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8/10/2019 7 Simple Ways
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Simple Ways toMARKET
Wedding7
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Simple Ways To Market Your Wedding Photography Business | P HO T O G R A P HY C O N C E N T R A T E . C O M |
Marketing is anything you
do to get your name out
there, to show people thatwhat you offer is valuable
and interesting.
Its a simple concept, but can seem maddeningly difficult
to do. There are tons of ways to market your photography,
and its hard to know where to begin. Luckily there aresome simple techniques you can use to get your work in
front of your target audience. These are strategies weve
used ourselves, and found them to be effective in booking
more clients.
While these techniques are simple, that doesnt mean they
dont take work. Marketing requires a lot of commitment
and effort. You need to focus your energy on creating
opportunities for yourself, and if you havent done that
before it can be scary.
Once you jump in, and get going, youll find marketing is
less intimidating than you may think; it can even be fun!
So lets dive in, and look at some simple ways to market
your wedding photography business!
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Most photographers have a blog these days, and thats
awesome. But theres a difference between blogging, and
leveraging the platform to be a marketing machine.
See, blogging is a majorly powerful marketing technique,
in many ways.
First, it establishes your personal voice. You have an op-
portunity to connect with your audience before they
even meet you. There are a lot of wedding photographers
out there, and a big part of marketing is showing what
makes you unique.
It can be hard for brides to differentiate by photographs
alone, especially after looking at dozens and dozens ofportfolios. But someone with a personal writing style,
and an engaging blog, can really catch their eye. So dont
just post photos, but see blogging as an opportunity to
share and engage your audience. Be personable, show
who you are, and what you think about photography!
You can also use your blog to give potential clients im-
portant information. Writing articles that help couples
makes you a valuable resource, and establishes you as
an authority. This isnt hard at all, you just have to share
tips with them on how to make their photos awesome!
It can be articles as simple as:
Your favourite venue locations
How to prepare for photos with you
Great locations to take wedding portraits
Tips on making a wedding go smoothly
No.
Blog
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Sit down, and brainstorm ideas for articles that could
help potential clients. These types of posts make your
blog different than most, and something that brides will
bookmark and share! Major marketing power!
Blogging also lets you show off your most recent work,which is often your best. A portfolio can get old very
quickly, but a blog is always fresh. It also lets you show
off variety in your work, which can help you stand out in
the crowd.
Theres a concept known as SEO (Search Engine
Optimization), and it has to do with how your site ranks
in search engines like Google. In general blogs do muchbetter for SEO than websites, because they have regular
updates. Search engines love new content, so blogs are
a great way to get a better ranking. The trick here is that
there is no trick. You simply need to post useful content
regularly, and your website will jump up the ranks, and
help new clients find you!
Blogging is especially great if youre just starting out.
You may not have booked a wedding yet, but thats no
reason not to get blogging. Youll be able to start
building your audience, and getting your work out in
front of new people. You might only have a few
followers at first, but it only takes one person who needs
wedding photos to get you on your way!
One technique we used that was incredibly effective
was to have a blog comment contest for our posts. We
would publish a set of photos, and tell the client that ifthey got a certain number of comments, they would win
a free print.
It made it into a fun contest for them, and they would go
off and share the photos with all their friends and
family. We got way more eyes on our work, and folks
interacting with our site by commenting. The visitors
had more of a personal connection to the photos
because they knew the subjects, allowing them to enjoy
the images even more.
Our clients would be happy, because they got lots of
nice comments, and a free print, and we were happy
because we had tons of potential new clients looking at
our work!
Blog Comment Contest
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You need to let the world know what you want! Theres
no sense holding back here. Tell your family and friends
what you want to achieve with your photography
business. Talk to your co-workers about it. Post it on
your blog and your Facebook page. Give business cards
to people you meet.
Heres a story. One day we were getting a sandwich at a
local deli, and the gal making it for us had an
engagement ring on. Rob was chatting with her and said
I noticed youre engaged, congratulations! Have you
picked your photographer yet? We let her know that
we were wedding photographers, and gave her our
business card. Im sure you know how this story ends.
