Q. Is Cake and Pictures a photographers’ rep?
A. No, not in the traditional sense. We are more accurately a directory with some additional advantages. We will simply charge photographers a monthly membership fee (beginning in the summer of 2010) for the marketing, publicity and advertising support we provide. We also offer a wide range of consulting services (including website and album design), upon request.
Q. Is there a limit to the number of locations I can be listed in?
A. There is no strict limit, but we prefer to list photographers in locations where they live and work. When time and money are no object, brides can fly photographers anywhere. But if brides are working within a budget, they’ll most likely search by location. So it’s important for them to know that a photographer is likely to be where they say they are. We do have a number of photographers who divide their time between two or more locales, and we are happy to change their location listing whenever they want, at no additional fee (subject to availability).
Q. Why can’t I choose my own pictures?
A. A big part of our success is a result of the edited nature of our site. By maintaining a limited number of high-quality photographers across a wide range of locations, we have attracted a following of brides and wedding professionals who like how quick and easy it is to find what they’re looking for. Even though we’re ultimately here to serve photographers, we understand that if we build the site to appeal to brides the photographers will benefit.
Q. How many photographers do you currently have on your site, and how many do you hope to have?
A. At the moment, we have about 180 photographers on the site. The hope is to fill 50 cities and 50 countries with 25 photographers; of course, locations with a lot of great photographers (like New York and Los Angeles) will fill up faster than other locations. But many of the smaller markets around the world will only have a handful of high-quality photographers to choose from. We believe that there is an optimal number and diversity of photographers that will make our site as useful as possible to brides and wedding planners, and we will continue to pursue that.
Q. I see that some photographers link to Cake and Pictures on their blog or website. Do you require that?
A. No. We will however offer discounts for photographers who are willing to link back to us, or who give us credit on their published work.
Q. What kinds of clients are you promoting to, and how do you reach them?
A. Generally, we find that our photographers’ highest priorities are high-end brides and wedding planners, so brides and industry professionals account for the bulk of our emphasis. Secondarily, we target wedding magazines, blogs and other publications. We connect with those clients in a wide variety of ways. Some involve brute force, like our mass emails. Others require a lot of finesse, like personal phone calls. And of course, we have a very nice place for brides and wedding professionals to come to – our actual web site. By spreading our message out across a variety platforms, we keep our communications interesting and useful for our clients.
Q. Once I join, how long will it take to get me up on the site?
A. We normally have photographers on the site within a week.
Q. Will I still need to do marketing on my own?
A. Yes. While Cake and Pictures can be a valuable piece in your overall marketing puzzle, there is no single web site, directory, rep, contest, or publicist that is going to be able to provide you with the comprehensive promotional support you need to grow your business as quickly as possible. By their very nature, marketing and advertising have a cumulative effect on clients. We recommend that you consider using a variety of ways to get your message out to clients that are personal and appropriate for you. We will be happy to advise you on that process.
Q. Can I hire Cake and Pictures to do additional marketing for me?
A. Yes. We can design a customized approach to help you with any of your marketing needs. Whether you need ongoing help sending out print or electronic mailers, or if you’re planning a trip to a city and you want us to line up meetings for you, we can help. We also offer anything from letterhead redesign to web site and portfolio editing and construction and anything in between.
Q. How do you find photographers, and how do you decide who is appropriate for Cake and Pictures?
A. We subscribe to scores of magazines and keep tabs on literally hundreds of web sites and blogs to make sure we’re aware of every significant wedding photographer in the world. Every decision we make, about who we work with and how we present them, is designed to make our site as useful as possible to high-end clients. When we are considering adding a new photographer to the site, it’s important that their skills add something new to what we’re offering brides, rather than diluting what we already have. We have already created the most comprehensive source of high-quality wedding photographers. As we move forward, our goal is to make that group of photographers better and better.
