Why don't customers want Low Resolution digitals for free?

I'm just beginning to dabble with selling images. This past weekend, with permission of the property owner where a dog agility trial was being held, I spent half a day shooting. Posted 300 images on ShootProof and offered dog owners low res images (900 pixels on long edge) for free. All they had to do is download them. They could also purchase high res or prints. Word was spread via an email from the event secretary. To date, one person purchased a few prints and downloaded the free low res images; three people added prints to their cart, but didn't finalize the order; and, two people marked images as "favorites", but didn't order anything. There's no data regarding the number of people who just viewed the images. It doesn't appear too complicated to "buy" these downloads, at least not for me. The pics, while shot at 3200 iso on an overcast day, are pretty good.

I know that selling prints or digitals isn't a great money making venture (that wasn't my goal here), but why wouldn't people want the low res files for free. Are others seeing that people are having trouble downloading digitals? Do people want prints over digitals?

Do they have stats on downloads? I know smug mug doesn't keep stats on free downloads. They only keep stats on what is bought. Customers aren't going to pay for prints or high res downloads when you give them low res photos for free. They are cheap and don't fully grasp the quality difference between printing a photo from a "low res" file or a "high res" file. Even if they do know the difference, its not enough difference to make it worth paying. They mostly want 4x6 or 5x7 prints anyway. And they would rather download the free photo.

Next time, don't offer free low res images. You will get orders for downloads/prints then.

Larry Johnson wrote in post #17994364
I'm just beginning to dabble with selling images. This past weekend, with permission of the property owner where a dog agility trial was being held, I spent half a day shooting. Posted 300 images on ShootProof and offered dog owners low res images (900 pixels on long edge) for free. All they had to do is download them. They could also purchase high res or prints. Word was spread via an email from the event secretary. To date, one person purchased a few prints and downloaded the free low res images; three people added prints to their cart, but didn't finalize the order; and, two people marked images as "favorites", but didn't order anything. There's no data regarding the number of people who just viewed the images. It doesn't appear too complicated to "buy" these downloads, at least not for me. The pics, while shot at 3200 iso on an overcast day, are pretty good.

I know that selling prints or digitals isn't a great money making venture (that wasn't my goal here), but why wouldn't people want the low res files for free. Are others seeing that people are having trouble downloading digitals? Do people want prints over digitals?

You said "this past weekend", and today is Tuesday. That's only a couple of days. Give 'em time. If there was something like this that I really wanted, it would probably take me a week or three to get around to downloading it.

Another thing is, if I was into dogs and saw that a digital image file of my dog was available for free download, I would probably just take a screen capture of it and keep that as my copy. Why? I guess because I would think that if I "officially" downloaded the free image that maybe my info would be recorded, and I would be afraid of getting promotional emails from the photographer in the future. If I just take my own screen capture I won't have to register an account or give my email to anyone, and therefore won't be "bothered" in the future.

Please note that I am only saying what I would do if I were one of the dog people. I have no way of knowing why others have or have not downloaded the files.

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I just went to your shootproof page just to look at the process. It's pretty dang cumbersome. When you get to a picture you have click "Buy Photo" that's a big step to overcome. Then your given a list of prints only. You have to find and then click "Digital Media" which is not an end-user friendly name. And only now do you even know that low-res is free. Of course at this point you have to choose Add to Cart, and now supply your email address. I didn't go farther than this but I assume the rest of the process is equally non-intuitive.

That's just too many hurdles IMO.

Next time pre charge and then take images.

Give a good package discount.

If you are to give any low rez, it should be provocative but unusable enough (A difficult balance you need to set) that owner actually wants the real image and feel the need to pay for it. Say a big and ugly watermark or a good crop.

But then if you are new to field or just want to continue in same location, what you are doing is fine and probably in due time you may get the result of your effort.

Only don't forget to give Only one Free low rez for download and let the rest of images from the same subject are all in thumbnail format. That really is salivating and may increase your hit rate.

Finally make sure your rates are right & you are not over charging anyone and more importantly, you don't have a smart competitor with smart lower rates.

