For Photographers: Bridal Show Tips and Tricks

17

Mar

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For Photographers, Uncategorized

With the bridals shows I have done in the past two and a half months, I have been busy! In the past I have only done one at the beginning of January, but this year with not working full time, I decided to step in and do a few more… three more in fact! I did my last one (at least that I’ve planned) on Sunday and can finally unpack all of the stuff and start cleaning up… now the real work begins… following up!

Today, I’m gonna focus on Bridal Shows Tips and Tricks (if you didn’t get that in the blog title!) for photographers. While I’m not a pro with 100 bookings a year from these events, I do get a handful from each show and have some tips and tricks for other photographers on how to make your show successful. Remember, these come from me and what have worked for me.

1) Participate in shows earlier in the year
Do you know the number one time of the year people get engaged? Not February with Valentines Day, but actually in November around Thanksgiving and December around Christmas. This is the biggest time for rings to be given to the leading lady of these guys lives. This is why I always do a show in January. In fact, this year I did one at the beginning of January and one at the end of January, both with the same company, just different locations in the city of Atlanta. Ones in March after Valentines Day are good as well. After March, you’re mainly hitting brides that are getting married the following year. While not a bad thing, if you’re looking for the current year brides, you need to do earlier in the year shows. Statistically, fewer brides get engaged later on in the year, meaning less go to bridal shows in the months of June on. A lot of bridal show companies don’t even do shows after June due to lower turnout and the fact that they won’t make a profit.

2) Less is more
My first year, I really had no idea what I was doing. I had very little stuff to bring and a TON of pictures. I brought TONS of samples of pictures, like between 20-30. This just overwhelms the bride. It’s too much to look at and it often clutters the space. This year, I redid my booth and have seven canvases that are my “show stoppers” for people to look at right when they come into my booth. I would recommend 5-10 pictures that really showcase your business. I actually kind of did a 180, coming with a ton of add-ons to my booth like furniture, rugs, lamps, etc while toning down my pictures. It looks more put together in my opinion.

Just on the middle piece alone, there are 15 pictures!2012 booth I can count ten pictures here. (This is from the same show as the picture above.)2012 bridal show

3) Have a Slideshow 
If you want more than seven pictures, try having a computer or TV set up with a slideshow. That’s what I’ve done. I have about 30-40 that scroll through on a slideshow on my TV at my booth. I used to use my computer, but decided a TV really displays everything best!

I had a client eventually hire me because of my slideshow. This couple was going to walk by my booth, but saw a picture that drew them in. I ended up taking that opportunity to talk to them. At the end, they told me how much they loved me and how excited they were they had stopped by. They hired me later that week!

4) You have less than 30 seconds to WOW them- make it count
Brides get overwhelmed with the TONS of vendors at shows. If you’re at a smaller show, you might have around 40-50 vendors. If you’re at a larger show, you can easily have up to 200 vendors. Think about how many booths these girls are seeing at these shows. You have to have something that just WOW’s them to draw them in, otherwise they will just pass by. If you’re one of 24 photographers (like I was at one of my January shows), you need something to WOW them. My new booth has a large blue wall (my brand color) and a couch that welcomes them in to sit with me if they want.

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Provide a welcoming environment. I don’t want to sit or stand behind a table. I want brides to be able to talk with me personally and get to know me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a bride want to hug me at the end of our conversation together because I was available to be open to them.

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5) Wear comfortable shoes and clothes that represent you
Most bridal shows are between 4-5 hours long. Some are two-day events! You definitely need to wear comfortable shoes since you’ll be on your feet all day! I am more exhausted at the end of a bridal show than I am at the end of an 8-9 hr wedding day. You also want to be professionally dressed, but something that isn’t boring. You want something that speaks to your style and your brand. I always wear a cute dress with leggings and boots!

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6) Have someone with you
Before Ben joined me full time, I had former brides come and help me at the bridal shows. I seriously could NOT have done it without them! These ladies rocked and helped me so much! You definitely need someone else at the show with you. Some of the shows I do have close to 1,000 brides there. While I don’t see everyone of those ladies, I do get anywhere between 75-150 at most shows. There is NO way I could talk to all of those girls on my own. Having someone there is KEY! A special thanks to Kristi, Cynthia, Hania, Ashley, Jenni, Angela, and Brittany for their help over the years at my shows!

