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terry foster

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Whatever you decide to use, devise some kind of mechanism to TEST it's effectiveness so you can work out if the ad is making you money, or losing you money.

 

Hint: Most ads LOSE money. (ie the advertiser would have had more money in the bank had they NOT run the ad). Food for thought.

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Hi Terry. I'm south coast England based and have found advertising not the best form of marketing. In my first year I got a decent amount of business from Google ads (a far higher % of successful leads than any other form of advertising I did such as magazines or directories) but now I find the best marketing is word of mouth, be that couples who's weddings I've photographed recommending me to their friends and acquaintences or hotels. It's also the cheapest :) By far the majority of my wedding bookings come from this route.

 

You don't have to have photographed at a hotel to go and introduce yourself (though it helps if you have) but if you can impress them with your portfolio and attitude so they know they can recommend you and you won't embarass them you are well on the way. Send a follow up letter or thank you card with one of your images on it, send them a Christmas card, keep in touch with them and it will all help your business grow. Reminding them you exist, particularly if you have no bookings there, is important! One of the hotels I was accepted by in September told me not to be disappointed if I didn't have any bookings from them until late 2008 and maybe no actual jobs there until 2010 because generally people book so far in advance for this place and spend so much (30 to 60k spend typical) they are sorted out 18 months in advance at least - that's a long time to maintain a relationship without active, causal reasons for interaction.

 

The critical thing is targetting: find the hotels in your area that have the kind of clients with the kind of budget you would like to attract. Cold calling can be nerve-wracking but bear in mind that of the first 6 hotels I contacted 1 had a new events organiser who hadn't met any of the photographers on their recommended list and was more than happy to meet me as she knew her reputation was, to a certain extent, dependant on people she recommended so she wanted to meet people first, and 2 volunteered that of the 5 or 6 names they hold on their recommendations list some hadn't been in touch for over 2 years and 1 had annoyed the staff at the last wedding they shot: in short 2, maybe 3 places were up for grabs for photographers at each of them, they were just waiting for people to call and to be shown work of sufficient quality for their needs. These are commonsense places that are obvious to call too, not out of the way.

 

What I'm trying to say is that you may find the hotels are as happy that you called as you will be when they invite you in. Cold-calling is a two way process (I hate it for the record) and you never know the circumstances of the person you speak to. Never speak about other photographers or the way they work - let your attitude and work speak for itself and if you are asked your opinion of anyone elses (I have been asked) be completely non-commital or be positive. You don't know the relationship they have with that person and there's no point shooting yourself in the foot!

 

I set myself a starting target of getting on the books of 6 hotels the first year I tried it, this meant phoning a lot more than that so prepare yourself for some rejection. Break it down by what you want to do too when choosing your venues - do you want to shoot weddings where you have 150+ guests? Or is 80 your comfort zone? Do you want to shoot weddings with a budget in tens of thousands? Are you happy with multiple venues on the day or would you rather focus on hotels where things are more likely to be all on site? There's one hotel near me that, while very good, I try and avoid working in because having shot several weddings there I know the staff aren't conducive to a good experience for anyone...with this in mind walk around a venue if you can, go for a drink before you make an appointment if at all possible and establish if you'd like to work there...

 

Doing the above also helps pre-qualify your leads - if you like the venue, like the staff, feel comfortable...then you know people who contact you via the venue are people who are probably not wasting your time!

 

Go fully prepared - business cards, pricelist, sample album to show. If you take yourself seriously they will too.

 

"Traditional" marketing routes such as magazines and directories are far less targetted and far more costly - e.g. a wedding magazine with a circulation of 20,000 will have an unknown % of people who are actually looking to book a wedding photographer, but even if that's as high as 75% then the ones within your geographic area will be a much smaller % of that...then those within your budget levels (both low and high - some people have a minimum they will be willing to spend as well as a maximum) will be another smaller % of that...you are casting a big, expensive net in the hope of catching a large volume (to recoup costs) of what is a very very limited field. It's also very short term - the magazine is only on the shelf for a month then your advert is "spent" to all intents and purposes.

 

Hotels however are almost a captive market - they have a lot of people booking weddings, and a lot of people subsequently requiring a wedding photographer in your area. Some hotels even steer people towards you according to their budget and your prices.

 

I would say go for a google ad (though limit your budget - I have reasonable suspicion mine is being hit by people checking out the competition far more than it is by people interested in booking), then go hell-for-leather networking with venues in your area. It can be hard work, but it pays off!

 

I hope none of that is in any way patronising, and wish you every success!

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