Last night I went to a party with a bunch of girlfriends and acquaintances. The general theme was Valentine's Day and we celebrated our women friendships. We also exchanged gifts. This year I just couldn't bring myself to to buy the usual "gifty stuff" that women typically get for one another. Instead I bought some high-end watercolour paper card stock and envelopes and printed up some of my new "on white" images on the cards, complete with my website and contact info. I bought proper celo greeting card wrappers and I put a little note in with each card that said, "This card was made for you for this special celebration of our friendships. Send it to someone you care about to brighten their day." I wanted to give each friend a sample of my work, but also create something beautiful and personal for them that was practical and that they could spread around. I admit I had a little ulterior motive of self-promo with my cards, but I never expected such a great response.
When I showed my girlfriends the selection of cards, the frenzy was like the 75%-Off sale at Holt Renfrew. I never realized how popular cards were to women! Some even wanted to frame their cards! My presentation generated quite a buzz in the room and it opened the discussion up to my other photography. I had photographed three of the women's families already, and some of the new people were interested in getting family portraits as well. As it turned out, I had a few promo brochures stashed in my car, so I passed them out to interested friends too.
I'm generally quite an introvert, especially at parties. I have never really tried to promote myself to my friends and acquaintances much. I'm not the best sales person and I don't want my friends to think that I'm trolling for business every time I go to a party. But this idea seemed to work well as it was genuine and came across that way to the women in the group. A $50 investment in supplies, and a couple of hours of time, made a lot of people smile. That goes a long way in a friendship and a business.
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