May « 2009 « IN[FOCUS]

05.28.09

How to effectively implement email marketing into your workflow

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Koral from Epic Motion here.

A monthly or quarterly email newsletter is a great way to stay in front of your past clients, your network, and your family and friends. It’s a great way to strengthen your brand and something that should be considered for your next marketing campaign.

I’ve personally found it to be something that people LOVE to receive… for the weeks following a send, I get people that respond and comment on a video they saw. It’s effective.

Here are some things that we always try to include in our newsletters:

links to our latest videos (this should go without saying…).
pictures (people love pictures… of you, your weddings, your dog… okay, not anything). Including pictures is wayyyyy better than forcing people to look at text only
tips/tricks for the home video “professional” (this is part of the value that I offer to people who read the email.. very simple stuff – but still offers value).
special promotions that only readers will know about.
exciting projects that are in production (this just helps them see that we are still in business and cooking up fun and exciting stuff).
a helpful quote from a vendor with whome we network (this is a great way to rub shoulders with people we admire and a great way to get our readers to know that we are active in our industry and “working it”).
free samples. okay – we don’t offer free samples, but if someone knows how to do this via an email – I like Reeses Peanut Butter Cups as well as Samoa Girl Scout Cookies and anything else that is sweet.

Keep in mind, though, that it is very important that you leave people wanting more rather than having them scan a few lines and think, “Okay… WAYYYY more information than I can handle right now”. Keep your blurbs short!

Recommended newsletter providers

I used iContact for a couple of years and it worked fine, but I don’t love any of their templates. Visually I think they are sub-par.

Recently I was introduced to MadMimi and instantly fell in love with the intuitive interface and the super sexy SIMPLE visual appeal. I was able to export all of my contacts in CSV format from iContact and they imported into MadMimi seamlessly. Their customer service has been extremely fast at responding to my requests and have gone out of their way to help me.

Here’s a little video that gives you a click glance at what MadMimi offers.

MadMimi and ShootQ now work TOGETHER as well. Now, I’m able to create promotions for specific leads/booked weddings/past clients/vendors, etc… I can pick my criteria from within ShootQ (date of event, bride, wedding, other event, etc.) and then it will compile a list that can be exported to MadMimi where I can create a short little email to include a new promotion or whatever else suits my fancy-pants.

Seriously – this is an amazingly incredible tag-team action that ShootQ and MadMimi have going on.

Here are some more email tips from one of my favorite sites – freelanceswitch.com - there’s some good stuff here – check it out!

Lastly, I have an area where I write down my ideas for the email so that when it comes time to create it, I have some ideas already in place.

Don’t forget…when you add value to a reader through your newsletter, the recipient will look forward to the next one.. and the next one…I’d love to hear any ideas of how we as filmmakers can add value to the email marketing experience.

That’s it for now… oh, I almost forgot… you can sign up for the Epic Motion newsletter by clicking here!

Posted in Blog, Marketing

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05.27.09

Keeping up with Joey, pt. III

IN[FOCUS] blogger Joey Mathews of 31Films gives us more of a look at his studio, talking about his team, his marketing, his windmill-powered editing system, and of course, shows off more Infant Shooting Techniques!

Posted in Blog, Introducing the Bloggers

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05.26.09

Must Read List

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If you want to be successful there is one thing that you must do…never stop learning.

I am an admitted magazine junkie. I have collected magazines since I was a kid so this list is by no means the be all end all, but each one has proved helpful to us in building our business in one way or another. And the best part is you don’t have to subscribe to all of them. We hit the book store on a regular basis just to drink coffee and read magazines. We go with a notebook and pen so we can take notes on anything that stands out in the magazines we stack on our table. Here’s our must read magazine list for the event videographer:

1. Grace Ormonde Wedding Style. This magazine is one of the best wedding magazines on the rack. If you are looking for the latest trends in high-end weddings, this is the place to find them. This magazine is also a great source for branding ideas as well as a useful resource for locating high-end vendors with whom you want to be associated. Shoot them an email and introduce yourself!

2. EventDV. This magazine is definitely the best source of info for the event videographer. It keeps its readers up to date on the latest trends & givess practical how-to tutorials on everything from graphics to audio. In one of the most anticipated announcements, EventDV names the top 25 event videographers in the world every year. These are some of the studios to watch for inspiration!

3. Wired. Not only is this magazine rich in stuff that makes the tech geek in me all warm and fuzzy, but the layouts in this magazine are so different from anything I’ve ever seen. They took the mold and broke it – we can really learn from this. What rules are you following, and why???

4. Inc. This magazine takes a young and modern approach to entrepreneurship. They offer practical advice and highlight success stories and they do so in some pretty hip layouts as well.

Here is a list of books that have greatly contributed to the success of our company.

1. Do You! 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success by Russell Simmons

2. Purple Cow by Seth Godin. If you read only 1 book for the rest of your business-life, make it this one. It’s that good. Actually all his books are that good, so make the time and invest in your business brain. Oh, and his blog is filled with some real make-you-think content.

Here are some highlights from another one of his books “Meatball Sundae: Is your marketing out of sync?”

“YouTube now carries more than 7 million videos. Though the average length of a video on the site is about five minutes, most videos are watched for less than 10 seconds. Ten seconds is all you get to prove whether the viewer ought to invest another ten seconds, and if you get someone to stick until the end, you’ve hit a home run. With 7 million to choose from, there’s not alot of reason to persist through something that’s not engaging.

This rapid fire approach to media is important even if you’re not a media company. It means that the personality of your product on the shelf matters. It means that every interaction with a consumer is a make-or-break proposition. You don’t get the chance for a learning curve. You don’t get the opportunity to have the user overcome initial discomfort.”

4. The Martha Rules by Martha Stewart

Martha Rule #9 Take Risks, Not Chances.

“In business, there’s a difference between a risk and a chance. A well-calculated risk may very well end up as an investment in your business. A careless chance can cause it to crumble. And when opportunity presents itself, never assume it will be your last.”

5. ZAG: The Number One Strategy of High Performance Brands by Marty Neumeier

“An overabundance of look-alike products and me-too services is forcing customers to search for something, anything, to help them separate the winners from the clutter. The solution? When everybody zigs, zag.”

6. Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and in Life by Donald Trump

“No matter what you do, think big. Thinking big is the driving force that has forged all the great achievements in modern life…I believe that if you focus on the top, you will get there.”

I’m sure that there are a ton of other mags and books that have helped all of you out in the past. Leave a comment for us and let us know your must read list!

Oh…big news! We are restructuring and changing our name from Fairytale Productions to ftpweddings! You heard it here first!

Jen & Liz, FTP

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Posted in Blog, Business Planning

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Rich Arslan says:

05/28/2009 at 1:47 pm

Great blog post. I actually enjoyed your comment about thinking big. The name of my company happens to be thinkBIG videography. I am just starting out in the video business and hope to reach the same level of success as you someday.
Sincerely,
Rich

05.21.09

Business Expenses – What’s Your Bottom Line?

Matt Ebenezer here from Shadowplay Photography and Video in Australia.

Here’s a quick chat about something that is important to the successful running of a business – estimating your business costs for the year.

Do you know how much your business will cost you this year? It’s a simple exercise, yet easily avoidable. To help you get started in identifying your expenses and determining how much you will spend a year, take a look at this list of potential expenses.

Just a small piece of encouragement to help you run your business better.

Posted in Blog, Money Matters

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05.20.09

Keeping up with Joey, pt. II

Get to know IN[FOCUS] blogger Joey Mathews with 31 Films even better with part II of III in his feature on EventDV-TV.

Posted in Blog, Introducing the Bloggers

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