It is chilly in the PNW, Charlie and I spent the weekend shut inside working on homework (him) and going out with some of our friends. I also finally joined a gym in town! I worked out at 24-hour fitness for a year and I loved it, but when I moved I had to find a new place. So far Anytime Fitness seems to be a great replacement.
Anywho... On to some more advice about business success.
First, let's talk about why "experimenting" is important. I call it that because most of us are afraid to fail. If we put all of our heart and soul (or time and money) into something, and then it's unsuccessful, we feel defeated and discouraged. But, if we try something new with an open mind that it could either be yay or nay, we don't feel as let down.
So often when people start businesses they first look at what others are doing and mimic them (I'm no exception). But experimenting is taking that basic business model, and making it work for you and your clients. How do you know what your clients want if you never offer it? Doing something different can set you apart from the general market and possibly give you that edge you need.
So let's talk about some failed experiments with Have Heart Photography.
1. The portrait sale.
So if you follow us on Facebook you probably know that this is our current portrait sale. I did one earlier this year as well, both during times when people's mind tend to be on family (the Holiday's). Our portrait sessions start at $445, and come fully loaded. Normally we don't offer any "mini" sessions or discounts, so I thought this would be a good opportunity for those who can't afford one of our all out sessions. But just like earlier this year when I ran the sale... no one went for it. Not one. Single. Person.
So I will put the portrait sale in the "fail" box and try to brainstorm some new ideas for our slower times. I had a great idea at the end of October for a new seasonal special that wouldn't involved a lot of work and would be a great idea to get our name into the community. Unfortunately the time has past, so we'll wait until next year to try it!
2. "By the hour" wedding photography coverage.
There is essentially two types of packaging structures when it comes to wedding photography: Pay per hour or all day coverage. During our first wedding season, we had a "build your own" wedding package system. Where our clients could select 6, 8, 10, or 12 hours of coverage, with the optional additions of prints or an engagement session.
The benefits of this is that it can often lower the cost of the package for your client. If they are having a short, small wedding, the six hour package would fit nicely in their budget.
The problem with this system was that it interrupted our philosophy of photography, being that we are storytellers. We would be at a wedding, and then suddenly our time would be "up"... just as the bride and groom were having their first dance. We always stayed until the end, even though the bride and groom didn't pay for it. We would never leave part way through someone's wedding, it is our job to tell their story!
So while most couples would initially like to save a few bucks by cutting their photography short with fewer hours, we know they will be happier when they have the whole day to look back on. This is a challenge for the weddings that are shorter, since couples don't want to pay a full day price for only six hours of coverage, but we know that the long days far outweigh the short :) And at the end of the day, we know we're not the photographers for everyone.
3. Offering press services in our wedding packages.
The last two years we have offered a printing credit in our wedding packages for Save The Dates and Thank You cards. All in all, I don't think this is a bad idea, but it can get messy. It's really hard to help someone print things that are so important to them, and in general it's just easier to cut out the middle man (which was me...). I now simply let our clients know the different products we have access to, and if they're interested in having anything printed through us, we're more than happy to help.
And now for some successful experiments!
1. In home sales.
Selling prints and products to people is hard. You know they'll love them so much more when they hang them on the wall and mail to family... but getting people to that point is challenging. Online sales do not work, they just don't. You know how many sales I've made through sites like Pictage and Smugmug? (I've had both). One. I had one client buy several photo's... three years ago! Those sites charge a monthly fee, and I would be shocked if you made it back.
Then there's the old shoot and burn, where you give the client their DVD and tell them to call you when they want to order prints. Don't wait by the phone, cause they ain't gonna call.
But there is actually a successful way to get clients to order their beautiful photo's through you... by coming to their house with beautiful photo's. When we shoot a portrait session, we do not do "sneak peaks" on our blog or Facebook, we build the anticipation. We usually only take a week or two to turn the photo's around, but by the time we come over to our clients house, they are so excited to see their photo's! We don't show them on a laptop screen however, we order 4x6 proofs so they can actually hold and look through their photo's. This also makes it easier to choose which ones they want to order (mom's love to make piles). Every time we have used this method we have had print sales, it's majorly successful!
I hope this post has helped to show you why it's important to experiment with your business. At the end of the day, go with your gut! If something feels like a scam, then don't do it! If something makes you excited, it will probably make your clients feel the same way, so go for it!
As always, I'm here to take questions.
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