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infographic blog banner stating increase wedding photography bookings

No matter what time of the year it is, it’s always a good time to focus on ways to increase wedding photography bookings for your business. As a wedding photographer, having a solid photography marketing plan in place could make your wedding photography business more sustainable and profitable in the long run. Several wedding photographers typically book many months in advance, sometimes even years prior. Because of this, any changes and improvements you make today could take quite a while to be reflected in your profits. And that makes planning ahead and strategizing so integral for your line of work. We at ShootDotEdit understand how important it is for you to succeed in your photography business. And therefore, we’ve compiled a list of 27 wedding photography business tips and tricks that could help you generate more business each year. Whether you are just starting out or a seasoned professional, we have something for everyone. Read through!

Wedding Photography Business Tips

One of the first questions that pop up when you start a wedding photography business is how to book clients.
When you first sat down to start a wedding photography business, you probably were immediately struck by all the opportunities you had in front of you. And, equally, by all the work you had before you to make the most of the opportunities. Top of mind, first and foremost, the question that typically pops up is, “How to book more weddings as a photographer?”, or “How to get more wedding photography bookings?” And that brings us to the best ways to get more wedding photography clients. Now, there are a number of ways to reach out to your target market and increase your client base. From wedding photography marketing and resorting to social media, to networking and more, there are a plethora of ways to increase bookings for your business year over year.

Marketing

A service cannot graduate into a thriving business until it makes a profit. And profit comes from finding people who will pay you for your services. And, for that to happen, you must market your business with the right marketing materials. This might sound simple on paper, but putting that plan into action could be much harder than you had imagined. In the end, marketing is all about putting yourself in front of your potential clients. In other words, you will have to scout for people who are ideal for you to book. These people typically resonate with your photography, your brand, and your personality.

Depending on your understanding of client behavior, you might know where your potential clients like to spend their money, what type of wedding venues suit them best, and what type of wedding vendors they like to work with. Simply put, the more you learn about your ideal client, the easier it might be for you to find them and market your product to them.

Looking for an effective long-term strategy to increase wedding photography bookings and client base? We suggest you use the content at your disposal to engage, attract, and nurture your target market. As a wedding photographer, you have a lot of content already. Your images from previous weddings, engagements, and other shoots are exactly what your target market might be looking for. For example, if your client is getting married at a vineyard, all the wedding photos you have from vineyards could be the perfect content for you to share to draw their attention.

Suggested Read: Marketing To Millennials: Dos And Don'ts For Wedding Photographers

When it comes to content, you could even go beyond just sharing images and get creative with blogging about your work, spreading awareness about your brand through other marketing efforts like email campaigns, and even promote your brand on social media by having a strong social media plan. Wondering how to go about it? Maybe, you could consider writing a blog post about a shoot you recently did or offer some tips to your couples on posing for their wedding portraits. Or, you could work on increasing your brand’s visibility by educating a select list of subscribers through effective newsletter marketing. Marketing to your target audience could help you increase wedding photography bookings, and associate with couples whom you would probably be comfortable working with. And for that, you would need to have a plan in place and learn how to execute it.

1. Write Down Your Goals:

infographic quote by Yogi Berra

You want to scale your wedding photography business, but are not sure how to begin? Maybe, you could start by jotting down your goals - both short-term and long-term. Short-term goals are smaller tasks you can accomplish immediately, such as strengthening your content by posting one wedding-related content per week on your website and blog. Long-term goals focus on your overall business objectives, such as increasing your wedding photography bookings for the next year to a specific number. While you concentrate on growing your wedding photography business, do remember to stay focused on goals that are achievable and maximize the returns.

And while you are at it, try creating SMART goals. The acronym stands for:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Attainable
  • Realistic
  • Timely

A goal should motivate you, while simultaneously giving you a clear objective to focus on. When you are just starting your wedding photography business, there could be so many things that you might want to do. Having clear goals would allow you to cut through the noise and focus on the tasks and action items that have the potential to add true value to your business.

