Reasons You’re Not Booking Weddings and How to Fix Those Errors

It’s wedding season but the hopes of booking new clients are quickly being crushed. What has happened? Why aren’t couples getting in touch with you?

Even if you have the perfect wedding photography or videography rates or business, there’s still a chance of experiencing little to none client interest.

If this is happening to you, chances are that you’re committing one or more of the following mistakes.

 

No Marketing

 

Wedding clients will find it very difficult to book if they don’t know that you even exist.

In other words, you have to spread the news about your services.

With so many affordable promotional channels and marketing opportunities (some even free!) there really is no excuse!

For a start, you need a website (as of yesterday). It’s the foundation of all other online promotional efforts, plus it simplifies the process of uploading and sharing your portfolio.

Using social media like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube will further increase your online findability.

To be even more successful at spreading the word, consider partnerships with local businesses and participation in wedding fairs.

Eventually, you’ll also benefit from word of mouth promotion – one of the best and most reliable forms of advertising. To get there, however, you’ll need to put some effort into all other promotional campaigns.

Once they start bringing in the clients, you can relax a bit and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

 

No Reviews and Testimonials from Former Wedding Clients

 

It’s a well-known fact that people today look for online reviews before booking anyone.

Statistics show that trust in online reviews has been growing through the years. in fact, nine out of 10 people look for online reviews before buying a product or a service.

There are ways to get online reviews and testimonials. A simple prompt sent out to former clients can result in honest and effective reviews being written.

Obviously, you shouldn’t fake online testimonials and write those yourself. For a start, the approach can easily backfire. Fake reviews are fairly easy to spot, unless you’re a marketing pro.

Once you ruin your reputation with this approach, rebuilding it will take lots of time.

Some wedding photographers and videographers refrain from publishing reviews due to fears of negative customer feedback. But even an angry client can be turned into a loyal fan when you respond adequately.

Offering some form of compensations and being polite is the easiest way to turn the situation around.

 

Wedding Clients Think Communication with You Is Difficult

 

How long do you take to respond after someone inquires about your services?

What happens during a regular meeting with potential new customers? Are you excited about the opportunity to present your vision or do you consider this part of your work cumbersome?

People want someone enthusiastic and easy to talk to on their wedding day. If they’re finding communication with you challenging, they’re not going to come back.

Most people will feel nervous during a meeting with a potential client but that’s no excuse for acting poorly. You need to be positive, professional and open to communication. Even if you consider yourself an introverted person, there are still ways to win clients over.

Practice being warm and humorous, take interest in people’s personal stories. Ask questions, listen and offer meaningful insight into your job.

Don’t shy away from sharing your vision but do so in a polite, constructive manner.

Communication skills rank among the most important soft skills you’ll acquire with time and experience. View each meeting with a potential client as a learning opportunity.

Be professional, respond quickly and try to accommodate for client preferences. By doing so, you increase the likelihood of being booked.

 

You’re Too Vague

 

During a preliminary meeting, clients will have a few important questions. Getting information on those is non-negotiable for most people. Being too vague and refusing to answer will make the loss of potential clients very likely.

You need to be concrete and specific about your availability, your rate, scheduling options, turnaround times and additional costs.

Yes, things can change. Accidents and unexpected situations have the power to ruin the most perfectly planned wedding day.

Still, wedding planning is incredibly stressful. Nobody wants the added anguish of not knowing how much photography or videography will cost.

Also, being vague suggests you can’t be trusted. People want to work with professionals who are confident, specific and committed.

This is why you need to offer details and some uncomfortable truths right off the bat. Withholding such information isn’t going to make people more likely to hire you. On the contrary!

 

No Specialization

 

Are you one of those wedding photographers or videographers who are willing to work with anyone and everyone? That’s a huge mistake.

Most brides and grooms have a particular vision when it comes to their wedding photos and videos. Hence, they’re looking for professionals who have enough niche specialization with the specific style.

Being eager to take on any job will deprive you from a stylistic direction.

It’s a good idea to focus on a few styles or techniques. By doing so, you’ll give your portfolio consistency and an easily understandable artistic vision. True, you’ll get to communicate with fewer potential clients.

These people, however, are looking for a particular style that you can deliver. As a result, they’re considered qualified leads who are likely to convert.

 

Pricing Issues

 

If you’re not booking lots of wedding photography and videography clients, you may want to review your pricing policy.

What do your packages contain and how much do they cost? How’s the competition setting prices and how do your packages compare?

Having services that are way too expensive is an obvious turn-off for clients. People aren’t going to bother communicating with someone who’s out of their price range.

Under-pricing is another very big mistake and a potential red flag.

You may think that charging less than other photographers and videographers is a good idea. In the eyes of clients, this may not be the case. Services that are too cheap may speak of poor quality or little experience. These are obviously attributes you don’t want to have attached to your work.

To price your services adequately, do a bit of competition research. Also, think about the amounts you’ll need to charge in order to keep your business progressing and evolving.

Knowing how the respective market is developing and updating your prices every once in a while will reduce the risk of losing clients because your rates are too out there.

 

You’re Focusing on the Wrong Things

 

Trying to fix a problem that’s not a problem will keep you from addressing the real issues standing in the way of not booking problems.

Many professionals who aren’t booking wedding photography or videography clients worry that the quality of their work is to blame.

Unless you’re the world’s biggest amateur, this isn’t the issue.

Brides and grooms aren’t aware of the technical and artistic parameters that professionals pay attention to. They either like a photo/video or they don’t.

By focusing on improving your work (which isn’t a bad thing) and acquiring new skills all the time, you’re keeping yourself from tackling the actual problem.

So, slow down for a bit and pay attention to the business side of things. Chances are that your artistic and technical skills deliver good enough quality.

Running a business is so difficult precisely because you have to juggle so many things. The moment you let go of an important responsibility (be it promotional or administrative) is the moment you start having issues with client bookings.

 

Now, Go Out There and Get That Booking!

 

While not booking clients is obviously terrifying for any professional, the problem can be fixed.

As you’ve seen already, most of the issues discussed can be rectified. You’ll need time to make some of those changes happen. Still, once you gain momentum, you’ll experience a massive change in your lead acquisition efforts.

Every wedding photographer or videographer needs to be a good advertiser, communicator and business person. You have to be a well-rounded professional and not just an artist in order to get those bookings.

Wedding clients aren’t always convinced by a pretty portfolio. Sounding confident, being approachable and very specific will also be important.

Booking more weddings is everybody’s end goal. Unfortunately, there isn’t a universal formula on how to make that happen.

To get better, think about the moment potential wedding clients give up on you (alternatively, try to get that information through feedback surveys and direct questions).

Having some third-party information on your business performance will give you a good starting point. Addressing one issue at a time and checking the results before doing something else will increase the likelihood of getting more bookings and ensuring the long-term stability of your business.