Q though... around 20% of my site traffic is on iphone which is why I have the splash page in the first place. Is there a way for my site to detect if someone is on a phone and redirect them to my blog if that is the case?
I'd say I'm in a similar situation. I'm priced at the top of my market (start at $4500 with expected package being around $5600), and it's just really expensive for my market. I'm not focused on booking weddings though, so they just come when they come. Average photographer in my area is probably booking $2600-3500, so brides have lots of options, all of which are cheaper than me.
Ian Ivey wrote:
I think one reason many brides see wedding photography as a commodity is that wedding photographers exhibit a profound failure of imagination when we talk about our own, individual value propositions. We all sound the same.
There's the saying that "money spent is money fogotten". Some photographers use this to their advantage by getting most of their money early in the process, and then up-selling albums, prints, wall clusters, etc., when they come in to see their pictures. In your case, you're asking for a relatively small deposit early in the process, and then they're left with a fairly hefty bill that needs to be paid just one week before their wedding. Because the check is written so close to the wedding, it will still be "remembered" when they come in after the honeymoon to order prints and albums.
Your starting price is $3400, but you say in the same sentence (on your Pricing page) that most couples spend $4-$6K. This upper range may work well for setting expectations, but it might also keep your phone from ringing. You also indicate that $3400 includes a print credit, but there's no value. Is it $100? $500? $1,000? Even if it included a value, the prospective bride would have no idea what $xxx represents in terms of prints or albums.
Assuming you create great albums, why not show them on your website? This would let prospectors know that your value proposition doesn't stop with great photography, and it could create a me-too aspiration along the lines of "Wow! I want one of those."
In summary, it may be worth (1) reconsidering the way you advertise prices, (2) changing your payment schedule, (3) showing albums and album layouts on your website, and (4) thinking about booking at modest prices with the thought of upselling after the wedding. With your 90% conversion rate, it's definitely worth thinking outside the box in an effort to get more face time with prospectors.
first i want to say i didn't make it through all the comment (got to page 2)
people don't spend the money because either they don't feel you're worth it based on the initial point of contact (your web site) and/or you haven't shown them the value of what it is you do.
now you may take this personally...but your online presence IMHO dosen't portray high end. if i was someone looking for a photographer and you replied to me that i would be looking at almost $6000 for a full day...i would probably keep looking around...again sorry just being honest.
look at some of the most successful photographers in your area (or even in other areas) and you'll see a common theme in all their websites/blogs. usually white or off white backgrounds and often smaller images 600-800px. the reason for this...black is dark and very masculine and as you know most grooms are not the ones searching and contacting photographers. plus large images are great for us who have high res. screens and fast computers...but most brides are looking on the internet on their lunch breaks at the office. (slower..lower res monitors)
now your images. they are good...better then many out there. but again they are the traditional fun wedding photos. they are what people are used to seeing...there isn't anything super romantic. emotional. unique. etc...everything that makes people say, "holy shit we need to hire this guy ASAP!"
for reference i also live in Canada (Calgary, Alberta) where the housing market isn't as nuts as Vancouver but still crazy. cost of living is pretty high and there are a CRAP load of photographers here.
again i apologize if this all comes off rude, but it's these little things that i have found over the years that subconsciously effect the decisions of potential brides.
**just read this on your site:
"i take cash or cheque. The reason I don't take credit cards is because there is a significant monthly cost to being able to process credit cards, which in turn would have to be passed onto you, the customer ( Bad ). You've got enough expenses on your wedding day without you having to pay extra just so you can pay me on your high interest credit card! However, If enough couples request this I may consider it in the future."
you have to take credit cards and you have to do it professional...like Moneris. you need to give people the opportunity to spend money. by not taking CC's you are limiting them to what they can afford right now. why do you think every single big box retailer offers dept. store CC's and has the don't pay for 90 days...because if you make it easy to spend money..they will spend the money.
and for the fees...if you are charging $5800 don't nickle and dime them on the 3% fee. it is a cost of doing business.
gabemc wrote:
and for the fees...if you are charging $5800 don't nickle and dime them on the 3% fee. it is a cost of doing business.
And with Square, there's no monthly fee at all. It's super easy to take cards and the fee is no different than paypal. I also thought passing on the fee was against the ToS but gas stations appear to be doing it so I guess not.
Q though... around 20% of my site traffic is on iphone which is why I have the splash page in the first place. Is there a way for my site to detect if someone is on a phone and redirect them to my blog if that is the case?
There is, but you'd probably have to post that question in an IT/Web developer forum.
swoop wrote:
I also thought passing on the fee was against the ToS but gas stations appear to be doing it so I guess not.
Be careful here! It's the way in which they do it that avoids going against TOS. Officially, gas stations don't pass on the transaction fees and charge more. Officially, the gas price is the same as the credit card price BUT if you pay cash they'll give you a discount.
Does square work in Canada? Gabe, what do you recommend?
Jon-Mark, man, I miss your face.
