Trying to sell existing images in new ways

mercphoto · February 10, 2011

I'm wondering if this is a lost cause. I'm trying to sell existing images from last year's car/track events in new ways. The reason be is I have no new images since August, and it might be until August before I get any more. Long story, but I'm recovering from spinal surgery.

So.... trying to find a way to market to my track visitors and customers to purchase my existing gallery. Either a cheap sale on all existing images. Or a cheaper price on special effects and poster/collages (or keep the price the same but throw in the original for free).

Has anybody done anything like this? Is it worth trying? I have had images sell out of teh blue from events a year old, but that is extremely rare. Usually its within two weeks of an event and then nothing.

Glort · February 10, 2011

Hi Bill,

Hope you make a speedy recovery. I know of the mental anguish of being laid up and not being able to work as you want is also a painful and unwelcome compounding of any physical pain.

I was thinking of a few things then looked at your site and saw you already do them so not much to suggest i'm afraid.

Something that was worked ok for me is similar to what you suggest where we offer a CD but throw in a normal print for the same price. The kicker on this has been that we have had a high proportion of people want a mag cover or border which we call a premium print and charge extra for so we get an extra $10 out of them anyway which of course puts us still in profit over adding the " freebie".

One that I don't offer but have done is a bunch of small pics in one of those multi position Frames. I just bought the cheap simple ones from the local Photo Lab but they look very stylish and upmarket when Filled with pics.
They seem to be well liked by the public as well as I have noticed the ones I have given people always take pride of place as to where they display them.

The only other thing I could think of is a Promo on your posters. I think the ones you put up here a while back were great. Have they been selling well for you? If you could work out some sort of promo with them as a value added, Maybe something like buy a poster for home or the garage and get an A4 print for the office desk , a cd of 5 images or whatever may fly?

I don't envy you that's for sure. I only did a short stint in cars and bailed for easier pickings because it was a damn tough market I couldn't see myself making anything decent out of for a very long time if ever.
I had an opportunity to do it again recently and a brainwave of how to pitch it but then i saw that the guys already there were selling 6/4's for $3 and 10'8s for 10 and I quickly forgot about that. I'm unhappy now when I take under a grand a day at events, I wouldn't last long working all day for 150 or so!

There's one thing I have learned in business and thats to avoid oversaturated markets and boy, in my experience, cars and track pics are one of the most over supplied markets I have ever seen!!

Good luck with it anyway.

mercphoto · February 16, 2011

Sorry for the late reply. You're right Glort, the track days are a hard sell. In one respect it should be easy, as its a vanity thing to have a picture of yourself on a race track. On the other hand people like this usually spend all the excess cash on the car itself, and after they've bought a photo or two of them on the track that's enough. I know, I used to track (3 years in a Corvette, 4 years in karts, and then a year in an S2000), and in all that time, eight years, I only bought 3 CDs. I do regret not having more photos now, but back then I just didn't see the need to divert funds to pictures.

And that is one thing that I think could be a way to market the service, to reflect upon the clients that I used to do this a long time ago and I wish I had more memories of me on tracks.

I ended up doing a mass email disguised as a gallery deletion notice, taking my 2 oldest galleries (roughly 1 year old each) and offering a 10% off coupon. We'll see if it drums up any business but so far nothing yet.

The posters, they sell reasonably well. I really think I needed to market them even heavier. The prints-on-metal have been a good sale though. They are very impressive, very modern, very techy. And, no frame expense. Plus great for garages (no glass to break, easy to clean when they get dusty and dirty). The ultimate garage art and great for car nuts.

Looks like will be August before I'm able to photograph another event. Between recovery from spinal surgery, and then birth of a baby, that will be the first chance I get to go back. And honestly, right now I'm not entirely convinced I will pick the business back up again. Or maybe not in this manner. Maybe with baby photography instead....

Glort · February 17, 2011

Hi Bill,

Sounds like congrats are in order. New baby.... back surgery.... Hmmmm.... anyway, moving right along.....

I know how you feel with regard to the business. 4 years ago when I got crook I had to let my business go and when I got well enough to do something again, I was ready to do anything BUT photography.
I looked around a bit and discovered I either had to go back to being a complete begginner at something new or go back to the only thing I did know.

Being too lazy and not smart enough to take the first option, i decided if I took the second that I would have a good look at it and do something that fit a few criteria I had which bypassed the major dislikes I had with teh work i had done previously.

I had read about event photography for a Long time and witht eh price of the gear having come down to a point where I could easily afford the investment and after floating the idea and getting an idea of potential markets, I took the leap into sports event photography.

2 years later, I realise that what I'm doing has a very definate cap on what I can do and earn from it so I have some plans for taking what I have learned and putting it into new applications that I believe will better suit my working prefrences and get me more $$ in the door as well.
I'm also making serious enquiriys into getting a teaching certification to impart what I know to others.

I guess all you can down it take the time to sit down and think. For me it was what is going to make me happy and I can enjoy doing and bypasses what I hate. I often think of jobs I'd like to do but I have never been one for change and I don't learn easily and combined with the minor but annoying health problems that still dog me, change is not something that comes too easily or quickly to me.

Anyway, Hope the new bundle of joy brings you and the good woman all the happiness you deserve and your back heals well and heals quickly.

chrisjohnson · February 18, 2011

Hi Bill,
Sorry to hear you are crook.

I reckon Glort's teaching idea is a good one and fits your circumstances at the moment. Around here the market is booming for people wanting to learn how to use their cameras and shooting fast moving sports is a special technique. You can use your old photos to illustrate - as long as you did not junk all the failures

PS on the lower prices idea. As a marketing pro I recognize this as a desperate act and I sincerely hope you are not desperate. Perhaps an alternative approach would be to pick your top shots, sell them as a Bill Juaresz limited edition classic collection, print on metal, for several hundred dollars a pop. Just an idea.

Trying to sell existing images in new ways

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