Changing Wedding Business

[curtis_wallis]

<p>I am asking a little insight from some established shooters. I have been shooting 15 years. More commercial with wedding here and there. I have been building the wedding side a few years now. I have redesigned my site weddings.curtiswallis.com Really working on the SEO stuff and my rank is slowly climbing. I have tried google ads which worked at first but then lots of lookers not a lot after that. I then placed ad on THEKnot. That was worse. Recieve lots of emails for infor but thats it. I now am getting organic traffic and have a few ad out there. But I get a few emails for info but thats it. Not a lot of anything after that. My word of mouth is pretty good so I get referrals. I am not a amatur I shoot full time. I love shooting the weddings and would like this business to grow more. So I have 2 questions.</p>

<p>1. How are most getting new business outside word of mouth</p>

<p>2. My price range is middle of the road for area. Does my site scare off brides?</p>

<p>Any feedback would be great!<br>

Curt</p>

[david_schilling___chicago_]

<p>I think the site is generally OK but the home page seems way too busy. Suggest that you do a simple flash and move the info into the site. The homepage features one comment that says that "Curt took an amazing picture...." since this was a wedding I'd be looking for that statement to be plural. I'd prefer an actual folio in your gallery as opposed to the way the selected images are presented in a grouped fashion.</p>

<p>I would have predicted your unhappiness with the ad in "The Knot" and the google ad. WOM along with local networking with vendors and other photographers is likely your best bet. SEO and websites can provide traffic but traffic doesn't likely translate to increased qualified inquiries that can lead to clients. Use the website as a platform of information/image samples and work to have real people drive potential clients to your site based on personal recommendations. Good luck.</p>

[susan_armitage]

<p>Your website home page is very cluttered looking - it should just be an amazing photo that really catches the bride's eye or a simple slideshow of "wow" images that makes them want to go further into your website. There is so much text I immediately didn't want to read any of it. Go for simple, a good photo goes a long way. I had my website professionally redone and I like the impact.</p>

<p>I have been shooting weddings for eleven years full time and have another shooter that works for me full time as well. We do around 60+ weddings a year. I have found The Knot totally useless and stopped doing that type of advertising ten years ago. I have an email list of all my clients and send a newsletter every few months to all past clients with referral specials (get a free portrait if you refer a wedding couple and they book) album and portrait specials etc. So many of my wedding clients come back for baby portraits or refer their friends and co-workers etc. I also belong to a wedding leads group that gives me referrals. If there isn't one open in your city, start one. Ours is the Colorado Wedding Association. I also make really nice wedding albums for new venues when I shoot there and do freebies for them, that got my foot in the door in alot of places. In the beginning I found wedding shows very helpful as well and got a lot of clients that way. I can't stand them now and rarely do them unless it at a venue that refers me a lot.<br>

Hang in there! Once you get a baseline amount of yearly weddings, you'll find you just get more and more referrals and clients.<br>

S. Armitage</p>

[kevin_swan1]

<p>I agree with the others, my main comment is that your webpage is too much text and not enough photography. I think you should simplify, and really hit your visitors with a couple of your best, eye-popping photos right off the top, to get them interested.</p>

[curtis_wallis]

<p>Thank you for your responses. I am going to make some changes to the home page. I think I can implement some basics of your ideas on the site. The only challange is SEO of the site. That is where the copy comes in. The past few months have been dedicated to getting the site higher on serch results. If any one has researched this a flash based site or a home page of just one image hurts your rankings. With the help of a specialist my ranking has been up to page 2 or 3 on our keywords.<br>

But there is a little battle between SEO professional and trying to get good astetics to a site. <br>

Thank You your comments have helped.<br>

Any one had experience with SEO on there site?</p>

[david_schilling___chicago_]

<p>I'll try to say it one more time. SEO will not be the answer to your problems, your brides are local. WOM along with local networking with vendors and other photographers is likely your best bet. SEO and websites can provide traffic but traffic doesn't likely translate to increased qualified inquiries that can lead to clients. Use the website as a platform of information/image samples and work to have real local people drive real local potential clients to your site based on personal recommendations.</p>

[William Michael]

<p ><em >"I have been shooting 15 years. More commercial with wedding here and there. I have been building the wedding side a few years now . . . My word of mouth is pretty good so I get referrals. I am not an amateur I shoot full time. I love shooting the weddings and would like this business to grow more. So I have 2 questions.</em></p>

<p ><em > </em></p>

<p ><strong ><em >1. How are most getting new business outside word of mouth"</em></strong></p>

<p > </p>

<p >WoM is my strongest vehicle, so I am kind of avoiding your question,: but hopefully you might get something out of my reply . . . </p>

