Is selling online right for you?

17/9/2015

Selling online provides many benefits for businesses and it even allows you to transcend location and time barriers. For example, if your studio is located in Birmingham and you’re selling products online, you can still make an online sale in Cardiff at 3am.

However, with all of the benefits that online selling brings, you still need to decide if it’s a good fit for your business. For the most part, in-studio or face-to-face selling is the preferred option for most photographers. If this works for your business, keep doing it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t also sell online. Here I discuss the benefits of selling online and how to incorporate online selling into your existing business model.

Benefits of selling online

Extend your sales. Even if a client has ordered products from you in studio, you can still create an online gallery and offer products for sale. Your client may very well decide to order additional products at some point in the future (think birthdays, anniversaries etc.)

The cherry on top. Never assume that online sales will be your greatest source of revenue. We’ve learnt from many photographers that revenue from the shoot / coverage of the event is still the biggest earner. Your skill as a photographer is where the majority of your earnings should come from. Your clients are paying for YOU, not the products you sell. Product and online sales are the cherry on top.

Broaden your sales reach. Use online sales to extend your reach beyond your direct client. Think grandmothers, friends, family, bridesmaids etc. If you’re photographing a wedding try to capture some guest images - these guests might be the very people that purchase products from the gallery.

Price it right. It’s ok to have different prices for different customer segments. It’s also ok to price products differently online. We recommend marking the lab price up by 200% when selling online.

Sell something different. If your customer has bought a product from you in-studio you might not want to make this available for sale online. Tailor the products you offer to each client where relevant. Novelty items such as mugs, keyrings and jigsaws work very well online and are often by bought by other family members too.

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1 Comment

Robert E. Martinez Photography link

18/9/2015 21:59:05

One hurdle I have found is for those outside of the portrait realm. It is even more difficult to find a client base for landscape photographers as well as a e-commerce solution that fits well with this type of photography. While not impossible, the challenges of marketing are harder.

Robert

marketing, social media, and business ADVICE for photographers