Photography Marketing With Exhibits Is Extremely Effective Today!
Photography marketing is critical to your photo business success. If you market correctly, you prosper, because the photography industry is full of artistic people who don’t know much about marketing. (I didn’t know ANYTHING about marketing when I first got going in photography.)
So once you start marketing very smartly, using proven methods, you will grow and prosper extremely quickly.
My all time favorite photography marketing method is to get free exhibits all over my community where my target market shops, eats, goes to movies, has her hair done, etc.
Let me give you an example of how you get a free exhibit.
Here’s three important notes:
1. Do not call ahead. Just dress nicely, grab a couple of wall portraits in nice frames, and head to your first location where you want to get an exhibit.
2. Walk in and gently place your two framed wall portraits (16×20 to 24×30) up against … a wall where they will be in some light and look good when they person comes out to greet you.
3. You want to always talk in terms of how the location will BENEFIT – not what’s in it for you.
Let me give you an example. For this example, let’s use a restaurant.
Here’s the top 6 benefits to a restaurant for displaying your photographs on their walls:
Benefit #1: The beautifully framed images will add to the decor, and give the patrons something to look at in the restaurant as they wait to be seated. This puts them in a good mood, and they will be more likely to order more food, or wine, etc.
Benefit #2: You will be changing these images every month. So the restaurant looks fresh, and new and different every month. This is good for the patrons, and good for the staff.
Benefit #3: It gives your restaurant a “home town” look. It’s obvious you are involved in the local community, as these are images of local people. (By the way, I had one really upper scale restaurant in Grand Rapids which accepted my offer to put up images based solely on this point. So don’t overlook it.)
Benefit #4: You will be putting up, lets say, 10 photographs. So when you go back to the studio after putting up the display, you will be calling these 10 families, and letting them know their portrait or wedding image is proudly displayed in this restaurant.
Now, each of these 10 families will very likely come down to the restaurant to see the photograph, and they will buy lunch or dinner, too. And they won’t come alone. You see, this is an ego thing. They will bring some friends for lunch or dinner, so they can “show off” how their portrait is being displayed at the restaurant.
Benefit #5: Every person knows approximately 250 other people. So these 10 families are going to tell everyone they see and talk to that their portrait is being displayed at that restaurant. And their going to tell all their friends on FaceBook and Twitter, too. Again, it’s an ego thing. So, if each family only tells 20 other people, then that’s a total of 200 people who will be talking about the restaurant, and the owner didn’t have to lift a finger to get all this advertising – and it was free, too for the restaurant! (10 prints X 20 people told about the portrait on display = 200 people minimum.)
Benefit #6: Next month, this entire cycle repeats. You put up a different 10 images, and call them, and they come down for lunch or dinner, and tell all their friends……etc.
You get the idea. This is not nearly as difficult or scary as you think it is. Plus, the more you do this, the easier it becomes.
There’s a LOT more benefits you can point out to them, but what I just shared with you is EXACTLY how I sell my exhibits. I rarely need to go any further than what I just shared with you above.
All the best,
Charles Lewis