2. Discover Your Audience

When you are just starting out, you might still be figuring out who your target market is. And that’s okay! Because you are just testing the waters at this stage. Initially, you might want to go all out and cater to all segments of clients before you settle for the category of customers that suit your business and style of work. But whatever your approach is, we suggest you consider investing some time and studying the market and then decide on what works for you best. And you could always refine your client base as you go. But this is one step you might not want to skip. Why? Because determining your audience is crucial for the success of your wedding photography business. Once you are aware of your target audience, it might be much easier for you to strategize and market the right content to them. And the results? For starters, a loyal client base! And the ability to meet client expectations. Because honestly, when a business understands what its customers want, it’s half the job done.

If you, for example, know that your audience has couples who want to get married outdoors, consider sharing images that showcase gorgeous outdoor engagement sessions or weddings. You could even create blog posts and tailor-made email campaigns to target this segment of your audience to grab their attention.

3. Create Focused Content

A portrait of a bride and groom kissing during sunset at a fieldImage Courtesy: ShootDotEdit Customer @looyengaphoto

When you think about ways to increase wedding photography bookings, it is important to focus on what will attract your new customers. And showcasing your work through your content could be one of the most effective ways to let potential clients  know what you have to offer. Since as a wedding photographer you already spend months creating visual content, sharing your images on your website and blog could be an ideal way to draw the attention of your audience.

Here are a few ways you could present your content digitally as you start your wedding photography business:

  • A slideshow of images from a specific venue where your target market is likely to book

  • A short PDF guide that features the top ten steps to planning a wedding

  • A blog post showcasing your favorite locations to do an engagement session

  • An email that highlights several tips for selecting complementary floral colors
And you could add so much more to the list. The idea is to offer the right content to your potential clients and help them make the right choice. By sharing valuable insights and resources with them, you do several things. First, you attract your target client. Remember the thing we told you about vineyard weddings, for example? When you share images from your favorite vineyard weddings, you attract people who are naturally interested in vineyards. The more specific you get, the more well-defined your client base will be. Second, if you are sharing valuable content, it could genuinely help people. And when your clients get a sense of value you are adding to the service you offer, they are going to be more inclined to want to work with you.

Blogging To Boost Your Wedding Photography Business

Blogging is a good way to showcase your work to your potential clients through your images and wedding stories.

Your blog is a reflection of you as a wedding photographer, so it is important to put your best content out there for potential clients to see. In addition to including images, you could even tell a story of the wedding day. You could also share helpful tips for brides who are planning their wedding, or past brides who are starting a new chapter in their lives.

You might ask yourself if a blog is still necessary for today’s online environment. With the rise of so many popular social media sites, many photographers abandon their blogs completely, relying on the immediate impacts of other social media channels. While this might result in short-term gain, in the long run, it might not be a beneficial move for your wedding photography business.

Suggested Read: Who's Doing It Right In Blogging

Blogging, unlike social media, is done on a platform you own. Much like your email list, you own your web domain. This means that you have more control over both the platform and the content. And, a blog could help you to share your images while simultaneously telling your wedding photography story. Blogs are easily archived and quickly searched, making them ideal for future clients to search for your work.

Social media, on the other hand, is a never-ending feed of new posts and updates. Your post could quickly get lost in the maze of content, making it relatively difficult for potential clients to search for them in the future.

Don’t get us wrong - social media is a vital tool to increase wedding photography bookings. Later in this article, we also discuss the various social media strategies you could employ for booking more weddings. However, a blog could play an equally crucial role in helping you build your brand

Suggested Read: 201 Creative Blog Post Ideas For Wedding Photographers

4. Focus On SEO

An added benefit of blogging is that you will be catching the attention of Google for future searches. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a complex strategy, but simply put, it is all about making it easy for search engines like Google to find your posts and serve them to future people who are looking for something similar on the internet.

The more you blog, the more opportunities you give Google to show your website to couples. And the more it helps your wedding photography business!

  • Google rewards consistent posting. While you might only update your website once per year, you could publish several blog posts each month.

  • The combination of images and story (text) makes for a powerful post that Google loves.

