Brandon Morgan of And Ever Films specializes in capturing cinematic stories of his clients’ wedding days.

He’s also a doer. Give him a suggestion to improve his website and it’s done the next day. Challenge him to implement a strategy, and he’s on it.

This is just a part of what makes Brandon a Wedding Superhero. I learned more through my interview with him…

Superpower: Learning & Applying

I’m really good at learning, particularly when it comes to processes and things with patterns. I can take it in, process it, and understand what I need to do with it.

So learning about marketing techniques for my wedding business has been really fun. Its both an art and a science.

I did it with making changes on my website after learning about how people interact with my content, so that it’s visible right in front of them.

I got Event Temple and it’s been fun playing with the different automation processes for email and testing out templates, making adjustments to see what gets the most responses. I’ve made changes in email subjects, putting their names or wedding dates in there. What’s the attention-getter?

It’s interesting to see how far people go into my follow up sequence before actually responding back. Either they’re going to respond back the first time or they won’t until the fifth time. I’m not seeing much in between!

Biggest Challenge Overcome: Being an Introvert

I’m an introvert.  It’s definitely something that provides me with a challenge, especially when working with brides and grooms on the sales side of the wedding business.

Being able to use various methods of internet marketing such as Facebook Ads, Instagram posts, and improving my website has helped immensely in communicating who I am, what I do, and the value of my service, prior to them actually reaching me directly.  It makes the conversations a lot easier for me.

When I meet with clients in person or on the phone, I try to be very personable. I put my best foot forward, try to just be myself, and it exhausts me.

I have to understand what I’m doing with that energy and how to best focus it to find connection points I have with people. I worked in sales for a while and learned that listening is important because you can find a way to connect with people and provide them with the best service.

Last year got invited to shoot an event in the Bahamas with young entrepreneurs, all Type A extrovert personalities. I was trapped in a house with 25 people for four days, and I was exhausted! I pushed through it made great connections and built friendships that are lasting to this day.

Success Secret: Building Relationships With Other Wedding Businesses

From sending out postcards and emails to vendors I’ve met with, to discussing other opportunities we can work on together (video is a great sell to businesses!) I’ve gotten quite a few referrals through this method.

For example, I’m working with a wedding coordinator who puts on a huge bridal show at an upscale location. I’m shooting a video for her business, and she gives me table space for free.

Now we’re talking about doing an ‘80s throwback stylized wedding shoot for fun and to market both our businesses. She’s doing multiple weddings a weekend and has a large staff working with her, which means she can refer me out to her clients.

It started with just chatting at a bridal show a long time ago. I kept that conversation going, and when an opportunity came up to trade and build more of a relationship, I took it.

Biggest Mistake: Not Following Up

Honestly, that was the biggest thing I’d let slide early on the business. Partially because I was working full-time, going to school full-time, and raising two very new children at the beginning of my wedding videography career.

I let a lot of leads slide past me because I didn’t have the ambition to keep following up while balancing everything else.  Recently, I started making it a priority, as well as investing in Event Temple to help automate some of that followup.

I used the “last ditch effort” template with someone I’d been emailing for months with no response at all. She responded in five minutes! She said it was the funniest email she’d gotten in long time.

Brandon’s Advice: Don’t Settle. Charge What You’re Worth.

Don’t settle for anything less than what you can achieve.

Particularly in my field, videography, there are a lot of people cutting to rock bottom pricing to get the gig, but you’ll never get ahead. You’re stuck in full time jobs doing the wedding business on the side.

Set your sights on what you want and go for it. For me, that was quitting my full time job and having more freedom to spend time with my family.

I was working in IT doing graveyard shifts. Sometimes I’d get up in the morning, shoot a 12 hour day and then go to work for 10 hours afterward. My wife and I had been talking about me going full-time for about a year and a half, waiting for the right moment. We’d set dates and it would come and go.

We looked at our finances and said, “There’s no better time than now.”

My big takeaway: “Don’t settle for pennies when you can ask for dollars.”

In my field the price has plummeted. Technology has got cheaper. People can shoot video for pennies on the dollar compared to five years ago.

It has to become conversation of quality rather than price. They need to know that if they were to go to someone else who charges less, they’re not gonna get the same thing I give you.

When you pitch things to people it’s easier to ask for a million dollars than to ask for a thousand because they’re more likely to say, “I trust you to do this.”

I raised my price and I’m able to get weddings at higher prices with clients I love.

I can ask for $3,500 for a wedding and get the type of clientele who trust me, or I can ask for $1,500 and get the type who nitpick every detail because they want to get the most out of their money.

Charity of Choice: Mosaic Children’s Museum

The Mosaic Children’s Museum is a new non-profit that’s opening next year in our area.

We love children’s museums. We take our two-year old and our four-year old to see this cool stuff that ties into art. My kids love experiencing that and it’s great for the town.

What do you think about Brandon’s experience?