Wedding slow season is inevitable. Feelings of discouragement can fill the mind of even the most talented photographer during slow season, so here are a few ways to fill that downtime and make this year’s the most productive yet.
Just as the weather changes outside and summer turns to fall, so is the wedding industry going through different seasons and changes yearly. If you’ve been in the industry for any length of time, you’ll start to see a pattern in your local wedding photography market of popular months to have wedding ceremonies versus the months that couples are planning or getting engaged. It’s natural for every wedding photographer to have a busier time of year, but regardless of how long you may be in the business, encountering slow seasons can still be discouraging.
Though you may not be booking and shooting as many weddings this time of year, you can still find ways to bring in future business and keep yourself busy. Here are a few ways to keep your wedding photography business alive during even the slowest of months.
Prepare Upcoming Marketing Campaigns
Slow season is the perfect time to prepare for the upcoming engagement season. Statistics show that almost half of all engagements happen between November and February (which coincidentally, is also most wedding photographers' slow seasons), which means this is the perfect time to start formulating any future marketing ideas into actual campaigns to capture those newly engaged couples. Creating incentives like offering free engagement sessions with wedding packages is a great way to catch a bride’s interest.
Having a brainstorming session for upcoming marketing campaigns can help bring inspiration and future topics for your marketing efforts throughout the year. Photo by Burst via Pexels, used under Creative Commons.
Work on Passive Income Projects
Passive income projects are great for photographers looking to expand their service-based photography business into a coaching or tutoring business. By having a good passive income project, you’re able to work hard on a product that you can sell to people in need. This constant trickle of income is what differentiates passive income from active income. You’re able to work on a product once, then supplement your active income (i.e., your income from photographing weddings) with your passive income. Often, the extra time you have during slow season is the perfect time to see any projects or products you’ve had on your mind come to fruition.
Work on Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is different than traditional marketing in that successful social media marketing is dependent upon relationship-building. Slow season is the perfect time to kick up your social media presence to help prospective clients feel more connected to you, which in turn can help clients want to book you. Try making a content calendar and adding extra time to be spent on social media and connecting with your target audience.
Expand Your Network
Lastly, if you’re feeling alone in slow season, one of the most beneficial activities you can do for yourself is to connect with wedding vendors and photographers. Not only will networking and meeting new people help you to realize that you’re not alone in slow season, but you could end up making valuable contacts that could refer future clients to you. Try finding local Facebook groups that are centered around the wedding industry in your town or photography groups based where you live.
Slow season is not uncommon, and sometimes, we have to remind ourselves that it is a normal part of running a wedding photography business. Utilizing time more efficiently is key to coming out of slow season with a thriving business and more potential clients on the horizon.
Lead image by Bryan Schneider via Pexels, used under Creative Commons.
Make more money in the busy season.