Advertising for the Wedding Photographer Part 2b
Advertising with the Hitched.co.uk Wedding Directory
Advertising for the Wedding Photographer part 8
What works for me and some conclusions
Chapter 1: Wedding Magazines and Print Advertising
Chapter 2: Directories, Google and Facebook cold calls
Chapter 2b: The Hitched Directory
Chapter 3: Google Adwords and Facebook Ads
Chapter 4: Social Media
Chapter 5: Wedding Blogs
Chapter 6: Facebook Groups and Wedding Forums
Chapter 7: Wedding Fairs and Bridal Shows
Chapter 8: What works for me and some conclusions (You are here)
Here in the last part of this series I’ll tell you what has worked for me and where my business comes from but first a small update to this post……
I’ve been asked numerous times if I offer a workshop or general health check of someones photography / website and if I can help steer them in the right direction.
I now offer these, they come in two flavours.
- A full website SEO teardown with a written report and guidance on what to change / fix – £150
- As above but with a usability and image critique – £200
If you’d like to take advantage of this service (and it’s money well spent), please ping me an email via my contact form. Turnaround is usually just a few days.
…and we’re back, what works for me and in no particular order:
1. Venue referrals.
So we all know venues are difficult to nail down. As a wedding photographer, basically, you’re screwed unless you shoot a wedding there and impress them enough to add you.
Even if you do make it to a venue suppliers list it’s one thing to be on the list and another one entirely to have a venue co-ordinator behind you pushing your name out there during the venue booking process
Take three venues that I’m on the list for. The total number of weddings I shot this year for each of them was 2, 3 and 12 – The number of weddings at each venue was roughly 60, 170 and 85 respectively.
Which one do you think actively sells their suppliers vs handing over a piece of paper with names on?
This is where building relationships and going the extra mile helps a lot. If you shoot a wedding somewhere, shoot for the venue too. Make them want to use your images, then when they get in touch ask them to add you. There are a lot of people who will give venues images for free. But if yours are good enough then they will trade something for them.
I learned this lesson last year when a venue contacted me for some images, I sent them away for free and afterwards wondered why the hell I did it. It’s not a small business like a florist, it’s a wedding venue.
Don’t take your focus away from the couple whose wedding it is, but during the wedding breakfast in your downtime have a considered walkabout. Take photos that sell the venue.
But don’t give anything away for free. You’ll get nothing in return, you’re just one of 100 togs through the door that year. But they’ve asked YOU for some images. Nobody else.
The best venues ever are not the ones who email, Facebook or text you. The best ones are the ones who pick up the phone and personally thank you for sending stuff in. It’s old school and still the best way to get personal.
Also, NOTHING beats arriving at a wedding and the person running the wedding addresses you by first name. Whether it’s been written down on a piece of paper or it’s genuinely from memory I don’t care. This is an extreme GO! signal to make the effort with them as people like that are generally ace to deal with. Venues who don’t so much as offer you a glass of water and seem like it’s ‘just another day in the office’ won’t help you.
If during the ceremony the lead staff look completely absorbed in the moment or teary eyed then this is your venue. Because you want to work with people like this.
Help venues show others how good you are. Give them a book. A decent one.
Being on a supplier list is a continuous thing. Expect to do the wedding fairs, to pay a commission sometimes or a yearly fee. Expect to help out at times you’d rather not, to give them a sample album to show couples and keep the lines of communication open at all times.
2. Other suppliers
As with venues, other suppliers are good for referrals. Plus, many become good friends and that’s just lovely.
There is often a synergistic effect between suppliers who frequent the same venue which amplifies bookings
Don’t be that ‘other’ photographer.
Ever shot a wedding and the makeup artist, florist, cake lady, hair stylist, sheep shearer, whoever has a DSLR and seems to always be in your way at the last minute (and worst time) taking photos of their work?
Ever wondered why?
It’s because most photographers don’t consider the bigger picture, are too fussed with the here and now and don’t share the images. To the point that suppliers have taken things into their own hands.