She booked us.
You never know who needs photography, or knows
someone else that does. If you are offering something
valuable with your work, its a service to others to let
them know about it! Youre not doing anyone any good
by keeping it a secret. This may seem scary, but really,
what do you have to lose?
No.
Announce Your Goals
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A personal project shows your diversity as a photographer,
and establishes you as a passionate, committed shooter.
It also attracts attention as being something different and
unique. Side benefits include it being really fun, and help-
ing you grow and improve!
Try to do something that your potential clients could con-
nect with. For example, after our first year of shooting
weddings we did a project called The Wedding Travel-
ers. We went to India, and shot a couple weddings to
explore more about the culture. We had photographed
a lot of Indian weddings at home, so this was a direct
extension of the work we were doing, but for personal
interest.
That project got us lots of attention and respect from
potential clients. We could have booked lots of wed-
dings in India as well; we still get inquiries years later!
You dont have to travel across the world to do a per-
sonal project, however. It could be something as simple
as photographing local businesses, doing street photog-
raphy of couples in your city, or a project showing what
love looks like at different ages. The more you get out
there and shoot, the more connections youll make, and
attention youll get for your business.
Once you have your project, and are underway, make
sure to tell people about it! It not only gets the word out,
but also helps to keep you committed to it.
No.
Start A Personal Project
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Other photographers are a great source of leads for
your photography business. With weddings, when
a photographer is already booked for a certain day,
theyll refer new inquiries for that date to other shoot-
ers who might be available. Most photographers like
to have a list to send out. These lists are great to be on,
and can really help you get your name out there.
Networking with other photographers is valuable, but
needs to be handled smartly. The key is to create win-
win situations, where both people benefit from the
relationship.
Try to find other photographers who are at the same
level of experience as you. More established studiosmay not be willing to meet up, or just dont have the
time. Dont take offense. Theyre working on building
their business too.
Meet with other photographers for coffee to trade tips
and news. Be friendly and helpful. Establish a refer-
ral network, or see if one already exists that you can
become a part of. Send out their names when youre
booked, and theyll begin to do the same!
Remember, this is about creating win-win relation-
ships, not seeing how you can benefit from someone
else.
No.
Network With Photographers
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A wedding involves a lot of vendors, and meeting with
them can help get your name out there to potential
clients. The two big groups to connect with are plan-
ners and venues. These are the people who are booked
before the photographer, and are in the best position to
pass your name along.
When it comes to planners, do some research to see
who is out there, and who has a similar approach to
weddings as you do. If they are aiming for the same
market as you, theres a good chance their clients would
be interested in what you offer!
Once youve scouted out some potential matches, offer
to take them to lunch or coffee. Dont just email ask-ing to be on their referral list. They get tons of requests
like that all the time. Do something to stand out, and be
memorable.
Also do some research into the wedding and reception
venues in the city. Figure out where your target market
is booking, and then connect with the event managers.
When you do meet up with vendors, make sure to bring
along a sample album to show what you can create. You
can also bring along some nifty brochures and business
cards that they could give to brides. If you really want to
stand out, create a beautifully branded package of in-
formation that is easy to distribute to potential clients.
Offer to return with more in case they run out.
Before these meetings, have an outline of what you
want to communicate in your time together. How can
you provide value to their clients? What makes you
unique? Practice the important parts before the meet-
ing so youre totally prepared to make the most of it!
Then follow up, and let them know how much you ap-
preciated their time, and how much you would love tobe on their referral list.
Try to figure out how to make it a win-win relationship.
See if the planner needs some new headshots, or if the
venue needs images of a new room. The more helpful
you can be, the more likely they are to reciprocate, and
the more your name will get out there.
No.
Meet With Vendors
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Vendor relationships can not only get your business
started, but they also help it stay strong. The key here is
to make sure to keep taking care of vendors after every
wedding.