<p ><br />Firstly, I suggest you <strong ><em >interrogate your methods to ensure you are you making the best use of WoM</em></strong> before you put effort, money and time into developing and maintaining other vehicles from scratch.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >As one example - you can leverage you use of Business Cards and also any other vehicle which is predicated upon developing better and stronger associations with any WoM marketing you undertake. </p>

<p > </p>

<p >As another example (other than business cards) - do you actively keep in contact with previous Wedding Clients - simply by sending them a gift on their first Anniversary?</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Here's a laid back read about Business Cards: It was first posted here: <a href="../wedding-photography-forum/00Vd6u">http://www.photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00Vd6u</a></p>

<p > </p>

<p > <br>

 

<p>***</p>

<p>Perhaps it’s best to start at my basic premise – forgetting any of the Psychology or Marketing aspects / fancy words altogether – just the bare bones of it.</p>

<p>> I like to be liked – most people do.</p>

<p>> I have an ego – to be anywhere good at my job, I think to have an ego is important – to have it in check is also important, but that is another topic. . .</p>

<p>> Because I like to be liked and because I have an ego – if I am <strong><em>memorable</em></strong> to those I meet, and those folk’s memory of me is <strong><em>positive</em></strong>; then I will have satisfied two of my many goals in life.</p>

<p>> Two key elements to “positive” are: sincerity and honesty.</p>

<p>> All people are potential Clients</p>

<p>> If People have a positive, attributable memory of me, then my Business and I will be rewarded.</p>

<p>So with that premise best now to describe two real examples of my “adaptation”:</p>

<p>***<br>

<strong><em></em></strong><br>

<strong><em>Sample 1. </em></strong></p>

<p>Now let’s say you and I meet on a web forum and we exchange ideas and we seem to get along amicably – <strong><em>much like if we struck up a conversation in a pub . . . so that is our scenario – a pub: </em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br>

I would very likely offer to buy a drink and we might talk a bit more – now you having your business in the USA? and me being based way a away it would be silly for me to think that we might even (later) discuss mutual recommendations or how we might help each other out on a day to day basis.</p>

<p>But, as I would want you to like me – that is genuinely like me for who I am and what I stand for – I would want to “leverage” our pub conversation into your memory such that it and I became a positive memory for YOU, personally.</p>

<p>So I might excuse myself to attend to nature – or even buy another drink at the bar – where there was room and an hard surface to craft a neat and short personal message on my business card.</p>

<p>As it become time to take our leave, we would most likely shake hands at which time I would take my pen and the card I had written on and say something like: “I really enjoyed our discussion tonight – thanks for thatl – and as one of the things we talked about we were business cards – here’s mine – all the best to you.”</p>

<p>And I would take my leave.</p>

<p>Now you note that the words I spoke at the close of the evening are very similar to the words I scribed above. Also I would put a date on it – something that you might remember, in July when you pull the card out and note that you haven’t said “hi Bill” for six months. :)</p>

<p>And the message is genuine – I do wish you well in your endeavour.</p>

<p><strong><em>No matter how intimate or how causal the acquaintance or meeting might be, there is always a short sincere message that will be pertinent to that particular: event; place; time or person – or, often - all four. </em></strong></p>

<p>***<br>

<strong><em></em></strong><br>

<strong><em>Sample 2. </em></strong></p>

<p>I took 14 days holiday in January – for most of that time we were at a recluse, with no Mobile Phone Coverage, No Internet, No Disturbances and very few People – but I did take a couple of cameras and a tripod and about three lenses – just travelling lightweight and for my FUN ONLY.</p>

<p>And I did take business cards – though they were relegated to my bag and NOT on my person – I do switch OFF and can do that very easily and very quickly.</p>

<p>There was a M/F couple in the cabin next to ours with whom we exchanged the polite “hello” as our paths crossed – contrary to my normal outward going personality, when I switch off I do switch off from people – not rude - I just switch off.</p>

<p>On the second or third day after our neighbours arrived, the woman pulled out one of those thin flat P&S cameras and proceeded to frame (her husband?) who was standing about 4ft higher than her on the balcony . . . we could not help but overhear their conversation, which disclosed that she had only one image left on her card and that she was unhappy with all the other attempts she had made at the shot of her mate and it was apparent that these two were leaving the next morning.</p>

<p>I switched “on” and I asked if she would like me to take a Photo of BOTH of them together . . .<br />I asked how the camera worked and what I should do to work it – but what I was really doing was investigating if the Flash was on AUTO or not, and where the ZOOM function was – O.K. I got both the bits of info I required and the Lady showed me where the “go” button was located.</p>

<p>So she climbed to the balcony and I zoomed from the W/A she had, to a Longish Half-shot and I positioned the Camera “Hail Mary” Style such that the front railing of the balcony did not cast a shadow across their chests but was as “hidden” as much as I could make it so.</p>

<p>So we did the one shot and she interrogated the LCD and said: “thank you” – and I said: “you are welcome, thank you for trusting me with your camera”.</p>

