#121: The One Thing You Need to Sell Out Your Mini Sessions
Take It Personally
So often I hear from other photographers that their mini sessions were a failure. When asking them about it, they share they only promoted it a few times but because no one was booking, they stopped sharing about it. This mistake of essentially quitting before starting is something I commonly see with mini sessions. The only way to fill your mini sessions though is to talk about them! Many photographers get really in their head about marketing their mini sessions, but their mindset around it is so important, which is the topic of this episode. Any time you are struggling to market your mini...
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#120: How Sean Booked 30 Mini Sessions as a New Photographer
Take It Personally
In this episode of Take It Personally, Sean, owner of Unique Unicorn Photography, shares his transformative experience with the . Initially struggling to attract clients after deciding to fully commit to their photography business, Sean and his wife discovered mini sessions as a strategic entry point for client acquisition. The episode delves into how this approach not only built their portfolio rapidly but also significantly increased their client base by booking 30 families during a single weekend. Sean discusses the importance of marketing, branding consistency, and the value of community...
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#119: How I Consistently Have High-4-Figure Mini Session Days
Take It Personally
In this episode, I share my successful strategy for conducting high-4-figure mini session days! Since starting mini sessions in 2020, I have seen significant revenue growth and average $7,000 on these mini session days. I'll be sharing an overview of the simple strategy I have in my business that allows me to accomplish this. Here are the main highlights from this episode: 00:52 My Mini Session Journey: From Start to Success 01:58 Strategic Insights: Transforming Mini Sessions into Brand Builders 03:29 Yearly Growth: A Deep Dive into My Mini Session Evolution 05:55 Maximizing Profits with...
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#118: Do I Really Need an Email List as a Local Business?
Take It Personally
The topic of email marketing seems to be coming up more and more both inside of , my group coaching program, and just in general. When I am talking to other creatives, it's always things like, "Do I really need an email list? Should I start using email as opposed to social media?" I've utilized email marketing in my business and am a huge believer in it. But I personally have a few issues with how email is being sold to a lot of creative entrepreneurs, specifically local service providers, like photographers who serve a local market. If that is you and you've had related questions about...
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#117: Leveraging AI in your Photo Business with Tech Savvy Creative
Take It Personally
Dawn is a former software engineer, turned wedding photographer, who pivoted back to technology to assist creatives in overcoming their intimidation with tech. Dawn is currently juggling roles as a Product Marketing Manager at Flodesk and running Tech Savvy Creative. In this episode, she shares her journey and the importance of integrating technology into creative professions. Topics we discuss in this episode are the transformative power of AI in photography, tools like ChatGPT for content creation, highlighting how AI tools can significantly save time and enhance productivity, and tools for...
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#116: How I'd Handle Business Money Differently If I Were Starting Over with Gina Knox
Take It Personally
One of my goals at the beginning of 2024 was to act like a grown up when it comes to my finances, and I have to say, I'm killing it so far–and that is in huge part to the program 6 Figure Saver. I'm thrilled to have Gina Knox, the financial coach behind 6 Figure Saver, on the podcast today. Gina is known in her circle as Money's Mom, and helps entrepreneurs with variable income save six figures in their businesses. In under three months, I've saved just shy of $40,000 in this program without cutting expenses or strict budgeting. Instead, Gina emphasizes the significance of spending on the...
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#115: Using Blogging to Connect with Ideal Clients with Kate Wark
Take It Personally
Kate has been on the podcast before talking about , and I love what Kate is doing with her business. Her photography business sort of started “accidentally” and after working together in , she was able to drop down to part-time in her 9-5 to be able to spend more time on her photography business. Alongside taking brand photos, Kate also helps clients with copywriting! She took her PR skills to be able to grow another arm in her business where she offers blogging services to creatives. Visuals are a huge part of personal branding, but messaging is so important too. Kate is sharing tips...
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#114: Why Personal Branding is CRUCIAL as a Photographer
Take It Personally
I did my annual mini session day in January, and I had multiple photographers be a part of it. They admitted to me they felt uncomfortable on the other side of the camera. It essentially allowed them to have more empathy for their clients because they can understand how it feels being in front of the camera during a branding session. I think this is a crucial part of building a personal brand and specifically as a brand photographer. You can tell your clients everything about how branding photos are important and how people will connect with photos of themselves more and they can help them...
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#113: What to Post If You Want to Book More Clients
Take It Personally
In the last episode of Take It Personally, we talked about attracting your dream clients and treating social media like a giant networking event. A second part to this is related to a question I get asked frequently in various ways: “What should I be posting?” If you’ve wondered what you should post if you want to book more clients, grow your business, stand out as a brand photographer, etc., this episode will be covering it all. Here are the main topics discussed: Getting back into a place of service and figuring out how you can help Using frequently asked questions for content...
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#112: Attracting Dream Clients to Your Business
Take It Personally
Social media can be an incredible tool for business. This episode explores how you can use social media to attract dream clients, and use it in a way that feels strategic and not draining. Join the Brand Photography Jumpstart here:
info_outlineCONTENT. It’s a word that strikes fear and causes paralysis. There is so. much. pressure. Will it be good enough? Deep enough? Clever enough? Funny enough? Enough enough?
There’s a rule of thumb that has helped me get past that content paralysis, and it’s called the 80/20 content rule. What that means is that 80% of the time, you serve your audience, and 20% of the time, you sell to them. And if you use the 80% effectively, the 20% becomes so much easier.
The 80% may seem daunting, but you have more to share than you think. Use your content to educate, inspire, entertain, or connect with your audience. Share what’s on your heart, special knowledge you have, or encourage deeper thinking.
Here’s some of the things I share in today's episode regarding the 80/20 content rule:
- The 80% does not all have to be original stuff, straight from your brain (ps. It’s this thinking that causes the paralysis).
- When you are so close to something, as we all are with our own businesses, it’s harder for us to think of things that are worth sharing as it seems like common knowledge to everyone - but it’s not.
- Consider questions you wish your clients would ask you (and then answer that question).
- If you are growing your business and providing the 80% of service content, the time will come when your audience is ready to pay you so they can get more.
- Your 20% should be about solving the problems of your audience.
Some highlights from the episode:
[ 9:33] Sometimes content doesn't serve a significant purpose other than making a connection.
[9:54] Just because a post is not educating, doesn't mean it's not providing some sort of value.
[10:16] As uncomfortable as it makes so many people, if you've been doing the 80% the right way, the 20% should be easy.
I think you will find that you can serve your clients really well through the 80/20 content rule when you share things that educate, motivate, inspire, or entertain while remembering to listen to the feedback your content generates. It’s the feedback that leads to the 20% - the opportunities for sales and possibly for services that you hadn’t even considered until you listened to your audience and learned what problems you can solve with your unique expertise.
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