[by Rosh Sillars]
Google has an excellent resource to help support your business called http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/insights. It contains insights, trends, research and statistics from Google and recommended resources photographers can use for marketing.
Rosh Sillars is the author of www.onehourphotographer.com
[by Colleen Wainwright]
It’s not news. In fact, it pre-dates most of today’s popular marketing vehicles. But that’s the point: in an era when we’re deleting the cruft from our email inboxes and social media streams faster than you can say “kudzu”, a hand-written, hand-addressed note cuts through the clutter like a hot knife through butter.
Even better? Taking the time to personalize it further — with a sketch or an enclosure or the addressee’s name in fancy (or dramatic, or cartoony) lettering on the envelope. The harder your message is to throw away, the longer it will stick around reminding them of you.
Colleen Wainwright is a fan of hand-written notes, embellished envelopes, and other tangible pieces of awesome, some of which she features in her ASMP seminar on non-sucky marketing.
[by Kimberly Blom-Roemer]
Are you avoiding marketing as though it was a trip to the dentist? There is a way to change that behavior: ANNOY YOURSELF!
First, in December not only do I review my marketing activities for the previous year, I schedule the whole next year.
For example, based on my review, I decide on how often to send postcards during the next year. From there, I work backwards with my milestones. One week for production and shipment to me (or for the printer to ship direct), two weeks before that to design and finalize my postcard (if I don’t already have it ready) to go to production. For my eNewsletter, three business days to write, format, and upload it before it is scheduled to go out. Etc., etc., etc.
Each one of these milestones goes into iCal, (but here’s where you really keep yourself on track) with MULTIPLE REMINDERS. This ensures I give myself plenty of time to complete the milestone in order to keep my marketing schedule in place.
Yes, my iPhone is constantly buzzing with one reminder or another, to the point my husband was thinking I was having a text message conversation with someone. But, by annoying myself, I keep that task in the forefront of my mind, and I get it done on time.
Oh, and it makes sure I don’t miss birthdays either!
Kimberly Blom-Roemer is an architectural photographer based along the Gulf Coast. As she has stated before, she would completely lose her mind (literally) if she were to lose her iPhone because it is the center of her business universe.
