I have always been a big advocate of "print is dead" when it comes to advertising but I'm starting to wonder if it still has some value.

As a full time mom that is pretty much running the business alone (my husband shoots with me and does the accounting but has a full time teaching job) I don't really have time to get out there and network and travel. I would rather be spending time with my family and I always have a ton of work to do. Right now we are running a web ad with theknot.com and we pretty much book all of our brides from there (We only take 12 a year).

Yesterday I was talking to the knot.com rep about upgrading our listing and she suggested we buy a full page print ad instead. She said that it is a really good way to build credibility among the local community and the other vendors that advertise. This makes sense to me.

I know that she is of course trying to make money off of the ad but I'm wondering if she is right about building credibility, especially since I don't have the time to "network" and we are just finishing our first year.

What do you all think? Is it worth the extra $316 a month it would cost me? Oh, by the way the ad would be in the West Coast Florida edition of the Knot. Thanks, Ashley

How many weddings do you already have booked for the year?

You can receive the same or possibly even better exposure by having your images published in their real weddings section. Don't make the mistake of thinking it is free exposure however-photographers are still 'paying' by furnishing images gratis for editorial use.

Brides tend to keep wedding related magazines for reference, so print does keep your name in front of them. The byline is rather small, but it does get your name circulated.

I don't have the time to "network"

I would suggest making time-even if it is just one vendor that you really like...just once a month even. I was recently invited to make a presentation at a gorgeous new venue, and the GM said that very few photographers responded to his invitation. Cool-more work for me! haha

Hope that helps a bit!

-John

The way I feel if you are booking the 12 a year that you book, there is no sense in spending the extra money on the ad's. Personally I don't do anything big in the way of ads and word of mouth has worked out huge. If you start seeing a down turn in bookings I might consider it, but like I said if you are booking the 12 a year that you plan to shoot, you're more then a-ok and don't really need to spend extra cash-o-la