….
Photographers are always looking for creative ways to market themselves, and I would think that for those who’ve been in the business for a while, it can get tedious trying to think up a self-promo that doesn’t repeat previous efforts. All the more reason, then, to look outside of the photo industry for inspiration.
Mashable.com reports that a fellow named Jason Sadler kicked off 2009 with a project he called I Wear Your Shirt, in which each day, he’d post a photo of himself in a shirt from a different company on YouTube and elsewhere. He did it for a price, but a very attractive one: “It only cost $1 for a company to have him wear its schwag on January 1st, $2 on the 2nd, etc. until December 31st, where the price would be $365,” writes Ben Parr in a post titled “Social Media + Wearing Shirts = Lucrative Career?” Parr goes on to note that Sadler has sold out every day and will make more than $70,000 this year.
I’m not suggesting that Sadler’s model contains a direct application for photographers, but I do think his clever leveraging of technology and the way our culture works now can be learned from. His grassroots ingenuity reminded me of how Naomi Sims, the first black supermodel, broke into the fashion business. Sims, who died earlier this month at the age of 61, had been turned down by all the major agencies because they said her skin was too dark, explains Eric Wilson in Sims’ New York Times obituary.
Undeterred, Sims persuaded a Times lensman to photograph her for the paper’s fashion supplement, hoping to demonstrate her viability. Still, the agencies said no. But Sims persisted, and what she tried next dramatically changed not only her life but also the fashion industry as a whole.
“Ms. Sims…told Wilhelmina Cooper, a former model who was starting her own agency, that she would send out copies of the [fashion supplement] to advertising agencies with Ms. Cooper’s number attached. Ms. Cooper could have a commission if anyone called back. Within a year, Ms. Sims was earning $1,000 a week and had been hired for a national television campaign for AT&T, which showed her and two other models—one white and one Asian—wearing fashions by Bill Blass,” writes Wilson.
If nothing else, Sims’ story can give you a little emotional lift as you strategize your next marketing effort. Though it sometimes seems like these are the worst of times, there have always been obstacles to success. It’s just that some of us don’t let them get in the way.
…
Your self-promo is my self-promo
….
Photographers are always looking for creative ways to market themselves, and I would think that for those who’ve been in the business for a while, it can get tedious trying to think up a self-promo that doesn’t repeat previous efforts. All the more reason, then, to look outside of the photo industry for inspiration.
Mashable.com reports that a fellow named Jason Sadler kicked off 2009 with a project he called I Wear Your Shirt, in which each day, he’d post a photo of himself in a shirt from a different company on YouTube and elsewhere. He did it for a price, but a very attractive one: “It only cost $1 for a company to have him wear its schwag on January 1st, $2 on the 2nd, etc. until December 31st, where the price would be $365,” writes Ben Parr in a post titled “Social Media + Wearing Shirts = Lucrative Career?” Parr goes on to note that Sadler has sold out every day and will make more than $70,000 this year.
I’m not suggesting that Sadler’s model contains a direct application for photographers, but I do think his clever leveraging of technology and the way our culture works now can be learned from. His grassroots ingenuity reminded me of how Naomi Sims, the first black supermodel, broke into the fashion business. Sims, who died earlier this month at the age of 61, had been turned down by all the major agencies because they said her skin was too dark, explains Eric Wilson in Sims’ New York Times obituary.
Undeterred, Sims persuaded a Times lensman to photograph her for the paper’s fashion supplement, hoping to demonstrate her viability. Still, the agencies said no. But Sims persisted, and what she tried next dramatically changed not only her life but also the fashion industry as a whole.
“Ms. Sims…told Wilhelmina Cooper, a former model who was starting her own agency, that she would send out copies of the [fashion supplement] to advertising agencies with Ms. Cooper’s number attached. Ms. Cooper could have a commission if anyone called back. Within a year, Ms. Sims was earning $1,000 a week and had been hired for a national television campaign for AT&T, which showed her and two other models—one white and one Asian—wearing fashions by Bill Blass,” writes Wilson.
If nothing else, Sims’ story can give you a little emotional lift as you strategize your next marketing effort. Though it sometimes seems like these are the worst of times, there have always been obstacles to success. It’s just that some of us don’t let them get in the way.
…