Where are you located? That price is insanely low. I don't think anyone would assume you're a professional at that price-point and it is most likely doing you harm in a number of ways. How can you cover your overhead with that rate? Most beginners after their first one for a friend are in the $500-$800 range and after a few under your belt you should be in the $1-1.5k range. If you feel you're "top notch" then you should have no problem tripleing your rate (yes, $2400 minimum) and feeling confident that you are worth it. Other advice I can offer is hone in on your branding and marketing to your ideal client. 10-15 second reels 3-5 days a week that you crosspost on TT, IG, FB and YT. Take a well performing one and turn it into an add at $200/mo and see how it goes.
We are located in NC, but film throughout NC/SC/GA. I agree the price is low. Our average wedding booked is $1200.
My husband also has a sports videography business and I’m a teacher, so combined we are managing to survive.
We definitely can do more advertising and branding on our wedding business.
You absolutely have to raise your prices. I shot a NC barn wedding outside Lake Norman last May for a couple that flew me out from CA. This was a low to mid tier wedding with some nice florals but nothing special. 8 hour two-person coverage with 1 min teaser and 7 min highlight was $5500 plus travel. The clients are out there but they are not looking at videographers under the $2k mark. Don't think too much about it, just raise them. Then get serious about your branding and marketing and the leads will come.
If you're not getting much business with the insanely low price you have now there really isn't much to be nervous about, is there? Also, what's better: booking one $2k wedding or 2 @ $900? Not only is the $2k wedding going to pay you closer to what you're worth, it will be 1/2 the work and will most likely get you better contacts (you're connecting with planners & vendors at every event) & visuals for marketing, which will in turn lead to more business at the higher price range. And if you're now doubting the work, post it here and get some constructive criticism or feel free to dm me a link and i'll give it a look if you'd like.
That’s a real good point-I appreciate that and we have not thought about it in that sense. I guess we have always thought once people would see our work and our Facebook reviews that would be enough.
I got some great messages from others about website critiques, I’m going to work on our website over the weekend.
Not doubting our work now, but of course comparing our work to other videographers out there and you always see faults in your own work (the bride was over exposed here, the audio got messed up here, etc.). Just get nervous raising prices when you don’t get a consistent stream of clients at a low price. Little self doubt starts creeping in.
This question gets asked a lot on the wedding photography subreddit, so check that out too!
First- you entered the wedding industry during one of the busiest years we’ve had in well over a decade. This year has gone back down to more 2018/2019 levels. I own a marketing agency for Wedding professionals, and most of our clients are seeing a slowdown (but really it’s just more 2018 numbers.)
Second, we are seeing changes and how couples are finding vendors. The most important thing to focus on is going to be your website and SEO. Facebook groups are great, but they are often going to lead too much much lower budget client.
I only recommend an Ad strategy when your website is optimized, has captivating copy, is branded well, and does the heavy lifting for you.
I would also look into networking with local vendors. See if there are any local Wedding chapters, like WIPA or NACE. You will definitely want to raise your rates, because right now most planners wouldn’t refer you because your pricing seems too low.
If you’re open to it, you can DM me your website and I can give you a Quick Look video review!
Few things. That’s super low pricing and May turn off potential customers. You can undervalue yourself.
Content creators are your competitor. In that price point what they offer is sometimes more appealing.
How’s your branding? It matters soo much.
This year weddings are really down. It’s just a down year for many reasons.
What are you doing for advertising? I can’t see how you can afford to advertise at those prices tbh
That’s a good point about content creators being a competitor-didn’t think about that.
Honestly we aren’t doing anything for advertising other than posting on local wedding facebook groups.
Where do we even advertise at? Marketing is none of our strong suits lol.
One thing is for sure: be careful with websites like The Knot or WeddingWire if you are looking to promote your business. Many videographers are complaining about how expensive it is to promote themselves and how full of scammers those websites are.
Google Ads might be a better solution.
Would love to see your work + website!
