Back in March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic caused all my April and May weddings to be postponed, we were confined to our homes and I just wanted to lie in bed, methodically scowling at and deleting any email that littered my inbox with fun, creative, productive things I could be doing to get ahead of the game and “make the most of being in lockdown”.
Since then though, I’ve come to accept that life as we knew it is over for a while, and if I want to still be in business by the end of this, I have to crack on. It’s been nice getting back into a normal-feeling routine, doing things that will one day pay off, and getting done things I was putting off (like our accounts!). I feel like I’m achieving something, which is incredibly important in staying positive.
I hope you’re also feeling a bit more ready to get down to it and get stuff done! If you’re wondering where to begin, here are seven things you can do to keep your business alive and thriving and be ready to face the world when we’re released.
Do all the admin stuff you’ve been putting off
Stuck indoors? Use the lack of distractions (or relative lack, if you’re a parent!) to your advantage and get one boring task done every day - empty your inbox, back up your photos, make sure your contract is watertight (and coronavirus-friendly), work on your SEO…
It’s all these little things that weigh us down when we’re busy and make us feel overwhelmed, so get them out the way while you don’t have a pile of weddings to edit.
Revisit your long-term goals
With the world in chaos, just getting through the day can seem like a struggle, but now the initial shock is over you’ll want to start thinking about how this new reality is going to affect your business this summer and beyond.
Is it still realistic to aim to get 50 full-day weddings this year? Can you afford to get by on deposits for 2021 alone? What are you doing to make sure they’re coming in?
It might time to start thinking about how you can diversify according to the new situation, such as offering different packages for smaller weddings, and focussing your SEO more locally for couples who have a renewed love for their local economy and want to support small local businesses. There’s never been a time when people appreciated local services and small businesses so much, as they’re literally relying 100% on them right now! I’ve added small local weddings to my pricing page, and am buoyed by the fact that I’m still getting plenty of enquiries and even getting bookings.
Update your portfolio
If your portfolio is looking a bit rusty (to put it politely), this is a great time to make sure it’s really on brand and appealing to your dream client. There's a whole module about this in the Kick Ass Course!
Work backwards from knowing who your client is and pick photos that would appeal to them - such as epic portraits, or detail shots or fun documentary moments. And be consistent - if your edit has changed drastically over the years, hit Lightroom and re-edit the oldies-but-goldies.
Experiment with different photography techniques
This is something we’d planned for the year ahead before Covid-19 was even a thing - we were sad not to have weddings to try our new ideas out on, but we’re still using our cameras every day and taking silly photos of Troll weddings, the cats in interesting light, and each other on our walks. Now’s the time to play around with any ideas you have kicking around.
Bonus: you won’t forget how to actually use your camera when weddings come back!
Create and schedule kick-ass content
You don’t want your Google position to tank and your followers to forget who you are just because you binged on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, so keep busy writing blog posts, get your social media scheduled for the next few months and try to get featured in weddings blogs. If you have past wedding sessions to blog, use the blog generator to make life easier.
Show your email template some love
If you’re not using a template to reply to enquiries, you’re wasting a lot of time! We don’t mean a bog-standard bought-off-the-internet send-as-it-as template - we mean that whatever you write to clients, save it and use it as a starting point whenever you hit “reply” to an enquiry. Always personalise it, but a lot of it will be the same each time. Make sure your replies are on brand, well-written and free of mistakes, and always end with a clear call to action - don’t leave people with nothing to do. The Kick Ass Course includes a very personalisable email reply template for wedding photographers if you need a good starting point.
Give your website an overhaul
This down time is the best time to spring clean your website. Even if you’re super pleased with your website, there are always things that can be improved to better the user experience and get more dream enquiries. If you're getting hits on your site, but people are leaving before getting in touch, then something's up. Or maybe you're just not getting the exciting enquiries you'd love. If that's the case, now's the time to think about your branding and brand message - the Kick Ass Course covers ALL of this, and makes sure you have a website that will attract your dream clients. You can find out more about the course here: kickassphotographers.com/
Now go and smash it!
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