  • If done the right way, your blog posts will stay relevant for years to come, and Google loves to build your blog’s credibility over the course of many months.

Mastering SEO is necessary in order to increase wedding photography bookings as it helps you rank higher on search engines, such as Google. Including popular keywords that your target audience searches for could help you present your content right before them, meaning they will be more likely to see what you have to offer. When you know exactly what keywords attract your ideal client, you will have the opportunity to increase your reach through search engines. Now, imagine a couple is planning their destination beach wedding in Hawaii, and your images from an earlier beach wedding pop up as they look for a photographer to capture their wedding story. A perfect match!

Too busy and caught up in other areas of your wedding photography business to blog about your work? You could consider outsourcing this task to an expert, and they might do a great job on your behalf.

5. Create Evergreen Content

Evergreen content refers to content that stays relevant even as days, months, and years go by. An example of an evergreen blog post would be - 5 Tips to Streamline Wedding Invitations. A post like this one has the potential to add value to your target market for years to come. And, this could continue to make your blog a wonderful landing spot for your target market to get valuable information.

While aspects such as preferred techniques and styles of photography may undergo a change over time, there are certain aspects of photography that do not alter even with changing times. This is something to think about when you are creating content for your target market. Evergreen content means that the information is true today, as well as five years from now.

Keep in mind - a blog post recapping a recent wedding you did can be evergreen as well. Done correctly, a blog of this kind could help future couples pick their venue, their coordinator, and other vendors. The blog post can show them examples of your work at a specific location. You could use that blog post down the road to attract prospective clients when they ask if you have ever shot at a particular venue before.

6. Post Consistently

In order to post consistently, you need to have a well-defined strategy. Otherwise, more than likely, you are going to get busy and lose your momentum. One way to stay on track is to create a blog calendar that allows you to plan out exactly how many blog posts you will share per day, week, and month. The more planned out your blog schedule is, the easier it is for your followers to know when to look for new content from you.

A blog calendar will allow you to keep track of upcoming occasions and seasons and then build the content ahead of the curve. If, for example, the monsoon is what you are looking at, how about posting some stunning umbrella shots of your couple in the rain? Relatable and helpful at the same time! A blog calendar also allows you to create consistency in your posting, which Google loves (and so do your readers and followers). Also, a blog calendar can tie in nicely with your social media.

Speaking of social media…

Harnessing The Power Of Social Media To Increase Wedding Photography Bookings

Actively using social media tools could increase your visibility and brand reach among prospective clients.

As we said before, incorporating social media as part of your wedding photography business strategy is crucial for a sound marketing plan. And, social media should ideally be part of your larger strategy for booking more clients. When complemented with other marketing techniques, social media could act as a powerful and relatively quick way to get traction.

As mentioned, various social media platforms are fast (and relatively inexpensive!) ways for you to reach a larger audience. Understanding how to properly use social media can help you generate leads online and place your content before thousands of ideal clients with minimal time and effort. Here are a few social media marketing tips for your wedding photography business to get you going.

7. Market To Your Target Audience Through Facebook

Facebook is a great way to share your images and blog posts with your friends and past clients. They make it easy to post, tag, and link to your website and blog post. In addition, Facebook gives your friends the ability to share your posts with their audience and tag their friends in images. All of this has a collective impact that helps put your content in front of new people. And that could increase your chances of expanding your audience base - which basically means connecting with more prospective clients!

Using Facebook as a part of your wedding photography social media plan could allow you to identify your target audience and create advertising campaigns to reach out to them. Not only could you share your content on Facebook, but you could also use its boosting feature to reach couples who are looking for a wedding photographer like you. This is where understanding your target market becomes helpful to your wedding photography business. Facebook Advertising allows you to create highly customized audiences to boost your content.

Related Read: How To Create Facebook Ads To Book More Weddings

You could even consider using Facebook to drive traffic to your blog post, rather than just posting the images and text inside of Facebook. As we mentioned earlier, this strategy leverages the best of both worlds. You take advantage of Facebook’s incredible capability to gather people and share relevant ideas quickly and easily, while also driving them to a domain that you own, which is your blog, gaining SEO benefits along the way.

