Holiday Cards: One of Your Greatest Marketing Tools

Madrid, NM is a vibrant little artist colony and their mailboxes show it!

by Skip Cohen

It's Marketing Monday, and I've written about this dozens of times over the years, but holiday cards are one of the best ways to promote your business and your skill set. Plus, the timing couldn't be better to put your card together right now.

Let's start with the obvious - holiday time is your chance to remind your target audience what you do for a living. And since a picture's worth a thousand words, a holiday card with one of your photographs speaks volumes!
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• Design a card using one of your images.
• Pre-print a holiday message on the inside, but for particular clients and influencers in the community, you should always include a handwritten message.
• On the back of the card, like Hallmark, include your name and contact information, along with your logo if you have one.

Next is putting together your database for the mailing:

1. All of your past clients, and there's no such thing as going too far back.
2. All the vendors you might have worked with over the last year or two. As a wedding photographer; that might mean wedding planners, venues, limo companies, and florists.  As a children's photographer, it could mean local groups you've worked with, the president of the PTA, the local children's store in town, etc. 
3. Business associates and other vendors in your community.  Here's where the card is a reminder you're in business and a "neighbor".   Don't forget the presidents of groups like Kiwanis, Exchange Club, and Rotary, to name a few.  Then there's the mayor's office, the Chamber of Commerce, etc.
4. Buy a list!  This might be the year to test 250 or more names pulled within a zip code range for your area.  Remember, when purchasing a list, you can pull by lifestyle categories.  A children's photographer would want to pull from a database of new parents, summer camp prospects, parents of elementary school kids, etc.  A wedding photographer would want new engagements.  A commercial shooter would want to mail every business within a geographical area.
5. Last but not least, don't forget your friends, neighbors, and associates.  There's nothing wrong with mailing your competitors.  There are only so many days a year to shoot.  Sooner or later, you'll be booked and need to refer business to another photographer, but you need to build those relationships.

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Here's the bottom line - NO PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER SHOULD EVER USE A STORE-BOUGHT HOLIDAY CARD! Take the time to show your skill set and remind your target audience that you walk the talk.

Holiday Cards to Offer Your Clients

Next, bring that same creativity into your relationships with clients. Help them create a holiday card that captures their spirit through the holidays. And remember, as Beverly and Tim Walden always remind us, it's not just about a great finished product, but the experience of working with you!

Plus, this time of year, it's another revenue stream, giving you the chance to take full advantage of December seasonality. But it starts with you planting the seed. Remember, here's a twist to what you can add to family portrait sessions. It's also a perfect topic for blog/social media content! So start reminding your readers NOW!

And yes, this is a mini-infomercial, but with so much impact on your profitability - Marathon launches a special promotion on holiday cards every year!  Here's the link to check for the latest promotion when it's announced. And if you're looking for outstanding ideas to boost your holiday revenue, check out Marathon's Bella Albums. The Bella line is stunning, but you need samples to show your clients. Again, it's all just a click away on the banner below.​

Now, here's the tricky part...you've got to let your target audience know what's available. And, if you're sending out your own holiday cards, you've got to mail them!  (Sorry, it's hard to avoid a little sarcasm when some of you procrastinate like this!)  Seriously, a project like this won't do any good if you procrastinate through the key benchmarks and miss the opportunity!

​Best of all, you've got a whole team at Marathon to help with personal cards and client cards. NOW is the time to be putting your plans together...but you snooze, you lose! Your own extended marketing department is just a phone call away.

If you need help with any Marathon products, call (800) 228.0629 to speak with a Marathon Representative. Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm CST.