<p>And I then switched off and went back to addressing my severely poor position, loosing 3 – 6 in our ongoing Holiday Rubber (Traditional Canasta) – I poured a Crisp New Zealand White, for more clarity on my predicament.</p>

<p>At dinner that evening, I slipped over to their table to say “Hi” and I asked if they enjoyed their stay and I hoped that the photo of the two of them would be a nice memory of the last three days – I pulled out my card and wrote the back: “thanks for trusting me with your camera – Bill, Jan 2010” and I gave it to the Woman, my writing side up – she read it and smiled and I returned to our table.</p>

<p>I don’t think she read the front of my card – and if she did it would be most likely that she could not decipher all of it, because of the Dinning Room’s poor / (romantic?) lighting.</p>

<p>The next morning they were leaving and by chance walked past me as I was attempting to make an image of this: <a rel="nofollow" href="../photo/10593653&size=lg">http://www.photo.net/photo/10593653&size=lg</a> which on previous stays at this resort had been an EV / Dynamic Range challenge for me – as I did not want to employ HDR multiple capture techniques – or use Flash or Reflectors so I was concentrating on my image and not on my surroundings. I was futzing on the ground with my HH light-meter dangling around my neck and my Manfrotto sticking sideways with my 5D on it spinning around and the 16 35 mounted on it.</p>

<p>When they had to walk around me and my gear to get to the car pack it kind of rocked their socks I think – mine too, because they woke me up from my own little Photo World, we said polite goodbyes – but it seemed a little uncomfortable – for them as it clicked later, they had not seen any of my camera gear before then.</p>

<p>When I arrived home, about a week later, in the mail box was a thank you note: “Bill, Just a short note to say thank you for taking our Photo. We have had it printed and framed and put your card on the back of it. It is one of the best Photos of the two of us we have – it was so kind of you taking the time to do that. You can really see the difference when a professional does the job, thank you again, regards XXXX & XXXX”</p>

<p>Now that’s a nice story and with a very nice ending and it is my true belief that many, perhaps mostly all of the fulltime Professional Photographers here would step down and offer to do what I did and execute the image as well as or better than I.</p>

<p>But the questions (in respect of this thread) to ask are:</p>

<p>> How many would have their image framed and on display at those folk’s home?<br />> How many would have their NAME remembered?<br />> How many would have that Photo talked about, because the time, the place and the interaction was memorable?<br>

<br /><br /><strong><em>Sample 3 </em></strong>(I can’t count)</p>

<p>Neither of examples 1 or was an overtly a crude (but still honest) message such as: <em>“free sitting if you bring this card back within three days”</em> – but make no mistake, that in the correct interaction / situation, a blunt message such as this sample, can work effectively.</p>

<p>This is an example of where you could be creative in cross promoting - listen to your commercial clients as they chat - there is no rule which says you cannot have two arms to your business and two business cards to suit. </p>

<p>***</p>

<p>My seemingly screwy fascination with Business Cards and the meticulous honing of their application and use is not for all to embrace – I know that.<br>

<br /><strong><em>Technical words:</em></strong></p>

<p>(which actually I don’t like that much – I would rather do Technical Essay on Depth of Field that this Marketing Stuff)</p>

<p>As I said, my method of utilizing Business Cards doesn’t work for all and it is <strong><em>not</em></strong> an exclusive method of <strong><em>growing a business</em></strong> – no one element for growing is exclusive.</p>

<p>Business Cards work for me and are one of my <strong><em>Marketing Strategy’s</em></strong> <em>leading edge</em>, as the daily ue of Business Cards dovetails neatly into my <strong><em>main general thrust of marketing / advertising</em></strong>, which is <strong><em>Word of Mouth</em></strong>, both of these are predicated on <strong><em>Networking**</em></strong>.</p>

<p>***<br>

<strong><em></em></strong><br>

<strong><em>The End:</em></strong></p>

<p>That’s about the limit of the nuts and bolts which I choose to share, publically . . . there is quite a deal of honing and refining which can be done to this application, and IMO it is actually very simple, effective, and rewarding exercise and not just monetarily rewarding, either.</p>

<p>WW<br>

<strong><em></em></strong><br>

<strong><em>Some stuff after The End</em></strong><br>

<strong><em></em></strong><br>

<strong><em>A definition:</em></strong></p>

<p>** <strong><em>Networking: </em></strong>Noun Abstract (archaic) “To network, to form a bond, to interact with another person or group of people, to be social, an old fashioned technology requiring <strong><em>human contact</em></strong> and / or <strong><em>social intercourse,</em></strong> practiced in the last century, it is now an outmoded and inferior practice with the more effective methods of non-human interaction, some of which are: point to multi-point communication, voice recognition, cybernet services, in-vetro fertilization, there is no longer any requirement for Networking at any human contact level, whatsoever.”</p>

 

</p>