Summer Bonus : Real Talk About Marketing with Colie James
Keep It Moving
Re-Airing: Our Chat with Colie James About Marketing That Actually Works We had such an amazing conversation with Colie James on her Business First Creatives podcast that we just had to share it with you all! Colie invited us on to talk about marketing strategies, and honestly, we got so real about what's actually working (and what we've totally abandoned) in our businesses. If you don't know Colie, she's a business systems expert who helps creative entrepreneurs streamline their workflows and grow profitable businesses. Her podcast, Business First Creatives, is all about the behind-the-scenes...
info_outline
The Real Reason Photographers Avoid Their Books (It's Not Math)
Keep It Moving
Y'all, can we talk about the elephant in the room? That pile of receipts sitting on your desk, the QuickBooks notifications you've been ignoring for months, and that sinking feeling every time tax season rolls around? Yeah, we're going there today. This week, we're bringing you Melissa's actual bookkeeper, Jenny Vazquez from Foxtrot Bookkeeping, to spill ALL the tea about why photographers need to stop DIYing their books and start treating their finances like the business asset they are. "I just think putting negative energy towards your money is never good... when you're working on your...
info_outline
63: IT Girl to SEO Queen - How Melissa Turned Tech Skills into Photography Gold
Keep It Moving
Alison is interviewing Melissa, who literally went from fixing computers in corporate suits to building photography empires with killer SEO strategies. If you've ever wanted to throw your laptop out the window because of alt text and header tags (while simultaneously trying to feed your kids lunch), this episode will save your sanity. What You'll Learn: • Why your keywords are having an identity crisis - Spoiler: Google doesn't know what you do either when you try to be everything to everyone. • The brutal truth about SEO timelines - Real talk: 6-9 months to see decent...
info_outline
62: Frustrated to Fearless: How Alison Turned 7 Business Moves Into A Superpower
Keep It Moving
Melissa is putting Alison in the hot seat because honestly, she's been way too humble about moving her photography business SEVEN times. Time to spill the tea on how she turned military-spouse chaos into her coaching superpower. 3 Key Takeaways: • "Too Early" Doesn't Exist - Start prepping your business move yesterday. SEO takes 12-18 months to work its magic, and everyone underestimates how time-consuming this whole thing is. • Stalk Your New Market (Legally) - Research everything: traffic patterns, permit costs, whether you can actually shoot on Fridays without losing your mind on...
info_outline
061: Mrs. Vondy The Email Queen On Making Money with Email
Keep It Moving
On this episode, we sat down with Shannon Vondy (aka Mrs. Vondy, aka The Email Queen) to talk about a topic many photographers struggle with - email marketing. As someone who's been a member of Shannon's email club for over a year and a half, Melissa was excited to bring her expertise to our listeners who are relocating or restructuring their photography businesses. Shannon went from burnt out wedding photographer to email obsessed when she sent ONE email and earned $2,600. After earning an additional $13k that year from email marketing alone, she created The Email Club. Through her Email Club...
info_outline
60: Mini Mentoring with Caroline Eidson in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Keep It Moving
In this week's episode, I'm thrilled to welcome for our mini mentoring series where we help photography entrepreneurs navigate business transitions. Caroline's journey from wedding photographer to mom of four to relaunching her photography business specifically for families and newborns offers valuable insights for photographers at any stage of business restructuring. Key Takeaways: SEO Strategy for Photography Websites: Focus your SEO efforts on creating dedicated landing pages for each service, not portfolio pages. Landing pages should combine portfolio images, details, investment...
info_outline
59: Batching Working Smarter, Not Harder
Keep It Moving
In this episode, we dive into a business strategy that has saved our sanity as photographer entrepreneurs: batching! We explore how focusing on similar tasks for extended timeframes can help you feel more accomplished and less scattered, especially during business relocations or restructuring. Key Takeaways: Start small - Begin with just one repetitive task you can batch for an hour to knock out a couple weeks' worth of work at once. Establish boundaries - Setting specific days and times for certain tasks (like client calls, emails, or ordering) creates structure and helps manage client...
