5 ways to get more wedding photography enquiries and bookings in 2021 and beyond
If you don't have a marketing strategy then you're either fully booked for the next two years or you're in denial and hoping that something will magically happen to get the bookings coming in. Either way, your competitors will be making the most of this downtime and getting ahead of the game, ready for when weddings start happening again.
It can be overwhelming knowing what to prioritise and what will get results vs what will be a waste of time. Trust me, I've been there - the amount of time I've spent on useless tasks is ridiculous and makes me sad.
The main thing is to come up with a marketing strategy - by which I mean, which marketing tactics sit right with you, come naturally to you, and will target the places your ideal client hangs out? (If you don't have an ideal client profile, this ideal client profile post will help!)
So here are 5 things you can do to supercharge your business and get the bookings coming in.
BLOG FOR REFERRALS
While the trend in our industry is currently about writing wedding planning tips and features on local venues for the SEO juice (and if you’re not doing that, you should be), don’t forget clients shoots can be extremely lucrative in terms of referrals - and they’re great for your clients to see what you do - and that you’re busy and booked up!
The BEST way to get more bookings is through referrals
No one can take these away from you. Other photographers might have better Google ranking than you, or be on a venue’s recommended list, or pay for a listing that gets them loads of bookings. But your referrals are all yours.
But how do you get them?
The easiest and most successful way to get referrals is by writing a sneak peek blog post and sharing a handful of images soon after the wedding, while everyone is still thinking about it.
The couple will share it on Facebook and thousands of people will see it.
Not to worry if you’re yet to blog past weddings - it’s still worth creating the post and sending to the couple to share. Remember, a blog that hasn't been updated since 2016 is going to look like you’re out of business, so make sure you post regularly. Plus, couples love being reminded of their wedding day, so blog the wedding on the anniversary!
The hits I see on my analytics after sharing a sneak peek are astronomical, and I get a LOT of weddings within the same friendship groups.
What do you have to do?
Writing blog posts is a chore (I bet you have a dusty to do list with “blog 2019 weddings” on it). Not only do you have to choose the images, but also write about the wedding day. But it's worth it because it's good for SEO and your clients LOVE hearing about their wedding day and feeling like it's been featured.
For a typical full day wedding, 30 or so of your fave images accompanied by a few hundred words outlining what you enjoyed the most about the day is all you need (as well as sharing it of course).
Luckily the writing portion has been taken care of: I've written templates of three versions of a wedding client blog post for you to use for your own weddings. (yay!)
In future, get into the habit of writing a sneak peek blog post in the days after the wedding and sharing it with the couple (and don’t forget to encourage them to share it too).
Top tip #1
Worried your couples will say no to letting you feature their wedding on your blog? When we send our “day in detail” form in the weeks before the wedding, as well as including group photos/timings/addresses etc, we also ask them to tell us about their wedding, for us to use on their blog post.
We ask what they’ve planned and why, advice for future couples, and why they chose us as their wedding photographers. You can even use these bits of advice and reviews as separate advice blog posts and testimonials on your website - two birds, one stone!
We never ask if we can use the photos. They sign a contract saying we can use the images, so they’ve essentially been asked and given the ok. If they ask for anything not to be shown, for example children, then that’s fine. And if they do ask you not to use the photos on the website, gently ask them why - it could just be something simple that you can work around. I'm a do first, get permission later person, but if you feel more comfortable, ask your couple first (I mention it as I leave the wedding, as an exciting thing for them to look forward to). I also send it to them first with a password so it feels more special for them.
Top tip #2
Don’t forget to link to, tag (on social) and email the venues when you blog weddings - they’re higher than you in the food chain and those personal connections you make are so valuable in getting referrals from them, and getting a name in the industry among venues and couples.
MAKE SURE YOUR WEBSITE SPEAKS TO YOUR IDEAL CLIENT
You probably wouldn’t describe your best friend as “25-35, alternative, has money, values photography”, right? You’d probably say they have a dirty sense of humour, are obsessed with Converse shoes and play guitar in a band - specific traits.
Why does it matter?
Having a website that speaks to your ideal client is important because putting off the wrong people is all the more likely to attract the right people. There are a LOT of people getting married, and you don’t want to fill your calendar with weddings you don’t enjoy. Plus there are soooo many wedding photographers, it’s hard for couples to choose. How can you stand out? Speak to them. Make them feel like you’re looking into their soul. Make them feel like your website was made for them. Then they’ll choose you over everyone else.
