15+ Slow Season Strategies for Your Photography Business
It’s officially slow season for most of us here in the US, so that means you’re spending half your time relishing how quiet your inbox has become and the other half freaking out about how quiet your inbox has become.
So, to fill those luxurious hours/take your mind off of those terrifying thoughts, this episode is all about those things we do to re-center ourselves, optimize our processes and plan for the future during slow season.
Want some more ideas?
Here are 15 more ideas (plus one bonus idea!) for maximizing your slow season that we just couldn’t fit into the episode!
Plan Session Locations: Identify and scout popular shooting locations in advance to save time during busy periods.
Streamline Editing Workflow and Test Out Retouching Services: Develop efficient post-processing workflows and/or test out retouching services. (Amanda spoke in Episode 2 about her love for Retouchup.com).
Plan to Delegate Non-Essential Tasks: Hate culling? Erin has a friend who hires someone else to cull each session! Slow season is a great time to find and train an office assistant to free up more time for shooting and editing.
Backup Systems: Set up reliable backup systems for both equipment and digital files to prevent data loss during the busy period.
Client Appreciation: Develop a strategy to show appreciation to clients, such as personalized notes or discounts for repeat business.
Networking Opportunities: Attend industry events and network with other professionals to expand your reach and your potential client base.
Software, Education and Skill Enhancement: Take online courses, try out new software or attend workshops to enhance your skills and stay updated on the latest trends in photography while you’re not in the throes of busy season. (FYI: Some of the best photography conferences of the year are held during the months of January through April!)
Emergency Kit: Prepare a photography emergency kit with essential tools and supplies for unexpected situations during shoots.
Financial Planning: Review and adjust pricing structures, budgets, and financial goals.
Update Printed Product Samples: If you sell printed products, now is the perfect time to make sure that everything looks new and crisp for your next order appointment.
Collect Customer Feedback: Create a system to collect feedback from clients throughout the year to make continuous improvements. A CRM is great for this, and Erin will touch base on that in a future episode!
Collaborate with Assistants or Second Shooters: Establish relationships with reliable assistants or second shooters to assist during peak periods.
Fine Tune Your Time Blocking/Zoning Practices: Implement time-blocking or zoning techniques to prioritize tasks and avoid burnout during intense periods.
Self-Care Routine: Develop a self-care routine to maintain physical and mental well-being so that you can keep up with the pace of busy season.
Pick Up Additional Sales:Boost your profits with a “Spring Cleaning” or “Clearing the Drives” sale to your past years’ worth of clients. Whether you’re offering products to those who only purchased digitals or digitals to those who only purchased prints, this is a fantastic way to increase your bottom line with images you’ve already created.
This week…
We don’t want The Edit to be one of those things you passively consume without taking action on anything, so here’s your task for the week:
Pick ONE thing from the list above (or from the episode, itself) and put it on your schedule for this week. Then… you know… do it.
That’s it. Commit to taking action on just ONE thing.
Until next week!
Amanda, Erin & Whitney