My experience with event photography is that the ardor cools rapidly. Many people come up to me at the event asking where to get pix. I hesitate to claim that they never come back, but it's very rare. You'd have more luck selling prints on the spot. Moreover, these days people post 99.99% of their photos to social media. They can use their smart phones for that.

travisvwright wrote in post #17994425
I just went to your shootproof page just to look at the process. It's pretty dang cumbersome. When you get to a picture you have click "Buy Photo" that's a big step to overcome. Then your given a list of prints only. You have to find and then click "Digital Media" which is not an end-user friendly name. And only now do you even know that low-res is free. Of course at this point you have to choose Add to Cart, and now supply your email address. I didn't go farther than this but I assume the rest of the process is equally non-intuitive.

That's just too many hurdles IMO.

That is a good insight, Travis. If I wanted a free download, and saw "BUY PHOTOS", I would never click on it, because buying is not the same as free. I don't think most people would realize that to get something for free, you need to click on "BUY".

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joedlh wrote in post #17994471
My experience with event photography is that the ardor cools rapidly. Many people come up to me at the event asking where to get pix. I hesitate to claim that they never come back, but it's very rare. You'd have more luck selling prints on the spot. Moreover, these days people post 99.99% of their photos to social media. They can use their smart phones for that.

This.

I don't shoot events, but this past saturday I was asked to cover a dinner for the 85th Anniversary of my parish. I went table by table taking photos of the attendees and while the keynote address was being delivered, I quickly processed them and printed them out on a Selphy printer, then offered the 4x6 prints for $5. The response was very good, with most people readily buying them, some even bought extra copies. I guess the reason I didn't sell them all was because some people left before I was done printing.

The key is 'in the heat of the moment'. I'm positive (it has happened to me before) that if I had just handed out cards and a request to 'check the gallery on my site later on' I would have sold essentially nothing. By the time they get home and days pass their enthusiasm and interest cool and the save money instinct kicks in.

travisvwright wrote in post #17994425
I just went to your shootproof page just to look at the process. It's pretty dang cumbersome. When you get to a picture you have click "Buy Photo" that's a big step to overcome. Then your given a list of prints only. You have to find and then click "Digital Media" which is not an end-user friendly name. And only now do you even know that low-res is free. Of course at this point you have to choose Add to Cart, and now supply your email address. I didn't go farther than this but I assume the rest of the process is equally non-intuitive.

That's just too many hurdles IMO.

Yeah. I suspect you're right Travis. One of my many recommendations to ShootProof was to make it easier to add single items to your cart. A common theme with them. Their frontline people said they'd put that suggestion in front of the development team. Not holding my breath.
I'll have to include details to "customers" on the front page.

So here is my personal experience and opinion. Others may vary.

The one thing I've learned in my many years is that people are impulse buyers and want instant gratification. Once the event is over they quickly loose interest. The perceived value goes way down.

Since the switch to on-site printing events became much more profitable.

I was once in your shoes. I was doing sports, didn't do real well. The last event I did I decided to try something different. Had my wife sit in the stands with a selphy printer. Made more money that day than the whole season before. Sadly, due to an injury I can't do those any more.

I just do event photography now and spend it making prints. I do offer digitals which I email as I process. Just get the occasional guy that thinks I should be sending him a 20Mp raw file.

Point is, if you want to get paid you have to get paid while they are excited about what they are doing.

BlakeC wrote in post #17994369
Do they have stats on downloads? I know smug mug doesn't keep stats on free downloads. They only keep stats on what is bought. Customers aren't going to pay for prints or high res downloads when you give them low res photos for free. They are cheap and don't fully grasp the quality difference between printing a photo from a "low res" file or a "high res" file. Even if they do know the difference, its not enough difference to make it worth paying. They mostly want 4x6 or 5x7 prints anyway. And they would rather download the free photo.

Next time, don't offer free low res images. You will get orders for downloads/prints then.

samsen wrote in post #17994443
Next time pre charge and then take images.

Give a good package discount.

If you are to give any low rez, it should be provocative but unusable enough (A difficult balance you need to set) that owner actually wants the real image and feel the need to pay for it. Say a big and ugly watermark or a good crop.

But then if you are new to field or just want to continue in same location, what you are doing is fine and probably in due time you may get the result of your effort.

