Over the last decade or two some of the most dramatic changes in photography have been in the senior market.  The days of boring head shots with everybody looking the same are long gone. Today, a senior session is about capturing the personality of the subject. It's about having fun, communication and building a relationship with each senior.

Think about one amazing aspect of working with seniors - more than likely you're the first experience they've ever had on a one to one basis with a professional photographer. This is "seed planting" at its very best - because they're going to remember the session, and even better so will "Mom." A great senior photographer has the potential to build a strong word-of-mouth business and might even pick up additional work down the road.

I know using my own senior head shot is turning back the clock a little too far, but here's my point. It was just a photograph for the yearbook. My mother hated it and never bought any additional images. I didn't remember the photographer the next day, let alone years later. And, it wasn't an experience - he photographed another senior every ten minutes. We sat down and he grabbed 3-4 shots and yelled "Next!"

Marathon's 2018 Senior Promo is going on right now and this is when you need to think about this aspect of the business. At first glance some of you are going to think it's expensive, but remember this is for three different mailings!

• The first mailing is to create awareness
• Second, comes shaping the senior's comprehension of who you are and what you do.
• Third, is about conviction. This mailing is designed to convince seniors why your studio stands out from everybody else.

This a promotion involving three different mailings and there's even a fourth available at a reduced cost. It's $4.95 per three-piece promotion (only $1.65 per mailing) and it includes photo insertion, back copy and color changes, postage, list source, ZIP Code protection and mailing pieces.

​And, you've got a wide selection of design options to make each mailing unique.

Many of you are in communities where you feel the senior market is completely "locked up" with one photographer who's been doing the seniors for a long time. While that's often true, there's a never-ending population of new seniors each year. While it might be tough to get in the door, unless you try, you'll never know what you might have accomplished. Remember, you don't need hundreds of seniors to create a revenue stream for your business.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!"
Wayne Gretzky

Looking to find out more about Marathon's 2018 Senior Promotion? Just click on either banner above!

Intro by Skip Cohen

It's graduation season and if you haven't done anything for this year at this point, you're cutting it pretty close. However, Marathon Press is making it so easy for you to build a program for future grads and even this fall's seniors, the class of 2018.

For a grand total of twelve bucks you can pick up two different sales kits and be ready to enhance your senior business later in the year and then into graduation next year.

Yes, I know I'm essentially doing a post that's an infomercial, but if you've followed my blog over the years, you know I don't share anything that doesn't make sense to help you grow your business or your skill set. If you're hoping to go after the senior market and beyond to graduation, then let's get you the very best marketing tools.

Click on the Sales Kit Tab below for more information and let's raise the level of what you're offering to maximize your presentation and start to build a stronger aspect of your brand awareness. And, if you're in the senior market already, then check out Marathon's current BOGO promotion with a click on the banner at the top.

Marathon Press has been a partner at SCU from the very beginning, and while they obviously have my loyalty, here's a perfect example of why! Marathon is all about marketing support for photographers. Just as an example, I grabbed a screen shot from their home page of the eight different product groups below. This is only the tip of the iceberg, but it makes a great point about what they can do for your business.

• Press printed brochures and cards: There are too many of you doing things entirely on your own and producing material that looks like "Uncle Harry" produced it. Regardless of the size of your business, you need a brochure as a hand-out or leave behind at events, with potential clients etc.  And, it needs to look professional. So, assuming you don't have a degree in graphic design, why not expand your "staff" and utilize Marathon's team?
• Photography Gift Cards: Listen to this post with Doug Box from Weekend Wisdom a couple of years ago. Doug talks about a client supplying a local business with gift certificates they could give out. Marathon's gift card presentation is perfect for an application like this.
• Press Printed Stickers and Packaging:  I read years ago that points made to the eye are 78% more effective than points made to the ear! Don't deliver your images to a client with anything but professional packaging. Think about companies like Tiffany's and Godiva Chocolate - we all recognize the quality of the product. You have to give your products the same kind of presentation.
  
• Press Printed Booklets: There are two things every artist needs to have, a slide show of your work on your website and a printed booklet that matches. Again, this is all about marketing your work. You need to be able to show your work and having a booklet is similar to a brochure - pick at least one of them and then pull together your very best images.
  
