Holiday Promo Ideas for Photographers
- Three Things You Need to Do Each Day to Improve your Photography Business
- 7 Tips to Make Invoicing Your Clients a Breeze
photo by yulkapopkova via iStock
The holidays are quickly approaching, which means if you haven’t already created your marketing calendar for the holidays then you’re behind.
I love creating articles about holiday marketing for photographers. Firstly, because it is absolutely so easy to sell your services during this time of year and secondly, because this is the perfect time to get a little more creative with what you’re selling and how you’re doing so.
Unlike regular photography promotion ideas, holiday promo ideas for photographers play off of the spirit of the season. Everyone is generally feeling more generous in November and December and this means you can join the party.
While this list of holiday promo ideas for photographers is just the beginning, I hope it can get you inspired during this odd year.
Send Holiday Cards (or Gifts)
photo by CasarsaGuru via iStock
One of my favorite holiday promo ideas for photographers is really simple: send cards. If you’re really pressed for time this holiday season, then you can send digital holiday cards to everyone on your email list. But, receiving an old-fashioned card in the mail is always a bit more special, and if you’re hoping to get more sessions out of these photography business tips, you should always aim for more special.
Another way you can make this tip really special is by sending gifts to some of your more frequent clients. Gifts are obviously going to be a business expense, so I typically will send something small, like my favorite print, to my clients who regularly spend money on sessions with me (as I want them to keep coming back) or to any clients I know who had an especially tough year.
Not all of these holiday prompt ideas for photographers will have your clients calling you crying in the middle of your work day, but the special ones will.
Host Holiday Photography Parties
photo by South_agency via iStock
Everyone loves a good party, especially this time of year. Depending upon where you are in the world, you may or may not be able to host a party safely, but even if your party needs to be socially distanced, I’ll show you how.
Since a lot of people aren’t leaving their house as often right now, this likely means that more people are going to be shooting their own holiday photos this year. So, this is a great opportunity for you to host a virtual photography party where you teach people how to take better photos of their families during the holidays. This type of a holiday workshop will likely get a bunch of future clients into the fold.
Workshops always work as excellent holiday promo ideas for photographers, you may just need to tweak your workshop to be a bit safer this year.
Sell Gift Cards
photo by LightFieldStudios via iStock
This tip is pretty basic, but selling gift cards during the holidays is an excellent way to bring in cash during an especially rough year.
Make sure you’re marketing your gift cards on all of your social media accounts, as well as via word of mouth and your email list. This is technically one of those marketing tips for photographers that would work year round, but a lot of the best holiday promo ideas for photographers are.
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Host a Contest
photo by RyanJLane via iStock
Everyone loves contests. The trick to turning contests into great holiday promo ideas for photographers is to put a spin on them.
For instance, you could host a Christmas selfie contest on Instagram (making sure your clients are tagging your business) and give the winner a free session, or you could work with other local businesses to host something like an ugly sweater contest at a coffee house or bar.
Create a Weekend of Mini-Sessions
photo by sisterspro via iStock
Mini-sessions are some of my favorite types of photography sessions because I know I’m reaching clients who otherwise likely could not afford my services.
One of my top holiday promo ideas for photographers is to create a full weekend of mini-sessions at the end of November or beginning of December.
I hype this weekend up from the end of October on all of my social media pages and I sell out of the sessions in no time.
If you want to be extra creative, you can create mini-sessions that are themed.
Give Some of Your Profits to Charity
photo by Catherine Lane via iStock
While most of these holiday promo ideas for photographers are all about bringing in extra money for your business, this one is about giving money away.
I work with the same charity every year because I found something I’m really passionate about. I sell a specific item all throughout December and all of the proceeds from that item go directly to the nonprofit I work with.
Of course, you don’t have to give all of your profits away. You can even give just 10 or 15% of each sale to the charity of your choice. People love shopping, but they especially love feeling like their money is going to a good cause.
Keep Track of It All
photo by recep-bg via iStock
I’ll be the first to admit that my marketing calendar from November through December is hectic. It can be really difficult, not only keeping track of all the holiday promo ideas for photographers (I never want a trend to pass me by), but keeping track of all the messages I receive from my clients.
This is why I started using Podium last year. Podium is a messaging platform that pulls all of your emails, text messages, social media messages, etc. and puts them all in one easy app.
It not only ensures that I never miss an important message, but it also helps me to respond to potential clients a lot faster which means I have a higher chance of earning their business.
I understand that the holidays aren’t necessarily the best time to implement new, expensive products into your business, which is why I’m plugging Podium right now. They offer a free trial of their product so you can figure out whether it is something that will work with your flow.
Head over to Podium right now to find out more!