Wedding photography is your passion and love. It keeps your creative soul satiated. It helps you grow as much as a person and experience many human emotions. But wedding photography is also your bread and butter! The more brides and grooms you photograph, and learn how to book more weddings, the better it is for your business growth. The number of weddings you book will directly influence your business expansion, which is why you should always try to book more weddings!
So how many weddings are you booking each year? Have you managed to reach your goal, but don’t know how to take it further from there? Remember, a growing business needs to be approached differently than a new business. Let’s learn about how to grow your wedding photography business as you book more weddings.
15 Ways on How To Book More Weddings This Season
Many successful photographers and wedding professionals use these marketing strategies to grow their businesses. Adding to the common wedding photography advertising ideas here are other techniques that you may not have known before:
1. Know Your Target Market
Most wedding professionals try to market to everyone. This common mistake overwhelms them and eventually hits their funds hard.
Marketing to every prospect is costly because you have to reach several people. But when you know your ‘ideal client’ inside and out, you can narrow your marketing focus. As you focus your marketing efforts on reaching the people who are actually your ‘customers’ and are looking for the services you offer, you can get much more results with less effort.
2. Keep Your Present Clients Happy
Be thankful for the clients you already have. Tell them you’re grateful. This shows that you value your clients and are dedicated to your work. You can either send them an email, write them a handwritten note, or send a gift. Remind them and yourself that they are the reason you get to chase your dream. As a bonus, you might get referrals.
Suggested Read: Managing Client Expectations: Wedding Photography Tips
3. Style Matters
Figure out your wedding photography style and own it. Make it a representation of your brand. Keep it consistent, so prospective clients know exactly what your look is. They should know what they can expect their photos to look like.
Use unique design elements, colors, or a message that also resonates with your brand and your persona. Replicate your brand style across all social media platforms as well. Unique brand identifications stay with customers, and if someone has a similar ideal or belief, they will definitely want to connect with you for their special day.
4. Communicate Clearly & Quickly To Book More Weddings
Timely email replies and communication leave a great impression. After all, that is the “first impression,” so make sure you make it a good one. Don’t give prospective clients any reason to doubt hiring you. For help increasing your reply time, check out these wedding photography email templates to save time and speed up workflow!
5. Make It Personal & Fun
It’s a business deal for you, but it is one of the most memorable days of their lives for your clients - so try making it a personal experience. Keep it fun and lighthearted when you meet the couple and show that you care about their big day. Hopping right into your pricing and packages and discussing only the work is a big turnoff. Being a wedding photographer, you need to let your clients know that you care about their stories and the love they share. As you learn how to book more wedding clients you will understand how valuable the overall wedding experience is for your clients.
6. Make It Easy
Convince your prospective wedding couples that your priority is a stress-free experience. Have a process and plan to get you all the info you need upfront weeks before the wedding day. By the time the wedding week arrives, you are ready and not stressing your clients. When you zero in on tips on how to book more weddings and grow your business, take note to improve your service experience as well.
7. Get Testimonials From Past Clients
If you don’t already have any client reviews or testimonials, get some. Start building up the library of reviews. These days, word of mouth is paramount. Reading good reviews from past clients will attract new ones. Even if you are a little over budget for them, they will trust you and book you. If you’re unsure how to approach a client for review, check out our blog for tips on how to ask clients for reviews.
8. Make A Sample Album
Prepare a beautifully designed wedding album sample for your potential clients during your initial meetings. Popular wedding venues are important marketing points as a source of high-quality leads. Share a copy at venues you love and want to shoot at again. Build relationships with your vendors - you can use some of the photographs captured at that specific venue in your album. It will be a win-win situation for all — your prospective clients, the venue, and you.
9. Establish A Relationship With Vendors
Send some images to your vendors. It takes little time, but it makes a world of difference. Pick that one vendor (planner, location, florist, etc.) who has sent you a lot of referrals. Pick the one who helped you get started and send them a gift — a nice one. They deserve it! Check out this blog post on building trust with wedding vendors!
10. Keep Your Website Updated To Book More Weddings
Go through your website with a machete and slash and burn. Update your website and remove all outdated stuff. Get everything off there that is underwhelming, or just plain bad.
Re-write your ‘About Me’ page. Add blogs on various topics like sharing a client’s love story or one about a wedding photography at one of your favorite wedding venues. Ensure that you blog all your weddings. Make a video or write something that will make a potential client fall in love with you.
11. Advertise On Social Media
As you learn how to book more wedding photography clients, take note to make the best out of your social media platforms. Use the digital platforms to advertise your brand. Make a ‘best of’ folder on Facebook. Add all your best (truly best, like 50 or fewer images) work from last year. Re-tag everyone that’s in it. Use your Instagram similarly. Make Pinterest boards. Use Snapchat and Tiktok to your benefit.
Suggested Read: How To Create A Successful Social Media Strategy
12. Improve Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) To Book More Weddings
One of the simplest marketing tools a photographer can use to book more brides and grooms is SEO. Working on SEO for your website works wonders. It will keep you top of the list when future clients look for a wedding photographer online. Make the best use of organic and paid marketing. Check out this post on how to create Facebook Ads to book more weddings.
13. Do Your Homework
Use The Wedding Report to find out the real stats about your local wedding market. This is vital information. You’ll need it to figure out what to charge. By this, you’ll know if there is enough demand in the market to support your new business in the first place.
Spend some time online in the bride's local chat rooms and visit the Top 100 Wedding Blogs. What are brides looking for in your service that they can’t find? Look for an unmet need you can meet.
14. Focus on Building a Community
Identify the local wedding associations in your area and join them. Make it your goal to meet three new people at each networking meeting. Find a way you can help them and you’ll become fast friends. It’s a quick way to get your first referrals and book more weddings.
Call up some experienced wedding photographers. Tell them honestly that you admire their work and that you’re just starting out. Ask if you can take them to lunch to get their advice and help with your business. Not everyone will respond, but you’re looking for one person to teach you their secrets. You need their advice and some referrals.
Suggested Read: Top 6 Ways To Boost Your Wedding Photography Sales
15. Book More Weddings By Advertising At A Bridal Shows
Focusing on how to book more weddings as a photographer you must be where your ideal clients are . A bridal show is the best place to meet brides and network with other vendors. You’ll be available for popular dates your competitors have already booked. So your investment will bear fruit in no time.
Remember to keep your wits about you if things slow down. Use a slow period to pick two to three techniques from above and focus on implementing them in your business. Hopefully in time, you can begin targeting the clients you desire. It may not happen overnight, but the results are well worth it. Apply what you’ve learned and book more weddings than ever before!
Further Read: How To Have The Most Profitable Wedding Season As A Photographer
At ShootDotEdit, our goal is to take the heavy lifting of photo editing off your plate — giving you more time to run your business, spend time with your family, or even just have a weekend again! To learn more about how we can help, check out our pricing plans.
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