Vendors need images for their own portfolios. Theyusually dont have the skills or the opportunity to pho-
tograph the work they do for the couple on the big day.
But you do! After each wedding, make a point of sending
images to all the vendors (flowers, cake, decorations,
linens, venue, planner, DJ, etc.), along with a note let-
ting them know how much you enjoyed working with
them. This simple act creates goodwill, strengthens the
relationship, and gets your images into their portfolios
and in front of more brides eyes!
You can either watermark the images you send out, or
ask that they include photo credit to you whenever they
use it. This helps those photos become little marketing
machines for you!
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We shot weddings our first season, and posters
booked us over half of them. They are low tech, afford-
able, and effective. Heres what we did.
First, we considered who our target market was. We
were new to the industry, had a modern style, and were
really young. We guessed that University students
were the type who would appreciate a more artistic ap-
proach, but couldnt afford to spend a ton on photogra-
phy. They would be likely to take a chance on us, and we
would charge them less than the established studios.
So we designed some posters that featured high impact
photos from the two weddings we had photographed
for friends. We added tear-off business cards to make itdifferent, and easy to contact us. These posters cost us
each at the University printer, and we spent around
total on them.
We would put them up every week after the boards were
cleared off. We never had any competition, and got tons
of attention from the right people!
No.
Create PostersA few tips if you are going to put up posters:
Look for high traffic areas outside big lecture theatres
and busy halls
Make something creative and eye catching. Big photos
are always good.
Check the boards regularly, and re-post if yours gets
covered up.
Put posters at eye level.
Have your contact info on the poster in case all thebusiness cards are taken (website, Facebook page,
email)
Get a student to regularly check posters for you.
Also consider if there are other places your target market
hangs out, and if there are poster boards you could use!
Poster Tips
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OUR POSTERS Here is one of the posters that we used to launch our wedding photography business. It featured a big photo to catch attention, and some small
images for the people who stopped to look. We designed the side to be business cards, and perforated the edge so they were easy to tear off. It was a simple and
affordable marketing strategy that produced great results!
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This technique only works once you have weddings
booked, but then it helps keep the attention coming!
Its simple. Create a short slideshow of images
from the wedding day that you loop on a laptop at the
reception. It takes about minutes during the cocktail
hour and dinner to choose and edit a few key photos.
Then put them up with a simple screen saver, and you
have yourself a strong marketing tool.
See, the reception is a fantastic time to show off some
photos. Everyone is caught up in the excitement of the
wedding day, and the news that there are already some
pictures to look at is thrilling. People will crowd around
the laptop for ages, watching each and every imagemultiple times. Then they call over their friends. Then
the crowd attracts more people. The bride and groom
sometimes even announce that there are photos to
look at. This is marketing gold. You have tons of poten-
tial clients in attendance, and a very good chance that
they will go home and check out your work. Put a stack
of business cards beside the laptop so people can visit
your portfolio and contact you.
We once had an out-of-town couple, who were guests at
a wedding we were shooting, come up to us during the
reception. They had seen our slideshow and wanted to
meet us the next day to talk about their own event. We
ended up booking a beautiful destination wedding with
them thanks to a simple slideshow!
No.
Create Reception Slideshows
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Here are some tips for better slideshows:
Choose great images that will get attention. Examples
are the getting ready images, a couple from the ceremony,
any cute kids or pets, epic shots from the portrait ses-
sion, images of the whole bridal party, and happy por-traits of the bride and groom.
Put the slideshow near the bar if possibleits the high-
est traffic area.
Use the screen saver to create the slideshow.
Change your energy saving preferences so that the com-
puter doesnt go to sleep.
Put password protection on so people cant accidentally
stop the slideshow and get into your computer.
Bring a lock just in case you need to secure it to a table
(we didnt use this often, mostly if it was in an area that
we couldnt keep an eye on).
Use the photos for Facebook and blog teasers afterwards.
