Free shoots as marketting tool

Well let me get my tobacco farm back in order, and then you all can come and bust your back for 10 hours a day and pay me to do that.

I'll sit in the house and count my money, while you eat Kraft dinner.

Let me know how you enjoy that.

RDKirk wrote in post #11374991
I think if you look at the books, "loss leaders" normally result in the shoppers buying additional products before they leave the store...the store never suffers an actual reverse cash flow even temporarily.

I wouldn't say never. I've got into lots of stores just to buy the loss leader and left with only that.

Stores are a little different though in that they can get a lot of people in the door at one time, and the chances of them [I]all[/] having self control is minimal. Personally, I can take only one client at a time...which is also why I need to be especially careful about how and why I create and offer up these special deals.

cdifoto wrote in post #11376789
Stores are a little different though in that they can get a lot of people in the door at one time, and the chances of them [I]all[/] having self control is minimal. Personally, I can take only one client at a time...which is also why I need to be especially careful about how and why I create and offer up these special deals.

That's my point. Stores can do loss leaders because overall, more people that day will combine the loss leader with purchases of regularly priced products...and how many times have you seen "free" as a loss leader? So the store is very unlikely to suffer a reverse cash flow that day. But as you say, we can only take one client at a time.

RDKirk wrote in post #11377092
That's my point. Stores can do loss leaders because overall, more people that day will combine the loss leader with purchases of regularly priced products...and how many times have you seen "free" as a loss leader? So the store is very unlikely to suffer a reverse cash flow that day. But as you say, we can only take one client at a time.

In that case I agree. I thought when you said "temporarily" you meant per-customer transaction rather than the day as a whole.

It's true that free is seldom offered by itself. Almost always you have to buy something else along side it, or the free item is useless without something else. "Something else" would be the actual photographs if the photographer is smart. In other words - free session but you don't walk away with anything to show for it unless you purchase.

I'm still starting out and only do Free shoots when I know its really going to benefit my portfolio.

Examples:

I wanted to get into child photography so I asked my FB friends if they would mind me shooting their kids. I shot 1 kid and her sister for free, and I dont plan on doing any more kid shoots for free now that I have kids in my portfolio.

I sometimes cover concerts for free or cheap at churches. I shot one concert for free And by putting the pics on FB over 50 people were Tagged and I got 30 new fans on my page that I can advertise to. I think it was worth the labor.

Every free shoot I do gets me at least a couple of customers and.

Sometimes you gotta do stuff for free, but you also have to be careful not to get labeled as the free photographer.