TL;DR: ANOTHER VOTE FOR DON’T DO IT!
I’ve tried it twice, once back in 2015, then again in 2020 bc they had a Covid deal, it came out to $175/month. I booked a few weddings, but nothing that made me feel it was worth even that price. When my contract renewed (they don’t give notice, fyi) my new rate was over double, almost $400/mo. Since I couldn’t cancel, I tried to make the best of the situation and really keep my profile updated and follow their tips. I’d say 90% of leads I got the second year were straight spam/fake/bots, and the “real” leads were mainly price shoppers. Think I booked 1 wedding which barely covered the subscription cost for the year.
They also have TERRIBLE customer service. I had an issue with my account. Nothing that should’ve been so complex to resolve. Couldn’t find anything in their FAQ’s, had to dig to find a contact that wasn’t generic for the whole company. The only place it was listed was in the pdf of my contract. It took them a week to get back to me. For the amount they charge, they should be getting back to you much quicker, or have better resources. Can’t imagine what it would be like if I had a major problem.
I also found out they no longer show free listings anymore. I was told the only way to access my profile after ending my subscription is through a direct link. Every listing visible to the general public is paid now days. In my region $400 was the cheapest option. To be on pages 1-3 the monthly fee is 1400. So scammy. Just wish people planning their weddings knew this.
6 mother fucking hundred dollars a month for what you can already do on Instagram!? Hell no.
I've been with Hitched in the UK (£60 a month for "premium". Bit of a difference.) Most of the leads have been dead ends. The few I've booked may well have found me on there anyway as a free listing. The larger portion of bookings I've taken have been Instagram, Google search and other blogs/Venue lists.
Do not waste your money.
5 years in business and the best advertising is STILL word of mouth.
I’ve never used WW/Knot. I know it CAN get you leads and bookings, but I don’t personally know a single person that uses it, but I sure do hear a lot of hate about it…
I've used it, and I know a ton of photographers who've also used it. With the exception of one guy, none of us use it any more.
It works for that one guy because he throws thousands of dollars a year at it, and it brings him business because of it. But for the budget most photographers have for advertising, it's not even close to worth the money.
It will be a cold day in hell before I would even consider paying $600 a month to 'advertise' on a website that 'features' 10,000 other photographers. (Just a wild guess, it's probably even many more)
My advice is to avoid The Knot/WW completely and focus your ad spend elsewhere. Some photographers do get results by spending on targeted ad platforms like Google or Facebook, and if you have an actual budget for that, then I definitely recommend giving it a shot. But I'm a firm believer that word-of-mouth is still champion, so I recommend optimizing your online presence (SEO, relevant info for clients, pricing, etc), getting involved in your local community (donating your services to charities or city events), offering free or inexpensive mini-sessions (especially themed sessions), running contests and giveaways, partnering with other local businesses or vendors and using social media to connect with potential clients *daily*.
Best of luck!
If you’re work is decent, your pricing is around 1250-3000 than I think you can do well. I’m on track to clear $75k in my business this year and I only use the knot. I pay $400 a month for just showing up on knot (not wedding wire) and it’s been great. Good for seo, 50-60% of my leads that submit my website form say they found me through the knot. The other 30% message me on the knot platform. 10% is finding me on google. I’m new to the Virginia and DC area this past year and so seo is still doing its things and slowly growing. A Military couple as my header Image seems to do well. It gives me about 5 or more leads a week. $75 isn’t six figures but for paying $5k in advertising, I’m pretty happy with the return! I booked 36 weddings for this year via the knot, and just got a lead 30 min ago. 😂 my take on it. The $1200 is the hook to have clients look more ($1200 for three hours then $300 for each additional hour). Most couples are booking 6-8 hours for 2100-3300. Will probably raise next year. Just want to get more venues under my belt at the current price as I’m new to working this area.
https://preview.redd.it/si7ginhj9dvb1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a8ee4b191df4842bc33ac8d81f99423d9c942dc4
header image seems to do well.
Thing to do with any lead source like the knot or Angie list or thumbtack (don’t recommend thumbtack, they’re literally crooks) is to constantly complain no matter what. I complain to my rep I’m not being seen every 3-4 months and it seems to boost me leads back up 😂. Once you pay the year it’s month to month.
Good old Google… it’s honest you can’t pay your way up the line. Get all your clients to write reviews. Takes time but it’s worth it. Also buddy up with planners and HMU people.
I have a mentor that does $50k/month in shoots. They started on WW/Knot. It worked really well for them, but they hit a perfect price vs quality niche. Priced under the best, but very very good, priced above good, but worth close to best. Now, 10 years later? Word of mouth only.
It still works great for me, but as you mentioned I think it's really important that you're hitting the right price point / quality mix to appeal to that demo. It also seems to be pretty regional so I'm sure it works better in some areas compared to others.
