I got back fab black & white scans of an abandoned strip joint, shot on a roll of 120 film shot with my Diana camera. Since I’m not about to throw ‘topless go-go’ pics on my babies and kids blog, I had to find a way to share ‘em here. Thus, this post.
If you provide hot girls and cold beer at reasonable prices, you’ve got a time-honored business model working in your favor. Strip clubs should be profit MACHINES. But just because you have the prettiest, thinnest, hottest, _____est dancers doesn’t mean people will find you.
You’re nodding your head. You’re like, ‘duh, Kristen, of COURSE people won’t find out about Crystal Delicious and her miraculous pole-dancing on their own!’
So why do you assume people will find out about your artwork on their own?
You’re talented, you have great photos, you have a website. And no one cares. You’re dancing for an empty auditorium.
How do we go about filling that auditorium?
Generate buzz.
If you owned a strip club, I would hope you would attempt to generate buzz locally. Postcards, posters, and business cards shuffling from hand to hand help generate buzz. That giant dude standing on the corner, passing out pink 4×6″ signs with Crystal Delicious on ‘em? That dude is filling your auditorium. As an artist, strive to have marketing materials circulating among customers, potential customers, and other businesses AT ALL TIMES.
Differentiate.
That giant dude also knows the power of differentiation. You’re selling your club, yes, but you’re also pushing Crystal Delicious pretty hard. No other club has Crystal! Stand in awe of her upside-down-kerfuffle-lutz moves! What would a giant dude wearing brass knuckles be pushing on the street corner if those postcards were about your business? What will make you stand out like Crystal does? (Need a dose of differentiation? Try Marketing School.)
Reward your loyal fans.
George has sent twelve guys to your club in the past month. Oh, and he’s urging his buddy to book his bachelor party with Crystal. George needs to be rewarded for his loyalty! The same goes for the bride who urges two other brides to book, or the Mom who hands out your business cards to her entire preschool! Get those women some freebies, some special pricing, or a bottle of wine — never forget to reward the people who spread the word about your business to others.
Optimize your web assets. (Heh, I said assets.)
After hitting the local scene, I would hope you’d be a touch tech-savvy and optimize your strip club for search engine placement. This is a slower build, and people might not find out about Crystal’s pole-dancing right away, but over time and with the right resources you’ll have clients making a trip to your joint as a destination! SEO School has the tips you need to optimize your web assets for search engines. Promise.
Outsource.
Finally, while you’re waiting for your strip club to hit it big, I would outsource wherever possible. This doesn’t appear to make much sense, because your inclination is to do everything yourself. But spending four hours cleaning the entire club means you wasted four hours that could have been spent on marketing. Do you make more money by having clean toilets and no customers, or by having a small cleaning staff and a club packed with people?
Any other strip joint/photography buzz-generating tips for us? Share ‘em! And let me know what you think of today’s post, pretty please?
I’ve been following your blog for a few months now and I have to say, this is one of the funniest posts and honestly one I want to share with others. Great job! And thank you for all the great tips along the way. I’m just starting out and they have have definitely given me lots to think about.
Thank you for keeping me thinking about the business side of this business!
Brilliant Kristin, just brilliant. Not that you’re saying something that hasn’t been said before, but the way you married solid info, relate-able analogy (who can’t relate to pole dancing – come on!) and humor. Brilliant – you’ve got my brain buzzing this morning, and not for cold beer and hot girls
J.
When a foolproof biz model like a strip club goes belly-up <> it forces even legit biz owners to re-examine what they’re NOT doing to keep their own businesses afloat.
I found similarly non-PC wisdom in a recent LA Times article about the best heroin business model ever unleashed. A good example of a bad idea is still a good lesson, if you can see it as such.
That LA Times article:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-blacktar14-2010feb14,0,4784251,full.story
Great post.
Another point to remind people is to not forget what got them there. Customer service? Attention to detail? What made you, you? That is a key part of your success and some people when they get big/more income forget the keys that opened those doors for them.
I love that you came up with a whole marketing post surrounding strip joints just so you could post those pictures =)
The business side of this can all really be overwhelming, especially when getting started so it’s a good point to make that you can outsource even when you’re starting out to help get things moving.
Great images won’t get themselves noticed. Something to think about for sure!
Crystal Delicious is also an amazing stripper name.
loved it. loved the pics. now i just need you to come personally kick my arse so i’ll get off it and get those marketing materials into the hands of potential clients!
Sometimes, the owner of the business might be better off spending four hours cleaning the club and outsourcing the marketing. It is all about knowing your strengths & weaknesses!
Brilliant post – and fabulous photos too! Thanks for sharing them!
Am loving this post! I fall into the category of wondering why I don’t have clients and the answer is that I haven’t asked for them. A silly epiphany, but a lesson all the same. And you illustrated it perfectly with your analogy – a great application of your photos!
I am officially changing the name of my biz to Crystal Delicious… specializing in newborns and maternity!
I LOVE your posts! They are always entertaining and inspiring!
This post is totally irrelevant to photography business. While your writing is witty and entertaining, it’s also mush that makes no direct correlation to my PHOTOGRAPHY business. I don’t own a strip club, couldn’t care less about Crystal and am not seeing why people read and praise this type of junk rhetoric.
Talk to us about our photography business, not cleaning toilets!
Great post, and a funny, standout analogy. I’ve never seen a strip-club used like this, hey theres a differentiator.
Is this on 611 near Willow Grove? This made me think of two things to add:
Identity/Packaging – Every contact with a client or potential client has to be consistent and reflective of the image you want your brand to be. Classic, traditional, hand-crafted etc. The club in the pictures, for normal(?) people, this establishment looks scary, bright colors yes, but you wouldn’t be surprised to hear about somebody getting knifed there. Some clubs have fountains, velvet ropes, limo out front. Your expectations are set before you step through the door.
which leads to the second point: Content. You have to have great product, it will sell itself through happy clients and referrals. What’s in the beautiful package you just sent to your clients? What were the performers like in that club? I don’t even want to go there with the analogy. The packaging tells me to set expectations on low/be afraid.
Great work, thanks.
Yep, that’s the one! Great additions, Chris!
This is a great post, I loved it. Thought it was hilarious but with some great info
Thanks