• Press Printed Calendars: Okay, so it's too late for 2017 - but why not put one together for 2018? And, it doesn't have to be just your work. Get together with 1-3 other artists who are friends, respect each other and compliment each other's specialty. Pick a topic like profiling your community and then share the coast of a calendar you can all give out. For example, a wedding photographer, newborn, children and family are all logically connected! Even better, turn it into cause-related marketing and tie in a charity like a local non-profit in your community. The end result is your partners and the charity all become ambassadors for each other.
  
• Press Printed Stationery: No photographer should ever be sending out store-bought stationery, including thank you notes! You're an artist - use Marathon's help to design stationery using your images. Whether it's a simple thank you note or a holiday card, having customized stationery gives you an incredible marketing tool and the ability to show your work.
  

So there it is, eight product groups with a whole series of ways to use them. Stop procrastinating because you don't have the time or creativity to design what you need and get a little help from Marathon's team of designers and marketing professionals.

Headed to ShutterFest next week? Swing by the Marathon booth and find out what they can do to help you build stronger brand awareness! What good is working so hard to create stunning images if you're not getting the word out to the community?

Click on any product image above to visit Marathon's website.

by Skip Cohen

Over the last ten years the senior market is one of the photographic specialties that's changed the most. There are some big numbers in the potential audience, giving so many photographers the opportunity to work with seniors. 

So, with a target audience of 3.5 million subjects, the potential for more and more artists to get involved is enormous. For example, follow any of the larger photographic forums on Facebook, and you'll regularly see senior work being posted and discussed.

The intrigue for me, from a marketing perspective, is all thanks to consumer trends and technology.  Working with even a small group of senior clients is giving photographers an opportunity for incredible creativity in both capture and presentation.

This is also that one time of year where I always share my senior shot. Fortunately, the industry has come a long way. But, I can't help but wonder what my senior session would have been like had there been more choices beyond a half dozen clicks of the shutter, two lights and a posing stool!

Think about it for just a second. Today, if you're only doing a traditional portrait because that's all "Mom" asked for, you're missing an opportunity to not only create a stronger revenue stream but to push your creative skills. As a selection of products and services, you no longer have just a portrait to capture, but a still image or series that captures the personality of the senior together with hybrid slide shows, videos, and a complete story-telling experience.

And, along with all the potential to display your creativity, comes a big question, "What are you giving your senior subjects to help them announce their graduation?"

Marathon's running their BOGO on grad cards again this year, and it's an opportunity not to be missed. Here's your chance to not only provide a service to your senior clients but get your work out there to be seen by even more people. Just click on the banner below and connect to Marathon's Grad Cards and let's get things going for you early in the senior season.

Remember, while Mom isn't in front of your camera, women make 98% of the purchase decisions when it comes to photography. Your seniors might be the subjects, but their mothers are your the audience you're working with when it comes to closing the sale!

If you're stuck on design ideas, Marathon's sales kit is just the thing to help you through the process. We're at the end of March. You've got enough time to order a sales kit and have a full sample set of products to offer "Mom."

Every artist has the same goal - to exceed client expectations and make yourself habit-forming. A graduate's first experience working directly with a professional photographer is often during their senior shoot. Since relationship building is your greatest marketing tool, here's a chance to establish yourself as the photographic resource for your senior clients and their families, which has the potential to lead to future weddings, babies, children and family portraiture.

Marathon is providing you with a few of the tools to help build that relationship. Now, put grad cards together with your skill set and passion for the craft and you've got the perfect foundation to keep building your senior audience.

by Skip Cohen

When I first met the team from Marathon Press back in the late 80's they were the leader in printed material for the photographic industry. There was no Internet; the word "blog" didn't exist; there were no websites; every photographer carried around a portfolio of images to each convention or business meeting and "live" education was something you either got in a workshop, at a convention or watched on your VCR.

Today, everything has changed. Educational opportunities are everywhere. We blog, tweet and share ideas in seconds all day every day. Your website has become your storefront and your blog, if done right, captures what's in your heart. Very rarely is anybody carrying around a portfolio case these days, which has been replaced by images on a phone.

