7

photography
concentrate

Simple Ways to
Market
your
Wedding
Photography
Business
Marketing is anything you
do to get your name out
there, to show people that
what you offer is valuable
and interesting.
It’s a simple concept, but can seem maddeningly difficult
to do. There are tons of ways to market your photography,
and it’s hard to know where to begin. Luckily there are
some simple techniques you can use to get your work in
front of your target audience. These are strategies we’ve
used ourselves, and found them to be effective in booking
more clients.

While these techniques are simple, that doesn’t mean they

don’t take work. Marketing requires a lot of commitment
and effort. You need to focus your energy on creating
opportunities for yourself, and if you haven’t done that
before it can be scary.

Once you jump in, and get going, you’ll find marketing is
less intimidating than you may think; it can even be fun!
So let’s dive in, and look at some simple ways to market
your wedding photography business!

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No. 1
Blog
Most photographers have a blog these days, and that’s
awesome. But there’s a difference between blogging, and
leveraging the platform to be a marketing machine.

See, blogging is a majorly powerful marketing technique,

in many ways.

First, it establishes your personal voice. You have an op-

portunity to connect with your audience before they
even meet you. There are a lot of wedding photographers
out there, and a big part of marketing is showing what
makes you unique.
It can be hard for brides to differentiate by photographs
alone, especially after looking at dozens and dozens of
portfolios. But someone with a personal writing style,
and an engaging blog, can really catch their eye. So don’t
just post photos, but see blogging as an opportunity to
share and engage your audience. Be personable, show
who you are, and what you think about photography!
You can also use your blog to give potential clients im-
portant information. Writing articles that help couples
makes you a valuable resource, and establishes you as
an authority. This isn’t hard at all, you just have to share
tips with them on how to make their photos awesome!
It can be articles as simple as:
• Your favourite venue locations
• How to prepare for photos with you
• Great locations to take wedding portraits
• Tips on making a wedding go smoothly

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Sit down, and brainstorm ideas for articles that could
help potential clients. These types of posts make your
blog different than most, and something that brides will
bookmark and share! Major marketing power!
Blogging also lets you show off your most recent work,
which is often your best. A portfolio can get old very
quickly, but a blog is always fresh. It also lets you show
off variety in your work, which can help you stand out in
the crowd.
There’s a concept known as SEO (Search Engine
Optimization), and it has to do with how your site ranks
in search engines like Google. In general blogs do much
better for SEO than websites, because they have regular
updates. Search engines love new content, so blogs are
a great way to get a better ranking. The trick here is that
there is no trick. You simply need to post useful content
regularly, and your website will jump up the ranks, and
help new clients find you!
Blogging is especially great if you’re just starting out.
You may not have booked a wedding yet, but that’s no
reason not to get blogging. You’ll be able to start
building your audience, and getting your work out in
front of new people. You might only have a few
followers at first, but it only takes one person who needs
wedding photos to get you on your way!
Blog Comment Contest
One technique we used that was incredibly effective
was to have a blog comment contest for our posts. We
would publish a set of photos, and tell the client that if
they got a certain number of comments, they would win
a free print.
It made it into a fun contest for them, and they would go
off and share the photos with all their friends and
family. We got way more eyes on our work, and folks
interacting with our site by commenting. The visitors
had more of a personal connection to the photos
because they knew the subjects, allowing them to enjoy
the images even more.
Our clients would be happy, because they got lots of
nice comments, and a free print, and we were happy
because we had tons of potential new clients looking at
our work!

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No. 2
Announce Your Goals
You need to let the world know what you want! There’s
no sense holding back here. Tell your family and friends
what you want to achieve with your photography
business. Talk to your co-workers about it. Post it on
your blog and your Facebook page. Give business cards
to people you meet.

Here’s a story. One day we were getting a sandwich at a

local deli, and the gal making it for us had an
engagement ring on. Rob was chatting with her and said
“I noticed you’re engaged, congratulations! Have you
picked your photographer yet?” We let her know that
we were wedding photographers, and gave her our
business card. I’m sure you know how this story ends.
She booked us.

You never know who needs photography, or knows

someone else that does. If you are offering something
valuable with your work, it’s a service to others to let
them know about it! You’re not doing anyone any good
by keeping it a secret. This may seem scary, but really,
what do you have to lose?

