Holiday online selling checklist for photographers.
October 17th, 2024
The holiday season is just around the corner, and for photographers, it’s more than just seasonal photo shoots and festive cheer; it’s a golden opportunity to enhance your online sales. With some thoughtful preparation, you can capitalize on this busy period and significantly maximize your revenue. In this article, we’ll guide you through the essential steps to prepare your photography business for successful holiday selling.
1. Preparing your website.
Your website is your digital storefront, and it should be both welcoming and easy to navigate. Here’s how to ensure your website is holiday-ready:
Website review
Start your holiday preparations with a thorough review of your website. Take a close look at your portfolio to ensure it reflects your unique style and showcases your best work consistently. Your website acts as your visual resume, so make it representative of the style of work you want to shoot most. Update images as needed, and make sure your site is mobile-friendly to accommodate those on-the-go shoppers.
Clear wording
Clarity is key when it comes to the text on your website. Ensure that your services and offerings are described in a straightforward manner. Highlight holiday discounts and special promotions prominently on your homepage and within your selling galleries, using eye-catching banners, so potential customers don’t miss out on these seasonal deals.
Clear navigation
Make your website navigation intuitive. Design your menu options to guide visitors through clear pathways based on their intent—whether they want to book a session or purchase holiday gifts. Use strategically placed call-to-action (CTA) buttons to facilitate easy browsing, so that visitors can move effortlessly through your site.
2. Create a selling checklist.
Begin your holiday preparations by carefully reviewing your pricing to ensure you maintain a healthy profit margin while offering any planned discounts. Take a close look at your product offerings as well. Consider creating a dedicated seasonal price list tailored to typical holiday shopping needs, making it easy to switch between your standard and seasonal price lists in the future. This price list should feature holiday-specific products like greeting cards and photo gifts. By offering a diverse product range, you can cater to various customer preferences during the holiday season.
Highlight popular products.
Make sure to prominently feature products that are typically popular during the holidays, such as albums, mugs, prints in different formats, and holiday cards. If you’re a Zenfolio PortfolioPlus or ProSuite subscriber, you can even duplicate your regular price lists and easily add seasonal products. This flexibility allows you to fine-tune your offerings without overhauling your existing structure.
Maintain profitable pricing.
While offering discounts during events like Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday may attract more customers, it’s crucial to ensure that your pricing still provides a healthy profit margin. Review your pricing structure to make sure you’re generating revenue, even after discounts are applied. The key is finding just the right balance between customer appeal and profitability.
Create special holiday product bundles.
Boost your sales by offering special packages that include popular products. These bundles provide added value for customers and can encourage larger purchases. Consider creative combinations like a “Wall Art Package” featuring framed prints or canvases, or a “Memories On the Go” bundle with items such as mugs and keychains. By bundling products, you can streamline the decision-making process for shoppers and make that average order value skyrocket!
Communicate processing and shipping deadlines.
Timely delivery is critical during the holiday season, and the last thing you want to do is disappoint a customer. Be sure to review the shipping deadlines of your print lab so you can meet client expectations. Tools like Zenfolio’s shipping calculator can help by providing accurate delivery estimates based on your lab’s shipping options. Communicate these deadlines to your customers so that they can get those orders in ahead of the shipping deadlines.
3. Deciding your holiday discount strategy.
Automated vs. Customized campaigns:
Choosing the right holiday discount strategy can make a big difference in your bottom line. Let’s explore the perks of automated sale campaigns versus custom discounts tailored to your goals, so you can decide what works best for you this season.
Benefits of automated sale campaigns:
- Time Saving Convenience: Automated sales campaigns allow you to set up discounts in advance so you can focus on other aspects of your photography business. This convenience can reduce stress and give you a bit more breathing room (which we could all use during a busy holiday season).
- Consistency: Automated campaigns ensure that your promotions and discounts are applied consistently across all your offers, eliminating confusion for your customers, and building trust and loyalty.
- Streamlined marketing: Automated campaigns often have built-in marketing tools. When using automated campaigns built into your website, tools such as email announcements and reminders can be combined with promotional banners in your photo galleries. Spread the news on your social media, and rest assured that every visitor will see the banners encouraging them to jump on your holiday sales.
Benefits of customized discount campaigns:
- Tailored to Your Goals: Customized campaigns give you the freedom to fine-tune your discounts and sale timelines to match your specific objectives. Whether you want to boost sales of a particular product, clear out inventory, or attract new clients, you have full control over your promotions.
- Unique Branding: Custom campaigns allow you to infuse your brand’s personality into your discounts. You can create unique and eye-catching promotions that match your brand image and values.
- Flexibility to Adapt: With custom campaigns, you can react quickly to changing trends or the specific needs of your customers. This flexibility makes it easy to adjust your discounts or promotions as the holiday season unfolds.