In every. single. case, if a supplier asked me for an image of the flowers, brides makeup or hair then I’m happy for them to use the photos for free in exchange for a credit or link back. Be that via a watermarked image or an actual physical link.
You should see the look on their faces when you say, ‘I’m not like some other photographers, I’m happy for you to use my images if it’s okay with the couple. Here’s my card, fire me an email in a couple of weeks’.
They look at me like I’m the only person who’s said that to them. This is really telling and says this doesn’t happen very often. Explore this weakness the other photographers suffer…and you’re ahead of the pack.
Also big up notable work. If you see something amazing shout about it. Wrap your arms around them and tell them they’ve been noticed. Just how we’d like to be noticed for the work we do.
3. Drive to the clients or meet them halfway. Don’t be a shmuck either.
If there’s something I see often on the pro forums it’s the aloofness that ‘If a client really is interested in you they’ll make the effort to come and see you’.
Suffice to say it’s a terribly blinkered view. Sure, don’t drive more than an hour to meet a couple. If two hours away from you get them to meet halfway. But always be prepared to travel if you can.
How I drive to all my client meets.
I’ve lost count of the amount of times couples have complained to me about other photographers insisting the couple goes to them. But hey, carry on…it doesn’t just give me a foot in the door. More like a massive wedge, it shows willingness to work for them and discounts you from the potentials list
There are of course caveats to this. Know your worth and don’t bend over backwards to get business. This year I was contacted via a wedding planner in London on behalf of their clients wedding.
The meeting was in Mayfair, it took three hours to get there by car, £11 parking, three hours back and I never heard a thing afterwards.
Because of this, in future where a third party is involved I’ll be asking for a fee. This is a stark difference between having an excited bride personally contacting you and asking to meet and a wedding planner acting on behalf of a bride. There’s no emotional attachment to your work with the planner.
I know, I know, ‘what happened to the one hour travel rule?’ – well I guess I wanted to work at the venue REALLY badly and was willing to swallow a little expense for the chance
4. Blog, blog and blog some more and be seen.
Talk about everything you do when you can. It doesn’t have to be a lot of text, but define your wedding report in a way that people can organically see it in search engines.
And no, don’t dump an image and run. Your blog isn’t Instagram.
Your website is your shopfront. Your blog is like the inside of the shop where all the more personal stuff is.
Blog as if your life depended on it
Not everyone who gets married in this country lives in the UK. Many search using venue names, the type of wedding, what they had on the day and so forth.
This sort of information is miles better than targeting an area. Many photographers don’t blog and don’t care to. But blogging is the best free exposure you can get. Bar none.
There is a big correlation between those who can’t be bothered and those who don’t have many bookings for next year. I’ve given advice countless times to togs over their site content and wording alone yet nothing changes and the next year they ask on a different forum why business is so bad.
Use social media to showcase links to your blogs, be visible. Tie it all together.
5. Referrals
This is holistic. Deliver outstanding work, work hard on the day, give 100% (not 99%) and be nice. You’ll be noticed and get referred. Nothing is more reassuring to a couple than a referral from a previous wedding you shot.
I get myself into all sorts of situations on a wedding day
I’ve tied cravats, (sometimes badly), helped with the flowers, fixed a wedding dress when five bridesmaids couldn’t, ironed Dad’s shirt, delivered the order of service, changed table cloths and applied first aid to a 4 year old stabbed in the eye with a temperature probe. It’s not just about turning up, shooting and going home. I’m a part of the couples day and I’ve a responsibility to help things run as smooth as possible.
Referrals also come from helping others in Facebook groups, forums and such.
6. Take advantage of human nature.
This to me is the cornerstone of how I work. Look, we know ourselves better than anyone. We all like to be lazy or have such busy lives things are left behind or not bothered with. Be bothered.