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No. 3
Start A Personal Project
A personal project shows your diversity as a photographer,
and establishes you as a passionate, committed shooter.
It also attracts attention as being something different and
unique. Side benefits include it being really fun, and help-
ing you grow and improve!
Try to do something that your potential clients could con-
nect with. For example, after our first year of shooting
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weddings we did a project called The Wedding Travel-
ers. We went to India, and shot a couple weddings to
explore more about the culture. We had photographed
a lot of Indian weddings at home, so this was a direct
extension of the work we were doing, but for personal
interest.
That project got us lots of attention and respect from
potential clients. We could have booked lots of wed-
dings in India as well; we still get inquiries 4 years later!
You don’t have to travel across the world to do a per-
sonal project, however. It could be something as simple
as photographing local businesses, doing street photog-
raphy of couples in your city, or a project showing what
love looks like at different ages. The more you get out
there and shoot, the more connections you’ll make, and
attention you’ll get for your business.
Once you have your project, and are underway, make
sure to tell people about it! It not only gets the word out,
but also helps to keep you committed to it.
No. 4
Network With Photographers
Other photographers are a great source of leads for Meet with other photographers for coffee to trade tips
your photography business. With weddings, when and news. Be friendly and helpful. Establish a refer-
a photographer is already booked for a certain day, ral network, or see if one already exists that you can
they’ll refer new inquiries for that date to other shoot- become a part of. Send out their names when you’re
ers who might be available. Most photographers like booked, and they’ll begin to do the same!
to have a list to send out. These lists are great to be on,
and can really help you get your name out there. Remember, this is about creating win-win relation-
ships, not seeing how you can benefit from someone
Networking with other photographers is valuable, but else.
needs to be handled smartly. The key is to create win-
win situations, where both people benefit from the
relationship.

Try to find other photographers who are at the same

level of experience as you. More established studios
may not be willing to meet up, or just don’t have the
time. Don’t take offense. They’re working on building
their business too.

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No. 5
Meet With Vendors
A wedding involves a lot of vendors, and meeting with
them can help get your name out there to potential
clients. The two big groups to connect with are plan-
ners and venues. These are the people who are booked
before the photographer, and are in the best position to
pass your name along.
When it comes to planners, do some research to see
who is out there, and who has a similar approach to
weddings as you do. If they are aiming for the same
market as you, there’s a good chance their clients would
be interested in what you offer!
Once you’ve scouted out some potential matches, offer
to take them to lunch or coffee. Don’t just email ask-
ing to be on their referral list. They get tons of requests
like that all the time. Do something to stand out, and be
memorable.
Also do some research into the wedding and reception
venues in the city. Figure out where your target market
is booking, and then connect with the event managers.
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When you do meet up with vendors, make sure to bring
along a sample album to show what you can create. You
can also bring along some nifty brochures and business
cards that they could give to brides. If you really want to
stand out, create a beautifully branded package of in-
formation that is easy to distribute to potential clients.
Offer to return with more in case they run out.
Before these meetings, have an outline of what you
want to communicate in your time together. How can
you provide value to their clients? What makes you
unique? Practice the important parts before the meet-
ing so you’re totally prepared to make the most of it!
Then follow up, and let them know how much you ap-
preciated their time, and how much you would love to
be on their referral list.
Try to figure out how to make it a win-win relationship.
See if the planner needs some new headshots, or if the
venue needs images of a new room. The more helpful
you can be, the more likely they are to reciprocate, and
the more your name will get out there.
Vendor relationships can not only get your business
started, but they also help it stay strong. The key here is
to make sure to keep taking care of vendors after every
wedding.

Vendors need images for their own portfolios. They

usually don’t have the skills or the opportunity to pho-
tograph the work they do for the couple on the big day.
But you do! After each wedding, make a point of sending
images to all the vendors (flowers, cake, decorations,
linens, venue, planner, DJ, etc.), along with a note let-
ting them know how much you enjoyed working with
them. This simple act creates goodwill, strengthens the
relationship, and gets your images into their portfolios
and in front of more brides’ eyes!

