Why my "groupon" will be different

[Jim Poor]

1. It's not a groupon, but a similar program from a local publication.

2. The publication is targeted at the high income level dog owner.

3. The publication is smart enough to realize that if I actually make money on this, so will they, and I might just come back for ads, etc. They were offering me a better split than any of the others I've heard of, but I opted to go 50/50 on the remainder with them if they would agree to a donation to local rescue.

4. The publication is letting me set the limit of sessions and expiration date. The way I have it set works out to about 2 sessions per week, but obviously I could do more or less depending on when folks book.

It will launch on 01 June, barring any surprises.

Here's what it will be.

$500 of photography for $250, $50 of which will be donated to a local rescue group.

It includes the session ($350) and a $150 print credit (equal to three 8x10 prints, but I'm banking on these folks wanting wall galleries and large canvases.)

So here's the deal. I regularly do rescue fundraisers on my own which get me $100 from the session and the rescue $100 as well. So if any sell, I'll still get the same amount from the sessions, but will be out about $3.00 in prints if the client only goes for the print credit with three 8x10 prints (unlikely - I hope).

The biggest question is whether or not any will sell, and if none do, I'm out nothing but some wounded pride.

[scootermcq]

Good Luck sir..... keep us posted!

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by scootermcq

Good Luck sir..... keep us posted!

Will do. I've always thought that these things had potential if the companies behind them weren't so greedy and controlling (Groupon & Living Social spring to mind).

It's crazy to do it the way those two want it done.

Once the ad launches, I'll give more details on how it went and how many, if any deals sell.

[Jim Poor]

Well, the deal launched today. Fingers crossed: $500 Worth of Fine Art Pet Portraits for $250 - Deal of the Day: NovaDog Magazine - Alexandria

[BigFuzzy]

Fingers crossed.

[Jim Poor]

So, the results are in.

A whopping three deals sold. It seems that although the magazine readership is made up of spendy pet owners, the subscribers to Wooftastic Wednesday don't fall into that category.

On the "pawsitive" side, I have three new clients coming to the studio who just paid $250 each for a pet portrait session and consider it a bargain. My task now is to translate those sessions into profitable print sales, referrals and repeat business.

[melsam]

Perhaps you need to reconsider your price. $250 for anything is not really a deal for most people.

[mommywesley]

Originally Posted by melsam

Perhaps you need to reconsider your price. $250 for anything is not really a deal for most people.

Do you mean the $250 or the 55% discount? I thought it was a smart deal...

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by melsam

Perhaps you need to reconsider your price. $250 for anything is not really a deal for most people.

No. My regular price is $350, no prints included and I book plenty of sessions which run in the $700 to $1250 range for print sales. This was $250 for the session and $150 print credit. For my target market 50% is plenty of savings.

I don't target "most people," but had been lead to believe that the ad would hit more of my target market than seems to have happened. I would have expected 10 deals, was hoping for 50 with the realization that they don't even sell that many deals during one of their really cheap offerings.

Here's another way to look at it. For one day of advertizing, I got three new clients that are willing to spend what it takes to book with me. I'd much rather have three of those than 100 bargain hunters.

I am considering a fall promotion of mini sessions at a lower price point, but by the time fall rolls around, I'm usually booked up with holiday orders anyway.

[NicoleScraps]

Wow, Jim. You sure have found your niche market. If I am honest, I cannot imagine spending $700 to $1250 for pictures of my pet. I guess that your never ending challenge is to find those who are willing to pay that. You're obviously doing quite well with it. I hope these three work out well.