This winter, I collaborated with Singapore-based Travel and Hospitality photographer Alvin Ng on a Client Introduction service. When I first looked at Alvin’s work, I knew he was an ideal candidate for projects in these industries. His eclectic approach to photography allows him to explore each destination’s intimate places, lively people, and breathtaking panoramas. Alvin understands that communicating experiences is an important aspect of Travel and Hospitality photography. His personal projects examine self-reflection and spirituality, and imbue his work with an ethereal and dreamlike quality. With a catalog of commercial projects stretching between Interiors, Landscape, and Lifestyle photography, I knew Alvin could create evocative and diverse imagery for clients in his region. The key to success would be quality research and outreach.
For Alvin, researching potential clients and putting together the proper marketing materials are somewhat intimidating tasks. He would rather focus his efforts on the creative aspect of his photography. With our Client Introductions service, Alvin could receive 25 verified contacts and have someone send out a message on his behalf. He also wanted to implement more targeted marketing campaigns with a focus on travel publications shooting in Singapore and other markets in Southeast Asia to expand his network of contacts. While most of our client introduction lists are 50 contacts or more, this “short and sweet” list was the perfect opportunity to balance his dream clients with those hiring photographers regularly in his region.
As usual, this project began with a video call to discuss Alvin’s overall goals, ideal clients, and the types of projects that interested him. We also discussed the geographic areas at regional, national, and international scales, on which he wanted to focus his efforts. With all of this information in hand, as well as his specialties, style, and strengths, I’m able to form a more complete idea of Alvin’s photography business and how we can push it into new commercial domains.
Before my call with Alvin, I first studied his written responses to our questionnaire. The questionnaire helps us to understand how Alvin defines his work. It is an assessment of previous marketing strategies, a photographer’s focus and aesthetic, and, finally, their career goals. This information is essential to both searching for clients and drafting the marketing email. While I can use my own observations to speak to his work, Alvin’s personal understanding of his work and how it differs from others is essential to crafting the most targeted lists and personalized introductions.
Finally, a comprehensive analysis of Alvin’s website galleries and social media allowed me to get a sense of how he saw himself, the clients he was already working with, and where he wanted to go in his career. Overall, Alvin’s work and portfolio were very impressive. From a marketing point of view, however, I was concerned that his website didn’t fully exhibit his talent and range of abilities. With this in mind, I decided that our first task together was to refine the presentation by prioritizing his Interiors, Lifestyle, and Travel photography galleries over his personal projects.
I knew Alvin’s work would appeal well to global travel publications in addition to boutique hotels in Singapore. Alvin already had some experience capturing images of several resorts, and these images were a strong component of his portfolio. In the past, he had some success featuring his work in Monocle magazine, and was hoping he could find new contacts to whom he could pitch project ideas in a similar way. We used his Architecture and Interiors imagery for his marketing email, as they showcased his various abilities while feeling cohesive within the same setting.
Although we kept our reach focused on Southeast Asia and Oceania, I included a few contacts from Western travel publications like Condé Nast that operate in the region. On the other hand, all of the hotels included in the list were local to his region. Once the list went out, the opens and replies began to stack up. We were ecstatic to receive a 55% open-rate! This was a sign that many of Alvin’s dream clients were already looking at his images.
Our first response came from Design Anthology, an interiors publication based in Hong Kong, who asked Alvin to submit his work through their database. We also received a really positive reply from a marketing manager at a Singapore-based hotel group who was excited about Alvin’s images and wanted to discuss his rates and hiring him directly.
Overall, this was an interesting challenge that required me to think outside the box. It is more difficult to find and narrow down a list in Singapore than in other markets I’d worked in previously. This list was an opportunity for deeper research and testing new methods. As each list is unique to that photographer, I was excited to work on a project that opened our research to an entirely new market, and added 25 new client contacts that Alvin can continue to connect with in his own marketing efforts.
My time working with Alvin was marked by open communication and thoughtful collaboration. As a result of prior work experiences, he was clear about which companies in the region he did not want to work for. This was an important need to communicate and helped us develop a list best suited to discover Alvin’s ideal clients. Alvin was incredibly happy with the results of his “short and sweet” Client Introductions. He was always excited when we found new prospects for him to connect with. Now, Alvin is armed with a list of ideal contacts, enabling him to continue sharing his incredible work and expand his client network.
Thank you SO so much for everything! It’s been an incredibly amazing experience working with you on this, and most definitely I’ve learned a lot from our project. I’ve already stored the contacts in my spreadsheet and have also established contacts with the people in the list via emails and LinkedIn. You’ve been of great help and I appreciate very much all the assistance and advice you’ve given me!
Further Reading
Read more articles about Alvin Ng
Case Studies: Client Introductions
Expert Advice: How Important is a Photographer’s Location to their Career?