8. Utilize Your Instagram Page

Instagram was made for photographers and is the perfect tool for wedding photographers to use to reach new clients. Using Instagram as a photographer allows you to share your best images with past, current, and potential clients. Additionally, you can utilize hashtags to reach out to new clients, venues, and vendors. Create a plan for your images that includes posting your best images from each wedding on a daily or weekly basis. Whatever your plan is, you should be consistent so your clients know when to expect new posts from you.

Also, you might want to avoid posting the exact same thing on Facebook and Instagram. While posting the same content could make life a lot easier, it isn’t utilizing the native features of each social media domain. For example, hashtags are tremendously popular on Instagram, but barely relevant on Facebook.

Also, make sure you take advantage of Instagram for business by converting your personal account into a business account or having an account dedicated to your wedding photography business. You’ll get added tracking benefits, and you could also link your Facebook business page to your Instagram account.

Lastly, consider incorporating Instagram Stories into your social media strategy as a way to engage your audience. Stories are a great way to showcase your work and personality, which could be a big deciding factor for a client on who to book for their wedding.

Suggested Read: Introducing Instagram For Wedding Photographers

9. Connect To Twitter

When you post tweets on Twitter on a daily basis, you begin to create a following. The more interesting your content, the easier it is for you to capture the attention of a larger audience. Learn how to write a Twitter copy that entices your followers and makes them want to click on the link you provided. Try directing all of your followers to your website and blog so that they can see more of your work, in turn, making it easier for booking more weddings.

Twitter has a unique audience, and it is relatively easy to post on Twitter on a frequent basis. Sharing your blog posts on Twitter is pretty simple and could even be semi-automated with a variety of software.

Suggested Read: Twitter Marketing Strategy For Wedding Photographers

Remember that similar to Instagram, Twitter is all about incorporating hashtags. Using hashtags on Twitter will allow your tweets to get discovered by your target market.

10. Attract Clients To Your Pinterest Page

Silhouette of a bride and groom holding hands and kissing at sunset

Image Courtesy: ShootDotEdit Customer @dianenicolephoto

Pinterest was built to share photos and links, which is what makes it an ideal platform for a wedding photographer. Brides are one of the largest user categories on Pinterest, as so many use the platform to draw inspiration for their dream wedding. With a consistently updated blog, Pinterest could be a fantastic platform to cross-promote and increase wedding photography bookings

Create boards that are categorized by wedding and event so your potential clients know where to look when envisioning their wedding day with you as their photographer. Include links to your website and blog so that when your client clicks on the image, they are redirected to your galleries. If used properly, Pinterest could be a fantastic way for you to build a base of future brides and grooms to find your work.

Related Read: The Complete Guide To Utilizing Pinterest For Wedding Photographers

11. Develop A Cohesive Social Media Plan

Whatever social media platforms you want to include in your social media plan, it needs to be cohesive. If you post haphazardly on various platforms, at various times, you might not gain the desired following and traction. But if you have a plan in place, you might be able to prioritize your content and maximize your benefits.

Wondering what your plan should include? It could include how often you will post, what days you will post, and who you will be targeting. Other things to decide are whether you will post the same content across all of your channels, or create unique content for each platform.

Social media, combined with blogging, is a powerful 1-2 punch in your marketing efforts. Both can quickly become overwhelming without a plan, though. You don’t want to be someone who publishes several blog posts and shows up active on 4 social media platforms, only to let it die off after a week or two. Consistency is key for both blogging and social media, and a detailed plan that is realistic could ensure you get the most out of your efforts.

Related Read: 5 Tips For Social Media Marketing For Wedding Photographers

Audience Engagement To Drive Your Wedding Photography Business

infographic quote by Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams

“If you build it, they will come.” – Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams. Frankly speaking, when it comes to marketing your wedding photography business, this quote is NOT true. You can publish dozens of blog posts, and post/tweet multiple times per day on several social media platforms, but none of that guarantees that anyone will see it, much less take action.

