Picture this: you’ve just finished shooting images for your upcoming photography book. Do you a) email a few publishers and politely explain to them that you’re wishing to 
publish a book and direct them to view a few of your best images you thoughtfully attached to the email? Or b) do you spend a little extra time thinking of an interesting way to grab their attention, compelling them to publish your book?
Kym Illman is not unfamiliar with strategy b. To grab the attention of his chosen book publisher, Papadakis Publisher, Kym thought outside the box. In fact, he thought so far outside the box he had to have his submission couriered to their office!
Personalisation goes a long way
Rather than emailing, Kym selected a photo he took of a curious baby giraffe and blew it up to six feet tall! The creativity didn’t stop there; he then added some copy, his contact details and personalised it by including the publisher’s name in the photograph. As you can see, the final product speaks for itself, literally.
Not only did the publisher accept his submission, they posted it to their Facebook wall, putting it in front of hundreds of potential buyers.
That’s free advertising!
Was his submission expensive to produce? Not by a long shot. Do you need to be an award-winning creative to do this? It would help, but a short brain storming session plus initiative and just about anyone can come up with a simple yet compelling idea.
– Lachy
*You can view more of Kym’s acclaimed Africa photographs by visiting his Africa On Safari Facebook page.