You can either watermark the images you send out, or

ask that they include photo credit to you whenever they
use it. This helps those photos become little marketing
machines for you!

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No. 6
Create Posters
We shot 30 weddings our first season, and posters
booked us over half of them. They are low tech, afford- Poster Tips
able, and effective. Here’s what we did.
A few tips if you are going to put up posters:
First, we considered who our target market was. We
were new to the industry, had a modern style, and were • Look for high traffic areas outside big lecture theatres
really young. We guessed that University students and busy halls
were the type who would appreciate a more artistic ap-
• Make something creative and eye catching. Big photos
proach, but couldn’t afford to spend a ton on photogra-
are always good.
phy. They would be likely to take a chance on us, and we
would charge them less than the established studios. • Check the boards regularly, and re-post if yours gets
covered up.
So we designed some posters that featured high impact
photos from the two weddings we had photographed • Put posters at eye level.
for friends. We added tear-off business cards to make it
• Have your contact info on the poster in case all the
different, and easy to contact us. These posters cost us
business cards are taken (website, Facebook page,
$1 each at the University printer, and we spent around
email)
$200 total on them.
• Get a student to regularly check posters for you.
We would put them up every week after the boards were
cleared off. We never had any competition, and got tons Also consider if there are other places your target market
of attention from the right people! hangs out, and if there are poster boards you could use!

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our posters Here is one of the posters that we used to launch our wedding photography business. It featured a big photo to catch attention, and some small
images for the people who stopped to look. We designed the side to be “business cards”, and perforated the edge so they were easy to tear off. It was a simple and
affordable marketing strategy that produced great results!

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No. 7
Create Reception Slideshows
This technique only works once you have weddings of business cards beside the laptop so people can visit
booked, but then it helps keep the attention coming! your portfolio and contact you.

It’s simple. Create a short slideshow of 20 – 30 images
from the wedding day that you loop on a laptop at the
reception. It takes about 40 minutes during the cocktail
hour and dinner to choose and edit a few key photos.
Then put them up with a simple screen saver, and you
have yourself a strong marketing tool.
We once had an out-of-town couple, who were guests at
a wedding we were shooting, come up to us during the
reception. They had seen our slideshow and wanted to
meet us the next day to talk about their own event. We
ended up booking a beautiful destination wedding with
them thanks to a simple slideshow!

See, the reception is a fantastic time to show off some

photos. Everyone is caught up in the excitement of the
wedding day, and the news that there are already some
pictures to look at is thrilling. People will crowd around
the laptop for ages, watching each and every image
multiple times. Then they call over their friends. Then
the crowd attracts more people. The bride and groom
sometimes even announce that there are photos to
look at. This is marketing gold. You have tons of poten-
tial clients in attendance, and a very good chance that
they will go home and check out your work. Put a stack

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Here are some tips for better slideshows:

• Choose great images that will get attention. Examples

are the getting ready images, a couple from the ceremony,
any cute kids or pets, epic shots from the portrait ses-
sion, images of the whole bridal party, and happy por-
traits of the bride and groom.
• Put the slideshow near the bar if possible—it’s the high-
est traffic area.
• Use the screen saver to create the slideshow.

• Change your energy saving preferences so that the com-

puter doesn’t go to sleep.
• Put password protection on so people can’t accidentally
stop the slideshow and get into your computer.
• Bring a lock just in case you need to secure it to a table
(we didn’t use this often, mostly if it was in an area that
we couldn’t keep an eye on).
• Use the photos for Facebook and blog teasers afterwards.

If you don’t have time to process images from the wedding

you can show a slideshow of the engagement photos. You’ll
still get lots of attention, and your work in front of a lot of
eyes!

