Photo Promo Postcards in the mail

My first series of my print promos are going out today. After getting my first batch of postcards this fall from Overnight Prints and being disappointed with the quality they found a new home in the recycling bin. An expensive lesson learned. For the second batch I went with Modern Postcard. It was pricier, but a more controlled and calibrated workflow meant the second batch of postcards turned out great.

My marketing campaign/strategy for the year has me sending out staggered campaigns of my work through both email and print. My first quarter campaign is focused on my trucker project. A month ago I sent out email promos of the project and this month I am following up with a print promo of the project. The hope is to build recognition not only for my work, but for my name and brand. Research has it that it takes atleast 6-8 exposures to your name before people start remembering you.

I’ve decided to do the email promo first because of the detailed statistics an email campaign gives you. With the email campaign I was able to see what photo editors actually opened my promo email and if they clicked on any links. This knowledge meant I was able to target my print campaign to the editors that actually opened my first promo email. For those that emailed me back I was sure to write a personal note to them on the postcard. Of course I am still sending out the promos to those that didn’t open the email, which was a lot.

Anyone care to share how they’re marketing their work? Print or email? Both? Monthly? Quarterly? Every decade? Would love to hear what others are doing if you have the time or energy to respond.