STOCK PHOTO
NEWS no. 10
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The first Modern eZine combining Stock Photography and Marketing
October 2001
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CONTENT
* From the Editor
* What is the actual trend in Stock photography?
* Guest article: What clients really want
- by Maria Piscopo
* Do you need more subscribers for your newsletter ?
* Learn from free marketing courses
* Guest article: Marketing When Sales Are Slow
- by Dr. Nunley
* More about the digital workflow
You find the web-based edition of this issue at
http://www.azfotos.com/STOCKPHOTONEWS/stockphotonewsoct01.html
The latest earlier edition
of the Stock Photo News.
........................................................
FROM
THE EDITOR
Economy
of most kinds of business is slowing down. The World
is not running as smooth as most of us were getting used to.
The solution
is: sharpen your focus on spending, marketing
and quality of your products and service.
This
issue of Stock Photo News should help you doing this,
whatever you are a picture user or picture producer.
Enjoy
reading!
Soren
Breiting
A-Z FOTOS,
www.azFotos.com
" Find Stock Photos from most of the World"
Comments, tips and relevant articles are appreciated,
please email me at sb@TAKEAWAYazfotos.com
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send YOUR FRIENDS an email by a click on Recommend-It
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........................................................
WHAT IS THE ACTUAL TREND IN STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY ?
How to
be trendy and "hit the nail" at the right moment,
when selecting pictures? Or - how to shoot your stock photos
with a cutting edge atmosphere?
You have your own gut feeling for what is in for the moment.
And you get a lot of information and inspiration from
what you actually see published in the media. But how to
KNOW what is trendy?
Not many of us have the resources to hire researchers to
do systematic research about fashion trends and trend setting
big events and their imaging implications for people and
specific target groups.
Now,
we have access to an easy tool and all of us can skim
the cream of others research.
According to Getty Images CEO and co-founder Jonathan Klein,
Getty is doing that kind of research. Professional researchers
investigate demographics and trends in high-end advertising.
They requirements sales data, website searches, and customer
requests to find out what images are in demand and what are
actually selling.
All findings are combined to be used for giving requirements
to the production of new stock pictures for the huge picture
provider, which is the worlds biggest conglomerate of picture
resources.
Read the full story here:
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,45399,00.html
So, how
to learn from the research of Getty? It is simple,
according to Rohn Engh, director of PhotoSource International,
we can just do window shopping at Getty´s main websites.
Visit
them once a week and analyse the pictures they present
at the main page for content and style. Refresh your browser
several times to see the different pictures coming up.
And make your own decisions of what kind of style to use or
produce.
You find Getty at www.gettyone.com
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WHAT CLIENTS REALLY WANT
-- By
Maria Piscopo
This
tip will bring you up-to-date on how clients make hiring decisions
when
looking for photographers, graphic designers or any freelance
service. As
new technology, personal communications and economic needs
influence your
clients, you must adapt to get a competitive edge and get
the work.
Clients
do look at hiring freelance designers as different than hiring
the
" talent" - the illustrators and photographers.
For design services, clients look
closely at the self-promotion pieces and personal approach
used by the
designers.
For a
photographer or an illustrator, clients can use more of a
broad search
pattern based on the style they need on a project. Tracy Smith
is an Art
Director at Spring Industries and says, "I use sourcebooks
to find
photographers. For freelance designers, I depend on word of
mouth, direct
mail promotions and even look at the temp agencies when I
need help."
Other clients named resources for finding freelancers such
as:
* Personal
referrals
* Art/Photo Reps
* Technical trade schools
* Local trade, design and advertising publications
* Networking at design and advertising associations
* Asking other freelancers!
* Despite the last ten years of freelancers shifting from
personal to
non-personal marketing, clients do want to make a personal
connection with
you!
Meredith
Brison, Creative Department Manager for Ha*lo Advertising
in
Michigan says,
" Personal contact with my freelancers is extremely important.
The process that works best for us is to find the freelancers
whose work
best fits our needs. At that point, the portfolio gets dropped
off and
reviewed. Then, we call the freelancer in to discuss their
work, go through
their portfolio, and learn how they like to work. Finally,
we are able to
determine if they and their work are the perfect fit for our
department and
the project."
Rob O'Reilly,
Senior Art Director at Access Advertising in Ontario, Canada
adds,
" Personal contact is a slow process but I make the time.
It is very
important to get along with the freelancer in order to establish
the best
creative execution and commitment to the project."
With
the number of freelancers competing for jobs, clients have
added on new
factors to evaluate the freelancers they will hire. Beyond
technical skills
and creative vision, here's a more thorough checklist. Use
this list when
designing your next portfolio presentation and any kind of
self-promotion.