Only don't forget to give Only one Free low rez for download and let the rest of images from the same subject are all in thumbnail format. That really is salivating and may increase your hit rate.

Finally make sure your rates are right & you are not over charging anyone and more importantly, you don't have a smart competitor with smart lower rates.

joedlh wrote in post #17994471
My experience with event photography is that the ardor cools rapidly. Many people come up to me at the event asking where to get pix. I hesitate to claim that they never come back, but it's very rare. You'd have more luck selling prints on the spot. Moreover, these days people post 99.99% of their photos to social media. They can use their smart phones for that.

Alveric wrote in post #17994533
This.

I don't shoot events, but this past saturday I was asked to cover a dinner for the 85th Anniversary of my parish. I went table by table taking photos of the attendees and while the keynote address was being delivered, I quickly processed them and printed them out on a Selphy printer, then offered the 4x6 prints for $5. The response was very good, with most people readily buying them, some even bought extra copies. I guess the reason I didn't sell them all was because some people left before I was done printing.

The key is 'in the heat of the moment'. I'm positive (it has happened to me before) that if I had just handed out cards and a request to 'check the gallery on my site later on' I would have sold essentially nothing. By the time they get home and days pass their enthusiasm and interest cool and the save money instinct kicks in.

bigVinnie wrote in post #17994934
So here is my personal experience and opinion. Others may vary.

The one thing I've learned in my many years is that people are impulse buyers and want instant gratification. Once the event is over they quickly loose interest. The perceived value goes way down.

Since the switch to on-site printing events became much more profitable.

I was once in your shoes. I was doing sports, didn't do real well. The last event I did I decided to try something different. Had my wife sit in the stands with a selphy printer. Made more money that day than the whole season before. Sadly, due to an injury I can't do those any more.

I just do event photography now and spend it making prints. I do offer digitals which I email as I process. Just get the occasional guy that thinks I should be sending him a 20Mp raw file.

Point is, if you want to get paid you have to get paid while they are excited about what they are doing.

Guys, while I appreciate your replies, I'm not looking for insite on how to sell more prints or make [more] money. I am simply trying to figure out why people don't want the free low res digitals that I'm offering. I think Travis has the answer.

I wasn't trying to present you with a business model: I was answering your questions (you do have more than one).

I prefer ofttimes a conversational approach which answers OPs' questions by means of anecdotes.

But, if you prefer a terse approach...

• When I give something away, I upload a zip file and provide a link via E-mail that downloads their photos upon simply clicking on it. No fuss, no hassle. Think of it as your own version of Amazon's One-Click purchase.
  
• Yes, many people prefer prints to digital files. Being succint here, I ain't gonna digress into psychology of commerce, but people do put more value to something they can hold in their hands and show to others without an electronic gadget.
  
• The truth is that most people put little to no value to digital files, no matter how much they are continuously bombarded, hammered and edumacated with intelectual property verbiage.
  
• To summarise the two points above: if it feels crafted and tangible, it has value–if it's 'virtual' it has little to none.
  
• As a corolary, people value something more if they have to pay something for it.
  
• People prefer to buy things on the spur of the moment. Attention span and all that. bigVinnie hit it right on the head: 'impulse buyers wanting instant gratification'.
  
• The process of having them go through the rigmarole of 'buying' photos off a site might look iffy to some of them: some resent 'free' stuff that is (or is perceived as) a bait to make them spend money. Deep in the back of our minds, we know there's no such thing as a free lunch.
  

I use Shootproof and I think you're missing something. My account has an offer free downloads and when turned on, all they have to do it click that button and it downloads all the images or their selections. It could be that I don't have a size limit, but my clients don't have to jump through those hoops.

Most likely they just downloaded the preview image, most people arent computer savy.

The easiest way on a phone is to just click and hold on the picture which is the equivalent of right click save as. It never gets recorded usually.

Larry Johnson wrote in post #17995005
Guys, while I appreciate your replies, I'm not looking for insite on how to sell more prints or make [more] money. I am simply trying to figure out why people don't want the free low res digitals that I'm offering. I think Travis has the answer.

I was kind of thinking the same thing when I read some of the replies. It was clear to me in your original post that you said you are not wanting to make money from any of this. Yet some of the info you got seemed to be advice as to how to increase sales.

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