The right way to sell photos
Do you want to improve your photo sales? Here are seven marketing mistakes to avoid.
“Why do I see other photos posted —
Mine are better though?”
My cousin in Texas told me she wanted to get into stock photography and hoped to start selling to magazine and book publishers. When I visited her a couple of years ago, she put out an album of hers of her travel and outdoor photographs of her. “People have told me that these photos are as good as the ones they see published in magazines and books. What do you think?”
“Before looking at the photos, let me see your marketing methods,” I said.
“My what?”
If you’re interested in seeing your credit line in national magazines and books, and can produce great images, the following will help.
We all know that trying to sell great umbrellas on a dry day is tough. Even the inferior ones will sell out during a downpour.
The engine that drives the selling process for stock photographers is fueled by effective marketing methods.
Over the years, I’ve looked at dozens of collections of gorgeous photographs gathering dust in a shoebox. One important element stood between the publication of those images and their remaining in the shoebox: clever marketing techniques.
I have noticed that the photographers who are successful selling in the book and magazine industry are those who have developed a sales strategy, what we now call marketing.
We’ve heard of the photographer who hit the jackpot by selling a photo for use in a billboard or ad campaign. This is rare. Your best bet for getting into the stock photography field is the book and magazine industry.
The photography budget of a medium publisher ranges from $20,000 to $40,000 per month. For a major publisher, it’s double that amount. Stock photographers who are consistent in selling their photos have learned to identify certain markets that coincide with their own areas of interest. Once they become “regulars” at the publisher, they receive a constant stream of photo requests and assignments.
Do you want to improve your marketing methods? Here are seven marketing mistakes to avoid.
CREATE FIRST THEN FIND A MARKET
Number one is probably the most repeated marketing mistake. Creative people tend to produce their product first and then try to find a market for it. This is a recipe for disaster. The boulevard of broken dreams is full of bodies of creative people who never learned: “First find the market and then create for that market.”
Most entry-level stock photographers fail because they go after the “photos that sell,” not necessarily the ones that love photography.
SPECIALIZE
When you try to be all things to all people in publishing, the reaction of the photo buyer is, “No one can be that good!” Discover your photographic strengths and go for them. Most entry level stock photographers are going to have the whole cake rather than part of the cake.
Become a specialist. don’t photograph everything you see. you will burn Stay within a “segment” and become an expert in your area(s) of interest. Learn to speak the language of your areas of interest. You will become a valuable resource for a certain group of photo buyers. If the wild horses cannot keep you from your goals, you will succeed. You will fail or get bored if you target only those markets that ‘pay well’.
BY SOUL IT IS NOT SOLD
Writers rarely publish their poetry and even more rarely do they get paid for it. In the field of stock photography, don’t expect your ‘artistic’ images to sell. Consider them your poetry. Ask yourself the next time you’re taking (taking) a photo, “Is this for sale or for the soul?”
Spend Sundays taking photos that feed your soul, take marketable photos during the week to feed the family.
WHAT PASSES THROUGH
Give the appearance that you are a ‘permanent’ resident. Most creative people tend to change their direction once every five or six years. Photography buyers have a tendency to shy away from the bum, the bums, no matter how talented they may be. Buying photos is a business and they want you to be professional in your dealings with them, and that means being ‘reachable’ five days before the deadline. Get an email address and stick with it.
LOOKING LIKE A BEGINNER
If you appear to be ‘just starting out’, photo buyers will overlook you. They don’t have time to hold your hand or “train” you. They prefer to spend their time with someone who has no problems. You must give the appearance of looking like a professional. Build a quality website. Corresponds to quality stationery, labels and envelopes. The photo buyer will put you on their “white list.”
Do not use the Internet to send a catalog of your images to a potential publisher. Instead, ask permission first.
TECHNICAL FAILURES
The automatic controls in today’s digital cameras make it nearly impossible not to get a technically good photo. Photo buyers expect technical excellence from you. No matter how great your image is, if it doesn’t meet the reproduction quality for the publishing industry, you will fail.
A 1D meg image may be sufficient resolution for the magazine and book markets, however a 50 meg image is often the minimum requirement for many of their markets. Use this as a guide when shopping for your next camera.
NO HOMEWORK
Do your homework. Learn what your strengths are, and then start shooting in the areas you love the most, where you “speak the language” of the photo buyer. Do your homework on the web or at the reference library. You will find dozens of powerful directories waiting for you, as well as photobuyers who, at this moment, are looking for your talent and know-how. They will recognize your mini-experience that matches the special interest of your magazine or publisher’s audience.