We’ve all been there. Busy, busy, busy holiday rush and then absolutely nothing. It’s a tough adjustment going into the slow season of senior photography business. It’s easy to sit back and take it easy. And I’m not saying there shouldn’t be a little bit of that!

But just like any coach would tell ours kiddo, games are won during the off season. This is when we prepare for our next busy season guys! There are a few things that we can do to get our photography businesses back in shape and ready to take on all those senior session bookings coming our way! Of course, there are plenty more ideas (and maybe I’ll do a second post with more), but these will get you started!

WHAT TO DO DURING THE SLOW SEASON IN YOUR SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

Here are 5 ways to grow your senior photography business during the slow season:

1. EVALUATE EXPENSES AND THE COST OF YOUR PRODUCTS

Do you have money going out where you don’t see the return on your investment? Maybe it’s subscription services that you aren’t getting the value out of that you expected? Look at the cost of the products you are selling and the price you are offering them at as well. Be sure you have a solid profit margin for each of them. This should be 85% at a bare minimum. Here’s how to calculate that for each product:

Sales - Cost / Sales = Gross Profit Margin

Let’s say I have an album that I sell for $1000. My cost is $150.

$1000 - $150 / $1000 = 85%

If my album price was offered at less or my costs were higher I would need to raise the price of my album to make a good profit margin. Remember all the other expenses we have - rent, insurance, equipment, editing, oh yeah . . . and a salary ;)

2. FINISH ALL THE PROJECTS

This one gets me every year! UNFINISHED PROJECTS! Take advantage of the slower time and tie up those loose ends. Set a timer and just get focused on finishing up those senior magazines, what to wear guides, analyzing your workflow, marketing pieces. You will feel so much more prepared when the craziness of senior season starts back up!

3. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

This one probably has the most payoff. Build relationships with your past clients, current clients and vendors with the same target audience. Write thank you notes or “thinking about you” notes. Visit those boutiques and shops you’ve been meaning to visit. But be sure to actually make a purchase and support their business if you want them to support yours. Get into your instagram DM’s. Go deep instead of wide with your audience. Social media platforms love engagement like this, and people who have spoken with you are more apt to buy from you :)

4. EVALUATE & ORGANIZE HASHTAGS

I love hashtags just as much as the next girl, but some of them don’t work quite as well as other ones. Now is a great time to really look at the hashtags you’ve been using, evaluate them, come up with a better strategy & make them work for you next year. Are you only using feature account hashtags? This is NOT where your ideal client is hanging out. Be sure to research your local area hashtags, use them and engage with other posts using those hashtags as well.

I keep my hashtags organized in Planoly, my Instagram grid planner. But you can easily do this in the notes section of your phone too.

5. BATCH 12 DIFFERENT BLOG POSTS

This one is going to take some time, some thinking and some effort. But I’m going to challenge you to set aside time to write 12 new blog posts for your target audience. You can release one each month and they are already done! No more scrambling trying to come up with fresh content during your busy season. How amazing would that feel?!

BONUS! TAKE THIS TIME TO REST!

You have earned it. You deserve it and so does your family!

Oh, here’s one more thing: Invest in yourself and your education!!

* DON’T MISS THIS! *

If you need somebody to come along beside you and help you do business the right way so that you can bring home a paycheck, spend more time with your family and save for retirement then you need Studio Secrets.

The doors open November 4th for something very special for a handful of photographers who are ready to get laser focused on their businesses.

Studio Secrets is a 6 month business coaching intensive where we dive deep into your business together. It’s not a DIY course on one or two topics. This is EVERYTHING you could ever need to know (and all the tools & resources) to run a senior photography business - branding, messaging, websites, pricing, sales, marketing, social media, senior model teams, systems, workflow, automation and SO MUCH MORE! And bonus - you get me to lead you through it in our hot seal calls and a private community to bounce ideas around with.

If you’re ready to turn your expensive hobby into a thriving business be sure you are on the wait list.

Plus you save $500 on launch day - November 4th. Woohoo! I can’t wait to work with you!