Today, we’re excited to have KISS Books CEO and Founder, Shaun Gordon on the show. Before starting Kiss, Shaun was a wedding photographer for 15 years and had photographed over 500 weddings. His past and present experiences give him a unique perspective on the industry and I’m excited to share our discussion with you today.
He has some great tips and shares easy-to-implement marketing tactics that some of the industry’s most successful photographers are using to sell albums and build thriving businesses.
(Here are the highlights, but you can listen to the full conversation below and find even more episodes on the Momentum podcast).
People Buy What You Show Them
If you’re like many wedding photographers, your experience may be that selling books is challenging. It doesn’t have to be though.
The most successful wedding photographers are talking about the importance of the book and showing books every chance that they get. They show them in person, they share pictures and videos on social media and their message is consistent, “I am a photographer who creates an experience and the story is told in a book.”.
Use your phone to capture authentic moments and share them in your Instagram stories. A video of a couple looking at their book for the first time is priceless and will help you attract people who want that same experience.
Give Your Clients a Reason to Talk About You
Most couples have friends who are getting married. If you create an amazing experience for a couple and they share it with friends, their friends are likely going to want their own version of the same experience.
Sending a couple a handwritten thank you note with a 4×4 version of their book a few weeks after their larger album has been delivered is an easy way to invest in your relationship one more time.
The small book is easy to carry around and share. By sending this gift to your couple, you are giving them the opportunity to be a walking commercial for you and a reason to hire you for the next big event in their lives.
The Top Album Sellers Don’t Include Digital Files in Their Wedding Collections
You may be thinking that this model won’t work in your market. Couples expect the files, don’t they? Not necessarily.
The top album sellers do not include digital files and if your message is consistently, “I am a photographer who creates an experience that is not complete until it’s printed in a book,” you won’t have to either.
What does this look like? Shaun recommends including an album credit that includes an entry level, highlight real book. Let potential clients know from the very beginning that most clients invest in making that book larger so that it tells the entire story and then show them a full album so that they can see the difference.
A few days after the wedding, cull for the book and show them how you saw the day in a complete 30-40 page book. This should be the first time they are seeing their images. Nine out of ten couples will invest thousands of dollars to build the book out.
Are you ready to start selling albums? KISS is offering our listeners $150 off of a $250+ sample order with the code stickykiss. Offer expires 12/31/18.
Kiss Books: https://www.kiss.us/