Under The Bridge
Most photographers operate as small businesses, often as a sole-person company. As such, large advertising budgets are generally not possible. One of the easiest and most useful methods to help you promote your photography is through a newsletter. You need not even be operating a photography business to use newsletters to promote yourself – if all you want is a few blog or Flcikr comments on your work, then a newsletter can be useful as well.
Newsletters work best when they are sent on some kind of regular schedule. Monthly newsletters seem to be the most common, but some send them more frequently and others less. My newsletter, which you can sign up to in the box immediately under this, goes out once a month with the next issue set to be sent tomorrow.
These days, putting together a newsletter is child’s play. There are a number of companies that specialize in newsletter email marketing offering customisable templates, various statistics including trackable opens and clicks, mailing list management and more. These don’t cost a lot, and indeed if you have a small mailing list, they are often free. A couple of places to get started are Mail Chimp and Mad Mimi.
Nobody likes spam and newsletters do run the risk of getting trapped as spam. The good email marketing companies will have policies in place to prevent you spamming people. Things to look out for include opt in, privacy policies and unsubscribe options.
As a photographer, it’s tempting to include a lot of photos in a newsletter but this would be a mistake. Images take up a lot of space and people generally won’t open an email that takes forever to display. Keep your photographs small and easy to display by restricting the file size when you initially export the image file from Lightroom or Photoshop.
In time, you’ll start to build up a sizable list. Some people will choose to leave everyone in a single list whereas others will attempt to segment the list as much as possible. You may want to consider keeping a separate list for known clients for example.
When you start your newsletter, don’t expect tremendous results straight away. Like everything, it takes time for the momentum to build. Be prepared for the long haul and continue publishing the newsletter as defined by your set schedule, even if it appears to not be producing the results you hoped for. Of course, tweak it here and there to improve it, but don’t decide to give up after a couple of months if it hasn’t brought in extra business.
What you include in the newsletter is up to you. Possibilities may include exclude photographs, discount codes for prints, early bird pricing for workshops or portrait sessions, subscriber only tutorials, information on competitions and much more. Find out what your readers want and make it happen.
A newsletter can be a useful part of your long term marketing strategy as a photography business owner. If you haven’t already started one, take steps to do so today. And don’t forget to sign up to the Craig Ferguson Images newsletter.
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