would normally cover can become a good side business. If the
organizer gets a few free pictures, perhaps you can have order forms there
for guests to purchase reprints. Especially if it's a dressy affair. People
love to get their picture taken when they're all dressed up.

You also might be able to trade with a local web designer who may need some
professional photography, especially if the designer has a local travel or
event/community calendar/guide site. Your photos, if you have some local
scenic photos, featured on that site with credit/links to your site could be
invaluable for getting new business.

> I had
> a window demonstration in my home a couple weeks ago. The first thing he
did
> was to show me thank you letters from many charities and local non-profit
> groups they have helped. Does that really mean anything?

It might mean something to some people to show they're community spiritied.
It also might mean, in the case of a retail product, that the product is so
overpriced so they can afford to give a lot of it away. Personally, I don't
do charity work in order to brag about it and use it as a sales tool.

>
> McWebber.. You mentioned you run a photography site in your town.

Actually it's a wedding guide site, and part of it lists local wedding
photographers. I'd be surprised if there wasn't one in your area. There are
also some national wedding guide sites that I believe offer inexpensive
listings. Just go to Google and search for your town name wedding
photographers and see what comes up.

> Another
> problem I have is getting weddings. I have many brides calling me for
> prices. When I give deliver my prices I never hear from them again. Now
> judging from the other photographers in my area, my prices are the lowest
I
> have seen. Is it my low prices that are not making them come back, or my
> presentation? They have never talked to me face to face, or viewed my
> portfolio, just seen my prices.

Maybe you shouldn't discuss actual prices over the phone and just give a
range. You can always make up some money after the event. Lots of
photographers will sell a basic package, and when the couple comes to get
the pictures, they have them in an "optional" album that is hard for them to
turn down. It's hard to say what other photographers are doing. A local DJ
service now subs out to a couple of photographers so they can offer both
photography and DJ service and offer the couple the opportunity to have
pictures on their web site. Maybe you need to network with some other
wedding related businesses. In most areas there are a few wedding planners
and caterers that have a big chunk of the business and really have a lot of
control over who ends up getting recommended. Some places I've seen
exclusive non-competing groups of wedding related businesses form and market
themselves as an A to Z complete source for the bride and groom. Everything
from bakers to travel agents for the honeymoon.

"Frederick Claus" <fjclaus@photographyspecialist.com> wrote in message
news:bh9bqu02tsq@enews4.newsguy.com...
> I have a web site, just not a very well put together one.

That is very true. Addressing the following issues won't win you any beauty
prizes, but will make it at least tolerable for your visitors.

The wedding photo on the front page is a nice idea, but it is very dark, at
least on my screen. I don't know if it's the day, the skill of the
photographer, the developing or what. I'd replace it with a more appealing,
sunny picture.

Why do you have a link to a direct competitor's web site that is much better
than your own? And that has no reciprocal link to you?

Why do you have a search box for the entire internet? If I want Google or
Yahoo, I'll go to Google or Yahoo. Get rid of it. Better yet, replace it
with one of the free "search my site" tools that Google and others offer.

Replace the drop down list with a standard, vertical text menu. It's very
annoying.

Move the "Now Accepting Visa and Mastercard" to the bottom of the page, or
get rid of it altogether. You had better take Visa & Mastercard. It's a
given.

Move your contact information to the top of the page under the logo. Add
your e-mail address to the contact info. Include your business hours.

Speaking of logos, the one with the lighthouse on the home page appeals to
me more than the ones on the subsequent pages.

At least make sure all the images that should show up do show up. I don't
see the picture for the dinner on
http://www.photographyspecialist.com/p_j.html.

If you did the original work for the site, it should be easy for you to make
these changes.

Thanks for the tips Rob. I will print this out and start working on
it. The light house logo is one I made up, but I would prefer to have
it with a transparent background. Just don't know how to do that.

The link to my direct competitor is my mentor. We live and work in a
small town and get a lot of referal business from each other. The only
reason she has not link to my page is because her hosting company will
not put it on there. She is in the process of moving her site. Her
site is what made me think mine was not all that good.

I like the idea of the links instead of the pull down box. I too feel
the pull down box is too much. I was thinking about trying to create
little text boxes on the side of each page that would have text links
to my other pages in them. Not sure how it would look, but I was going
to try. This way it was all on the page at once, but a little more
organized.

I will do what you suggested and let you all know when it is
completed.

The picture on the front was actually due to the poor quality scan job
I did. I have a portrait in my portfolio that I plan to put there
instead. Much nicer one and someone else scanned it so the colors are
much brighter.



"Rob Campbell" <rob.campbell@att.net> wrote in message
news:<bhb23902bnp@enews4.newsguy.com>...
> "Frederick Claus" <fjclaus@photographyspecialist.com> wrote in message
> news:bh9bqu02tsq@enews4.newsguy.com...
> > I have a web site, just not a very well put together one.
>
> That is very true. Addressing the following issues won't win you any beauty
> prizes, but will make it at least tolerable for your visitors.
>
> The wedding photo on the front page is a nice idea, but it is very dark, at
> least on my screen. I don't know if it's the day, the skill of the
> photographer, the developing or what. I'd replace it with a more appealing,
> sunny picture.
>
> Why do you have a link to a direct competitor's web site that is much better
> than your own? And that has no reciprocal link to you?
>
> Why do you have a search box for the entire internet? If I want Google or
> Yahoo, I'll go to Google or Yahoo. Get rid of it. Better yet, replace it
> with one of the free "search my site" tools that Google and others offer.
>
> Replace the drop down list with a standard, vertical text menu. It's very
> annoying.
>
> Move the "Now Accepting Visa and Mastercard" to the bottom of the page, or
> get rid of it altogether. You had better take Visa & Mastercard. It's a
> given.
>
> Move your contact information to the top of the page under the logo. Add
> your e-mail address to the contact info. Include your business hours.
>
> Speaking of logos, the one with the lighthouse on the home page appeals to
> me more than the ones on the subsequent pages.
>
> At least make sure all the images that should show up do show up. I don't
> see the picture for the dinner on
> http://www.photographyspecialist.com/p_j.html.
>
> If you did the original work for the site, it should be easy for you to make
> these changes.

"Frederick" <fjclaus@photographyspecialist.com> wrote in message
news:bhgpn7031g1@enews4.newsguy.com...
> The picture on the front was actually due to the poor quality scan job
> I did. I have a portrait in my portfolio that I plan to put there
> instead. Much nicer one and someone else scanned it so the colors are
> much brighter.

I figured it was something like that. The possibilities I listed in my
original post were what I figured might go through someone else's head.