7 Simple Ways

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


7/18 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 |

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



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



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!



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



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!



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



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!



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



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



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!
http://www.photographyconcentrate.com/http://www.photographyconcentrate.com/http://www.photographyconcentrate.com/http://www.photographyconcentrate.com/http://www.photographyconcentrate.com/http://www.photographyconcentrate.com/


18/18Si l W T M k Y W ddi Ph h B i | |

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