If you dont have time to process images from the wedding
you can show a slideshow of the engagement photos. Youll
still get lots of attention, and your work in front of a lot of
eyes!
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The ideas in this book are simple, but with marketing you can get as creative
as possible! Just think about where your target market is, and how you can get
your work in front of them. Here are some brainstormed ideas for you:
Bonus!
Brainstorm Create a promotional video
Start a Twitter account, and post
useful information Start a Facebook page, and interact
with your audience
Use targeted Facebook ads
Start a newsletter, with useful tipsand offers to your audience
Volunteer
Pitch an article to a local news station
Guest blog for wedding vendors inyour town
Create a referral program
Hold a contest to attract new clients
Have a promo to drum up business
Follow up with past clients
Have a studio party, and invite clients,
vendors, colleagues Submit your website to directories
Get testimonials from past clients andput them on your website
Sponsor an event that target clientswould go to
Trade services to make new
connections
Publish a book of your personal work
Create a free e-book for potentialclients
Attend networking events, hand outlots of business cards
Set up a booth at a tradeshow, make ittotally unique
Give gifts to your fav clients
Donate gift certificates to charityauctions
Partner with local businesses thatcater to your target market
Send photos to all vendors after everywedding (flowers, DJ, venue, planner,decorations, cake)
Teach a class and establish yourself asan expert
Offer gift certificates
Hold a free seminar on weddings
Offer mini-engagement sessions
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Here are a few final thoughts on marketing:
MeasureWhen putting effort into marketing, make sure youre
taking time to measure whether or not its actually
working. This is simple. When people contact you, ask
how they found out about your business. When clients
book you, ask again. Keep track of this information to
see which strategies are leading to inquiries, and which
ones are converting into bookings!
Social MediaSites like Twitter and Facebook have huge marketing
potential and have become a big source of business for
many photographers. Your target market is likely on
there; you just have to figure out how to connect with
them. Building your business around a platform is a bitrisky, since you have no control over it, and policies can
change suddenly. Theyve also become saturated, and
its tough to stand out. Think creatively, and see if you
can find a way to make them work for you.
Google AdwordsAt the beginning of our career we created some Google
ads and booked a few weddings off of them. But eventu-
ally they became very expensive and competitive, and
we didnt stand out much anymore. We gave up on them
and looked for other methods, but there is still potential
if you are willing to spend the money.
MagazinesWe never paid for any magazine advertising because we
felt it was far too expensive. Though we dont have any
direct experience, weve always heard from other pho-
tographers that they didnt get enough results to make it
worth it at all.
ActionThe big idea here is that you have to act. Marketing
doesnt happen by sitting around waiting for people to
find you. Get out there, show the world what you can do,
try new strategies, and dont be afraid to fail a bit. Just
keep at it, and success will be yours!
Final Thoughts
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Want to learn more? Check out our new book,Simple Wedding Photography!
See, wedding photography is simple. But dont confuse that with easy! It takes a lot of work
to properly cover such an important day, and create a successful business. This book will
get you on the right track, and save you countless hours figuring it out yourself!
Simple Wedding Photography
Everything you need to know about
photographing weddings, and the
businessbehind it.In one book.
pages of practical information you can use!
Written in a casual, real speak manner, like a conver-
sation with your photographer friend!
Packedwith over photos to help you see the con-
cepts inaction.
Includes diagrams and examples to make ideas easy to
understand
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About The AuthorsHi, were Rob & Lauren, head ninjas at Photography
Concentrate. Were photographers, educators, travelers,
and all-around fun loving folks.
We built a wedding photography business from the
ground up, and know that it can be tough to figure out
how to market your work, and get your photos seen.
What youve just read is the result of many hours of trial
and error, and the learning the came out of it. Were
very happy to share it with you, in the hopes that it
makes your journey a little simpler!
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18/18Si l W T M k Y W ddi Ph h B i | |
LegalCopyright:All contents copyright by RNL Media Inc. All
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