With all of the content you created and shared with your clients, there needs to be a way for your clients (and prospective clients) to continue to interact with you and your photography business. There are many ways for you to do this on your website, blog, and social media platforms. In general, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to interact with you and your site.

From the outset, encourage sharing your content. How you want them to share it is highly dependent on the platform, but build a base that focuses on sharing. Next, make sure there are opportunities for your audience to engage with you. On Instagram, you could encourage comments, and make sure you respond to each one of them. On your blog, you could even try a comment contest. A combination of sharing your content and interaction is what could help your marketing efforts pay off.

12. Ad ‘Pin It’ Buttons

Including ‘Pin it’ buttons on your images could encourage potential clients to interact with you on your other networks. This button immediately pins your image to their Pinterest page, allowing them to view it at any time. You can include this button on your wedding photo website, blog, and other social media platforms where you will post your content. Again, this is focused on making it easy for people to share your content. It also helps interaction on a specific platform such as Pinterest.

13. Include Social Share Plugins

One of the best ways for you to reach more potential clients is to share more of your content. Another way to make this happen is to encourage your followers to share your content. Adding website plugins that are for social sharing to your blog posts, guides, or newsletters will make it easy for your followers to share your content and help you reach people that are not familiar with you as a wedding photographer.

Networking

Networking is about developing meaningful ties with like-minded vendors.

In addition to reaching more clients through blogging and social media, it is important to create meaningful connections with your vendors and fellow photographers. The better the relationships you have with them, the more referrals might come your way.

When you’re just starting out, networking can be very hard. Let’s just be honest! You might attend a networking event in your area, and walk into a crowded room of people. Looking around, it’s clear that everyone seems to know each other. And, you know no one. It could be daunting and overwhelming, to say the least. 

Networking is much more than going to a local meetup, wandering around with your elevator pitch, and handing out business cards. At its core, networking is about developing meaningful relationships with like-minded vendors.

It’s important to develop relationships with a well-rounded group of vendors. For example, you don’t want to only focus on other vendors who work with your target market client. Expanding and getting to know vendors who work with other types of clients could give you a better understanding of your industry and help you increase wedding photography bookings

Networking can seem overwhelming when you’re just getting started, and it’s easy to put it off and not spend the time on it. The value you get is long-term - it might take a while for your hard work to pay off. But it is worthwhile. Most successful wedding photographers who have been in business for 5+ years attribute networking as one of the biggest reasons for their success.

Related Read: Top Secrets To Better Networking

14. Build Relationships With Vendors

Building relationships with other vendors could help you to tap into a large pool of potential clients.

A wedding is typically a collection of 5, 10, 15, or maybe even 20 different vendors. The coordinator, venue, florist, makeup artist, hairdresser, baker, caterer, transportation, DJ, videographer… the list goes on. Every single one of those vendors runs their own business, with their own set of clients. And, more than likely, most of their clients need a wedding photographer. The power of creating relationships with other vendors is clear - it gives you access to a large pool of potential clients!

There are many people involved in helping you capture the best shots for the bride and groom. Making connections with vendors you work with can help you grow as a wedding photography business owner. These relationships can result in lifelong referrals, which essentially means more weddings for you next year. 

Related Read: Why Networking With Wedding Vendors Is Important For Business

It is also value-adding for your clients. Having a good list of vendors that you can refer to your clients serves them and the vendors you refer. Your clients are given a trusted recommendation, and the vendors you refer are gaining more business.

15. Build Relationships With Other Photographers

What? Why would you build relationships with your competition?

While it might seem odd, fellow photographers can actually turn into one of your biggest referral sources. Other photographers are going to receive inquiries for dates they are already booked. And, just like you can refer other vendors, other photographers can refer you when they are booked.

Create relationships with photographers that have a similar business model and similar target market as yourself. While it might seem odd at first, this can turn into one of your best referral sources. And, it might even turn into a great relationship where you can add value to each other’s business.

