Have you tried to set up Santa sessions before, but they just flopped? Have you struggled with unprofessional Santas, poor turnout, and kids who won’t stop crying?

The holidays aren’t easy, and neither are Santa sessions! But, if they’re done rightly, they can be a magical experience that bring clients back to you again and again…

We want to help you create the perfect Santa experience for your community (and your business!), so we reached out to the members of our ComeUnity group to ask what strategies they implement to make their Santa sessions a resounding success. Here’s what we heard!

• Hire a professional Santa, preferably one who has been to “Santa School.” The quality of the Santa you get will make or break your sessions, so make sure you find one who interacts well with children and puts them (and their parents) at ease!
• Have clients book appointments ahead of time, and only allow one client in at a time. This way, children won’t get distracted or feed off of each other’s nervous emotions.
• Start with a “lower” entry price of $145 for the session (or adjust for your market) and include a small number of basic watermarked digital downloads. From there, you can upsell to more magical and retouched digitals or prints. Or, you can use a model similar to our normal mini sessions model and offer packages during a scheduled premiere.
• Turn around images quickly! Santa sessions usually take place just a few weeks before Christmas, and parents want these images sooner rather than later. Try your best to deliver images within a week of your Santa session.

If you’re looking for more insight on how to launch a successful Santa Session experience this holiday season, then check out our Up and At’Em video from this morning! We talked in detail about the bullet points above and more, including the unique ways we’re approaching Santa sessions this year.

Click on the image below to watch the full video!