What is the best way to market my photo scanning service with my very limited budget? Every Family needs it!?

Question

I am a stay at home mom, needing to earn extra money. I lost my dad a few years back and started scanning family photos. Research says that photos and videos are degrading daily. After any natural disaster, news crews capture families searching thru rubble hoping to find just a single priceless photo... I know that every family has the need to save these timeless treasures... So ??? what is the best way to market my photo scanning service my very limited budget?

Answer 1

What you intend to do is actually a very viable business, and is a good one to operate from home. It sounds like you just need to get a few jobs to get you started. It is amazing that there are so many people with computers who do not digitize their photo collections and organize them.

If I were in your shoes, I would start by using my computer to design some kind of brochure or hand out document. It doesn't need to be too fancy, but it does need to be informative. A letter size black and white document will suffice. Make sure you include your name, address, and phone number. I wouldn't worry including prices at this point. Take the flyers to your neighbors and give them to your friends. Post them on grocery and library bulletin boards. Give them to anyone you meet. Church or school contacts can be very valuable. All you are trying to do right now is get a few jobs to generate some money and get you started. If you live in a small town with a weekly newspaper, you might want to buy a small ad in the classifieds. They are very cheap and are widely read..

After you do your first few jobs, you will have a better grip on pricing and there will be lots of ideas swirling around your head. Now might be the time to upgrade your brochure and maybe include a well thought out price list. From there, the sky is the limit.

You can develop special promotions for creating photo albums on a disk that familys can give as holiday gifts. You might work the genealogy angle in your advertising. Many people have very old family photos that they have no way of sharing.

If you have a fairly good digital camera, you might offer to photograph the contents of peoples houses and save the images to DVD. They can then be safely stored in your customer's safety deposit box for insurance purposes.

I've got to tell you this story. My parents and sisters live about 100 miles away from me. They live in a small town in southeastern Indiana. Two weeks ago my mother died. The funeral director suggested that we gather the appropriate photos and give them to a local woman who does what you want to do. She scanned about forty photos and created a slide show with music. All the funeral director had to do was insert the DVD into a DVD player and the slide show played in a continuous loop during the two hour visitation. It was really a nice thing. At least twenty family members that I know of have ordered copies of the DVD at $15.00 each. I do not know what my dad spent to have the DVD created in the first place, but I don't think it was too expensive. Once created, it is just a matter of burning copies for sale!

There are all kinds of things you can do with your idea. I have started and sold two businesses in my lifetime, and each was started on a shoestring. Nothing will give you more confidence than getting your first few orders. Be prepared, it may take off faster than you think.

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

Good luck with your business endeavor.