MARKETING

It appears. that "going after the business" takes a back seat to waiting for it to come to you. If business has to find you, you are in the HOPE part of the business, you hope the phone rings or you get an E-mail.  Lets look at the way business finds you.

  •  Hoping your Website does the job.
  •  Your ads placed in the local paper.
  •  Showing at a Wedding Show
  •  Networking through co-workers, friends and relatives.
  •  Just being asked to shoot a Wedding because it's a friend or relative is more of a favor than a career. We all understand that.
  •  Promoting yourself with Wedding Gown sellers, Hairdressers, Wedding Stylists and Consultants, Flower Sellers, Catering Halls, Church Planners and other people of position that might help you.

So, what are you doing to promote yourself?
It appears. that "going after the business" takes a back seat to waiting for it to come to you. So here are some replies I received:

   •  W e have contacted all the local vendors in our area and invited them to take a look at our work on our website and have offered to come and meet them to find out more about what they do...

  •  For those we like and who's style of business/products fit our own (and this is important,) we have offered a reciprocal website linking, where we list them on our 'Links' page and vice versa.

  • We also provide our couples with an 'approved Vendors pack' which contains cards and brochures from all the vendors in our area that we'd have no hesitation in recommending, so also offer to include their information in this pack. We're then usually asked to leave our own cards and brochures.

  •  When we attending wedding fairs we've made a conscious effort to meet and introduce ourselves to the other exhibitors...even competing photographers/studios.

  •  We think it's important to appear friendly and professional. It helps us network and build invaluable contacts, and we've met some really nice competing wedding photogs/studios...who we will recommend to future clients who contact us on days when we're already booked.

  •  What goes around will come around, so hope that this is something that will benefit all of us in the long run.

  •  I work with a photographer who has a pretty established business in the San Diego area. He is a good photographer and an even better businessman, and I am learning a lot from working with him. We do a lot of referral work for him now.

  •  As a side effort, my girlfriend and I have started aggressively targeting the ethnic South Asian community; as we are both of South Asian descent.

  •  It makes it easier for us to talk to Indians about photographing their weddings. To that end, we've left business cards at various Indian shops, formed informal referral rings with LA based videographers and DJ's, and also designed posters to be hung in shops and ads to be printed in countywide publications that reach various Indian sub-communities. 

  •  As you say though, referrals are a great way to get business, so we strive most importantly to aggressively secure weddings through people we know, and to then work at a level that exceeds client expectations. In so doing, we've generated a lot of buzz in the community.

  •  What I have done for florist is to shoot their entire stock of flowers and create a slide show for them to give away to their potential client, hoping that if they get a potential client, that they will recommend me. 

My Comments:  

  •  Couple of good ideas, one promotes on a reciprocal basis and another makes a strong point about staying on keel with the competition. Some times (Oh its never happens ) you get a double billing for one date and a good referral fee is better than choosing. Also it might just come back to you if the other photographer gets in a bind.   He hits it on the head with working a niche or specific ethnicity or group. Large extended families area great referrals and usually those large groups "literally take you in" as part of and that can build a very successful following. 

  • Hair Dressers -  A really goods source of referrals if you give a way a couple head shots. My partner has two stylists who send him a good amount of business. Women talk a lot at these places. They know who is and who is not getting married and many women listen to their personal hair dresser more than their personal psychiatrist.

  •  Bridal Shows – “I did the bridal shows, and got a few clients, but I found them to be really catty places were photographers either look at your stuff to steal ideas or badmouth you. They still work on the concept that all photographers are competition. Bridal shows are also designed for the wholesale bride-- not my client type.”

  •  Door Knocking - I tried the hair dressers, churches, bridal dress shops, caterers etc. The only vendor that ever seemed to have any serious influences were bridal planners and DJs. Either a caterer's opinions don't carry much weight-- OR brides tend not to ask certain people about who to hire for photographers.

  •  BRIDES TO BE. Once I get a bride as a client, I keep her contacted and excited. I get her to talk about me. Once she gets her stuff, I find as many ways possible to keep her excited about the pics to show them off.

  •  I shoot all sorts of things. Kids soccer, the local newspaper, charity dinners. It is the NUMBER ONE way I get clients outside of my website. The occasional 8x10 or 4x6 given out to a mom, works into "Hey my niece is getting married, do you have a card?"

Traditional marketing techniques are great. 

  •  How do you change from being good to wedding good? You can either work your A$$ off to be "the best of the rest"-- hit all the traditional venues and beat down your competition with price, quality, and schmooze. 

  • OR you can be the best of what you are and demonstrate to the world that everyone wants you by standing out of the crowd. Finding the clients by blazing the example, by holding the torch on the "other" hill, and by showing how the want for a photographer must turn into a need for YOU to be their photographer..

Finally, the best marketing device you have is you. This is your mantra. Believe in it and it will come true.

Some people just have that certain "it" quality that makes people want to hire them. Promote as much as you can. Make sure your name is in the top local magazine, at local bridal shows and charity events. As a full time photographer you have to have shoots. It is your business and I treat it like a business.

Now I'm against money, that always comes back to haunt you but a Gift Certificate for a referral that pays off is always welcome. I usually give a 25 dollar dinner at a casual place like Outback, Bennigans, T.G. Fridays, with a cute thank you card. Listen 25 dollars won't get the filet mignon and champagne but it will get you at least two burgers with all the trimmings. Nothing too fancy, just a thank you they'll remember every time they are hungry.