365 - The Low-Ticket Lead-In

Summary

Podcast Summary: This Can’t Be That Hard – Episode 365

The Low-Ticket Lead-In

Host: Annemie Tonken
Guests: Jen Chen, Allison Maxwell
Date: April 21, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, Annemie Tonken explores the strategy of using a low-ticket, high-volume offer (the "donkey" model) as a purposeful entry point into a photography business. Rather than simply providing a cheaper alternative, these offers become engines for profit, lead generation, and long-term client relationships. Annemie interviews two photographers, Jen Chen and Allison Maxwell, who have each created unique, lower-price experiences that funnel clients toward their premium services, and she examines both the mindset and mechanics behind their success.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background on Business Models

• Donkey, Workhorse, Unicorn Framework:
  Annemie’s foundational teaching: every photography business should center around one of three models, but lately, hybrids are emerging.

  • Many photographers are now combining models creatively – e.g. leading with a donkey model offer, then moving clients up to higher-ticket options.
    — [01:30]

• Low-Ticket Offers as Pipeline, Not Loss Leaders:
  These are not freebies or giveaways. They're designed to be profitable while building audience and trust.

  • “These are actual profit centers that also happen to be growing their audience, building their reputations, and introducing them to the exact kinds of clients who then go on to become their ideal full price clients.”
    — [04:55]

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2. Jen Chen’s "Confetti Sessions" (California)

- [Starts at 06:21]

• Origin & Intent:

  • After just one year in business, Jen wanted to reach more families and build her list with something unique.
  • Created “Confetti Sessions”: themed children’s mini sessions in a studio space.
  • Differentiator: They're creative, fun, and distinct from standard family portraits, making them an impulse buy without cannibalizing main offerings.

    “It’s kind of unique and not something you’d plan like, ‘Oh, I’m going to go do a Google search for who does confetti sessions.’ It’s just kind of like an impulse buy.”
    — Jen, [08:35]

• Marketing & Positioning:

  • Leveraged Facebook mom groups and email marketing.
  • Employed value-add incentives (e.g., extra photos for friend referrals) rather than discounts.
  • Used model calls for initial content and testimonials.

• Pricing & Strategy:

  • Priced at about 1/3 of a full session, intentionally “low enough that it would be an impulse buy, but not bargain basement” — qualifying leads for future full-price bookings.

  • Included 5 images, with upsell potential for additional images.

    “I wanted them to be a qualified lead coming in for hopefully future sessions for me.”
    — Jen, [11:17]

  • Many clients ended up buying more than the five images due to the quality and uniqueness.

• Conversion & Client Journey:

  • Passive, trust-based funnel: No aggressive follow-up; instead, clients are simply added to her email list and exposed to other offerings.

  • Studio is branded with Jen’s larger portfolio and offerings on display to plant the seed for future bookings.

  • High conversion: Many confetti session clients come back for family or newborn sessions.

    “I have been surprised at how many people have come back to me looking for families or … I think I did like three newborn sessions this week, actually, that were Christmas mini sessions last year, which is cool.”
    — Jen, [12:25]

• Profitability & Business Impact:

  • Mini sessions paid for her studio rent for the entire year.
  • Mini sessions, when themed and distinct, were far more profitable and creatively satisfying than Jen anticipated.

    “I was so surprised at how profitable mini sessions could actually be.”
    — Jen, [13:34]

• Mindset & Stigma:

  • Jen and Annemie discussed common fears about being labeled a “mini session photographer,” and the prevailing stigma around low-ticket offers.

    “I feel like I had that … I wanted people to really value my work for my work and not just for my price.”
    — Jen, [14:32]

• Creative Fulfillment:

  • Themed studio minis offer a new creative outlet and reinvigorate Jen’s passion.

    “I’ve loved the creative side of it, especially because it’s in the studio … It’s been fun to come up with different ways to use that space for different themed sessions.”
    — Jen, [15:26]

Find Jen:

Instagram and website: @jenchenphotography (two N's in Jen, one in Chen)

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3. Allison Maxwell’s "Playful Portraits" (Arkansas)

- [Starts at 19:10]

• Background & Motivation:

  • Relocated to a new market (Arkansas); needed immediate visibility and client volume.

    “I didn’t feel like I had the luxury of easing in to the relocation … I needed to do something different that helped me stand out.”
    — Allison, [21:09]

• Offer Structure & Experience:

  • Created “Playful Portraits”: five-minute black-and-white studio-style child portraits, reminiscent of school photos but more playful and expressive.

