Lessons

Lesson Info

Model Call

Okay, so why are we putting out a model called? Like I said, we're trying to get away from those terms that the red program was using. When people hear the term representative, the students they know, free session, they don't hear, oh, I'm going to get to work with this photographer and learn about marketing and and market her business for her, and then internal get a free session, they just here free session, and they don't care what they have to do it, they're going to do the bare minimum to get the free session, so we're changing the verb ege. Um, we we also need to change the expectation, because when you're giving when you're giving away free products because it leads to poor sales, and your clients are expecting that, that not it's, just you have to go back to the beginning and change the expectation of what they're going to be getting from you as a photographer, when they hire you, you must create a a client base, and not only a client base, but a solid client base. This client ...

base is going to be people who who love your photos there, sighted about getting photographed by you, they are going to go and tell people how excited them they are, and very organic manner, and not like a let me give you an example multi level marketing ok, like I'm not even to say any of them because I'll get I'm sure I'll get sam feet back, you vice it so I won't even say any of that but you know who they are and some of you may may even do them, but you get the facebook invites come to my party and then you get another one and then you get another one and you know that for the most part the reason why some of those people are inviting you to the parties is because they're getting something out of that, okay? So when multi level marketing first came out like it's a brilliant strategy but very much lacks personal connection, okay? So we don't want this we want this whole marketing strategy to be about personal connection. So who am I looking for? I mark it to high school senior girls, so when I make my model call, I'm looking for high school junior girls because I am always marketing a year in advance. If you guys are marketing two high school seniors the year that there a senior you're too late because high school senior season is summer before they graduate, it starts the day school gets out and some seniors are even doing them before they're even out of their junior year, which is crazy to me um so here is a picture of one of the shoot days that I did I always like to get a group picture of the girls really fun group of girls they are I got one to two junior girls from every different high school in the area and I I didn't obviously want them to be all from one school because then when they post the images that I give them their only attracting their friends from that school and I want my spread to be my reach to be further I want them to be girls who loved being in front of the camera who are charismatic who are friendly and just wanna have fun when am I doing my model call I'm doing my model called two weeks prior to senior week or teo to spring break the year before they graduate okay so this is giving me plenty of time what this is live spring break is like march so this is giving me from march until may when they when they're going to be getting out of their junior year to start planning the seeds of coming to me for their senior portrait it's um how am I a marketing to them? I am reaching out through social media I use instagram primarily because instagram is a perfect social media platform for me that's where all of the high school students are there other places too but for the most part they're on instagram and for me it's image based so I get to show my pictures up there and I don't have toe tio have a lot of content just my pictures that's all they need you see, I also use twitter and facebook I use facebook primarily because that's where the moms are right now, which is embarrassing because I'm now classified as the older generation, so but I definitely am on facebook more than I am on instagram, but that's where the moms are so the moms need to see that I'm that I'm establishing this this that I'm opening up the conversation basically and then I put snapchat on here I put it up here very tiny because I tried to snapchat and I am considerably horrible added, I I have not mastered the selfie face at all it's it does not look very good when I do it and so I put it up here because this is one of those do as I say, not as I d'oh because a lot of kids are on snapchat and I'm trying to figure it out, but now I have periscope to figure out and so it's a little overwhelming so make it manageable for you but find where your clients are and go get them there this is always changing social media's our social media platforms are always changing and like I said with periscope like that that's out now and that swept the entire nation the entire world and like two weeks and do you know what paris kill piss okay, so periscope is like is like the creative live of social of social media for you so let's say you're on a photo shoot and you're just going to turn on periscope and you're going to do a video broadcast of all of to all of your followers like, hey guys, we're on a photo show too look how fun we're, how much fun we're having and showing off your clients and showing off your locations and so it it will be a fantastic way for photographers to market to their client base and I guarantee the longer it's all right it's been around for six months now the longer that it's around, the more people I mean there are so so many people on it's a great platform, so I'll be working that into my next year, which is why I say it's always changing. So you have to change your strategy with the times. Imagine if you were imagine if you were trying to use like myspace or xanga teo to market to your to your high school seniors like you, you'll get you'll get people, you'll get a bunch of fifty somethings they never mind I'm not even gonna keep going down that road, but I just can't go never mind um so or or imagine trying to like put your name in the phone book right now no one is going to look for you in the phone book they're going to google you so think about where your client bases is hanging out and go after them what am I doing when I'm calling for my model call I'm posting on instagram primarily but all of my all of my social media platforms and I'm asking for I'm asking for the junior girls teo do the following things I want them to send me an email because I want to keep everything an email if I can because if you if you do that then you're responding to people on instagram and on facebook and on twitter and on your webs it's just it's just way too complicated so get them to send you an e mail if they're interested in being a model tell them what I do is I have ah I haven't email template that's already ready to go that I've that I've written the day or the week before before I'm making this model call and I'm saying um thank you so much for replying to my model call if you're interested we will be shooting thes two days in thes two locations between the hours of six p m in seven pm or six p m and eight pm it see I shoot for about an hour to two each of the days that I shoot, I don't ever shoot the girl if they say, oh my gosh, I can't make it, I'm so sorry. So, um, I it has to be these two days, it has to be efficient for me in my studio, um, when and where to be to be there, and I'm telling them what they do and what they don't get ahead of time so that there's no conf fusion, okay? And I'm going to go over that