But there is one thing that's never changed, and that's Marathon's dedication and leadership in helping photographers grow as artists and business owners! And, they're still the leader in marketing material and support for photographers with websites, postcards, brochures, marketing programs and now prints and albums with the Bella line.

Yesterday Marathon launched the first blog post in a series of great content for the future from nine bloggers who all share the same passion for education. This is in addition to the stellar group of writers who have been sharing content in the past. I couldn't be more proud to be one of the nine people above to be sharing ideas on Marathon's "new" Blog. While we all might not always agree on specific concepts in business, we do all agree on the importance of helping you make 2017 the best year yet!

Stay tuned - because yesterday's first post by Mary Marantz, "The Art of Getting Organized" is only the beginning!

If it's not already there it's time to put Marathon's blog on your radar.

Intro by Skip Cohen

I found the article below in the archives of Marathon's blog. It couldn't be more perfect for this time of year.

We're entering the last month of what's typically known as the slow season, but just because sales might be slow doesn't mean there isn't work to do. This is the time for you to be laying out the last steps of your marketing plans for 2017.

Marketing is a constant flame that needs to light your business all year long. It should never stop as long as you look at your entire plan and design programs/activities to keep your name out there. Marathon's giving you five ingredients below to fuel your plan.

Take the time to review each Ingredient and see if you've done your homework. Marketing isn't just developing great promotions. It's all inclusive with every aspect of your business to build a stronger brand.

“Good marketing makes the company look smart.
Great marketing makes the customer feel smart.”
Joe Chernov

Intro by Skip Cohen

There are ten mistakes that Sarah Petty shared in this post from Marathon's blog archives from last year. I'm betting every photographer who reads this has hit at least 3-4 of these mistakes in the past and many of you are guilty of all ten!

In the same way you've worked hard to establish you skill set as a photographer, you've got to give the same attention to your selling skills. Sarah's first sentence says it all! 

"Do you pour your soul into photography sessions, only to see little money come in for your time and effort?"

Take the time to read this guest post and then, even better, take the time to analyze your selling skills and behavior through the process. What good is working so hard to capture and create stunning images if you can't close the sale? For more help follow Sarah Petty's blog - it's always loaded with great content.

Marathon offers a long list of services and products to help elevate your business. ​Check out the new Bella Art Prints and Bella Albums for stunning prints and a stronger revenue stream.  Get involved in the Marketing Advantage Program so you have a marketing team to help you follow-through on your promotional plans. ​Check out their website support if you're just not happy with your present cyberspace storefront.  Most important of all, check out their ability to support your marketing needs with a phone call or email! 

Great customer service is at the top of Marathon's list of ways to help you build a stronger business!

by Sarah Petty
​
Do you pour your soul into photography sessions, only to see little money come in for your time and effort? Do you routinely hear customers say your work is beautiful, yet they fail to follow up their praise by placing a sizable order? When they do place orders, are their purchases much smaller than you’d like? Are you wondering … what the heck gives?

If you are in this position, don’t worry: You’re not alone.

Many photographers have trouble encouraging customers to place large orders … or any order at all. While it can be extremely frustrating to watch clients walk away satisfied from their sessions without buying physical products, fixing these 10 photography selling mistakes may be as simple as making a few tweaks to your business model.

Below, we’ll identify 10 photography selling mistakes you should stop making right away if you want to increase your orders. By replacing these mistakes with sales techniques, you can raise your average order price considerably. In fact, by teaching photographers how to avoid these mistakes, I routinely help them raise their sales average to $1,500 an order. The same can be true for you, so follow along.

1. Apologizing For Your Prices If you want to sell big photography orders, you should never, ever apologize for your prices.First and foremost, if you want to land big orders after your photography session, you should never, ever apologize for your prices. Saying “I’m sorry our prices are high, but it’s because we provide such quality” might seem like an effective tactic, but really, it isn’t. You hear yourself saying how great your product is, but all they hear is they can get it for less somewhere else.

2. Assuming All Clients Are Shopping Based on Price Not all clients shop based on price alone. Competing on price turns you into a commodity photographer.Don’t make a big deal about how low your prices are either. Not all clients shop based on price alone, and sometimes shouting about “what a bargain” you are is a turnoff. Instead, focus on what clients will get from working with you, and treat pricing as a reasonable afterthought.