  • Hosted as pop-ups at varied local businesses (salon, chiropractor, boutique, bookstore) with strong mutually beneficial partnerships.

    “The difference though is that the goal is to create a much more playful experience that kind of captures their little quirks and their natural expressions in just a few minutes.”
    — Allison, [22:04]

• Pricing & Volume:

  • Booking fee under $100 per child for a 5-minute slot; clients purchase only the images they love after viewing.
  • Typically 20–30 sessions per event; low barrier for new clients, high volume for Allison.

• Business Partnerships:

  • Businesses benefit from increased foot traffic and shared email/social marketing, and Allison often reciprocates with branding photos or mutual events.

    “When we’re sharing an audience, they have access to new people the same way that I have access to new people.”
    — Allison, [26:51]

• Client Funnel & Communication:

  • Highly transparent about pricing and options; no pressure to buy, clear “purchase only what you love” message.

  • After delivery, clients are added to her main email list and nurtured gently (not aggressively) toward full-family sessions or referrals.

    “I don’t want families to feel like they’re in a funnel, you know what I mean? … Just keeping them engaged along the way has been helpful in kind of transitioning them from this lower offer to a more significant full price offer.”
    — Allison, [30:14]

• Conversion & Referral Results:

  • 95% of Allison’s full-price sessions are linked to Playful Portrait pathways — either direct conversion or word-of-mouth referrals.

    “I would say that 95% or so of my full price work is in some way thanks to playful portraits.”
    — Allison, [31:14]

• Profitability & Surprise Learning:

  • The short sessions have turned out to be her most profitable offer, not just a marketing gateway.

  • Average playful portrait event: ~$150 per client x 20–30 clients in 2–3 hours = $4,000–$5,000 per event.

    “I was a little bit concerned, like, is this going to attract price shoppers and then therefore won’t convert? … The biggest surprise of all was how profitable these events turned out to be.”
    — Allison, [32:56]

Find Allison:

Instagram: @allisonwmaxwell
Website: allisonmaxwell.com/photographers

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Key Insights & Memorable Quotes

• Make your entry offer distinct and creatively satisfying.

  “Her mini sessions are different enough that they’re not cannibalizing her other work and they’re specific enough that they’re attracting the exact right people.”
  – Annemie, [17:30]

• Lead with value and experience, not aggressive sales funnels.

  “The funnel that she’s built is a soft one ... letting people discover what else she does on their own timeline. That approach does require patience, as does a lot in business.”
  – Annemie, [17:30]

• Don’t mistake accessibility for “race to the bottom” pricing.

  “Neither of these women is doing that race to the bottom thing … Alison is clearing four to five grand in a two to three hour event, and Jen paid her studio rent with her holiday mini sessions.”
  – Annemie, [35:07]

• Visibility and in-person experiences beat endless social posts.

  “Five minutes in front of someone is worth a thousand posts on social media.”
  – Annemie, [31:54]

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Important Timestamps

• Donkey, Workhorse, Unicorn Framework context: 01:30–05:20
• Jen Chen Interview: 06:21–17:28
  • Creative inception of mini sessions: 06:44
  • Marketing & pricing details: 07:52–11:45
  • Conversion and results: 12:25–15:26
• Allison Maxwell Interview: 19:10–34:34
  • Transition and market entry: 21:09
  • Partnerships and event mechanics: 23:39–27:10
  • Funnel and conversion discussion: 27:21–30:53
  • Profit and surprise learnings: 32:42–34:13
• Host’s Takeaways & Action Step: 35:07–EoE

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Action Steps & Takeaways

• If you lack an accessible, distinct lower-ticket offer, spend 15 minutes brainstorming what that could look like for you. Make it genuinely different from your main work and think creatively about the client experience.
• If you already have one, evaluate its effectiveness: Are those clients converting or referring others?

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Connect with Guests:

• Jen Chen: Jen Chen Photography on Instagram
• Allison Maxwell: Allison Maxwell on Instagram, Website

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Final words: Low-ticket doesn’t mean low-value. When crafted thoughtfully, these “donkey model” offers can become both marketing engines and serious profit centers, while building the kind of in-person trust and community that lead to long-term, high-value client relationships.

