Leslie Grow
Who printed it?
Mixam – Catalog/Magazine/Booklet, 7×10, 28 sides, Stapled, 100lb paper Uncoated. Print and paper quality are big factors to me, so before I started this process I ordered their free sample pack. I’ve collected several different packs from other printers, and for the price point that I was going for and the option for smaller quantities, I felt like this was a perfect fit. Their customer service is awesome too. I had 2 books that were flawed and they were quick to respond with options for refund or reprinting. I opted for reprinting, it was dispatched immediately and delivered within a week.
Who designed it?
I worked closely with Creative Consultant Mara Serdans. She went through all the images on my website and I also sent her a large selection from my archive. I wanted the promo to be a snippet of what I shoot, so we decided to showcase 15-25 images from food and still life. Once we finalized the images and flow, I worked with a good friend of mine who is an amazing graphic designer & photographer, Jennifer Chong of JChongStudio, to design the layout.
Tell me about the images?
I’ve been wanting to do a more in-depth promo for a long time and to follow up with the promo I sent earlier this year. The idea behind it is to have a mini portfolio that doesn’t cost a lot to print or send and travels easily if I’m on the road. I use them as leave-behinds at meetings or send to clients that I really want to shoot for if we’ve already established a relationship. The images themselves are from all sorts of shoots ranging from personal test shoots to client work.
How many did you make?
I did 30 for the first printing – I wanted to see how my images looked on paper before doing a big order. I’ll be ordering more for sure! People have really enjoyed it so far.
How many times a year do you send out promos?
Not as much as I should! And to be honest, this one and the postcard I sent earlier this year was the result of being really slow with work. I needed to try something different with my marketing. I haven’t seen a direct correlation of getting connections or work from my promos, but work has definitely picked up! Eventually, I’d like to be sending at least 2-4 postcards and 1 larger promo per year to be getting my work consistently in front of people. Along with that, I’m working in email promos about every 3 months.
Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
I hope so! I mean it’s kind of a shot in the dark hoping that the promo actually gets delivered & opened, wondering if they even like it or if it just gets tossed. This is my first year sending printed promos, so I’m still figuring out who should be on my list. If anything, it’s made me take a close look at my work and to really think about who I want to be shooting for.
