MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading photography management and sales platform SmugMug is approaching the holiday selling season in a brand new way this year. Instead of offering discounts and deals to attract new customers to the platform, the company is devoting their entire marketing focus to promoting and supporting their existing users.
In practice, this looks like a wide range of initiatives launched during the month of November, including a worldwide directory of professional photographers for hire, a paid digital media campaign promoting the work of SmugMug Pros, and hyper-focused out-of-home marketing in select cities showcasing local photographers on SmugMug.
"Imagine, as a photographer, seeing your work on a billboard across the street from your office. Then you see it advertised online. Then you're able to find it in a directory that leads right to your website," says SmugMug Senior Director, Brand Marketing Christine Fradenburg. "We're building a new sales funnel for our photographers, from scratch, because they deserve to be found and supported for the work they do."
The heart of this fresh approach is ShutterScout, a brand-new, worldwide directory of professional photographers on SmugMug. The directory is searchable by location and subject, helping people find, hire, and purchase photos from SmugMug photographers. Backed by digital and out-of-home marketing campaigns showcasing photographers on the platform, the company hopes to leverage their decades of experience and global reach to help their users find success.
This is far from the first time the innovative photography brand has shaken things up: recently SmugMug offered to pay the entirety of their Pro-level subscription fee back to photographers who hit $500 in sales in their first year. Photographers around the world jumped at the opportunity, and many of them far exceeded the benchmark.
"We described that as "we believe in your success so much, we're betting on it" and folks really took us up on the challenge," says Scott Kinzie, SmugMug VP of Marketing. "This is a natural progression of that. We're putting our money where our mouth is and truly throwing our weight behind our photographers, because we know we can be instrumental in helping them succeed."
In addition to paid initiatives, SmugMug is also releasing The Development Lab—a wealth of fresh content to educate, inspire, and equip SmugMug users with the tools they need to build a business and sell their photos on the platform. From instructional videos and how-to blogs to inspiring interviews with other successful pros, this holiday season will be full of opportunities for SmugMug photographers to grow and thrive.
"Ditching discounts is just the beginning," says Kinzie. "We can't wait to see where our photographers go from here."
The latest and greatest from the Development Lab and beyond.