* Range of media experience
* Number of active clients
* Turnaround time on typical projects
* Other related services available
* Project production management skills
* Flexibility and the ability to take direction
* Meeting deadlines and the ability to change direction
* Communication skills with management and vendors
* Knowing how to ask the right questions on a project
* Reliability and follow through is very important
* Balance of creativity and business sense
E-commerce
is here to stay but don't retire those print and transparency
portfolios quite yet! Many clients see electronic self-promotion
as a
two-step process. Some will look at a Web site or CD-ROM and
call in the
" real" portfolio. Some will receive your direct
mail or call and then go to
your Web site. Many times, the decision to even look at a
CD or Web site is
based on the client's industry type.
This is still a pretty controversial question and clients
have lots to say
on the subject! Here are some of their comments:
Michelle
Gauthier, Waterloo Maple Inc.,
" For my type of business electronic promotion by the
freelancer is a vital
tool. As a software development company, we look at both CD-ROMs
and
Web sites. I am a strong advocate of electronic media!"
Tracy
Smith again,
" It takes an effort to view electronic promos and I
still
prefer printed finals presented by the person"
Stephen
Schaf, BJC Design Communications,
" Electronic promos are critical especially when the
ad agency and
art director are unaware of the freelancer's style"
Susan
E. Morgan, Musicland Group Inc.,
" They are creative and technical but I won't hire just
based on a Web site
or CD-ROM."
Meredith
Brison again,
" I don't care for electronic self-promos. They make
it hard to verify
quality and the materials used for the project. I would much
rather 'touch'
the artwork. On many sites, I can't even print anything to
view or keep on
file for future reference."
Michele
Virnig, Newell Office Products,
" I think they are great. It always impresses me when
I see a freelancer
with their own well-designed and produced Web site."
Rob O'Reilly
again,
" I find them very impersonal and the artwork all starts
to look the same.
The format is limiting and does not show me what is unique
about working
with this freelancer."
Marcelo
Oliver, Anatomical Chart Company,
" I personally prefer something that is printed unless
the actual project
requires an animator or Web site designer"
Lisa
Hastay Benavides, Region XIII,
" I think electronic self-promotion is wonderful. It
is easy for me to
access and always available on my own time. I recommend freelancers
use
a well designed Web site with an eye-catching direct mailer
with a contact
name and directions to the site."
Finally
from Michael Standlee, Creative Director, Michael Standlee
Design,
" When looking for a freelancer, I first look through
a folder with direct
mail promotional pieces I've collected. I love electronic
self-promotion,
especially a good interactive CD. Web sites can also give
you a flavor of
the artists' work."
.........
Is one
business tip enough? If not, visit Maria's web site "Business
Tips
Library" as well as for information on her new marketing
book for creative
professionals, www.mpiscopo.com
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........................................................
LEARN FROM FREE MARKETING COURSES
You are
offered a number of useful courses in marketing and
other relevant aspects of having a successful website.
Just go to
http://www.ALLeMarketingTips.com
........................................................
MARKETING
WHEN SALES ARE SLOW
-- bY
Dr. Nunley
This
week I got a message from the marketing director at a
medium-sized company. She wanted some ideas on how to market
when sales are slow.
Typically
the first things companies do when the economy gets
slow is cut back on marketing. The slower sales get, the more
advertising they cancel.
It can
be a vicious circle. No promotion means fewer sales. Add
that to an already slow cycle and sales can fall to a trickle.
Instead,
look for low-cost ways to get a lot of marketing
results. Necessity is the mother of invention and you may
be
surprised at how much promotion you can squeeze from very
little
money.
First
mine your list of current and previous customers. Send
them mailers, make phone calls, start an email newsletter.
Offer
service after the sale, special current customer deals, and
plain
'ol reminders that you are still around.
Make
your marketing to new customers more targeted. One
photographer dropped her expensive ad in the daily newspaper
to
do very targeted direct mail. It worked and for a fraction
of
the price.
Nothing
delivers results for almost nothing like the Internet.
Beef up your online presence with a bigger web site and more
opportunities to receive information via email.
..........
No matter what your budget, Kevin has a marketing package
for
you. Press releases, killer ad copy, newsletter ad packages,
search engines and more! See http://DrNunley.com
Reach Kevin at
mailto:kevin@drnunley.com or 801-328-9006.
........................................................
MORE ABOUT THE DIGITAL WORKFLOW
You can
read and ask experts about the digital workflow at
http://www.pdn-pix.com/forums/experts/
........................................................
Please remember !
If you
have any ideas of friends or colleagues you think
would find this newsletter useful, PLEASE send them a
personal email or send an email by a click on Recommend-It.
(You can win 10.000 dollars)
THANK
YOU for reading and recommending Stock Photo News.
See you in the next Stock Photo Newsletter!
Soren
Breiting
Email
me at: sb@azfotos.com
........................................................
Copyright
2001 by Soren Breiting, A-Z FOTOS.
http://www.azFotos.com/
" Find Stock Photos from most of the World"
You are
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Stock
Photo News is a monthly newsletter edited by Soren Breiting.
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My intention is to bring quality information which is not
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