Now that AdvancePay is officially launched, we need to get down to business and talk about how you can set it up and apply it to actual jobs.
I think we can all agree that the good thing about paper order forms was that they came with guaranteed payment. But really, how good was that? Bounced checks...eeeeeek! And, we know that many parents ordered the cheapest package when they couldn't see the photos they were ordering. (I confess, I'm one of those parents.) They probably LOVED your photos once they saw them and even wished they ordered a bunch of family gifts or a giant 20x16 to hang on the wall. All potential sales that you missed out on.
AdvancePay changes all of that. Now, parents can purchase a credit that they can apply to their purchase after they see the photos. It's a new method of selling - different (and better) than prepay, and super flexible for many situations.
SET-UP
Below are a few different ways you can set up AdvancePay:
- SESSION FEE You'd use this approach if you want to collect upfront payment from parents as a way for them to secure their child's spot. If it makes sense, you could use this opportunity to let them know that picture day is a fundraiser for the organization. Here's an example: SAVE A SEAT AT PICTURE DAY! Purchase a $20 AdvancePay credit before picture day on October 31 to guarantee your child's photo session time. (A portion of proceeds will go to Fairfield Youth Lacrosse)
- EARLY BIRD You'd use this approach if your main goal is to drive early sales by giving your absolute best - and only - offer to parents who purchase an AdvancePay credit. Example:
- PICTURE DAY SPECIAL! Save $5 with a purchase of a $50 AdvancePay credit. Offer expires at midnight November 10th.
- You could go one step further and tie it in with your top-tier package: Get our best $50 Big Family package for only $45!
- SUPER PROMO This approach is great if you want to create an incentive for customers to buy AdvancePay credits before picture day - and motivate them to spend more after picture day. If you want to try this approach, it's really important that you think about the entire picture day experience for parents - creating one offer for those early birds, and then another type of offer to be used once the gallery is published. It's really important to remember that if you're going to have two or more offers on one job, they need to make sense together and not contradict each other. Here's how it could work:
- Your AdvancePay offer that you promote in the weeks leading up to picture day and at picture day:
- Get a jump on picture day and save $5 off your order when you purchase a $25 AdvancePay credit. (PhotoDay will send them the coupon code with their AdvancePay receipt)
- Your public offers that you can promote in the weeks leading up to picture day, at picture day, and after picture day:
- Get free shipping on orders of $50 or more. Use coupon code: FREESHIP
- Get free shipping + 10% discount for orders of $75 or more. Use coupon code: FREESHIP10
See how these above SUPER PROMO offers don't compete with one another. What's cool is that they're incentivizing different behaviors. The AdvancePay offer motivates the early bird, while the post picture day offer promotes higher order values. Now, let's say a parent purchases the AdvancePay credit, but then decides at checkout that the $75+ offer is the best deal for them. In this situation, they'll apply their $25 AdvancePay credit, but use the FREESHIP10 coupon code.
There are really infinite ways to design your offers - I hope these ideas inspire you to get started! Check out this article: How Do I Create and Promote Picture Day with AdvancePay?
BREAKING IT DOWN
We also thought it'd be helpful if we looked at how you can use AdvancePay for different types of jobs:
Youth Sports
Because AdvancePay completely eliminates the cap on sales, your organizations have the potential to raise more funds, so it should be easy to get them on board. Also, because PhotoDay makes multi-pose so easy, you can introduce candids, buddy shots, coach + kid shots, etc. You can even go as far as creating packages to accommodate more poses too. By selling credits in advance and tying them to special offers, such as free shipping, you can boost participation, without limiting sales.
High School Sports
Selling credits in advance and tying them to special offers also works with high school sports teams. But AdvancePay can be used in additional ways for high schools. High schools are all about team spirit so high school teams often want to create banners for teams or individuals, or fun composite shots. You can sell AdvancePay credits as a “session fee” to be applied to a future purchase.
Schools
From preschools and daycares through high schools, fundraising is a top priority for most educational institutions. Especially at the younger ages when parents are responsible for almost all of the fundraising, finding easy, low-effort ways to raise money is a top priority. Pointing out how AdvancePay can help raise more money for schools than the old way is a natural fit. With all school groups, tying credits to special offers is a great way to increase participation and help schools raise more funds.
Dance Classes
As with schools, AdvancePay will hopefully be a great boost to fundraising efforts for dance groups.
Similar to the way you can use AdvancePay as a sitting fee for composite shots, with these groups, you can use AdvancePay as a session fee to ensure that all costumes are photographed. Parents can then apply their credits to future purchases.
Miscellaneous Events
Being asked to photograph a conference, gala, or other one-time event can be a great change of pace for a volume photographer. Professional organizations often offer professionally taken headshots as an incentive for attendees. These spots fill up fast. AdvancePay can be used in this situation to hold a spot or appointment for a headshot.
Similarly, galas and charity events often set up a fun “photo booth” like areas for guests. AdvancePay can be used as an incentive to make an appointment at the photo booth with friends.
In both of these cases, AdvancePay will bring attendees to the gallery to claim their posed picture, but FaceFind can be used to alert the buyer to candid shots taken during the event, boosting those sales!
Phew! We covered a lot - but I hope you're feeling more ready than ever to dive into AdvancePay!
