If you sell at events, is it worth selling online too?

[FCP]

If you take orders onsite at events, is it worth your time and effort processing images and uploading them to your web site. I have found that many people email me asking me to post the photos but once I have posted them I don’t get many sales. I am sure that if I told everyone at the event they would not be posted on a web site, onsite sales would increase and I would have less work to do after the event. I could also produce a better web site then rather than an ecom site.

[Gary_Evans]

It is worth selling online as well as onsite, but not worth doing any PP to the images before putting them online.

A few of the big event photography companies (and me) have discussed this a bit more in depth and we all seem to average about £20 per month per 1000 images online. May not sound to much, but when you have hundreds of thousands of images that soon mounts up.

Some give better returns than others - I can earn a lot from my social events online, and all these images have already sold once at the event as well. Sports events vary from sport to sport, for example I getter better returns from a road race than I do from football. Equestrian onsite out sells webs sales by a huge degree.

But none of these images have received any PP before uploading, as the key is getting them online as opposed to making them look good.

The public is generally conditioned to understanding that any image bought will be tweeked before it is printed and so will accept proof versions online. If in doubt simply say that prints bought will be optimised.

Also, it soon hones your camera technique!!

[Mike R]

Originally Posted by Gary_Evans

But none of these images have received any PP before uploading, as the key is getting them online as opposed to making them look good.

The public is generally conditioned to understanding that any image bought will be tweeked before it is printed and so will accept proof versions online. If in doubt simply say that prints bought will be optimised.

Also, it soon hones your camera technique!!

I agree, I have the following on each of my web pages:

All images will be individually cropped and edited to provide the best look for each size ordered.
The copyright notice will not be across the front of the prints.

[FCP]

Thanks again for the feedback Gary. I don't do any PP but I do delete OOF and shots with no faces. Then I create a thumbnail and a water marked larger image per photo. Then I FTP them and go through the process of producing a CSV to import the store. I suppose if I improve my workflow and document it better it may save me some time in the long run.

Do you promote the fact people can buy after the event? Does this impact your sales on the day?

[Gary_Evans]

Originally Posted by FCP

Do you promote the fact people can buy after the event? Does this impact your sales on the day?

To be totally honest, I dont know.

The reason is because I have always offered both options, and while both ways work I will continue to do so

[FCP]

I understand the benifits of providing the option to purchase after the event but i wonder how many people walk away and say to themselves 'I will take a look online later' and they never do.

[Mike R]

Originally Posted by FCP

Thanks again for the feedback Gary. I don't do any PP but I do delete OOF and shots with no faces. Then I create a thumbnail and a water marked larger image per photo. Then I FTP them and go through the process of producing a CSV to import the store. I suppose if I improve my workflow and document it better it may save me some time in the long run.

Do you promote the fact people can buy after the event? Does this impact your sales on the day?

Don't be too quick to delete all the shots without faces. I had submitted 3 shots to a newspaper and they chose to use the one where the player is sliding into home with the umpire behind him making the "safe" sign. You cannot see the players face, only his number. In one of the other shots, his face was visible but the umpire tells the story in this one.

I tell people that the shots will remain on line until August. In June I will post a notice on my web pages. I'm starting to get higher activity again on sports whose season has ended in Dec. I"ll have to wait to see if sales pick up on those sports. Some kids play 2 or 3 sports a year and the parents may only want to place one order.

[rsmedley]

I sell exclusively on-line and so far the sales have been pretty dismal, but then again maybe I'm expecting too much. I do sell some prints and negatives on-line but so far I wouldn't say it's really worth my time. If I can't sell at the events I'm probably just going to stick with weddings where the money is commited up front.

[Gary_Evans]

Originally Posted by FCP

I understand the benifits of providing the option to purchase after the event but i wonder how many people walk away and say to themselves 'I will take a look online later' and they never do.

Again thats a "how long is a piece of string question"

However, my webstats tell me that lots of people are looking when a new gallery goes online. These are detailed enough to tell me how many unique visitors as opposed to the same people looking over and over again.

From experience, one off events such as an award ceremony or a black tie event will bring quicker sales than something like a kids football tournament. Virtually every event tog will tell you the same and its generally accepted that the reason is that if a child plays in say 4 tournaments that the web buying parent will compare photos from all four tournaments.

So if you are then selling - good. If not, refer to my comment about honing your technique.

[Gary_Evans]

Originally Posted by rsmedley

As I indicated in a previous thread I've been doing event photography for a while now and have not been satisfied with my on-line sales. I'm guessing that selling at the event rather than after will increase sales many fold. My questions for you experienced event photogs are:

1) Do you sell both at the event and on-line?
2) If so, what is your percentage of at-event sales versus on-line (after the event)
3) If you sell at the event, do you sell prints at the event or just take orders to be fullfilled after the event

Thanks for all replies. I'm struggling with the business model and strategy here and, of course, I'm assuming my photos and videos are sellable My biggest problem is I don't have anyone to help with event sales and am trying to figure out if it would pay for me to hire someone

Copied from your other thread


1. Yes
2. 80/20
3. Yes. Only prints are produced onsite, although we display (and take orders for) other items such as mousemats, mugs etc


fwiw, the biggest sellers online are 7x5 prints (the cheapest product offered), followed by 10x7 prints. For every 20 prints ordered online there will be one of the other products.



Will you sell more by using a sales person? Yes. Period.

[kt8]

But in my understanding isnt onsite printing dearer rates than after the event? Therefore wont people wait until the day after and get more for their money?

[FCP]

Our best seller is also the 7X5. We also sell fridge magnets, keyrings, mouse mats etc. We used to print onsite but now we just take orders. It requires less staff and leaves me in full control of the QC. When printing onsite, how can you tell if your photos have an orange tint when you are viewing them in the room you shot them?

I am thinking that i may have a push on CD sales. Gary, what % of images do you sell on CD?

[Gary_Evans]

Originally Posted by kt8

But in my understanding isnt onsite printing dearer rates than after the event? Therefore wont people wait until the day after and get more for their money?

You have missed the whole point of selling at events, which is based on people buying on impulse.

It is a totally different genre to wedding and portrait photography.

[FCP]

kt8, i charge the same at both the event and after on the web site. The difference is i offer free postage when taking orders at the event.

[Gary_Evans]

Originally Posted by FCP

Gary, what % of images do you sell on CD?

So few that we stopped offering them!! Maybe 3 or 4 emailed JPEGs a week, but my customers seem to prefer prints. I think its a tactile thing ......