Some people love them, and some people hate them. They don't fit every business model, and they aren't for every business person either. As with every marketing avenue you consider, if you can't take the time to do it right and do it well, don't do it until you can.
Mini-sessions are a Marketing venture first and foremost more than an income generator (although they can definitely be that, too). They are a good way to introduce your business to a new base of clients, although this base of clients will be ones that you will be cultivating and educating on the value of portraiture. They will not be ones that recoginze your value immediately, nor will they instantly be willing to pay your regular boutique level pricing. If you're looking for a quick fix, quick turn client, this is not the answer. This is a long turn, steady client that will go for your mini session a few times a year and eventually turn into a higher dollar client a year or so down the road. This client takes patience, pampering and convincing.
Still interested? Read on.
9 Things to consider
1. Marketing ROI
In order to gain Top of Mind Awareness with your target market and get them to respond to your marketing, you need to get your message in front of them at least three times. Don't understand what I mean? Pay attention to radio and television ads. You'll hear their main message and business name at least 3 times during their ad. Remember this for your FB, emails and blog posts (and offline pieces).
You can also plan that for everything that you do, you can expect about 10% response. Response can be anything from picking up the ad to visiting your site to calling and booking a session. The depth of the response will increase with the number of impressions on the prospect (which is another reason you can't be a 1-and-done).
2. Repetition
In the same spirit of above, no "1-and-dones". Plan at least 3 different Mini Sessions this year so you know if it works for you. This will also show your clients that you're not a flake - that they can trust that this is something they can count on for your business (and they can count on your business in general). The more they get used to seeing something from you, the better your booking rate will get, and the higher your ROI will get as a result.
3. Timing, Booking and Assistance
Part of the Mini Session is about the timing. You want to get promotional photos of these at least 6 weeks prior so that you can begin advertising about a month before the session happens. Sessions should last no more than 30 minutes, and not be booked back to back. Always leave yourself a 10-15 minute window between sessions. Something will inevitably go wrong, someone will be late, and someone else will be early, or someone will really, really REALLY hate Santa (that would be my kid). And no clothing changes on a Mini.
When booking, try to focus on booking just 1-3 subjects.Too many people and you're bound for a mess. Don't shoot family Minis unless it's the holidays (and book them a little longer time, like 45 minutes).
Don't overbook yourself. 25 Mini-Sessions in one day is insanity. You are not wonderwoman and you don't have to try to prove to me or your mama that you are. Even Tamara Lackey would tell you to put that calendar down, girl. Just because there is white space on it doesn't mean you gotta fill it up.
Don't overbook yourself, pt. 2. Don't book a Mini day every month. You will get burnt out. I promise.
Always have an Assistant. Make sure someone is there to help you check in your clients, make sure that clothing is straightened, make sure you have water (I swear, its water, not vodka. What do you mean you can smell it on me??) , get a bathroom break if needed, faces cleaned, etc. You never know if you'll need those couple of moments just to regroup.
4. Style
You are going to have a really hard time making a Mini Session successful if you shoot them just like you do every other session in your portfolio. Mini sessions are different, themed, special. They have that "stylized" feeling. Remember, like I said above, these are people you're introducing to your business, so you should probably do something with a little STYLE for them. Don't make them cookie cutter, give them some edge, give them some spunk, personality, and fun. Theme it if you want, and bring it to life. You want these new prospects to see the best of the best, to be your guinea pigs for your ideas, even. Feel free to try that new thought with them - and don't forget to get those model releases!
The more creative and fun you get, the more interest you'll spark with your marketing and with your brand, and the more you'll be inspired to educate your clients.
5. Pricing
There are two major pricing pitfalls I see when most people start to do Mini Sessions.
Pitfall #1 -- CheapieFreebie (loss leader/might as well have gone groupon). This is the $29 session fee with the free 8x10, 4 5x7s and 5 digital files on a disk mini session. And then, it's even 50% off print prices.
