1. BRANDING &
MARKETING
For Commercial Photographers
Bill Cramer/CEO

2. Promotion equals…
BRANDING
Create a memorable identity
for your photography
+
MARKETING
Introduce that identity
to appropriate clients

3. BRANDING

4. Branding
PHOTOGRAPHIC IDENTITY
GRAPHIC IDENTITY
Choose the right pictures
Design marketing materials
to show
to support those pictures
▹ Who you are, what you do, how you do it ▹ Consistent, intelligent and appropriate use
of type, color and graphics builds
▹ Specialties, style, audience
familiarity
▹ Not just about your “favorite” pictures
▹ Resonates with the right clients
▹ A good portfolio looks forward, not back
▹ Communicates your level of
▹ In a nutshell: this is what my pictures are professionalism
going to look like
▹ In a nutshell: this is what it’s going to be
like to work with me

5. Branding
PHOTOGRAPHIC
IDENTITY

6. What is my
photographic identity?

7. What you
like to do.

8. What you What you
like to do. are good
at doing.

9. What you What you
like to do. are good
at doing.
What the market
wants from you.

10. What you What you
like to do. are good
at doing.
What the market
wants from you.

11. PHOTOGRAPHIC
What you
like to do.
What you
are good
at doing.
IDENTITY
What the market
wants from you.

12. Generalist Specialist

13. Branding
GRAPHIC IDENTITY

14. Graphic
It’s the “look” of all your marketing materials:
Identity
Website
Blog / Social Media
Print Portfolio
Mailers / Leave Behinds
Stationery

15. WEBSITE
▹ Match URL to your company name— yourname.com or yournamephotography.com
▹ Consistent use of word mark (and/or logo), color, design
▹ Large images
▹ Logical sections with meaningful names
▹ Concise galleries < 30 images
▹ Don’t repeat pictures
▹ Intuitive navigation—show what gallery you are on, where you are in that gallery, make it
easy to move forward and back
▹ No music, no elaborate intros, no splash page, no water marks, no “recent work” section
▹ Mobile device friendly

16. WEBSITE
▹ Contact page with contact info and location (no forms to fill out)
▹ About page with short bio and picture of you
▹ Link to blog and social media
▹ If images can be dragged off your site, include metadata with your copyright & contact info
▹ Check spelling, punctuation, grammar
▹ Make sure copyright notice is current
▹ Update photos regularly

17. BLOG/SOCIAL MEDIA
▹ Coordinate with (but don’t duplicate) the look of your main website
▹ What audience are you trying to reach (clients or other photographers)?
▹ Write about recent projects, your creative process
▹ Keep it fun and informative, but always professional (not personal or political)

18. PRINT PORTFOLIO
▹ Still important for big jobs
▹ Makes a great conversation piece for face to face meetings
▹ Make it visually consistent with your website, but not a printed version of it
▹ Include your logo/word mark, contact information
▹ Pick materials that suit your pictures and your audience
▹ Update it regularly
▹ Print portfolio vs. iPad

19. MAILERS/LEAVE BEHINDS
Most are ignored,
so do what you can
to stand out
▹ E-Mailers
▹ Print Mailers
▹ Post cards
▹ Accordions
▹ Booklets

20. MAILERS/LEAVE BEHINDS
Most are ignored,
so do what you can
to stand out
▹ E-Mailers
▹ Print Mailers
▹ Post cards
▹ Accordions
▹ Booklets

21. MAILERS/LEAVE BEHINDS
Most are ignored,
so do what you can
to stand out
▹ E-Mailers
▹ Print Mailers
▹ Post cards
▹ Accordions
▹ Booklets

22. MAILERS/LEAVE BEHINDS
Most are ignored,
so do what you can
to stand out
▹ E-Mailers
▹ Print Mailers
▹ Post cards
▹ Accordions
▹ Booklets

23. MAILERS/LEAVE BEHINDS
Most are ignored,
so do what you can
to stand out
▹ E-Mailers
▹ Print Mailers
▹ Post cards
▹ Accordions
▹ Booklets

24. MAILERS/LEAVE BEHINDS
Most are ignored,
so do what you can
to stand out
▹ E-Mailers
▹ Print Mailers
▹ Post cards
▹ Accordions
▹ Booklets

25. STATIONERY
▹ Same look as your other marketing materials
▹ Design is important, but function comes first
▹ Business Card
▹ Letterhead
▹ #10 Envelope
▹ Crack-N-Peel Label

