Wedding Wire or other online marketing strategies

Hi all,

 

I have read some older post concerning wedding wire but I am curious what some of your current thoughts are in regards to online advertising for weddings photography.

 

I have been playing around with thumbtack but have been hesitant to make a plunge into wedding wire due to there high upfront

payment. I have read older negative reviews yet have heard positive comments from photographers that I know. I've also yet to start

google Adwords or any type of seo optimization.

 

I'm curious to learn what has or hasn't been working for you.

 

I look forward to you responses. Cheers!

 

Ben

<p>There a dozens of places to advertising online for wedding photographer. I think all the sites have both negative and positives reviews. ALL THE SITES. Therefore, picking the right one becomes tough I think. That being said, I think you are going to get both positive and negative reviews here on PN. I was never one to put what limit advertising dollars to sites like Wedding Wire or The Knot. I believe local wedding shows are were to go. That way the potential brides can look you in the eye as you start to give them your sales pitch. After doing a few of those then hopefully the free, and normally more fruitful advertising, with kick in; "Word of mouth". </p>

<p>Just my two cents</p>

Thanks Ed! I very much agree that face to face is clearly the best form of connection in regards to communication. I

haven't yet been to a wedding show and will probably benefit from doing so. Perhaps, I should go first simply as a

viewer to get then gist of it.

 

Thanks for your two cents!

 

Ben

Look into PhotoShelter.

I have not tried Weddingwire or the knot but I hear they are not the best choice. Bridal shows are also very much

dependent on the community. A post currently being discussed in another forum (different site) regarding bridal shows

has a response from a man who produced the largest bridal show in central Il for 41 years. In 2011 he cecided to close

the show citing vendor discontent and complaints that the industry had changed too much for them to get their money's

worth. He stated most younger people planned their weddings on their iPads and computers, and while he had a fashion

show most had already purchased their dress. When the customers filled out response cards they used false names and

contact info and an extremely high percentage of the mail was returned. The general consensus from the strictly

professional photographers in the group was that bridal shows were no longer a good investment.

 

Currently SEO websites, blogs and social media are the most highly recommended methods to increase traffic, what you

do with the increased traffic will determine your success. Here's my reply to the post on bridal shows, while it isn't exactly

related to your question there are some strategies in the two responses that can give you a bit of insight to at least that

avenue

Response 1:

You will likely get 1,000 different opinions, but there are some basic rules of sales and trade shows. Here's what my

opinion is:

 

Don't go overboard with the displays, give aways or time. Your basic job is to get people into your booth, get their

name/tel/email or some other way to meet them. Often a promotional like a free basic wedding package or engagement

shoot will have people filling out inquiry cards. Don't get bogged down trying to make a good impression or sell them on

the spot, there will be too much for them to remember anything. Don't be rude but don't spend more time than you need

to get the basics (Who, What, When, Where). Once you get home is where the selling begins. Send them an email

thanking them for stopping by, include a couple of example images and a brief introduction with a call to action (register

for my blog, call for an appointment, etc). The constants are that the prop sects will be overwhelmed and won't remember

which photographer they liked better. They will have so many things that they take home they will likely get tired of

carrying your promo card and throw it away before they leave the hall. Think of the show the same as renting or

purchasing a mailing list, it gives you prospects, what you do with it determines your success. Not many business deals

are closed without knowing what your unique selling position is or how you can solve a client's problems. You rarely find

out such things in a big room full of competition, personal contact is a must - Do this after the show. The more names you

collect, the more chances at contact you have, its that simple.

Response 2, follow up regarding another member lamenting no luck with bridal show names and followup, specifically

she sent several follow up emails and was told the prospect had a photographer or just recieved no replies.

Barbara, without seeing your fulfillment package (emails, promotions etc) its hard to determine where your efforts are

falling short. Here's a little something to think about regarding sales in general.

 

The reason to collect names and emails is because information is king. Magazines, websites and others pay very well for

qualified prospects, after all, if you don't know who's getting married you won't know who to talk to.

