How to get more wedding bookings?

You may have been pondered this question during your hibernation in the off season. That is perfectly understandable. The business side of things is not the same thing as the photography itself. So you have to be able to wear both hats in order to stay competitive these days. Here are some ideas that could help you address any bottlenecks you may be experiencing right now:

Niche

Not everybody is looking for the same thing when selecting photographers for their wedding. Some people want the best money can buy while others are ok with regular photos. So don’t try to please everyone and pick the niche that you really want to do and are good at. Stick to that! Chances are that once you pick a niche, not only will your branding stay consistent, but also your plate will be only be full of clients that have very similar tastes and budgets. This will save you time, money and stress. So that you can focus on what matters, Perfecting your art, being inspired, maximizing your and expanding your business!

Community

You will start to notice that as you start to grow in the wedding photography niche of your choice. Your clients will be very similar and want the same look & feel in their photos. You can leverage this aspect by creating a community to engage them on a deeper level. This helps you avoid the number one mistake that most people make in business. Which is, treating a customer as a cold transaction. Instead, try to make a wow experience for them that initiates into a lasting relationship! You will quickly see that as you create deeper relationships with your clients, more couples will be added to the mix. Soon you will have a thriving community that loves your work and is eager to recommend you to their friends. Don’t forget, word of mouth is one of the strongest marketing techniques. It is instinctual and effective.

Online Presence

I am sure you have seen many people that claim to be social media experts. But your job as a wedding photography business is to use the power of the internet to help people find you. For example, did you know that at any given point in time, 3% of your market is actively looking for your product? So the question is, are you there to meet them where they are looking? When your potential clients are searching for the best wedding photographers in Canada, can they find you at the #1 google rank? Or when they just got engaged, are you there to meet them as a Facebook ad offering your art? When they go on your website, can they find a blog that displays your personality? Having a solid online presence can make the difference between your business surviving or thriving.

Scaling

One of the most common mistakes in business is not setting up systems in place so that you can focus on where your attention is needed most rather than haphazardly reacting to all sorts of stimuli. Most people are not even comfortable outsourcing parts of their business because it means an increase in costs. But the other side of that coin is always more revenue if done right. Think about it for a second. If you spend your time editing photos, doing administrative tasks, book keeping, where will you find the time to do more weddings? It will initially take money to systematize your photography business but in the long run, you will have more money and time. And isn’t that what we all want at the end of
the day?

Keep Learning

The biggest trap one can fall under is the expert trap. Many get
stuck in this. The expert trap is when you think you know everything about a subject and your growth stagnates. You end up prejudging whether certain things are important because you think you have learned everything there is to know. You get comfortable in that mental space of being perceived as an expert and it hurts your ego too much when provoked with insights that breaks your current paradigm. Instead focus your energy in loving the pursuit of knowledge and seeking to understand things around you. So even if things are going well for you, don’t get complacent. Seek to gain more knowledge about your industry and follow your curiosity wherever it lead in life. Find mentors or photographers you admire and reach out to them. It may be the best thing you ever did!