Transcript

[A]

Hey guys, real quick before we dive in today, if you are feeling nervous this year and wondering if the upcoming busy season is actually going to be profitable for you, I want you to come to my free live workshop this May. It's called Economy Proof your busy season. And I am going to walk you through three specific ways to grow your photography income without raising your prices. We've got three sessions to choose from, including time zone options that are Australia and Europe friendly friendly. So hopefully there's something that you can come to live. Head to thiscan'tbethard.com economy to grab your spot. Registration only takes about 30 seconds and of course, the webinar is completely free. All right, now let's get into today's episode. You know what happens when you teach something for six years? You start to see it everywhere. When I first developed the Donkey, Workhorse and Unicorn framework, the core idea was just that every photography business needs to be built around one of those three models. Not a little bit of each, but one. So you determine which model fits your goals, your needs, your market, and then you build everything around that to keep it cohesive, to make it make sense for your clients. And that's still true. I stand by that as the easiest, most straightforward way to build a solid business. However, over the past six years of teaching this, I have heard hundreds, if not thousands of photographers stories the ways that they are running their business. And I have learned more about some of the nuances. Right. And especially as the photography market has gotten more competitive over the past few years, I have started to notice something interesting, which is that there are photographers out there intentionally combining these models in really creative ways. So it's not that they're abandoning the framework, it's just that they're using it strategically across different parts of their business. And it's really sophisticated and it's really interesting. So the two photographers that I am bringing onto the show today are Allison Maxwell and Jen Chen. And both of them are are doing something that I find especially smart when it comes to their business models. They have each built a donkey model offer. So high volume, accessible, lower price point, and they've positioned that offer as the entry point into their business. So it's not their whole business, but it is the first experience that most of their clients have with them. And in both cases it's working really well as an on ramp into their higher ticket work. So I knew that having them come on and talk a little bit about how that works, how they're making it work, and how they're Doing it with a really clear vision of what that transition looks like would be super interesting to many, if not all of us. Because I imagine that layering these kinds of offers, although it may not be like a Business 101 thing, could really improve many of our businesses and our ability to reach new clients. Welcome to this Can't Be that Hard. My name is Anna Mi Tonkin and I help photographers run profitable, sustainable businesses that they love. Each week on the podcast I cover simple, actionable strategies and systems that photographers at every level of experience can use to earn more money in a more sustainable way. Running a photography business doesn't have to be that hard. You can do it, and I can show you how. All right, so before I bring my guests on, let me give you a little bit of context for how I am thinking about today's episode. We have spent the first two episodes in this pricing and money theme talking about profitability, right? What it actually means for a photography business to look at their expenses honestly figure out which of your offers is pulling its weight and how to sort of navigate the difference between volume versus price. If you don't want to raise your prices, you know, can we raise volume? So those two episodes really do set the foundation for today's episode. So if you haven't listened to 363 and 364, I would go hit pause on this and go listen to those first because they really do kind of set the table. Today's episode is about this specific structure, right? Where you put a lower priced, accessible offer at the front of your business and you do it on purpose to use it as a pipeline into your higher ticket work. And I want to be really clear on that. As we go into these interviews, you will hear that neither of these women is running model calls. These are not freebies, they are not loss leaders, they're not giveaways. These are actual profit centers that also happen to be growing their audience, building their reputations, and introducing them to the exact kinds of clients who then go on to become their ideal full price clients. So our first interview is with Jen Chen, who runs a family and newborn photography business in California and whose initial email to me about her business model really gave me a laugh and it actually almost inspired the name for today's episode. She was like, I'm not really a donkey model business. I'm more of a model mullet because I've got a donkey in the front and a unicorn in the back. And that made me laugh. So without further ado, here's Jen. Jenn Chen, thank you so much for coming on the show and being willing to chat rather quickly about your amazing sort of pseudo donkey model business where. Or I shouldn't even say pseudo. I feel like it's two distinct models within one bigger business. Is that accurate?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, I think that's accurate. No, I'm really excited to be here and to chat about it. It's been a fun learning experience for me and excited to share what I've learned.

[A]

Amazing. So let's start at kind of the beginning. When did you introduce this like front facing offer in your business and. And what was the impetus behind it?

[B]

So I had been running my regular family newborn photography business for about a year and I just was trying to brainstorm creative ways to get my name out there myself in front of more people, build my email list. I've been following you. And so I had this idea that I would do something special for children's sessions specifically so that I could show off how I'm good at working with kids, get myself in front of families. And so I came up with this idea of doing confetti sessions. So I wanted to get a studio for that. I found like a low priced studio and I started doing these little confetti sessions that are something just kind of a one off, fun thing for parents and it lets them kind of get into my world, learn who I am and then hopefully I'm. If they need family photos or newborn photos later on, hopefully I'm the photographer that they think of.

[C]

So sure.

