Why wedding business dries up - VALUABLE TIPS ABOUT SELLING YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

<p>Willis- a little expansion on Carnegie Sales.<br>

It is really a technology of selling- Attention, Interest, Conviction, Desire, Close. <br>

When I took it they described it as motivational selling, and part of the process is to try to get a feel for what the potential purchase means to the customer, and then link your product to that motivation.<br>

Motivation = emotion.<br>

One part I use routinely with great success in getting jobs (which I do every year as a consultant) is "How do I look so far?" This may bring out negatives which I can respond to.</p>

<p>I just try to work on my photographic skils.</p>

<p>Steve, you may, understandably, be reluctant to do this but I'll ask: </p>

<p>Would you post your direct mail card(s)? Is it one card? Is it a flyer? Is it two sides. Is it more than just a card with information i.e. is it a flyer and a card combo? What, in your view, is a good direct mail sheet / card look like? </p>

<p>I get these brochure looking things from all the top wedding seminar photographers all the time that are normally rather big and fold open and full of text and graphics. Is that what your sending out? Can you post image files so I can see it?</p>

<p>I'd love to see what yours looks like and the information it contains and any further information you might want to add. Only if you're comfortable with it of course.</p>

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<p>Well, persistence is one thing, but good marketing practices are another. Just because some famous wedding photographers say it is effective doesn't mean it will be for you. </p>

<p>One of the first rules of Direct Mail is to stop it if it doesn't work pretty quickly ... and do something else. What you are doing is trying to buy awareness with a marketing tool designed for sales. Awareness is a very, very expensive commodity... especially for "pass through" prospects who never thought about a wedding photographer before planning a wedding. </p>

<p>Direct Marketing is a well honed discipline practiced by professionals with a lot of experience. You have to know how to construct the offer, how to split the offers to the same target to see which pulls best, how to analyze the results and refine the message ... and that's just for starters. Direct Marketing DYIers are like Uncle Bobs shooting a wedding ... they THINK they know what to do, but really don't.</p>

<p>Marketing in the digital age is moving exponentially fast. What were sound practices yesterday are a waste of money today. The customer has moved on ... we should all think about doing the same thing. </p>

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<p>Great advice by Mark. :)</p>

<p>As far as direct mail is concerned, I've never found it to be worth the money put into it. We also don't want our business to be seen as offering a product, but rather a service. We're not about offering special deals, or bribes to get people to go with us. We offer a product that our clients find value in that they can't get anywhere else.<br>

I Also think it is better to build quality relationships with vendors and brides so that they want to recommend you in the future. We work 100% on word of mouth and business is very good. We make sure our brides know how much we appreciate them, we give them awesome customer service and we make them feel like family. Because of this we get many referrals and even if we didn't we'd still treat them this way. We also have made friends with vendors etc because we want to help them out as well! The best and easiest way to help your business is to work on your network. Connect with other photographers in your area (with places like The School, or PUG meetings, or OSP or a QClub with ShootQ) and share referrals. If you're booked, send it to another photographer in your area that you have connected with. Help eachother out and don't think of other photographers in your area as competition but rather another place to get business. </p>

<p>I've decided to call my approach "focused advertising" to differentiate it from "direct mail."<br>

Direct mail has well-known parameters about response etc.<br>

Sending a 4x6 in a nice envelope is roughly equivalent to a 1/4 page magazine ad, but much cheaper.<br>

Working from a list of desired clients makes it focused.<br>

I have better statistics at godaddy. I am seeing patterns of people coming to the site after work and before bedtime. They are often clicking through to the 5th set of pictures.<br>

For those who hated my old colors, I have toned down the value of the background considerably while retaining the scheme. Think of a royal purple robe trimmed with gold. <br>

I have email from Chuck Lewis today in which he says<br>

 

<p>"I do feel that relying on word of mouth is suicide - however, it is an<br>

important part. Just remember to have multiple means of marketing - we<br>

never rely on just one." This was after I had sent him a link to this thread. If you don't know who Chuck Lewis is you probably should :-)</p>

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<p>There sure are some great examples of multiple means of marketing on this thread= word of mouth is only one of them.</p>

 

<p>I agree with many of the responses here. Our website brings more business than word of mouth. I think that for any business, not just photographers, a nice looking, professional site is a necessity.</p>