Marketing to Photograph the Class of 2018

Over the last decade or two some of the most dramatic changes in photography have been in the senior market.  The days of boring head shots with everybody looking the same are long gone. Today, a senior session is about capturing the personality of the subject. It's about having fun, communication and building a relationship with each senior.

Think about one amazing aspect of working with seniors - more than likely you're the first experience they've ever had on a one to one basis with a professional photographer. This is "seed planting" at its very best - because they're going to remember the session, and even better so will "Mom." A great senior photographer has the potential to build a strong word-of-mouth business and might even pick up additional work down the road.

I know using my own senior head shot is turning back the clock a little too far, but here's my point. It was just a photograph for the yearbook. My mother hated it and never bought any additional images. I didn't remember the photographer the next day, let alone years later. And, it wasn't an experience - he photographed another senior every ten minutes. We sat down and he grabbed 3-4 shots and yelled "Next!"

Marathon's 2018 Senior Promo is going on right now and this is when you need to think about this aspect of the business. At first glance some of you are going to think it's expensive, but remember this is for three different mailings!

• The first mailing is to create awareness
• Second, comes shaping the senior's comprehension of who you are and what you do.
• Third, is about conviction. This mailing is designed to convince seniors why your studio stands out from everybody else.

This a promotion involving three different mailings and there's even a fourth available at a reduced cost. It's $4.95 per three-piece promotion (only $1.65 per mailing) and it includes photo insertion, back copy and color changes, postage, list source, ZIP Code protection and mailing pieces.

​And, you've got a wide selection of design options to make each mailing unique.

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Many of you are in communities where you feel the senior market is completely "locked up" with one photographer who's been doing the seniors for a long time. While that's often true, there's a never-ending population of new seniors each year. While it might be tough to get in the door, unless you try, you'll never know what you might have accomplished. Remember, you don't need hundreds of seniors to create a revenue stream for your business.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!"
Wayne Gretzky

Looking to find out more about Marathon's 2018 Senior Promotion? Just click on either banner above!