Babies. They are only little for a very short time. And while a new mom may be counting down the days until her child sleeps through the night, just as quickly she will be wishing she could hold her child in her arms again as they race from school to soccer practice.
Because babies grow so fast, its one of the easiest and most lucrative business models to get into.
Babies are born every day of the year. And because new moms understand how fast the first year will be, they are also the easiest to sell to on emotion.
Ready to put baby plans into your business model? Here is a step by step guide to get you started today.
Step 1: Set up your pricing
Baby plans aren’t set up with one session. Instead, they comprise of three or four sessions, possibly with add-ons. A typical baby plan may include:
- Maternity session
- Newborn session
- Three month
- Six month
- Nine months
- One year
Get your client into the door while they are still pregnant. Because your plan should include a newborn image that is taken during the first few weeks of life, its important to sell the plan before the baby is born.
Package plans should include one image from each session placed in a wall collage or montage frame – which they won’t receive until all sessions are completed. This gives the client a reason to finish all sessions.
Step 2: Find your clients
Clients can come from a variety of different sources. Think about where pregnant women are during their nine months of pregnancy and go to the source.
- Doctors office
- Lamaze class
- Baby stores
- Baby websites
- Parenting magazines
Then let them see what you do. Pregnant women are motivated through emotion. Showcase all of your images in a way that potential clients won’t just want what you do, they have to have it. The more compelling your offer; the more success you will have.
Step 3: Set up the rules and stick with it
Because baby plans require a new mom to come to your studio multiple times, there are always going to be “problems” along the way. Establish your rules early and stand up to people that try and get you to “trade in” unused credits or change your rules. Ask yourself questions such as:
- What if someone has twins/triplets/quads, etc? Will you charge one price for all?
- What if they don’t make it in on the allotted schedule?
- What if they don’t like a session?
- When should they book each session?
- What about siblings?
- Can other family members be added to the images – mom, dad, grandparents, etc?
In some cases you may incorporate different pricing structures for different options. The more you think about up front, the better prepared you will be when the questions arise.
Step 4: Give gift certificates
Especially if you are targeting older women – who have more money – they will be looking for more memorable experiences rather than just the “stuff”. Give them the option of being able to be a part of your baby gift registry program.
Easy to set up and easy to administer, you can offer a gift registry program in a lot of ways. Create customized gift certificates to send off to family and friends as a mom-to-be is planning baby showers.
Make sure you mention your gift certificate program in your marketing. Even if a new mom can’t afford a baby plan on her own, she may love the idea of sharing this idea with her family, and letting them help her pay for the gift of photography.
Step 5: Show off your work
New moms love to share, show and tell. Ever read or heard of the book “What To Expect When You’re Expecting?” Its now even a major motion picture. If you’ve ever been a parent or known a new parent, you know how important it is to do everything by the book when you’re first starting out. You make sure your child can smile/crawl/talk and walk at the right time.
And of course once your child is on track, you share it with the world.
When you have the perfect photograph of your child, a new mom will share it everywhere. Don’t be afraid of Facebook – provide the images to your client to share and ask them to. The more they share, the more new mom friends will see it. And of course have have a session of their own.
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