3 Tips for Booked Out & Profitable Model Calls
Is it really possible for portrait photographers be booked out five months in advance...
Even in this economy and "recession" on everyone's mind?
YES! Absolutely yes! In fact, I was speaking with two photographers who have implemented my Model Call marketing strategy over the last few months and BOTH are fully booked well into 2023!
So hear me clearly - You do not need to struggle. You can be fully booked with ideal clients.
How?
Well, utilizing Model Calls is just one option to get there....and it works really well.
So I'd like to take the rest of this blog post and share 3 tips to make model calls successful and profitable!
But first, let's define what a Model Call actually is:
A Model Call is where the photographer offers some sort of deal or incentive to prospective clients. Usually (though not always) it's in the form of a waived or discounted session fee. This makes it easy for a prospective client to say yes and gives the photographer an opportunity to build his or her portfolio and make sales later in the process.
Sounds simple enough, right? But many photographers, claim that Model Calls didn't work for them or were a complete waste of time.
And they are right. Unfortunately mistakes can be made implementing this strategy so the Model Call crashes and burns and the photographer is left disappointed.
So here are 3 tips to create a fully booked calendar with high quality leads using model calls!
TIP #1 : Do not include all the digitals within your Model Call.
Though this isn't always the case, my Model Calls are complimentary and I gift my clients with a product credit where they can purchase additional digitals, prints and products. You have the freedom to offer a different incentive, but the key here to to NOT include all the digitals. It's ok to give a little bit, but not everything. Give yourself the opportunity to up-sell additional digital images and/or products.
TIP #2: Be super specific about the kind of client / niche your Model Call is for.
Allow me to explain this point with a story.
About 5 years ago, I wanted to start photographing a new niche in my business: brands and entrepreneurs. At this point in time, I had a successful wedding photography business and high school senior business, but I lacked images in my portfolio that would attract an entrepreneur.
In order to fix this problem, I decided to market with Model Calls. In my marketing, I clearly stated the kind of person I was looking for (in this case, I said I was looking for female entrepreneurs who were in their 30s, and who were authors or online entrepreneurs).
In other words, this opportunity wasn't open to everyone. I wasn't offering it to the 50 year old, male local gym owner. I knew who I wanted to work with and I clearly stated that in my marketing.
It's interesting because we tend to think that if we limit what we are looking for, we'll get less interest. Just the opposite was true. This particular Model Call resulted in numerous leads, who booked, purchased additional images and became happy, repeat clients, even to this day 5 years later!
If you market to everyone, you really market to no one.
TIP #3: Pre-qualify your leads and only photograph the ones who you define as ideal.
There are two primary ways that I have done this (and teach my students to do). They are:
1. Require every Model Call lead to complete a questionnaire or an application form. One this form, you can ask them questions to learn more about them and ensure that they are a good fit. Two questions that I like to ask are:
Question #1: Why are you interested in taking part in this Model Call?
If they say something along the lines of "because it's free," they may not be a good fit or interested in purchasing additional images or products later on. On the other hand, if they take the time to write a few sentences expressing how important the experience will be for them, it shows a level of commitment and excitement.
Question #2: What is your vision for your pictures after we take them?
Again, here they may say that they just want the free stuff or only the digitals. If you hope to up-sell prints and products later on, this is a good indication that they may not be interested in that and therefor, it may not be a wise use of your time to photograph them.
In addition to the questionnaire, I also highly encourage that you either take retainer fee and / or require a Credit Card to be placed on file. If someone is not truly interested, they will not provide their CC. However, if they are committed to showing up, they will have no problem providing that (please note that I suggest getting their CC information NOT on the questionnaire, but later in the booking process).
There is so much more that goes into to successful and profitable Model Calls, but I hope these 3 tips are enough to get you going!
If you are wanting to learn more, I was recently interviewed on The Profitable Photographer's Podcast where we chat about Model it in much more detail about how to create a successful Model Call! Listen in here!
Cheering you on!
Heather