In addition, it is helpful to meet people outside of your local market. There are many photographers in the industry who may do things differently, and who can teach you their techniques. We suggest you attend conferences and trade shows where you can meet and interact with photographers who can inspire you to make new changes in your photography business.

Stay Top Of Mind

A wide-angle image of a bride and groom posing in between two huge trees during the golden hour

Image Courtesy: ShootDotEdit Customer @brandiallysephoto

It’s not uncommon for a couple to book you a year or more in advance of their wedding. After they book you, do you have a plan in place to stay in touch with them? Or, will you just drop off the face of the map until a month or two before their wedding?

You might be thinking “Well, there isn’t really anything that I need to do for the couple in the months before the wedding.” And, you are probably accurate. Aside from the engagement session, there isn’t really much that you need to be doing with your couple until 4-8 weeks prior.

But you will be missing a huge opportunity. The opportunity is to remain top of mind for your couple. The more relevant you are in their planning process, the more often your name will come up in referral opportunities. This isn’t just a self-serving practice. You will also be serving your couple throughout the planning process, helping to lower their stress while simultaneously planning a better event.

Even if you are the best wedding photographer in the industry, if your name is not in front of your ideal clients, it will be hard to book new clients for next year. Staying top of mind could ensure that you are top of mind for referrals. And, that's good news for your wedding photography business!

Suggested Read: How To Grow Your Wedding Photography Business

16. Help Before The Wedding Day

Something that will make a large difference in the experience your clients have with you (and how they refer you) is whether you follow up with them before the wedding day. Some couples will book you months in advance of their wedding day, so it is important to reach out to them to offer advice or assistance if they need it. This will make a positive impression on them, and they will likely mention that to their family and friends. Word of mouth is an effective way to increase sales, build brand recognition, and ensure customer loyalty. 

Don’t know what to reach out about? Here are some ideas:

  • Create a checklist of things your couple should have accomplished at certain checkpoints. For example, 3 months before your wedding you may be thinking about the following… email them, and ask if they need any help.

  • Reach out and ask if they need any referrals for other vendors. They might be struggling to find a DJ or florist, for example.

  • Offer to meet up with them to talk specifically about creative ways to use their engagement photos on the wedding day. Who knows? It could lead to a large canvas print sale!

    17. Continue Helping After The Wedding Day

    Staying in touch with your clients even after the wedding day could ensure more bookings in the future.

    Now, this is important. Don’t let your interaction stop even after the wedding day. You might have fulfilled all of the services they contracted you for, but that’s no reason not to keep helping them. Remember, your couple will know others that are getting married soon, and the more you stay in contact with them, the easier it will be for them to refer you.

    After the wedding day is over, and you have sent your clients their images, it is important to stay in contact with them. Sending holiday cards to your clients, thank you cards, or other forms of communication could help you stay on top of your past clients’ minds. This means they will remember the experience they had with you as a photographer and will be more likely to refer you by word of mouth

    Want to go a little bigger? Host a gathering for all of your past clients at your studio or a local restaurant. If you’ve focused on booking your ideal client, chances are your couples will have a lot in common! And chances are they will exchange notes on how good your wedding photography service was! And we all love good reviews, right?

    Post-Event Sales

    infographic stating print sales are a great way to increase your profit after the wedding & grow your photography business each year

    As a wedding photography business owner, it is important to have a plan in place for post-event sales with every client. Selling additional items to your couple is a good way to increase wedding photography bookings each year. 

    And if you are thinking that print sales are out of business, we suggest you give it a second thought. While printing images is no longer the only way to enjoy and experience wedding photography, prints are still very valuable to your clients. No doubt, avoiding post-event sales is easier. You can just post the edited wedding images online and move on. But, you will be missing a huge opportunity - not only in terms of profit but also in terms of serving your clients. 

    18. Learn How To Sell In-Person

    Building a relationship with your clients is one of the best ways to master in-person sales. The more comfortable your couple is with you, the easier it will be to help them make decisions about their images and other products you offer.

