- Hey, everybody.
This is Roberto Blake of robertoblake.com
helping you create something awesome today.
In today's photography video,
I'm actually gonna give five tips to wedding photographers
for marketing themselves.
This is something that came up
because I actually did a speaking session
on marketing and branding over at ShutterFest for 2016.
It was an amazing event put on by Shutter Magazine,
and I met some wonderful and amazing people there,
there were so many talented photographers,
and I was really glad that my session was actually
very helpful and very practical for a lot of them.
So my top five tips for wedding photographers
revolve around story telling,
direct networking in your marketplace,
and really building up the local community
around the wedding industry.
This is something that I see a lot of people
take for granted.
A lot of small business owners are reluctant
to work together, and I think, in the wedding industry,
that there's a tremendous opportunity there.
Something I would do that doesn't even require a website
or social media is, I would work with a bridal store
that's local, or I would work with a florist,
and I would actually print up some of my best shots
that make sense for that business,
and I would get some specific business cards
that tie to those giant posters,
maybe they're 24 by 36, maybe they're larger,
maybe they're 40 by 60, and I would go ahead,
and I would eat the cost of printing those
and letting them hang them up in the store,
or maybe we split the difference on the cost,
and we put those up.
I put business cards that match those in there
for people to see that this business trusted me
to represent them and put my work up.
So that means that they can trust me
when it comes down to their big day,
and they can hire the right person.
So I think that that makes a real big difference.
It means that the business owner is more likely
to want to advocate for you and recommend you
as a photographer.
I think that that kind of networking opportunity
and giving some upfront value,
some kind of win-win scenario, makes a lot of sense.
Also, you could work with these local
wedding industry people, and you could offer them
some kind of finder's fee or commission
for every referral client they send your way.
Getting 80 percent, 90 percent of something
is better than 100 percent of nothing,
so don't be afraid to lose a little bit upfront
on the cash part of that in order to get
and generate new business.
So that's something that I would definitely look into.
I think it goes without saying that, in this day and age,
having a website is imperative.
It's probably the most important thing you can do.
For a wedding photographer,
I would steer away from the easy, cookie-cutter solutions.
I know that they can be very attractive,
and that they feel like they save you time,
but in the end, you don't want to save time
at the expense of not making money.
So I would get a professional website.
You can go to bluehost.com, I have a link for you.
You can go to robertoblake.com/bluehost.
They're a really reliable web hosting company,
and they're super affordable.
You just go ahead,
and you do a one-click install of Wordpress,
go ahead and get one of the free themes,
and you're off to the races with a gorgeous looking website
that's easy to manage,
and you can upload any photos you need to.
Usually, these themes also work on mobile devices,
so that means that, when you're out in the field
and you're telling people about your website,
you're directing them to your .com,
and they go to it on your phone,
it doesn't look bad,
and that's gonna really help you seal the deal.
It's also important to market directly to people
where they live and where they're spending their time.
So I would spend a lot of time in Facebook
and do some marketing there.
I would set up a Facebook brand page,
but more importantly, I think I would play
in local Facebook groups a lot,
especially groups for the local wedding businesses.
If there's not a group like that,
I would say, start a Facebook group
for the local wedding businesses,
the local wedding industry,
and I would say that you do that, you manage that group,
and that you even do physical meetups with them
from time to time.
This is gonna really help you
with that networking relationship.
Their customers are already your ideal customers
because they're getting married.
So I would say that that's extraordinarily valuable to you,
and a great way to leverage Facebook and social media
to get new business and build new networking relationships.
Also, those people probably actually have a need
for your services 'cause they're marketing
in social media too, and we know
that's very photography-driven.
So I would say that makes a lot of sense to do that.
I technically think that counts as three tips,
but I might have a few more of them
I'm about to throw in here, and let's not even keep track.
I'm gonna just give you as much value as I can.
My other tip is to take advantage of video marketing.
You're a photographer, you already have a camera.
If you don't know how to use your camera for video,
reference some of the other tutorials I have
around DSLR video here on the channel.
They're free, and they're gonna be super helpful
for getting you started.
The reason you want to take advantage of this
is because nothing speaks to people
like sharing in the experience and in the moment.
It's why you have a job as a photographer.
But stills aren't gonna cut it in a noisy world
where we have all this visual media.
So I would say that you cut together maybe a 90 second video
that has some amazing footage,
and if you don't have video footage for a wedding,
maybe you go to a free wedding expo or event,
or even a paid one, and you shoot some video footage there,
and you go ahead, and you put together a reel around that,
you snap in some of your still photos,
and you just do a little bit of quick motion on them.
You can do this in iMovie, if you want.
It's really easy, and it's super practical.
Having your own movie trailer goes a long way
towards your credibility.
It's a little bit of flash and sizzle,
but then you're delivering on substance when they hire you.
So I would say use that, get the attention
for what it's worth, and that's a great way
to market yourself.
I would not just upload these to YouTube though.
I would also upload them directly to Facebook
instead of just linking out to them
because you have a better chance of getting more views,
more reach, and people engaging with it.
Make sure that in the video somewhere,
you mention that people can hire you,
and you give your contact information.
One of my other tips is,
if you are hesitating to pay the money
for a wedding expo or an event like that,
pay the money to do it.
The thing about that is, you'll be able to reach
a higher end market of brides and grooms,
and so it's gonna be worth your while
because to make the difference back on that wedding expo,
you only have to close one sale.
So you have the ability to get the highest paying client
that you possibly can, you have access to a pool of them,
so all you have to do is show up, deliver, and execute.
I would say that, if you feel very confident
in your salespersonship, that you should have no hesitation
about making this investment.
It is an opportunity, and if you do it right,
you can 10x on that opportunity.
The other thing is, depending on how this event is set up,
it's another great opportunity to get some shots
that you can use to market yourself,
and you also have the story of some things
that you want to give advice on to brides
having learned them at this event,
and frequently asked questions.
I would say that putting together a video or a blog post
around frequently asked questions and things
that every bride should know in your local area,
maybe you do a video or a blog
about the best wedding venues in your local area.
That's something unique and interesting,
an idea that you can take,
and I would say that that will get you a pool of people
who are interested, that are getting married soon,
they're trying to pick a venue.
If you're answering that question
from the perspective of shots,
and you have shots of the venues in that blog post
or in that video, then that's gonna be very informative
for them, and it's gonna be very valuable,
and it's gonna make them remember you as a photographer
that they might want to hire.
So it gives you that opportunity,
it gives you that one more connection,
and that one more level of depth.
So those are my top five, six, seven, I lost track now,
tips for wedding photographers,
and I hope that they help you out.
I hope that they grow your business.
If you still have questions or you want a few more tips,
let me know in the comments section.
If you're a different type of photographer
and you still found this helpful, let me know,
and let me know what other videos you'd like me to do
to help photographers market themselves in the future.
Remember, I am a full-time marketing and brand consultant,
and I do that one-on-one coaching thing,
so that's where my advice is coming from.
It's very much coming from the practical place
of the business world, and how to use technology
and social media to really help you grow your business,
create awesome things, share them with the world,
and deliver on the best experience for your customers
and your clients.
Everybody needs the skills that you have
as a creative professional,
and I'm just trying to make sure
that you can put yourself out there and compete
in a noisy world that I really believe
that you can still win in.
Anyway, like this video if you like it,
don't forget to subscribe.
Check out the other awesome content on the channel.
As always, you guys, thanks so very much for watching,
and don't forget,
create something awesome today.