[A]

And so I didn't realize before we hit record that you had only been in business for a year when you launched that. That's super smart. And how did you position those? Like, how did you get the word out about those sessions?

[B]

It was a lot of Facebook mom groups and then building the email list or going to the email list that I already had, but a lot of Facebook kind of grassroots things trying to get people that would come in for them to share them with other people. I occasionally did something where if they booked with another mom, they would get like two extra photos. Something where it's not less expensive but value added.

[A]

Super smart. And did you. Was that something that kind of immediately took off? Did it take some time to build? I know when you kind of go all in on getting a studio and there's some financial risk involved, so sometimes it feels like the pressure's on. How did that process work for you?

[B]

It was about a month of setting up my studio and even before I got the studio, I was starting to kind of think about the pricing and how that would look. But once I got the studio, I immediately started marketing and Facebook groups. I did a model call very early. I did one with my kids and then one with another family that I've done family sessions for in the past. And then I knew would be like a big champion for me on Facebook. I asked her if she would, you know, do a post for me in the. In the mom groups. And then. Then I just started posting my photos and it. It kind of took off. I think there's not anyone else in the area that does that particular session. And it's kind of unique and not something you would plan like, oh, I'm going to go do a Google search for who does confetti sessions. It's just kind of like an impulse buy almost. So.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So let's talk a little bit about the fact that this was a themed mini session, because I think one of the things that a lot of people get worried about when they start to think about mini sessions or offering smaller sessions is this risk that you run of potentially keeping someone who might book a full session from booking that. And instead they're just like, oh, great, we'll have a mini session. Obviously, a confetti session is a very distinct thing. It sounds like that was pretty intentional.

[B]

Yeah, I originally, I kept the mini sessions. The confetti sessions were the first one, and I wanted to keep them very, very different so that it wasn't cannibalizing the. The little business that I had already started to build. So originally I didn't even do a family sessions at all. Once I saw that the confetti sessions were actually more profitable than I had expected, I decided to do some Christmas stuff. And I did a little bit of family stuff for the Christmas. But again, I made sure that it wasn't something that would replace our traditional family photo that they would hang on the wall. It was like I had done baking sessions where it looks like a little kitchen and they're baking cookies. So it's something fun for like a Christmas card, but it's not going to replace, like, artwork on the wall.

[A]

Right, right. Not necessarily something that is going to go, you know, passed down generation to generation, or at least not the whole of that. Yeah. Amazing. And then talk to me about how you set up the pricing. And it certainly. I always like to caveat anything about pricing that, like, specific prices aren't what I'm after so much as relative to your standard prices, because I think that's, you Know, we all have different costs of doing business and all that sort of thing. But I think that pricing is another piece of, you know, you want to attract the right people and make sure it's not all buddy who's looking just for something bargain basement. How did you think about that when you were setting up your pricing?

[B]

I wanted them to be low enough that it would be something that someone would be comfortable doing as essentially an impulse buy. Because it is an impulse buy. It's certainly not. It's even less of a necessity than regular photos, you know, confetti session with your kids. So I. It's about a third of my full session price, so it's still a decent investment, which made them. I wanted them to be a qualified lead coming in for hopefully future sessions for me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But then the. The caveat with that is they only get five photos usually, and then they can always get more, which a lot of them did because the photos are so cute.

[C]

Right?

[A]

Totally. I love that. So when you work with somebody and you deliver their photos, is there an automatic. Like, are they immediately put into some sort of invitation funnel where you're trying to convert them, or is it more like, okay, great, now you've had the experience of working with me, you're going to be on my email list. I'm going to continue to follow up with you, and then you kind of hope for the best when it comes to converting to a full session later.

[B]

For now, for the most part, I've hoped for the best, and it's actually worked out pretty well. I make sure in my studio, I have some of my photos on display. I make sure to have some. I have a client closet, so I make sure to have some of those dresses kind of creatively on display. And the moms always like that. So I make sure that there's like a little bit of what else I do on display there. And I've. I have been surprised at how many people have come back to me looking for families or they're pregnant when they come in. And they. I think I did like three newborn sessions this week, actually, that were Christmas mini sessions last year, which is cool.

[A]

Yeah. Perfect timing is everything.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's amazing. So it sounds like that funnel, such as it is, is working pretty well. Has there been anything about the process that has been a surprise? I mean, obviously, like, you were hoping for good marketing juju that comes along with getting in front of larger groups of people. But, you know, what is it about these minis that has really changed your business or changed the way you think about your business.