3. Offering Prices Before Discussing Services Before you talk photography prices, you must first explain to your clients what makes you different as a portrait photographer.Portrait photography pricing is a tricky subject, and a number on a page does not reflect to your future client what you really offer. Before you talk prices, first explain to your clients what makes you different and second find out what their needs are. After you’ve built rapport, you can then share pricing.

4. Forgetting a Pre-Session Consultation Make a pre-session consultation a non-negotiable part of your photography selling process.Forgetting to consult before planning a session is a major mistake. Instead, make a pre-session consultation a non-negotiable part of your process. Once clients feel taken care of (by having a conversation with you), they’ll be more likely to go along with what you suggest, and more likely to invest in wall portraits for their home.

5. Failing to Set Expectations For How Artwork Should Be Displayed Before Session By setting expectations for the right type of artwork for a particular wall, you can encourage your clients to place higher-priced photography orders.Helping clients understand what they’re getting from a session and where they should plan on displaying it can go a long way toward increasing your orders. If you don’t talk to clients about above-the-fireplace images, family room gallery walls or canvas wall portraits in kids’ rooms, how can you expect them to buy them? Set their expectations for the type of artwork you will be creating during their session BEFORE the ordering appointment. Otherwise, you make the mistake of failing to encourage them to place orders at all.

6. Winging Your Sessions Without a Sales Plan Base every photograph you take on how likely you are to sell a product using that photograph later.It’s a common problem for photographers to have lots of portrait photography ideas regarding the session itself, and too few regarding sales. But the two are intertwined. Don’t head into your session without a plan for how you will sell each photograph you take. If you end up with a bunch of proofs no one will order, you’ve wasted your precious time, so instead, shoot to sell. Base every photograph you take on how likely you are to sell a product using that photograph later.

7. Assuming Clients Will Automatically Place a Large Order Selling large portrait orders requires you to hold your clients’ hand throughout the process.Most clients will take the CD or jump drive home, tuck it away in a drawer, and never pull it back out. Unless you hold their hand, they likely won’t print those photos out ever. Help make your shoot and sales process effective by holding your clients’ hands through the ordering process and helping them understand why they need beautiful images to pass down through the generations.

8. Putting Images Online or Offering Proofs Rather Than Conducting Order Appointments Your photography clients will invest more if they appreciate your expertise.You are doing your clients a disservice if you merely print out a bunch of proofs or point them toward an online gallery of images without helping guide them through choosing what they love. We invest more for expertise, and it’s no different for photography. You are helping them invest in the beauty of their home, and you can’t do that by printing proofs and relying on your clients to fumble through the right size, frame, style and so on. Use a 1-hour ordering appointment in which you project their images on the wall so they can see the scale of the art you have created for them and help them pick the right artwork for their home.

9. Selling Digital Files Without Physical Products Your beautiful photography is meant to be displayed and seen! By not selling a physical product to your portrait clients, you’re cutting your client and yourself short.Sure, people will buy digital files. For a slight premium, however, you can do all the work for them. That way they’ll end up with a beautiful physical product. If you fail to offer physical products, you cut yourself out of a hefty sales opportunity. Plus, your clients will most likely never print and display your artwork. Since that’s how it was meant to be seen, it is a shame for them as well. 

10. Overwhelming Clients with Too Many Choices When it comes to selling your photography, less portrait order options is better.Offering too many options has been scientifically shown to paralyze people and make them unable to choose. Instead of offering a pie-in-the-sky range of portrait order options, pick the fewest number of choices that still fit what most of your clients need, and just offer that. When presented with fewer options, people are more likely to select some of them.

Intro by Skip Cohen

Starting next month there's some terrific new content coming in the Marathon blog, but in the meantime check out the archives! I found this post from last year by Sarah Petty. She's hitting on one of the most important concepts in sales/marketing - connecting with your client.

I'll admit, locking up your computer is a bit extreme, but I'm hoping it helps me and Sarah make a point.

