Archive for the ‘Marketing Madness’ Category

Come See Us at WPPI

Friday, March 5th, 2010

WPPI’s 30th annual convention is going on in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand! From March 8 through the 10th, we will be participating in the trade show in booth 1601. With our new partnership with Albums Inc., you can also see a full line of our products in their booth (1535).

Featured at both booths will be our founder and CEO, Mark Zucker, as he speaks about how you can improve your album sales at 2 PM in the Zookbinders booth and 3 PM in the Albums Inc. booth on both Monday and Tuesday. Also when you stop by, you will see our entire line of books and albums including the PhotoBook Plus and our brand new soft cover Value Packs. If you follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook, you will gain access to a special code that will give you 30% off of any PhotoBook Plus order through the end of this month.

We hope to see all of you there. Stop by, say hi, check out the new books and see how we can help you increase your sales and create many happy clients. Have a great convention everyone.

Bridal Ambassadors

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Do you have your Bridal Ambassadors lined up for 2010? You don’t? What’s a Bridal Ambassador? Well, in taking a cue from our friends who photograph high school seniors, an Ambassador is someone who talks up your talents and the wonderful experience they had working with you. Until recently it was tough to send your wedding clients out with your work because the only book they could show was their own large book. Today, with the ability to make quick and affordable, press printed, album clones, you can arm your clients with beautiful little books and send them to out sing your praises while showing off their own wedding images.

While you can wait and make a sample of your clients finished album months after their big day, we recommend that you create a highlights album, where you choose the images and get it made immediately after the wedding. This sample album will feature the images that are most important to you and your artistic vision. After your client’s wedding, we suggest that you have a small album template pre-made so that you can easily download one or two dozen images and order this special book within a few days of her wedding. With Zookbinders’ PhotoBooks and Soft Cover Press Books, you can have a high quality, small album back within a week. This book can cost you as little as $49 for soft cover book and $59 for a hard cover book.

You’ll also want to have referral cards made so that your client can hand them out to their friends and so that you can track who gave the referral. This card can be self printed or you can order them from a print house. You can personalize the card with an image by printing them yourself or ordering a sheet of wallet photos to adhere to the front of the card. You can imagine how excited your brides will be to be able to carry with them and show off a few of their wedding images so quickly after their wedding. With the right materials, they will be referring all of the brides-to-be they know. And for less than $100 per event, you can realize thousands of dollars in new business. Give it a try.

Maximizing Conventions

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

It’s just a little over a week until the 2010 WPPI Convention in Las Vegas. Of course we at Zookbinders will be there with our latest and greatest album products along with our friendly faces ready to say hi and show you our goods. But conventions and trade shows like this aren’t just about seeing new products and buying the latest gadgets and plug-ins – they are excellent learning and networking experiences. Skip Cohen, of Marketing Essentials International has a great article posted on his blog entitled 13 Tips on Getting the Most Out of Conventions. So before joining us at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, check out Skip’s article and prepare yourself for an awesome convention.

Great Marketing Idea

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Most of us in the wedding business have seen the number of brides we’re working with drop over the past couple of years. Pierre Stephenson from the Madison, Wisconsin area ran a unique promotion to get brides to meet with him and experience his work in a low pressure, group setting. He put together a free seminar where brides could come in and learn how to look slim and their very best in their photos. Any bride was welcome and it created great buzz for his studio. Check out Pierre’s guest post at Marketing Essentials International and if you have a great marketing idea, drop us a line and let us share it with others.

Great Pricing Info

Friday, February 12th, 2010

A couple of weeks ago we looked at the over all amount couples have been spending on their wedding and started looking at what we as photographers should be charging. There are many different theories about how to price your services, but if you are serious about running a photography business, there are some key things you need to know and understand.

Travis Hill recently wrote a wonderful article on his blog, The Perfect Pose, that really gets you thinking about what goes into a being wedding photographer and what you need to charge in order to make a living. If you haven’t looked at your expenses and all that you put into being a wedding photographer, this article will really open your eyes.

In Travis’ example, using his numbers, he shows how you’d need to charge at least $3500 for your services. Now, in today’s market, many of you are going to say, “there’s no way I can book any business if I start my packages at $3500.” Proper marketing aside, if that is true, then you have to look at what Zookbinders’ President, Mark Zucker, said in his article and presentation, “Your Business Needs to Lose 1000 Pounds.” If we use Travis’ example and you feel you need to be able to offer your services at $2500 in order to attract business, then you shouldn’t just slash your prices and undervalue yourself but you should look at where you can “trim the fat.” Look at how much time you spend editing and designing albums; if you can trim those times through software, efficiencies or shooting fewer images, you can trim that cost. If you offer a less expensive album, cut overhead, and offer a smaller package, you can offer your services at a lower price while still making money and not devaluing yourself.

I encourage your to read Travis’ blog and seriously look at your expenses and what you charge. In the end you’ll be smarter and make more money for yourself. – Scott Patrick, Zookbinders.

Page 5 of 7« First...34567