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

<p>

<p>A theory:<br>

Many photographers depend on word of mouth.<br>

You get one client, you get her friends.<br>

Eventually most of the people in her reference circle are married.<br>

Business dries up.<br>

The solution is to keep bringing in girls somewhat younger than average marriage age of 26 for females.<br>

Direct mail may be the best way to reach the target demographic.</p>

</p>

<p>I disagree. I do get some word of mouth referrals, but most of my business comes from the internet. If your website is searchable and easy to navigate, that's the biggest hurdle. <br>

And I've done direct mail back in my realtor days. But I would not do direct mail for wedding photography... unless it was with a lead list from a wedding show. <br>

In my opinion, the best way to reach the target demographic is with tools they are familiar with: google, facebook, ect.</p>

<p>How do you get people to your site?<br>

Do you have google adwords? <br>

Does it work for you?</p>

<p>Steve,</p>

<p>Do you use Google Analytics? It can give you information about a web site. Some of your questions you would find answers there. It's free. Easy to set up if you have access to html of the pages you want Google to analyze.</p>

<p>Hope this helps you!</p>

<p>Steve,</p>

<p>You figure out and constantly implement and experiment with your SEO strategy. liveBooks runs regular web seminars on SEO optimization strategies.</p>

<p>Websites are only part of a marketing solution. You also have to use direct mail as well as continually figure ways of getting your name in front of people, hopefully with high quality work associated with it. </p>

<p>The May 2009 issue of Professional Photographer has a couple of really good articles about ways to successfully market to both existing and new customers. The bottom line is you have to take a consistent pro-active approach to marketing for it to work. Marketing isn't just about pushing yourself on people, it is about listening as well.</p>

<p>Steve, I just checked out your website. My best advice to you is to get a website that allows people to peruse through it without having to read your text at the same time. Please take this as constructive criticism only: I am a recent bride AND have my own wedding photography business. Your website is not user-friendly. The galleries are not really straight-forward, and the layout seems a bit off.<br>

To be honest, that is the first place I would start. When I started out, I used Smugmug and customized it a little bit to meet my needs. When I was ready to get something nicer, I upgraded.<br>

Even though Ellis says you need to do direct mail, I wholeheartedly disagree. I turn away work consistently and am booked for this year + 25% for next year. I do Facebook, Craigslist (and I am NOT the typical budget shooter), Google Business listing (not adwords), and some of the free listings on wedding websites. I do one wedding show a year, and this year I tried taking out an ad in a regional wedding magazine. Next year I am debating cutting out the magazine and possibly the bridal show. <br>

So for me, networking and having a strong internet presence is key. Staying on top of trends is key, too. For example, if I know that TTD is starting to get popular, I adapt it to my needs. Wedding Photography does not stay in the same place very long- it is constantly evolving. Especially now that digital photography is here to stay, we need to differentiate ourselves from the newbie shooter.</p>

<p>Rebecca- I would agree that my layout is different. (This is in regard to buchananhovland.com)<br>

Most of my income comes from building custom software at costs upwards of $100,000 per system. Among other things, I get paid for creating highly usable systems. I would say that everything on my site is clearly labeled compared to the mystery sites I see.<br>

I have also been through the Dale Carnegie Sales Course three times, once as a graduate assistant. I can still use the lines I learned almost 30 years ago.<br>

So my site is designed in two ways: radical simplicity in terms of technology, and hard sell in terms of marketing.</p>

<p>Steve, if you feel it works well for you, then great! My comments above were just my impressions of your site as both a recent bride and a fellow photographer. (And I was simply speaking from my experience that direct mail doesn't work well for me, and that my website is everything.) Do with it what you will. <br>

Best of luck for not having your target market dry up!</p>

<p>Rebecca - no offense intended or taken :-)<br>

One reason I opened this topic is because lately I have been hearing tales of woe from photographers as well as other vendors.<br>

People who have been doing a good business for years now find themselves sucking air.<br>

My beginning point for marketing is "Marketing to the Affluent" by Thomas Stanley.<br>

I live in a very expensive city, San Francisco, where $100,000 a year doesn't buy you much. So I have a real need to have a heavy flow of new customers from the upper income brackets if this new venture is to be worthwhile.</p>

<p>Your theory is flawed in that you assume people are only friends with others the same age as them. </p>

<p>Perhaps, but I suspect the circle of references only goes so far.<br>

I think the age extension may go to younger sisters and their friends, but once you use that cohort up, you probably need a way to replenish your prospect base.</p>

<p>Frankly, (and I'm just trying to be honest here) Steve, your website kind of sucks. Graphically, it is far worse than some enthusiast, amateur sites. (http://buchananhovland.com/ is the site I visited) THAT is where you (at a minimum) need to drop a couple hundred bucks for a canned flash download. Q: How much are you willing to drop for an ideal lens? for a fraction of that you can get a site, and hosting! It's the best deal out there.</p>