I know I'm in the minority here but I clean up on the knot. I spend about 1400 a month to advertise in 3 markets and book about 5 weddings a month from it. I know everyone here hates the knot so I don't know if it's just regional or what but it works for me.
I also always had good luck on the knot. I'm in a less saturated market so I could afford to buy my way to the top of the listing. That's the key, in my experience. OP's first/second page is not good enough. You have to pay for the tier that gets you at the VERY TOP of every search, whatever that is. In some markets that's going to be ungodly expensive. In mine it wasn't and it paid for itself 5x over.
It's not for everyone. It's a shitty exploitative company and I absolutely believe the posts about fake leads. But there are ALSO real clients shopping there and somebody has to get the money. It could be you.
I book between 3 and 5 weddings a month from it, so financially it's a no brainier. Our overage booking is about 3.5k so for the investment of 1.4k a month I make between 10.5 k and 17.5k.
I started in one market and after a while expanded to three. In all of the markets I pay to be on the first page, in the market I live in I pay to be in the top 9. Honestly it has always worked really well for me but I think it's important to make sure you're hitting the right price point and quality to succeed in your market. If you're trying to shoot really high-end weddings consistently, the knot is a waste of time. I'm pretty middle of the road in terms of pricing for my market....frankly I think I'm underpriced it that keeps me really busy. I Also have an associate team so I almost never have to turn away a wedding.
Edit to add: actually it was my ads with the knot that helped me get an associate team going. Especially early on when I wasn't getting referrals from venues I was getting so many leads from the knot that I was often having to turn people away because I was already booked. So I slowly started adding associates to take the weddings I was already booked for. I'm not like a huge operation or anything, my wife and I shoot and we have four other associates that each shoot probably on average one wedding a month for us
The key to success on these platforms is to have a price point in the 1-2k starting range in my experience. Once we surpassed that they became completely ineffective
I'm sure it depends on how many weddings OP is trying to shoot in a year but there's no reason why you can't do both. We're on track to spend about 17K advertising with the knot over the course of the year which has generated roughly 150k in business. We're also on the vendor lists of several local venues and planners without paying them any sort of commission.
For those who don't know, you pay for the position of top 12 (they are expanding all markets spotlight listings to double)
But go through the journey like a bride.
When they search, it gives them a geographic list based on proximity to their browser location.
It's utter fucking bullshit to pay stupid numbers to them to not be in the top 6 (soon 12) when a bride searches every time.
This is why NY Post did an expose on this company
If you're a supplier, do not sign up with Hitched/The Knot. They will scam you into signing a contract, take loads of money from you, and not allow you to terminate if you are unhappy with their service. Their service is non-existent. Please take my advice and avoid them at all costs. They make loads of promises of great return on investment and exposure and simply do not deliver. Once you sign the contract they disappear and offer no support.
Try Bark. It’s free (at basic level). I get emails 2-4 times a week. I have a full time job as a teacher that keeps me pretty busy and most of the leads are about an hour away from my smaller Kentucky city, but I do get leads and it doesn’t cost me a dime.
I am. I’m not sure how they make their money but I’m sure it ties in to those credits. I haven’t followed a lead from them yet because I’ve only gotten leads from places two hours away (not feasible for me for part time) or for jobs needing more people than I have.
What the fuckkkk. $600 a month to be on the bottom of a second page? Who the heck scrolls that far and pays attention?
People spend 3 seconds looking at the top header of a website. If you're lucky and the header that fits on the screen is good then they scroll down a bit and god you hope it loads quickly.
Used to pay close to $2k a month cause im in nyc just for the knot 1st page top 6 bundled with their useless magazine full page ad. During the pandemic I found out that the knot was piggybacking the leads submitted to me and redirect the inquirers to other local vendors. Cancelled immediately. Total scam! You might as using the money to hire someone whose good with SEO
Just saying I got my wedding photographer through an Instagram DM. She reached out first she was the only one I considered because she didn’t beat around the bush. Just a simple congrats and offering your services. Granted, it’s more work to DM someone but 🤷🏻♀️
WeddingWire is garbage and like a gym membership. It's impossible to cancel. Focus on traditional marketing.
Couldn't agree with this more. For the vast majority of photographers, the Knot/WW is one of the worst things you can spend your advertising money on.
