Ask the experts: printed brochures

Q. My brochures are out of date and need to be reprinted. My current brochure includes pricing and session fees. Should I keep that info? Or should I entirely rethink using printed brochures for marketing?

A. Most of my clients are consumers who want to hold tangible products in their hands. You cannot overestimate the power of the sense of touch. It’s appealing to them to be able to handle our products and feel the texture. In fact, when speaking about our canvas portraits, I invite clients to touch sample prints because it conveys a sense of quality.

With this in mind, is it a good decision to eliminate printed brochures? I understand the cost argument, but brochures are a touch point in your marketing. I’d encourage you to continue producing printed material for those clients who respond to the physical sense of touch as well as those who like to take their time to look things over and think about future purchases.

As for your prices, try to keep things general and word materials in a way that encourages discussion. For instance, instead of  “Our session fee is $xxx” or “8x10-inch prints are xx,” you might indicate that your creative fee “starts at $xxx” and collections “start at $xxx.” We like to say that our gift prints “range from $xx to $xxx” and our wall portraits “start at $xxx and go up to life-size.” People remember numbers they see, and we don’t want to give clients the impression that they have to purchase our highest priced products.

One final note: Let your money work for you. Think carefully about the quantity of brochures you have printed because many times doubling your order might cost just a few dollars more. Use those printed brochures liberally, focusing your efforts to get them into the hands of people who will appreciate them.

Jeff Dachowski, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, Dachowski Photography