Promote a Black Friday Sale That Works! | IPS Made Easy Podcast

Want to Have a Jam Up Black Friday Sale?

Want to make the most of Black Friday by creating an offer for your photography business?  It’s definitely a time that clients expect to spend money and you have an advantage over other promotion or sales.  You have a relationship with your client and your sale will have a weighted value because you are not a discount photographer.  You want to get their attention by stepping into the identity of someone who doesn’t give away the farm and have discount and promotions all the time.  Own this Identity and it will already up the value and the incentive for them to buy.  

Should I Offer a Black Friday Sale as an IPS Photographer?

Yes, if you do your black Friday sale in a way that preserves the value. I believe that retaining value as an In person sales photographer is paramount.  This means that you don’t want to have frequent discounts and promotions that devalue your work and that leave your clients waiting for the next big deal.  You need to embrace that your work stands on its own and has value built into it without the need for a sale.  That said, I do believe that everyone is looking to buy for Black Friday and it could bring in an opportunity for you to gain new clients, serve even more to previous ones and gain some revenue you weren’t counting on.  The key here is the frequency of the sales and also the manner in which you market the sale.  This Black Friday sale can be used in your photography business for other times, such as mini shoot events, Christmas in July, or even your own birthday. 

What type of Black Friday Sale for Past Clients?

What is something that your past clients love?  You can use this as an opportunity to reward your previous clients for working with you with a deeply discounted print or product or a gift certificate opportunity.  You could do this in the form of buy one get one free deal or a buy one get one half off promotion.  You could offer a bundle of sessions to reward multiple shoots being purchased or a discounted session fee.  There are so many things you can offer that your previous clients would love.  Now that you decide what you want to offer the next step is to market your offerings.   You can also use this to show your previous clients that they are important and get first dibs on your offers. 

How Will You Market Your Black Friday Sale as a Photographer?

The most popular way to market your Black Friday sale as a busy photographer mom is to use social media.  Now while this is easy and will have benefits don’t stop there.   Utilize your email list and if you don’t have an email list then start one.  You can use the emails that you have collected with your CRM to start collecting emails of previous clients and inquiries.  Another way that you can grow this list in preparation for your Black Friday sale is to offer an opt in or lead magnet of value.  This could be anything that makes your clients session easier like a prep guide, style guide or a promotional code, etc. In many cases people will join your email list and you can nurture them and gain potential clients that haven’t yet worked with you. 

Create a Sense of Urgency + Clarity

We’ve all heard the phrase “The early bird gets the worm” and this can be helpful in putting time restraints for your offers.  This creates a sense of urgency for people to purchase your amazing offer and also helps for them not to forget.   Staggering your offer and limiting the availability will create a buzz around your offer and no one is going to want to miss out on your deal.  Be sure to indicate limits that are on your products or offerings very clearly.  This will help to cover yourself so that there is no room for them to have any confusion on what they get, how much it is for and also any limits or considerations for fulfilling it later. 

What to Use to Automate Selling your Black Friday Sale?

How can you make it easy for your client inquiries to snag your deal?  This could be using your CRM, an e-commerce site or even your gallery hosting storefront.  People are busy and easily distracted and you want them to be able to act on your offer.  This sale happens in the mist of tons of sales and family functions also make it easy for them to say yes to your amazing offer. 

Email Marketing Strategy for your Black Friday Sale

Now that you have an email list to assist in marketing your Black Friday sale it’s time to send some emails.  It can feel like you are only emailing your clients when you want to promote something to them so be mindful of this.  It can be helpful for you to start a nurture sequence now so that they are used to hearing from you.  When it comes to email marketing for your Black Friday sale you can’t expect to tell them once and have a successful Black Friday sale. If you don’t have an email list yet, get one. There are free services like mailchimp to get you started.

Sample Email Sequence for Black Friday Sales

-Prepare them for the Sale

-Start of the Sale

-Middle of the Sale

-Right before the End of the Sale

Next, you will set up your emails with an automation that uses your e commerce link to allow your client to click the button and buy the thing already!  Share your deal on social as well, but to ensure you have all the eyeballs on your deal then make sure you send those emails.  Social media marketing is great, but you don’ own that and you can’t control who sees your post due to algorithms and what not.  You can also change your cover photo, profile picture or even do some engagement posts prior to posting the sale to help your friends and followers see your deal.  

What Should I Offer in my Black Friday Sale?

Sample Offerings for a Black Friday Sale

Half off albums 50%

Prepaid family session and two mini sessions throughout the year bundle 

Buy one get one free gift certificate up to $500. 

Limit of 10 buy one and get one 50% off. 

Are you doing a Black Friday Sale? I would love to know what you offer and that this was helpful for you. I hope that it boosts bookings and sales for you, as well as opportunities to gain content for your portfolio and get even better as a photographer. Come find me over @ipsmadeeasy on instagram and tag me so I can support you and cheer you on.

Need A Mentor?

Be sure to submit your application for the January mentorship for more help in guidance on your IPS photography business.  The mentorship will start January 12th and walk you through the entire process.  You can apply for the mentorship here. If you need 1:1 coaching to help you get unstuck then you can contact me here for my full offerings.