Summer marketing

In the creative industries, especially in publishing, there are two times a year where your marketing efforts may fall on totally deaf ears: December holidays and August through Labor Day (US). So, as we fast approach August, you may wish to rethink that mailing you were about to send.

Loads of people are taking time off or, when they are not, they are planning to take time off, or wishing they were at the beach, or they’re sweating at their desks, resenting their co-workers who are at the beach ;-). The point is, they’re either not at their desks to get your marketing piece or they’re not in the mood to receive it, um, well.

What to do…well, you can go ahead and send it on the off-chance your piece breaks through (more possible with the lower number of mailers/emails being sent at this time) but then you’ll have to pray that the receiver is in to get it (if not, it might get lost in the big backload awaiting his/her return), or you can wait and send after Labor Day. I generally recommend waiting until after Labor Day if you haven’t sent the piece by the end of July.

Now, why not take this opportunity, this lull, to think of some unique marketing ideas you can implement now or in the future.

For now, maybe send a “make your own tropical paradise” kit to a few select clients you know are going to be around. Include things like drinks umbrellas, inflatable palm tree (you can find loads of stuff at party stores for this), and maybe even a recipe for some serious adult punch-like beverage (try Webtender for ideas). Don’t forget a note like “In case you can’t get away, you can still have a mini-vacation. Aloha from Joe Smith Photographer.”

For later, now would be a great time to do research for new potential clients. Take a couple of days and hang out in the air conditioned library looking through magazines at ads and editorial images. You could end up finding some great new potential matches.

Or make a list of goals you want to achieve by October 1st.

Of course, you could also take some time and just shoot for yourself. Maybe you’ll make the perfect image(s) for your next marketing campaign.