The Zookbinders 2020 Holiday Deadlines
It’s time to mark your calendars! The Zookbinders 2020 Holiday Deadlines are now available to view on our website: 2020 Holiday Deadlines.
In order to receive your professional wedding albums by December 22, all Print-to-Bind orders must be paid for and submitted by November 24. This deadline is for our traditional albums: the Zook Book, the Luster Book, and the EZ Book.
The Bon a Vie has a longer turnaround time and the deadline has already passed. The deadline for Print-to-Bind and Design-Print-to-Bind Bon a Vie album orders was November 16th. However, you still have time to order replica parent albums which make great gifts!
The submission for new designs has also already passed. All completed album designs need to be approved and album orders submitted by November 24 in order to receive complete albums on December 22. Reach out to those stagnant orders NOW to deliver a great keepsake this holiday season!
Deadlines for selection and design orders are 5 and 3 weeks prior to the album submission deadline. This is to accommodate for approval and revisions. The Bon a Vie holiday deadlines are earlier by about 7 days for each service.
The holiday deadline for ordering print to bind Zook Books and replica parent albums is November 24th. Image by Len DePas Photography
Planning Ahead
The fourth quarter can be a real boom for photography businesses. Often clients reach out around this time to finalize orders for holiday gifts. With all the planning and timelines in place to deliver finished wedding albums to your clients, sometimes the deadline can sneak up on us. The Zookbinders 2020 Holiday Deadlines are posted in early October so mark your calendar now to watch for next year’s announcement.
Typically the final date for Print-to-Bind album orders is in the week of Thanksgiving. With this knowledge, you can plan emails and marketing for 2021 to help couples finalize orders. With 2021 promising to be a busy year, due to postponements caused by Covid-19, getting organized now about meeting deadlines can mean a less stressful, more profitable year.
Making Deadlines Work for Your Business
Deadlines create a sense of urgency and often stir up additional sales, especially during the holidays. How can deadlines work for you throughout the year? Create timelines and deadlines in all your workflows to take control and drive sales. Here are some ideas.
- Start marketing for engagement sessions right after the holidays. Many people get engaged during these months and having a marketing campaign that is specific about when engagement sessions should be done can increase bookings. For instance, “All 2022 weddings need to schedule their engagement session before April of 2021.”
- Assign penalties for failing to meet ordering deadlines. Attaching a small fee for late orders can act as a deterrent to putting things off.
- If you don’t want to create an extra charge offer, then create an early-bird bonus as an incentive to submit early.
- Make a checklist for your clients so that they have a visual reference for the process and due dates.
- If you use studio management software, create scheduled emails that will go out automatically as reminders.
- Communicate specific deadlines. For example, “Your wedding album design approval is due by March 1st,” is more direct than, “You have two weeks to approve your album design.”
- Send out holiday campaigns for parent albums early and often.
It’s crucial to set deadlines for image selection and design approval on sign-in books. Creating great communication in advance makes for a stress-free delivery. Image by Peyronet Photography
Is now a great time to reach out to clients to finalize a wedding album order? Absolutely! However, the Zookbinders 2020 Holiday Deadlines are fast approaching. It’s important to take into consideration all the logistics and communication that goes into finalizing an order. Complicated orders (and clients) might incur more time than you have. Choose your last-minute projects wisely. Deadlines put you in control and with a great plan in place, they can move your business forward in a healthy way.
