the most successful advertising

[flame70]

Apart from word of mouth what have fellow AP's found to be their most succesful form of advertising and their worst.

[kiwi]

I'm not that driven by advertising

But, to state the obvious, word of mouth
I've also dabbled with google ads and got a few jobs via that

Nothing else for me.

[ProPho]

Word of mouth is by far the best advertising but I've found social media can also be very useful.

[Sobriquet]

I have had some sucess with print advertising in wedding magazines, working on my SEO and facebook, google some leads from letterbox drops through the post office as well (this was pretty cost effective as I live in the country and can do a whole villiage for <$40). Walking around delivering to letter boxes would be good exercise! I would like to know what people think of internet bridal planning sites like easy weddings, I haven't use them as they don't cover my region with any kind of filtering and I don't want to work Sydney - unless they really work.

[JM Tran]

after word of mouth from past clients, for me it would be networking with your peers and people in your field of interests, I have gotten plenty of work in Aus and in Asia and Europe simply by talking to those working in the fields of fashion and weddings. Your mouth and ability to communicate is what sells you at first impression, your actual portfolio comes after.

[eddyno1]

I agree with JM Tran even though im new to the photography industry ive been taking shots ever since i could hold a camera, and now my photos just come from friends and family just spreading the word. Also you show your clients your keen to learn off every shot you take, that's advertising for itself.

[Dan Cripps]

Word of mouth is by far the best advertising but I've found social media can also be very useful.

Word of mouth is probably the least effective long term marketing strategy.

[junqbox]

Depends what you're advertising and what level you want to be remunerated.
Word of mouth is fine, but as Zeke says, if you need to be billing $X per day, this is unlikely to feed it.
Best bet is to seriously think about the $X per day amount, what sort of customers are going to provide that level of billing. Then start learning about their habits and where they are looking for various things, in your case photography, then work out a strategy for how you're going to get yourself in front of them. If you want high paying customers, you're less likley to find them in the local newspaper, they're looking for a more premium focused product and that's where they'll look, and so forth.

[mcmahong]

I've had a fair bit of luck through some freelance websites. But doing mostly children's portraits, word-of-mouth has been best for me. Mothers tend to show off their photos to their Mother's group friends, and then the friends want to keep up with the Jones's. From one job, and the referrals upon referrals I got from that job, I accumulated 14 clients without a single cent spent on advertising. Just depends on your target market, I guess.

[JM Tran]

Word of mouth is probably the least effective long term marketing strategy.

depends on your focus and what you do for photography.

[ozbodz]

Word of mouth has worked best for me. Sometimes you need to take a direct approach too, when you see an opportunity. The worst response you can get is "no", which is better than never trying. :-)

[Redgum]

The best advertising is your work and your attitude toward it. Wins every time. Word of mouth is fine but little use if your work is wanting and you develop a poor attitude (even for the most experienced).

[Dan Cripps]

depends on your focus and what you do for photography.

I disagree. An intangible, unmeasurable and uncontrollable marketing method is not an effective long term option.

It's a nice buzzword, but it should really be the cherry on the top of your marketing efforts, not the cake.

[JM Tran]

I disagree. An intangible, unmeasurable and uncontrollable marketing method is not an effective long term option.

It's a nice buzzword, but it should really be the cherry on the top of your marketing efforts, not the cake.

Once again, I'll repeat what I have written - it really depends on your focus and clientele in photography.

Do you see ppl like Steven Miesel or Tim Walker or even Liebovitz doing any form of advertising/mass marketing right now or even when they were starting out? Not really, because that particular field of high end fashion and editorial work is more to do with networking and word of mouth to get somewhere. I scored the gigs for George Gross/Harry Who label in Aus and Armoire in Singapore not by placing ads online or in magazines, or door-dropping pamphlets but simply by word of mouth. This is an area I would like to focus further in and you will not be seeing me NEEDING to do marketing in a conventional manner to get more gigs.

That is one of my major focus and it works for me very effectively and for the aforementioned ppl and others too. It is not a business model I recommend to anyone as it cannot be APPLIED to anyone, especially if it is not one of your sole focus in photography.

So if placings ads, cold-calling, door-dropping pamphlets, running a booth at wedding expos or shopping centres, ads on TV etc works for you - then thats great because it works for your field of photography. For my side - magazine editors, creative directors of modeling agencies, fashion designers dont really look at those methods of marketing to find the photographer to record their artistic directions.

Do you get what I am trying to say? Family portraits, weddings and pet photography etc may need conventional marketing, but for some others it cannot be applied to in their respective fields of photography and clientele.

