Here’s a question for you: How many clients do you need?
[by Judy Herrmann]
No, really – 1,000? 500? 50? 10?
If you’re like me, the number’s a lot closer to the right than the left. In fact, what I really need, what I really want is a core group of repeat clients who I like and respect and who like and respect my work.
If you’re dying to be EVERYBODY’s photographer, read no further. But if you, like me, are looking to build relationships with like-minded people with whom you can produce creatively satisfying work then I’ve got a crazy idea for you.
What if we stop scattering seeds to the wind in the hopes they’ll land on fertile ground?
What if we stop the mass mailings and emailers and broadcast marketing blasts that go to faceless, anonymous people who are already receiving thousands of these things from a multitude of faceless, anonymous photographers?
What if we take the time to find those individuals whose aesthetics and visual communications needs really resonate with what we love to do.
What if we took that common ground, mixed it with a little creativity, ingenuity and good-old fashioned chutzpah and used it to build relationships with those individuals instead of marketing to them?
Maybe, just maybe, we’d actually get what we want.
9 Responses to 'Here’s a question for you: How many clients do you need?'
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Great insight on the industry. I love that, but how do you really do that?
amen!
Wow, what wonderfully good post.
Your message is the core of quality marketing for most commercial photographers. Especially with the changes in today’s photography industry and the future direction of marketing.
I’ll be sharing your post all day.
Thank you,
Rosh
Thanks for the reminder. Here’s to looking for the vital few.
Brian -
A good place to start is to do a lot of research. Identify a manageable number of prospects whose work you admire and respect – people whose work resonates with you and who you think would appreciate your work in return. Come up with a way that you feel comfortable with for reaching out to those people. Do something special, something personal that lets them know that they’re more than just a number to you.
Best,
Judy
Judy,
Something I think about all the time. Enough so all your eggs aren’t in one basket but no more than you can really focus your best efforts on. For me, my ideal would be 25 clients with two assignments per year from each.
Great advice, Judy. Thanks!
[...] Hermann wrote a great post for the ASMP Strictly Business blog asking: How many clients do you need? Her thoughts fit very well in the social media model. [...]
Judy,
yes, yes.
I am pretty old (56) but I always have to look for new clients that are younger.
However, all of my new clients have come from my present clients (I guess they love me). If you take care of your present clients, they will bring you new clients. All of my clients are like my best friends. They bring me things to photograph. What could be nicer than that?