If there is a limit to your success it’s not the new blood in the market, it’s not the advances in camera phone technology either and it’s not the economy. It’s YOU
Everywhere there are photographers who can’t be bothered to blog. Can’t be bothered to go that extra mile for a couple. Can’t be bothered to be nice in emails at the enquiry stage. Who don’t care too much about their website. Aren’t fussed about being sociable. Who generally don’t care and treat it like a job.
If you take the lead in these areas you’ll be miles ahead of the competition on exposure and attitude.
6. Be different and be creative (where you can)
Your style and what you shoot is important. There’s a new term out there. The ‘Vanilla Photographer’. One whose work is the same as every other photographer because they use the SAME lightroom presets. You know, vintage blue hazes in vogue a couple of years ago, now they’re more yellowy. I still like it sometimes but everyone is doing it. Be different.
136 likes and 33 shares
The problem is what makes YOU special. I spend extra time on certain signature shots where I can get myself noticed for people to sit upright in their seats and go WOW! Challenge yourself to learn something new and it’ll pay you back because other people can’t be bothered to do it. Some don’t even own Photoshop.
You don’t have to follow any rules in your creativity, take inspiration from others, improve on it, be unique, get noticed, get business.
Conclusions
Looking back at all the previous posts the one thing that stands out is that there is no ‘pay a fee and get business’ method. At least not for me.
A lot of it is about price:
I can hand on heart say that when my prices went up from cheap to sensible levels enquiries crashed in every form of advertising. There was no one form better than the other.
If you do use one of the methods used in the previous chapters then work out what you are actually, truthfully worth and pitch yourself accordingly.
Run the numbers:
You can only measure how good something is based on results. When you get no results, you have no idea of just how bad things are.
So this is where some might go cross eyed but hold tight and I’ll try to explain the chart above.
If you run a campaign and get even one enquiry you know whatever you did reached out and touched someone. In this case knowing that something has the ability to work means you can then pull it apart to see how you might improve on it.
But when you get NO RESPONSE to a campaign you can’t tell how bad that medium sucked. It could suck so bad that even offering your services for free wouldn’t improve things.
If jumping into advertising you should really do due diligence before parting with your cash.
Ask difficult questions, run the numbers and ask people to put their money where their mouth is. If they don’t, then walk. You’ve better, more beneficial things to do (which are free).
Always ask around before embarking on a campaign. Don’t blindly believe someone who has a financial motivation because money motivates people into doing things they shouldn’t. Especially if that someone has no prior attachment to you. After all, that’s sales.
Take everything people tell you with a pinch of salt.
Look before you leap. Half of the mistakes I made were because I thought I knew better. Don’t try to emulate your peers because they might be making a loss at whatever they’re doing. People tend to lie a little about figures. Be that financial or booking numbers. I’ve had a photographer tell me they had 44 bookings in June and when I saw them again in September they had 35.
If you always tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything
Even free advertising will cost you.
Running around getting images together and creating content for either your blog or bloggers will cost you. Make sure you balance up the pro’s and cons of all involved.
Be nice.
If there’s one thing, one thing that will get you business it’s being nice and supportive of others. Your reputation will steadily grow and business referrals will become self sufficient.
Thanks for reading. I hope it’s helps some of you. Really I do.
I think everyone should get a fair crack at this industry. For the most part it’s awesome and I want you all to do well. There’s room for all of us 🙂
Comments are open
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Another great post, Chris. Same as you, I’ve noticed that when you are more than just a photographer on the day, when you are extra helpful and friendly, help with the ties, help the bride (whose bridesmaids are too busy with other things – yes, it happens 😉 put on her wedding dress, and when you are just generally friendly and nice with everyone, the referrals come in – always.
Creating own content works best for me, too. Blogging really helps. I must make more of an effort with the venues, so thanks for reminding me about that! And thank you so much for writing this series of posts – very, very helpful to know another wedding photographer’s experience to confirm mine.
Great posts Chris! I’ve really enjoyed reading them.
Chris I can’t thank you enough mate after reading this. I feel like I’m on the right road and you’ve stopped me veering in wrong directions and to keep giving a shit about what I do and for the couples that I am very grateful to work for. Thanks again for the effort to make these great posts Tx
Fabulous set of posts. I agree with every word.