[B]

I think I was. I was so surprised at how profitable mini sessions could actually be. I know I had heard about other photographers doing it as their business model, but I never really had tried it. It was not something I had really considered for my business because I didn't want to be like a mini session photographer. But when I saw how. How profitable they were for confettis and then I tried it for the holiday session, I was able to essentially pay my rent from my studio just based on my Christmas photo sessions, which was just really surprising for me. So it was wow.

[A]

Like, for the year?

[B]

Yeah, for the year.

[A]

Oh, amazing. That's so good. And then everything else is gravy on top.

[B]

Just gravy.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, that's so good. So you said something interesting there that I just want to come back to because I'm curious. You said I didn't want to be a mini session photographer. I feel like a lot of people have that instinct or, you know, can have that knee jerk reaction. What do you think that's all about?

[B]

I think, you know, I think it's probably the stigma that a lot of people think about it. I feel like I had that. It's just a smaller version. Someone that doesn't want to pay my full prices but still likes my work. Someone that can't necessarily afford the full session. And I didn't want that to be my client base. I guess I wanted people to really value my work for my work and not just for my price, most importantly. But yeah, I didn't want my mini sessions to be my outdoor sessions. I like those to be really like. I like to be able to connect with my families with those. I like to be able to style them beforehand. I like to be able to work with them on location for families, outdoors. I didn't really want that to be my. My thing, I think.

[A]

Well, that's good. And do you feel like when you're doing the mini session work, is it creatively inspiring as well, or is it really mostly down to the marketing and the profit margin?

[B]

I have loved the creative side of it, actually, especially because it's in the studio and I want it to be very different than my family sessions. It's been fun to come up with different ways to use that space for. For different themed sessions. I try not to get it like too cheesy or too specific, but just kind fun. Like, I keep coming back to the confetti sessions because that's, that's kind of what everyone really likes, signature Thing. Yeah, seems like it. Yeah, I do them twice a year. So fun.

[A]

I love it. If someone was thinking about adding this kind of an element to their existing business, layering it in other than a studio, which it sounds like has been pretty key for you, are there any pieces of software or tools or even just sort of mindset things that you would say are non negotiable in that process?

[B]

I think just pressing yourself to be creative and what you can come up with is the most key. Trying to come up with a way to make it different than your, than your sessions is, is the key, at least for me.

[A]

How this has worked so good, I love that. And honestly, I suppose you could flip that around and do, you know, offer to host other businesses for collaborations because you do have a studio. So all kinds of different options out there. And it is my favorite thing about, you know, creative businesses is that you can keep being creative with them. So I love that you've done such a great job with that. And again, I really appreciate you being willing to share that with our broader audience. But I imagine people might have questions for you and want to go take a peek at your stuff. Can you let everybody know where they can find you?

[B]

Yeah, I'm a pretty open book, so if anyone ever wants to reach out to me, my Instagram is Jen Chen Photography. Two ends in Jen, one in Jen.

[A]

Good. So. And that's your website and your social, right? Yeah. Great. Amazing. Well, Jen, thank you again and, and we'll talk to you soon.

[B]

Yeah, thank you so much for having me.

[A]

Uh, isn't that amazing? What I love about what Jen is doing is that she was deliberate from the start about making sure that her mini sessions felt genuinely different from her full sessions, which is a mistake. Hers is not a mistake. A lot of people make the mistake of making the. It just feel like a bite sized version of the full thing. But her mini sessions are different enough that, you know, they're not cannibalizing her other work and they're specific enough that they're attracting the exact right people. Confetti sessions aren't family portraits. They are this completely different experience, which means that the families who want family portraits still need them. And the funnel that she's built is a soft one. Right. She's not hitting people over the head with, you know, book. Now step right up whatever. She's staying present in their sessions, showing her other work alongside the mini session work and letting people discover what else she does on their own timeline. That approach does require patience, as does a lot in business, but it also means that clients develop trust and don't feel sold to. Right. They feel like they have stumbled onto something great and they want to continue to move into that. The second interview that I want to share with you is with Allison Maxwell, who has been doing something similar, but with a twist that I find really fascinating and a little unexpected. So here's Allison. Allison Maxwell, thank you so much for being willing to come on for this little speed dating version of an interview. How are you today?

[B]

Thank you.

[C]

I'm good. This is so fun. Thrilling to me. I love this podcast. This is fun. Thank you for having me.

[A]

No, thanks for being here. And before we dive in, since this will be kind of quick, tell everybody a quick little bit about who you are, where you are, and then I'm actually going to have you dive straight into what your primary offer in your business looks like.

