Over the past month or so, my time has been consumed by two seemingly unrelated projects: launching my pricing spreadsheets and promoting my class Market Your Selfie.
And for a moment, and despite knowing better, I started feeling like I was doing something wrong. I was having thoughts like “maybe my teaching business would be stronger if I was only known for one thing.” Or “maybe it’s confusing to be the person who talks about price AND talks about product photography.”
Because despite all my time in business, I still occasionally get caught up in bullshit like “you need to focus on one thing” or “find your core message and repeat it all the time.” And that advice might work for some people, but it doesn’t work for me. To quote Walt Whitman, “I am large. I contain multitudes.” (Chances are, you do too.)
But beyond that, I realized that pricing spreadsheets and product photography classes like Market Your Selfie are really two sides of the same coin.
You see, when most artists and makers begin applying my pricing methodology for the first time, they realize they’ve been undercharging for their work. For some, it’s a little. For others, it’s a lot. (That’s because most other pricing formulas don’t take into account ALL the costs associated with running your business. Mine does.)
Whether it’s a little or a lot, most artists and makers realize they need to raise their prices. And that’s where the panic sets in.
The conversation immediately jumps to things like needing to “justify” their new higher prices or needing to “educate” the customer on why it’s worth more.
Which is precisely the wrong approach.
People don’t buy art or handmade products because they’ve been educated (or guilted) into understanding why it costs more.
No.
They buy art and handmade products because they fall madly, passionately in love with the thing and can’t imagine their life without it. (Price be damned.)
And that’s where product photography comes in.
The best product photography does both of those things. It makes someone fall madly, passionately in love with your work AND it helps them envision it in their own life. (That’s why I’m so passionate that anyone who makes jewelry or wearable products actually photograph them on a real person. Because that’s what helps the customer envision it on themselves.)
And the best product photography does so in a way that “tells” the customer that the work is valuable, without you ever having to say (or write) a word.
This video is one of my favorite examples of this:
This $200+ necklace had been sitting in my online store, unnoticed, for two years. What finally sold it was not education or justification. It was because I took new photographs (on myself) that made people fall in love with the stone (it was pretty gorgeous) AND see it would fit into their life. (So much so that another woman was so disappointed that it “got away” that she had me make her a custom necklace with another stone!)
So I’m going to keep talking about pricing AND product photography because the two really do go together and both are ESSENTIAL if you want to build a business as an artist or maker.
You need to know your numbers and price appropriately, or else you won’t be in business very long. (Or you will, but you’ll be burnt out, disgruntled, and exhausted.)
And you need incredible product photography to help support the prices you want to charge. The kind of photography that makes people fling their money at you without hesitation. The kind that makes someone say, “I have to have this in my life now.”
And because I’m me, I’m not going to shy away from the fact that I have resources to help you with both.
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PS. My new pricing spreadsheets are available now! (And they’re an incredible deal if you buy in the next week!) I’m seriously so proud of this resource and I know it’ll be an invaluable tool when it comes to pricing your work.
PPS. And if you’re a jewelry or wearable artist and you’re trying to communicate why your work is worth more, I recommend checking out Market Your Selfie! It’s unlike any other product photography class out there in that it shows you how to use what you’ve already got (yourself) to take incredible images of your work on an actual human!
PPPS. I know I’m breaking my own rule by ending this blog post with more than one call to action. But what can I say? Just like me, this blog post contains multitudes.