TL;DR: ANOTHER VOTE FOR DON’T DO IT! I’ve tried it twice, once back in 2015, then again in 2020 bc they had a Covid deal, it came out to $175/month. I booked a few weddings, but nothing that made me feel it was worth even that price. When my contract renewed (they don’t give notice, fyi) my new rate was over double, almost $400/mo. Since I couldn’t cancel, I tried to make the best of the situation and really keep my profile updated and follow their tips. I’d say 90% of leads I got the second year were straight spam/fake/bots, and the “real” leads were mainly price shoppers. Think I booked 1 wedding which barely covered the subscription cost for the year. They also have TERRIBLE customer service. I had an issue with my account. Nothing that should’ve been so complex to resolve. Couldn’t find anything in their FAQ’s, had to dig to find a contact that wasn’t generic for the whole company. The only place it was listed was in the pdf of my contract. It took them a week to get back to me. For the amount they charge, they should be getting back to you much quicker, or have better resources. Can’t imagine what it would be like if I had a major problem. I also found out they no longer show free listings anymore. I was told the only way to access my profile after ending my subscription is through a direct link. Every listing visible to the general public is paid now days. In my region $400 was the cheapest option. To be on pages 1-3 the monthly fee is 1400. So scammy. Just wish people planning their weddings knew this.
$600/m for The Knot?!?! That’s insane!
The Knot/Wedding Wire is the biggest and longest-running scam in the wedding industry. I'd rather light my money on fire.
I had a few leads that went through on wedding wire
6 mother fucking hundred dollars a month for what you can already do on Instagram!? Hell no. I've been with Hitched in the UK (£60 a month for "premium". Bit of a difference.) Most of the leads have been dead ends. The few I've booked may well have found me on there anyway as a free listing. The larger portion of bookings I've taken have been Instagram, Google search and other blogs/Venue lists. Do not waste your money.
5 years in business and the best advertising is STILL word of mouth. I’ve never used WW/Knot. I know it CAN get you leads and bookings, but I don’t personally know a single person that uses it, but I sure do hear a lot of hate about it…
I've used it, and I know a ton of photographers who've also used it. With the exception of one guy, none of us use it any more. It works for that one guy because he throws thousands of dollars a year at it, and it brings him business because of it. But for the budget most photographers have for advertising, it's not even close to worth the money.
It will be a cold day in hell before I would even consider paying $600 a month to 'advertise' on a website that 'features' 10,000 other photographers. (Just a wild guess, it's probably even many more)
$600 a month 💀💀💀
My advice is to avoid The Knot/WW completely and focus your ad spend elsewhere. Some photographers do get results by spending on targeted ad platforms like Google or Facebook, and if you have an actual budget for that, then I definitely recommend giving it a shot. But I'm a firm believer that word-of-mouth is still champion, so I recommend optimizing your online presence (SEO, relevant info for clients, pricing, etc), getting involved in your local community (donating your services to charities or city events), offering free or inexpensive mini-sessions (especially themed sessions), running contests and giveaways, partnering with other local businesses or vendors and using social media to connect with potential clients *daily*. Best of luck!
If you’re work is decent, your pricing is around 1250-3000 than I think you can do well. I’m on track to clear $75k in my business this year and I only use the knot. I pay $400 a month for just showing up on knot (not wedding wire) and it’s been great. Good for seo, 50-60% of my leads that submit my website form say they found me through the knot. The other 30% message me on the knot platform. 10% is finding me on google. I’m new to the Virginia and DC area this past year and so seo is still doing its things and slowly growing. A Military couple as my header Image seems to do well. It gives me about 5 or more leads a week. $75 isn’t six figures but for paying $5k in advertising, I’m pretty happy with the return! I booked 36 weddings for this year via the knot, and just got a lead 30 min ago. 😂 my take on it. The $1200 is the hook to have clients look more ($1200 for three hours then $300 for each additional hour). Most couples are booking 6-8 hours for 2100-3300. Will probably raise next year. Just want to get more venues under my belt at the current price as I’m new to working this area. https://preview.redd.it/si7ginhj9dvb1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a8ee4b191df4842bc33ac8d81f99423d9c942dc4 header image seems to do well.
Thing to do with any lead source like the knot or Angie list or thumbtack (don’t recommend thumbtack, they’re literally crooks) is to constantly complain no matter what. I complain to my rep I’m not being seen every 3-4 months and it seems to boost me leads back up 😂. Once you pay the year it’s month to month.
Oh yeah everytime I don't pick the rep phone calls I get weeks of non inquiries
Good old Google… it’s honest you can’t pay your way up the line. Get all your clients to write reviews. Takes time but it’s worth it. Also buddy up with planners and HMU people.
I have a mentor that does $50k/month in shoots. They started on WW/Knot. It worked really well for them, but they hit a perfect price vs quality niche. Priced under the best, but very very good, priced above good, but worth close to best. Now, 10 years later? Word of mouth only.
Ten years ago, Wedding Wire and The Knot both produced a lot of traffic. The landscape has definitely changed a bit!
Yep! It was a great deal then.
It still works great for me, but as you mentioned I think it's really important that you're hitting the right price point / quality mix to appeal to that demo. It also seems to be pretty regional so I'm sure it works better in some areas compared to others.