[C]

Okay, sure. So, hi, I'm Alison. I live in central Arkansas right outside of Little Rock with my husband and two girls. And I have been a photographer for over a decade, maybe 12 years or so. I started in Virginia, where I shot primarily weddings. And then after I started having babies, kind of, we moved and I made a switch to focusing on families. And so now I photograph primarily children and families.

[A]

Nice. So, yeah. And talk to me about kind of the way that your standard business is structured, especially given that you've been in business as long as you have. I'm sure you have kind of like your big powerhouse engine.

[C]

Yes. So when I started to grow our family, I realized that I don't want to be burning myself into the ground. So I came across. Shocker. I came across the simple sales little plug for. For that.

[A]

I've heard of that. Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

So that's how my business is structured as far as I photograph families and newborns, and I use that model where families pay a booking fee, and then after they see their slideshow of images, they purchase a collection after the fact. So that's how my full pricing offers are structured.

[A]

Yep. And you said you moved. Um, was that. Tell me a little bit about when and how you decided to add in this kind of other part of your business.

[C]

Sure, sure. So almost three years ago, my family moved here to central Arkansas. And it was, to be honest, a very unexpected move. And we were. Our family was just in a really weird place, and I didn't feel like I had the luxury of easing in to the relocation, if that makes sense. I needed to find work, I needed to find it quickly, and I needed to do something Different. That helped me stand out in a new market. I had tried the whole personality portraits thing before and they weren't wildly successful. So I knew that I needed to change my strategy to accommodate a higher volume work. And at that time, being new to the area, I felt like I needed to get in front of as many people as possible. So that's where Playful Portraits came from.

[A]

And yeah, talk me through that offer and what it looks like.

[C]

Okay, so Playful portraits is, it's lovingly called, they're five minute sessions of children. And I partner with other local businesses who host us for these events. I pop up in their place of business and book these five minute sessions of children. The photos are reminiscent of school photos, so it's a solid white classic backdrop. The images are delivered in black and white. The difference though is that the goal is to create a much more playful experience that kind of captures their little quirks and their natural expressions in just a few minutes. So the way that it's structured, clients pay a small booking fee to reserve a five minute session per child. I keep my booking fee under $100. And then families purchase any prints and or digitals after they see their photos. So the barrier to entry is low since the upfront investment is low, which helps me sell out my time slots at each event.

[A]

Right. And when you, when I had sort of put out the call for people to tell me about their donkey model businesses or their donkey model side hustles. In this particular case, you had said that you're typically doing 20 to 30 of these kind of in a, in a marathon session per per day or whatever, right? Yeah, that's a lot. And so selling those out is really good. Tell me a little bit about the partnerships. Like which, what kinds of local businesses, what kinds of local partners have been really successful with this?

[C]

Yeah. So actually I want to give a quick little story because, because I think it's just relevant. But so when we first moved here, a friend of mine, an old friend of mine from like years and years ago, she owns a high end salon in Little Rock, a very cool area of Little Rock. And when she saw that we had moved back, she reached out to me. It's a completely woman owned business. And she was like, hey, you should come to a pop up at our salon. And so it all started where she reached out to me and I was, I just cried and I was like, oh, because I needed this. Right. And so I was so grateful. And I was like, what can I do? Like I can, I can I do some branding Photos, some headshots for your team, like, how can I help? And she said, no, girl, this is all about you. Because that's what we do here at, at the salon. Like we support woman owned businesses. So this, this high end salon, I've done a few pop ups there. I do it at my chiropractor's office. There's a children's boutique in a really neat area of Little Rock that I partner with a fitness studio. It's very creative use of, you know, different businesses and it's been a lot of fun. And actually they've started reaching out to me to see if they can host me. Oh, a bookstore has hosted me and they asked if I can come back. So yeah, those are the kinds of businesses that I've been working with so far.

[A]

That's super cool because I feel like a lot of times when people think about partnering with local businesses, they get stuck in this mindset of it has to be a business that has the exact same target market. And like a high end salon, obviously their clients may have kids, but the kids aren't the client.

[C]

Right.

[A]

Same thing with the chiropractor, same thing with a bookstore. Like these are, that's sort of an outside the box way of thinking about it. But you say that they're reaching out to you at this point, so obviously this is doing something for them as well. Can you talk a little bit about what the incentive for them is?

