472: Philip Warren – Everything you need for profitable Christmas mini sessions

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Philip Warren of www.philip-warren.com was featured in episode 352 of the podcast, where he shared how to run profitable Christmas mini sessions.

He's a successful wedding photographer but realised there was an opportunity to generate a boost in income after creating some beautiful Christmas-themed photos for his family.

Two years ago, he was booking enough shoots to make this period of mini sessions an essential part of his business.

Then in a recent exchange of messages, he told me lots had changed business-wise since the last interview, all for good; it has been an incredible two years, Philip said.

Last year, I absolutely smashed it on my Xmas mins. I shot over 110 sessions, and I made over £12,000 as well as leading to other work too.

In this interview, Philip shares what's changed in his processes to give you everything you need for profitable Christmas mini sessions.

Here's some more of what we covered in the interview:

• Setting up a studio that doesn't intimidate your average client
• Why open a photography studio during the pandemic
• Using Christmas mini sessions to pay for studio rent for the entire year
• How to attract clients in the lower socio-economic areas
• When is the best time to start preparing for mini sessions
• Philip's mini sessions process
• Reaching out to past clients to market your business
• Calling family members and friends to model for your portfolio
• Using Sprout Studio to manage bookings
• What email content do you need to send clients
• How to find new clients for your Christmas minis
• How Philip solicits testimonials and tagging on social media
• Is Instagram as effective as Facebook for finding new clients
• The benefits of using Sprout Studio
• Philip's session fee and what's included
• Pricing and Packaging
• Retouching images
• Pricing to sell the entire gallery
• Why Philip shoots different and multiple poses rather than hero shots
• How long do Philip's mini sessions take
• The importance of using shot-lists
• What Philip thinks about hiring a Santa for his mini sessions
• Creating composites for wall art sales

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What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything away from what Philip shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below, let me know what your takeaways were, and what you plan to implement in your business as a result of what you heard in today's episode.

If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Philip or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.

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