<p>I'm sure you do great, high quality, professional work. To bad nobody can see it, including prospective clients. Brides don't respond to a hard sell anymore, they have to many other options. Generally, they want to see pictures, lots of SCREEN FILLING, GORGEOUS, POIGNANT, BEAUTIFUL pictures. If you can't show them that, there are a hundred (or a thousand) photographers who can and will <em>and they will get that business, because they lead with their best</em> .</p>

<p>As far as referrals go, no longer are they the secret to this business. They are in essence a guaranteed website visit (whereas they used to be a guaranteed phone call/ appointment). If your website fails to impress, they will fail to call. Referrals have become (in this business) an AdWords click, maybe a smidge more, but not even a likely phone call. If you don't believe that, then I can't help you, but without a competetive (at least) website, I wouldn't expect much business</p>

<p>Like I prefaced with, I'm not trying to be catty or mean, just honest, w/o a sugar coating. I can't say I haven't learned these lessons the hard way, or don't have at least some glass windows in my house, but I can tell you that in my experience everything I said is true... Everybody is hurting with the economy, but more than that, this industry is in the midst of a revolution, and that's going to mean changing with the times, or retiring.</p>

 

<p>It's better to target a niche, than a demographic, IMO, and personally, I am not keen on direct mail, either. Note, we live in different areas.<br>

WW</p>

 

<p>Steve, our 2 studio's banged out well over 100 events last year and have for several years before last year! I have no secrets. I'd suggest doing the following, get in contact with wedding coordinators at the churches and temples near you, same with the reception halls, join your local chamber, and join some networking groups. Needless to say carry a lot of business cards and offer the coordinators sample ablums and wall enlargements. You can also start your own networking group, by inviting people in the wedding business to weekly breakfasts just to pass out referrals. We get most of our work from the chamber and reception coordinators.</p>

<p>Marcus, thanks for your honesty. Here's some of mine:<br>

If I download a flash template, my site will look like all the other flash sites.<br>

Many people have slow connections (even though they, like me, are paying for more) and flash sites can be very slow. People bail out of slow sites, so the work doesn't get seen. Many flash sites make you wait quite awhile before you see the first image. The owners of those sites probably think that people will wait because the site is cool. They don't.<br>

Many flash sites feature nerdish notices at the bottom about needing the Flash 9 player or whatever, and what screen resolution. Why does anyone think the average non-nerd understands this?<br>

Many flash sites start music the viewer may not like. The control for this music is often hard to find and shut off. This irritates the visitors, and this irritation carries over to the pictures. Some people expose themselves to criminal penalties by using music for which they don't have a license.<br>

Many flash sites are filled with small print that is very hard to read on the high-res screens that are common these days.<br>

Flash was a hot topic 5-6 years ago. I think it is on the verge of becoming passe.<br>

I don't know where you live, but I live in San Francisco. There are so many photographers trying for this business that a web site alone gets you nothing, no matter how cool it is. You need some way to bring people to your site. <br>

Regarding cool web sites, I know that people who can't do anything more complicated than web sites think that site design is a huge factor in the success of a business. I've seen many many sites that are damaging the businesses that pay for them because they have horrendous usability problems, including the web sites of many photographers. It does no good to tell people this because most people are in love with their site and know nothing about usability.<br>

Finally, many sites do not sell. People must think that photography sells itself. It doesn't. In a business filled with low-skill bottom-fishers, selling matters. The text on the first page of my site is the same text I use on my mailers, so if people visit my site they get a repeat of my basic message. That's good selling technique. </p>

 

<p>Here I tend to think that sites that use too much flash are run by amateurs; or folks who do not care about wasting others time either; ie newbies.<br>

<br /> If your computer has the latest version of the day and is on a T1 line; all is cool.:)<br>

<br /> If you are on dialup; or have last months flash; you pass to a pro site; one that loads ok.<br>

<br /> Many young folks are on Blackberrys or iPhones; will your site load OK; or do they just go to your competitor?<br>

<br /> Figure your target customers; maybe your business plan is to not market to folks who use Blackberrys; or dont have the latest Flash version; or are just on dlsl lite or dialup; your business is SO good you can avoid this trash! :)<br>

<br /> Better sites have a fork at the entrance; to allow using a NON flash trim site that loads quickly on dialup; or one can go into the Flash site on dialup; go mow the lawn; then its loaded.<br>

<br /> The was a time when folks with web sites prided themselves on a trim front door of a web page; todays it is often a sloppy bloaded mess.; Thus one wonders what unprofessional other stuff the web page businesses does too; wlll the photos be as sloppy and unprofessional too?<br>