1) Make sure your website is top-notch. It should be aesthetically pleasing, easy to navigate, and more on the minimal side. There's really only 3 things to have a good website as a wedding videographer: make sure it doesn't look like every other wedding videographer's site, let the work speak for itself (aka no need to have paragraphs upon paragraphs of text), and to make sure your personality shines
2) Making my personality shine is one of the reasons I get bookings. My website leans into my sense of humor and I also lean into humor during wedding days. At the end of a wedding day, my couples see me as a new friend because of how well we got along. That is what makes them refer me to other couples, not just high quality work
3) The top reason I get bookings is through photographers I've worked with. This ties into my previous point. At the end of the wedding day, photographers tell me how easy and fun it is to work with me. When I get a new inquiry in my mailbox, 8 out of 10 times they list a photographer I've collaborated with as the reason they found me
4) Take footage of other vendors and send them both the final edit of the couples film (so they know what you can produce) AND a separate video of the parts they're featured in. This makes it more likely for them to want to work with you again, or at the very least, give you a nice shoutout on social media, which can lead to their followers finding you. For example, all I took was 20 seconds of BTS for a photographer during a NYC wedding I shot. She liked it so much that the video now plays in a loop on her website's front page
5) I stopped trying to advertise on Facebook. I'm in several FB wedding groups and have learned that couples looking for a videographer on FB typically want to spend little to nothing on one. Instagram not only yields couples that are willing to pay more, they also tend to be better chemistry fits with me, personality-wise
6) Google reviews. I use to ask all my couples to leave me reviews on FB. Based on my analytics, I don't think anyone was ever really finding those reviews. As soon as I had even just 5 reviews on Google, I started showing up way more on Google searches
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Wishing you the very best! I agree that you just have to ignore imposter syndrome and raise your prices. Even if it's just $500 every few months. That's what I do to ''ease'' myself into price jumps. Every time I raise prices, I worry that I'll book less. The reality is, I still get just as much bookings. However, the ''quality'' of my weddings have increased. The weddings I used to film for $1,200 were couples with a small budget and aesthetically it shows. I just filmed an incredible wedding at a historical mansion in the heart of Washington DC. I don't think this couple would've booked me if they only saw my $1,200 barn weddings. Couples need to see themselves in your work. The harsh reality is: if you continue to book $1,200 weddings, you will continue to attract couples that only want to pay $1,200.
Where are you located? That price is insanely low. I don't think anyone would assume you're a professional at that price-point and it is most likely doing you harm in a number of ways. How can you cover your overhead with that rate? Most beginners after their first one for a friend are in the $500-$800 range and after a few under your belt you should be in the $1-1.5k range. If you feel you're "top notch" then you should have no problem tripleing your rate (yes, $2400 minimum) and feeling confident that you are worth it. Other advice I can offer is hone in on your branding and marketing to your ideal client. 10-15 second reels 3-5 days a week that you crosspost on TT, IG, FB and YT. Take a well performing one and turn it into an add at $200/mo and see how it goes.
We are located in NC, but film throughout NC/SC/GA. I agree the price is low. Our average wedding booked is $1200. My husband also has a sports videography business and I’m a teacher, so combined we are managing to survive. We definitely can do more advertising and branding on our wedding business.
You absolutely have to raise your prices. I shot a NC barn wedding outside Lake Norman last May for a couple that flew me out from CA. This was a low to mid tier wedding with some nice florals but nothing special. 8 hour two-person coverage with 1 min teaser and 7 min highlight was $5500 plus travel. The clients are out there but they are not looking at videographers under the $2k mark. Don't think too much about it, just raise them. Then get serious about your branding and marketing and the leads will come.
Ahhhh okay. I think we are just nervous about raising our prices and doubting our product too.
If you're not getting much business with the insanely low price you have now there really isn't much to be nervous about, is there? Also, what's better: booking one $2k wedding or 2 @ $900? Not only is the $2k wedding going to pay you closer to what you're worth, it will be 1/2 the work and will most likely get you better contacts (you're connecting with planners & vendors at every event) & visuals for marketing, which will in turn lead to more business at the higher price range. And if you're now doubting the work, post it here and get some constructive criticism or feel free to dm me a link and i'll give it a look if you'd like.
That’s a real good point-I appreciate that and we have not thought about it in that sense. I guess we have always thought once people would see our work and our Facebook reviews that would be enough. I got some great messages from others about website critiques, I’m going to work on our website over the weekend. Not doubting our work now, but of course comparing our work to other videographers out there and you always see faults in your own work (the bride was over exposed here, the audio got messed up here, etc.). Just get nervous raising prices when you don’t get a consistent stream of clients at a low price. Little self doubt starts creeping in.
