I have done my own very unscientific survey and the results are murky, yet very clear. That is to say, and I paraphrase many into one generalized statement here, “If I like your work I want to see your emails, if I don’t I hate them”. So, good luck deciding wether people like you or not.
via Less Is More.
4 Comments
I’d like to see a comprehensive survey of photographers that reflects some of the truth of this ..
I have been using a service where you can send emailers and track who opens them, clicks thru, etc. Over the course of the last year – I’ve been using them for three years – click-thrus and open rates have plummeted. There was a core group of art buyers and photo editors who could always be counted on to almost always open the emailers, and had been or would go to the site, but very few new hits.
When I do reach an art buyer or potential client on the phone, they all say they are inundated with emailers and a lot of them never reach them because they are filtered out by their anti-spam programs.
Database/emailer companies market to tons of hopeful artists, who sign up and then flood the art buyers inboxes w. promos, to the pt. where the recipients have had enough, and I think this is what has happened over the last yr.
Another art buyer told me they will often NOT go to a website they like after seeing it in an emailer, thru the link in the emailer itself, but will access it by writing it in the subject line, because they don’t want the inevitable follow up call from a photographer or agent who sees that they’ve clicked thru. That blew my mind!.
At $150 a month for this svc., I wound up opting out, as I could no longer afford it, and instead am focusing on identifying the specific top 100 or so people/companies/mags I’d like to work for, sending them snail mailers I make on my Epson, and personal emails and phone calls. In other words, it’s 1990 again.
I have been using a service where you can send emailers and track who opens them, clicks thru, etc. Over the course of the last year – I’ve been using them for three years – click-thrus and open rates have plummeted. There was a core group of art buyers and photo editors who could always be counted on to almost always open the emailers, and had been or would go to the site, but very few new hits.
When I do reach an art buyer or potential client on the phone, they all say they are inundated with emailers and a lot of them never reach them because they are filtered out by their anti-spam programs.
Database/emailer companies market to tons of hopeful artists, who sign up and then flood the art buyers inboxes w. promos, to the pt. where the recipients have had enough, and I think this is what has happened over the last yr.
Another art buyer told me they will often NOT go to a website they like after seeing it in an emailer, thru the link in the emailer itself, but will access it by writing it in the subject line, because they don’t want the inevitable follow up call from a photographer or agent who sees that they’ve clicked thru. That blew my mind!.
At $150 a month for this svc., I wound up opting out, as I could no longer justify the expense, and instead am focusing on identifying the specific top 100 or so people/companies/mags I’d like to work for, sending them snail mailers I make on my Epson, and personal emails and phone calls. In other words, it’s 1990 again.
Oops wanted to change one line and posted it twice – sigh – oh well, as always curious to hear how others are marketing and how it’s going.
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