It’s been reported that 2022 is going to have the most weddings since 1984. So this is a great opportunity for you to grow your business and book more wedding clients. In this blog post, I’m going to discuss the different ways you can book more wedding clients through website strategy, brand consistency and network referrals. Find the avenue that works best for you so you can grow your business.
Create a Strategic Website
It’s not enough to just have a pretty website with your portfolio on it. Your website should be strategically designed to invite potential couples to engage with your website. A strategic website will 1) deliver a clear message to your ideal client. 2) Offer a clear call to action for what their next steps should be. 3) Should show that you are sympathetic to their pain point, and offer your services as the guide to solve that pain point. 4) Create a contact form that is easy to use (and works!).
Search Engine Optimization
If you’ve learned anything from the Instagram & Facebook blackout is that you cannot rely on social media alone to attract clients to your website. Search Engine Optimization (or SEO), is the process you take to optimize your website pages for your keywords so that your website shows up on search engine result pages when your clients search for your type of services. Optimizing your website pages will ensure that your clients are able to find you through search engines like Google. Not sure if your website is optimized? Check out this Free Website & SEO Checklist.
Venue Pages
Take your SEO to the next level by creating venue pages on your website. Venue pages can be created as pages on your main website, like blog posts, or a subdomain (Plus Site if you’re using Showit) on your website. Venue pages can get you in front of your ideal clients before they’re even searching for your services. Your venue pages will be helpful in their search for a venue, and it’ll position you as an expert for that venue. Venue pages are awesome for SEO, but they can be time-consuming to create, that’s why I create this guide to help you do it!
If you have a relationship with the venue you are creating a page for, you can send them an email with a questionnaire. This will help get you the content you need for that page. If you don’t have a connection at the venue, hiring a writer from Fiverr to gather the research on the venue is really helpful. You can then email the venue when you’re done creating the venue page. They may share it with their audience.
Lead Magnets & Pinterest
Another creative way to get in front of your ideal client is by treating a few lead magnets that you can share on your blog and Pinterest. You can create a mini-sales page for your freebie. Then use email software like MailerLite to grab their email address and then send them their freebie. You now have the email address of a potential client. Create a drip-email campaign from that freebie and start to nurture that relationship. Offer tips for their wedding planning or wedding day tips and show them how your services can guide them through the process easier than without you. (like the one below!)
Referral Program (Past clients & Vendors)
There are two types of referrals you can create. A referral program for your past clients is one of the best ways to get more wedding clients. The one thing that your wedding couples will know is other couples getting married! Whether you tell the couples that you will give them a gift for the referral, or if you leave that as a surprise is up to you.
The other referral program that works well is with other vendors and venues. Getting on a venue list for example is a great opportunity to get in front of clients. Wedding couples tend to book their venues first. Build a relationship with other photographers or planners, so that when they get an inquiry for a date they’re already booked, they think of you to refer the person to. Here again, you can let them know ahead of time that you’ll send them something for referrals, or leave it as a surprise once you book the client.
Blog Posts (Guest Post / Backlinks for SEO)
Writing a guest blog post for another vendor, a venue or an online magazine is a great idea because it’ll help you get more backlinks to your website. Backlinks are important for SEO because they tell Google “Hey, we trust this website enough to link to it”. The more backlinks you have to your website, the greater page authority it will have and your website will rank better. When you do this, make sure there is a good link leading back to your website home page. The text should include your keyword. For example California wedding photographer: Stacy More Photography. (linked to your website).
Getting featured
Getting your weddings or styled shoots featured in online magazines is another great way to get in front of your ideal couples and get more backlinks to your website. So a little different than guest posting, as you’re not writing the content in this situation. This option is best for photographers. Planners or other vendors can ask photographers if they plan to submit weddings for features. I recommend using a program like TwoBrightLights for submitting your weddings, engagement shoots or styled shoots for features. However, you can also go to the individual online magazine and they will usually have a feature request link around their contact page.
Food for thought…
I was a wedding photographer for over 8 years and was featured in dozens of online magazines, vendor & venue blogs. These backlinks helped my website get to the top of Google for my main keywords and dozens of keyword variations for years. So much so, that when I pivoted my business back to website design, it took me over a year to convince Google that I was no longer a wedding photographer. That in fact, I was a website designer. I had to go back to some of these websites and asked them to change the link to my site. So these methods work, they work well. They may take a while to create, but it is well worth it because it is a long-term gain with SEO. If you have any questions please feel free to drop me a line.
If you liked this post check out these:
- 5 Ways to blog a family session
- Creating a blog strategy
- How to optimize your wedding post
- How to repurpose your blog content on Instagram
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