When Do I Add in Products to My Business?

Listen on Apple, Spotify, and Google Podcasts

Are you contemplating the idea of introducing products to your photography business? I’m talking wall art, albums, prints, and things outside of the wedding gallery.

Offering products to your clients can have a huge impact on your business. From increased revenue to the ability to work with fewer clients, I’m sharing all of the reasons why I absolutely LOVE selling products to my clients. 

And if you find yourself a bit hesitant about incorporating products, you’ve probably mentioned one of the objections I’m about to address in this episode. But don’t worry, because I’m busting those objections and telling you why you don’t need to be concerned! 

WHY I LOVE OFFER PRODUCTS 

I can serve my clients better 

Let me start off by sharing why I love offering products. The first reason is because I am able to serve my clients so much better. In the years I’ve been photographing, I’ve had so many clients ask me where they can get things printed, and I would refer them somewhere else. I can’t even believe I did that! Another thing my clients would do is DIY it. They would get a cheap frame, print it from a place that wasn’t great quality, and they didn’t know the best way to place the pictures. Some clients just didn’t print at all! 

I become more passionate about my job 

Another reason I love offering products is because I became more passionate about my job. I know the images that I print for them are going to be in my clients’ home for them to see and enjoy each day. This made me become more passionate about documenting the legacy of my clients. 

You don’t need as many clients

 Something else that’s great about offering products is you don’t need as much clientele. You can take less clients and focus more on each client and their needs. Here’s an example – If you have a $400 average, and you look at how many shoots you need to take on to have a $5K month, it’s going to be a lot of shoots. 

Instead, imagine you had a $1500 average, you could take on way less shoots and serve each of those clients so much more intentionally while hitting that monetary goal. 

You can make a higher income

This leads into my last point of why I love offering products, and that’s the higher income. Before, when I was just sending a gallery and charging one price, hoping people would buy from that online gallery, my income was truly capped. Clients don’t buy much from the online gallery even if you run sales. It’s extra fun bonus money when it comes in, but I’m never anticipating it. 

OBJECTIONS

Do I need to be more established?

While this all sounds great, you may be wondering if you should wait until you’re more established. I’m here to tell you 100% no. 

I started off doing portraits, did not charge much for them, shifted into weddings, and was told that’s where the money was at. I then added portraits back in, and when I had clients in the past come back for things like mini sessions, I had to re-explain a different process to them. While it’s very doable, it’s so much better to just start off charging what you need to be charging, offering what you should be offering, and having that high level of service in reaching those ideal clients that want to invest a leather amount into products and heirlooms from their session. 

So, don’t wait until you’re more established. Jump in and do this now, no matter where you’re at in your journey. 

Now, what if you’re established, but you don’t know if you can switch and do this? I hear you because I’ve been there, but it’s never too late. The sooner you can do it, the better. 

Is my work even good enough? 

Something else I hear a lot of is people wonder if their work is good enough to add in portraits, and I want to assure you that if your clients aren’t complaining about their photos, then your work is good enough. Now, continue to constantly look at your work and reflect on how you can continue to make them even better and how you can become a stronger photographer, but don’t wait until you get to a certain point to add in products. 

I don’t have the time to offer products

Another obstacle I hear is that photographers don’t have time to offer products, but what I truly think is that you don’t not have the time. You can’t afford not to offer this. 

When I was charging an average of about $500 for a shoot and burn session, I knew I wasn’t going to make an online gallery sale after. However, when I had an average of a $2K portrait session, yes, I was spending more time with each client, but for that $2K client, that’s 3 other clients I didn’t have to take on. With that $500 session, I would have to take on 4 clients just to get to that $2K. 

So, even though you’re spending more time with that one client, it’s totally worth it. You won’t have to take as many clients on and you’ll be able to focus on each client more intentionally. 

I can’t afford samples

The next objection I hear is, “I can’t afford samples.” There’s a lot of ways to show clients options that they can purchase without even physically having the product. Many companies that I suggest my students order from even have mockups you can use. I show my students how to actually design mockups for their clients, so you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on samples to get going with this. 

Will my clients even want products? 

I also hear people ask if their clients will even like it since they don’t buy anything from the online gallery and don’t ask about products anyway. If we aren’t educating our clients and sharing the value with them, how are they going to see the value themselves? Online galleries can be really overwhelming, and in turn, will make your clients not purchase from them. If you offer this to your clients and educate them, I’m sure they would love to invest! 

And while online galleries are great for those smaller purchases, I want to handle those larger transactions and sales. The reason they are so large is because I’m able to verbally walk my clients through it and not just leave them at the will of an online gallery. 

What if I sound too salesy? 

Now, the biggest objection I hear is, “I don’t want to be salesy.” Here’s the thing – You are already selling to your clients. If you own and run a business, you are actively selling. What I would love for you to do is to do it in a way that actually educates your clients better that shares the value better. Our job is to be the guide in what’s going to work bets for them and their home, and that is a lot different than being salesy. 

But I don’t have a studio

Another objection I hear is, “I don’t have a studio.” Guess what. I didn’t either. There’s a lot of different ways to share the value and sell products without one. You can meet at a coffee shop or meet with them via Zoom. I’ve had multiple multi-thousand-dollar sales simply on Zoom in my home. 

If you’re thinking this sounds great and you would love to add in products, let me give you a few tips on this.

1. You need to educate and share the value with your clients. Get really good at being excited about your products. Even if you don’t have many in your home, I would encourage you to get one. 
2. Stop limiting our clients based on what we think they should or shouldn’t spend. It’s not up to you to decide what they want to invest in. That’s up to your client. It can be scary, but it can also lead to massive results. 
3. Be a place that they can come knowing they’ll be taken care of from start to finish. They no longer have to go anywhere else for prints and products. 
4. Stop limiting yourself and your income by saying you’ll wait until you get better or until it’s the right time. There’s never a perfect time, but I assure you the sooner you jump onto this, the sooner you can get this set up the right way. Incredible things can happen in your business. 

I have helped students grow their average, triple their portrait average, grow it by a thousand dollars by being willing to take that scary leap and learning how to add in products and prints to their packages, to be able to serve their clients even better.

In this episode, we chat about:

• My favorite things about offering products
• Some of the biggest objections I hear when it comes to introducing products to your photography business
• Why now is the best time to start!

Connect with Christa

Want more info on adding in prints and products for BIG sales? Send me a DM on Instagram @‌christa_rene or check out my website https://christarenephotography.com/

More about the Uncapped Photographer Podcast

The Uncapped Photographer Podcast is a podcast for established photographers teaching them how to uncap their offerings and setup in their photography business without the burnout. Every other week, Christa Rene Robinson will share the clear and concise actions you need to take to grow your photography business. This is the info she WISH someone had told her much, much sooner that would have allowed her to grow even FASTER!

This podcast is for you if you are ready to hit the next level in your business and income so you can build the life of your dreams!

Christa is a wife, mom, and photographer turned business coach with 10 years of experience in the industry. If you’d like to connect or work with Christa, reach out to her on Instagram @‌christa_rene. You can also learn more about her on her website https://christarenephotography.com.