Smart Upsell
If you’re seeking a hassle-free way to manage your promotions, Zenfolio’s Smart Upsell tool lets you create personalized offers that automatically adjust in your clients’ shopping carts, making it easy and rewarding for them to add more to their orders. Rather than relying on traditional coupons–which customers sometimes forget to use–Smart Upsell dynamically updates promotions as clients increase their purchases, giving them an easy way to see the benefits of buying more.
Setting it up is simple, and once it’s in place, it runs smoothly on its own. Whether you’re offering free shipping or tiered discounts based on the cart total or quantity purchased, you can create promotions that suit your holiday goals.
Turn your images into income.
Sell your photos online from your own custom store. Set up is quick and your clients will enjoy a seamless shopping experience.
4. Setting up discount campaigns.
Regardless of whether you choose automated or customized campaigns, setting up a discount campaign involves several important steps:
- Define your goals: Define what you want to achieve with your discount campaign. Do you want to increase sales, clean up your inventory or acquire new customers? Clear goals help you to shape your strategy.
- Select your products: Choose the products or services you want to discount. Focus on items that are likely to appeal to your target audience during the holiday season. Keep this as simple as possible; if shoppers are confused, they are less likely to purchase.
- Set discount parameters: Set the discount percentage or amount. Make sure your discounts are attractive to customers while maintaining profitability. Consider offering a straightforward “X% off when you spend $XX” promotion–percentages will often encourage shoppers to spend more than the required amount, since the discount is off the total purchase.
- Establish a timeframe: Set a start and end date for your campaign, and include reminders via email and social media. By creating a sense of urgency, customers will be encouraged to make a purchase as soon as possible.
- Promote your campaign: Use different marketing channels to promote your campaign. This may include email marketing, social media posts, and updates to your website. Shout it from the rooftops any way you can!
To help save you time and increase sales, some online portfolio platforms like Zenfolio have ready-to-go marketing strategies for plans with selling features, including banners and emails–and all you have to do is enroll. You have options to create an entire campaign at the click of a button, or to customize the automated campaigns to your needs. Alternatively, you can use the Coupons tool to fully customize and schedule the launch date of your own campaign.
5. Keep your clients informed.
Keeping your customers in the loop is key to having a smooth and successful holiday season. Here’s why staying in touch matters and how to do it right:
Why is it important to keep clients informed?
- Keep Clients Coming Back for More: Regular updates keep your clients engaged and remind them of the awesome value you bring. A simple heads-up about your holiday offerings can be all the nudge they need to book with you again.
- Build Trust: Transparency creates trust. When customers are informed about your holiday plans and offers, they are more likely to feel confident when booking a session and/or making a purchase.
- Set Clear Expectations: Clear communication helps avoid surprises. (The bad kind of surprises!) Let your customers know what to expect in terms of availability, sales, and product offerings so they can plan accordingly and have a smoother experience.
Showcase your products.
- Make it personal: When meeting customers in person, physical samples of your products such as canvas or metal prints, albums, or holiday cards can leave a lasting impression and help customers visualize their potential purchases.
- Show it off on social media: Be your own influencer! Create engaging videos that show off your holiday-themed products. Videos are a fun and eye-catching way to highlight the quality of your work and build excitement for what’s available this season.
Timely and friendly communication.
- Announce available sessions: Let your clients know about your holiday session availability as early as possible. Clients often plan their holiday photo shoots early, so the earlier you communicate, the better your chances of getting bookings. That said, there are always some procrastinators out there looking for last-minute shoots. Decide on a cutoff date for bookings and stick to it!
- Promote upcoming sales: Notify customers of upcoming sales or special holiday discounts. This early notification can encourage them to wait for special offers before making a purchase. It will also allow them to budget if they plan to spend big!
- Highlight product offers: Share details about the holiday-themed products you offer. Share why they are unique and explain why they should consider these items for their holiday gifting needs.
- Clarify delivery deadlines: Remember, every photo, and every photo product is a custom-made item. Prints have a different order-by date than canvases. Make sure customers know the last possible order date for holiday deliveries. Clear shipping deadlines help ensure on-time delivery and a happy holiday experience for everyone.
6. Encourage past clients to return.
The holiday season is the perfect time to reconnect with clients you photographed earlier in the year. Send them a friendly email reminding them they can order Christmas prints or holiday cards directly from their galleries. If you’re offering special holiday deals, even better! A little surprise discount will make them feel special and might inspire them to place an order—whether it’s for themselves or as a thoughtful gift for a relative.
7. Make time for yourself.
The holiday season can be so crazy and stressful. It is important to make self-care and family time a priority. Be sure to block off some personal time in your calendar—whether it’s to relax with a cup of hot cocoa, spend time with loved ones, or simply recharge your creative battery. While it is easier said than done, these breaks are essential to keeping you at your best.
In conclusion, a little preparation goes a long way when it comes to holiday success for your photography business. With some thoughtful planning, you can make this season a success—not just in terms of revenue, but also in building stronger, long-lasting relationships with your clients. It’s all about setting yourself up for a holiday season that helps you grow, both in sales and in your photography journey for the year (and years!) ahead.
