Hey, all!

I'm about to send out a newsletter for my portrait business, and I'm looking for some help. I just had a show at a local kids and baby expo and got a bunch of email and postal addresses - now I need to convert those prospects to customers!

To be honest, I actually feel pretty desperate. I watch my kids during the day, and my time to work is at night when I'm exhausted. To be short, I don't have much time to market myself. I'm on the dividing line between going further in debt and more broke, or actually starting to produce some income that can pay off our debts.

Do any of you have any ideas for great promotions or other suggestions for newsletters that have helped you?

Thanks for your help! I'm sorry if I'm not being that clear - I've been retouching; now it's 2am and I am wiped out and not thinking that clearly!

Aaron

Aaron, you might try Constant Contact! It's inexpensive, and might help you keep your business in front of the clientele...

Amber and I are big proponents of relationships marketing, but if you were going to do anything like this, I'd recommend the emails over mailings. The mailings are going to be more expensive, and the results could be "iffy," particularly if you are charging a decent amount for your work.

nathan have you used constant contact? If so, how were your results? Also could you go into more detail on relationship marketing? i believe I know what you mean, But i am more interested in what you have to say.

Aaron i would recommend calling business and seeing if you can place some displays in their store. You say you went to a childrens fair/expo. contact some of the boutques and see if you can hang portraits and place you business card...aka (out of studio display) Or even just a promo card... It Can be very simple... just try to think where your potential customer would spend there money and try to market there. Portraiture is a luxury item, so if someone is going to spend money it will either be with you or on something else. It is our goal to help them realize that their life will be better with portrraits (which we all know that it will).
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I hope that that helps.

I started using constant contact in December and it has really helped my business. I actually now have a relationship with a local high-end children's Mag because someone forwarded my newsletter to the editor. It's very addicting watching the stats after you send one out...lol

I send it out monthly and have a sign-up page on my blog and splash page ( I have about 160 recipients) and I will showcase a session, talk about new products or promotions and client birthdays...it's fun and you can customize the templates to have thye same look and feel as your branding...

I am a big fan of email newsletters. The cost is minimal, the time investment is minimal and the returns are great (and easily tracked)!

I like to use a format similar to
1-positive personal story
1-positive business story
1-new product announcement
1-call to action (sale, promotion, book by __ for __, etc)

I don't necessarily think that you need to offer any product for free, try to give out a little useful information about something that your client will use and that will show them the value of your newsletter and your business. Being that Easter is coming up, maybe say that Children's Easter Portraits are on sale until March 14th or something like that .

I love Constant Contact. Here's the newsletter I sent out using it on Valentine's Day.

www.aprilrocha.com/slideshows/Newsletter.html

Hey, thanks for the replies and advice, everyone!

For those who have recommended Constant Contact, what advantages does it have over sending out your own email newsletter?


I am planning on using mostly email, but I will be sending a few hard copies of my newsletter as I have a few sign-ups who don't have email. Nathan, by "mailings," do you mean postcard-type mass mailings?

Nathan, could you elaborate a bit more on relationship marketing (or provide a link)? I'm pretty sure I agree with you in marketing philosophy; I just don't have a lot of know-how.

Jason, thanks for the advice. Could you tell me what you mean by a "promo card"?

Brady, thanks for the idea on the Easter promotion. Does anyone have any more ideas for limited-time offers that could be effective in a newsletter?

Thanks again for the help, everyone!

The advantages of using CC is the reporting tool...it's worth it's weight in gold.