Transforming the 'mini' madness
Some years ago, an innovative photographer invented the mini-session. They likely sat down and thought - I see an opportunity. Maybe business was slow. Maybe there were lots of inquiries just for holiday cards, where people didn't want a full session with tons of images. In any case, this photographer thought - I will create an abridged session to serve this need and segment of the population. In order to remain profitable, my cost will be only slightly lower than regular, but lowered enough to entice the clientele who only want something short and sweet, or who would like to sample my services and see this as that opportunity to do so. They will receive a small number of images, which is what they want for a short session like this. I will create back-to-back time slots so I'm not taking a load of time for setups and client management - more like a rotating door to optimize my time and minimize my output/energy. Back-end process very fast - batch editing and directly to a gallery to be emailed. Ta-da - this photographer hit on a success, and named it the 'mini-session' to differentiate it from a 'regular' session.
Why is that under fire now?
Well, the model has morphed and essentially imploded on itself, they way that broken telephone starts with an initial message which doesn't resemble itself at all at the other end.
Someone did a mini, and instead of cutting the cost by say, 30% from a regular session (because your expenses stay the same regardless of variable time/edit/delivery), they cut by half or they upped the amount of images, for a marketing edge. The clients who experienced this session learned a little something - a mini session is half the price, but a good number of images. Then, someone did another mini. And cut the price even more, because if at one price you get a certain number of people, you slash it and get even MORE people! The clients who experienced this session learned a little something - a mini session is a cheap session!
Minis flood the market. Photographers start jumping on the bandwagon, offering minis like opening giant bags of Skittles and showering them over people. When supply is plentiful, demand drops and the game is in the client's court. Photographers have to compete to fill their mini. And how do they do it? Dropping price, raising time, raising number of images, allowing exceptions.
This is the evolution as I've seen it. It started as a great marketing strategy and for some, it continues to be. But considering the absolute inundation of "mini" everything that I see on social media, it has been taken and changed into something that, for the most part, highly benefits clients, and highly disadvantages photography businesses. What the heck - why would anyone in their right mind disadvantage their business? And what is the response to it - I'll just do more at less cost to make up some money. And how do I do that? I'll cut price even more so that the clients from 'down the street' photographer come to me instead, or advertising in deal-seeking social media groups. How about re-thinking the whole thing?
What is a mini? It can be 2 things.
A special, themed shoot, in advance of things like holidays where clients may not want to frolic in a field for an hour making memories, but simply want to mail a holiday card with a lovely family portrait, to loved ones.
It can be a way to open the door to clients who are on the periphery of being your target - you might be just slightly out of their budget, so a mini-session is the equivalent of a tasting menu.
The first photographer who dreamed this up called it a mini to help clients understand the difference, and to make it sound short and sweet. And we see that through the evolution of this service, mini has come to mean "cheap" yet bountiful for clients. Why on earth would you continue to perpetuate this? If you call it a mini today, chances are that you will hear crickets if you try and add a price-tag that isn't highly competitive with all the other minis. By using the word mini, you are essentially under-cutting yourself, before any other cheap photographer does. And the majority of minis are marketed to clients in the EXACT same way, so people see it all as the same and again you can't add a price-tag that isn't competitive. On top, you take up precious advertising space with words like FILES and PRINT RELEASE, which I don't think ever would be cited by a client as something that sold them on a session.
It's time for a change.
If you offer a themed, short photography session in advance of a holiday or special occasion or a fun project for your business to generate marketing buzz and revenue, why call it a mini? Call it what it is! Call it the theme, the occasion, make up a name! Step away from what everyone else is doing, and you'll find that in the new sandbox, you can make the rules. Everyone else has Fall minis, 30 minutes, 8 files, print release for $40 (read = no thought put into this, regurgitate what dozens of others are posting word for word), and you have "Pumpkin Spice and everything Nice", family portrait sessions: a 15 minute cuddle session on a cozy wool blanket at the best pumpkin patch in your area, 20 holiday cards, a bonus of 3 select digital photographs for online sharing, and you get to pick your own pumpkin to take home, for $250. Do you think you're competing or have you just bypassed the line?
We are creatives. Extend that creativity and emotion you fuel your work with, into some of the marketing initiatives you make, and I promise you will see an uptick, in your business. Transform the mini-madness. Step out of it. Create a new sandbox. For more on transforming your mini-sessions, read this blog post. Be brave!
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