Feather & Finch Photography | The Psychology Behind Pricing: How to Increase Sales & Value within Your Business

image credits: featherandfinchphotography.com.au

Are you are just starting out in the photography industry and wondering what your pricing should be? Are you starting over in a new location? Dipping your toes into a different market? Or maybe you've been in the business for a while, and are rethinking your prices. If you answered “yes” to any of these questions - you will love this interview! It's packed with practical tips, advice, and wonderful stories from our talented guest speaker who has been testing different pricing strategies for over 6 years! Learn about Ryan’s findings and lessons learned on pricing, the psychology behind it, how to price your creative services, how to present your packages to potential clients, as well as ways to increase the perceived value of your work.

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A few cliff notes from our chat with Ryan:

• Be realistic when you price yourself. Don’t over (or under) estimate yourself. Ask yourself: what am I offering to the client? If you’re providing an amazing experience; if you create exceptional photographs that are beautifully curated and stand out from the crowd - that allows you to charge more. Don’t just charge what everyone else is charging on the market. Look at yourself realistically: where are you in comparison with your competitors? Where do your work and services fit on the market?

• More money means more value. If you increase your prices, you have to provide something else in return. Whether that’s a faster turnaround time, better images, better experience, you name it. If someone is paying you more, be 1000% invested. Provide the best experience, especially if your clients are paying a premium. You cannot increase your price without giving value back.

• Growing your rates also means improving your craft, so that you can increase the value of what you offer. Get a mentor, invest in learning, try out different techniques, study light, colors, learn to curate your work better. Your learning should never stop, even after 10 years in the industry. And that can be anything from polishing your craft to improving your social skills.

• For all of you who don’t charge enough. When you price yourself, keep in mind your responsibilities and commitments. Half of the money you receive from a wedding goes to taxes, rent, equipment, etc. At the end of the day, what are you left with? Understand that there is a lot of value in what you do, and your work is literally irreplaceable. Value it properly.

• A great tip on your Pricing Guide format: Avoid sharing PDF files. Most clients are going to open your email on their phones. PDFs are clunky and small on mobile devices and they don’t help your SEO either. If you send your potential clients to your WEBSITE instead, and they spend 10 minutes reading all the info, looking through your prices – Google “thinks” that there must be something important on your site and will rank it higher in the search results. Create a designated pricing page on your website. It’s completely up to you if you share it in your main site navigation or as an unliked page.

• On discounts. Many photographers tend to offer discounts, especially early on in the business. You don’t necessarily need to take away from your prices – you can offer discounts in other ways that are not monetary. For example, you can give away a free engagement shoot when the couple books the wedding. Instead of taking away, add more value to your package, for free.

Curious to learn more about the team behind Feather & Finch Photography? Follow their work on www.featherandfinchphotography.com.au - an incredible website, custom-made by Squaremuse. You can also connect with Ryan via Instagram: @featherandfinchphotography

A big thank you to our lovely podcast host – Nadia Meli. Connect with her via her website: nadiameli.com or follow her on Instagram: www.instagram.com/nadiameli

Let us know your own thoughts on pricing! What tactics did you try? Which ones worked and which ones didn’t? If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend! And don’t forget to subscribe to FloInsider via your favorite platform, so you never miss an interesting talk.

Creatively yours,

Squaremuse Team