Use the coming soon event!
Have a netbook with your website pulled up with that event. After people sign the guest book, they can enter their email to be notified when that event goes live! This happens when they are MOST EXCITED about seeing the photos.
Make it easy!
Utilize the discount coupon!
If you want to end up selling your 8×10’s for $20, that is what you should post them for, and if you want, you could give your first clients a discount coupon for any percent off you wish. This way they know the real value of your service, and you mentally prepare them for the next visit they make, when you will be charging your standard pricing.
Post EVERY event online!
Even if it is a small job and your customer already ordered from you, post it online. They have the opportunity to show their friends, family, coworkers, etc, YOUR site with their photos. This type of word of mouth exposure is the most valuable marketing you can receive. Better than any phone book ad, billboard, etc.
Photograph your favorite venues and post them online!
People often search for the venue first. If you are a wedding/event photographer, create a page on your site for posting venues. You will be found by more people and provide valuable info for your clients.
You need a good camera and lens, not the most expensive.
It is important to have good equipment, but some of the most successful photographers have a unique ability to distinguish the difference between a good investment and a new toy. Ask yourself if your new equipment will be able to help you make more money, or are you just keeping up with the Jones? 160 MP? I’ll stick with 8, thanks.
We were asked by a photographer if he should raise his prices or not. My knee jerk response straight from the textbook was, “If the demand for your services is greater than what you can supply, then yes.” But this is quite vague. Here’s the litmus test we came up with that is now used by many successful trend setters:
1. Get an 18 month calendar. If you regularly book weddings out further, then a 24 or 36 month calendar might be necessary for you.
2. When a certain date is fully booked, mark an X on that day. This could be one wedding or 4 portrait sessions, etc.
3. Continue to make slashes in the “asked about” dates. So even when you pick up the phone and have to say, “I’m sorry, that date is already booked.”, be sure to put a slash on that date every time.
4. Review the slashes when you get the urge to make pricing changes. Instead of thinking, “That last weekend in July is soooo busy, I should charge more that weekend.” You can analyze it and make a more rash decision.
On a side note, I have to mention here that the classic micro-economic graph Higher Prices = Less Sales and Lower prices = More Sales does not always ring true in the photography industry. If you are slumping in sales, you might even want to raise your rates, creating a perceived value for your service. When you deliver on that value, you will create a customer for life.