NOTHING beats a personal call or a face to face visit! While I love the reach the Internet gives us, so many of you think the easy way to book clients is simply to answer their questions via email. Many of you have template correspondence forms on your websites, which are fine, but you're answering them the wrong way.

Sure, it's easy to send back a canned response or even a custom response via email, but here's the challenge! An email doesn't show your enthusiasm and passion for the craft. Your personality doesn't come through to your client. There's no level of trust being established with that first contact.

Also, remember 98% of the purchase decisions to hire a professional photographer in the portrait/social categories are made by women! That means most of the time your contact is "Mom" or a bride. A personal call immediately establishes a level of sincerity and starts the process of relationship building.

Take the time to read Sarah's thoughts on email and then think about how you handle customer contacts. You'll only get back as much as you're willing to invest!

NOBODY can sell you like you!

by Sarah Petty

I’m not right for everyone. In fact, I’m not right for MOST people who are shopping for photography. I hear "no" a lot and that’s okay with me.

I’m not the photographer if you want photos of your kids to only share digitally on social media. I focus on creating art for my clients’ homes. I have a passion for decorating kids’ rooms that reflect how special and different each one is and I’m definitely not the cheapest photographer in town.

Because of that, when I’m booking a new client I will not book a client by email.

Have I tried it? Sure. But I found after 13 years in the photography business that it didn’t work for the type of clients I want to attract. My business model is about developing high-touch relationships with my clients. It’s about individual connections, creativity and one-of-a-kind experiences and all of that is lost over email.

• We can’t develop rapport.
• We can’t bond over shared experiences.
• We can’t connect.
• And they can’t see MY personality and what makes an experience different when they choose me as their photographer in an email.

Think about it like this.

Every day we buy things and services and we have a choice every time we buy something.

1) We can choose the lowest-price provider. We all do this with certain things we don’t value – like my fake glue-on fingernails,  gas for my car, daily play clothes for my kids, etc.

2) Or we can choose to pay more. When you choose to pay more than the low price provider, you expect MORE in return.

• More conversation
• More connection
• More attention
• More choices
• More service
• More perks

So what do I do when I get an email asking for my prices or if I’m available on a certain day? I pick up the phone and call the prospective client and I have a 15-minute phone conversation.

I just follow my "7 steps to answering the phone so you get booked" process.

I ask specific questions, I follow a specific order of what I ask and when and I book from that 15-minute phone call if a client is right for me.

It works every time to ensure I never pick up my camera unless I’m going to meet my sales average with the session. When I don’t book a client, I know exactly why so I don’t beat myself up or go searching for reasons my business model may be broken or my pricing is wrong.

If you’re trying to book clients via email and you’re following the boutique business model, I challenge you to pick up the phone. Stop hiding behind your computer and talk to your prospective customers.

And if you need more help, grab my free guide, “7 Steps to Answering the Phone (so you get booked” Get it here!

For the last couple years, I've written a lot about Marathon's Bella Art Prints. I'm excited about the product because I've been to the plant and witnessed firsthand the production, the quality and the efficiency of Marathon's ability to meet the demand for stunning prints.

I also love the long list of creative ideas on their application. For example, because they're cost effective, you could create an engagement or save-the-date movie-style poster for a bridal client. Imagine the reaction from the engaged couple.

Then, a 16x24 print is a perfect as a gift for a client, especially after the wedding when it's time to help put together their album.  Joe Buissink loves to do one of his favorite prints from a wedding and have it on the wall, framed and signed. It's a surprise for the couple when they come in to see their proofs, and the perfect way to remind them he's an artist.

Then there are plenty of applications in events, portraiture, seniors, newborns and the list goes on an on. And, just like the old Staples' commercial, need higher volume? "Yeah, Marathon's got that!"

The Bella tagline says it all - "Beautiful Paper, Beautiful Photos, Beautiful Art." You have to provide the beautiful photos, but check out how Marathon can handle the rest!

If you're at WPPI next week swing by Booth 1455 and pick up your coupon code for a FREE 16x24.

​Don't take my word for it, "test drive" Bella Art Prints for yourself. I've seen dozens of stunning prints, all with the quality you need for every client!