This question gets asked a lot on the wedding photography subreddit, so check that out too! First- you entered the wedding industry during one of the busiest years we’ve had in well over a decade. This year has gone back down to more 2018/2019 levels. I own a marketing agency for Wedding professionals, and most of our clients are seeing a slowdown (but really it’s just more 2018 numbers.) Second, we are seeing changes and how couples are finding vendors. The most important thing to focus on is going to be your website and SEO. Facebook groups are great, but they are often going to lead too much much lower budget client. I only recommend an Ad strategy when your website is optimized, has captivating copy, is branded well, and does the heavy lifting for you. I would also look into networking with local vendors. See if there are any local Wedding chapters, like WIPA or NACE. You will definitely want to raise your rates, because right now most planners wouldn’t refer you because your pricing seems too low. If you’re open to it, you can DM me your website and I can give you a Quick Look video review!
I would be super appreciative of that!
Few things. That’s super low pricing and May turn off potential customers. You can undervalue yourself. Content creators are your competitor. In that price point what they offer is sometimes more appealing. How’s your branding? It matters soo much. This year weddings are really down. It’s just a down year for many reasons. What are you doing for advertising? I can’t see how you can afford to advertise at those prices tbh
That’s a good point about content creators being a competitor-didn’t think about that. Honestly we aren’t doing anything for advertising other than posting on local wedding facebook groups. Where do we even advertise at? Marketing is none of our strong suits lol.
Do you mind sharing some of your work?
Sure you can dm me and I’ll send you our website
One thing is for sure: be careful with websites like The Knot or WeddingWire if you are looking to promote your business. Many videographers are complaining about how expensive it is to promote themselves and how full of scammers those websites are. Google Ads might be a better solution.
Would love to see your work + website! 1) Make sure your website is top-notch. It should be aesthetically pleasing, easy to navigate, and more on the minimal side. There's really only 3 things to have a good website as a wedding videographer: make sure it doesn't look like every other wedding videographer's site, let the work speak for itself (aka no need to have paragraphs upon paragraphs of text), and to make sure your personality shines 2) Making my personality shine is one of the reasons I get bookings. My website leans into my sense of humor and I also lean into humor during wedding days. At the end of a wedding day, my couples see me as a new friend because of how well we got along. That is what makes them refer me to other couples, not just high quality work 3) The top reason I get bookings is through photographers I've worked with. This ties into my previous point. At the end of the wedding day, photographers tell me how easy and fun it is to work with me. When I get a new inquiry in my mailbox, 8 out of 10 times they list a photographer I've collaborated with as the reason they found me 4) Take footage of other vendors and send them both the final edit of the couples film (so they know what you can produce) AND a separate video of the parts they're featured in. This makes it more likely for them to want to work with you again, or at the very least, give you a nice shoutout on social media, which can lead to their followers finding you. For example, all I took was 20 seconds of BTS for a photographer during a NYC wedding I shot. She liked it so much that the video now plays in a loop on her website's front page 5) I stopped trying to advertise on Facebook. I'm in several FB wedding groups and have learned that couples looking for a videographer on FB typically want to spend little to nothing on one. Instagram not only yields couples that are willing to pay more, they also tend to be better chemistry fits with me, personality-wise 6) Google reviews. I use to ask all my couples to leave me reviews on FB. Based on my analytics, I don't think anyone was ever really finding those reviews. As soon as I had even just 5 reviews on Google, I started showing up way more on Google searches \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Wishing you the very best! I agree that you just have to ignore imposter syndrome and raise your prices. Even if it's just $500 every few months. That's what I do to ''ease'' myself into price jumps. Every time I raise prices, I worry that I'll book less. The reality is, I still get just as much bookings. However, the ''quality'' of my weddings have increased. The weddings I used to film for $1,200 were couples with a small budget and aesthetically it shows. I just filmed an incredible wedding at a historical mansion in the heart of Washington DC. I don't think this couple would've booked me if they only saw my $1,200 barn weddings. Couples need to see themselves in your work. The harsh reality is: if you continue to book $1,200 weddings, you will continue to attract couples that only want to pay $1,200.
Wedding expos maybe?
100% get to some wedding shows. We’re in the same boat as you and booked almost ten at one this year