Free Marketing?

In a world of give and take it is hard to find good options for getting your name out there without having to pay a lot of money. This is especially hard when you are just starting out. We are a small company and doing all we can by word of mouth and our friends. We also have our website, and craigslist (which can look so cheap), and we now Bridal Tweet (yay!). But just wondering if anyone had any other good suggestions for two eager wedding videographers and a photographer trying to get some gigs and their name out there?

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Permalink Reply by Sweet T Studios on January 4, 2010 at 11:13am
We are located in Southern California, and we are looking for more wedding planners who would be interested in keeping us in mind!!! And we have been trying to be more concious of the business card usage for sure. The other day we had a photoshoot in a park and made sure we had lots of business cards in our camera bags, but sadly noone was around...
Permalink Reply by Soulful Engagements on January 5, 2010 at 5:48am
An additional avenue to try, Soulful Engagements. We're extending our website as a platform for vendors to promote their wedding related services free of charge.

Soulful Engagements is a comprehensive wedding planning blog that offers a fresh voice for brides of color looking for advice and inspiration throughout the planning process. We are dedicated to connecting our brides with vendors that are owned and operated by people of color as well as vendors that provide products and services that cater to the needs of brides of color. To learn more about our complimentary marketing services please click here.
Permalink Reply by five ACCESSORIES on January 5, 2010 at 5:50am
ShesConnected.com
TheWorkAtHomeWoman.com
MompreneursCafe.com
MommiesCafe.com
WECAI.org
http://www.womensmediasummit.com/101-was-to-promote-yourself/

These are not wedding specifie, but it would get you in front of a different audience and everyone knows of someone getting married etc. so you might want to try these. Most of them offer at least a free basic business directory, except the last one, which is an audio of 101 ways to promote yourself. It is still free though.

Hope that helps,
Theresa
www.fiveACCESSORIES.com
Permalink Reply by Sweet T Studios on January 5, 2010 at 6:09am
Thank you so much!!! That is very helpful. We aren't just videeographers for brides and we had just come up with an amazing idea for something called a keepsake video. It's for mom's who are busy but want to remember their kids at certain ages. We are going to shoot a sample soon. So excited about looking into those! You all have been so helpful!!!
Permalink Reply by Lisa Taylor on January 5, 2010 at 6:13am
Have you tried contacting wedding and event planners in your area? They are a great resource to you! Try calling them up and asking them to coffee to chat and view your work.
Permalink Reply by The Green Hanger Shop on January 5, 2010 at 7:03am
There are some great suggestions here and some I will be adding, but definitely there are lots of free directories out there and I try to use them all. One I didn't see mentioned is merchantcircle.com It's sort of an online yellow pages type of thing, but you get a good bit for free. Facebook is certainly up and coming, but I would stick to just a fan page to start as opposed to paid ads with them, unless you have lots of money. There is a 'suggest page to friends' link under your profile pic you need to be sure to use. I agree with all the others that weddingwire is terrific. Definitely make friends with your competitors. When we were searching for our daughters' photographers, we asked the ones who were too booked for their recommendations and checked all those first. Good luck! I'm right there with ya!
Permalink Reply by Rt. Rev. Dr. Ronald Turcot on January 5, 2010 at 7:09am
Posted by Rev. Dr. Ronald Turcot www.tampaweddingofficiants.com

The following free wedding oriented websites will help you a lot.

The GatheringGuide.com - Join them & upgrade your listing = excellent results
Eventective.com - JOIN ! Upgrade tp "Premiere Level" get excellent leads almost daily & they are dependable.
Decideo.com _ Good leads
WeddingWire.com
That's good for starters.
Permalink Reply by Robbie Hickman Photography on January 5, 2010 at 8:22am
I would also contact other vendors & offer to do some photos for them. Example...approach the well known cake person & offer to photograph the cakes, put together a soft cover, inexpensive book with your name inside. They'll have the book and of course a stack of your cards as well. Wedding shows...offer to do a video of the show in exchange for a table. Organize a group of vendors and offer an all inclusive package. That way you can do co-op advertising which can greatly reduce the cost. A group of us did just that and now it's taken off like crazy. We all reduced our prices to make the "introductory offer" more attractive and wow...definitely worked. But dont forget....dont give up. Just keep pushing & never throw in the towel. People will keep getting engaged, weddings will continue to take place & they ALL need us at some point.
Good luck to ya!
Permalink Reply by Brenda on December 18, 2010 at 10:01am

Organize a group of vendors and offer an all inclusive package. That way you can do co-op advertising which can greatly reduce the cost. A group of us did just that and now it's taken off like crazy. We all reduced our prices to make the "introductory offer" more attractive and wow...definitely worked.

 

With this would you mind sharing how much you reduced your prices?  Thank you so much for sharing.

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Permalink Reply by Capricorn Soap Company on January 5, 2010 at 10:20am
Congrats! It can be quite exhilarating and frustrating at the same time to start your own business. Word of mouth certainly works well, and social media outlets are priceless, too. But we also started going door to door - I visited wedding planners in my area, left my business card and some samples (since we provide wedding favors, this wasn't difficult, but may be a bit more difficult for your line of work). The samples are always a hit, and that's what got us going. It doesn't have to be expensive - but it does need to be personal. Especially in this industry!
Permalink Reply by Sweet T Studios on January 5, 2010 at 2:13pm
I really loved the wedding show video idea! and the group rate, although might be a little hard until we make some contacts we really love right now. But we have a friend who does wedding planning so maybe we can work something out with her and her recommended vendors.

And I wish it were easier to give a sample of our work, but maybe we can work something out about that, and my business partner and I are definitely thinking of doing some in person calls to local vendors.

You all have been so supportive and helpful. Really encouraging for us just starting out. Thank you so much!!!
Permalink Reply by Crystal J. Molina on January 5, 2010 at 11:15am
Facebook is a great way to market yourself without costing anything. Look up David Jay. If you don't already know who he is, he is a photography and marketing guru. He just came out with an email with tons of free marketing tips and directions for how to embed your website into your facebook page. Really awesome and creative stuff. He is great to follow. Here is a link to his "Power of Free" marketing video.

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