It is no secret that January is pretty rough for the bank accounts family photographers. Between the post-holiday burnout and bitter winter weather, very few clients want to book sessions. Even offering newborn sessions, it seems like less babies are born in January! It only took a couple years in business for me to realize January was just always going to be my lowest month of the year. Which can be frustrating if you love setting all the yearly goals during that same time, like me!
That is when I got to work trying to identify and solve my issue of no bookings in January. I didn't necessarily want to overbook myself as I love the recovery period after busy season, but I knew if I did not have some sort of income--my business would fail. Harsh, but true. Either I needed to save back several months of income during busy season or find a way to generate income in order to "slow season proof" my business. While I absolutely do a little bit of both, my income-generating plan has really set the tone for success in the past two years.
Here's what I do: I run a sale. Not just any sale, a sale that is tailored to fit what my favorite clients need. I do not discount my services as a part of the sale, I just increase HOW I serve my clients. How do I run a sale that is not actually a dollar amount off of sessions? I make it a full package deal that has a HUGE benefit to my client, but is invaluable to me because it helps me plan out my entire year and puts a little cash in the business savings account to make the slower months a lot less scary or able to pay for some new education or gear. Truly, a win-win for everyone! After offering the sale and it performing far beyond my expectations two years in a row, I got a few emails from other photographers asking me all about it. The beauty is--you can run this sale for yourself ANYTIME of year, but I have seen it be the most valuable to photographers during the January-April timeframe. In my sale, I offer it as a membership style where clients opt in and complete a deposit. That is the cash in your pocket today! Then they are committed to sign up for sessions throughout the year with added perks. This is where the planning piece comes in. If you have 80 clients opt into the sale, you can now plan at least those 80 clients booking repeatedly throughout the year. You also get the added bonus of having a bit more clarity in your business as you know EXACTLY WHO you are serving this year. I cannot tell you how much my clients RAVE about my sale and how much I love getting that little boost during a slower time of year.
If you are wanting to offer a sale just like mine in your own family photography business, I offer my full blueprint that will not only outline the logistics of the sale, but also my backend system to keep clients organized, as well as all the perks and marketing material (social media posts and email templates) I created to make my sale a success. You can learn more by clicking the link below!
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