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Bonus!
Brainstorm
The ideas in this book are simple, but with marketing you can get as creative
as possible! Just think about where your target market is, and how you can get
your work in front of them. Here are some brainstormed ideas for you:

• Create a promotional video • Follow up with past clients • Set up a booth at a tradeshow, make it
totally unique
• Start a Twitter account, and post • Have a studio party, and invite clients,
useful information vendors, colleagues • Give gifts to your fav clients

• Start a Facebook page, and interact
with your audience
• Use targeted Facebook ads
• Start a newsletter, with useful tips
and offers to your audience
• Volunteer
• Pitch an article to a local news station
• Guest blog for wedding vendors in
your town
• Create a referral program
• Hold a contest to attract new clients
• Have a promo to drum up business
• Submit your website to directories
• Get testimonials from past clients and
put them on your website
• Sponsor an event that target clients
would go to
• Trade services to make new
connections
• Publish a book of your personal work
• Create a free e-book for potential
clients
• Attend networking events, hand out
lots of business cards
• Donate gift certificates to charity
auctions
• Partner with local businesses that
cater to your target market
• Send photos to all vendors after every
wedding (flowers, DJ, venue, planner,
decorations, cake)
• Teach a class and establish yourself as
an expert
• Offer gift certificates
• Hold a free seminar on weddings
• Offer mini-engagement sessions

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Final Thoughts
Here are a few final thoughts on marketing:
Measure
When putting effort into marketing, make sure you’re
taking time to measure whether or not it’s actually
working. This is simple. When people contact you, ask
how they found out about your business. When clients
book you, ask again. Keep track of this information to
see which strategies are leading to inquiries, and which
ones are converting into bookings!
Social Media
Sites like Twitter and Facebook have huge marketing
potential and have become a big source of business for
many photographers. Your target market is likely on
there; you just have to figure out how to connect with
them. Building your business around a platform is a bit
risky, since you have no control over it, and policies can
change suddenly. They’ve also become saturated, and
it’s tough to stand out. Think creatively, and see if you
can find a way to make them work for you.
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Google Adwords
At the beginning of our career we created some Google
ads and booked a few weddings off of them. But eventu-
ally they became very expensive and competitive, and
we didn’t stand out much anymore. We gave up on them
and looked for other methods, but there is still potential
if you are willing to spend the money.
Magazines
We never paid for any magazine advertising because we
felt it was far too expensive. Though we don’t have any
direct experience, we’ve always heard from other pho-
tographers that they didn’t get enough results to make it
worth it at all.
Action
The big idea here is that you have to act. Marketing
doesn’t happen by sitting around waiting for people to
find you. Get out there, show the world what you can do,
try new strategies, and don’t be afraid to fail a bit. Just
keep at it, and success will be yours!
Simple Wedding Photography
Want to learn more? Check out our new book, Simple Wedding Photography!

See, wedding photography is simple. But don’t confuse that with easy! It takes a lot of work
to properly cover such an important day, and create a successful business. This book will
get you on the right track, and save you countless hours figuring it out yourself!

Everything you need to know about

photographing weddings, and the
business behind it. In one book.
• 200 pages of practical information you can use!

• Written in a casual, “real speak” manner, like a conver-

sation with your photographer friend!
• Packed with over 220 photos to help you see the con-
cepts in action.
• Includes diagrams and examples to make ideas easy to
understand

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About The Authors
Hi, we’re Rob & Lauren, head ninjas at Photography
Concentrate. We’re photographers, educators, travelers,
and all-around fun loving folks.

We built a wedding photography business from the

ground up, and know that it can be tough to figure out
how to market your work, and get your photos seen.

What you’ve just read is the result of many hours of trial

and error, and the learning the came out of it. We’re
very happy to share it with you, in the hopes that it
makes your journey a little simpler!

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Legal
Copyright: All contents copyright ©2012 by RNL Media Inc. All
rights reserved worldwide. No part of this tutorial should be repro-
duced or distributed in any form, by any means, without the prior
written permission of the publisher. We’re trusting you to use this
tutorial responsibly, and encourage others to purchase their own
copy if you think they would benefit from the information.

Liability: This eBook contains the ideas and opinions of its au-
thors. It is intended to provide helpful information on the subject
matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that advice and
information provided may not be suitable for every situation. The
authors and RNL Media Inc. (Photography Concentrate) disclaim
any responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, damage
or loss caused directly or indirectly by the information contained
in this eBook and it’s bonus content.

Trademarks: This guide identifies product names and services

known to be trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks
of their respective holders. They are assumed to be the property of
their respective owners, and are used only for reference. The au-
thor and publisher are not associated with any product or vendor
mentioned in this guide, unless explicitly stated.

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