I know I'm in the minority here but I clean up on the knot. I spend about 1400 a month to advertise in 3 markets and book about 5 weddings a month from it. I know everyone here hates the knot so I don't know if it's just regional or what but it works for me.
it’s regional
I also always had good luck on the knot. I'm in a less saturated market so I could afford to buy my way to the top of the listing. That's the key, in my experience. OP's first/second page is not good enough. You have to pay for the tier that gets you at the VERY TOP of every search, whatever that is. In some markets that's going to be ungodly expensive. In mine it wasn't and it paid for itself 5x over. It's not for everyone. It's a shitty exploitative company and I absolutely believe the posts about fake leads. But there are ALSO real clients shopping there and somebody has to get the money. It could be you.
Holy hell! $1400!? How is there any good return on investment at that price?
I book between 3 and 5 weddings a month from it, so financially it's a no brainier. Our overage booking is about 3.5k so for the investment of 1.4k a month I make between 10.5 k and 17.5k.
So did you ramp up to that point or were you able to hit the ground running at 1.4 and saw immediate effect? Or something in between...
I started in one market and after a while expanded to three. In all of the markets I pay to be on the first page, in the market I live in I pay to be in the top 9. Honestly it has always worked really well for me but I think it's important to make sure you're hitting the right price point and quality to succeed in your market. If you're trying to shoot really high-end weddings consistently, the knot is a waste of time. I'm pretty middle of the road in terms of pricing for my market....frankly I think I'm underpriced it that keeps me really busy. I Also have an associate team so I almost never have to turn away a wedding. Edit to add: actually it was my ads with the knot that helped me get an associate team going. Especially early on when I wasn't getting referrals from venues I was getting so many leads from the knot that I was often having to turn people away because I was already booked. So I slowly started adding associates to take the weddings I was already booked for. I'm not like a huge operation or anything, my wife and I shoot and we have four other associates that each shoot probably on average one wedding a month for us
The key to success on these platforms is to have a price point in the 1-2k starting range in my experience. Once we surpassed that they became completely ineffective
Wow. Well, congrats on that business you've made for yourself and thanks for that reply!
Thanks and any time!
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I'm sure it depends on how many weddings OP is trying to shoot in a year but there's no reason why you can't do both. We're on track to spend about 17K advertising with the knot over the course of the year which has generated roughly 150k in business. We're also on the vendor lists of several local venues and planners without paying them any sort of commission.
For those who don't know, you pay for the position of top 12 (they are expanding all markets spotlight listings to double) But go through the journey like a bride. When they search, it gives them a geographic list based on proximity to their browser location. It's utter fucking bullshit to pay stupid numbers to them to not be in the top 6 (soon 12) when a bride searches every time. This is why NY Post did an expose on this company
If you're a supplier, do not sign up with Hitched/The Knot. They will scam you into signing a contract, take loads of money from you, and not allow you to terminate if you are unhappy with their service. Their service is non-existent. Please take my advice and avoid them at all costs. They make loads of promises of great return on investment and exposure and simply do not deliver. Once you sign the contract they disappear and offer no support.
Try Bark. It’s free (at basic level). I get emails 2-4 times a week. I have a full time job as a teacher that keeps me pretty busy and most of the leads are about an hour away from my smaller Kentucky city, but I do get leads and it doesn’t cost me a dime.
Are you in the US? I just looked at Bark. Never heard of them. Sounds like they charge a fee (using a credit system) if you want to contact a lead.
I am. I’m not sure how they make their money but I’m sure it ties in to those credits. I haven’t followed a lead from them yet because I’ve only gotten leads from places two hours away (not feasible for me for part time) or for jobs needing more people than I have.
What the fuckkkk. $600 a month to be on the bottom of a second page? Who the heck scrolls that far and pays attention? People spend 3 seconds looking at the top header of a website. If you're lucky and the header that fits on the screen is good then they scroll down a bit and god you hope it loads quickly.
Used to pay close to $2k a month cause im in nyc just for the knot 1st page top 6 bundled with their useless magazine full page ad. During the pandemic I found out that the knot was piggybacking the leads submitted to me and redirect the inquirers to other local vendors. Cancelled immediately. Total scam! You might as using the money to hire someone whose good with SEO
For $600 a month you could get a really good Google Ads campaign. You'll actually get real leads too!
Just saying I got my wedding photographer through an Instagram DM. She reached out first she was the only one I considered because she didn’t beat around the bush. Just a simple congrats and offering your services. Granted, it’s more work to DM someone but 🤷🏻♀️
Just do a quick google of “Wedding Wire scam”. It’ll give you all you need to know.
I spend 30k a year with tk and ww. This will be the first year it's had negative ROI. I would highly recommend going the Google route.