Hickory Farms Does It, Omaha Steaks Does It, How About You?

Good Morning Everybody,

Ahhhhhhh...... we made it to the very beautiful surrounds of San Jose del Cabo arriving late yesterday afternoon around 4:00 p.m. Getting back to this part of the world reminded me of just how much we needed a break.

I'll still be doing my morning check-in's with my team back at the studio, working on PhotoPro Expo 2012, and getting the blog up on a daily basis. But being down here among the beautiful blue skies and white puffy clouds, the magnificent sunsets, and the perfect mid-80’s temperature is guaranteed to make the job easier.

That said, let's get on with today's post.

Hickory Farms Does It, Omaha Steaks Does It, How About You?

I'm smiling as I write this post today. This is the time of the year we should all be in the seasonal rush after all our for holiday promos and promotions. Yet, here I am in Cabo taking it kind of easy;~)

In all seriousness, this is about the busiest time of the year for photo studios most anywhere in the world. I've blogged many times here just how hectic things can be this time during the holiday rush. But with good planning and efficient production systems in place it's always been clear sailing for us over these many past years. I hope for you too.

What I want to do today is give you a couple ideas that just might "goose" your profits a bit more during this holiday season. Hey, better profits are not a bad thing – we all have to payoff credit card bills in January, right ;~)

At this time of the year it can be nearly impossible to get a portrait session scheduled, photographed, retouched, and delivered in time for Hanukkah or Christmas.  This is where the gift certificate promo has worked for many studios. In the past, it's exactly what we did.  We would carefully package our gift certificates in a beautiful, rich looking presentation for our client - it looked awesome!  In fact, you can re-read my post on the subject right here.

But then, I got thinking how much more we could improve on that concept. Why not "up the ante" with our holiday promotions and do what the BIG BOYS do during the holiday season - offer a gift catalog to all our past, present, and potential clients.  Many of us are deluged in our mail box with holiday brochures. What do you see when you look at those brochures? We see a vast array of products covering all price ranges offered for purchase just in time for holiday delivery. Why shouldn't we photographers do exactly the same thing?

Your brochure does not need to be "crazy" big like the ones we receive in the mail.  It may be just a single page offering maybe 5 product/service bundles specially priced for the holidays.

Let me give you a few examples:

1. Give The Gift Of Your Family For The Holidays:

This bundle would include a family portrait session and three framed 8x10 photographs.  This bundle would be targeted for grandparents, godparents, or any special relatives. This bundle has lots of "heart tug" appeal as really is a thoughtful gift. I would also include a special offer to the client for a beautiful wall portrait they could hang in their home or, an offer on a family portrait album that would look great on their coffee table.  This special offer extends the sales potential far beyond the original offer.

2. Babylicious Baby Portraits:

Most everyone knows of someone who just had a baby or has very young babies in the family. This bundle could include the portrait session along with a treasure box containing, for example, 12 black and white images matted and ready to display on a small stand - one image per month for the baby's first year.  Once again, there are lots of addition possibilities to extend the sale.

3. Will You Marry Me: 

We all know the holidays are the most popular time of year for couples to become engaged.  Why not offer your clients the opportunity to gift a beautiful photography session to the romantic couple in love.  Right after the announced engagement, the couple is not yet even thinking of photographs. So why not get a head start on booking their wedding by having your clients gift them their first photography session?

These are just a few ideas to get you started.  You can see that with a little thought, the possibilities are endless.  More importantly, it let's you feature you products and services at the height of the buying season and maybe bring in more business for the new year.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  The sun is shining bright and the ocean breezes are feeling good.  I hear them calling me to join the day ;~)  Have a great rest of the day and I'll see you tomorrow.

Adios, -David