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6 Ways to Add Additional Revenue to Your Photography Business

6 ways to add additional revenue to your photography business
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6 ways to add additional revenue to your photography business

You’re killing it. You reached your booking goals for the year, you are delivering galleries on-time (hey, even early!), your clients are writing rave reviews of their experience with you, you are taking time for self-care and family time every day…woo, go you! 

Now you are thinking, what’s next? 

It’s time to scale and grow your business in a way that allows you to have all those amazing things above (and more!) while also generating additional revenue for your business. 

But, how?

As service-based professionals who typically trade our time for money, it can be difficult to see where additional revenue streams fit into our face-to-face business model. That’s what I want to talk about today, how exactly to add those additional revenue streams to your photography business…without adding a million more things to your to do list. 

Below, I am going to walk you through 6 different ways to add additional revenue streams to your photography business so you can start scaling and generating more income. 

But first, ask yourself this: 

While many creatives understand that adding an additional revenue stream to their business is a good idea, many people run into these common issues: 

  • Additional revenue streams, what are those? 
  • They have lots of ideas but no plan to implement them 
  • They are not focusing on the “right” revenue stream for their business or lifestyle 

So, before you jump on the idea of those additional $$’s in your business bank account, ask yourself these simple questions: 

  • Do I have the capacity to implement this successfully and sustainability? 
  • Will this revenue stream be something I can continue to scale and grow over time? 
  • Will this be enough supplemental income as my lifestyle changes (i.e. you decide to have another child, you move into a new house, you start hiring a team?) 

1 – Product Sales 

One of the easiest ways to add additional revenue to your photography business is product sales. You’ve already built a relationship with your client, photographed a memorable milestone in their life, and delivered a beautiful online gallery. Now it’s time to help them display all of those beautiful photos throughout their home. 

Whether you decide to do an in-person meeting where you review their gallery and suggest product options or you simply send an email outlining all of their options, this is the perfect opportunity to add a few hundred (and even thousand) dollars to your profit line for a session. 

A few of the products that I love to suggest for my clients are: 

  • Wedding Albums + Parent Albums 
    • I think albums are the best way to preserve a couple’s beautiful wedding memories in one place. An album is something that will live on for generations and something your couples can hold onto to relive those memories.
    • I’ve written an entire blog post about wedding albums because I believe they are such an important keepsake for my couples. 
    • Click here to read more about: Why Wedding Albums are Important
  • Printing (i.e. wall prints, canvas) 
    • I always recommend that my couples print some of their favorite images on canvas, in a frame, or just prints to keep in a small box. As technology continues to change, printed copies of images are always worth hanging onto. 
  • Cards 
    • This is such a great way for your couples to put their images to good use. Think: wedding thank you notes, birthday cards, holiday cards…the list is endless. 
  • Calendars 
    • This is such a fun option. Pick your favorite 12 images from the wedding, engagement session, etc, and build them into a personalized 12-month calendar. 

2 – Associate Photographers 

Adding an associate photographer (or two) under your brand is a great way to take on more volume with your photography business, without adding tons of extra work. If you are a well established brand and photographer in your community but can’t quite take on the amount of inquiries you are getting, this is a great option for you. By training another photographer you trust to represent your brand, you can divide and conquer and expand your businesses reach. 

3 – Editing Services

A great way to add additional revenue to your photography business is to capitalize on a skill set you already possess. You’ve been editing photos since the day you started your photography business. At this point, it’s something you can do in your sleep. And if editing is something you enjoy doing, you are in luck. There are plenty of other photographers out there who would happily hand off their editing work to another industry professional (that’s you!) So, if you enjoy editing and want to add some additional revenue to your business that isn’t client facing, this is a great option for you! 

4 – Video 

Speaking of existing skill sets, let’s talk about another excellent revenue stream for your photography business – video. Now, I am not talking about a full blown videography business or collecting hours of footage from the day. I am referring to a small upsell that you can offer your photography clients as part of their photo package. 

Think, short video clip with beautiful music, clips from vows/speeches, and a whole bunch of amazing photos from the entire day! This can be a great, less expensive option to offer your clients who might be interested in video but don’t want to make the full investment in videography for their wedding day.  

5 – Photo Booth 

I LOVE this optional add-on for wedding photographers. It’s such an easy way to offer a fun, new service that requires very little heavy lifting on your end (*once you’ve acquired everything you need to start it up). Photo booths at weddings are very popular and you’ve probably already had a couple ask you at least once for recommendations. Instead of giving the business away, why not have that offering available under your own business? This may take a little bit of planning and set-up on the front end. But, once you’ve got your system and set-up dialed, it’s a no-brainer revenue generating add-on. 

6 – Affiliate Links 

One of the emails I always send to my couples after booking is a list of vendor recommendations for everything from florists to DJ’s to linens. With that comes the potential for additional passive income (i.e. additional revenue). Just think, you’ve connected with hundreds of different companies and vendors over the years. Do any of those companies or vendors offer a commission or credit for you sending business their way? If it’s a vendor or business you truly believe in and want to share with your clients, everyone wins (including you!) 

BONUS – Are you ready to Move Mountains? 

  • Are you ready to take your photography business to the next level?
  • Are you ready to scale and grow your passive income strategies? 
  • Do you have a skill set or expertise you want to share with other photographers or creatives? 
  • Are you ready to launch a new product or brand? 

There are endless opportunities in this next tier of additional revenue streams. And my biz bestie and I, Jordan Jones, teach all about this during our Move Mountains Experience. The Move Mountains Experience is a one-of-a-kind experience where you’ll learn the roadmap to scaling and growing your business so that you can make more money, have more time for what matters most in your life, & have a greater influence on the people you love on & serve. This program is a 4-month, small group mastermind + digital learning experience followed by an amazing, 4-day, all-inclusive retreat with all of your new biz besties! 

Interested in learning more and joining us in 2021 for a 4-month mastermind + retreat experience – CLICK HERE.

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We teach paid courses, host a membership community, and sell DIY templates and resources - ALL designed to help business owners build better businesses and better lives.  Our hope is to help make following your passions easier. We can't wait to see your dreams come to life!

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