Don’t look now but it’s not too early to start planning your campaigns for family photography. All signs point to potentially the best opportunity to attract these sessions. You don’t want to miss out as the 4th quarter success is absolutely critical for your business.
I invited my friend and industry educator Lori Nordstrom to join me in a podcast about this the value and importance of photographing families this fall. We covered the things she has done to maximize this important life cycle. Listen in to our Fabulous Fall Families podcast now.
Everything starts with your goals. How many family sessions do you want to do? This will determine the media you plan to use, the duration of your campaign, the specials you plan to offer, the deadlines, the added incentives, and even the turn times from your lab.
Qualify your ideal client. As with all things related to a marketing campaign it is important to identify who your ideal client is.
- Where do they shop?
- Who do they do business with?
- Does she volunteer somewhere?
- Does she have children?
- What does her husband do?
- Income range?
- Home location?
- What are her hobbies?
Qualifying your client this way enables you to determine what type of specials to offer, where to invest your advertising, the type of marketing media you plan to use, which businesses to network with, and if you do direct contact advertising, which neighborhoods to send to.
This means you need to start getting your campaign strategies in place now. Generally, it takes about 6-8 weeks for most studios to plan, gather and get materials in place to execute their marketing plan. Samples need to be generated too! So it’s not too early to start.
There are many benefits to giving your families incentives to book sooner rather than later –
- Better session incentives.
- Weather better to travel.
- Faster turn times from the lab.
- Schedules are typically easier for families to get together.
- People still have a tan.
- Outdoor location sites still look great.
- Longer daylight is available to use for outdoor sessions.
- Less Covid risk.
- Less stress with short holiday deadlines.
- Wrap up holiday gift shopping early!
Bonus: Get a head start on your competition!
Want a powerful but cost-effective way to do direct marketing? Check out Marathon’s Family Plans – https://www.marathonpress.com/family-marketing-plans/.
Make this year a Fabulous Fall Family starting now!
