Posted by Tom Nevesely on September 10, 2010 at 10:41 AM
I have a photo of a popular hotel here in the Canadian Rockies that I made a few years ago. When ever I show the photo to anyone, they say that I offer to sell the image to the hotel because it's a great shot and because it's from an angle they've never seen the hotel from.
I figure I have nothing to loose so why not...
My problem is this - What do I say to them? Do I just say that I have a photo that I think they might be interested in buying? I don't know, that seems pretty presumptuous.
Any thoughts on how I should go about this? Also who should I contact? Someone in Marketing or someone in Public Relations?
Posted by Carol Hyman on September 10, 2010 at 12:24 PM
Tom, Ask the front desk folks who does the buying for the hotel, then contact this person to set up an appointment. Sometimes you'll discover that they only buy from a specific seller but I would imagine that wouldn't be the case in your location.
Good luck.
Carol
Posted by Alain Briot on September 10, 2010 at 1:40 PM
Tom,
The first thing I would do is make sure your photograph really lives up to your expectations. You can do so by asking for feedback by professionals who make a living selling their work. If you have already done so you can disregard this part.
The second thing is considering your options, which are numerous. You can certainly sell this photo once to the hotel. However, you will have to decide on a size, price, framed or unframed, what type of frame, etc. Also, this will be a one time sale, not so good for business since you what you really want are regular sales.
Other options include selling not a photo but a poster made in quantity of this photo. This poster is sold wholesale to the hotel which then sells it through its giftstore. The nice thing about this popular marketing approach is that you can sell the same poster to all other stores and hotels in the same area.
A third option is to donate the photo, in large size and beautifully framed, with the request that your website be included in a visible manner next to the photo. This then becomes your "business card" and drives traffic to your site where you can sell many prints of this same photo to hotel visitors.
Yet another option is to use your expertise photographing the area to ask for a show in this hotel. Then you can sell your work directly to hotel guests and visitors and make a much higher margin of profit compared to wholesale or to a one-time sale to the hotel.
I made millions using these various approaches (I tried them all). You can do the same.
Posted by Taylor Reed on September 27, 2010 at 10:59 AM
Thanks for that informative post Alain
Posted by Tom Nevesely on October 1, 2010 at 10:57 AM
Thank you all for your replies! I haven't been able to do anything yet because I've been busy but I hope to soon.
Posted by mark miller on October 23, 2010 at 10:37 PM
Elain, I was about to say you should scratch two of those items off your list, but then I saw on the bottom, you made millions! Nevermind, you know your stuff.
Simply, I question how effective it would be to donate a photo so visitors could see your website, as a form of advertising, and then order. My experience indicates there is very little, if any payoff going this route.
The other is posters. They could sell a bunch, perhaps. If it's popular, they could sell year after year, and be very profitable. Just make sure you have a solid contract with the hotel. That is, don't blow a few thousand yourself on a poster printing only to find out the hotel only wants to try a few dozen to see how they sell. Maybe they won't sell enough to warrant further orders, or maybe they'll sell fine, but the manager is fickle and
decides to discontinue them. The big, big draw back to retailers is posters must be displayed, and that often takes up valuable store space. Business minded managers weigh the value of that space with revenues they generate.
The big risk is you may be out a few thousand, and be stuck with a stack of psoters in your spare bedroom. (and I had a poster business going once- a tough, tough route!)
Posted by mark miller on October 26, 2010 at 3:22 PM
One idea I overlooked is you could have that picture framed and up for sale at the hotel- either sell it to them wholesale, or work out a consignment. They in turn could display it and have it up for sale. When it sells, you can replenish it, and split the profits (if consignment).
That way you can keep your overhead very low, plus you can see how the market really is. One thing I've encountered, is everyone says "beautiful", but when it comes to actually buying, that's a completely different story :) Good luck with that, and let us know. MM
Correction: My former post should have been addressed to "Alain"
Discussion
7 repliesI figure I have nothing to loose so why not...
My problem is this - What do I say to them? Do I just say that I have a photo that I think they might be interested in buying? I don't know, that seems pretty presumptuous.
Any thoughts on how I should go about this? Also who should I contact? Someone in Marketing or someone in Public Relations?
Good luck.
Carol
The first thing I would do is make sure your photograph really lives up to your expectations. You can do so by asking for feedback by professionals who make a living selling their work. If you have already done so you can disregard this part.
The second thing is considering your options, which are numerous. You can certainly sell this photo once to the hotel. However, you will have to decide on a size, price, framed or unframed, what type of frame, etc. Also, this will be a one time sale, not so good for business since you what you really want are regular sales.
Other options include selling not a photo but a poster made in quantity of this photo. This poster is sold wholesale to the hotel which then sells it through its giftstore. The nice thing about this popular marketing approach is that you can sell the same poster to all other stores and hotels in the same area.
A third option is to donate the photo, in large size and beautifully framed, with the request that your website be included in a visible manner next to the photo. This then becomes your "business card" and drives traffic to your site where you can sell many prints of this same photo to hotel visitors.
Yet another option is to use your expertise photographing the area to ask for a show in this hotel. Then you can sell your work directly to hotel guests and visitors and make a much higher margin of profit compared to wholesale or to a one-time sale to the hotel.
I made millions using these various approaches (I tried them all). You can do the same.
Thanks again!
Simply, I question how effective it would be to donate a photo so visitors could see your website, as a form of advertising, and then order. My experience indicates there is very little, if any payoff going this route.
The other is posters. They could sell a bunch, perhaps. If it's popular, they could sell year after year, and be very profitable. Just make sure you have a solid contract with the hotel. That is, don't blow a few thousand yourself on a poster printing only to find out the hotel only wants to try a few dozen to see how they sell. Maybe they won't sell enough to warrant further orders, or maybe they'll sell fine, but the manager is fickle and
decides to discontinue them. The big, big draw back to retailers is posters must be displayed, and that often takes up valuable store space. Business minded managers weigh the value of that space with revenues they generate.
The big risk is you may be out a few thousand, and be stuck with a stack of psoters in your spare bedroom. (and I had a poster business going once- a tough, tough route!)
That way you can keep your overhead very low, plus you can see how the market really is. One thing I've encountered, is everyone says "beautiful", but when it comes to actually buying, that's a completely different story :) Good luck with that, and let us know. MM
Correction: My former post should have been addressed to "Alain"