26. Branding
THE LITTLE THINGS

27. THE LITTLE THINGS
▹ What’s your email address? Should match your url (no gmail)
▹ What do your emails look like? Normal sized (black or dark gray) text
▹ Do you have a proper email signature?
▹ What do your estimates look like? Treatments when appropriate
▹ How do you answer the phone? What does your outgoing message say?
▹ How do you dress?
▹ Are you responsive to emails and phone calls?
▹ Are you nice? Are you easy to work with?
▹ Do you know how to act on a creative call?
▹ Do you send thank you notes to your clients after a big job?
▹ Personality counts for a lot!
▹ Everything you do, say and create is part of your brand

28. Case study
Mark Katzman
Lifestyle, St. Louis

55. MARKETING

56. Promotion equals…
BRANDING
Create a memorable identity
for your photography
+
MARKETING
Introduce that identity
to appropriate clients

57. Marketing
PASSIVE MARKETING
ACTIVE MARKETING
Make it easy for clients
Seek out clients who are
to find you
right for you
▹ There are a lot of clients out there that you ▹ Take charge of your career path
don’t know exist ▹ Get where you want to go
▹ You never know who might relate to your
work

58. Marketing
PASSIVE
MARKETING

59. Passive Website
Blog
Marketing
Social Media
Online Photographer Directories
Printed Source Books
Ads
Picture Agencies
Reps
Editorial Credits
Contests
News Releases
SEO, SEM

60. WEBSITE
▹ The only absolutely essential marketing tool
▹ Centerpiece of every photographer’s promotional efforts
▹ Your other marketing tools should drive viewers here

61. BLOG
▹ Reveals your personality, allows clients get to know you
▹ Helps with SEO

62. SOCIAL MEDIA

67. ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHER DIRECTORIES

68. PRINTED SOURCE BOOKS

69. ADS

70. PICTURE AGENCIES

71. REPS

72. EDITORIAL CREDITS

73. CONTESTS

74. NEWS RELEASES

75. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

79. SEO TIPS
▹ Avoid Flash (unless you have an HTML ghost site behind it)
▹ Tag your photos so search engines can recognize them
▹ Example: Portrait Photographer Philadelphia, PA Bill Cramer Photography
▹ Link to other relevant sites and have relevant sites link to you
▹ A blog is a great place to include lots of relevant text that search engines look for

80. SEM (Search Engine Marketing)

81. Marketing
ACTIVE
MARKETING

82. Active Research
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Marketing
Prospect Contact Lists
Email Broadcasting Services
Mass E-mailers / Print Mailers
Individual Emails / Print Mailers
Phone Calls
Portfolio Meetings
Industry Events

83. RESEARCH
▹ Ad Agencies ▹ Record Companies
▹ Magazines ▹ Fashion, cosmetics
▹ Corporations ▹ Media Companies
▹ Graphic Design Firms ▹ Architects
▹ Non-Profits ▹ Department Stores
▹ Book Publishers ▹ Institutions, schools, hospitals*

84. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT (CRM)

85. PROSPECT CONTACT LISTS
▹ Agency Access, Creative Access, File FX
▹ Find and target the right clients for you
▹ Build a list of fewer than 1000 prospects
▹ Refine it over time

86. EMAIL BROADCASTING SERVICES

87. MASS E-MAILERS/PRINT MAILERS
▹ Spray and pray?
▹ Limit your list to relevant prospects (don’t add to the noise)
▹ Use catchy subject lines, but don’t try to fake people out

88. INDIVIDUAL EMAILS/PRINT MAILERS
▹ Personalize each email by drawing a connection between what you’re offering and the
needs of that particular client
▹ Much more time consuming than mass emails, but can be more effective too

89. PHONE CALLS
▹ Have a purpose
▹ Get a meeting
▹ Pitch a project
▹ Send some emailers or print mailers first to build familiarity
▹ Create a script so you know what you’re going to say
▹ Research the client before you call so you know that you’re relevant to them

90. PORTFOLIO MEETINGS
▹ Meet with clients who are
most important to you (and
the best match for you)
▹ Clients are generally
interested in meeting with
photographers who are
relevant to their needs

91. INDUSTRY EVENTS
▹ Speed-Dating (pay-to-play) style
portfolio reviews
▹ Art Directors Club and other
associations are opportunities to
meet clients

92. Marketing
WORD OF MOUTH /
NETWORKING /
CHANCE MEETINGS

93. You can’t do it all.

94. Shoot
pictures
Show marketing Integrate them into
materials to clients your marketing materials

95. RESULTS

96. Results
WHAT’S ALL THIS
TRYING TO
ACCOMPLISH?

97. For the photographer:
work with clients who
are right for you.

98. For the creative:
build a level of comfort so
that they’re willing to take
a chance on you.

99. More
Resources
Go to our blog and navigate to How We Help Photographers Resources
Expert Advice Articles
Go to our blog and type in “Expert Advice:” into the search field
Print iPad Portfolios
Go to our blog and scroll down to YouTube Videos

100. Questions?

101. Thank you!
(The End)