    For many creative minds, the thought of ‘selling’ is really a tough pill to swallow. If this is you, we suggest you spend some time learning and understanding the process before you dive in. Once you understand the process, and the value it creates for both you and your clients, chances are you’ll feel a lot more comfortable in adding this to your wedding photography business strategy. And if you want to put post-event sales on auto-pilot, use a gallery hosting service like Extra, which markets and sells your prints for you, while you add to your profit!

    19. Ask Questions

    The event might be over, but the association doesn’t have to end.

    Your clients want to know you are helping them make the best decisions for their wedding images. Make sure you ask as many open-ended questions as possible so that you understand exactly what they want. Asking questions also helps your couple trust you, and when they trust you, they will be more likely to purchase the products and services you have.

    Ask your clients how else you can help them. Give them opportunities to continually engage with you. Remember - their wedding was just the beginning of their life together, and there could be many more life events in the future. Maternity, newborn, family portraits… there are so many milestones worth documenting.

    An active blog is a great way to keep your previous clients engaged. And one way of doing that could be creating a monthly or quarterly email newsletter where you email past couples your best blog posts, and sprinkle in reminders about the opportunity for portrait sessions. Most importantly, maybe you could check in every 6 months individually, and ask how you can help.

    Referrals 

    Throughout your career, what has been the fastest way to spread the word about your wedding photography business? For the vast majority of photographers, the answer most likely is through referrals! People trust the testimonies of others who have worked with you, and therefore this could be an ideal way for booking more weddings each year.

    When you are starting a wedding photography business, getting referrals can seem like the single most toughest thing. And no doubt, the longer you are in business, the more past clients you have to refer you. But don’t let this stop you - there are plenty of other areas to get referrals.

    Related Read: How To Create Raving Fans From Current Customers

    20. Ask For Referrals

    A couple posing for a twirl at sunset during an engagement session

    Image Courtesy: ShootDotEdit Customer @dannydong

    As you work on booking more weddings, you may wonder how to increase your wedding photography business from existing customers. While you are preparing for the wedding day with the bride and groom, you often form a close relationship with them. Because you have this close bond, it is perfectly acceptable for you to ask your couple for referrals. Let them know that you want to work with people who are similar to them, and when they are telling their wedding stories to their friends and family, they will likely talk about the positive experience they had with you. Again, it might seem difficult to ask for a referral. Just remember you don’t have to be awkward about it. Make it a genuine conversation, and you’d be surprised how easy it can be.

    Additionally, try to make it easy for your clients to refer you through the experience you create. Create an unforgettable experience for them. From the booking process to following up, to developing a shot list, to shooting the engagement photos and wedding images, and finally, to fulfilling post-wedding orders, they should want to rave about you to their friends. And the better the experience, the more likely it is that they will refer you to their family and friends.

    Build Your Website

    With the many changes you make to your content, blog, social media, and relationships, you should also pay the same attention to your website. Your website represents your brand image and message. When potential clients hear about you and your work, they assume their expectations will be met when they visit your website. It is crucial for your business to make sure your website is clear and concise to increase wedding photography bookings and help clients immediately decide to work with you. 

    21. Showcase Wow Images

    As a wedding photographer, one of the first things featured on your website should be an image gallery. Your image galleries should feature your best images (WOW photos) from your past wedding shoots. These are carefully selected images that you chose to reflect the feel of the wedding shoot. These images speak to your next client and could potentially help you in booking more weddings.

    22. Create A Clear Pricing Page

    When potential clients see prices on a website, it can be a bit overwhelming at first. It is important for you to have a simple and clear wedding photography pricing guide that tells them exactly what you offer and at what price. Remember, the #1 reason for clients to not book you could be confusion about your wedding packages. Ensure your wedding packages are clear and that it easily translates to anyone who views your website.

    23. Develop A Unique Brand Message

    In an industry full of photographers who have similar qualifications as you, how do you stand out? Your website is the perfect place to share your unique brand message. Add a few fun facts about you as a wedding photographer, as a business owner, and as a person. Find commonalities with your target market that help you create a unique brand message that stands out from other photographers.

