Why Model Calls Fail (and how to fix them)
Watch the video - just click on the image below.
If you've ever run model calls hoping to get paying clients, but all you've ended up attracting are bargain hunters and freebie seekers, you're not alone. The good news is that it's not actually your photography there's something wrong with. It's just the way that you're going about it.
Welcome, welcome everyone. My name is Stine. I'm a photographer and a creative business owner with over 15 years experience. And in this special eight-part video series, I'm going to go through how I went from charging $150 per shoot to 3K sessions.
in this video, I'm going to go through the three things that is going to make a huge difference for you.
Now, when I first started, I couldn't actually get people to pay $150 for a session with all the photos included. But once I shifted how I packaged what I already offered, everything changed. So, let's get into it.
Why model calls fail
The first thing we're going to talk about is why most model calls usually fail. And that's basically because most photographers treat it like a giveaway and not an actual marketing strategy.
One example would be that you post a free session on social media and you give them three free images as a Thank you for taking part, 50 people sign up, but only a handful actually buyanything. The rest just want freebies.
And yes, I have notes here because this stuff is important. I don't want to miss anything.
So, the problem here is basically that you've just done a massive amount of work with very little to show for it. You're so tired already and the thought of doing another model call probably makes you a little bit sick.
So what is the fix here? The fix here is to position your offer as something that's exclusive and valuable. And how do you do that? You create experiences that people actually want to be part of. It makes people feel like they make a difference and an impact and in many ways that they belong.
You have to kind of play into the psychology here a bit.
Now, I know we just started, but I've actually made a little starter kit for you, so you can follow along and start implementing straight away into your business.
It's called the starter kits for the paid model call method, and you can just download by clicking on the link above.
Re-packaging, not more work
So, the second thing that we're going to talk about is that we're not actually creating more work. We're just repackaging what you already offer.
So what you want to do here instead of offering like generic portrait sessions like everyone else, you want to create campaigns with intention and purpose. It can be literally anything. Your imagination is your best friend here.
I created something called becoming 30, which was all about celebrating um the decade, the 30s in women's lives. And I think I ended up photographing around 25 women um back in 2016 2017 if I remember correctly. And it was a huge success.
I was booked out for about 4 months straight and I made over $40,000 because what you're actually selling here is the experience of taking part of some in something that's bigger than themselves.
You're not just selling the photos here. Yeah, they want the photos and that is a massive part of it of course and you need to sell that part.
But when people are invited to be part of something where they can make an impact and where they matter, it just shifts the energy. It's a completely different animal to say in that way. Clients will basically perceive it as something special and something that's worth investing in.
Mindset Shift
Number three is the mindset shift here. You're not asking for models. you're
inviting someone to become part of something meaningful. Like the the difference here is huge and it's super important. Yes, it's its words. It's just words, but the words that you use is going to attract different kinds of people.
An example is that when I invited women to be part of my becoming 30s and becoming 40s campaign, they felt honored to be part of something and they felt honored to tell their story and I created a whole movement around it. Um, one client even brought me another 10 clients. She invited all her friends to do this with her. It was absolutely amazing.
And that is the power of this of creating campaigns, projects, um, special sessions, whatever you want to call it. I just call this model calls just because that's how I started with it. But it since became campaigns and then it sort of morphed into personal projects. this tiny shift or huge shift
I should say, it means that clients respect your time.
They value your work a whole lot more and they're more likely to purchase and obviously you will emphasize throughout the whole experience that the end game is to walk away with portraits of themselves.
So, if you've ever felt that model calls don't actually work, it's just because you probably have been doing them wrong and no one has ever shown you the correct way to do them.
In the next video, we'll dive into what model calls really are and how we make them irresistible and feel exclusive to clients without giving anything away for free.
Make sure to subscribe to my channel to watch all my upcoming videos.
Ideal Client Clarity Workbook - Free
The Paid Model Call Method Ebook
Stine x
Hey, I’m Stine, I’m a photographer, designer and (scrappy) content creator creating resources to help creatives and small business owners build the business of your dreams and a life on your own terms.
Thanks for stopping by! Sx
