3 Reasons You Should Be Raising Your Photography Prices This Year

Think people don’t have money to spend on your photography?

Think again.

The marketplace is a dynamic entity, always changing. If someone doesn’t have money, its because the money has moved on to someone else.

Which means if your clientele isn’t spending or doesn’t have the money to spend on your photography, its time to move to a new demographic.

And if someone else is buying – an entirely new demographic – you can’t market to them the way you always have. They have their own characteristics. Their own demands. Their own wants and desires.

The person you now want to have as a client will change.

So you must change your marketing along with it.

Yep, don’t think for a minute there is no money. Its just not true. The money is there.

But you have to figure out how to make it move into your pockets. And when you do, raise your photography prices and start reaping the rewards.

1. Think Like Disney

Ask anyone in the entertainment industry, and you will soon find out times are tough. Movie theaters offer all kinds of deals – $5 Sundays and free movies for the kids on Tuesday mornings all summer long. Our local Six Flags has been dropping prices every year and finding new ways to package what they have – family of 4 season packages include free parking and free concerts this year.

Yet one place isn’t lowering their prices. They are raising them.

Disneyland announced last week that they are raising the price of a ticket to $87, a 9 percent increase. The premium annual pass that includes parking increased by 30 percent. All to take affect immediately; which means they will be earning even more this summer as the vacation season is just beginning.

Disneyland isn’t just a summer activity. And its not just for the locals. Here in Denver, we’re a 3 hour plane ride from Disneyland. An 18 hour drive. Yet I have friends that fly in every October to celebrate Halloween at the Magic Kingdom. We have friends that drive in to enjoy the Christmas charm in December. We’ve done both over the years.

Yet I will tell you its been a long time since I’ve visited Six Flags – and we have one 15 miles from our home.

Why? Because Disney has magic. And we’re willing to pay for the magic. We love it!

And so do other people. They are willing to pay for the magic, no matter what the cost. Even in this economy.

2. Grow Your Imagination

Yes, the economy is changing. Yet I bet you can drive down the street today and find someone that just purchased a car. Or a neighbor who is planning a vacation in the next several months (maybe to Disneyland!) Or someone that just bought new clothes and new shoes for the changing season.

First and foremost, if you live in a western society, you buy. That’s what we do.

Yes its changing. We’re approaching the way we buy in new ways. But it still doesn’t stop you from buying.

Yet how you buy does.

Maybe you do more research online before you make a purchase. That means a company better have a pretty fantastic website in order to attract attention and make you want to buy from them.

Or maybe you watch for sales or the best price possible before you invest your money in what you truly desire. JCPenney understood that their customers would only buy sales items because that’s truly all they ever offered. So they turned around their marketing campaign and price structure to offer the lowest prices any time. We’ll see if it works for them. But it is fresh and new – and highly attractable.

Yes the economy is changing. But the money hasn’t gone away. JCPenney realized it had to think differently in order to attract a new clientele.

You have to do the same.

3. Figure Out What They Really Want And Give It To Them

Ask yourself a question. What do I have that people really want?

The key is in thinking beyond what everyone else is giving. Just because everyone is giving something doesn’t mean its what people truly want.

How many people on earth want coffee? A ton, right?

And you can get coffee for pretty cheap at almost any restaurant or convenience store in town. Make it yourself and you can get it for pennies on the dollar.

Yet Starbucks continue to open up stores everywhere. And they can charge $4 a pop for a coffee – with no refills.

Starbucks is all about giving people what they want.

If you’re a small business owner, you want the ability to bring your office anywhere. So for $4 in “rent”, you can buy a cup of coffee, and spend an hour or two at a table meeting a customer. Pretty cheap rent. Starbucks knows this and makes on average, per store, around $3,500 per day.

Yet they also know something else. Sure, there are plenty of small business owners, friends and family that want to “rent” a table for an hour, but even more want convenience.

The average Starbucks drive-thru brings in $5,500 per day. Yep, they aren’t just providing coffee, they are providing convenience.

They thought beyond coffee and gave people what they truly wanted – an easy way to bring a great cup of coffee to work/school/meetings/soccer events, etc.

The reason photographers fail is because they keep doing what’s always been done. If you’ve been in business for years, your old clientele doesn’t exist anymore. They’ve changed. They want new things.

And if you don’t change, they will find someone new.

You can reinvent your current business and do very well in the coming years. Question is, will you?

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  4. Where will photography take you this year survey
  5. 3 Conferences That Will Help You Improve Your Photography This Year
About Virtual Photography

We're the co-founders of VirtualPhotographyStudio.com and have been writing on this blog since 2004. We started Virtual as a way to help photographers stretch beyond a part time income, and develop strategies to become a Five Figure Photographer or a Six Figure Photographer. Ultimately its all about lifestyle, and if your goal is to live as a photographer 24/7, we think you should have the knowledge and the tools to do so. Welcome!

Comments

  1. Ashley says:

    Great article; very helpful! Thank you!

  2. The last point mentioned about inventing oursselves was the most important one.

  3. Certainly a good read and very relevant, thanks!

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