People often ask me if I’m worried about these popular *low-priced* photography studios, and if I consider them to be my competition. 

You know who I’m talking about… and my short answer is no.

Yes, it’s important to be aware of what’s going on in your industry, and who your possible competitors are..

But the most vital part about marketing for yourself is knowing your unique selling proposition (USP)

And that is your strengths and what makes you different in order to position yourself properly for your clients and potential clients.

Instead of competing on price with your competitors, it’s more important to focus on the value you provide to your clients.

Here’s how I’ve positioned myself at my creative agency, and why my clients choose me over working with these popular *low-priced* photography studios instead:

• My pricing strategy prioritizes value, quality and takes everything into consideration from the clients branding (their unique lighting setups, colors, on-brand props, story, messaging, and many other minor details)

• My pricing is straightforward and shows the client everything that’s included, including art direction, licensing and usage, plus their exact timeline.

• The popular low price photography studio has what I call “The U-Haul Method” to their pricing. It’s a classic method of getting you in the door with the lure of a low price, then everything you actually want is an extra charge. When renting a U-Haul “Starting at $14.95!” somehow always turns into $100, doesn’t it? This “a la carte” style of pricing is straight up annoying for the client, and they aren’t likely to be a returning client or refer you to others.

• This type of studio also has restrictions on the outcome of your photos, the client’s unique business is put into a box with only a few choices of scenes and a copy and paste approach to a certain style.

• At my creative agency I have a kick off call with the client to learn all of the details and nuances of what makes their business unique so I can communicate these details visually through my approach. I understand that all of my clients are different, so there’s no copy and paste approach to any photoshoot I do. Every photoshoot comes out different, because I understand that every one of my clients has a different brand. I understand that some clients want scenes, and some clients want each photo to be unique from each other and not be shot in a series of scenes.

• Repeat clients have represented over 90% of my revenue since I started my creative agency. That tells me that my approach is working and it’s important to take the clients branding and all of their unique details into consideration.

• I am also very open to feedback, and will make sure the client is happy with their final images. Editing is included in my rate, and that includes one round of revisions for the client. It’s important to be very clear about the editing process and how many revisions are actually included.

Here’s a few more ways you can determine your unique selling proposition (USP) in your photo biz, you might be able to say things like:

1. I have a BFA degree in photography
2. I have been in business for X years
3. I studied fine art photography at XXX school of the arts
4. I have a background in graphic design and I understand branding very well

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Even things that you may worry are not positives can actually be turned into USP’s, here’s some examples of what I mean:

Example No. 1:

If you don’t have an assistant yet you could say:

“You’ll be working with me personally every step of the way instead of having to play telephone.”

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Example No. 2:

If you are experiencing lower volume of work than you’d like you could say:

“I limit myself to one photoshoot per week so I can give each client my full attention”

Xx

Kelly

P.S. If you found this info helpful and you want to learn more from me on how to scale your photo biz, join me inside my FREE masterclass, and stay until the end to learn more about my signature course, The Photo Biz Lab.