Today’s wedding photography client is very different from days gone by (or so I’m told). Some of them have children, some have been married before but for the most part many couples already live together either in their own or rented property.
What this offers is opportunity as the traditional wedding gift list has changed dramatically. Most couples (at least here in the UK) don’t really like to ask just for money from their guests but at the same time they don’t need a new toaster, crockery or monogrammed cutlery set.
The tourism industry was one of the first to jump into this lucrative gap in the market and offered a gift list option for honeymoons. This got me thinking, could the same principle work for wedding photography? The answers is an undeniable yes and as it turns out I am not alone in offering this service to my wedding clients.
Offering a gift list option for your wedding photography works well not only to top up what your clients have already spent but it also makes your products more affordable. Not only that, you’ll be sending out your business cards and information to every guest before you have even shot a single frame which in itself is a pretty good marketing strategy.
Here’s how it works
Offer wedding guests a chance to buy either specific products or just to add an amount into the wedding photography pot.
We offer guests a chance to buy extra pages for our clients wedding storybook. This means that couples can get a much larger book than they originally paid for. It is important that you have plenty of upgrade opportunities within your packages. If you have already sold the couple everything they want it’s unlikely that they will want to spend their gift list money on any extras.
When we first meet couples and go through all of our prices we always add……
“Here’s how you can make it even more affordable………”
In some cases couples have had their entire wedding storybook paid for by guests in other cases it leaves extra money for parent albums or thank you cards.
Once you have a client booked and sold on the idea of using your gift list option create small cards that can fit inside their invite promoting your gift list. You can have guests either call you and pay over the phone or build in a small gift list shop within your website.
The online shop works well as you can encourage guests spend a little more than they would perhaps think to. Rather than offering guests to add whatever amount they like you can have different priced gift vouchers which they can order. You can send gift vouchers out to the guests or create your own cards which include a personalised message. If you are going down this route remember to take the cards with you to the wedding!
However you choose to sell your photography through a gift list the key is to make it as easy to use as possible. If you are taking payments over the phone then you will need a credit card machine. If you are using online payments then PayPal shopping cart is probably the simplest option.
With online print galleries not making anywhere near what they used to before everyone had a camera built into their phone and Uncle Bob wasn’t shooting over your shoulder during group shots this is the easiest way to increase your sales.
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Michael has been working as a photographer for the last ten years. In that time he has shot over 100,000 peoples’ portraits and worked in four different continents. In 2001 Michael graduated with a degree in photography from Manchester Metropolitan University.
Intuitive. Thanks for sharing!