The Rookie Asks: Wedding Videographers - How do you advertise?

x-angel

x-angel

Well-known member
Ok, we alll know that newspapers and print media is somewhat dead. (Correct me if I am wrong)

Most of us have a website. But who can find it these days? Like in my case, if you google "Wedding video San Antonio" you come up with an endless list.

So I ask my fellow wedding videographers: How do you advertise?

Do you actually go to the bridal shows?

Or is word of mouth STILL the best form of advertisement?

Do you list your company with things like SAWeddingmall.com or partypop.com?

Do you try to register with a "wedding coordinator"?

Any tips from anyone in the industry would be nice....

Thanks!

*Edited title on Sunday, Nov 13th*
 
I only bill myself as that here...on this forum.

Why does it bother you?

Woud you rather me bill myself as an expert, and be a liar? I am here to learn. I am not up to you guys' level.

And if you are talking about my Topic lines that start with "The Rookie Asks"..I do that just to let people know that an honest rookie is asking. And it may also help other rookies as well.

So any way...with that being addressed, I go back to my first post.
 
Well, I think it's important that you not do that. Why? The longer you think of yourself as a rookie, the longer you'll BE a rookie. Don't entrap yourself. Don't ask your questions announcing yourself as a rookie; just ask them.
 
Aren't you here for advice? That's what I'm trying to give. Don't be so defensive.

Of course you should maintain a realistic view of your skill level. We were all rookies once. But you have to take the mental leap, and the sooner you do it, the better. You may only refer to yourself as a rookie here, but you indicate you already have work, and if you're thinking of yourself as a rookie when you work, chances are, it will show in your work -- and it will probably show through to clients, too. That's what I mean about not handicapping yourself or thinking yourself into a box.

In other words, if you make being a rookie part of your identity, it's going to be difficult to be anything but. Just do it, dude. Let your work -- and your questions, and hopefully answers someday -- speak for themselves.
 
It's the sense of self-aggrandizing that bugs me, frankly. Anytime you place "the" before what you choose to address yourself, it sounds a bit obnoxious. "The" rookie, as if you're the rookie to beat all rookies. And rookie is not necessarily negative, so that's no defense. No one disrespected LeBron James when he was a rookie.

But then again, I'm an uptight motherfucker sometimes. The Uptight Motherfucker has spoken....
 
Ok...my apologies...I didn't know it was bothering people.

With all that being said.. .I ask my question again:

How do you advertise?

Do you actually go to the bridal shows?

Or is word of mouth STILL the best form of advertisement?

Do you list your company with things like SAWeddingmall.com or partypop.com?

Do you try to register with a "wedding coordinator"?
 
My whining about your thread title notwithstanding, I also have an interest in the methods people use to promote their businesses. So, perhaps I shouldn't criticize and should just listen... Have you tried a search specific to the "business" section?
 
I am not a wedding videographer although I just finished editing my cousins wedding I shot back in July! LOL! Yea I am backed up with other projects!!! Anyway, get yourself some business cards and pass them out. Put an ad in the paper, or better yet find out when they have those BRIDAL SHOWS at convention centers and pay for a booth, set up a little display with a TV/DVD to show your work. You may even want to have a VHS player set up as well so you can sell people the idea of going the route of DVD over VHS which for you would mean more money because it takes time to author a DVD...just my thoughts...
 
Word of mouth and some great samples on a website are still the best way to get work in the wedding business (at least here it is).


Bridal shows can help but in the past couple of years attendence has dropped significantly here, probably due to most brides doing their comparisson shopping online (hence the online videos being so important).

Registering on sites like theknot.com can help as well.
 
question on that: I have a sum total of ONE wedding under my belt. And the footage is..well..shaky at best. (I didn't know the DVX like what I do now just from reading)

Would this be unethical: What if after I get back, my wife and I did our "wedding interview" and things like that just as a "sample builder". Now of course this will be difficult with me be a cameraman and a subject in the film, but at least it would be something.

Also, as I have said in another post, Micha-Angel is a production company, that won't be doing JUST weddings - even though thats where our bread and butter will be.

So I am thinking about posting some non-wedding related sample work on the site just to show our depth and stuff like that. Also, it give me a chance to practice more with the camera.

Now, I can already see the objections: "When people are shopping for a wedding videographer, they want to see what you can do at weddings". Although this is true, it may at least show our flexibility and what we can do.

Also, in my other seraches I have found:

respondweddings.com
theknot .com
perfectweddingguide.com

I ahve seen where people have had some luck with these...anyone else have stories to tell?
 
I've just done my third season of weddings, and here's my advice:

1. Get a good wedding demo together. Do a free wedding for someone in exchange for use of the wedding as a promo reel. My first demo came from a coworker who actually paid me to shoot her wedding (I'm lucky).

2. Take that demo and do some wedding shows or festivals. Get a display together, put your wedding demo onto a bunch of DVD-R's and give them away like coupons to brides-to-be to watch after the show (they're going to be WAY overwhelmed at the show).

3. Get listed in the yellow pages under "Video Production" and "Weddings" so people think of you when they're looking.

4. Hook up with other people in the industry that you don't compete with (i.e. photographers, coordinators, catering halls, hotels, florists, etc.) and do an "info-exchange" by giving their info to your clients and vice versa.

Forget print advertising. You won't get great results since you target market is relatively small compared to the people who read the paper (i.e. if the paper has 50,000 readers, but only 10% of them are engaged women you're grossly overpaying to reach your market... besides, they probably aren't thinking about wedding services when they read print media).

Work on your production company's brand. Get your name out as much as you can. Find a radio station that isn't connected to a TV station (in the age of media convergence, it's hard) and see if you can do some freebies for them. I shoot a bunch of in-studio stuff for a local FM rock station that they post on their web site, and in return I get on-air promotion. I donate my services for their Bandslam competition and do a video for the winning band. It lets me build my porfolio, grow my client list and get's me tons of on-air promo ("...including full video production by Beyond Time Media...").