[milesy]

Once again, I'll repeat what I have written - it really depends on your focus and clientele in photography.

Do you see ppl like Steven Miesel or Tim Walker or even Liebovitz doing any form of advertising/mass marketing right now or even when they were starting out? Not really, because that particular field of high end fashion and editorial work is more to do with networking and word of mouth to get somewhere. I scored the gigs for George Gross/Harry Who label in Aus and Armoire in Singapore not by placing ads online or in magazines, or door-dropping pamphlets but simply by word of mouth. This is an area I would like to focus further in and you will not be seeing me NEEDING to do marketing in a conventional manner to get more gigs.

That is one of my major focus and it works for me very effectively and for the aforementioned ppl and others too. It is not a business model I recommend to anyone as it cannot be APPLIED to anyone, especially if it is not one of your sole focus in photography.

So if placings ads, cold-calling, door-dropping pamphlets, running a booth at wedding expos or shopping centres, ads on TV etc works for you - then thats great because it works for your field of photography. For my side - magazine editors, creative directors of modeling agencies, fashion designers dont really look at those methods of marketing to find the photographer to record their artistic directions.

Do you get what I am trying to say? Family portraits, weddings and pet photography etc may need conventional marketing, but for some others it cannot be applied to in their respective fields of photography and clientele.

i think your probably right here that many of the well known people do not need to advertise - but they got very good doing their thing somewhere else - most likely in a paid role before word of mouth spread.

[Dan Cripps]

Contacts and networking do not generally fall into the 'word of mouth' marketing that most photographers preach.

Johnny Depp does not advertise for movies to act in, but that doesn't mean his career is based on word of mouth. He's a proven performer with a ridiculously high profile network of friends and associates.

Comparing our business models with the elite or famous isn't particularly relevant.

[JM Tran]

Contacts and networking do not generally fall into the 'word of mouth' marketing that most photographers preach.

Johnny Depp does not advertise for movies to act in, but that doesn't mean his career is based on word of mouth. He's a proven performer with a ridiculously high profile network of friends and associates.

Comparing our business models with the elite or famous isn't particularly relevant.

Sorry but I disagree, word of mouth - back when I was studying Commerce - is such a vast and generalized term which also encompass networking and making contacts with ppl, how? By usually talking to someone or a group of people and the word gets passed around, if that is not word of mouth I dont know what is? The best type of networking is done face to face and to sell oneself via your mouth before even showing your portfolio.

Those elite photographers were once normal professionals like I am too, but if you knew their histories they did not fall into the conventional marketing methods I stated before, the conventional means that the usual/typical photographer goes through. I too do not have business cards nor a functioning website - as I prefer linking my clients to published stuff via websites or print publications. Do I need those conventional methods for my line of work? Not really as there is no need to, and editors and creative directors know how to find me without trying to find my ad on some website or through magazines. Once again, does it work for everyone? Nope, depending on your field of photography, as I will state for the 5th time.

Lets not bring Mr Depp into this as you really cannot compare Acting to being a professional photographer, vastly different ends of the spectrum in terms of garnering work. As I also dabbled in acting before I turned to photography as a job....

[William W]

I know a lot of professional photographers who are a delight to watch as they "act": and they are very good actors and they play to the audience, very well: and that skill is also part of their business model.

Depp and acting generally: are certainly NOT tenuous links.

WW

[JM Tran]

Depp and acting generally: are certainly NOT tenuous links.

Of course, I and certainly other professional photographers can and do put on a show at meetings or at work for the sake of the client at hand.

But I was referring to the ways an actor and a professional photographer go about getting gigs and getting out there, ie. the marketing side of things.

from my experience, we go to auditions and castings and do some monologues and stuff before getting a job. Get represented by a few agencies and agents who represent you. Now - certain high end photographers have this capability too but they are 1 in 10 million compared to a much higher ratio of aspiring and professional, full time actors. Unfortunately photographers dont really get a chance to go to auditions to get a job - thus gaining experience for one's portfolio is much harder to come by for long term advancement. I and as expected of other professionals - can act, lead and command a room to do what I tell them to, but that is a form of communications and leadership skills - rather than merely 'acting' and playing to the audience - as I certainly have met my share of theatrical photographers.

So really, in your comment - everyone 'acts' in their workplace - even down to tradies such as a plumber in order to market themselves to prospective clients. But really, lets not confuse that with proper communications and leadership and initiative traits - something that is a prerequisite for a photographer, not 'acting'.

[William W]

But I was referring to the ways an actor and a professional photographer go about getting gigs and getting out there, ie. the marketing side of things.

And so was I.

WW