info_outline
58: Quarter 2 2025 Update
Keep It Moving
In this quarterly update, we reflect on our business goals from Q1 2025 and share our plans for Q2. We discuss strategies for balancing work with personal life, revenue insights, and upcoming initiatives to grow our photography businesses. Our quarterly goal-setting process has been transformative for maintaining focus and measuring progress. By reviewing achievements every three months, we're able to adjust strategies quickly and celebrate wins while learning from challenges. Q1 Reflections Educational collaborations and featured teaching opportunities, growing membership in , podcast...
info_outline
057: Systems Superstar Colie James on CRMs & Client Communication
Keep It Moving
Colie James is an systems superstar! (I hope visions of Molly Shannon are fluttering in your subconscious!) Family documentary photographer and systems guru, Colie James is giving us the simple on ramp to a 5 minute booking process. In this episode we get: Colie’s preferred CRMs and why What emails to send every inquiry What to put in EVERY. SINGLE. EMAIL. (Alison & Colie may have shared a moment about this one) How to get her FREE Colie James is a Disney-loving Systems Strategist and the host of the Business-First Creatives podcast. Her heart pumps in helping photographers...
info_outline
056: Stop Ghosting Your Own Leads
Keep It Moving
You’re probably doing this and don’t even know it! Do you have a system for inquiries and leads? Are you anticipating their questions? Are you making it EASY for new inquiries? This week’s episode is all about that crucial first step during inquiries into clients with a system! Links: or Get Melissa’s Free Find Alison on IG Find Melissa on IG Used #keepitmovingpod on socials!
info_outlineRe-Airing: Our Chat with Colie James About Marketing That Actually Works
We had such an amazing conversation with Colie James on her Business First Creatives podcast that we just had to share it with you all! Colie invited us on to talk about marketing strategies, and honestly, we got so real about what's actually working (and what we've totally abandoned) in our businesses.
If you don't know Colie, she's a business systems expert who helps creative entrepreneurs streamline their workflows and grow profitable businesses. Her podcast, Business First Creatives, is all about the behind-the-scenes business strategies that actually move the needle – which is exactly why this conversation was so good!
We dove deep into our Marketing Monday routines, why we're both considering ditching Instagram for YouTube, and how AI has become our "employee of the month." Plus, Alison shared her genius scouting trip strategy that helped her book clients before she even moved to Hawaii, and Melissa talked about why her five-minute homepage audits are her best lead conversion tool.
What You'll Learn:
-
The real reason why getting found is harder than creating beautiful work
-
How to use AI as your "employee of the month" (seriously, best $20/month we spend)
-
Why Alison's rankings dropped when she got "content" with her SEO success
-
The power of five-minute audits for converting leads into paying clients
-
How scouting trips and model calls can skyrocket your business in a new location
-
Why we're both considering ditching Instagram for YouTube
-
The art of batching content when you're feeling motivated (not forcing it on a schedule)
-
Email marketing strategies that actually work for photographers
-
Why sometimes the best marketing happens when you blow dry your hair and change shirts five times
About Colie James: Colie is a business systems strategist and the host of Business First Creatives podcast. She helps creative entrepreneurs build profitable, sustainable businesses through smart systems and strategic thinking. Her no-nonsense approach to business growth is exactly why we love chatting with her!
Resources Mentioned:
-
Colie James' Business First Creatives podcast
-
ChatGPT for content creation and repurposing
-
Flodesk for email marketing
-
Descript for video editing
-
Trello for content planning
-
Google Tasks for marketing organization
Your Next Steps:
-Work with Melissa: https://pictureperfectrankings.com
-SEO Self Audit Checklist: https://pictureperfectrankings.myflodesk.com/self-seo-audit -35+ Blog Post Topics for Photographers: https://pictureperfectrankings.com/35-blog-post-ideas
-Work with Alison: https://alisonbellphotographer.com/how-to-move-your-business
-Free Moving Checklist: https://alisonbell.myflodesk.com/checklist
-Marketing Funnel Basics: https://alisonbell.myflodesk.com/funnel
-Check out Colie James: Business First Creatives podcast
Links:
-
Find Alison on IG @keep.it.moving.podcast
-
Find Melissa on IG @pictureperfectrankings
Used #keepitmovingpod on socials!