There’s an unspoken rule in the creative industry: follow up, but don’t expect a reply. What used to be a rare frustration has now become the norm—emails left unanswered, proposals ignored, relationships that once felt solid suddenly vanishing into the ether. The rise of ghosting, a term originally coined for dating culture, has now taken hold in the business world, and creatives are feeling the brunt of it.<--break->
Introduction
As a photographer and filmmaker, I regularly reach out to brands I’ve worked with before, as well as potential new clients. These aren’t cold emails; they’re conversations that have history. Yet, time and time again, I find my inquiries met with radio silence. It’s one thing for a company to decline an opportunity, but it’s another to simply disappear without acknowledgment.
This isn’t just my experience—it’s a widespread issue among creatives. Whether you’re a photographer, writer, designer, or filmmaker, the frustration of being ghosted by marketing managers, brand directors, or agencies is becoming all too common.
My Personal Experience With Ghosting
I’ve personally faced this issue numerous times, even with brands I’ve had strong working relationships with. Over the past few years, I've spoken with a well-known German outdoor brand (I won't name it for privacy) about shooting projects together. After having multiple Zoom meetings and creating quotes for the project, my emails were completely ignored. No explanation, no “we’re going in a different direction,” just silence. It took multiple follow-up emails of reaching back out to finally receive a "we'll have to hold off on this project."
I especially notice being ghosted when I give my rate to a prospective client or explain how much the total job will cost, and they completely ignore me. It’s as if the moment money is mentioned, the conversation evaporates. I’ve had brands enthusiastically discuss creative ideas, request detailed proposals, and even ask for mood boards—only to disappear the second I send over my pricing. It’s frustrating because time and effort go into crafting these proposals, and a simple “this isn’t within our budget” would be far better than complete silence.
Why Is This Happening?
There are a few reasons why ghosting has gone viral in the creative industry:
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Digital Overload: Marketing managers are inundated with emails, LinkedIn messages, and DMs. With inboxes overflowing, many prioritize urgent internal tasks over responding to external pitches, even from previous collaborators.
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The Fear of Saying No: Some brands avoid rejecting creatives outright, fearing potential backlash or wanting to keep doors open for future opportunities. Rather than a clear “no,” they opt for silence, leaving creatives in limbo.
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Shift in Power Dynamics: The demand for creative work has skyrocketed, but so has the supply of freelancers. With an influx of talent, some brands feel less compelled to maintain relationships, treating creatives as disposable rather than as long-term partners.
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Corporate Culture Shift: Many companies now operate with high turnover rates, and the person you built a relationship with may no longer be there. Your emails might not even be reaching the right person anymore.
The Toll on Creatives
Being ghosted isn’t just frustrating—it can be financially damaging. Freelancers and creatives rely on communication to plan projects, secure income, and sustain their careers. When a brand goes silent, it can mean weeks or even months of uncertainty. It also erodes trust; if a brand that once valued your work suddenly vanishes, how do you approach working with them in the future?
How Do We Fix This?
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Normalize Professional Responses: Brands should implement policies that ensure every inquiry receives an answer, even if it’s a simple “We’re not interested at this time.”
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Follow-Up Strategies: Creatives should set a structured follow-up system—one or two follow-ups and then move on.
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Call It Out: The more we talk about ghosting in the industry, the more pressure there is for brands to change. Sharing experiences with peers, in articles (like this one), and in industry discussions can push for better business etiquette.
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Diversify Income Streams: Since ghosting isn’t going away overnight, creatives should explore multiple revenue sources—licensing work, passive income, or building direct-to-consumer brands—to lessen reliance on brand partnerships.
Conclusion
The creative industry thrives on collaboration, but ghosting is eroding trust between brands and creatives. A simple response can go a long way in maintaining professional respect. If brands want to work with the best creatives, they need to remember that relationships are a two-way street. Until then, we’ll keep following up, hoping that one day, the silence breaks.
I know the sentiment quite well, and it sucks. As a personal practice I always respond to inquiries, except the ones telling me I need to hire them to move me up to #1 on Google searches and the ones informing me that my website sucks. In terms of business or personal communications though that's a matter of good manners and managing a business in a business like manner. It is frustrating though that now when communication is actually easier than it ever was that communicating is ignored. Just another sign of a dehumanizing society.
You're so right, Nathan. It's easier than ever just to respond with a short email, rather than ignoring. The more that freelancers speak about it, the more things can hopefully change!
I know an art buyer manager who when a job is awarded she says they make one happy call and two not happy calls. And on the not happy call the AB will explain why the bid was not successful and how to do better next time. Or if the whole job goes belly up they will tell the interested parties that it went away. But she's old school.
That is a great way of doing it! Communication is key, especially in the creative industry. I feel like there's less accountability these days with brands and it's more convenient just to ignore. I hope it changes!
When you say "brands" do you mean agencies?
From what my friend has said they are expected to do more with less. Sometimes agencies merge and double the workflow but not the staff. They are working with fewer people on staff (in her dept) but expected to manage every aspect of a campaign from print/broadcast/social/PR no excuse for not telling someone they lost a bid.
I can't remember actually the last time I talked to a AD on the phone. I sometimes would meet them when they showed up at the studio/location. :)
We live in an era where people are not hungry enough. They haven't had to scratch for every bit of work they could get, and so feel entitled. I am still very hungry and try to never miss an e-mail. My studio policy was that if the phone went past two rings, unless the receptionist was tied up with something else and couldn't get to the phone, they were fired. Phones had to be answered not later than the second ring and there was a procedure and a script for answering the phone. The person had to always sound happy and enthused. Sadly, too many companies, and too many people don't pay attention to this most basic good practice.
Man, Chandler this is so timely, just happened to me again last week. I can definitely relate to the whole ghosting thing. Never quite understood it. I’d much rather get an email saying, “Sorry, we changed our mind,” “Sorry, not interested,” or even “Sorry, your images sucks—we’re going with someone else.” I’ve got tough skin, I can take it. But the ghosting? That drives me crazy.
I’m glad you’re more optimistic than I am, though. I don’t think it’ll ever change. Editors and picture buyers are bombarded with images, everyone’s too busy, and social media has only made it worse. Maybe it’s a generational thing? I see it with my college-age kids and their friends, people bail on plans all the time, last minute, sometimes with a message, sometimes not.
And yeah, the second you send a fee, they disappear. Which, honestly, is probably fine. If they’re looking for cheap or free, I wouldn’t want to work with them anyway. My background is in newspapers, but as we all know, that industry is fading (dead?). When I started freelancing 20 years ago, ghosting wasn’t quite as bad, but the "good enough" mindset was already creeping in. If it’s cheap or free, it’s good enough, especially for social media.
The toughest part? Competing with photographers who have solid day jobs, making good money and shoot for fun. Many of them are really good, really good, but they don’t care about getting paid. How do you compete with that? I used to believe you just had to be better or offer something different, but I don’t think that’s true anymore. Better isn’t often enough. Good enough is what they want, and free is what they’re after. Especially on social media, where brands seem to want everything to look like everything else, same toning, same feel, same look. I don't know.
OK, I’m rambling. I’ll stop now. Thanks for writing this—stay optimistic. Don’t turn into a cynical old newspaper photographer like me. LOL!
This happens often even in rather normal emails with family and friends. Even just acknowledging an email or message is a dead custom.