Wedding photography is your passion and love. It keeps your creative soul satiated. It helps you grow so much as a person and experience a great variety of human emotions. But… wedding photography is also your bread and butter. The more brides and grooms you photograph, the better for your business. The number of weddings you book is directly proportional to your business expansion. You should always be trying 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.
In this blog, we’re giving you 20 ways to book more weddings every year and grow your business the way you want to.
Let’s get to it!
20 Ways To Book More Weddings Every Year
Many successful photographers and wedding professionals use these strategies to grow their businesses. But there are other techniques that you may not have heard of or seen before.
First up:
1. Book More Weddings : Turn Interests Into Income
Most wedding professionals try to market to everyone. This overwhelms them and hits their funds hard.
Marketing to every prospect is costly because you have to reach a lot of people. But when you know your ‘ideal client’ inside and out, you can narrow your marketing focus. You can get a lot more results with less effort.
2. Keep Your Present Clients Happy
Be thankful for the clients you already have. Tell them you’re thankful. Send them an email, write them a handwritten note, or send them a gift. Remind them, and yourself, that they are the reason you get to chase your dream. As a bonus, you might get referrals.
3. Style Matters
Figure out what your wedding photography style is and own it. Make it your own. Keep it consistent so prospective clients know exactly what your look is. They should know what they can expect their photos to look like.
4. Communicate Clearly & Quickly to Book More Weddings
Timely email replies and communication will really leave a good impression. After-all, that is the “first impression” so 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 5 Email Templates You Need Right Now!
5. Make it Personable & Fun
It’s a business deal but try making it a personal experience for your clients. When you meet the couple, keep it fun, lighthearted, and show that you care about their big day. Don’t just hop right into your pricing and packages — that’s a big turnoff.
6. Make it Easy
Convince your prospective wedding couples that your priority is a stress-free experience. Have a process and plan that would 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.
7. Get Testimonials From Past Clients
If you don’t 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. Check out this blog on How to Ask Clients for Reviews if you want more tips!https://shootdotedit.com/2020/08/how-to-ask-your-clients-for-reviews/
8. Make a Sample Album
Keep a beautifully designed sample album ready for your potential clients to see. You can also give a copy at venues you love and want to shoot at again. 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 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. Advertise on Social Media
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. Check out this post on how to Create Facebook Ads to Book More Weddings.
11. Use Wedding Directory Sites to Book More Weddings
Are you familiar with wedding photography directory sites like The Knot and WeddingWire?
It can be tough figuring out if these sites benefit you as a photographer or not… Sometimes it helps to step into the mind of the client and establish yourself on these sites. They can put you on par with other wedding vendors they may be searching for within your area.
12. Keep Your Website Updated to Book More Weddings
Go through your website with a machete and slash and burn. Remove all outdated stuff. Get everything off there that is underwhelming, or just plain bad.
Re-write your ‘About Me’ page. Make a video or write something that will make a potential client fall in love with you.
13. Run Special Offers
Run a month-long booking special. Anyone who books by the end of the month gets a complimentary engagement shoot. You can even offer an extra hour of coverage.
14. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to Book More Weddings
One of the simplest marketing tools a photographer can use to get book more weddings and get more wedding clients 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.
15. Blog Your Work or Submit to Wedding Blogs
Get your stuff together, and submit some weddings. Take your work to where the brides are. Two Bright Lights is an excellent resource for streamlining this process. By submitting to Two Bright Lights, you have the opportunity to send your images to hundreds of blogs.
If you are setting up a new business, the Next 5 tips to Book More Weddings are for you!
16. 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 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.
17. Find a Mentor
Call some experienced wedding photographers up. 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.
18. Make Friends in the Industry
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.
19. Follow up With Everyone you Meet
When you meet someone, take their card. Jot down a note about your conversation on the back. Send them an “Unforgettable Postcard” with a personal note mentioning your conversation. The Postcard has a friendly, smiling photo of you on the front. It has your business info and a blank space for a note on the back. Send this to everyone after each meeting. If you stay consistent, people will remember you and the referrals will start coming.
20. Book More Weddings by Advertising at a Bridal Shows
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.
Final Thoughts on How to Book More Weddings
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!
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!
Click here to learn more about what ShootDotEdit can do for you!