Archive for marketing

5 Reasons Why You Should Post Pricing on Your Photography Website

By Trevor Current
Friday, September 29th, 2017

I read a post on OffbeatBride.com that was the inspiration for this article. The post was titled
“An open letter to wedding photographers regarding their websites”. It’s kind of a blunt article about the design and content of photographers’ websites and what the author doesn’t like about them.

OffbeatBride.com receives over 600,000 visitors a month so it’s a fairly popular niche site. This particular post was very popular, receiving a lot of media attention and over 169 comments (anyone out there running a blog knows it’s hard to get 169 quality comments on one post). Even though the article was more about the website design, half of the comments were about the lack of pricing information on photographers’ websites.

Photographers have reasons why they don’t display pricing on their sites:

  • I don’t sell a commodity product, I offer a custom service
  • I offer custom packages and I need to evaluate the client’s needs before giving a price
  • I want to be able to negotiate with the client to come up with a price that works for both of us.
  • I don’t want to be locked in to pricing, I want the flexibility to adjust with the market.

Of course displaying pricing is not appropriate for all types of photography. For example, most commercial photographers quote out a project based on the clients needs. For the most part commercial photographers are dealing with educated buyers who aren’t necessarily shopping based on price.

When dealing with consumer photography like wedding, event and portrait, most consumers are not accustomed to buying these creative services and think of them more as buying a widget that should have a set price.

Obviously this is a hot topic, so in this article I’m going to give you 5 reasons why you should consider displaying pricing information on your photography websites or possibly lose out on getting those new clients.

  • Busy, busy, busy – In today’s rush, rush world, photo buyers are very busy. Most use the internet to search for photographers because they don’t have the time to scan through the Yellow Pages and make a bunch of phone calls only to get voicemail and have to wait for a call back. Immediate gratification is the key, they want the information, and they want it now!
  • Pressure Sales – No one likes a hard sell and people in general are hesitant to pick up the phone and schedule a meeting just to get pricing information. They feel like they’ll have to make a decision right on the spot without having time to think it over. Just think how you felt that last time you walked into an auto dealer!
  • Price First, Creativity Second – Budgets are very important and price often becomes the deciding factor. If your website viewers can’t easily find pricing they may move on to the next site that has it.
  • If I have to ask, I can’t afford it – You know the old saying. Without seeing a price some may assume they can’t afford your services and will move on.
  • Heartbreak – A couple comes to your site and falls in love with your work. They contact you for more information and may even set up a time to meet. You spend an hour or more together looking at your portfolio and going over their needs. You give them a price to capture their special day but come in over their budget. Even after negotiation they still can’t afford your services. The couple is now very disappointed and you both spend time and energy for nothing.

After reading the OffbeatBride.com article I did a little survey of my own on Twitter. A good number of photographers that responded say they include some pricing information on their website. I followed up asking if they feel it has helped gain new clients and overall the answer was yes. Jack Hollingsworth (@photojack on Twitter) ran a poll asking “Should Photographers display their price list (what they charge for creative services) on their website?”. 46% – Yes, 38% – No, 7% – Don’t have an opinion and 10% – Other. The combination of comments from the OffbeatBride.com article, Jack’s poll and my quick survey gives a good indication of what the consumer wants and how photographers have responded to meet their need.

Next Steps…

Consider posting some pricing information on your website. It doesn’t have to be a full blown price list with every option you offer. Maybe it’s something simple like “Prices start at $X” or post a range “From $X to $X”. If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you should know what the minimum cost for your service is and feel comfortable with that price. Put the pricing information on it’s own page, making it easy for potential clients to find. Refer to the information as Pricing or Cost of Services, don’t refer to it as “Investment” which was a real negative in the OffbeatBride.com article comments.

Pricing information will help weed out the people who love your work but just can’t afford your services along with the bargain hunters that you probably wouldn’t want to work with anyway. You can feel confident that when they contact you they’re already willing and able to pay your fee.

What are your thoughts about posting pricing on your website? Do you think it will help get more business for your studio or could it possibly hurt? Please share your comments below.

 

Categories : Grow Your Business
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Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The 1st Year Baby Promotion

By Michael Shilling
Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017

This isn’t by any means a new type of promotion, in fact the MPA here in the UK have been running pretty much the same baby promotion since 1988 (Cherubs). It is however very successful and something that I have been using for a long time.

