Flying Solo as a Photographer? You Don't Have to Fly Alone!

by Skip Cohen

It's Marketing Monday, and as I think through what might be helpful to you, I'm stuck on finding something new... something I haven't written about before. So, with the clock ticking down to Mother's Day, it seems like the perfect time to remind you to stop thinking you have to do everything alone - STOP FLYING SOLO.

The upcoming Mother's Day is the perfect example, with so many different opportunities for partnerships to share the cost and expand your reach. With every partnership, you increase your reach and expand the potential for brand awareness for your business. 

Reach in marketing is the measurement of the size of the audience that has seen your ads or campaign content. Reach measures your actual audience, and marketing reach measures the potential customers a campaign could reach. (Google definition)

Potential Partnerships include florists, restaurants, gift shops, spas, travel agents, and salons, just to name a few. The concept is all about reciprocity - you're helping a partner expand their reach, and they're helping you. Even more extensive are the different ways you can promote each other's business.

Shared Marketing Costs: This couldn't be simpler. The concept is based on sharing the cost of a direct mail piece. With just two partners, you'll reduce your costs for design, production, and postage by two-thirds. The best example for Mother's Day is working together with a florist and a restaurant in the area specializing in a Mother's Day brunch. You're splitting the cost three ways!

Direct Cross-Promotion: You and the one or two partners could offer a bonus, either a discount or something extra when a consumer supports each of you with a purchase. I'm not a fan of discounting, but it's the easiest example: Purchase a special Mother's Day arrangement at the florist and receive __ off on a family portrait. Make an appointment for a portrait sitting and receive __ off an arrangement.

Advertising: Social media gives you an amazing opportunity to cross-link to each other's websites with banner ads—your link should be on each partner's website and their links on yours. Over the years, a number of photographers have created an area on their website listed as "Preferred Vendors."

Editorial: Each partnership has the potential to soft sell the relationship in blog content, as well as local editorial with a press release to the various publications and major influencers in the community. For example, if you were doing a blog post or short video, you'd expand recognition with a link to the partner/partners in the copy. It's a spin-off of Subliminal Man from SNL many years ago - except you're going to be soft-sell.

Here's my point - you snooze you lose! Stop thinking you have to do everything by yourself. Working with partners increases your exposure, each partner becomes an ambassador for the other companies involved, and you decrease costs! ​

“If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together."
Old African Proverb