In a dlema

Shop Talk
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Hello ; When I drew up my very brief business plan for my Art Photography my aim was to sell limited editions with a good mark up and low volume. I am now panicking that I got it wrong and ditching my strategy. Let me give examples;
A good exhibition quality lab will colour check the work , print on fine art paper of my choice, produce genuine Monochrome or colour prints using photographic methods or use Giclée printing. An 8 x 10 print will cost around 15 to 20 pounds with p and p etc. This limits the stock I can carry (I plan to use fairs as a promotional tool as well as a sales outlet) and with mark up the cost to customer is going to be around 30 to 40 pounds .

A print from Asda is about £2 for a 8 x 10 print , is probably inkjet produced (alternatively I could do that myself cheaper still) and will be on the cheapest paper they can get away with. This means I can hold more stock but it is lower quality - will the average punter know that from looking ? It also means my margins are lower and turnover has to be higher.

I understand that Folksy is about driving traffic to your store and converting that to sales. With other photographers charging £10 or less a print can I stand out enough to generate sales if I stick to my original brief ?

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I think you need to look at who these buyers are. If someone is going to buy a good quality print at £30-40 then you need to find out who that person is, as opposed to the person that would purchase the same image but with a different, cheaper printing method at a considerably lower cost.

Talk about Giclee printing in your listings and social media, why you choose that over an Inkjet, what the benefit is to the customer. Emphasise the quality of the finished product, vibrancy of colour, longevity, lack of colour fade etc. Then find where those customers that are happy to pay £30-40 for an 8x10 Giclee print hang out and pitch to them there. It may mean paying for a high-end, well known exhibition once a year as opposed to paying £20 for a local fair. Or maybe a mixture of both?

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Thanks , you have reinforced what I thought. Its Marketing that’s the key and I am a lot better at taking photos than Marketing :slight_smile: BUT whoever my customer is I need to find them , they wont just pop up. That’s why I am going for slightly higher price markets (£35 and up) for my marketing. I am looking for gallery space but that is pretty expensive - you need to sell a lot of prints to justify a month exhibition !
Pop up shops are another thing I will look at.
Thanks for taking the time to answer , need to stick to my guns and go for my dream :slight_smile:

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No problem, marketing is where many of us struggle because it’s a hugely competitive world out there, so you’re in good company.

If you haven’t already take a look at Folksy’s Blog with lots of tips from other professionals:

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Have gone for my original plan , with some cheap and cheerful stuff as well as some eye wateringly expensive stuff . Thanks for your input. Going to spend some time on the Blog. I see your work is not exactly bargain basement and that gives me some hope.

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