Growing Revenue and Expanding Seasonality

​by Skip Cohen

​It's my favorite day of the week, Throwback Thursday. But today I want to share a very different kind of throwback. I shared parts of this post a few years back. The summer is rapidly coming to a close and it's the perfect time for those of you procrastinators to get more aggressive with your marketing. Even those of you who have been actively marketing, might find some new ideas below.

Here's the short backstory, going back twenty-one years!

In 2004, I met Vicki and Jed Taufer for the first time. They were on vacation in California, and we had lunch together. That was when I was introduced to her calendar for memory-making. She showed me her holiday card for the previous year, 2003 - it was an accordion-style calendar with special themed events she had created for the entire year for photographing children. (I've included two of the pages in the four-panel card below) She even included a section about her travel in 2004, planting the seed for additional portrait sessions while she was on the road.  ​ ​

​​Our industry has always relied on the natural seasonality of demand, especially during the fall and winter holidays, which begin in October and extend into the new year. But everything has changed - for the better! Thanks in part to social media, you can create your own seasonality. With just a little creativity and organization, you can boost the demand for your services - all on your own.
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• Legacy Events: The renewed sense of family that came out of the pandemic is alive and well, all these years later. My suggestion is to put together a package that includes a portrait session with a video piece to capture Grandma and Grandpa's backstories. Those stories will become a family's most cherished memories, but nothing happens if you don't plant the seed for the idea.
• Summer Memories: In many communities kids are back in school next week, so the concept of capturing summer memories is rapidly coming to a close. But the reality is that nothing can slow down how fast kids grow. You've got to remind Mom that her kids are a day older and changing every morning - they're growing up. It's time for a new family portrait, or at the very least a back-to-school session.
• Furry Friends: Are you offering pet portraits? The pet industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry. I know from my own household that Lucy and Belle are with us 24/7 and are important members of the family. We're convinced they know and understand just about everything we say. That's why pets are number three behind brides and babies when it comes to why people hire a professional photographer. From Google: Approximately 94 million households in the U.S. own at least one pet. This represents about 71% of all    U.S. households, according to the American Pet Products Association (APPA).

• Food Photography and Restaurant Decor: The pandemic years, mostly from 2020 to the end of 2022, put every restaurant on notice that they needed high-quality photographs of their food, especially for their websites and carry-out services. And if they were serving outdoors, when they were only set up for indoor dining, they needed help decorating the side of the building where tables were now set up. The pandemic is behind us, but nothing has changed in the demand for food photography. 
• Throwback Thursday: I rarely miss a Thursday post sharing old throwbacks, mostly about friends in the industry. But for you, it's an opportunity to remind your clients that time never stands still. It's like the old SNL routine of Subliminal Man. You need to plant seeds with your clients to inspire ideas for capturing memory-making events. Whether in a blog post or just shared on your Facebook page, use Thursdays to turn back the clock and remind your clients that it's always time for a new portrait.
• Headshots: The market is enormous. Everyone in business needs to be seen in the very best light...pun intended. This is where owning your zip code comes into play. Get out and introduce yourself to every business in the community! They need to know you're the local expert regarding imaging. More to the point about headshots - how's your own headshot? There are few things sadder than professional photographers with headshots on their websites that look like kids set them up!

No one post could cover all the potential business out there, but it's a you-snooze-you-lose scenario. We're headed towards the biggest seasonality of the year, and you have the skillset to make it even stronger. But nothing happens if all your plans are for mañana! 

Like the old Nike tagline..."Just do it!"