The James Patrick Photography team ran an Instagram contest giving away a free photo shoot. In order to qualify for the photo shoot prize all one had to do was post a 1 minute or less video on Instagram stating either why we should select them for the photo shoot or a unique idea they had. We made sure not to include any other hard requirements or details on the size of the photo shoot.
After the first 24 hours – only 1 person had entered the contest. That is it – just one single person. We have anywhere between half a dozen to a dozen people contact us every single week wanting to book a photo shoot and we have numerous talents state that they cannot afford our rates.
In this instance – all we were requesting was an investment of 60 seconds in exchange for what will be a $500 to $1200 prize package.
After keeping the contest active for about a week we did end up with around 20 really good entries. However I could not help but be surprised at the hundreds who contact us annually and the percentage who are unable to afford us normally.
They could not be bothered, could not be troubled to invest 60 seconds to receive something for free.
The contest was more than just a social outreach. Per usual there was an ulterior motive behind what we do. The contest served as a social experiment to gauge our audience’s willingness to not invest a paycheck into receiving something – but instead a single minute.
To show our appreciation for those who did enter, I made the decision to select not one, but two, entrants to receive free photo shoot. Essentially I will be giving away $2000 worth of services for a combined investment of 2 minutes.
Special thanks to those who took the moments they did to share their stories and ideas. I am excited to work with the winners and hope to see the entries into our next contest in the spring.
James Patrick
IG @jpatrickphoto
jamespatrick.com
