Here’s Why You Haven’t Sold Out your Mini sessions… yet!
If you’ve been following me for a bit of time, you will already know that mini sessions are kinda my specialty! For me and my students, they are an excellent way to not only grow your photography business fast, but also maximize your time by serving a lot of clients and increasing your earning potential!
But here’s the thing, if you dive right into offering mini sessions without a thorough plan, they won’t be as successful as you hope.
-Have you offered sessions in the past hoping to book every time slot on your calendar… Only to hear crickets?
-Do you find yourself comparing yourself to other photography businesses in your area and wonder how they sell out every single one of their sessions they offer?
I’ve been there too and I know it’s not a fun feeling….But, guess what? through my own personal trial and error, I’ve discovered a tried and true method that guarantees my mini sessions sell out every. single. time.
IF YOU’VE BEEN WONDERING WHY YOU’RE MINI SESSIONS AREN’T SELLING OUT, HERE ARE THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES I SEE PHOTOGRAPHERS MAKE TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
1. WRONG TIME OF YEAR
When it comes to offering sessions, a general rule of thumb to offer your mini sessions seasonally or around a certain holiday! The sweet spot for my business has been to offer mini sessions 5 times a year - winter, spring, summer, fall, and for the holidays! My highest grossing mini session each year is “The Santa Claus Experience” that I host in November!
Consider when you are offering your mini sessions. Is it too often? Is it all year round? Do you create enough scarcity for clients to feel urged to book when they become available again?
2. YOUR PROMO PHOTOS Are Lackluster
If you aren’t using a photo of your ideal target audience to promote your mini sessions, you’re making a big mistake. Potential clients want to be able to see themselves in your photos. So if you’re offering family minis, make sure your promo photos include real families. If you’re doing mommy and me minis, make sure photos include real mamas with their little ones.
I also suggest promoting your mini sessions with your own work. Nothing worse than a “Not my photo, just inspiration” type of promotion. This immediately gives everyone the ick! If you need to schedule a day to take sample photos to promote your next mini, I always post a “Model Call” and will try and use a past client as my model! This goes a long way with customer retention (offering a valued client this free photoshoot opportunity) and now you have new promotional images to share and show off!
3. YOU’RE OFFERING TOO MANY DATES AND TIMES
We often think more is better so everyone has the option to book, but in reality, we are overwhelming our clients and quite honestly not creating enough scarcity. There’s that word again… and for good reason - scarcity is a big factor in your mini session marketing! Start small and add more dates & times when your original time slots fill up.
4. YOU’RE MAKING IT TOO HARD FOR CLIENTS TO BOOK
Manual bookings lead to lots of back-and-forth and time wasted. Online bookings are immediate and automatic. With online booking, you don’t have to constantly update your openings on your blog and social media handles. Clients can easily view what’s available to book right then and there, securing their session without needing you to micromanage!
Plus, with online bookings, you can often easily accept payments and have the contract signed at the same time! This saves you a ton of time, and makes it seamless for your client to reserve their spot - which is a great first impression for your business!
I highly recommend SESSION for my mini session booking platform. You can grab your trial at a discount by CLICKING THIS LINK.