Create a Retail Experience
One of our top-selling photographers, Jonathan Canlas, has offered the following advice for making sales in today’s climate without having to break the social distancing rules currently being recommended.
While many of our clients may be canceling shoots/events etc, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, there are still several ways that we, as photographers, can maximize our revenue with the occasions we've already documented, without leaving the comfort and safety of our own homes/studios.
Curate Your Galleries
If you've already done your job as the photographer, meaning that you've culled the session down and delivered images that don't look similar (and are all show stoppers!), you have a marketable gallery, aka an opportunity to make money via print sales.
A gallery with multiple images that look the same, which has not been curated, will sell considerably less than a well-curated gallery.
Length of the Sale
Run a sale that lasts at least 5 business days. The reason to do this is because we want our clients to have enough time to take advantage of the sale (and enough time to procrastinate, since a 1-3 day sale tends to freak people out).
The Optimal Start Date
Optimally, you'll have your sale start on a Monday and go through Friday. People are currently at home practicing social distancing, and they're in front of their computers/tablets/phones the majority of the time. I highly suggest not having your sale start on a Saturday or end on a Sunday since people are not as likely to be in front of their computers over the weekends.
Discount Amount
The sale has to include a large enough discount to make your clients want to hit the purchase button. I've found that sales of 20% off or less are not nearly as effective as offering 25-35% off. And, depending on your cost of goods, you should consider conducting your sale on all of your products, and not just your prints.
Naming the Sale
Come up with a fun excuse to name your sale. Use your humor or personality, or just call it your Spring Sale!
Retail Experience
As a photographer, you should try to emulate your online purchasing experience with your favorite high-end online brand. Yes, we provide different services than say West Elm (my guilty pleasure), but the retail experience can be exactly the same regardless of the end product. Create a call to action (sale), create scarcity (limited time offer), and follow-up their visits with automated sale reminders and abandoned cart notices.
Summary
If you've done your job as a photographer by culling your galleries and creating heirlooms for your clients, your clients will reward you for your hard work with orders when you run a sale of this type. However, remember that the only way for this to happen is for you to create a retail experience for them through the products you offer and the emails that are set up to be sent afterwards.