This marketing campaign does rely on a couple of things:

Leads… lots of them. Here in the UK there are a handful of places to buy in leads. For this campaign to be successful you do need to play the numbers game so it’s very much a case of spending a fair amount on those names and numbers.

An incentive. It could be a free photo or even a cash prize (the MPA promotion offers both).

The baby promotion offer

Three to four photography sessions all taken 3-4 months apart in the baby’s first year. It’s up to you whether you charge or not for the sessions but it might be worth charging a deposit refundable or otherwise. I’ve found charging a small sum of £20 works if you are shooting in a studio. Clients are a lot less likely to miss appointments if they’re already finically invested.

After each shoot you either host a viewing a few days later in your studio or at the clients home. Even if you’ve only been dealing with the baby’s mother try and arrange a viewing where both parents are present. Unfortunately this can be as much of a hindrance as it is a help as men in general are little less excited about baby photos.

Avoid online viewings. On occasion you might want to post a gallery online after a sale has been made for grandparents or extra orders.

Try and offer something different in each session. The first shoot could be nice and simple and with the baby on it’s own with the second and third introducing the parents and other siblings.

What to charge

If you are used to one off family shoots then my advice is expect your sales to be a lot less! On the other hand when you add up the total sales you make from all three shoots you should be making above your average for a single session.

I like to offer affordable products with a very high profit margin and introduce more expensive items in the second and third sessions.

Getting the booking

What type of leads you get. If you do get phone numbers then use them! Most likely your leads will be in the form of names and addresses so putting together a strong mail-out is important.

Include lots of different ways for people to contact you. Your phone number must be prominent on your literature but we also found having a dedicated baby photography contact form on our site to be really helpful.

We send out two sets of letters. The first is much larger than the second but the artwork is consistent throughout. The second letter normally has a call to action like ‘call within the next 4 days to take advantage of this offer…’ You might even want to include extra vouchers in your mail-out like money off or even free prints.

There’s no set formula, what works for some might not work for another so experiment a little bit but give each change at least three months to test its effectiveness.

What return to expect from mail-outs

Typically about a 5% booking rate is about average so that is also worth considering when you are thinking about how many leads to take on.

It’s a slow burner

In the beginning things will seem slow as this is an offer which can take quite some time to build momentum. In most cases it’ll be roughly 12-18 months before you reach the full potential of the offer. At that point you’ll not only be photographing sessions from new leads but also 2nd, 3rd and in some cases 4th sessions.

If in the first few months you think that the amount of bookings you are getting isn’t enough then just remember that in a years time that figure will likely triple (and hopefully so will your profits).

Variety

Three sessions on a white background isn’t that interesting so it is important to bring a bit of variety to each shoot.

We like to do at least one of the sessions on location in a local park or common and encourage more of a family photo-shoot element to the session. We also try and hold back on too many family shots when the baby is only a couple of months old as they sell better when the baby is a bit older and there is more interaction.

However you go about your 1st year baby promotion remember to keep in contact with the families after the third shoot and encourage them to refer you as much as you can (especially before mum goes back to work and is no longer attending yummy mummy coffee mornings).

 

View our Marketing Campaigns for Photographers section for even more great tips and ideas to help you grow your photography business.
Categories : Grow Your Business, Marketing Campaigns
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Instagram… Now with Pinch and Zoom!

By Trevor Current
Thursday, September 1st, 2016

Instagram-Zoom-300x300Instagram has become a powerful social network for photographers over the last few years. As Tweets fly by, and Facebook updates get buried in the stream, it has become harder and harder for photographers to get their photos (and message) in front of clients and prospects.

Many photographers have turned to Instagram as a way to promote their work. Everyone loves photos and there’s definitely no shortage of them on Instagram, but how many of them are really worth looking at? People want to see unique and beautiful photos, and that’s where the experienced photographer has the advantage over the smartphone food shooter.

A post shared by Instagram (@instagram) on

One of the frustrating things about Instagram photos is you can’t view them larger than what was displayed. All of the beautiful detail being captured is lost because of the small viewing size. Today that all changes!

Instagram released the ability to pinch and zoom on photos and videos in the feed, on profiles, and on Explore. This feature is available on iOS today and will be available on Android in the coming weeks.

