How Often Should You Promote?

This year alone there will be at least a thousand new titles about photography and there will be approximately half a dozen new books on the photography business. Since the start of the new millennium, there has been only been 45 new books on the business of photography. I will have to say that the very best is: "Successful Self-Promotion for Photographers" from Elyse Weissberg. I already wrote about "Successful Self-Promotion for Photographers" in my article: Getting The Appointment

I'd like to quote another anecdote from the "Successful Self-Promotion for Photographers" book.

Send frequent postcard mailings — once a month, if you can manage it. As each card arrives, it reminds your potential client that you are available for an assignment. In fact, the card is better than a voice message — the client sees your name and an image as a reminder of your style.

One photographer I represented tried that approach. He had never promoted himself before, so the art directors were not familiar with his name or his work. He sent out postcard images every month in what began as a lesson in patience. The phone didn't ring until the eighth month, but then it didn't stop ringing and he secured many jobs. Some months later, the photographer stopped sending cards because he was too busy shooting to keep his direct-mail campaign. Guess what happened? The calls stopped coming. To this day he continues to send monthly cards. He doesn't have to "follow up" anyone as long as he keeps sending the postcards

I have done this, and this lack of continuity in self-promotion has hurt me, actually quite hard.

Who is this for?

This book is targeted toward photographers who want to break-in or grow their editorial, magazine, advertising, corporate work. It's not specifically geared toward retail such as weddings, babies…

Many of the self promotions techniques can be adapted easily to your own circumstances. If I gave stars on a scale of 1 to 5, I would give "Successful Self-Promotion for Photographers" 6 stars. That's how good it is. My book is full of stickies and highlights and I have read this book 3 times so far. It's the best $20 to $30 that you will spend on your business. You can read it, and create your own marketing plan based on that book.

The Amazon link is: Successful Self-Promotion for Photographers by Elyse Weissberg. I am not an Amazon affiliate, so I will get a big fat $0 in commission if you buy this book.