GNOPPG welcomes Kristin Farnsworth for our February 9, 2009 meeting.

Kristin Farnsworth presents

Promos and Contests with a Small Shop Spin

Promotions and contests are an excellent way to drive up revenue in a flagging economy, but they can be useful for so much more. In this session, Kristin Farnsworth will show participants how they can use these tools to:

- Get more customer contacts
- Test new ideas for sets, props, products, or images
- Spread the word about new offerings
- Keep interest from long-time customers
- Partner with local businesses to help everyone's revenue
- Give clients low-cost and creative alternatives to a full session

Kristin has become a raving fan of promotions and contests over her six years in business. These tools have become the preferred way for her business, a small boutique studio, to get ahead of competition and stand apart as a shop with one-of-a-kind products that will suit a wide variety of needs.

First started as a way for a fledgling business to get more customers and name recognition, promotions and contests have become a lively and productive way to keep Kristin's studio and her mind from getting stale. She has several of experiences to share, some very successful and others not a bit. Although her studio's small size allows for greater flexibility in generating and implementing promo and contest ideas, the lessons learned from these experiences will benefit studios of all sizes.

Kristin Farnsworth owns Whispers Photography (www.whispersphotography.com) in Madison, Alabama. Whispers is a small boutique studio specializing in photography for newborns, children, and high school seniors. Whispers' high-end take on photography has served clients since 2002, it's primary goal being to capture the essential qualities of a child or family in photographic images. She then uses those images to create art that will be treasured by the family for generations. Kristin achieves this goal by keeping her shop small, directly controlling the creative process herself, and being her customers' primary contact.

Kristin's small shop includes only one other person, an assistant/office manager. This small environment maximizes her interaction with her customers, which Kristin has found to be a benefit to the sales side of the business, and allows her more time to focus on the creative aspects of photography. One of Kristin's specialties has become using promotions and contests to increase customer contact, test new ideas, and drive up business in a flagging economy.

Kristin was recently interviewed and featured in the June 2008 issue of Studio Photography click here to read the article and the April 2008 Issue of Studio Photography click here to read the article