[C]

Well, the first time that that happened, it was because families booked their child at a playful portrait pop up. They came to the experience and then later they reached out and said, hey, we're actually small business owners. Would we be able to host you for one of these events? And that happens on two separate occasions. That's also how I connected with my chiropractor and also how I do. I now do their branding photos as well. And so, but all that to say, I think when you partner with businesses, first of all, it's just more fun. Everybody enjoys making another friend, you know, in the small business world. And so when I started partnering with them, we've kind of tag team on the marketing, right? So I create the social post, I create an email to send out to their email list if they do that. And the idea being that we all further our reach and get in front of more eyes when we share the audience, right? So we funnel everybody to the email list and then they book, they book their spot that way. So all that to say when we're sharing an audience, they have access to new people. The Same way that I have access to new people. Plus, again, it's just, it's fun to partner together.

[A]

Yeah. Nice. Well, and I think that approaching it with a sense of fun and making sure that you're playing up that piece of it always helps. So that's good. It sounds like you're doing that just right.

[C]

Well, and also making sure that it's mutually beneficial. Right. People don't want to partner with people who are only thinking about themselves.

[A]

Of course.

[C]

Making sure that this is a collaboration, you know, of course you're going to do what you need to do and making sure that it's something that would be beneficial to them too, and not just all about you.

[A]

Amazing. So, okay, so this, obviously there's a lot of marketing juice that goes into this. You're growing your list, you're growing your reach. But I think a lot of photographers who consider doing something like this get nervous about what happens when somebody comes to them for the first time and sees like a five minute, micro, mini, playful portrait, whatever you are calling it, and then gets potentially sticker shock when they see like, here's what the full price point is. So how do you kind of bridge that gap and make sure that there is a funnel there?

[C]

Yes, absolutely. So communication is very important. And from the very beginning, I have everything in one place. Every piece of information is relayed to people before they book anything. So that's where the funnel begins. And then once the booking information is released to families and to the public, they know that they can if they are looking for a more affordable option. Here are our print options. If you love all of your images, I kind of market it as only buy what you love. Right, right.

[A]

Because it's a very simple sales review. Yeah.

[C]

Thank you very much. Thank you.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

So, but the thing with kids is they're so unpredictable. Right, sure. And so you bring your kid to a five minute session, you're like, there is no telling what they're going to do, how this is going to go. So I might come away with one image that I like and I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars and only have one image. And as a parent myself, I completely understand that. So. And also, you're talking about families that have multiple children, you know, like.

[A]

Of course.

[C]

So all that to say, saying this is a five minute session. Yes, but you only have to purchase what you love after the fact. If you don't love anything, then don't purchase anything. Right. Um, I don't know if I've ever had anyone not Purchase anything. And I will say, the majority of the time, people buy the full album of photos. And I think it's largely because they come away shocked with what they can get in five minutes. Right, of course. But yeah, that's. That's kind of what the process looks like. Cool.

[A]

And then after that, so they've had good communication the whole time up until that. Then. And then do you put them into some sort of deliberate sequence to then bring them into regular sessions or are they just on your general email list at that point? And it's kind of a. We'll see what happens. Right.

[C]

So I don't necessarily, as soon as I deliver their playful portraits, send them the link to book a family session or anything like that. Instead, it's more about, you know, maintaining their engagement and being here when they decide that they need me. So the way that they're connected through my email list, all along the way, they're seeing little glimpses of my other work, if that makes sense. So that's.

[A]

And that opportunity to be in the photo themselves.

[C]

Yes, exactly. And the key is I don't want families to feel like they're in a funnel, you know what I mean? Like, feel like they're being targeted for the next ask the next offer. Instead, it's more of like, you know, here's little snippets of my work along the way. You decided you want to be connected for this particular service and now you're saying, oh, she offers this service too. Sure. Oh, she offers service too. And so just keeping them engaged along the way has been helpful in kind of transitioning them from this lower offer to a more significant full price offer. A lot of times that's in the form of a newborn session.

[A]

Right, right. Next kid comes along.

[C]

Right.

[A]

So what is. Do you have any sense of what that, like, conversion rate looks like of your, let's say, 100 people who come in and do playful portraits, how many of those in the last three years have gone on to book you for your regular services?

[C]

Sure. So I would, I don't know the exact percentage of like the playful portrait clients that convert to my full price work, but I would say that 95% or so of my full price work is in some way thanks to playful portraits. So.

[A]

Wow, that's amazing.

[C]

Yeah. Either a family books a playful portrait and then goes on to hire me for another session down the road, or what's happening a lot is that my playful portrait clients refer their friends for my full price work. So their friends looking for, you know, a Newborn photographer and they're like, oh my gosh. And which is funny because they just spent five minutes with me.