So go create your art with all of its beautiful detail and share it with the world! And don’t forget to put your copyright and website address on it as well 😉

Categories : Grow Your Business, Social Media Marketing
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Photography Marketing: How to Keep From Overextending Yourself

By Angela Pointon
Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

When you own your own business, you often want to take on the world. You want to constantly do new projects, take on new assignments and launch new stuff. Over committing and over extending comes from good intentions. But, it can often leave a trail of frustration and disappointment for yourself and for others involved.

I adopted this mantra for my own business and even my personal life a few months ago. So far, I’ve stuck to it with steadfast dedication, and it’s unbelievable how helpful it’s been to me. So I wanted to share it with all of you, too. Here it is:

Do what you say you’re gonna do.

Simple, right? Actually it’s not, and here’s why. When you follow this mantra you are unable to commit to doing anything you’re not going to do. It puts an end to empty good intentions and starts every decision with a serious conversation on whether or not I’m going to commit. And if I can’t commit, saying no is hard. But, I remind myself that I’d rather say no than let someone down. And when I say yes, I mean it. When I commit, I do it.

This mantra has one other level to it. I have found that when you over commit to something (or to many things), you skim the surface of what’s expected. You might complete tasks late. You might not give them your all. In the end, even though you made an effort, more than likely you’re disappointing someone by not approaching it with the unbelievable passion you might be capable of if you had only hand selected the things you’re willing to 120% commit to doing… and doing amazingly well.

Make every day within the business much more satisfying and rewarding by following these simple guidelines.

Here they are:

  • Say yes to only the things that help you and your business along its path toward success.
  • If you’re into it, give yourself the room to say yes to a limited number of volunteer or philanthropic engagements. Hint: I find it easiest to set boundaries up in the beginning of the year. For example, if I tell myself I will allot time for 5 volunteer events in the year, I think long and hard before committing to each one because I only have 5 I’m “allowed” to do.
  • Practice saying no, and help people understand why. For example, tell them you have to respect your prior commitments and make sure you have time to give them your all. They might be a bit disappointed, but if you give them an explanation they’re more likely to understand.
Categories : Grow Your Business
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A Swift Kick: How to Delight and Amaze Clients

By Angela Pointon
Friday, October 5th, 2012

My favorite restaurant in the entire world is right in my city of Philadelphia. It’s a tad pricey, so my husband and I treat ourselves twice a year to a night out for dinner there. One night, about two years ago, we booked a reservation and headed into Philly. We checked in with the hostess and she swiftly brought us to our table. We sat down and noticed something right away.

The chair cushions on the seats that were once spotless and firm were dingy and sagging. I remember thinking, “that’s odd.” The restaurant was a homey place (not stuffy). The kind of place where the head chef takes pride in his work and visits a table or two a night to speak face-to-face with his customers. The food, no matter what you ordered, was always impeccable. The drinks were always fabulous. But, while the furnishings were once clean, quaint and cozy, now they showed a bit of wear.

The furnishings. The seats the customers sat in. Those seats went unnoticed. Why would the head chef ever need to sit at one of the tables? He was always, always on his feet. And this is unfortunate. He never took a minute to sit at a customer’s table. To see what they see. To feel what they feel.

marketing for photographers

Your Photography Business Is No Different Than This Restaurant

Take some time to experience your business from the customer’s vantage point. Come at things from a different angle, from a different seat and you may notice some glaring things that desperately need changing.

 

Categories : Grow Your Business
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A Swift Kick: Creating a Unique Photography Business

By Angela Pointon
Friday, September 21st, 2012

I think one of the most difficult things about being a visual artist is how “in your face” the competition can be at times. I don’t mean in an aggressive way. I mean in a literal, all-present way. They create amazing work; you feel defeated. They score an unbelievable opportunity; you feel jealous. They brand themselves beautifully; you feel lessened.

Sometimes it’s enough to make you feel like packing up your toys and going home. But despite all of this downtrodden negativity, I’ve got good news.

There is something that you were granted. There is something they absolutely cannot do better than you.

It sounds a bit hokey. Possibly even overplayed. But one thing that your competitors cannot do as well as you, is be you. We, as humans, are all made up of our own experiences. We all have our own abilities. We all have our own views of the world. So while you might appreciate the abilities of your competitors, you are required to build upon your own. You are required as a visual artist to be better than you were yesterday.

What do I mean?

Read More→

Categories : Grow Your Business
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