Great information thank you. Do you have any insights into your bridal show experiences?
No, I’ve not mentioned wedding fairs / bridal shows yet. I’ll amend it in the next week or so 😉
Great post– many thanks!
Fantastic set of posts. Youve really cleared up a few areas I was wondering about and given some great pointers.
Thank you!
Hi, someone sent me your link today – thanks so much for sharing your experiences. I have a background in ecommerce and advertising so I have a different take on some of the things you mentioned (especially around PPC) but there’s some great info in here.
Thanks James. This is just my experience but it’s meant to be an open discussion too. I want to believe that advertising works and that hopefully we can hear another side of it from others. Let us know your thoughts on Pay Per Click as it will help others.
In my experience, I agree with some of your posts; the rest have educated me! The print advertising I 100% agree with. Wedding photography is 90% getting the gig and 10% delivering. I know that I am capable, the challenge is getting new clients to agree.
Thanks for giving back to POTN..
rejay14
Amazing set of posts Chris. Really enjoyable read. Thanks a heap for taking the time and sharing your knowledge.
Great writing Chris, valuable information not just for photographers but anyone with a small business involved in the wedding industry!
Great posts Chris. Totally agree with it all and have been down the same route myself in regards to advertising.
Bravo !!!!!! I read the whole series and was so captivated. I have worked in the wedding industry for years (first as a bridal consultant and now as a photographer) and i always see one common denominator. You have to sell yourself …. be genuinely you and people will hire you for you. If you are a JERK and DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH .. no one will want to hang around you. A boss i once had told me …” if you do a god job you might get 1 referral .. but if you are mean and do a bad job you will be blasted to every single friend that bride knows for all eternity.
Wow, I wish I had found this type of information online 2 years ago! I’m not a photographer, I do wedding hair and make-up, but 99% of your information applies to me too.Thank you so much, it’s been immensely helpful. (And thanks to Amy Prifti for posting the link to it on Facebook!)
Totally correct and 100% appropriate! You have hit all the nails on the head. 🙂
Chris,
Thank you for writing so candidly and helpfully about your experience in this area! These blog posts are some of the most helpful I’ve ever read regarding photography marketing. Wishing you all the best!
Excellent read Chris.. and many of your findings tally with what I experience.
Doing a good job and trying to make my next wedding the best ever is by far the best advertising I can do.. word of mouth and recommendation is the path that brings me the most work…
Advertising in all forms… is a massive expense for a little return..
keep up the good work..
Great informative post Chris. Marketing and the techniques involved are far more important these days than ever before. There was I time when I hardly ever had to spend money on advertising. But, sadly those days are gone forever – not that I spend much on advertising now, as you’ve explained there are more positive ways to get your name known!
I wish I had seen an article like this before spending my money on advertising with internet companies such as UK Bride. Don’t get me wrong they have delivered everything they said they would – lots of leads each month and my advertisement on the appropriate pages. However, the amount of work that they inferred I would get from advertising with them has simply not materialised. I have replied to literally dozens of on-line requests for information from brides from their website and all have led to nothing. I believe that Brides simply use their website as a database of information to surf and collate and I certainly won’t be renewing my subscription with them.
Hi Chris, I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to write this series of posts, and for your honesty.
I’ve also had my fingers burnt, with companies such as UK Brides and learned the hard way.
I’ve had many cold calls from companies claiming to work with Facebook and Google.
Nearly all are misrepresenting the success of their advertising, their affiliations to legitimate social media sites, but have no qualms about taking hard cash from photographers who in the majority, scratch an existence from an occupation that is generally undervalued.
What I’d like to know, is why these companies aren’t being investigated by the Office Of Fair Trading?
I totally agree with your conclusion, and wish you a very successful 2014.
So impressed with the work you put into all this. Excellent! Thanks for sharing
Thank you so much Chris, I will certainly taken on board the points that you have raised.
