huremics wrote:
...and get 4 or 5 replies. Sheesh. The emails are well written - professional, informative. Maybe it's the TFP only aspect, but it's still surprising to me that with a portfolio that's as diverse, creative, and developed as on my website and my IG, there is such a paltry response rate.

This is probably just another "MM is dying thread, IG and FB are so much better" but I can't help notice how little is going on in my area as far as models and MM go.

Anyway, complaint over. :-)

I think it's the TF plus the nudity plus the website publishing plus waiting 1-2 months for images (if the emails list the same things as the casting you have up right now).

Designit - Edward Olson wrote:

I think it's the TF plus the nudity plus the website publishing plus waiting 1-2 months for images (if the emails list the same things as the casting you have up right now).

It's not exactly the same as the casting, so nudity isn't required. Most of the concepts I suggest are non-nude.
What do you mean re: the website?

thiswayup wrote:
...So you're complaining that you are spamming models on a massive scale and they don't think your work is good enough? I think there's something to complain about here, but not by you.

Put up a casting and stop hassling people. Mailing a model re. TFP is for special circumstances - a very specific match of interests and a high level of competence on your part (pretty much when you start to shoot trade agency models.)

Nice troll reply there. It would be spamming if I were to send the same model repeated emails. Lol re: "hassling people." Maybe you're unclear what this site exists for - to network.

Bob Helm Photography wrote:
For a mass mailing that is a fair rate of return.
Personally I do not use a shotgun approach but approach specific models I choose to work with, with a specific offer and like most things in life everything is negotiable.
Same for traveling models that approach me.

That's a fair point. I don't send the same stock email out verbatim to everyone. I adjust it to an extent, either adding or removing concepts based on the model's style and list of interested genres.

huremics wrote:

It's not exactly the same as the casting, so nudity isn't required. Most of the concepts I suggest are non-nude.
What do you mean re: the website?

While Raleigh is more progressive than most of the state, it's still a fairly conservative area.  Some models might not like appearing on the same website with nudes.

Next time you might try offering "gas money" - A little something to encourage them to devote some time to you.  People have all sorts of things they could be doing with their time and they may expect more than just photographs.

Also, you might spend some time at the western end of the state near Asheville and Charlotte where you might find more artsy types.

huremics wrote:
...and get 4 or 5 replies. Sheesh. The emails are well written - professional, informative. Maybe it's the TFP only aspect, but it's still surprising to me that with a portfolio that's as diverse, creative, and developed as on my website and my IG, there is such a paltry response rate.

This is probably just another "MM is dying thread, IG and FB are so much better" but I can't help notice how little is going on in my area as far as models and MM go.

Anyway, complaint over. :-)

Hi,
It might be a good idea to keep the initial feeler email very simple. What if the person isn't online, hasn't been here or is not currently shooting or interested. The initial hello will either go unnoticed or they'll reply with their status of interest or not. After then would I spend energy sharing my shoot details. Sure, I've done what you did and realized it is too much too soon.
Jen

Loki Studio wrote:
Most successful people realize it is a far better investment to pay an experienced model $100 for a shoot rather than spend hours sending 100s of email to amateurs for TFP.

This

goofus  wrote:
you have 5 pix in your MM portfolio..none of which is gonna do a model any good

put up some pix they may like/want/need


and keep asking

MM is not a good place to view images IMO. In my email, I direct them to my site, which is by far the best way to view my work.

Guss W wrote:

While Raleigh is more progressive than most of the state, it's still a fairly conservative area.  Some models might not like appearing on the same website with nudes.

Next time you might try offering "gas money" - A little something to encourage them to devote some time to you.  People have all sorts of things they could be doing with their time and they may expect more than just photographs.

Also, you might spend some time at the western end of the state near Asheville and Charlotte where you might find more artsy types.

Yeah, both those areas are 100x better than Raleigh, which is oddly lackluster. Recently returned from doing 10 shoots in Asheville, in fact.

Jen B wrote:

Hi,
It might be a good idea to keep the initial feeler email very simple. What if the person isn't online, hasn't been here or is not currently shooting or interested. The initial hello will either go unnoticed or they'll reply with their status of interest or not. After then would I spend energy sharing my shoot details. Sure, I've done what you did and realized it is too much too soon.
Jen

That's a good point, thanks.

karljohnston wrote:
That's actually a decent return ratio.. 4-5% ? Much better than direct mail or instagram adverts ! you should be jumping for joy.

