Today, getting peoples’ attention is easy; the difficulty is getting more people to book an appointment. Duh! Right?!
Today it’s really easy to get attention using social media, website SEO, emailing and blogging, third-party business promotions, community displays, contests, etc. etc. etc.
Heck, if you really need appointments on the books for next week, take a friend or spouse to your favorite restaurant. Then after you’ve scoped out the place, walk over to table where a mom with her kids, or husband and wife are eating, introduce yourself, and with the right message motivate them to book an appointment.
The difficulty is once you have someone’s attention is moving them from an attitude of indifference > to one of curiosity > then to being open to hiring you > and finally booking you.
My intuition tells me that most of your marketing is based on trying to get people to book you the moment they see your work on your site, Facebook page, email, blog, display at the salon, etc. So how’s that working for you? Are you ready for an improvement that attracts more, books more, and sells more? Again, duh!
I have a few steps you can take right now to get a steady flow of clients booking appointment month after month, year to year.
Stop selling your photography.
For years I believed that if I showed my worked to enough of the right people they’d be lined up around the corner, waiting for my next available appointment. It didn’t happen, enough. I didn’t get it! I figured it couldn’t be me because people seemed to like me all right, and my work was Master level quality (I had PPA merits to prove it). What was missing? I offered great photography, great service, and me. Maybe I was missing the right promotion or the right call to action. Like you, I tried everything. Finally I decided it wasn’t my photography or me it was THEM!
Them! Too many photographers competing for too few people who could appreciate professional photography. And too few people who would pay my prices rather than shopping for the lower price. Yeah! That was the problem. The good news is I was wrong then and that’s not the problem today.
My problem was that I thought people wanted great photography. They don’t. People want what photography gives them, and how it makes them feel when they buy it.
Let’s forget about photography for a minute.
Let’s consider diet programs instead.Do people want to buy a Jenny Craig diet or do they want to lose weight? Another duh!
To sell a diet program you can’t convince people of the value of a diet program, or claim that yours is better than others. You can’t sell the program- you have to sell the outcome of the program that’s why the ‘before and after’ photos are so critical. And the outcome must be greater than how the program works. To really motivate people I believe you need to first remind them of how they feel now, and how they’ll feel after they’ve completed the program. How they’ll feel after they’ve lost the weight.
Few people care about the details of what Jenny knows about nutrition, when she got interested in it, how passionate she is about it, how much time it takes to create her diet, or how much it costs her to produce it. You might keep this in mind if you’re ever tempted to share with brides how long you’ve studied to be a photographer, or all the hours involved in photographing, editing images, or the cost of your equipment, etc. thinking they’ll associate any of that with the value or price you charge for wedding coverage.
In fact people don’t want to diet, they just don’t want to buy clothes at the big and fat peoples’ store. They don’t like the looks they get from skinny people. They don’t like it when people assume that if they’re overweight they are lazy, less intelligent, and don’t have enough will-power to eat right. They want to do things that are fun but that you can’t do if you’re overweight, like being active with your spouse, children or grandchildren.
HEADLINES THAT BOOK CLIENTS
Before I share some ideas about headlines (value statements) for your ads, website, emails, etc. let’s look at possible headlines to sell a diet program.
Which headline do you think would be more effective if you were selling a diet program?
a) Order Our Program Now and Get 3 Months FREE!
b) Order Our Program Now and SAVE 60%!
c) Everyone Will Be Impressed When You’re Wearing Skinny Jeans!
Now, let’s look at possible headlines for you:
Which headline do you think would be more effective for your business?
a) Book your senior session before July and get 50% OFF!
b) Become a Senior Model and get a FREE session and $200 photo credit!
c) Our senior portraits will make even best friends jealous!
I’ll admit to having used all of these over the years and they all attract people. However, I’ve discovered that people buy for very different reasons. So I suggest you first decide what type of buyer you want to attract, and understand what value motivates her rather than throwing out a promotion designed to appeal to all types. Focus on the type who want to feel (proud, smart, or exclusive) when they have booked with you.
Obviously the first two headlines use a price discount. Depending on your reputation, competition, pricing, quality of photography and how much you’ve consistently marketed your business, these pricing promotions may only frustrate you because most of the people who respond will be price shoppers.
I know you see these types of promotions used by retailers everywhere. They are trying to clear out left over stock at the end of a season. However, you’re not a retailer who only buys and sells products made by someone else in mass.
Positioning or repositioning your brand means conveying a promise in the minds of people that is clear and meaningful- a promise of more than great (or discounted) photography.
If your marketing message is limited to the fact that you create beautiful photographs, it is insufficient. In a visually saturated market, beautiful photographs are now in great supply, making them average. You must promise something more in order to distinguish yourself from other photographers.
Narrow your focus and you’ll broaden your appeal. Not enough people are looking for photographers who create amazing images; they expect it from every professional photographer.
To get attention and book more appointments, you must understand the needs of a ‘narrow slice’ of potential clients. Promote unique products and services with headlines that promise clients’ will be satisfied emotionally and you’ll be able to raise your prices and you’ll book more clients.
Share your comments and questions. Also feel free to contact me. kirk@morephotos.com
Kirk Russell
3 LENSES MARKETING & DESIGN
3lenses.com
