25 Jan Want More Sales? Then You Need Better Photos
You see if over and over again – craft companies that have wonderful products, but less-than-wonderful photography of said products. Considering the massive sway that visual social marketing has over potential customers, you need to ensure that every product you sell is shown to its full potential.
If any of the following applies to your product photos, then you probably need to revamp your photography:
Problem:
Photos that are small and do not allow customers to zoom in. If your customers can’t enlarge the photos (and that bigger size needs to be crystal clear and very high-res), they will likely shop elsewhere.
How To Fix It:
Make sure that your website is using lightbox overlay (jquery or plugin if your site is on WordPress). A lightbox overlay has the functionality to present thumbnails or other small photos on your site in a larger overlay box that shows a high resolution of the image. Also important- using high-res photos on your website!
Problem:
Dark, unclear, grayish photos. If you are using a white lightbox (not to be confused with the term lightbox from above- these light boxes are white and are lit with artificial lights to get bright, shadow-less photos of objects. (Here is a tutorial on how to build your own!) If your photo background does not look white, then you need to reshoot or correct with photo editing software. If your photos are not very well lit or completely in focus, it’s hard for a customer to figure out if that yarn, fabric, tool or colorway is right for them. No one wants to buy an item and have it arrive looking different from what they expected.
How To Fix It:
- Good lighting. Bright indirect light (not bright sunshine, and not incandescent light bulbs) is best. But if the lighting is less than perfect, then you absolutely must do some…..
- Photo editing. No photo should go on your website without being checked to ensure that it is as bright, clear, and accurate as possible. The easiest way to do this is by editing your photos. Photoshop and Lightroom are the Gold standard, but the learning curve can be steep as can the program purchase – although monthly subscriptions are available for Photoshop and Lightroom to reduce initial costs. Another low-cost option would be something like Picmonkey (which has free options), and the best free image editing with Gimp.
Problem:
One photo of the product. If you really want to clinch the sale, have at least three different photos of the same product, ideally showing it from multiple angles, and also ‘in context’ – if it’s yarn, show a small swatch or a close up of a pattern that uses it. This is particularly important if a yarn is variegated or has thick and thin ply. If it’s fabric, show an item or a quilt made from it. If it’s needles or crochet hooks, show them being used. Customers are more likely to buy something if they can easily see themselves using it.
How To Fix It:
Take more photos, and use them! While it might not be possible to get a swatch or an example of the finished product in every fabric or yarn colorway that you sell, try to have one or two, and then link to projects or patterns by others using the same materials that will help your customers envision using it. Your more popular items might not need as much work to help sell, but if you are introducing a new yarn, fabric or material, it’s worth going the extra mile to show people why it is wonderful and why you have started offering it.
Here’s a great example of good product shots from Tahki Stacy Charles, and their Audra yarn:
The webpage itself shows the skein of yarn, as it’s sold. But when you click on one of the colorways, it shows you a bigger box of a swatch of fabric so you can see exactly how it knits up. Just seeing a photo of the skein is no big deal, but now that a potential customer has seen a big swatch, they are dreaming of knitting a light and airy summer sweater in a beach glass tone. It’s the same reason why when you are in a yarn store, they often have lots of samples knitted up in the yarns they sell. Showing customers what they can do with your products is a major factor in motivating them to buy your product instead of someone else’s. You are selling them an idealized version of their craft, something that they could potentially achieve with the same materials.
Photography can be daunting, but with some practice and patience, you’ll get there. But if you are in a rush and need excellent photos to move your products right now, get in touch with us – we can put together a photography package that will wow your customers. Contact leanne@stitchcraftmarketing.com to learn how we can make magic for your brand!
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