DannyBostwick Offline Upload & Sell: On
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Wedding Wire? The Knot? What was your experience? | |
I got lucky with TheKnot. I started on there in 2010 and I hate to think about how much money I spent on that thing over the years, but it did help build my business from the start. The amount of practice I got from shooting a ton of weddings early on was irreplaceable. That being said, about 2-3 years ago I started to get a drop off in bookings, mostly because I was getting word of mouth. Then last year I had hardly any traffic coming from them per the analytics. Canceling with them is a pain the butt because of their contract, but I haven't noticed a decrease in inquiries or booking since then. It's so expensive that if you don't book weddings from it, it kills you.
WeddingWire is nice because it acts as a third party review system. Everyone puts their glowing reviews on their website, but if you screw up and aren't on either of those sites, no one will know. I get a few inquiries from wedding wire. If I book 1 wedding from it a year, it makes it worth it.
Advertising sucks, I wish I could say I'm the guy who has never had to pay for advertising, but I have. It's worked okay, it has it's bonuses. I wouldn't say it's a great investment, but I wouldn't say it's a terrible one. The challenge is creating a body of work that stands out. I know that's obvious, but the style of most of the folks on there is the exact same. Same presets, same 50mm from a few feet away with some light flare while the bride looks at the camera and the groom looks lovingly at the bride. Same shit.
Anywho, it's a coin flip. If I was in your shoes, I'd spend that money on learning. Books, workshops, the gear needed to improve. Focus on the photography and let the growth be organic. Good Luck!
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