Bridal show marketing

brookeborton · Nov 28, 2011

Some photogs tell me they never earn back their investment in bridal shows. I'm from a small town - $200 for an 8' covered table - and every time I sign up for this one particular show, I book most of my year. So I keep going back.

This year I'm trying something crazy. If you are tired of typical bridal shows and feel like hearing about it I'd love to share what I'm doing. It's cost me very little over my vendor registration and it's essentially DIY, maybe next year I'll find the right company to offer something equally fun and different without making me lose sleep.

MLeeK · Nov 28, 2011

I hate bridal shows, but most are NOT $200... They are several times that amount. Depending on your marketing budget that show may well be worth it.

I do more vendor networking than anything else. They have books of mine in their businesses and I have photos and samples of theirs to show in my kit. When I get a booking from a referral? I send whatever my current whim for a gift is to the vendor with a thank you note. I spend MUCH less on my marketing doing this than I ever did with any other thing I tried for marketing and I am far more successful in it. I am not wasting advertising dollars on things that MIGHT pan out, but on things that have already panned out before I spend much of anything. I always supply the vendors with photographs of their products in LARGE prints so that they can show off both me and their work. It's a win win for both of us.

brookeborton · Dec 12, 2011

Well my idea is this... One package. One price. Includes the most popular products people ask for. Limited timing because I can't do all-day gigs anymore but everything is still covered. 1 assistant. Ipad with photos. Dvd with photos would be more profitable but I'm tired of replacing my burners. A special marketing piece offering freebies or credits based on the task they perform will be put in the bags. Higher priced than normal for me but I don't want 50 weddings next year and I'm done working for pennies. No more substituting in packages. Also giving myself more time to edit.

Big Mike · Dec 13, 2011

The 'one package' concept is often used by photographers who are in-demand or who just don't want to deal with small package (low profit) weddings. So yes, it certainly can work.

As for the iPad with photos...have you tried that already? I've heard of photographers using an iPod Touch to deliver the photos...but apparently, when the clients go to put connect the device to their computer, they loose the photo. Something to do with iTunes.

I don't know why you would have to be constantly replacing DVD burners...but they are pretty cheap these days. You could probably have a lab burn them for you as well.
A common thing to do these days, seems to be putting the files onto a USB thumb drive. They are getting so cheap that you could get 2, 4 or 8 GB drives for $10...and for a higher end product, you can have them personalized and you can get nice packaging for them etc.

As for the bridal shows...I don't partake...but I know plenty of photographers who do. And yes, they can be hit and miss. Some photographers can indeed book their whole season at a single show...other may spend more money on the booth, than they will make.

brookeborton · Dec 13, 2011

The package will include a gift card to a high quality consumer lab... with the website bookmarked on the ipad browser. As long as they can upload from the ipad - I dont know if they can?

o hey tyler · Dec 13, 2011

Big Mike said:
The 'one package' concept is often used by photographers who are in-demand or who just don't want to deal with small package (low profit) weddings. So yes, it certainly can work.

As for the iPad with photos...have you tried that already? I've heard of photographers using an iPod Touch to deliver the photos...but apparently, when the clients go to put connect the device to their computer, they loose the photo. Something to do with iTunes.

They probably had "auto sync photos" turned on. Which is most likely a default setting. Probably a bad idea to be giving people a product that they may not necessarily want, and may cost them their images. I'm willing to bet the iPad has a similar way of handling images through itunes.

brookeborton · Dec 18, 2011

I'll do some research... Maybe I can provide a thumb drive as a backup or install certain photo apps to it. I'm also considering outsourcing my post processing... I'm terribly slow. It'll raise the price but if I don't get any bites, I'm only out the $200 (which I happened to come across by sheer luck when I was told a space was open).

Kellyraiche · Jun 26, 2012

Bridal shows where i am cost $355 for a single 8 foot table, i went to my first one this year, and booked over 13 weddings for this year alone. So it was so worth it !

rub · Jun 26, 2012

Good price for the table. Single package works too. Ipad is "cool" but constantly outdated. I think thumbdrive is the way to go, and for a fraction of the price.

Best best is to really WOW them when they walk by, and that they can connect with YOU. Nice wedding pictures are a must, but people will book just as much becasue of YOU as they will because of your pricing or your work.

CCericola · Jun 26, 2012

I think the cheapest Bridal show I did was $800. Instead I go to the event planner and wedding planner expos. Sometimes I'm the only photographer there. For the higher end weddings you want to cater to the wedding planners not the brides. High end brides do not go to bridal expos they pay a planner to take care of everything.

Have you looked into the sandisk memory vault? You can get them engraved for your client and they supposably last for 100 years.