Agreed !

huremics wrote:

MM is not a good place to view images IMO. In my email, I direct them to my site, which is by far the best way to view my work.

maybe so..but the first thing they do after getting a message is click on your avatar, then on your MM portfolio ..you are probably losing 80 percent of those who even bother to click right there

huremics wrote:

Nice troll reply there. It would be spamming if I were to send the same model repeated emails. Lol re: "hassling people." Maybe you're unclear what this site exists for - to network.

No, I'm not trolling. I sincerely think that you are a nuisance and suffer from grotesque over-entitlement.

huremics wrote:
...and get 4 or 5 replies. Sheesh. The emails are well written - professional, informative. Maybe it's the TFP only aspect, but it's still surprising to me that with a portfolio that's as diverse, creative, and developed as on my website and my IG, there is such a paltry response rate.

This is probably just another "MM is dying thread, IG and FB are so much better" but I can't help notice how little is going on in my area as far as models and MM go.

Anyway, complaint over. :-)

But with all my complaints.. I will say though, you WILL get responses from more people but some of those people wont respond for MONTHS... Because MM is NOT part of their daily routine.... If MM had a app maybe thing would be different..

huremics wrote:
...and get 4 or 5 replies. Sheesh. The emails are well written - professional, informative. Maybe it's the TFP only aspect, but it's still surprising to me that with a portfolio that's as diverse, creative, and developed as on my website and my IG, there is such a paltry response rate.

This is probably just another "MM is dying thread, IG and FB are so much better" but I can't help notice how little is going on in my area as far as models and MM go.

Anyway, complaint over. :-)

I agree, it's just not MM. I am not getting any responses from FB groups I belong to. I was also talking to a model friend. She said the business, for her, is slow.

huremics wrote:
The emails are well written - professional, informative. Maybe it's the TFP only aspect, but it's still surprising to me that with a portfolio that's as diverse, creative, and developed as on my website and my IG, there is such a paltry response rate.

This is probably just another "MM is dying thread, IG and FB are so much better" but I can't help notice how little is going on in my area as far as models and MM go.

Would you like to meet in the 'critique' section? 

You complain about MM being dead, but your five images surely contribute to that. Why not keep a current portfolio on the networking platform that you expect replies from, that would get models interested in working with you, without having to click on a bunch of other links? And why don't you just send the messages on FB and cast on your IG then?
SMH.

Dea and the Beast wrote:
You complain about MM being dead, but your five images surely contribute to that. Why not keep a current portfolio on the networking platform that you expect replies from, that would get models interested in working with you, without having to click on a bunch of other links? And why don't you just send the messages on FB and cast on your IG then?
SMH.

+1

Obviously I'm not a model but when I browse on MM if the portfolio doesn't interest me, I don't bother to click on any further links.

karljohnston wrote:
That's actually a decent return ratio.. 4-5% ? Much better than direct mail or instagram adverts ! you should be jumping for joy

You are comparing two different kinds of marketing. Direct mail generally goes to a diverse group where most of the recipients are not looking for services at that time. The plumber who sends out a mailing will be hitting only a small percentage of people who are currently looking for a plumber. Unless messages sent to models here are including those who have not logged on in a whle, they are going to a targeted group who *supposedly* are looking to work with photographers.

Eye of the World wrote:
Unless messages sent to models here are including those who have not logged on in a whle, they are going to a targeted group who *supposedly* are looking to work with photographers.

Yes. But that doesn't mean that they're looking to shoot for free unless someone is both unusually good and shoots the style they want. If they were in the stage where they were shooting trade more or less indiscriminately, they'd put up a casting. So unless you're Ellen Unwerth, you really shouldn't expect much by mass mailings. Still less should you expect to be able to whine about them without people pointing out that you don't have anything to whine about.

Loki Studio wrote:
Most successful people realize it is a far better investment to pay an experienced model $100 for a shoot rather than spend hours sending 100s of email to amateurs for TFP.

I love this!