How to define your ideal client
First, you need to clearly define who your ideal client is so you can target branding, copy and images to them in a way that connects.
If your ideal client is tattooed and sweary, opinionated, knows what they want, loves 80s music and partying and cares about animals and is vegan, then talking about your pets and your favourite bands, and choosing images of tattooed couples and dancefloor photos will resonate with them. If your ideal client is family focussed, with children and a house in the woods, then photos of a bride and her mum will resonate, while a handbanging guest might not so much. If your website and image choice is generic, neither of these people will be excited about what you do.
If you need help nailing down who your ideal client is, the Bag the Bookings course has a module about it.
UPDATE YOUR PORTFOLIO AND MAKE SURE IT’S AWESOME
Make sure your homepage header image/s and your portfolio show only your BEST work.
Over the course of our website reviews we see lots of portfolio pages that don’t give an accurate impression of their work. The amount of times we’ve looked through a portfolio and thought “they don’t seem to have shot many weddings” only to discover so many awesome photos in the blog posts that really should be added to the portfolio.
Don’t give clients the wrong impression of your work
Problem with not updating your portfolio with bangers is there’s a good chance couples looking through your site won’t get beyond the homepage if it’s not making them feel excited. They’ll click off and find a photographer whose work resonates with them.
How do you know which images to choose?
Think about the kinds of images that will resonate with people. It’s usually the people shots, the ones that make you feel something, that resonate the most. Your potential couples want to see themselves in those photos, to dream what their wedding photos will look like. No table decorations or shoes or ring shots will make them feel that. It’s fine to show these in your blog as a part of the story of the day, but make sure your homepage and portfolio images have people in - ideally the couple themselves.
- Make sure the way the portfolio is laid out encourages people to look through. If images are too small or squished together nothing will stand out and it will become a blur
- Make sure the pics resonate emotionally - generally this means people photos, and faces in particular
- Make sure all the photos you include in your portfolio are your absolute best images
- Pictures of brides and grooms are great - but shots of a random guest can be uninspiring unless it’s a cracker
GET REVIEWS FROM YOUR PAST COUPLES
Does the idea of inviting feedback on your creative masterpieces make you poo yourself a bit? Good news, that’s normal! But personal recommendations are without a doubt the best way of winning new business, so you need to face that fear to harness the amazing power of The Testimonial. I mean, you wouldn’t book an expensive AirBnB without any reviews, would you?
How to get reviews from past couples
Ask them! Just email them with a link to your Google or Facebook reviews and tell them you’d really appreciate it, as you loved working with them.
Put a call out on Facebook asking past couples to leave you a review.
If you want to give them specific things to say, you can ask:
Why did you choose me as your photographer?
What did you like about working with me?
If you recommended me to a friend, what would you say?
What to do with the reviews
Copy the reviews from Google/Facebook and put them on your website in short bursts. Take the best line or two from a testimonial (make sure it says something about you and how you work) and use these on every page of your site.
MAKE SURE YOUR EMAIL REPLY IS ON POINT
There’s no point having loads of enquiries if your email game is off. You’ve gone to all that trouble to get your branding, photos, layout etc perfect, but you might be putting them off with your email replies.
Tips for replying to enquiries
Address both people if it’s a wedding enquiry – it’s an equal occasion and people really appreciate this.
Try to sound like a real person, not a formal corporation. You’re going to be at their wedding, or spending time with their family at a shoot, so you want them to imagine the actual person behind the email, and to like you.
Think about your sign-off and signature, what does it say and what impression of you does that give? Does it sound like you work in an office signing off an email to a client, or does it sound like you?
Write how you talk and don’t second guess yourself too much.
Use a template, but adapt it to each enquiry. If I’ve shot their venue I tell them what I love about it. If they mention something you have in common, talk about it. I’ve attached photos of my cats in my initial reply before! This is part of the email I sent to that particular couple:
Ask questions that they’ll want to answer
So don’t jump in with “how many hours do you want?” - something more like “what made you choose your venue” or “what plans do you have for the day?” are much more likely to get a response, because people love talking about their wedding. Ask about hours later on down the line once you’ve got them hooked.
This shows you’re interested in them and their plans, and means they’ll feel obligated to reply to you, reducing your chances of getting ghosted. Mainly though, it starts a conversation, which you can legitimately reply to, rather than having to chase them later on.
How to sign off
Offer a meeting or Skype – with a few date suggestions. Your email must have a clear call to action - just like you’re sending an email or message to a friend, if you don’t ask a question somewhere, they won’t necessarily have a reason to reply.
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