Get some books on niche marketing, or talk to other videographers in your area.

Good luck!

Justin
www.beyondtimemedia.com
 
As far as showing non-wedding videos on your site, I think that's perfectly acceptable and probably a good idea.

But, I would agree with the though that wedding clients want to see your wedding videos, they don't really care to watch other stuff. So I would just put your samples into different categories, and make a category for wedding clips.

The other stuff is there if people want to see it, but it doesn't get in their way either.
 
jchenier said:
1. Get a good wedding demo together. Do a free wedding for someone in exchange for use of the wedding as a promo reel. My first demo came from a coworker who actually paid me to shoot her wedding (I'm lucky).
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I had that with John and Jen. The bride is a friend of my wife. The footage is shaky at best. Very non-eventful wedding. We did it for free. Even though most experts (like on this forum) & myself can point out some very rookie mistakes, a lot of people "outside the industry" think I did a good job.

I am think about basically starting over when I get back...holding some sort of lottery and giving a few couple the "whole enchilada" for free, and a few more like 10 or 20% off a certain package.

2. Take that demo and do some wedding shows or festivals. Get a display together, put your wedding demo onto a bunch of DVD-R's and give them away like coupons to brides-to-be to watch after the show (they're going to be WAY overwhelmed at the show).
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I have heard that those shows are basically a waste fo time due to the fact that the bride is so overwhelmed. I am gathering you have done these, any tips?

3. Get listed in the yellow pages under "Video Production" and "Weddings" so people think of you when they're looking.
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I am assuming you mean a full ad in the yellow pages. Usually one liners dont garner that many results.

4. Hook up with other people in the industry that you don't compete with (i.e. photographers, coordinators, catering halls, hotels, florists, etc.) and do an "info-exchange" by giving their info to your clients and vice versa.
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The two photographers that were with me at John and Jen's wedding have turned ot to be pretty good "comrades in arms". They are getting paid crap by some of their people, and we have promised to refer each other whenever possible.

Forget print advertising. You won't get great results since you target market is relatively small compared to the people who read the paper (i.e. if the paper has 50,000 readers, but only 10% of them are engaged women you're grossly overpaying to reach your market... besides, they probably aren't thinking about wedding services when they read print media).
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I figured as much. I was looking at the SA Express News today, and their weddings/engagement section had like no advertisement from any of my competition. They are actually begging people to advertise.

Thanks for the tips Justin! BTW, your web site looks cool.
 
If the wedding you did has footage you can use on your demo, use it. If not, do another for free.

Wedding shows are overwhelming, but I do our local show EVERY year. I get good business from it and I get a chance to show my product in direct comparison to my competitors. My first year was stressful. But for my second year, I had more confidence and better footage. This year will be my third, and my footage is even better. But it all depends on your geography. The Kingston wedding show has 400-500 brides, with approx 50 exhibitors. Nice and confortable. The Toronto wedding show has thousands of brides and hundreds of exhibitors. I wouldn't even make a dent there.

I have a simple one-liner in the yellow pages. It's free with my business line, and it's important. I send out 5-10 wedding demos a year just by having that listing. Plus I also get calls from producers in bigger markets looking for b-roll or videographer-for-hire services. Besides, when you're in the yellow pages, people assume a level of credibility with your business. That always helps.

Thanks for the compliments on the web site. It works for me, especially in allowing me to showcase some footage (the Screening Room section).

Cheers,

Justin
www.beyondtimemedia.com
 
you said you have 3 "seasons" under your belt. Do you only do weddings during the "high time" of May through August? This is going to be my main bread and butter.. I will proably take 3 jobs a month..and have one weekend so my wife and I don't go crazy. This will probably change as the business grows and I am able to hire people for jobs.

Like I said, I will probably have to start at ground zero when I get back. I will probably have to manufacture some sample footage with my wife and I when I get back.
 
x-angel said:
This will probably change as the business grows and I am able to hire people for jobs.
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See, this is the problem with wedding videos in general and why they pay crap compared to photography. When you hire a photographer, you are buying the services of a particular individual with a portfolio you happen to like. When you hire a wedding video, you get a company who is most likely run by some knucklehead WEVA member who doesn't know the first thing about composition and doesn't even do any of the work himself. Instead, he employs a rukneck crew of freshman tcom students to shoot and edit for him. Hence, wedding videos aren't really viewed valuable by *anyone* inside or outside the industry.

When you hire a photographer, you get that guy and it's a respectable and lucrative gig.
When you hire video, you get "whoever they found with a GL1 that particular weekend"

Raise the bar, man! :thumbsup:
 
thisiswells said:
See, this is the problem with wedding videos in general and why they pay crap compared to photography. When you hire a photographer, you are buying the services of a particular individual with a portfolio you happen to like. When you hire a wedding video, you get a company who is most likely run by some knucklehead WEVA member who doesn't know the first thing about composition and doesn't even do any of the work himself. Instead, he employs a rukneck crew of freshman tcom students to shoot and edit for him. Hence, wedding videos aren't really viewed valuable by *anyone* inside or outside the industry.

When you hire a photographer, you get that guy and it's a respectable and lucrative gig.
When you hire video, you get "whoever they found with a GL1 that particular weekend"

Raise the bar, man! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...


I don't think that's actually the norm for wedding videos.
In fact, I don't know anyone who hires people to shoot for them.
I edit for a guy in town every now and again when he gets slammed, but that's after having worked for him in the past and having worked together for over 10 years now.

But, other than that, every videographer I know who does weddings shoots and edits him/herself.
 
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