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glort
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Hello old Guy. If that is you in the avatar you are a really old guy which is great because you look how I feel.
I think I understand where you are coming from so let me give you a real definition of long winded.
The previous posters have given some good feedback I think but let me ramb..... add to that.
gmff wrote:
Everybody that has called about Christmas photos have all wanted the images. I am an old guy that does not want to give up the images.
Yes, Most everyone except other old people like us WILL want the digital images. Maybe you have to understand why. They want them to email, to put onto cards they will print themselves using software like word that has the provision built in, they will want them for slide shows and to print to give friends and relies etc.
Prints, as are my preference for most things, simply cannot fill these needs.
To jump ahead a little, it sounds like you come from the age I did where giving away " Negatives" was akin to giving away your left nut. Always keep the negs, they are your heart and soul and artistic creation and .... BULLSHIT!
WORST and most stupid advice I ever got sucked in with in my life! I turned down people whom would have paid good money for the things at the time and made a shipload more money selling them that I ever got in reprint sales.
I woke up later in the game, started selling them and got rubbished for it but that was the smarter thing I did. sort of. I sent out letters when I did wake up offering the negs but out of probably 100 clients I got about 8 that got the negs and at a fraction of what I could have got for them at the time. The rest I had to PAY to take to the dump.
Yeah, real freaking bright Idea that was.
My question to you then is WHY do you not want to sell the images and what are you afraid of in doing that?
Is it because you are scared of loosing reprint sales?
If so, after the initial sale, how many people ever come back to you, especially for something like Christmas Pics? If there was any real demand for the old pics, they wouldn't come back to have new ones taken!
Forget the mentality, look at the practicality.
It's near mission impossible to get people to pay for pics at all now, the odds of them coming back for reprints is a bit behind winning Sunday nights Lotto and they don't even have it here on Sunday night!
Is it simply you don't know how to charge for them?
I have always shared the images for Christmas cards through my printed. Should I reevaluate what I am doing and let the images go or keep the "no image" thing going.
Yeah , well, we used film once but we move on and so do our attitudes and business practices need to adapt to the wants and desires of our clients. Not always what we want but it IS what we have to do.
I'll tell you this much, if you don't reevaluate and change your outlook, nothing else you will do will matter, You'll go down the gurgler faster than you realise and nothing else you do will save you.
A business MUST satisfy the wants and desires of its clients. They will pay for you giving them what they want. They won't buy what they don't want. Do you?
These days they want digital files. They may want prints as well but if you don't provide digital files, you are going to burn 99% of potential clients straight off.
I think you should also look at the advantages. It's a Ship load easier to hand over digital files ( and 99% will want to download them or have them on USB NOT Disk). Not sending stuff to the lab or printing or giving 3rd parties a slice of the pie for fulfilment......
Maybe this is a key thing here......
You are NOT " Giving the images away". That might be a slip of the keyboard but I think it really may be the way you are thinking of it.
You need to get out of the print size mentality with this. The image has more worth to the client because it is simply more versatile and that's the way you need to price it.
As mentioned above, I would be looking at what you got out of an average sale in prints and aim a bit higher for the digitals.
If you first thought is " They won't pay that for a file" My immediate comeback would be,
That's because you aren't SELLING it right. " Your fault not theirs in other words.
You should have an idea of what you sold in prints.
I would look at packages and individual pricing.
Firstly keep your print offerings and update the prices on those as it has probably been a while.
Add say 20% to you 8x12 print price as an individual purchase for a file.
Do some packages starting at your previous Print average but add some extras as a value added sweetener. Do 3-4 Packages with extra add ons. You have prints for one, maybe a calendar as another, Cards... etc. Individuals, packages, extras.
And forget about the cost of doing business as a pricing formula. That's simply not applicable in out game and I think is a very outmoded pricing structure that few if anyone uses anyway. Anyone think Crapple charge according to what it costs them to make an Iphony in hong kong? If they did the things would still be $50 taking into account their R&D and ludicrous overheads.
Base it on what the maximum the client will pay ABOVE your CODB. And make it sweet for them. Tell them on the packages how much they are saving on individual prices. Tell them that the 2nd most expensive package is the best value or most popular and have plenty built into them so its the best deal of all for YOU.
Concentrate on the SALE. Prints, downloads, disks, USB is just the DELIVERY and that is not so important as long as you offer them all. All being Digital or Print. :0)
Some people charge according to resolution but I think this is a poor business model.
Firstly, it requires work on your part to size the images. 2ndly, If people want a big print they will take it to a shop and get it done off what they have. They paid once, they aren't going to do it again and will be happy with whatever crap they get. 3rd, that being the case, better you give a large res file that will stand up to being enlarge4d and get a good print than them have a crappy one and then complaining about it.
4th, WTF are you going to do with the file anyway? have it take p space on your HDD somewhere?
I sell pics straight out of the cam with a real quick batch tweak for a lot of things I do particularly events and sports. When you tell the people that ask about file size they are full res, they get excited and it generates a LOT of good will. Those savvy about this are pretty down on getting pissant files they can't crop or come out the size of a postage stamp.
I give the the full res pics, say have fun and have never in selling tens of thousands of pics this way every had a single 2nd thought about it.
Same as if I offer a package of say 10 pics and they can't decide between 12 of them.
I load them onto the USB, Fake indignation about not having time to sit there while they choose so I'll put them all on the drive and they can procrastinate to their hearts content at home on their own time. I might add, no matter which ones they choose they will be wondering or wishing they got the other one and there is no satisfying me.... errr, I mean some people with whatever they decide.
Hand them the drive, big smile, they get it, take their money, they thank me profusely and ask when I'm coming back again. The good will is HUGE and it cost me nothing. had plenty of people go to management of Venues where I have been and tell them how great we are and you can't buy that sort of value to your business.
Again, WTF am I going to do with some pics of their snot nose kid on my HDD? They have spent all they are going to, give them something that has no value to me any more and let some one walk away happy and put a bright spot in their day.
When I'm too tight and miserable for that, time to go jump off a cliff.
As much as we like to kid ourselves no one can create the art and miracles we do, the clients don't see it like that and the images have very limited value. Apart from these families, you are going to be hard pressed to find anyone that would give you even a buck for them and you couldn't sell them without releases anyway.
Instead of thinking maybe about the future value, think of them in the present day value. That's a good think because by about Jan 1 they will be worth next to nothing so cash in on what you can get for them NOW and be happy.
Be VERY Happy!
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| Nov 23, 2016 at 01:43 AM |
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