Today I wanna dive into 3 Black Friday sales ideas for photographers (straight from your friendly neighborhood virtual assistant 💕). And if you think I’m crazy for talking about Black Friday in July…I want you to keep reading.

The day after Thanksgiving is one of the largest sale days of the year, and it’s definitely an amazing way to boost income before the slower booking season of the holidays. But let’s be honest: it’s a bitch to organize & market.

Not only are a million people vying for your audience’s attention during Black Friday, you also want make sure you don’t end up glued to your computer screen while everyone else enjoys Turkey leftovers & naps. Ya know!?

Having an automation is KEY, and you’ll definitely want to have all of this mapped out in advance. Thus, why you might want to consider making a plan now versus when the busy Fall season begins.

Do I have you convinced? ;) If so…

Here are 3 Black Friday Sales Ideas for Photographers —

A Set Reduced Rate on a Popular Package: Let’s say you’re a boudoir photographer…you can offer a limited number of spots with a reduced session fee. Create urgency by capping the number of shoots that can be booked (or the window of time) though!! Don’t want it to seem open ended. For example: “Get $200 off your session fee! Must book by Sunday, November 26th!” or “Get $500 off any Collection! Offer only available to 5 people so make sure to snag a spot soon!” This creates a reason for them to invest quickly. Otherwise you’ll be lost in the sauce with all the other sales.
A Free Add-On Product or Experience: This one is particularly good if you don’t have a lot of extra TIME to spend on fulfilling this offer in 2024. Let’s say you’re a family photographer, this can look like: “Book TODAY and receive a FREE 8x10 luxury canvas print of your family!” or “The first three people to book receive complimentary access to the client closest.” Think of something that you normally upsell, and offer it as an incentive for a limited amount of time (or spots) .
A Special Stylized Shoot: Do you have a session you’ve been itching to try creatively? But aren’t sure where it fits in your normal offers? BLACK FRIDAY IS YOUR FRIEND, MY FRIEND. Let’s say you’re a wedding photographer who has always wanted to do a styled studio shoot for couples. Maybe something spicy! Or just a cool set-up! This is a unique opportunity to offer it, and make some $$ while also getting to try something new. (You might need to do a model call to have marketing materials for this, something to consider!) This would look like: “LIMITED EDITION Styled Shoot! I NEVER offer something like this, but I just can’t help myself this year! These shoots are so fun and I’m obsessed with the photos. Book this limited edition shoot now - only 5 spots available” (Remember, we are doing HEAVIER selling during Black Friday).

There are a million ways you can make Black Friday your own! Just remember to warm your audience for your deals weeks in advance, and to prepare the backend of your business before that. It can be a highly successful sales day (and a way to grow brand awareness) - but it DOES require some upfront work & attention.

If you want help with your Black Friday sales…I have something coming that will be just for you. Reach out HERE to learn more.

Believe it or not, it’s time to start thinking about how to have a successful Black Friday. 😬 I know, I KNOW, it’s still Summer - but starting to mull over your offers is the best way to set yourself up to make more $$$$.

As a virtual assistant for photographers, I help a LOT of sales launches run smoothly. And here are my tips/tricks for making a great profit from the biggest sale of the year (without killing yourself launching it).

First of all: decide your offer.

Are you going to discount a service you already offer? Do something totally unique & exclusive? You need to create incentive to purchase quickly around this sale, so you want to make it GOOD. This is meant to capture people who are waiting on the fence to work with you, and have been eyeing your services. We are widening your brand awareness and potential clients with this sale. So you want it to be highly incentivized and approachable.

That doesn’t mean it needs to be dirt cheap, you still need to make a profit. But you gotta decide the strategy behind the offer first. Some questions to ask yourself:
- what can I handle with my capacity during that time of year?
- do I want it to be service-based or passive income?
- is there a creative session I’ve been dying to do outside of my norm that I could monetize here?
- do I want it to be a particular DAY of sessions (aka a type of “mini” day) OR do I want it to be a standing offer they can book anytime in the following year?

You can absolutely make this your own. But remember they will be hearing a MILLION sales on Black Friday. So what you offer + how you present it reallllly matters when thinking about how to have a successful Black Friday.

Second step? Run the numbers!

Please don’t shoot yourself in the foot and GUESS at your profits with this sale. Remember, our goal is to create an income boost before a slower season (the holidays), and widen our audience. If you have more specific goals than that, you might be willing to have lower monetary success because you’re accomplishing another goal. But MOST photographers are looking to boost sales through their BF launch. So get out a pen and paper, and do the math about how much $$ you will be making. And create some sales goals for yourself. Here are some questions to ask:
- what is the cost of your offer?
- is it taking time away from your main source of income? And will it impact your bottom line for the year?
- will your offer lead to further income? (Upselling, new clients etc etc)
- how much $$ are you hoping to make from this launch?

Then, strategically curate the launch!

One of the BIGGEST mistakes I watch photographers make on social media, is not talk about their Black Friday offer until Thanksgiving week. PLEASEEEE stop doing this. At that point, you have missed your audience because they are drowning in offers from everybody else. Do yourself a favor and warm your audience. You need to start the discussion much earlier in the month. Show your process curating the offer. Build hype around it. Keep it secretive. Pique their interest. Invite them into the story. Show the problems your Black Friday offer is solving. You are leading them through a journey.

What the journey will look like varies quite a bit depending on the offer. If it’s a one-day event….the warming process will look different than if it’s a set monetary discount they can use throughout the year.

My last piece of advice is: set up automations.

BF is all about quick/fast sales. And unless you want to be GLUED to your computer during Thanksgiving week - you need to have reliable automations in place that guide people through the booking process. You can use your CRM, Flodesk and premade social media graphics to do that.

PRO TIP: Now is the time to start circulating Pinterest Content about your Black Friday offer! If you want my team to do that for you, reach out HERE!

Basically, how to have a successful Black Friday all comes down to prep.

I think Black Friday sales are incredibly fun to design, an amazing way to connect with your audience, and increase brand awareness. Save this blog post for future reference! And start thinking about your offers!

xo,
Jess