Business wise you know I'm a noob. I have no idea what to add but I know you're worth it. I kind of think that you may have just "out priced" your current referral base. You started shooting cheaply and with an incredible portfolio and now people that are being referred are having a hard time, especially not having that personal connection with you and your value. Does that make sense? It would do nothing but good to get yourself on the first page of google. Think of our locals who are getting paid high money with a portfolio not nearly as strong.
gabemc wrote:
f
you have to take credit cards and you have to do it professional...like Moneris. you need to give people the opportunity to spend money. by not taking CC's you are limiting them to what they can afford right now. why do you think every single big box retailer offers dept. store CC's and has the don't pay for 90 days...because if you make it easy to spend money..they will spend the money.
and for the fees...if you are charging $5800 don't nickle and dime them on the 3% fee. it is a cost of doing business.
X2. One of the first rules of business (any business) is never become a barrier between people and their money. If they want to give it to you, you have to make it as easy as possible for them to do that. As noted, either eat the 3% as the cost of doing business, or raise your prices to absorb it if someone uses one.
gabemc wrote:
first i want to say i didn't make it through all the comment (got to page 2)
people don't spend the money because either they don't feel you're worth it based on the initial point of contact (your web site) and/or you haven't shown them the value of what it is you do.
now you may take this personally...but your online presence IMHO dosen't portray high end. if i was someone looking for a photographer and you replied to me that i would be looking at almost $6000 for a full day...i would probably keep looking around...again sorry just being honest.
look at some of the most successful photographers in your area (or even in other areas) and you'll see a common theme in all their websites/blogs. usually white or off white backgrounds and often smaller images 600-800px. the reason for this...black is dark and very masculine and as you know most grooms are not the ones searching and contacting photographers. plus large images are great for us who have high res. screens and fast computers...but most brides are looking on the internet on their lunch breaks at the office. (slower..lower res monitors)
now your images. they are good...better then many out there. but again they are the traditional fun wedding photos. they are what people are used to seeing...there isn't anything super romantic. emotional. unique. etc...everything that makes people say, "holy shit we need to hire this guy ASAP!"
for reference i also live in Canada (Calgary, Alberta) where the housing market isn't as nuts as Vancouver but still crazy. cost of living is pretty high and there are a CRAP load of photographers here.
again i apologize if this all comes off rude, but it's these little things that i have found over the years that subconsciously effect the decisions of potential brides.
**just read this on your site:
"i take cash or cheque. The reason I don't take credit cards is because there is a significant monthly cost to being able to process credit cards, which in turn would have to be passed onto you, the customer ( Bad ). You've got enough expenses on your wedding day without you having to pay extra just so you can pay me on your high interest credit card! However, If enough couples request this I may consider it in the future."
you have to take credit cards and you have to do it professional...like Moneris. you need to give people the opportunity to spend money. by not taking CC's you are limiting them to what they can afford right now. why do you think every single big box retailer offers dept. store CC's and has the don't pay for 90 days...because if you make it easy to spend money..they will spend the money.
and for the fees...if you are charging $5800 don't nickle and dime them on the 3% fee. it is a cost of doing business.
Yes, you can sort of tell that a person is on an iPhone or iPad or whatever. Apache/IIS (depending on what the host is) can get the operating system (see iOS) and web Browser that is in use when you connect, and on more modern browsers can fairly simply get the resolution of the screen too (HTML5/CSS3 compliant browsers). The issue is, you WILL still get folks on "old browsers" now and then (IE6 really really bad), and IE7 still has issues. Check your site stats for what your visitor stream looks like (if your host does not provide it, you can probably install Google Analytics). Worst comes to worst, you can figure out what is going on using the various jQuery tools out there. Basically the answer is, yes, you can figure out what is going on, and with newer stuff it is fairly easy - in fact once you determine they are on a 'new' browser, you can start throwing HTML5 at them
ShaneMD wrote:
Does square work in Canada? Gabe, what do you recommend?
Jon-Mark, man, I miss your face.
Business wise you know I'm a noob. I have no idea what to add but I know you're worth it. I kind of think that you may have just "out priced" your current referral base. You started shooting cheaply and with an incredible portfolio and now people that are being referred are having a hard time, especially not having that personal connection with you and your value. Does that make sense? It would do nothing but good to get yourself on the first page of google. Think of our locals who are getting paid high money with a portfolio not nearly as strong.
i have no idea about square in Canada...i have been using Moneris for the last few years (basically since i went FT) and haven't had any troubles. professional and the money is transferred to my business account usually within 24-48 hours.
Jon-Mark wrote:
Paypal seems a strong option for me, I believe I'll go with them.
i may be totally wrong as it's been sometime since i used it but when i was using paypal they required the user (your wedding client) to have an account which meant work and added hoops for your client to jump through in order to give you money. plus when i was using it the max transfer was $2000 unless they were registered with their bank account...again a pain in the ass when you have a client who wants to give you a $3500 retainer and you tell them, "sorry i need you to do that in two payments, one today and one tomorrow."
You're no longer required to have a PayPal account, so within that I don't believe there are limits for what they put on their credit card outside of their own personal limits.