Yet... no one buys anything more than what they get for free. And why should they. The photographer doesn't get it. They think "But I shot these awesome images and gave great discount, why didn't they buy anything else?" So they email them and follow up, and they never book and the photographer gets irritated and thinks, well, minis aren't for me.
Pitfall #2 -- TheGrownUpMini. This is the $200 (discounted) session fee, 30 minute session, and 20% off prices.
This is fine if you have an established client base and you've been doing minis for several years and your clients are used to your pricing structure. Note: This is not all bad, but you cannot start out with this mini. You can do this mini after a few years and you are a solid, strong business.
The Right Way (IMHO): The Staring Out Mini: Price your session fee at around $49.99 and either discount your normal prices around 30% OR create a special price list just for Mini Sessions (still should be discounted and presented to them as such when they inquire). Note: I never recommend sending your pricing to your clients (or home with your clients) in any way, shape, or form.
It's introductory enough that it will weed out the cheap-os, but low enough that people can still swing it. You're also not giving away the farm, and being able to introduce people to your work, and to your pricing on a very custom level that is comfortable for you.
6. Marketing: Offline and Online
It's important to not rely simply on Facebook, email and your blog for filling your Mini Session spots.Of course, use these mediums, but make sure to use actual flyers as well.
Partner with local vendors and boutiques to place well done and professional flyers and lay-cards about your mini-session in the weeks leading up to your event. Place these out about 4 weeks before your session dates, and make sure that they feature strong sample images (not too many), emotion words, a strong call to action (ask for the action you want them to take - don't be passive), and your contact information.
With your social media and emails, make sure to use a photo on Facebook and share it multiple times, tag people in it, ask people to share it. Create an event and invite people to it. Share it on Google plus, create a blog post and share it multiple times. Create an email marketing piece and send it out following a marketing strategy over a series of a few days. Tweet about it over different days and a different times. Ask local friends and vendor partners to do the same.
7. Ordering Appointment
Treat your Mini Session clients as you would all of your regular clients. Do in person ordering, and upsell. Create custom storyboard composites, sample products and collages during their slideshows to show them. Show them your elite collection of products that you have available out of your full price line, too, even if you have created a special pricing guide just for them.
Create the setting, educate them, show them the way you mount your prints, the framing options, show them the difference. If you can, have prints available from the "cheapie" printers versus your pro prints to show them what they're getting from you . Talk about the archival qualities of the papers, the processes of the printing done at the pro-labs. Make sure that you really take the time to go through with them and build that custom experience collection that is perfectly suited to their needs, get their information right in their file, get their model release signed, and ask if you can contact them again for an upcoming mini sessions and studio events. Let them know what they can expect as far as the next part of the process.
8. Marketing Afterwards
Make sure that you don't forget about these clients! While they're not your target client - yet!- you'll still want to make sure you're keeping up with the follow up, the follow through, and the emails. Seriously - the marketing pieces of everything you offer in with their completed order, the notification of new mini sessions, referral cards for them to hand out, Open House invitations, invitations to Vendor partnership events, client education information blog posts, and anything that you can get in front of them that keeps your name in the forefront and reminds them of the service and the quality they got from you, the better.
9. The Mini Session Client
And last but not least: The Mini Session client. This is the client that is sort of sick of going to JCPenney and Sears and really hates Walmart. She likes PicturePeople but knows there are still better options out there. Olan Mills kind of appeals to her too ... but she heard from someone, somewhere, that a private studio/photographer is even better... but that same someone told her they're really expensive and she could probably take good pictures with her own camera. Bleh. Maybe she'll just stick with PicturePeople.
Wait... Oh that picture is really nice. Oh I like those colors. And oh, that price isn't bad, and that's really close to me.
This is your Miini Session client. Or at least, who they start out as, usually (from my experience). Remember this as you start to work with them, that this is what their biases are. They don't hate you, their just skeptical.
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So now you've got enough info and ideas to decide if this fits for your business or not. You'll have to let us know what you decide to do and how it goes. And don't forget to track it with a tracking sheet.
