How to Market Yourself

Break Into the Photography Market With These Easy Steps

By Betsy Haas, Business Consultant

In my business life I found the bigger I dream and pursue those dreams, the more comes true.  One of the biggest lessons I have learned is ‘You have not because you ask not’.  I am surprised how many people are willing to help if you ask politely. 

1.  Create a wish list of types of businesses you can peruse.  Don't be timid in this area.  This is your foundation.  This creates your list of prospects. 

Try to visualize the whole picture of what you would like your photography business to look like. How would you like it to fit into your life? How much money do you want to make?  Dream Big!

Now, from your wish list, create a list of types of businesses you think may have interest your art then Google them.

Example: Retail Artwork (those who like to create calendars for sale in specialty shops, etc.), Interior Designers (specializing in the Southwest, Mountain Photos, Nature, whatever your genre), Art Galleries….Dream Big! I can’t say that enough.

2. Research:  As you Google this list, review each business and choose what appeals to you, or those you feel your work will appeal to.  Make sure you have the company name, address, phone number, contact name.  If there is an owner, manager and email address listed, use that information.  You should find the address and phone number under ‘Contact Us’ or at the bottom of the web site.

Contact names take more time, but are important.  Look around the web site.  If they have a name under ‘Contact Us’ that is a good place to start. But there is often no name listed.

Look around the web site for articles or newsletters.  Read them for names and titles of a director or VP.  Don’t be timid about calling.  When you do call someone at this level, it may take many attempts before you reach them, or you may reach their assistant. 

Tell them what you are looking for and they will either let you know if there is any interest or give you the name of the person who manages that area.  Be bold -- ask for the manager’s direct number.  Then when you call a manager, tell them you were referred to him by the VP.  This is called top down selling.  

I used this technique to call Disneyland.  I read an article about their plans to expand business, with needs in my industry.  The article quoted one of their VPs.  I called and got his assistant.  She asked me to email my information.  Within a few days, the President of Global Retail called to discuss his needs.  I was able to explain in further detail how we may assist.

Other methods for contact research are Google Finance and Yahoo Finance.  On the Google home page there is a More link.  Click More, then click Finance and type in the business name.  This will provide a big picture of this business.  The same method applies to Yahoo.com.

These steps will take you a long way toward finding the right person to talk to, and may take several days.  Don’t let yourself get fried. When you tire, take a few days break and come back to it fresh.

3.  Prepare Info for your List:  When your list, with contact info, is complete, start thinking about what kind of information you will send to your prospect, i.e. media kit, resume, brochure, etc. Make sure you have them in both hard copy and electronic version to send both email and snail mail.

And don’t let titles like resume and media kit scare you.  This is simply a tool to provide more information to anyone who shows interest.

When you make that call, or write that email, your opening statement is vital. You need to explain who your are and why you are calling/mailing/emailing.  Make sure you are brief and clear with this message.  This makes the difference in how far you get in talking to the people you reach.

Best of luck to each of you as you begin the Sales/Marketing process to advance your artistic careers.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Betsy.haas1@gmail.com