If you're reading this you will well and truly know that as photographers (especially wedding photographers) this job is very much a 'seasonal' job, and this year has been even more challenging with the dreaded C word so I thought I'd give you all a little bit of inspiration on how to make the most of every season and every little change we face with some fun promotional ideas.
Make sure you join the Georgia-Beth Photography family so you don't miss out on more tips and ideas coming out very soon.
Mini sessions
First off, my bread and butter at the moment, mini sessions. So what are mini sessions? They are not a full session just at a discounted price, they are exactly what it says on the tin 'mini'. You provide a small sample of your service/product to give people a chance to try you out and they'll hopefully book you for a full session at some point in the future!
For example, if you usually charge £200 for an hour portrait session with 35 images, your mini sessions might only be 20/30minutes at £99 with 5 images etc.. It also means you set the location and date of the shoots allowing you to book sessions back to back, one after the other meaning you can have a lot of sessions booked in one day or weekend.
All of my mini sessions are themed within the right season meaning the clients are also limited to what I am specifically doing on that date. They are perfect for the 'non-wedding seasons'. I don't tend to do summer ones, although this year was very different due to the pandemic, so I did a sunflower mini session date.
See some examples below of mini session themes you can do throughout the year:
Spring - Maybe a blossom orchard or a tulip field
Easter
Summer - Sunflower field, beach etc
Back to School Sessions
Autumn/Fall - Somewhere with lots of different trees!
Pumpkin Sessions
Christmas Sessions - Christmas tree field or a Christmas set up.
Seasonal Cards
Which leads nicely on to seasonal cards, Christmas is a brilliant time for gifts and as photographers, we can make the most of that in many different ways! You could offer packs of Christmas cards or calendars for the new year that are designed by you using photos from any past or present shoots you've done with your clients. You could even offer prints in frames or canvases.
Giveaways
Giveaways on social media are a great way to promote your brand and gain new clients! You can choose one of your products or services that you would like to give away for Christmas and set some requirements for that giveaway. Set a timespan the giveaway will go on for by setting a date and time that it will finish and the winner will be announced.
You can get them to like/comment or even ask your audience do something creative like writing a caption for the photo, this way you get far more attention to your page and have the opportunity to find new clients while giving back to your already loyal following.
Make sure you follow the giveaway with a great offer to that all those new followers can take advantage of it straight away!
For more ideas on how to use Social Media to target your ideal customer base, check out our blog on Business Promotion and Marketing.
Credit/Gift Card
As photographers, in general, our work is a service so it's not necessarily a tangible gift. One way you can make yourself accessible to Christmas shoppers it make it clear on your social media and websites that you offer gift cards or credit vouchers! What's a more beautiful and personal gift than a couple or family photoshoot?
To bag your own unique experience, for yourself or a loved one, check out our Luxury Wedding Album and 1 Hour Portrait Session gift cards in our shop!
The next couple of ideas I have used before are specifically Christmas promotions:
12 days of Christmas or an Advent Calendar.
Leading up to Christmas everyone is looking for a bargain so why not use this to your advantage? The idea behind these two promotional concepts is that you would post a new offer or giveaway every single day that only lasts for 24 hours then it's gone. You can either do this for the '12 days of Christmas' or do it as an advent calendar starting from the 1st December all the way up to Christmas Eve. Make sure you hype it up long before the first day you launch it so that your audience are reminded to keep an eye out for it when it does launch. If you don't have a big enough range of products or services that you offer why not link up with some other local businesses in the industry to do the giveaways and offers together. That way you will be promoting each other each day as well!
For example:
Dec 1st - Betty's Cakes are offering 50% off their Christmas treat boxes
Dec 2nd - Amanda Bridal Jewellery does a giveaway of a beautiful handmade necklace.
Dec 3rd - Dexter and Co offering 40% off their personalised Christmas cards.
Dec 4th - You do a giveaway of one free family portrait session with 15 images.
And the list goes on, you get the picture (no pun intended)! It's a great way to promote your business, connect with other local business and get your name out there over the Christmas season.
I hope you've enjoyed those little tips and ideas if you're interested in growing in your business and getting more ideas don't hesitate to join the Georgia-Beth Photography family so you don't miss out.
Do you want beautiful, professional-looking photos to use for branding on Social Media and your website?
Then check out our Styled Stock membership – it’s absolutely full to the brim with stock images, videos and post templates – designed to help you get the best out of your business!
So, what are you waiting for? Jump in!
Also, let me know in the comments below if you have any genius promotional ideas for the upcoming season!
Enjoy!