Intro by Skip Cohen

The Marathon blog is loaded with some great content, and like so many of my favorite companies in imaging, I like to wander through the archives from time to time.  This post by Sarah Petty is the perfect addition to an ongoing argument between photographers regarding clients who want their digital files.

Over the last ten years I'm betting I've heard every side of the argument, but Sarah not only shares why she doesn't sell digital files but also gives you her suggestion for responded to a client when the question comes up in your business.

After you've read Sarah Petty's thoughts, check out this post featuring Michele Celentano and Bryan Caporicci's approach to selling prints. There's some great content here and now, during the "slow season," it's the perfect time to rehearse and refine your approach to consumers when the question comes up.

And, if you're looking for help with just about any aspect of marketing your business, take a stroll through Marathon's archives, especially their MAP program. So many of you need help with your marketing efforts and MAP essentially gives you an exclusive marketing department with all the support you need to make 2017 the best and biggest year yet for your business!

by Sarah Petty

One question people often ask me is, “Sarah…why don’t you sell digital files to your clients?”

My answer to that question is that I’m not in the CD-selling business.

It’s not a sustainable business model for me, as a portrait photographer, to sell high-resolution digital files for a few hundred bucks. If I wanted to do that, I’d consider myself a hobbyist.

Instead, I was named one of Professional Photographer of America’s most profitable photographers. I didn’t achieve that honor by selling digital images.

Let me explain.

Why I Don’t Sell Digital Files – My Case for Heirloom Quality, Printed Artwork 

I believe photography should be printed and framed by the artist. When you sell digital files, it  pushes you closer to being a commodity photographer. You’ll be forced to compete against the prices of other commodity photographers in your area and that’s a battle you can’t possibly win.Why? Because there will ALWAYS be someone out there who is able and willing to undercut your prices and take away your business.

When I say that I don’t give away or sell digital images, I’m talking about high-res digital files. I provide any printed image clients purchase as a low-res digital file for their social media and to email to their friends and family. In 99% of cases when a client asks for digital files, they’re perfectly fine with that.

Now you may be saying, “But Sarah…I’m afraid of losing business if I don’t give away digital files!”

First, I truly don’t think that’s the case and here’s the reason why.

When people call, they don’t know exactly what to ask for, so they simply ask for the things they’re familiar with. For most people wanting to hire a photographer, 8 x 10’s and / or digital files from the session are the products they are familiar with. It doesn’t mean that’s what they want! It’s just what they know.

So you have to look past their questioning and dig a little deeper. When I hear the questions “How much is an 8 x 10? or “How much do the digital files cost?” what I’m really hearing my client say is, “tell me the reasons I should do business with you. Give me the benefits!”

When a Client Asks Me to Sell Digital Files, Here’s What I Say

I teach students in my Photography Selling System to say, “Yes, we’ll give you a digital file of ANYTHING you purchase for you to use on FACEBOOK or your PHONE or EMAIL. You will have those forever to remember this session. We keep the printable digital files here because it’s our job to make sure you get the absolute best artwork possible, which can only come from us.”

I believe that as a professional photographer, you should showcase your expertise instead of a tossing over a file of digital images.

Here’s the bottom line…People come to us for our expertise and part of that is the quality we put into all of our artwork.

If we sell high-resolution digital files, people don’t have the ability to color correct or manage exposure and get the prints that are to the quality that reflects our brand. By doing that, we’re doing our clients a disservice.

I only let products leave the door of Sarah Petty Photography that I know are perfect. There have even been times when a finished product has come back from the lab and I look at it and say, “ya know, it can be better,” so my team and I will redo it as many times as it takes until it’s perfect. That’s part of what makes our reputation so strong…the quality of the product we create.

My clients value the expertise I provide in helping them choose and frame their art for their homes. Because of this, when they get their artwork home, they are absolutely THRILLED. My clients are completely satisfied with having the low-res digital files for social media, while having gorgeous artwork for their home that they can look at each day.

So selling high-resolution digital files is really a non-issue in my opinion.

The real issue is how you’re talking to your client and how deep you’re digging into what their needs are.
If you’re struggling to find clients and make a living with your photography, examine your sales process. Are you using an in-person sales model? Do you only sell digital files?