Everywhere you look right now, there are reports of economic gloom and doom. Many of you may be wondering: "What is going to happen to my photography or illustration business if the economy keeps getting worse?"
Are there specific things you can do to market yourself in a down economy? There certainly are. In this article, I am going to talk about the increased importance of marketing yourself during challenging times, and will provide you with tips from some industry experts as to how you can fit marketing planning and implementation into your schedule. As well, over the next few months we will be providing several resources to make the job of branding yourself, and creating your marketing and promotional plans, much simpler!
Plan, plan, plan!
First and foremost, have a marketing plan! The truth is most entrepreneurial professionals in most industries do not have a marketing plan. We have been hard pressed to find artists who do have actual written-down marketing plans. Many artists are simply sending out ad hoc emails and the odd postcard, hoping to acquire new and strategically relevant clients as a result of minimal efforts.
The most common response we hear from artists when we ask why they aren't marketing themselves is "I don't have time to market" or "I am too busy working to market". What happens to these artists when they complete their assignments? They find themselves in a constant feast and famine situation. They get busy working on assignments and don't make time to market. Their assignments end, and they find themselves without work, so decide they had better send out an email or postcard to get some more work. Instead of having a steady flow of work they want, they have an erratic range of assignments, and often end up compromising on the job or the price because they need work. Sound familiar? Read on to see what some of our expert consultants have to say about how you can make time to plan and implement your marketing, enabling you to build your career, fulfill yourself artistically and reduce your level of stress.
And as Charles De Gaulle once said, "It is better to have a bad plan than no plan at all."
Industry Experts Have Their Say
Ilise Benun, co-founder of www.marketing-mentor.com and one of our new marketing consultant partners, says that even established artists need to spend at least 10-20% of their time on marketing planning and execution. "Organized marketing efforts will ensure that you are more efficient and waste less time in the year ahead. It will help you attract new clients and grow your business, all with a calendar that provides the structure you need," says Ilise in her "Start Anytime Plan" marketing plan calendar for creative veterans. When I spoke with Ilise on this topic, she told me that artists often think of marketing as this huge, horrible thing and are completely daunted by the task. She finds that creative entrepreneurs have the greatest success with their marketing planning and execution by breaking it down into small tasks and devoting an hour or less each day. She suggests that you book an appointment with yourself and treat it like a client job. In her experience, Ilise has found that: "Momentum is the key element of marketing success-you need to keep doing it consistently." She strongly recommends that you make yourself accountable to someone else to get your marketing homework done. It can be a consultant or a friend or a spouse-but having to report in to someone else on your progress will motivate you to do it!
Katherine Hennessy of kate & company, one of our marketing consultant partners, (www.kate-company.com) agrees. "Bottom line - artists have to develop some sort of a schedule for planning and execution, because if you don't, the marketing won't happen on a regular basis and then when things get slow, panic sets in. If you create an overall plan instead of waiting until the last minute, it is easier to tackle." Katherine suggests creating a calendar for the year (your promotional plan), in which you schedule your direct mail and email campaigns. She recommends Google's online calendar-"You can create areas for shooting, areas for direct marketing, areas for email marketing, follow-ups, out of the studio, etc. It can be color-coded and kept in a graphic way that seems to be easier for most creatives to relate to."
Jennifer Kilberg of FluidVision (www.fluidvisioninc.com), another marketing consultant recommended by ADBASE, wholeheartedly endorses using a calendar system for planning your annual marketing program and all associated details. "Build in all necessary production and design lead times with reminders as to when tasks need to be done. Make it a no-brainer." advises Jennifer.
The other common misconception she often sees is that results are expected from a single marketing campaign. When new clients are not forthcoming after one email, many artists become frustrated and abandon their marketing efforts. "Consistency is key" Jennifer emphasized, "It will generally take 6 months to a year of consistent marketing at an appropriate frequency to see meaningful results."
When I asked Jennifer for some tips to help keep artists on track with their marketing, she suggested seeking outside help with either marketing planning, or implementation, or both. For example, she recommended hiring an intern to help with a lot of the campaign execution details as a way to help alleviate the stress. If you can't afford to pay an intern, you can always offer studio space, computer time, retouching tips or business tips in exchange for their assistance. Alternatively, you can turn to a spouse, partner, studio manager, friend or consultant for help and advice. Her parting words-"Don't go it alone-look for outside help to make your marketing more effective. Do whatever you need to do to get consistency in your marketing efforts."
Carolyn Potts, (Carolyn Potts and Associates www.cpotts.com) another consultant featured on the ADBASE site, brought an interesting perspective to the discussion. Here's what she had to say: "The old adage 'If you fail to plan you're planning to fail' applies. What I often do, when I slip into thinking that I don't have time for marketing, is get out my list of marketing activities broken down into very specific (but very doable) micro-steps. For example, I set up mini goals like: Look up phone number of prospect X; add name to list of most desirable clients, make call; leave brief message on voicemail after hours with a targeted message and the date I'll call to follow up; etc. These mini-goals are far less intimidating in scope than 'get new account.' When I accomplish these mini-goals, even though they're small, they're tangible wins for me. Achieving goals builds self-confidence and momentum. To quote another old adage from Confucius: 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.'" More thoughts about the value of mini-goals can be found on one of her blog posts.
Jeff Fisher of Jeff Fisher Logomotives, was a speaker at the Creative Freelancer Conference that ADBASE sponsored and attended. In his presentation at the conference, Jeff revealed his secret for ensuring that he gets his marketing planning and execution done-every Friday is a "no-client contact day". We liked the fact that Jeff religiously dedicates a half-day each Friday to marketing. Check out his blog post here.
Hungry For More?
There are a number of online articles and blog posts on the topic of "Making Time for Marketing". The good news-you are not alone in this and there are lots of great ideas out there to help you integrate marketing planning and execution into your work day. Feel free to check out the following for inspiration:
- Duct Tape Marketing-a great marketing blog for small business has this post on the topic: http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/..
- Here's an interesting post at www.smallbusinessbranding.com
- There are a few interesting ideas and related concepts on this blog: http://wendy.kinesisinc.com/...
- There is an intriguing looking book (we haven't read it yet, only skimmed it) called Time Management for the Creative Person by Lee Silber (also a speaker at this year's Creative Freelancer Conference). There are some chapters I specifically about planning, and there appear to be many overall time management tips-after all its tagline is: "Right brain strategies for stopping procrastination, getting control of the clock and calendar, and freeing up your time and your life"
Is That Opportunity Knocking?
During an economic slowdown, many companies/entrepreneurs cut back on their marketing. Herein lies the opportunity for you! Now is your time to shine and stand out. Beefing up your marketing efforts while everyone else is cutting back will make you more visible. You don't need to spend a lot of money-you just need to be creative. Networking and public speaking are two examples of tactics where you can put yourself out there without incurring costs. Relationship building with prospective buyers is equally important as direct marketing. When scheduling your marketing activities, do not neglect alternative tactics as a valuable part of your marketing mix. Remember, your marketing will be more impactful and memorable when different forms of media and different channels are utilized.
Do what you need to do to overcome fears and time management issues. The rewards will far outweigh the time invested. Watch out for our upcoming webcast, "Your Marketing Plan: A How-To Guide". We will take you through each step in the planning process and help you create a personalized plan that can work for your business. As always, if you have any questions or comments please contact us at marketing@adbase.com