<br /> Will they waste one's time in other ways too?<br>

<br /> Its a FIRST impression; consider what it means if you waste their time; or their day old computer has to have updates to view your site; and a competitor loads with *NO* issues like a flashbub.</p>

<p>Our site is very 80's ....easy to use ........most the images are 4X6 photos scanned (film days) >>> but, our market seems to be the 40-50 year old B&G. Many tell us they are not computer/net savvy....so ~~ don't want to have to hold their hands through a flash site > or dial-up mode.</p>

<p>Get your best shots, have A1 prints made of them, do some nice brochures, buy some small, collapsible exhibition stands and have a mini exhibition outside Walmart in shopping centers. Our top guys in Sydney get more business that way than any other.<br>

There are those who use cheap photographers using almost point and shoot cameras, and they charge a few hundred dollars, and then there are the fine art photographers who charge ten times that much. If you are good, then you will be rewarded. But you also have to increase your visibility. The above is a very good way.</p>

<p>More....have a look here at David Oliver: http://www.davidoliver.com.au/Weddings/tabid/54/Default.aspx.<br>

He is one of our best in Sydney. Look at his website. He promotes in shopping malls very successfully. Emulate his marketing. Don't try and re-invent the wheel.<br>

And guess what? He still uses film a lot.</p>

<p>Steve,<br>

Honestly, it looks like something I would have thrown together when I was in high school back in the 90s. It it useable? Yes. Is it sophisitcated? No. I'm not saying that you have to design something complicated, but your site does not shout out WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER to me. The colors alone are driving me nuts. Maybe you're trying to evoke a floral arrangement or something, but I don't think most people will get it. I will say this though, your site does stand out. Whether or not it's in a good way, only you can tell us by how well you're doing.<br>

What socioeconomic demographic are you going after with your site? If you're going after the lower end market maybe it's not such a big deal to have a sophisticated site. But if you're going for the higher end market I'd seriously suggest that you rethink what impression you want to give your site visitors. Maybe things are different in San Francisco, but most of the people I know my age (28) are walking around with Blackberries and iPhones. Your site as it is would be a huge turn off.</p>

<p>Kelly,<br>

I haven't heard the term "T1 line" in forever. It brings up some good memories of college. Prior to that I was on dial-up and dreamed of a 56K connection... </p>

<p>I just took a look at C Jo Gough's website. It's very simple, but the navigation and layout are much better than what you have. There are more pictures to look at as well. It's not the sleakest site out there, but it gets the job done for the demographic he's going after. </p>

<p>In the "OLD" days, bridal clients were garnered by doing High School Senior portraits. Many senior clients were return brides. Grooms too, but on a lesser scale, since brides were the focus of weddings. So contract seniors were the key to getting brides down the road. Non contract seniors were harder to get, but the grade of photography done was a key factor, and probably still today, in getting the larger quantities of clients.</p>

<p>Bottom line was, more Seniors, more brides came to you for wedding work.</p>

<p>I too don't care for the website much. Nothing in it says to me that it is a very professional operation. The purple is funky and the blue electric - hardly suggests class.</p>

<p>Hi Steve.</p>

<p>I really don't think anyone is being tough on you or piling on as the thread evolves. The obvious fact is that your website appears to be amatuerish. I've followed and read your comments and threads for quite a while.</p>

<p>If you value feedback then you might just bite your lip and listen and consider trying a change to your website for a year or so; heck, what harm can it be to try it at this point?</p>

<p>I was Not surprised that I enjoyed seeing the few photos I see on your site. But, I don't think any of the brides I know would put the you high on a list of photographers to be considered for a wedding in our area. Not because of quality but because of a clunky look and feel of the website.</p>

<p>I am the exact opposite to your site; I'm the other end of the spectrum: I put complete weddings on my website and I have a lot of comments thanking me for showing an entire wedding. Yup, not "the right way" to do things but current bride seem interested in seeing a lot of images ... they are generally young and live in an electronic age and want to "feel" the electronic age when they visit a website, imo. Your website doesn't not say "current" nor does it say "electronic age". I got the feel, from the website, that you weren't really that interested in selling yourself or your photography; it feels lazy and it feels like you are aloof or have better things to do than to post images for inquisitive brides. Again, not even the slightest bit of harshness in my typed words here; none at all.</p>

<p>The method you describe as the best method might work for selling "<strong>things</strong> " and "<strong>products</strong> " but in our case <strong>we are selling "images" and "style"</strong> . If you show few images to a bride that is shopping for an electronic age wedding photographer then the bride would be compelled to move on to a location that gives her more visual stimulation. (I'll avoid the obvious "Stimulus" plan pun here...)</p>

<p>Thanks for listening Steve.</p>