[A]

Right?

[C]

They spent five minutes with me and they're like, you have to hire this girl for your newborn photography.

[A]

And I just have to like time out there and say, but this is exactly what I am talking about when I say that five minutes in front of someone is worse than a thousand posts on social media. I mean, it's important to do social media. It's important to do all that stuff. But I feel like the more you can streamline the online marketing so that you can spend time out in your community, it's. It just is like a super win win situation. So that's amazing.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Okay, last question. Because we are very short on time. This all sounds like an amazing marketing engine. But talk to me a little bit about whether this part of your business, these playful portraits, actually make you any money. Is this just a loss leader or is it an actual profit engine in your business?

[C]

So this is really funny because when I first started this, like I said earlier, I was viewing it as a way to funnel families to my full price work. I thought get as in front of, get in front of as many people as possible.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

As many people as I could in those five minutes and then watch to see if they would convert into something more. I was a little bit concerned, like, is this going to attract price shoppers and then therefore won't convert? What surprised me is that yes, I was right. It did end up bringing people to my full price work. But the biggest surprise of all was how profitable these events turned out to be. I literally was using it as an opportunity to bring in a certain kind of client and found this to be my most profitable offer yet.

[A]

Amazing. Yeah, I'm saying the donkey model, man, the margins are good.

[C]

It's true. So, and I, you know, talking about a two to three playful portrait event, which between the average sale is probably around $150, which isn't high, it's very donkey model. But for a two to three hour event and bringing that many families in, and that event typically would bring in about four to five thousand dollars in the course of like a two to three hour playful portrait pop up.

[A]

So shabby.

[C]

Not too bad for, you know, when I was charging that in my wedding days.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely. For 12 hours on the day, but then God knows how many hours on either side of it. So. Right. So good. Well, Allison, I have no doubt that you are going to have a lot of people wanting to ask, follow up questions. Since I have forced you to be so concise, let everybody know where they can find you and connect with you online.

[C]

Sure. So you can find me on Instagram, Allison W. Maxwell, A L L I S O N W Maxwell. And then Also my website, AllisonMaxwell.com photographers has some resources there and I love to hop in the DMs with other photographer friends. So.

[A]

Amazing. Well, we'll put that in the show notes. Thank you so much for coming on and sharing. This is for sure an inspirational little story. So I'm looking forward to talking again soon.

[C]

Yeah, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

[A]

Oh my goodness. Wasn't that great? And I do wanna pull out a couple of things before I let you go. First, notice that both Jen and Allison came to this model from slightly different directions. Jen built it from the beginning as a list building and marketing strategy, and Alison built it out of necessity. She moved to a new market and needed to get visible fast. And then along the way, she discovered that the thing she thought was a marketing engine was actually also a really significant profit center. So both of those paths worked. The second thing I want to point out is that neither of them is hiding the ball about the fact that they offer other things. Right? Jen has her portfolio on display and Allison is weaving in her regular work into her email list content. But neither of them is aggressively funneling people either. The conversation happens because they showed up, they delivered a great experience and they stayed in front of people. That's it. It's that visibility. And third, and I want to say this clearly because I think it really matters, neither of these women is doing that race to the bottom thing that we were talking about with pricing. Yes, the entry level offer is more accessible, but Alison is clearing four to five grand in a two to three hour event. And Jen paid her studio rent with her holiday mini sessions. Right. Those are not giveaways. That's a real business model. The donkey is doing real work. So here is your action step for today. If you don't currently have any kind of accessible lower barrier offer in your business, I want you to spend 15 minutes this week brainstorming what that could look like for you. You don't have to build it, you don't have to price it. I just want you to think about what kind of experience you could offer that would be genuinely distinct from your main work. Something that, you know, gets people into your world at a lower commitment level so that you can earn their trust and stay in front of them. And if you already have something like that, I want you to take a look at whether it's actually converting. Are those people coming back for more? Are they referring their friends? That's going to be your signal. All right, that is it for today. Thank you so much to Jen and Allison for being willing to share their businesses with you. Links to find both of them are going to be in the show Notes and I will see you next week for our final episode of Pricing and Money. Well, that's it for this week's episode of this Can't Be that Hard. I'll be back same time, same place next week. In the meantime, you can find more information about this episode along with all the relevant links, notes and [e-mail] learn. If you like the podcast, be sure to hit the subscribe button. Even better, share the love by leaving a review in itunes. And as always, thanks so much for joining me. I hope you have a fantastic week.