Begin Planning Fall Promotions

Have you seen other photographers plan and market fall portrait weekends? Take that idea, and add a new twist.

Does your city have a fall festival? Here in Denver, we have many. We have a pumpkin festival, corn mazes, October festivals – the list goes on and on.

Choose one festival, and set up a meeting with the head organizer. See if you can combine a fun-filled day at a festival with quality images that will make the memories of a lifetime.

How do you find a festival now? Go to your local library and look back at the newspapers from last September and October time frame.

What do you offer? Think Santa Claus on steroids. The great thing about fall festivals is you’re guaranteed fall colors, lots of leaves, pumpkins, scarecrows, hay bales and more. If the festival agrees to have you, they will agree to create a nice outdoor backdrop for you to create incredible portraits. If bringing a printer isn’t an option, pre-sell one or two small packages, with the promise of putting the images on to an online shopping cart system for more sales.

Have lots of business cards, and postcards for your next promotion! (Winter wonderland – classical holiday portraits – etc)

Always have ways of gathering attendees’ information: name, address, phone and email. Have a large pumpkin on a table, and have visitors guess how many seeds are inside. The winner receives an October gift basket, complete with small pumpkins, decorations, holiday mugs and packets of apple cider. And of course, a gift certificate for a complimentary family sitting and an 8x10!

I personally like giving more than just a gift certificate for photography, as it motivates more people to enter! Many people give just a photography session. By making up a gift basket, you’re going beyond the traditional photography give away.

This strategy involves creating a sense of community within your local neighborhood, and it gets your name out there! If you link up with a successful festival, they provide the ads on the radio, TV and newspaper promoting the event. You simply reap the benefits.

Also keep in constant contact with the head organizer. Send a thank you gift after the festival, and announce you would love to help out again next year. It’s never too early to start campaigning for the next year.