I have just been invited to join a very high end magazine as an advertiser. Advertisers are by invite only in this publication and feature only the best in the region. I would love to join this group. This magazine has featured photographers like Jesh de Rox.

The dilemma is this. They only have 1/2 page and full page ads right now, and the fee for advertising in one issue is $2800 and almost $3500 respectively.

Would you invest this much money into a one time ad? They do offer a discounted price of $2400 and $3000 respectively if you commit to two ads, but now the overall investment is almost $5,000 and $6000. This is a lot of cash.
I've been told that the return on investment here, is more about name recognition and status, than actual customers that book as a result of the ad.

I would love your feedback and advice about what to do here.
Thanks so much.
Jen

Why don't you email or call some of the photographers who are listed in the magazine and ask them if they feel it's been worthwhile??

that's canadian dollars right?

i agree wtih carrie, i would call a few and just ask them if they wouldnt mind giving you some feedback -

Which is pretty much the same as US dollars right now...

Anyone else try this type of marketing?

I've never done this sort of ad, but I've had some smaller ads in other magazines, done a couple of coupon mailings, etc. Never got anything out of it.

My understanding of the way advertising works is that you have to repeat, repeat, repeat. A one-time ad doesn't work that well because only a small percent of viewers needs your services when they see the ad. When they need your services three months from now, they've forgotten all about your ad; even if they liked it and sort of remember it, they won't be able to find it.

So, unless you have money to run ads so your audience sees your name over and over again, I doubt very much that you'll recover your investment here.

Hi! I did it once for a new good quality magazine... It was nice to se your ad, and your photos... (since they also not only want your money, but you also need to provide images for the magazine without any kind of compensation )
If you do it for exposure, i guess is fine... But in my case, bookings were 0, and phone calls were only a couple...

Do you have the money for it? if you do and it really gives you "prestige", then go for it, but don;'t expect to have your phone ringing off the hook...

Just my opinion...

JC

You didn't say what magazine and what your target client is. A magazine like Grace Ormond is high end, are you doing that type work?, do you have those clients?, your price could be too low even if Brides liked your work. You can't fake the locations in your portfolio for that level. Look at Me Ra Koh she put her own picture as the ad and she took off. She said 97% of photographers charge like 2-4K Why not compete with the 3% that charge much more?

I have seen pros in Bride & Bloom actually give out boxes of the current issues at WPPI to maybe generate ad sales for the magazine? and they received a discount? (only speculating). Many people I have talked to in the market rate say they think it is a combo of things they can't tell you what does what. I have asked these question over and over and the only people who can really help are people in your market because nothing works the same everywhere, except word of mouth and referals.

My guess would be that if you want to market yourself to other photographers by "being seen" then it might be a good idea.
If you are wanting to pick up more local clients (high end or not), then probably not a good idea.

Not only am I a photographer, but I am a marketing director as well. I always say market to the type of customer that you want. so if you are looking for a higher end client, market higher end. I would ask them for the demographics of this magazine and find out if that is the type of client you are looking for. $5000.00 is a lot for a couple of ads, is this a national magazine?

If the magazine is marketing directly to other photographers, it would probably be better to actually contact those photographers yourself. You would save alot of money. If the magazine markets to the high end client at a high price point, you may get more actual customers attention if you go directly to the other vendors that advertise in the book and market directly to them ie: a wedding planner, high end bridal shops, ect.

If you are looking more into just branding and getting your name out there, in a widespread format I would take the ad.

Does any of that make sense?

Yep...makes good sense. I agree. The magazine actually targets young adults in the high end market, but personally I think $5000-$6000 is just too high for me.
If I were charging $6000-$8000 per wedding I might rethink it all, but it would take me 2-3 weddings, not including costs, just to cover this fee.

Thanks so much for everyone's input.

the "by invite only" thing is a crock...That is a marketing thing. If you just need to throw money away go ahead. Most magazine advertising does NOT work. Print (magazine and newspaper) is the worst place you can spend your money.

They are making it sound more prestigious than it really is. While it may be true it is by invitation only, they just want your money.

I would call some of the people that have been suckered into spending that kind of money to really see how many PAID referrals they have received from that outragious amount of money spent. How many other photographers are in the magazine. By reputation are they the best in the area? Call them and ask them if they have had an overwhelming return on their investment. If you spend $1 on advertising, your goal should NOT be to get your $1 back in revenue. It should be $10+.

Almost ALL print advertising is worthless in this business. A recent survey I saw showed most brides booked a photographer by referral from someone they knew, second was a Google (or internet) search. ALL print advertising was far down the list in very low, single digit percentages.

I would totally agree that you may want to "brand" yourself with some slick advertising. I did that when I moved to Montgomery. Just slick image advertising not "specials" ads.

I even had people approach me when I was getting some large photos framed and when they found out who I was they said they had seen me in one local magazine or the other...it never brought me any business.

My intent was to get my name out in the community. It did that, but at a very high cost, and absolutely no return.

Remember, a referral or call is worthless unless they book you.

I LOVE Jesh's work.
Why don't you email him and ask him? (I'm sure he's on here somewhere, though). Or another photog you see advertising in that mag!
There was a local photographer I knew was very successful, and I knew they advertised a few years ago with a magazine (I knew they did, because I was a bride looking for a photographer!). I emailed her and asked how her experience was. Her insight was very helpful. She said they got a few calls, but nothing works likes word of mouth.

And yes.... "by invite only"... to an extent.
There's a magazine in our state that gives out awards, right... well, I've heard that you can basically buy whatever award you want... choose your flavor, if you will.
NOT that these aren't good photographers buying those awards (yes, they do have to be good enough). But just makes me think about advertisting a bit differently.

Maybe I'm being dumb and new... but what good does status do if you don't book any clients? Who are you gaining status with? Other photographers? I feel that there may be a better way to do that.

G.

hey ... I live in ontario ... but don't do weddings so I dont look for wedding stuff, I had never seen the magazine ... do you know what their distributions is.. how many copies sold ... where they are on display .. how long has the magazine been around ... ask some of your wedding clients if they have looked at the magazine before ... seems like alot of money .. can you invest the same amount of money and know that you are reaching your target market ..

Instead of spending money on an ad which you are unsure of and truthfully most likely will not get you bookings...why not use it to send some sort of special gift to all the vendors you have worked with in the past year(canvas print of their venue, album or something) and include your previous brides in the mailing. These are the people that will directly affect your business and certainly send referrals your way. You want to keep your name on the tip of their tongue when they are asked about photographers.

$5000-$6000 for two ads isn't a bad price at all for a magazine of that caliber. Grace Ormonde is about $6500 for ONE issue for a full page ad.

I have an ad out in a national magazine right now that cost me $3600

another question is: what else could you do with that money? give vendors (venues, coordinators, etc) high end albums to show brides? get better marketing material? attend a marketing workshop?

it's not just advertise vs don't advertise, it has to be advertise vs some other beneficial activity.

i think one day i might advertise, but only to help me get published, as that's one of my goals and magazines favor their advertisers.

love this thread, has me thinking alot about my dollars, I live in a rare area where a print ad generates a decent amount of work among some top dollar clients, but still nothing comes better than a referral.

i booked my highest wedding ever off of a refferal that I thought was a bomb, or at least not one of my better ones!

ROI comes to mind in this situation, You want your money to work for your business, Like Jillian said 6k for one add when you can take a marketing class, print materials and get them into the hands of individuals that may very well send more business your way.