AIAP Newsletter 05/03/05

Dear AIAP Member,

There’s been a lot of discussion of late in the AIAP Forum and elsewhere regarding postcard marketing as a way to jumpstart a stagnant architectural photography business.  Postcard marketing is an incredibly successful marketing tool if used properly.  Perhaps now is a good time to discuss a few fundamentals for successful postcard marketing.

Postcard Marketing

#1 Target your Mailing
Develop a list of prospects that will definitely buy what you sell.  Too often we waste money with lists that include less than prime prospects.  This is the old “shoot where the ducks are flying” principle.  Also, I believe that it’s no longer necessary to buy a mailing list.  There are countless online directories for the business segments that buy architectural photography.  For example, one can easily go to the AIA directory, search on a specific locale, and then simply cut and paste architect listings into your mailing list.  The same is true of commercial builders and developers, hospitality and resort professionals, interior designers, magazines, etc.  

Another crucial aspect of mailing list creation is to make certain that you are mailing to individuals who actually “buy” photography.  Don’t simply mail to the “marketing director”, “art buyer” or “photo editor”.  Have a real name on that address.  You may have to go to the prospects actual website to determine who to mail to, or perhaps even make a telephone call.  In the end, your list will be much more effective. And oh yes, print a nice clean label for your postcard.


#2 Match the Message to the Audience
Back in my advertising days I worked as a brand strategist and copywriter.  I learned right away that one of the first rules of a successful advertising message is to have a well-conceived strategy to drive the campaign.  In the case of your postcard campaign, the primary purpose is to generate inquiries.  Inquiries may be in the form of website visits, telephone calls or email messages.  Your strategy must include a creative way to generate those inquiries.  

Every strategy that motivates action must have an emotional element.  A long list of bullet points isn’t emotional, cheap prices aren’t emotional, and the type of camera you own isn’t emotional.  You have to answer the question “Why must I choose to do business with you, and why must I choose now?” How about a message like “We shoot the photographs you had in mind when you first imagined your project.”  Your strategy may be brief and clever copy that explains a significant benefit of hiring you.  It may be a stunning photograph that simply stops the viewer cold.  It could be a creative headline that provokes the prospect to question their present way of buying architectural photography.  

Another aspect of message strategy is to speak the language of your prospect.  Make the most of idioms and expressions that are unique to your prospect’s industry.  Simply put, speak to your prospect like a friend—a friend who needs your services to be successful and happy.  If your postcard is “on strategy” your prospect will be able to imagine a photograph of their own project on your postcard, and also consider how much more effective their marketing would be with your help.  Oh yes, one final thing:  Have just ONE message. Say one thing, say it clearly and cleverly, and say nothing more.


#3  Design Simplicity
Keep it simple!  The postcard is a medium that’s meant to be simple and easy to understand.  Strong and simple design with a minimum of copy will produce the best results.  Use the “3 Second Test” to evaluate the strength of your design and layout.  If you can’t understand both who the sender is and what the message is in 3 seconds, your design is too complex.  Anything over 3 seconds will hit the wastebasket in short order.  

Another prime consideration is having a “hierarchy” of design elements.  It should be obvious to the reader what is most important and what is least important in your postcard.  There are very few “must haves” in your design, but one of the most important is contact information.  If a prospect has to hunt for contact information you’ll likely lose them.  On my own postcards my contact information usually consists of only my web address and telephone number.  Lately, most include only my web address—and I never include the ubiquitous “www” that everyone already knows.


#4 Printing and Mailing
When it comes to printing, I always look for a way to cut costs.  Many printers offer short run digital solutions that drastically reduce the cost of a four-color print run.  I’ve also printed many postcards in-house using a good quality inkjet printer.  There are now a number of inkjet papers available that offer both high gloss and double-sided printing.  I wouldn’t ever consider using a paper with a backprint or watermark—it simply looks too amateurish.  Recently I discovered a great quality, heavy weight gloss paper at Costco that has become one of my favorites.  What’s more, it’s really cheap.

I also prefer to go with slightly larger than normal postcards.  Traditional postcard dimensions are 3-1/2 x 5 inches, however your postcards will still qualify for the inexpensive 23 cent First Class rate if they don’t exceed 4-1/4 x 6 inches.   The slightly larger size will garner more attention and subsequent responses than the smaller traditional size.


#5 Timing is Everything!
The conventional wisdom in the direct mail advertising world is that you should mail your postcards so that they arrive on either Tuesday or Wednesday.  The reason is simple:  the volume of mail in the U.S. is lightest on those days, and consequently there will be fewer pieces of mail to compete with for the prospect’s attention.  By all means, never have your postcards arrive on Monday—you know how you react to the avalanche of Monday mail.

You may also want to time your follow up calls in the same way.  A call on Tuesday or Wednesday is always more welcome than a Monday or Friday call.  Yes, I did say follow up calls!  If you don’t hear from your prospects, why not give them a call?  A simple “Hi, this is John Doe from John Doe Architectural Photography.  I forwarded a sample of my work recently to you recently, and I’m calling to see if I might be able to assist you with your upcoming photography projects.”  We’ll discuss cold calling and telephone prospecting in a future newsletter.


I hope that this brief discussion will assist you in your own postcard marketing efforts.  This is by no means a comprehensive guide to direct mail advertising.  However, the five fundamentals I’ve discussed will put you well on your way to an increase in inquiries and bookings.

Happy shooting,
Alan Blakely, Director
The Association of Independent Architectural Photographers
http://www.aiap.net
http://architecturalphotographer.org