First off, I want to start by sincerely apologizing! I missed Photographer Friday this past week, but I’m making it up to you with TWO posts this week! Brides, if you’re reading this and don’t want to ruin your future surprises, stop reading now! 😉 Today photographers, I’m going to share with you the art of gift giving!

Are you struggling to impress your clients? Wouldn’t you love to easily get more referrals?! Try thanking your clients! I thank my clients! All the time! I find giving thanks to be one of the most important things a photographer could do. After all, your clients are the reason you get to do what you love, right!? You should make it a priority to let them know they are appreciated! There are so many ways you could show appreciation, so just because this is my method, doesn’t necessarily mean this is your method. Thanking could be as simple as hand writing a thank you note, or extravagant as sending them on a fancy date.

I thank my clients by surprising them at every corner! But not by literally hiding around the corner and jumping out at them. I surprise them with gifts! If you’ve never read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, I highly suggest it! Not only is it an amazing read, it also helps you understand the ways you give and receive love.

After reading this book, I quickly realized that my love language focuses mostly on gift giving! Basically, if you want to show me you care, give me a gift (I prefer hula hoops and wine!) haha! If I want to show you that I care, the most effective way for me to communicate that is by giving you a gift as well. I don’t just spend the wedding day with my clients. I usually spend anywhere from 8 months to 1 year with my brides and grooms. And during that time, 3 major events will happen.
1. They’ll hire you to photograph their wedding.
2. You’ll get to know them during their engagement session.
3. You’ll have the pleasure of spending their wedding day with them.
During each of the steps, I send my clients home with a gift! Sometimes it’s a really small gift, sometimes it’s a really big gift… but it ALWAYS surprises the heck out of them and they are always SO appreciative of it! Giving these gifts has a huge impact in my client relationships. Most importantly, it makes them feel LOVED. It makes them excited for what’s next. And it even gives them a reason to rave about you to their friends and family!
5% of what my brides and grooms invest in me, I invest in them. Giving back is the greatest way I know how to show appreciation. But like I said earlier, this is my method, and you might not be so fond of giving gifts! Find out how you show love and incorporate that into your own business!

To help get you started with ideas, the first gift my clients receive is their “Welcome Box”! Once my clients book my services, I send them home with a cute, decorated box filled with goodies! They receive a copy of my Wedding Experience magazine (filled with lots of info on getting the most out of their photography), a business card that contains my contact info,  a bottle of their favorite wine, and a few sticks of rock candy!

They go home, crack open the bottle of wine, and are always completely thrilled with the amount of thought and care I put into their very first experience with me as their wedding photographer! Shortly after, I usually receive an email from them with lots of exclamation points, smiley faces, and hearts. It makes me SO happy knowing that my clients… the same clients who love and support me… feel that I truly care about them… because I do!

Giving gifts is the best way for me to show my clients just how much I love them. Giving is what makes the world go round! haha Try it out! Buy a small box from your local craft store and fill it with goodies! Next time you have a new client, send them home with your box! I’m sure they’ll love you for it!

Don’t forget to “like” Bailey Elle Photography on Facebook for more Photographer Friday updates and comment below for topics you’d like to learn about! See you next week!