One area that may be off putting is in your general attitude, "I don't want to spend time with follow up on people who

aren't really interested." How do you know they're not interested? Maybe they have a loose connection to a photographer,

maybe they're just saying they have a photographer so you won't call them until they're ready. A funny thing happens

when a customer walks into a shop, approach them in the first 30 seconds and they become defensive, wait more than 45

seconds and they feel neglected, so you can see customers can be fickle...

For your consideration, does your email simply push a promotion or does it address the prospect's needs? For example,

an email follow up with a wedding planner pdf or a how to select a photographer brochure has more chance of making an

impact than book now and get a 10% discount. Do you direct people to your blog, or to a landing page that is specific to

the show you just attended? Do you have enough information to tailor the email personally to make them feel special or is

it just a boilerplate document that says call for an appointment? Do you include sample images and pull quote

testimonials from past clients or do you let your work speak for itself?

Are you presenting a certain prestige so that your prospective clients want to use you because you're the best (CPP) or

are you failing to see your unique selling position?

I'm not sure if you only do weddings but most of us do a few other styles as well. If you only do weddings then you can

delete the names, I guess, but once I have a name in my list, they are my best resource for Mother's Day portraits,

Supermodel for a day sessions, Girls night out parties whatever, just know that once I have the email address I have the

keys to the kingdom.

Lastly, the more information you collect the better you can use it, for example if you know the b/g is getting married in 15

months, they just announced and haven't found the venue yet, you can suggest through your marketing an engagement

session or a save-the-date mini session. Once you do the engagement images its rare not to follow up with the actual

wedding....

If you'd like an honest evaluation of your marketing collateral and techniques I'm happy to offer my opinion, just let me

know.

 

Well, thank you Mark! You have left more than one nugget of genius in this post. Thank you. Knowledge is definitely king

and you have more than given me a lot to think about. I've already reread this a couple times and will most definitely do

so again in the future.

 

To be completely honest, the business of this is all new to me. I am a passionate photographer. I love taking pictures. I

look at the business aspect of this kind of like a game in that I need to play it in order to get clients, so I then can do what

I want which is photograph people. Fortunately, I enjoy games and the business is a fun aspect.

 

Mark, let me ask you, as well as any others, how do you keep the passion to photograph alive if it becomes such a hustle

to get clients?

 

Also feel free to respond to the original question in my post regarding the best marketing techniques. My head is bouncing off of several ideas at the moment.

 

Cheers!

Ben

There is no secret, photography on a business level is very different than photography as a hobby. If you don't enjoy what

you shoot it will become tiedious very quickly. You say your passion/dream is to photograph people, then that's where you

should focus, take pictures of family, friends, neighbors or anyone else you can get in front of your lens. Don't just take a

picture, make a portrait that shows who they really are. Post this on social media to get the exposure and reach beyond

your circle of contacts as others see and comment on your photos. You may not receive pay or it may be very small

during this time, but as your skills develop and your portfolio grows you can and will reach the conclusion that you just

can't give this away anymore. This is a word of mouth business that faces downward price because of photographers just

starting out or working at it as a part-time job- absolutely nothing negative, that's how most photographers begin, it's just

digital makes the learning process faster, easier and less expensive so there are more emerging photographers. If you

are already at that point in your development, then do something to set yourself apart and justify your pricing. Shooting a

"Statement Image" is not only something to nourish your creative soul it let's others start thinking about pictures as well.

To shoot on as a full-time photographer is a bit more challenging today than it used to be but is still possible, making

money as a professional photographer is more about your ability to run a business effectively than your skill as a

photographer. The other simplest advice is to give clients something they can't get at a mall or chain studio. Seniors really

like the model experience that highlights their sense of fashion, play that up, offer full makeup and hair, unique props or

set design, approach it with the attitude that it's about the experience, the photos are just the souvineers, if you can

accomplish that you will have the best salesman in the world, reaching audiences you don't know.

<p>Tried wedding wire after being pestered by them, alot. $76 a month, 2 months one email inquiry. Never answered to my response. Told them to drop me, I was reminded 6 month contract. What did I sign, nothing. Now I get a email saying I had three calls, NOT. Knot, wedding wire, all same company, hype. Don't use, just another pay for no leads. </p>