Jenni and Angela helped me after their 2012 weddings at the 2013 bridal show!bridal show 2013

7) Spend time talking to the girls
I love talking with the girls and their “posse” (moms, sisters, bridesmaids, groom) for at least 5 minutes if I can. Sometimes I spend up to 10-15 minutes talking if I know there aren’t a ton of people waiting. There is no way to make a connection with a bride if you don’t spend a little time talking with them and connecting, otherwise you’re just another piece of paper they are looking at when they get home. I want them to remember talking to me when they get home!

I JUST got this email from a potential bride and it speaks to exactly what I want to do at the shows “my fiancé and I spoke with Ben (and briefly met you!) at the Georgia Bridal Show on March 8. We love the idea of having a two person photography team and your photos are absolutely beautiful.  Also, talking to Ben was great. It was our first bridal show and we were both overwhelmed by all the commotion at the other booths. Ben was so calm and we felt like he was really listening to what we had to say and I very much appreciate that.”  THAT right there is why we invest time into the girls at the show.

8) Bring samples
If you are going to sell products to your potential clients, you need to have samples there for them to see. I was the WORST about this for years. I couldn’t find an affordable album company that I liked, so I just didn’t have samples. It was such poor practice to advertise that I had these albums, but not have a sample for the girls to see. Now, I have sample albums along with canvases and other products for them to look at during the shows.

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9) Pricing sheets
Brides want to know how much you cost. One year, I tried something new and didn’t put my prices on my packages that I listed for the girls. I kept having to tell it to them and had to write it down for them. I now provide prices on my sheets for the brides. These should be full length, colored sheets with pictures from your business on them. I used to give out half sheets, with my logo in the corner (in black and white!) UGH! How unprofessional looking! However, I do not talk about pricing unless they ask. I spend my time talking about my business model, sharing my heart with them, and at the end, I slip it into the magazine that I give out to the girls. They can look over pricing at home.

10) Hand out business cards, postcards, magazines, or “goodies” to brides
I have evolved what I hand out to the girls over the years. I used to give out business cards with my pricing sheets. Brides get A TON of paper stuff from different vendors at the show. A small business card gets lost in the middle of everything, so I started to give out postcard sized business cards. I used these for years with the pricing sheets. Just these past two bridal shows, I started giving out magazines made by me. These are 12 page magazines that tell about me, my business model, what I offer, all while showing pictures to my potential clients. I slip the pricing sheet into the magazine after I’ve talked them through everything.

Many vendors give out little “goodies” to brides. I haven’t personally done this, but I know other photographers who do this and they find it very effective. Biggest thing is you don’t want to spend too much on anything you give away to the brides. I spend less that $3 on all of the paper goods they get from me; and when you’re handing out to 100+ girls, that investment can get expensive real fast if you spend too much.

11) Make sure you’re picture is on something you give them
I make sure I have my picture on my pricing sheet and my magazine. These girls see so many vendors at the shows that they need a name with a face. I include pictures of myself not to be conceded, but to help them remember me when they start looking through stuff. They like to think they might say to themselves, “oh yeah! I remember her! She was the sweet photographer that told me she would make dinner for me!”

I have this picture of me on my pricing sheet as well as inside of my magazine.MHM_8755

12) Follow up
All of this stuff I just mentioned to you is worthless if you don’t follow up! I do everything personalized for my first three points of contact. While I talk with the girls at the show, I try and write down little notes to myself to refer back to when I am writing to them later on. If I happened to mention I loved their black and white dress, I would write it down and mention it in the note. If we made a joke or random connection about our favorite movie, I would mention it. This also helps me remember them when I go back, because after talking to nearly 100 girls at a show, you cannot remember all of them! I use their names and their fiance’s names when I write to them. Personalize it as much as you can to let them know that they are not just a blanket email going to to 500 brides at once. I follow up three times on a personal level through email, phone call, and snail mail. It takes time to do all of these things, but it really speaks volumes to the brides. I have had so many of my girls tell me how much they appreciated the personalized notes I send out after the shows. They take me HOURS to write to each girl I met, but it’s totally worth the time if it shows them how committed I am to them on an individual level.

I hope these tips and tricks have been helpful for you as a photographer! Again, I’m not an expert, I am just sharing what I have found to work for me over the years. Feel free to share some things that have worked for you if you’ve done shows!

And just for fun, here’s what my first booth ever looked like compared to now!booth difference

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