    Suggested Read: Branding Your Business: Tips For Wedding Photographers

    Outsourcing

    When the busy season comes to an end, you spend most of your time working on images for your clients. Post-production is a huge pain point for many wedding photographers. The more weddings you book each year, the more of your post-production workflow might need your attention. This area of your wedding photography business is always something you can improve on to help your workflow speed increase, allowing you to book more clients.

    24. Utilize Post-Production Resources

    Chances are you have spent hours on end stressing over fine-tuning and delivering thousands of images to your past clients. Outsourcing the editing process of your images to a wedding photography post-processing company, such as ShootDotEdit, could help you reduce your post-production workload. This frees up your time and allows you to focus on other important parts of your business.

    25. Outsource Album Design

    Creating an album could take up a lot of your time. Outsourcing your album design cuts down on your workflow time, and allows you to work on other projects. Remember, the better experience your client has (even through album design), the more likely it will be that they will refer you down the road.

    Having A System In Place

    A silhouette of a couple posing on a field along side the fences at sunset

    Image Courtesy: ShootDotEdit Customer @robbmccormickphotography

    With your business demanding so much of your time, you might sometimes overlook the role systems can play in your wedding photography business. But, systems and tools can save you hours every week, and allow you to get back to doing what you love.

    Utilizing specialists for your post-wedding workflow could ensure success in your photography business. Systems are also necessary for you to create a cohesive workflow for your day-to-day tasks. Creating systems for every part of your workflow could help you stay on track, complete projects quickly, and take on more next year. And adding in workflow tools will only make you faster and more accurate.

    26. Use Workflow Tools

    There are countless workflow tools that can help you as a wedding photographer. From wedding photography email templates to social media scheduling tools, such as Iconosquare and Hootsuite, to office management systems, such as Asana, you could use tools to create a workflow that allows you to stay productive and on track at all times.

    27. Hire Additional Help

    A good alternative to hiring help on payroll is to partner with firms that specialize in the tasks you need help in.

    The more your business grows, the more tasks will pile up. If you are struggling with your current systems, you can hire someone to help you. Hiring help to take care of the day-to-day tasks that do not need your attention can help you focus on more important parts of your business.

    Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth Revisited discusses how to hire help for your business. He walks the reader through an eloquent story of the how and why behind hiring to grow your business. And, he cautions what could happen if you hire before you have good, defined systems.

    Don’t think that you can do it all. You might be able to for a short period of time, but at some point, it might get overwhelming. When you are setting out to start your photography business, you might not be able to hire someone, and that’s okay. But you might not want to get stuck in this mindset as your business grows.

    A good alternative to hiring help on payroll is to partner with companies that specialize in the tasks you need help in. ShootDotEdit is a great example of this. Rather than hiring and training an editor, ShootDotEdit can take editing off your plate. That way, you don’t have to worry about purchasing expensive equipment and keeping up to date with the latest software. And, ShootDotEdit is a specialist at post-production and will edit your images according to your style at a short turnaround time. In the end, you need to partner with a specialist that understands your needs and helps you grow your business. 

    There is always something you can do to make improvements to your wedding photography business and increase the bookings for the years ahead. The idea is to apply the right strategies and make the most of the opportunities at hand. From blogging and using social media to your benefit right up to networking with other vendors and reaching out to your clients even after the wedding day, your aim as a photography business owner is to build credibility for your brand and stay relevant and visible to both past and future clients. Because the more you are out there, the more chances you have to generate more business.

    Further Read: How To Streamline Your Wedding Photography Business Workflow

    At ShootDotEdit, we are passionate about helping you grow as a professional wedding photographer and build your brand. One of the ways we do that is by providing professional photo editing services to reduce your post-production workload. To learn more about how we can help your business, check out our pricing plans.


    2 comments


    • Mike

      Fantastic blog post! Thank you for the tips!

      Mike
      MayfairWeddingPhotography


    • Molly

      Amazing blog post! Some great tips for my business that will definitely help me step up to the next level. Thank you! :)


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