The holiday season is upon us! For a wedding photographer, this could also mark the start of the slow season and finally give them some time to pause and reflect on their business as the hustles of Q4 come to a close. But as the wedding industry sees a brief lull, the winter vibe takes over, and so do holiday sales. ’Tis the time to earn extra! And holiday cards could bring you the perfect opportunity to make the most of this time and grow your wedding photography business. And this blog brings you 7 amazing tips to help you figure out how to use festive cards to your benefit. So let the magic unfold!
How To Grow Your Photography Business With Holiday Cards
1. Add A Personal Touch
As a photographer, you spend so much time on your clients’ photos and how you can make them special. Sometimes, though, it can be helpful to share your favorite photos of your personal life. This can include photos of your family, friends, pets, and those closest to you. When you send a holiday card with your loved ones on it, you remind your clients that you are not just a photographer but you are also one of them. You are a part of a family and have a life outside of your business, which humanizes you in their eyes.
Think about it like how you would treat your website. On your “About Me” page, you share branded and personal photos to give clients an idea of who you are and how they can relate to you. Treat holiday products the same way, so your clients can see exactly who you are and remember why they chose you as their photographer.
When clients receive your card, chances are they might place it somewhere in view of guests and other family members. With these cards, you let your clients know you appreciate them and want to stay on top of their minds. Plus, your holiday cards may encourage them to purchase their own cards from you with their photos from the wedding day.
2. Build Client Referral Opportunities
One of the fastest ways for you to build strong relationships, and turn your clients into referral engines, is to keep in touch with them even after the wedding day. Clients who trust you and remember their positive experience with you will probably be the ones who will refer you to their loved ones. The holiday season brings the slow season. Therefore, now is the perfect time for you to reach out to your past and current clients with holiday cards! Create branded cards to grow your photography business. Sometimes a kind gesture or a sweet note can go a long way in building strong, friendly connections with your clients. To learn more about how to build a holiday product campaign, check out this blog.
Suggested Read: Tips To Maintain Wedding Photography Client Relationships
3. Share Cards With Friends
Even though your clients are perfect referral sources for you, they are not the only ones who can introduce you to potential clients. In addition to your clients, send cards to your friends. These cards should have a reference to your business in some way, whether they include your logo, website, or a past wedding image. Receiving a personalized card could be a delightful moment! And you never know what might urge your friends to talk about this warm gesture with their family, friends, and acquaintances. After all, it is the season to be grateful!
Similar to your past and current clients, your friends trust you and know who you are as a person. When someone they know needs a wedding photographer, you will probably be top of mind for them. Also, because your friends have similar personalities and interests as you, the chances are higher they will refer you to people who are more suited as your ideal client. As you create your cards and decide who to send them to, make sure your friends are part of the list to encourage more referrals for your services.
4. Express Gratitude
One of the objectives of holiday cards is to sell them to your clients so you can increase your income and continue to grow your business. Another important aspect is to send them to this year’s clients with their final images and other products. You can send across cards as a “thank you” gesture to clients who booked you during the year. Choose 3-5 images from the client’s wedding day to use on the cards, and send those to this year’s clients complimentary. After all, most of us love to receive something complimentary during the holidays - and if it’s a memento reminding of a special day, it becomes even more special.
When you send holiday cards as thanks to clients from this year, you achieve a few things. Your clients are already really excited to see their images from the wedding day. Once you receive them from wedding photography editing services, you can deliver the photos to your clients. Because they are in anticipation of their images, and the addition of custom holiday cards could be all the more thrilling (meaning they might even share them with their family and friends). You also introduce the possibility that clients will purchase more cards to send to their loved ones for the holiday. Not only can you grow your business through referrals, but you can increase your income with additional card sales.
5. Extend Your Thanks To The Vendors
In addition to the planning that your clients put in, a successful wedding is also a collaboration of multiple vendors working in sync and helping each other. And as a wedding photographer, you get to spend a lot of your time around them. It is likely that there were moments when your partnership with a specific vendor particularly stood out to you. Or perhaps someone went out of their way to help you during a difficult event. Or you just want to strengthen your relationship with someone in the industry. Whatever be the reason, holiday cards could be a great way to extend your vote of thanks to the vendors who have worked alongside you, time and again.
6. Add A Token Of Appreciation
How can you make your holiday cards unforgettable? Add something extra - a small gift or a token of appreciation. This extra thing can also circle back to your business or products as well, but remember that people often do not look forward to a marketing scheme wrapped in a Christmas present. However, if you can make it appear homely and something with genuine emotions - go ahead! But our best bet would be to make that something personal.
Again, this goes back to our first tip - add a personal touch. Perhaps it could be a link to a blog you published on your website about their wedding day, or your favorite Christmas recipes, music recommendation, etc. It doesn’t have to be something gigantic. Anything small will do - anything that clearly expresses your heartiest welcome and shows that you value your clients.
7. Get Creative & More Interactive
Want to stand out from the bunch of cards that your clients might receive during the holidays? Think out of the box! Try to add a creative element and innovation wherever possible. What’s more? If you are adding a personalized message, try not to make it sound like a robot wrote it. Keep the tone interactive. You could also try and be a bit reflective and share a snippet of something that contributed to your happiness this year. And you can write to ask them about their personal highlights. Now be mindful, in the midst of adding all these elements, do not forget to keep it simple and concise. Make your holiday cards sound genuine, but stay away from turning them into something that sounds like their grandma wrote it to them. That’s where you can draw the line!
Further Read: 5 Reasons To Be Thankful As A Wedding Photographer
’Tis The Time To Be Grateful!
’Tis the time to be grateful, indeed! And we are forever grateful for our ShootDotEdit family! A flourishing community of photographers who love to capture moments that bring joy and happiness to people’s lives. Our very foundation is rooted in the resilience of the same passion, zest to grow, and the will to make a difference. We hope that this holiday season brings more joy to your life and prosperity to your business! Happy Holidays!
To learn more about how we could be of assistance to you and your photography business, feel free to contact us via our website or take a look at our pricing page.
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