Thank you for finding my humble little studio website and being impressed by my photography work! That kind of recognition is what keeps me striving to always improve, to keep my passion for my artistic work alive, to keep spending countless hours working to capture moments and memories that people can fondly look back on and relive through my efforts...
However you try to spin it though, asking me to PAY YOU in order to be your exclusive photographer for your business highlights, with the promise that you'll "feature my work" doesn't sound like a fair shake to me.
If you want me to buy a marketing package, just present one. Asking me to buy a marketing package AND work for you for free... I don't know where you went to business school, but that sure doesn't sound like a profitable scenario for me.
Either you want quality photographic work, and are willing to pay for it, or you want someone desperate to be associated with you in hopes that you get their work noticed. For anyone that does entertain this, they have to realize the self-defeating nature of it:
Paying someone so you can do work for them leaves you less time to do the paying working that they are claiming you can hope to get. All of the costs have to be considered....
Humph the cheek of some folk eh.
Awesome response.