Top 10 reasons to switch from discs to flash drives for photographers
Topic: Business, Pricing & Sales
Time Investment: 6 Minutes
Suggested Product: BizRevamp®
Flash drives are the wave of the future! Really! (Aren’t sure whether to offer digital files, check out this post Embracing the Digital Age or Not?). Making this jump is exciting and completely new!
Top 10 Reasons why I’m switching from discs to flash drives
- Good for marketing incentives for return clients (X $$ off of session if you bring back your flash drive)
- Lots of laptops are no longer offering disc drives <~~ This is a big one!!
- Less likely to get damaged (after delivery or during the loading process!)
- Quicker processing time – just drag and drop..no waiting to burn!
- Consistent branding (same logo)
- Cheaper per unit (no minimum order requirement)
- Professional look & feel
- Easier delivery
- Less packaging
- Comes in various sizes but all look the same! Consistency again!
FAQs
- How do you package the flash drive? Any way you want to! There are boxes out there on the market from flash drive manufacturers or packaging suppliers. Consider if you sell prints/albums with it, using ribbon to attach.
- What size do you get? 2gb is more than enough for standard portrait sessions
- Was the transition hard? Past clients may see it as different but as long as your client guide/information page represents this change there should be no issues. You can always offer your old way if you want to…or play up how awesome flash drives are!
- Do you buy in bulk? I have purchased from PhotoFlashDrive, who doesn’t require a minimum purchase.
- Why don’t you just do digital downloads? I am not ready to give up the tangible product yet. I still want to give the experience.
- How is this cheaper than discs? I have gone through printing at home, printing through company, etc. In order to order through a company, most discs are going to be 3-4 dollars individually (some being $7) + packaging. I’ve found my price per unit on flash drives has been about the same or less. Add in the cut out processing time (drag drop) and potential for the marketing (return incentives), the extra benefits outweighed the immediate investment (that was about the same anyways). A lower CODB helps me to maximize in other areas such as client gifts, more marketing, etc.
- But what if I print at home? Well I’ve gone that route and invested in a nice printer, which ended up not being as nice as the lab photos. Between $200 printer, printer wear and tear, $15-20 cartridge of ink and disc I’m looking at a good $5-7 + packaging for a disc. Note: You can’t just evaluate the cost of the disc itself.
Every single person’s CODB is going to be different. Everyone’s approach is going to be different. For me it is worth my time for cut down processing time, a marketing tool built in to incentivize clients to come back, and the cost itself.