What's your method of Advertising?
 

Please pardon the duplicate if this is answered elsewhere ...

There is a funnel, or more than one even, through which wedding couples travel on their way to their ceremony. It seems to me like the Holy Grail of obtaining clients and I just can't find it.

What is YOUR method or methods of gaining clients? Do they just show up at your door with fistfulls of money or do you promote your business in some way?

From 1995 onwards, a simple Yellow Pages ad in the local phone book brought in almost more business than we could handle. We never advertised beyond that and had to refer some business to our competitors on more than a few occasions.

Thanks, Chris. Can I ask what category you were placed in? I chose a new category "Wedding Videos" in three cities around me and I've received nada...

We were under "Video Production Services."

Word of mouth helps even more. We shared studio space with an excellent bridal photographer, so it was a mutually beneficial system of passing customers to each other, which paid off very well.

Keep in mind "yellow pages" are close to extinct - the average wedding is going to be young people more familiar with "Google" than YP...

Times they are a changin'... NEW media may be more cost effective, and after all, video is a big part of NEW media!

I only mention this because a buddy of mine put up a rather rough website, and has had a decent response for wedding photography...

Another option...
Make some contacts with tux rental/floral/bridal/DJ type businesses along with wedding co-ordinators. SCHMOOZE, take a couple "practice" gigs if you don't have a portfolio/demo. If you do a decent job, the rest should take care of itself.

Yeah, I was going to say, I ran a text ad in the big book and a credit card size ad in a small book, and I got one small booking from both. I gave up, even the superpages.com is barely worth it in terms of booking. Things must work better in different places. Weird.

Our success with it was probably a sign of the times (mid to late 1990's).

I totally believe that different areas have different levels of videography following. I feel like I have to drag in my clients where some folks are just dripping with work.

My area of Colorado is interesting. "Cities" are separated by undeveloped areas or farmland or ranchland, meeting with the "town" mentality. I wouldn't change it for the world - but the lessened amount of high tech results in a simpler life, and videography is the LAST thing wedding couples think of. I have yet to be asked about HD.

The question is still up - any additional input would be appreciated!

Todd, the best input I can give is find a good wedding photographer and latch onto him or her. Word of mouth is the best advertising you can get.

This is the best advice you will ever get if you want to do wedding videography... but not just latch on to them, bribe them. Make it worth their while to refer clients to you. Do this with several photographers and you are set.


As far as yellow pages go... I think they can still be a good return for wedding video, after all, weddings are also planned by mothers of the brides. Still, I'd also run tight SEO and Google adwords specific to my location if I was getting into it.