Marketing Wedding Photography
One thing I have learned from wedding photographer friends who have made wedding photography their chosen niche - is that you have to start marketing wedding photography the minute you decide to enter the niche. They recommend that you don't wait, as soon as you are considering it, run with it. Your photography business is your baby, your little brain-child - so get out there and market your wedding photography business. Large photography studios have larger marketing budgets. But the little guy or gal has nothing but their reputation by word of mouth. In order to build that rep you have to work at it and there are various tools that you have available to you.
Previously there were only billboards or newspapers, and later on there was the television to get the word out there about your film. These were actually fairly costly and only the studios could truly afford these avenues. The rise of Internet has impacted marketing of independent film and the entire film industry as whole. There are so many different promotional tools that it offers you, it is hard to choose. The best thing to do is hit them all because you will need them.
When you are at the beginning stages of marketing your wedding photography business online, start a blog. Once you have that going and you are making regular entries, turn your attention to making a logo and then a website. The logo will carry through to many other things, but for the moment, it will help in making your website come together visually. There are services out there that will make a logo for you but, as in all things, it is always better if you do it yourself. This is especially the case for photographers who should use their own work as logos (only our very best work should be considered). The website can be made by you as well. There any number of sites out there that offer domains and website building tools.
Once you have built yourself a website, then you can submit it to a search engine. Make advertising specialties, such as t-shirts, with your logo on them. A friend put her logo on panties and sold them. More girls bought those panties. These items made enough money to help her double her overall photography marketing budget. So, after you have made the regular website go to Facebook and build a Facebook page for your photography business. After the Facebook page is done, put a video of your work on YouTube. These are all free for the most part, so take advantage of them. Music artists have used Facebook and Myspace to promote their music and it has worked really well so why not use it for the purposes of wedding photographers.
One of the more simply effective things you can do is to find someplace small that you can display your work. Make some eye-catching fliers and post them at the local college, community center, malls (especially the malls that have jewelry stores, bridal accessories, etc.). There is usually an area of communities where potential brides and brides-to-be congregate: for some communities its coffee bars; for other communities its hair salons; you get the idea.
Marketing wedding photography has to be an ongoing process. It cannot let up or take a break!