Advertising & Marketing

Hi all

I started earlier this year shooting weddings as a semi-pro in the UK. My main source of leads have been through recommendations from friends and also some from local wedding related facebook groups. The latter I've found to be very erm...shall we say price conscious and whilst I'm happy to do them now to build on my experience and portfolio, its not an area I want to focus on long term.

So what I'd like to ask are wedding fayres worth it? From what I can see I'd have a sizeable investment to make in terms of getting albums printed, loads of flyers, display signage etc and not to mention of course paying the fee for the venue. Every fayre I've been to there has been several photographers.

If the answer is a resounding no then I'll knock the idea on the head. But if it's worth it then maybe I should look into it more once the fayre season kicks off again.

Thanks

I'm going through a bit of the same with my photo booth. I keep looking to see if the shows are worth it, but from what I've seen, you need to be well aware that people (brides) at those shows are price-shopping. They will want a deal on any little thing they can get, and, unfortunately, there are too many people more than willing to give it to them.

However, if you can go into the show with a sale of some sort, and stick to your guns, you can potentially come out of it with some bookings. From what I've learned so far, while advertising in the beginning is important, referrals are more important in sustaining a wedding/portrait business. So if you can walk away from a few shows with some leads and make some bookings, the trickle-down effect can start from there.

Take this as my opinion only; I'm sure someone will be along with much more experience with the process!

figure out your cost to go to the show (include transportation, accommodations, the cost of the booth, etc).

Then figure out how many bookings you need to land in order to pay for that trip.

In most cases, a handful of bookings can put you in the black for a show. If your 'break even' point is more than that, I'd say it's not worth it.

Thanks. I guess I'm hoping someone will come along and say "Yeah I've done this/do this and it's worth the investment" or "Yeah i tried it but it was a waste because...."

Because I'm starting out, I am aware I need to get my name out there and hopefully in time generate referrals.

there's definitely no one-size-fits-all approach. I have a buddy who spends around $10k to display at a wedding show in Vegas each year. But he charges around $4k to $6k per wedding, so 2 bookings and he breaks even, or 3 bookings and he's profitable. Not to mention when those bridesmaids get married...