Which is Best for You? For This School?
If you have followed me much, you’re probably aware that I do Speculation Packages a lot. It’s most of what I do because for many childcare centers and preschools it is the best option. It is easier. I have lower costs. I have happier customers, both schools and parents. I make more money. I’ve been doing speculation a long time and I’m very good at it.
But there are other ways to sell your work in this market. I sometimes do prepay or online. I have one prepay account that has been consistently profitable for several years. If I had lower standards for the quality of the work delivered to the customers I might have more. I might even have some profitable online accounts. That’s my problem. It may not be yours.
Most volume photography programs are developed for the K-12 or Youth Sports markets. Preschools and Childcare Centers are very different. You can learn some things from K-12 and Youth Sports that can be useful in Preschools and Childcare Centers. But, if you don’t adapt your offerings to fit the Preschool/Childcare market you are missing a lot of sales and not satisfying your customers as well as you could be, if at all.
Let’s go over how I do all three to help you decide what is best for a particular school and you.
Prepay
Prepay has been around a long time. It works. The prepay program I now offer is simple and basic. We put up posters and print displays in the school 3-4 weeks before the shoot. We distribute letters and prepay envelopes 1-2 weeks before picture day. The letters explain what is happening to the parents in more detail than can be put on the payment envelope.
The payment envelopes are produced by the lab that does most of our finishing. They will print exactly what we need for each job. We order the envelopes through ROES using our own layouts, packages and pricing.
I always bring an assistant to track the image numbers. Matching the image numbers to the order envelope is critical. I don’t trust that to a school staff member that may be distracted or called away. The extra expense is worth it.
Some online programs have a system for parents to sign up in advance for prepay, be notified and reminded in advance and to pay online. If I did a lot of online work or had any online success, I might try it.
There is one school in which we have successfully used prepay for several years. The participation level and average order have both increased over the years. Parents and the school are happier every year. I have stopped suggesting Speculation for this account. Ocaissionally a parent asks about online. The school never does.
Online
Online platforms can be divided into two groups, sort of. Those designed for the K-12 market are dominated by PhotoLynx-ImageQuix and whatever they bought this week. The others are well suited for the Youth Sports market. These include GotPhoto, PhotoDay, Morephotos and many others. These may be best suited for smaller operators and the childcare market.
Picture day promotion can be complicated. I’m still working on that. There is nothing that we do that I like.
Matching the images to the parent data is critical. I bring an assistant to track the image numbers as I would for prepay. Some platforms offer QR codes that can be scanned into the camera data or photographed to aid in image/data matching and facial recognition. This all adds extra expense. It interferes with the photography and results in slower shoots and worse pictures.
My first investment in online was paid directly to Chris Burton when he came to PSPA with a staff of …….. Chris Burton. At that time there were a lot of people trying to do what Chris was trying to do. Chris went on to create PhotoLynx. Since then I have followed the development of many online platforms. I have tried the ones that seemed to offer at least some value.
Last fall I had some meaningful online sales for the first time. It was GotPhoto. This was the first platform I have used that actually drove customers to the website in useful numbers. The gross sales were actually pretty good. The costs far exceeded my worst expectations. We lost a lot of money.
First we spent waaaay too much on photography and image prep. We have to cut that back, a lot, and still produce something that is not too embarrassing.
The bigger problem was the cost of using the platform, not the monthly and percentage fees, it was our time. Many things did not work as expected and GotPhoto was not helpful.
The last few months I have been exploring other platforms. It really comes down to GotPhoto, PhotoDay and a new one currently being onboarded by a lab that I trust, a lot. Next week I hope to decide whether and how we will do that school again. In a few weeks I have to make a decision about the platform. Stay tuned.
Speculation
Speculation packages are simple to photograph, prepare the images and order the packages. This can be the lowest cost, highest sales way to photograph a preschool or childcare center.
The school selects a package, with which they are comfortable, to offer to all of the parents. Our most popular packages are a two pose, six sheet package and a one pose, four sheet package. We do the same package for everyone in that school. The two pose package is the image with this post.
Picture Day promotion is simple. We put up posters and print displays in the school about 3-4 weeks in advance. Two weeks in advance the school sends out parent letters physically, by email or both. 1-2 days in advance picture day stickers go home with the kids.
On picture day, or days, we photograph all of the children, individually and as sibling groups. A school staff member does the sitting tickets as the photographer shoots. If we get a few names mixed up it is not a problem. All of the packages for that school are the same. No special assistant is needed. In most of our accounts we also do classroom groups of all of the children. We make one print per subject for all of the classroom groups.
The images are prepped and sent to the lab. We inspect and package the prints for the school along with the sales support materials.
The school can either send the pictures home with the parents or ask the parents to view them at the school. All checks, charges and cash are turned over to us. We audit the returned packages and payments and send the school a check for their share and we are done.
There is a lot that can be added to how the school handles the pictures and collects the money. Each of the ways is simple and easy for the school and us. Explaining the variations would take more space than this blog allows.
One variation that is worth noting. More schools are collecting childcare/tuition payments with automatic online debits. Parents are used to this and like it. It is a simple matter for the school to collect for our pictures the same way. The world is changing and we have kept up with it.
Summary
If you get the impression that I prefer Speculation Packages you are right. This is often the simplest and most profitable way to service a Preschool or Childcare Center. I make more money. I have more fun. The parents and the schools are happier.
If a school cannot handle the sale of the pictures well, my next choice is Prepay. It takes more time and expense to photograph the school than Speculation. I even try to discourage class pictures. I really discourage composites. It is more expensive to prep the images and print the pictures. Still, schools that do not want to handle the sales are often some of the largest with 2-300 or more children. Some accounts are a better fit for prepay. We still make money.
Finally, there is Online. Online may be the best choice for Youth Sports and K-12. These are two markets that I try from time to time to remind myself why I prefer the Preschool/Childcare market. The online platform providers provide a valuable service for the K-12 and Youth Sports markets. In these markets it may be equal to prepay.
There may be some preschool or childcare accounts that are best suited for online. I’m waiting to be convinced.
Why does online persist? Someone is making money on it, the online platform companies. The photographers spend more time on their computer and less time with the kids and schools. If you don’t like people, that’s a plus. The labs spend more time printing fewer pictures and wrapping and shipping individual orders and handling money they don’t get to keep. If you have too much time on your hands during the busiest seasons, that’s a plus.
Why do I do online? Keeping up with what is happening with online platforms is important. It helps me sell people on Speculation and Prepay.