Archive for clients

Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The Rapid Responder

I know for a fact that I’ve secured bookings purely based on a quick and thorough response to both email and phone enquiries. It’s also nice to get response emails that start with “Thank-you for your rapid response”.

We have become somewhat of an impatient society, one that wants instant gratification and information on demand. Whatever you think of this whole state of affairs, one thing is clear: being a rapid responder is becoming more and more important.

Becoming a rapid responder

You might consider yourself pretty much on the ball when it comes to this sort of thing but there might be a few ideas here you haven’t considered. There’s also things you do which might seem a good idea but could be harming your client experience for your business.

Auto responders

Personally I’ve never been a fan of auto responders especially when they’re connected to everyday contact forms. Simply sending an email saying that you will respond as quickly as you can and then sending a manual response minutes later seems silly to me.

That’s not to say they don’t have their uses and they can be very good if you know you’ll be off the grid for a few days.

Be careful how you phrase these types of emails as you could just be telling potential thieves when your studio with thousands of pounds of equipment will be empty.

Read More→

Connecting With Potential Clients At A Wedding

Weddings are great ways to gather new business. For one, the wedding couple has already placed their stamp of approval on you by hiring you to capture their special day. You have instant access to lots of potential clients from expectant moms, to high school seniors, to newly engaged couples, to family photos. Every potential client in one place. So how do you reach them? There’s a few different ways to do this without being disrespectful to your paid clients, the bride and groom.

One method that I like to use is the couple card. I take a few photos that I have taken of the couple and I create a 4×6 image with their photo as well as my information at the bottom. I also include my website and album information for the event. I normally print anywhere from 60-100 images and have them displayed somewhere around the sign-in table. They are 4x6s so they are inexpensive and they make great keepsakes for the wedding guests. Many times if you print more than one image people collect them. Its great branding for your business and inexpensive advertising.

Another great way is to talk to the guests. Get to know them a little bit. If you see some children dancing on the dance floor and children’s photos are your things, get a little creative with your images. Many times guests will go to the album and order photos of them from the event. Getting great shots of their kids keeps you in mind when they are thinking of new family photos.

Another great advertising piece is Facebook and other social media outlets. I know, I know, everyone uses Facebook but really it works. I have received quite a bit of repeat business and new customer business via Facebook from other events that I have posted. By posting images of your events and tagging yourself as well as your clients it gives their friends the opportunity to visit your business page and look at your work. It increases traffic to both your business page and your website. I try to only post a few images of events on Facebook and then provide a link to the entire album on my website thus driving traffic to the site. The key here is timing. You need to be quick. I always post a group of “teaser” shots from the event no later than 4 days after the wedding. This keeps the event fresh in the guests mind and the couple is usually still on their honeymoon so when they return to internet surfing they get to view some of their photos right away. This is a great advertising took and costs you nothing other than time. Read More→