27
Sep
2010
Getting the word out
Hello? Hi? Can you hear me?!? HELLO!!!!…. (crickets… frogs… distant coyote howl)
Sometimes it may feel that no matter how hard you try, getting a client to look at your work can feel like whispering in a circle of vuvuzelas. Introducing my trojan horse; a brick-sized-self-promoting white box.
Fortunately my previous job as an Art Director for national magazines put me in the position to receive self-promotion mailers from aspiring photographers. Most of the promo pieces were 4×6″ postcards with a picture on one side, and printed addresses on the other side. Stale, non-personalized, and probably frayed at the edges, the postcards rarely made it from the mail room to my desk. But a box?!? A freakin’ box??? NOW you have my attention. Maybe it’s just me, but when I get a box in the mail with a hand-written address, a slow fuzzy feeling comes over me and my eyes open 43% more than usual. YOU good box are coming back to my desk for a thorough dissection.
Above all I wanted to make a self-promotion mailer that wouldn’t get tossed in the trash right away. Considering the caliber of ad agencies, magazine photography editors, athletic teams, and select others that will receive this mailer, that is a tall order to accomplish.
The first step. Well, I wish this was the actual first step; neatly stacked boxes of everything I need suddenly appearing at my office. Everything from the dimensions of the boxes, size of the stickers, color of the camera, size of the camera, color of the stamps, dimension of the print holder, size of the foam packaging, pictures to use… well, you get the idea. After an endless amount of virtual measuring and imagination, I pulled the trigger and ordered everything you see above.
Here is everything involved in 1 mailer before any folding, gluing, plucking, sticking and stamping.
I practically modeled my entire mailer around the slogan “GIVE ME A SHOT”. Sending out shot glasses to possible clients wasn’t really a wise option, so why not place stickers with the slogan on disposable cameras. In return I hope to see some cool pictures.
Sarah, my big sis, kindly lent a hand in the tedious process of assembling the boxes. Here she’s gluing in the foam to the edges so the camera doesn’t get banged up.
Additional little foam bits were glued in to hold the camera in nice and snug as a bug. Each mailer comes with a personalized note. When testing the boxes on my artsy neighbors, I noticed they had a hard time opening the plastic card box. So on each note I included a diagram on how to open it. Problem solved.
I couldn’t send out plain white boxes, instead I stamped each box with my logo, address, and “Emergency Photo Kit” on the inside flap. The personalized notes were then taped to the inside.
Oh my gosh, Moo cards… What would I do without you for this project? Practically the centerpiece of my mailer. Of course when sending out a photography self-promotion piece, pictures MUST be included. I’ve heard great things about Moo cards, and now I’m the preacher. The quality is top notch, and the option of printing up to 50 different looking cards in 1 order is perfect for my project. Here they are stacked and ready to be sorted into each mailer. Bogart did a good job of watching… and scratching… and licking… Good boy.
400 total cards were ordered. 40 different images, 8 included in each mailer, however not chosen at random. In this case I’m sending this mailer out to a cycling company, and therefore include mostly cycling pictures. Each mailer contains a unique set of cards in a hard plastic case. Each Moo card has my contact info on the back, and for good measure I included my personal business card.
Good to go! After a few dozen more, I just need to close em, lick a few stamps, write addresses, and ship em out!
“Without advertising, something terrible happens… nothing.” Once this famous statement became rooted into my brain I started my project. Creativity, personalization, and budget-friendly were key in building these mailers. Each mailer has a different message along with a different set of cards to view. A small idea turned into a 3-month long project. Now I feel confident with what I’ve sent out to my prospective clients, and hopefully, they give me a shot!
[...] to this photographer’s amazing self promotion, props to you Mr. [...]
Inspirational! Thank you for going through this project in pieces and detail; today you’ve introduced me to moo.com, fantastic photos, and a fulfilling blog. I came across you when searching for comments/reviews about the Prat Messenger bag before buying and saw your pic of it on flickr, I bought it after seeing that (very nice), and followed the rest of your posts and your blog. I’ll keep visiting; thanks!
I am also curious about whether or not this worked? Did you get any responses or jobs from this?
So how much did each kit cost in the end?
Came out to ~$20 per box… with some leftover supplies to build some more in the near future; namely the actual boxes and foam. The smallest order was big! Speaking of I need to make some more since I just received a new order of moo cards!
hey, so smart1 i loved it. also loved the little personal card holder….can i have a lead as to where i can order those? thanks!
-Alexis
I’d love to know if this actually worked at all! Did you get any jobs from it?
Wow. Great idea!
This is such a phenomenal idea! This is definitely something I would want to try
Clint, I’m from Portland, Or. and came across your website after checking out Moo.com and was extremely impressed by your marketing kit. What would it cost to purchase a kit from you? My painting company could use a jolt of that creativity when meeting potential clients for the first time. If your willing to sell a kit I would be more than happy to buy one from you.
Thanks, Dominick Guglielmo
clint,
)
this is phenomenal! i love it, if i got this in the mail i would want to work with someone as creative as you! this goes way beyond showing pictures of work! congratulations and good luck… oh, and thanks for sharing your process
-branka
Wow, those are fantastic! What a great idea and an inspiration. I will have to try something like this one day. Thank you so much for sharing the process!
[...] Clint Davis Self Promotion – Isn’t this an amazingly creative way to get people’s [...]
[...] We were blown away with the marketing mailout made by one of MOO’s most creative customers, photographer Clint Davis. He used images of his work on MiniCards and stickers and then sent them in a MOO gift box to [...]
I have been trying to do this same thing. Where were you able to find boxes? Can you have them custom printed?
I made a website thinking that would impress employers, but no one looks at it. A box and physical portfolio is a much better idea…I think!
-JM
Did you get much work of that back of these???? I mean for $20 per promo, i hope you got that money back and thensome.
Believe it or not Stu, $20 per promo is very cheap compared to most professional mailers. Check out http://www.noplasticsleeves.com/ And yes I see them as money very very very well spent.
You also convinced them of your ability to COMPLETE A PROJECT. Not to be lost on the quality of the delivered product. Awesome.
Awesome Clint. You’re good!
I can haz shot?
[...] thats a shameless plug for my friend Clint Davis, also. I have a couple of his stickers from his brilliant self promotion campaign on my lens hood and my bounce card. The man is a [...]
I just found your site/blog after searching for mailer ideas. This is the best I’ve seen. I am subscribing to your blog now. I have a question though, how do you compile your list of contacts? I find I get shut down by HR people when I ask for direct contact info for AD”s at companies. How do you find who to mail the mailers too?
You did a great job! This is very inspirational…keep it up!:)
Hi! I’ve been following your website for a while now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Houston Tx! Just wanted to say keep up the great work!
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[...]2010 Clint Davis Self Promotion Mailer | Clint Davis Blog – Greenville, SC Commercial Photographer[...]…
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[...]2010 Clint Davis Self Promotion Mailer | Clint Davis Blog – Greenville, SC Commercial Photographer[...]…
My name is Acosta Enrique Vecino , I just needed to say that your article is really interesting. Thanks!
This post will assist the internet viewers for building up new
website or even a blog from start to end.
This is an amazingly brilliant idea! Words cannot describe how inspired I ma by this mailer! I am about to finish my studies at Humber College in the photography program and this idea is something that would take me from a student photographer to a professionally respected photographer.
This idea will be something I model my first set of mailers after!
All the best,
Matthew
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