Expert: Wedding Photographics - 3/26/2008

Question
John,
Been reading some of your posts here. You've advised that working with other wedding vendors do little good. But on your website you have a lot of links to other vendors. So what is the reason for the discrepancy?  Thanks for your time.

Answer
Hi Jon,

Thanks for your photography marketing question.  I can see the apparent discrepancy in what I've said in previous posts here at All Experts and what I have on my website.

First, I must point out that all those links to local vendors in my site navigation bar are not links away from my website.  I believe that would make my site a "link farm" and drop my site in search engine rankings  Those links go to other pages of my website where I
introduce the local vendor to my website visitors.  All those vendors are other professionals who I believe have established businesses and great reputations.  I've worked with all of them
several if not many times.  I can honestly refer my clients and site vistors to those other wedding vendors.

Those vendors have also been chosen because I have developed (or I am developing) cross promotions with them.  A cross-promotion of course is a special offer to our customers that if they use the services of the preferred vendor, I will do something special for the customer and if the vendor sends someone to me who uses my services, the referring vendors will provide a special discount or other incentive to the customer.

Over the past 25+ years I've been doing photography, I have often traded business cards on site with other vendors.  A few days later we basically forgot about each other.  There is still today little if any ACTIVE efforts between many wedding vendors to develop genuine mutual promotional or cross-promotional arrangements with each other.

I don't know how many times I've walked into florists, bakeries, caterers and other places to find all kinds of photographer business cards.  But those photographers are doing absolutely nothing to promote the businesses where they have their cards publicly available.  This is especially true of photographers who don't have studios.  You would think that if a photographer doesn't have a studio, the least they can do is put referral pages on their websites and or links to the websites of the vendors who have been nice enough to allow those photographers to place business cards there. Sadly, many photographers don't do that to either to show at least some kind of appreciation.  Ultimately, I think many
photographers are hurting their businesses by assuming those other vendors OWE them some kind of public display. That attitude seems to be very prevailant and it is costly.

It's no secret among banks and other financial institutions that photographers generally make bad business people.  I guess we tend to be more creative types who just don't use that side of our brain to crunch numbers and develop effective marketing campaigns
based on objective marketing research data.

One of the links in my site navigation bar is to an external website.  But I am the webmaster for that cake and catering business. The vendor is The Cakes Boutique and Catering at http://www.cakesboutique.com There I have an 11x14 horizontal display with my cross-promotion offer.  My offer is also described on
the Cake Boutique website on their Partners page.  This is one of the only conditions I will place links outside my own website.  The Cake Boutique also provides a discount on brides cakes to brides
who retain my photography services. Of course, on their home page I have a link for my website design services.

There are other preferred vendors who are playing hard ball.  They are too nice to say it, but I know that what they are waiting for is for me to prove to them that I can get them more business.  Often people who operate businesses from commercial locations assume that home-based business people like myself can't do much.  They even assume that is the reason I'm wanting to hook up with them . . . purely for my own business success and nothing to do for them. Of course, as explained earlier, they are use to photographers coming in and the photographers proposal usually is nothing more than, "ME, ME, ME".

So it's even more understandable why it can be difficult to approach another business professional, especially when you are a home-based photographer and be received with much if any respect and appreciation!  I know that once they see my little home-based studio and website is getting them more business, I will receive a phone
call from them or when I walk back in there again, I will be very welcomed!  I will probably be asked to redesign and maintain their website!  So that's not bad either.

Even without my preferred vendors, I have already been shooting between 40 to 45 weddings per year.  This is all the business I care for.  Setting up my network of preferred vendors with whom I share cross-promotions is designed for the purpose of ensuring I will continue to enjoy my current level of bookings.  Some vendors are also located outside Chattanooga which provides me the opportunity to expand my marketing reach at very little to any cost.

Thanks again for your question.  Hope this clears up the apparent discrepancy and provides some other ideas to
think about.

John Wilson
Wedding Photographer
http://www.weddingphotographics.net
Chattanooga, Tennessee