What an amazing set of posts – I just wanted to say a big thank you – it took me ten years to work out some of this for myself and my experiences were pretty much in parallel with yours. Wouldn’t it be lovely if some of the promises made by advertising sales people were actually true, imagine a world where you paid your money, posted the ad and the work really did come rolling in!
Hi Chris,
Thanks so much for such a great series of posts – I’m 6 months in with advertising on one of the UK directories and so far nothing – much the same as everyone else – I wish I’d seen these articles before handing over my cash!
Very useful article indeed. Thanks for taking the time to write it. I found the article while searching for advise as to how to advertise. I have made some of the mistakes you mention, but you have helped me to avoid making more. Thanks again.
Great post. Been a novice for many years doing mostly sports of my kids but now want to get my son a business to fall into when finished with college. He loves photography and takes great pictures so we are now doing whatever to get the business up and running. Having some success but I agree, cliental and them referring you is the key. Appreciate your honest and straight comments and research. Thank you.
Hi Chris,
What a fantastic set of posts. I’ve spent most of the afternoon reading them, and the comments, and it’s all been really useful. Thank you so much for sharing in so much detail and being brave enough to name names.
I really wanted to do some more wedding shows this Autumn, but the last few I’ve done (mostly small fairs around London and the home counties) have had so few attendees, and therefore hardly any enquiries and no bookings. I like doing shows as I feel it’s one of the only ways to sell my personality and my albums as well as my photos.
I’ve also tried paid Google Ads and Facebook with little results and have had salesmen calling me up for odd services. Had a specifically hard sell from a salesman from Yelp, who I mistakenly engaged in conversation as I was interested in how their service tied into the new Apple maps and he didn’t leave me alone for weeks.
I was seriously looking at advertising with some of the big blog posts, but now I think I’ll find some smaller ones and investigate them thoroughly.
Definitely going to look at Freeindex, Hitched forums (I already advertise with them but with no enquires so far) and looking to hire someone to give me advice on social media (can you share who you use for this or any further advice on how to find a good company?). Also going to look at Facebook groups, which another photographer has advised also, especially for recommendations. Do you have any suggestions on ways to find good groups?
You mention pricing being important and it being the first thing that people go to on your website, but don’t feature a packages or a starting price. Have you tried both ways and found that taking enquiries first works best? I used to feature my prices, but now take enquiries and send people through a nicely designed pdf with package prices, in the hope that the images and design will help sell the packages, but don’t have much evidence on which way works best.
Hope you don’t mind the length of these comments and all the follow up questions, but your posts have really interested me, and your knowledge has inspired me to pick your brains further.
Would love to see any follow up posts and will be looking through the rest of your posts on ‘tips for photographers’ as well.
Thanks again.
Happy Shooting (and selling).
Ben
Hi Ben,
Thanks for your post and sorry for taking so so long to respond. It’s peak wedding season right now and I’ve had to do some serious prioritizing in order to manage the workload.
I’ve been experimenting with either showing the prices, having a factual ‘this is the price’ or a starting from price. I think starting from is a good way to go and during the time I didn’t have a price online I would get the same number of enquiries but I’d be out of their budget at almost every turn. Since having a starting from price the enquiries have gone up and they are already qualified when they email.
A lot of the good photography groups are closed or private in order to stop a free for all. I can’t even send you a link as it will lead nowhere! Wedding fairs are very hit and miss. I think there are definitely good ones providing they are in a really good venue with relevant footfall. Without that it can be full of people on a day out. There was one in Brighton recently called the ‘Quaint Queer Weird’ wedding fair, charging £5 to get into and from what several exhibitors told me there was hardly any brides there at all. Just people passing through. The database that was offered as part of the booking never surfaced either.
What I’m trying to say is that when money is involved a lot of folks don’t care about delivering a service, just getting paid. Wedding fairs are the thing everyone is looking to capitalize on.
