It's all gone a bit dry...

[rhysb123]

Hi,

For a while after and during summer I had plenty of enquiries for weddings in 2015 and 2016. But now everything seems to be 'dry', I know that the (main) wedding season has finished (more or less).
I'm getting no emails, no calls, no responses to my follow-ups... is it just me?? (I'm in the UK btw).

I'm wondering if it's my site:

http://vividimpactphotography.com/

People are visiting my site but that's it, a visit.

Anybody else?

Thanks in advance

Rhys

 

[mackguyver]

Sorry to hear about that and I think your site looks good to me. My only suggestions might be to pare down the number of photos on your home page to just your very best, and to add an actual photo of yourself so it's more personal but I don't think that's the issue here. You might check the exit page to see where people are leaving the site - is it the homepage? pricing page? Sometimes those metrics can be helpful and I'd sign up for Google Analytics (free) if you haven't already. Beyond that, enticing people with a discount - i.e. bumping up your prices and then advertising XX% off can help draw people. Everybody loves to think that they are getting a deal.

Also, if you were getting a lot of Facebook referrals, you'll see that for most people, their page views have been decimated by FB's latest changes. They want you to pay for useless "reach" now, mostly to fake accounts, so I've abandoned them. That might be part of the issue.

Finally, if it were me, I'd spend the time following up on those existing enquiries (or inquiries as we Yanks like spell it) and doing some housekeeping on the website, social media (check out Twitter & Instagram perhaps if you're not on them), and networking with other wedding professionals (non-photogs) to try to drum up some business.

 

[janmaxim]

Beyond that, enticing people with a discount - i.e. bumping up your prices and then advertising XX% off can help draw people. Everybody loves to think that they are getting a deal.

Please don't do that! That is misleading the customer and will only hurt you in the long run if the word gets out.

And in certain parts of the world, practices like this is illegal. For instance, in Norway you must be able to document that the "before price" was an actual going price prior to the campaign.

 

[mackguyver]

Beyond that, enticing people with a discount - i.e. bumping up your prices and then advertising XX% off can help draw people. Everybody loves to think that they are getting a deal.

Please don't do that! That is misleading the customer and will only hurt you in the long run if the word gets out.

And in certain parts of the world, practices like this is illegal. For instance, in Norway you must be able to document that the "before price" was an actual going price prior to the campaign.

I guess it doesn't sound so good the way I put it...but offering a discount, or perceived discount can be helpful to generate more sales. The ethical way to do it would be to create a brand new package at a special price. Of course it's an individual decision and may not be for you (or legal according to janmaxim).

 

[neuroanatomist]

And in certain parts of the world, practices like this is illegal. For instance, in Norway you must be able to document that the "before price" was an actual going price prior to the campaign.

Interesting. The 'going price' on Canon lenses is lower than MSRP, but during Canon rebates they enforce MAP, meaning the price goes up then is rebated (and sometimes the price after rebate is higher than the going rate before the rebate!).

 

[westr70]

One thing I noticed when I clicked on an image was there didn't seem to be a way to get back to the main page. The second time I clicked on an image I noticed the little 'x' in the upper right corner and was able to get back to the main page. You might want to make the 'back' button more noticeable or say 'back to main page,' or something. Best of luck to you.

 

[9VIII]

Beyond that, enticing people with a discount - i.e. bumping up your prices and then advertising XX% off can help draw people. Everybody loves to think that they are getting a deal.

Please don't do that! That is misleading the customer and will only hurt you in the long run if the word gets out.

And in certain parts of the world, practices like this is illegal. For instance, in Norway you must be able to document that the "before price" was an actual going price prior to the campaign.

I guess it doesn't sound so good the way I put it...but offering a discount, or perceived discount can be helpful to generate more sales. The ethical way to do it would be to create a brand new package at a special price. Of course it's an individual decision and may not be for you (or legal according to janmaxim).

Of course, if you want to run a solid business you're still going to make a profit when you cut the price 50% (to blow through some stock).
Not every industry is capable of maintaining that sort of margin, but It always amazes me how many things in this world actually get a 1000% markup.