what they do and don't get, and then I invite them to bring a junior friend if they would like tio, because I want them to have a friend there that's going to make them comfortable because when they have a friend, then they're going to have more fun. Uh, one of the key elements to this is communicating with the parents. This is very, very, very important, because not only are these girls going to model for you, and what I call it is I call my model sessions a pregame section like we're pre gaming for their senior portrait, it's just giving them a little taste of what they could get if they came back to me for their for their senior session, I want to communicate to the parents that I'm not just a creeper photographer who is asking their daughter to come model for some creepy thing for me. So the parents need to know what that does is that that opens up the communication with the parents because the parents are the ones that are going to be spending the money. Most likely. Sometimes the girls have jobs and they do it themselves. But the parents are primarily the ones spending the money, so you need to start that conversation with them immediately on dh. Then I also let the girls know, please show this that how I'm communicating that with them is asking the girls to show this email to their parents and then contact me with any questions they might have. I'm also telling them that I really need one parent at least one parent to come to the session with them because most of these girls are underage, so they're going to need a signature from a parent or guardian. So what does this cost me? My model caught will costs me two to four hours of shooting. Total one to two hours of editing and retouching all of the images from that session and four dollars and sixty cents for a caramel or grand a caramel macchiato, which is my drink of choice when I'm edible. And what do they get? They get ten minutes with me, so I have all of the girls come to that one day and they all hang out and get to know each other, and I take each of them for ten minutes and we go have fun, and then I I provide them with four lo rez watermarked images, and then I offer them all one hundred dollars off ah, full senior session, and that doesn't expire. I don't give that a deadline at any point during the next how, like when they're ready to book their senior portrait, they can come back to me and get a hundred dollars off of their session. I do not at all give them any prints or products. I do not it all give them high rest files, and these images are not available for purchase unless they come back to me for a full senior session and then it's a it's a bonus because they already have these images ready to go. This is great because if the parents see these images and they love them, and they try to contact me for like, oh, you know, you did the session for my daughter, and we would love to use them for her senior session. I'm so sorry they're not available for purchase. That was in that an original email so that they knew why do I do this? I'm going to tell you why I do this in a cup, I'll slide. Um so what do I get out of this? I get, um, I get current images, so you guys know when you post images to social media, if, if you do that, you're typically getting enquiries when you've been posting images frequently, people will inquire about your business when they see your image is when you're not posting, you're not going to get those inquiry's and people are very much more likely to book your tio inquire about your business if they know the person that you photographed. I don't know if it's like, um, keeping up with the joneses type thing we're like they're like. Well, kelsey had her picture taken with alicia, so I want my picture taken with alicia, I don't care what it is, but it works. So remember that I get social media love, so I'm asking. I'm asking these girls to take the four images that I get that I have given them and post them on all their social media platforms. I'm giving them no strings attached. I just say I would love for you to post these and tell people how your about your experience with me, but I do and they have to use my hashtags and my and tag me give me photo credit, but it's not something where I'm like. Okay, okay, I want you to post this image on facebook and instagram and then I want you to say I had the best photo shoot with alicia white. You guys should go book her for your senior session because people know that that's a load of crap they know you told them to say that, so you need to have them just tell them how they tell they're friends how they really felt through their social media avenues aboutyou and their experience with you. When I send out that original email template, I'm asking them that if they are going to be one of my models, that they would reply to me secure that they are going to be there, and then also let me know to one to two sentences of what they're super excited about for their senior year, what they're most looking forward to. And this is I'm going to incorporate this into my blog's when we get to senior week, so I'll come back to that and then I get potential business. I get to give these girls a taste of what they might get if they come back to me for their senior session. So just teo back that up a little bit. Ah, of all of my models this year on ly two of them did not come back to me yet. And I say yet because there's still time so they might, but in session fees alone for my studio after the one hundred dollar discount, that was two thousand two hundred and seventy five dollars, and that is session fees alone that's, not even the sales. So that shows you that this but this plan is already starting to make you money rather than having you spend a ton of time that's not bringing anything into your studio. Plus, you're getting more organic. Um, reviews of your studio. Um, so basically, like I said, the red program would have you if you had ten reps in your area ten reps that you photographed if you were doing the rep program, then you would be shooting ten sessions for free editing, ten sessions, doing ten preview sessions for the clients and they would all lead to poor sales, so that's that's a ton of time that you're spending and not making any money it's going to cost you a lot more than four dollars and sixty cents and maki otto's I can guarantee you that and more importantly for our community it's not taking away money that could be going to you or another photographer. So let me give you an example there is a very talented photographer not in my area a few hours away she's incredibly talented when we're pretty similar in our style of shooting, I love her images and every year she comes to my area and she markets to the girls, which is a smart thing to do to kind of get out of your area a little bit and travel, which is super fun but what she does this uses the red program, so she photographs all of these girls for free. Two of the girls that she photographed had over had already stated to me that they were intending to come to me for their senior portrait it's and then canceled they hadn't officially booked, but they called back and canceled and said, I'm so sorry this photographer we're going rep for this photographer and we're getting free sessions and free digital images and there high res images, so we're going to be able to print them wherever we want it's just too good of a deal to pass up it isthe it's. Too good of a deal to pass up. And so this program that with this model call and not giving away the farm, you're keeping that money in our community so that we can all build. Our business is better.