The Daily Promo – Alexis Hunley

Alexis Hunley

Who printed it?
Zazzle – it’s a great company similar to Vistaprint where you can create customized products. They often have discounts and deals and for the set of promos I printed, I got a really great price.

Who designed it?
I did! However, I would love to work with a designer in the near future as I expand into more intricate promos.

Tell me about the images?
The first two images (man resting his head and the couple holding hands) are from a project titled Lovers or Friends. This project has allowed me to merge my love for science and art within a body of work that ties in a visual narrative to the psychological facts and figures that fascinate me. Lovers or Friends is a story about the importance of intimate connections via touch in the midst of a national epidemic of loneliness. From a psychological and scientific perspective, physical touch and emotional intimacy are integral to both psychological and physical well-being. Simply put – we cannot live happy and healthy lives without them. This project has been an amazing opportunity for me to build a photographic story around scientific data with the goal of reminding each of us that our needs for touch and intimate connections are normal no matter how or with who we fill those needs.

The final card is a portrait of Miss Hawai’i International 2019/Miss International Oceania, Raquel Basco. Shortly after this shoot, I was asked to travel with Raquel and her team to Honolulu to create still and motion content leading up to her trip to Japan to compete for Miss Universe International 2019.

How many did you make?
For each image, I printed 20 so in total, I printed 60 cards.

How many times a year do you send out promos?
I send promos about twice a year but I typically try to send a card out after a meeting or portfolio review. This year I will probably stick with two promos and a quarterly newsletter and reevaluate my strategy at the end of the year.

Do you think printed promos are effective for marketing your work?
There is something really special about receiving a handwritten card in the mail. One of my amazing mentors, Amy Cooper, really encouraged me to take time to send printed promos consistently. Just over the last year the promos that I have mailed out have landed me meetings, opened up doors, and helped me create connections that I otherwise would have been unable to without that initial introduction from those printed promos. The combination of printed promos, digital newsletters, and social media has vastly improved my ability to market my work effectively.