Just a quick note to say a big thank you for the time taken to share your experiences regarding marketing and advertising. I’ve had very much the same experiences although on a smaller scale and glad that I’m not alone. Love your blog and love your work. Keep at it!
Hi Chris
Great site, great set of blog posts that (on the most) reflect my own experiences.
Where I’ve differed is that I found wedding fairs to be more profitable in the past. However in the past 24-36 months I’ve found that there are more and more fairs with less and less brides attending. So loads come in; walk around grab a leaflet and walk out. Not a good spend of money.
Personally I’m concentrating on AddWords, FB forums + Boosting posts and wedding fairs from one venue as I’m one of two preferred suppliers.
I also saw a massive drop in enquiries when I went £1000+ by the way.
Thanks again
Andrew Miller
wow! this pretty much sums all my experience and its great to see I am not alone in this constant struggle, haha! thanks chris , you’re awesome!
wow wow wow,
That is the most useful blog/video/tutorial whatever, I have every seen.
Seriously man I am feeling that I made the right choice becoming a wedding photography now because of you.
Also im gonna get that procrastination meme printed in A2 and framed above my desk. That made my day. and will make me do a lot more.
you are my hero bro
Literally sat here and read chapters 1-8 simultaneously and I can honestly say these are the only blog posts I’ve ever read on this subject matter that actually make SENSE. You know what you’re talking about, clearly, and you’re not just writing what you think people want to read, but more your real opinions and past experiences. Thanks for sharing Chris 🙂
Wow this is an incredible blog post.
And I have to say how refreshing it is to find a photographer like yourself so willing to share.
I will take a lot from this post.
Thank you
Hi Chris,
Great job here btw.
When you have 12 or more of the same photographers coming up year after year on a Google Search phrase i.e. “Wedding Photographer somewhere” is Google Adwords going to move you on the 1st page or in to the mix when u have tried the Yoast SEO approach, would you know?
Many thanks,
Martin
Excellent read, I’m a mobile DJ / Photobooth come giant MR&MRS letter business and I was intrigued to see if your results matched mine. Not far off! Most of my enquiries come from natural SEO with a fair few from venues and networking. I haven’t paid for any advertising for quite some time but have been considering it recently. I think it’s clear to me once again that hard work will reward far more than paying somebody a few quid! Thanks for posting your findings
Great series of posts thanks for that. I’m relatively new to the business and at the stage of raising prices from giveaway to sensible. Ive found the same as you I think that all paid advertising has just nosedived as a result. Im going to run one more campaign with giveaway prices and if I get enquiries the proof will be there so to speak. Re bridal blogs – I had one wedding on one of the large UK blogs and no traffic from it at all – not one referral. Not convinced Im going to bother with blogs at all from this point forward.
All very informative, albeit depressing stuff. I’m currently running a Facebook and google adwords campaign around an April special offer I have on the go. Lots of engagement (no pun intended) but no actual bookings as yet.
What a fantastic post! I wouldn’t normally comment on something like this, but what you’ve written here was superb and deserved praise. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Wow Chris. Thankyou! A MASSIVE help. X
A brilliant, honest and informative post. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences
Thank you, Chris. Excellent material. Let me know if I can be of help to YOU from Atlanta.
With kindest regards,
jan
Chris, thank you so much for your informative blog. It’s a huge help to those starting out and looking to expand their business. I’m not a photographer but as an Independent Celebrant I can reap the benefit from all your expended time and cash. Great job!
Hi Chris,
Thank you for such a detailed series on your experiences with advertising, I came across it after googling “wedding blog advertising review” whilst thinking about placing an ad and what type of ad to place.
Hello Chris,
Brilliant articles, literally everything I wanted to know answered truthfully, and very helpful
Best wishes
James
Stumbled across your great piece as was Googling whether to bother with a listing with Hitched … couldn’t agree more with EVERY point 🙂
Wedding fairs Chris very hard for me and your views hit home on this.
Thanks
Steve
Great information! And thank you for your kindness in taking the time to share your experiences with us. Your words gave me the push to get my blog up to date!