1) Increase profits
Let’s face it. We are in the business of making money. By adding books and albums to your packages or even as à la carte items, you have the ability to increase your profits by $300+ per wedding. Who wouldn’t love a little extra cash in their account during the slow season? If you are a shoot and share or shoot and burn wedding photographer, take 30 minutes and create your brides a layout on spec using Fundy Designer. Offer it to them as an impulse purchase the week after their wedding. They will still have money left over from gifts and they will still be on that post wedding high. They will buy.
2) No bride left behind
Besides increasing profits for your business, including wedding albums in your wedding packages ensures that no bride is left behind. What the industry is seeing as a whole is brides who have their image files on DVD or a USB drive. They think they will make themselves an album at some point in their future. There are two scenarios that show us what is really happening. In the first scenario, the image files sit on the storage device, forgotten. Life gets in the way. The wedding album never gets made.
The second scenario is the bride and or groom begins a layout and then realizes that they are in over their head, don’t know what they are doing or the design process is too time consuming for them to finish. So they stop and again, the images are forgotten.
3) Family heirloom
One of my good friends said it best, “I really don’t shoot weddings anymore, but when I was doing more, a client said to me, ‘I remember being a little girl, sitting with my momma’s wedding album in my lap and looking through her wedding photos.’ I think with any major life event (wedding/senior year) it gives them something they can touch, hold, feel from their special day. Something to sit and reflect on those memories with and have something to hold in their hands and show their children. With ever-changing technology, the ones who do not have an album will regret it later on. Instead of passing down or finding a CD or USB, which is outdated and they can’t access, their family will find/inherit a beautiful heirloom album when they are no longer around.”
I could not have said any better myself.
4) Marketing tool for your business
So, exactly how can an album be a marketing piece for your business? Once a bride receives her album, she takes it everywhere with her – to her parents’ house, to her best friends’ houses, to work to show off to coworkers, to church, to other events in which she is involved in. Every time that wedding album is shown to someone new, they are being exposed to your brand, your images, your work, your art. Your bride now becomes a brand ambassador for you.
Secondly, albums and books are great marketing tools for wedding coordinators, venues and other wedding vendors. Send the coordinator a full album of the event. Send the venue a book or album of their space. Do the same with florists. The wedding vendors need a tangible product of their work to use when consulting with potential brides.
In both cases, be sure to take advantage of the Back Leaf Imprinting option – three lines in the back of the book for you to place your contact information.
5) Your clients have a tangible product
Have you ever purchased a product and walked away with nothing in hand? The best example of this is insurance – car, home, life. You leave the agent’s office thinking about the amount of money you just spent without anything to show for it, well eventually you will have insurance cards or a big pile of paper to file away.
Wedding albums give your brides and grooms something tangible to take away with them. Something to hold on to. Something to cherish. Something that will transport them back in time to the happiest day of their lives.
6) Separates YOU from your competition
As photography has become a commodity, it has become harder and harder to separate yourself from your competition. Some ways to do so is through excellent branding, exclusive locations, latest/greatest backgrounds, superior customer service and skill.
Why not offer something your competitors are not? If all your competitors are only selling image files in their packages, then add a book or album with a custom layout. Do something different that will separate you from the rest of the photographers!
7) If you want to sell it, you must show it.
Recently, I heard a story from a photographer about one of his consultations. The story goes like this: he arrives and sets up his sample albums and books. The bride and her best friends arrive. They visit and look through albums for 45 minutes. At that point the photographer asks, “What questions do you have for me?” The bride says, “I don’t have any questions. You covered everything and even brought samples! The other two photographers we met with did not bring one sample, not even images on their iPad!”
I know what you are thinking. Who goes to a consult without samples? Well, apparently there are photographers who go to consultations without samples of their work. He booked that wedding because he had sample wedding albums!
Start building your sample album arsenal today with Black River Imaging’s 40% discount on all sample wedding albums all year long.
8) Wedding albums are what your brides want deep down.
Believe it or not, not all brides want just the files. Offering albums and books distinguishes you from the pack. Really, it does!
Brides and grooms are asking for image files because that’s what they believe they are supposed to ask for. It’s like the potential portrait client that calls and asks how much your 8×10 costs. The brides and grooms are not educated as to what they should be asking for. We need to educate them as to what they really want. They don’t realize that what they really want is an album of their wedding day until they see a completed wedding album at the consultation.
9) Albums are not just for weddings anymore.
True story. Albums are not just for weddings. Family sessions, babies first year, high school seniors, family reunions, vacations, wedding anniversaries, etc. The list can go on and on. Step outside the box. What are other ways you can incorporate albums in your product offerings?
10) Album design is easy peasy.
I hear your groans, your moans. I can feel your sense of dread. Your anxiety is building just thinking about sitting down in front of the computer to design another album. Well, grab a mug of hot tea or coffee and relax. Album design is not the huge mountain it used to be looming in front of you anymore. With Fundy Designer, wedding albums can be designed in less that 30 minutes. Seriously, I know! Total game changer. Check out our review of Designer!
What are you waiting for? Oh I see, you don’t have Designer! That’s OK. There’s a free trial available here to start designing.
