Photo marketing - cost of email vs. direct mail

In the old days, we photographers would depend on source book ads, face-to-face portfolio interviews and direct mail as a means of marketing ourselves and finding new clients.  Now, in the era of the Internet, the main way of “photo marketing” to potential clients is through web pages, portfolio drop-offs and also through email marketing.   Email marketing has arguably become the most efficient, cost effective way of marketing and drumming up business for the photographer. 

Cost of sending out an email, verses sending out a direct mail piece for a photographer

The cost of sending out an email, verses sending out a direct mail piece, is the difference between night and day.  Printing, envelopes and postage costs us a heck of a lot more than pressing the “send” button on our computers.  The savings are immense and allow us photo-marketing professionals to afford to reach many more potential photography clients, for almost no cost at all.

Here’s the cost difference between a year’s photography email promotion campaign and a direct mail campaign:

• Mailing list (created by you or purchased $X.00 / year subscription $900.00?)
• Design ($Y.00)
• Printing ($120.00 / 500 at the very least)
• Envelopes ( $.05-.10 each, if not more if you want something fancy, which many photographers do)
• Assembly (labor – more than you think)
• Bulk sorting (labor – more than you think)
• Postage (what the heck is it now $.45 a PIECE?)

Vs.

• Mailing list (created by you or purchased $X.00 / year subscription $900.00?)
• Design ($Y.00)
• Bulk e-mailing software ($45.00 one time purchase)
• Email account (you already have one, I’m sure)

Here are two images from previous emailers. Besides the images, there was promotional copy included in the email promotion. More on that later...

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So add it up.  If you send out four promotions of 500 pieces per promotion a year, (which is a reasonable amount), and I’m figuring a total of $500 for design for each promotion type.

Direct snail mail promotion
Mailing list	900
Design	500
Printing	480
Envelopes	150
Assembly / Addressing (photo assistant day rate x 4)	1000
Postage	900
Total	$ 3930 / year
Email Promotion
Mailing list	900
Design	500
Bulk email program	45
	$ 1445 / year

Spam filter vs. circular file for photography promotions

Some people would argue that many of the promotional emails would be filtered out as spam and never seen by the intended market.  That is definitely true, but you have to ask yourself just how many postcards or other promotions you think end up in the circular file unopened.  From what I hear from Art and Creative Directors, the number is staggering.  It’s a fact of life that many of your promotions will not be seen by the Art Directors and Photography buyer no mater what medium you use to reach them.  Having said that, I think most photographers would agree that it’s a numbers game and it’s all about “return on investment”.  Promotions bring in work.  The more you promote, the more work that will come in.  Yes, there is a point of diminishing return, but I personally don’t know of any photographer that’s reached that point.  Even if you get a lesser “return” from an email campaign as opposed to a direct mail campaign, you’ve spend less money and therefore your return on investment may make the email campaign the more productive promotion.  Personally, I think the key is to do both types of promotion.  Some people may respond to one type of promotion whereas another may respond differently.

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