March 5, 2010 (RALEIGH, NC) – Max Cohen of Cohen Studios in Raleigh has become a big fan of Groupon.com, a website that uses “collective buying power” to create all sorts of deals for its users.
After advertising a deeply discounted portrait session on Groupon recently, Cohen booked 72 sessions in one day.
Cohen opened his professional photography studio in downtown Raleigh 2009. Since then, he’s been open to a variety of methods for raising awareness of his services in wedding, portrait, commercial and editorial photography. When a representative for Groupon came calling, he thought he’d give it a try.
“The people at Groupon contacted me about featuring my studio on their homepage. I’d actually never heard of them before, but it seemed like a good idea because, even though the deep discount cuts into profit, I could see how it could bring people in the door. As a new businesses, that’s extremely important. But I would honestly never have guessed that it would have gotten me 72 clients in one day.”
He noted that a number of folks who contacted him via Groupon are pregnant women, “which means I’ll be the first one to give them a professional portrait with their new child. That’s quite a privilege.”
Groupon (www.groupon.com/raleigh-durham/) offers a “deal of the day” in over 30 cities, including the Raleigh-Durham metropolitan area. Discounts on everything from photography and spa services to restaurant items and horse trail rides range from 50 percent to 90 percent off of the regular prices.
“By promising businesses a minimum number of customers, we get discounts you won’t find anywhere else,” says the website. “If not enough people sign up, then the deal is canceled, and the buyer won’t be charged.
Groupon makes its money by taking a percentage of each Groupon deal they sell.
Cohen said he intends to keep using this online marketing opportunity as he builds his clientele.
“I have talked to the people at Groupon, and we’re definitely going to be doing more features on the studio throughout the year,” he said. “So that means every few months there will be greatly reduced prices on various services that I offer. I have high hopes for it.”
For more information on Cohen Studios, visit www.cohenstudios.com.
For more information on Groupon, go to www.groupon.com.
About Cohen Studios
A graduate of the Hallmark Institute of Photography in Turners Falls, Massachusetts, Max Cohen of Cohen Studios has been a professional photographer for five years, working in both digital photography and film. At H.I.P., he was exposed to a wide range of technical skills and studied under world-renown photographers as instructors and guest speakers. Describing himself as a “generalist,” he enjoys all types of subjects, from children and high school senior portraits to commercial and editorial assignments. For more information, visit www.cohenstudios.com. Cohen Studios is also available on Facebook and Citysearch.
Client News and Media Recognition 
I don’t see how booking 72 clients in one day at the deeply discounted rate he did is a good thing? The client I am to bring into my studio are far more interested in the quality of the product thfn how much I may “cost” and the ones concerned about price will go elsewhere, which is what I want. I continue to have to educate my clients on the cost of digital files because so many Photographers in Raleigh are bringing down our market with “yard sale” pricing and it’s sad to see the industry go in this direction. When groupon contacted me, I declined because I wasn’t going to discount that deeply and I sure wasn’t giving anyone a cut.