They’re just not that into you….

[Bob Zelin]

Grinner writes –
Throw stuff out peaople want and let em come to ya.

Grinner, of course, is correct. Unless you can afford to advertise, you need to be ever present in the minds of your clients – new and old. You can’t harass people, but you have to remind people that you are out there. When the “fish” is hungry, he will come to bite – and if your new competitior happens to be there when the “fish” is really hungry, he will certainly take a look at the food the competitor has. When I am on the Universal backlot on a job, I go visit EVERY production company there, just to stick my head in, just to say hi (and not to say WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO HIRE ME ALREADY !). And occationally, someone will say “hey, I was meaning to call you, can you come in next week”. Now you know, they NEVER would have called if I didnt’ stick my head in to say “hi”.

Simple email press releases are good – “look at the cool video we just shot for YOUR COMPETITOR” – to which your client says to himself “maybe we should call those guys again next time”. This works better than saying “I am really slow – when can you hire me again”.

Bob Zelin

[Mike Cohen]

This happened to us when we got into book publishing. Publishing must not be confused with printing. Anyone can have copies of their book printed, that is called printing. Publishing is the editorial process to get from a manuscript to a printed book. We figured out an efficient way to do this for the projects we select.

After we released our first few books which became our flagship products, word started to get around. Now with 15 books in print and another dozen in the works, we find ourselves in meetings and cocktail receptions, being handed book proposals like passing notes in study hall. We of course carefully consider new opportunities. You never know where the next blockbuster is going to come from.

So as the others have said, put yourself out there, always with your best foot forward. Solve peoples’ problems. Be creative and they will come on their own schedule.

Mike Cohen

[Patrick Ortman]

Yup, works on postcards too. We send out postcards to current clients and researched prospects (people who can actually use our services) every couple of months, highlighting a recent project or service offering.

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http://www.patrickortman.com
Web and Video Design

[Bob Zelin]

Patrick is absolutely correct. Post cards work wonderfully. What many individuals cannot get thru their skulls is that you have to make out 100 post cards to get ONE client lead – but that is one client lead, and job, and money that you didnt’ have before. Then you send out another 100 post cards – now you have 2 jobs. And while you are working for client # 1 from the post cards, someone else will call you from the first batch you sent out, and say “when can you come in?”.

EVERYONE – including the esteemed management at Creative Cow, must continue to PUSH THEMSELVES and market themselves until the day they decide to retire. Because if you let yourself slow down, you will lose it all. I have done this myself, and when I get slow, instead of crying, I say to myself “don’t get fat, don’t get lazy”.

Bob Zelin