← Book More Photography Clients Podcast | Photography Business, Photography Leads, Marketing
Book More Photography Clients Podcast | Photography Business, Photography Leads, Marketing
7 Marketing Mistakes Costing You Bookings (And How to Fix Them)
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Welcome to the Book More Clients Photography Podcast. You can stop spending hours on Google and YouTube because you just found your number one resource for growing a profitable and sustainable photography business. Hi, I'm Brooke Jefferson. I'm a believer wife, mama to two and Oklahoma family photographer. I left the classroom in 2018 to pursue my photography career full time. Now I'm here to help you do the same. In this podcast we're covering the most asked about topics including pricing, marketing, client experience, and all things systems and workflows. You won't find any fluff or BS here. Just tried and true strategy. Are you ready? Grab your kids some snacks and charge those camera batteries. It's time to jump in. Foreign this is an episode that you are going to want to take notes on. It's almost like a workshop, if you will. Just because we are going through seven different points and as we are walking through these marketing mistakes that are costing you bookings, I want you to get really honest with yourself and I want you to see where your strengths are and then where your weaknesses are and these areas that you really need to make improvement on. None of this is to discourage you or to make you feel bad. Instead it's meant to give you a pep in your step. It's meant for you to really have eye openening moments throughout this episode so that you know exactly what you need to focus on to get closer to your booking goal. So that is my hope for you as you listen to this episode. And then I'm going to give you a solution at the end. After we talk about all seven of these things, I'm going to tell you what I've been working on for the last few months. So let's dive in. The first marketing mistake, and this one is the most common. I get this one a lot with my photography students. And also for those of you that are going through the 30 day marketing challenge in real time in January 2026, this is the one piece of feedback I feel like I've given over and over and over again. And that mistake is that you have an unclear and an unrecognizable brand. So basically when I come across any type of marketing that you're doing, but more specifically your social media, there is nothing that really stands out and you kind of are just blending in with every other photographer in your niche. That's not a great thing, but it's definitely something and that we all do. We've all made this mistake and what I want you to do instead is I want you to really get clear on what is your brand going to be? What do you want to portray? How do you want to make people feel? What are some of the elements, whether that's visual, emotional, whatever it is, what are some of those elements that make you you and make your brand stand out from everybody else? I know this isn't the first time that I have talked about this particular topic, but that's because it is the most common. And so if you feel like if. If you were going to say, okay, Brooke, I want you to go look at my social media and I want you to look at my website and I want you to tell me if I have a clear and a recognizable brand, what do you think I would say? Would I say yes or would I say no? So I want you to take some notes on that and I want you to see if this might be one of the marketing mistakes that you are making. The second marketing mistake is that there is not enough personal connection. And what I mean by this is one and two. Both of these first two mistakes, they go hand in hand. So the first one was unclear and an unrecognizable brand. And that fits in perfectly with no personal connection. But specifically for this one, I'm talking about you are not showing your face enough. Not just a brand photo, not just a headshot, but also you've got to show up and you've got to let people get to know the photographer behind the camera. I had someone tell me the other day I was photographing her for her, for her brand. She just. She actually. So funny story. Let me just. Let me tell you the power of connection since we're on this topic here. I was actually setting up for my Christmas Minis back in November and she drove by and she literally u turned in the middle of the road, parked her car and walked across the street. Now, she didn't do this, like, super quickly. It's not like I was afraid. I was just like, oh, I don't. I don't think that's one of my clients. What is she doing? And she walked across the street and she said, hey, are you a photographer? And I said, yes, we're actually setting up for my Christmas Minis. And so she asked if I had a business card and I didn't with me. So what I did was I asked if she would get her phone out and then I would point her to my business page and my website and then she could send me an email. So anyway, long story short, she actually found me on the side of the road at my Christmas Mini Location at. And then she hired me to do branding photos for her company. What she said to me during her photo shoot was she said, the reason that I walked up to you and I saw like you were setting up and I just assumed you were a photographer, or at least I was hoping so, is because I've been trying to find someone to take branding photos for me. But I just, I mean, it's just logos out there. I, I want to know the person. I want to be able to trust them. And so when I was able to like physically like shake your hand and have you lead me to your, it just gave me, you know, it just, it made me feel connected to you. And that's ultimately what had me book you. And so I want that, I want you to think about that. How can you have a personal connection online just like you would offline? I realize it's not the same thing, but I want that to inspire you. If people can't hear your voice, they can't, they can't see your face and they don't know anything about you, why would you assume they would book you then? That's just an honest question. And this is something that you have to get over if you want to succeed in 2026 and beyond. I think I've, I think I've literally said this exact strategy since 2020. You cannot hide behind your business. You can't just throw up a logo and some pretty pictures and, and think that that is automatically going to get you booked. It's not. People want to know who the brand is. They've got to understand what the business values and what personality you carry before they book you. Now, yes, there are exceptions, but there are not that many exceptions anymore. Just take a good hard look at reviews on anything you can think of and I want you to pay attention and see why people are buying certain things, booking certain people over other ones. So are you giving enough personal connection? Are you showing up in your stories? Are you giving behind the scenes content? How can the average person that comes across your feed understand who you are and why you do what you do? So those are the first two mistakes. The third one, and this flows perfectly to number three, is that you have a vague or an undefined ideal client. I know that is such a fancy phrase and you're probably tired of hearing it, but there is a reason that I still teach the, the whole phrase of an ideal client and that's because when I go to your social media or I go to your website and you literally offer everything under the Sun. And your posts are constantly skipping from talking about families to talking about weddings, to talking about. It's a lot and it's overwhelming. And especially when you have, you know, less than a thousand followers in your audience and when you are just not clear on what you do and you're just trying to gain traction, you don't want to do that. You need to be really specific on what it is that you want to become known for. Because when you can do that, when you're clear, everybody else is clear on what you offer and the next time they find themselves in that scenario. So whether you, you're, let's say you're a maternity and newborn photographer, when they get pregnant and they start thinking that, okay, wow, I need to start scheduling all of these photo sessions. You want to be top of mind for that person, but how can you be if you're photographing anything and everything under the sun and marketing it? I always tell my students when I teach you to niche down and get specific and clear about who it is you want to book, it's not to box you in, but. But it is for you to have the freedom later to take any request that you want. Okay? This is the secret. It is niching down and getting really specific so that you're creating content that makes that person go, oh my gosh, is she reading my mind? If your content is not that specific or it's not making people feel a certain way, then you're not doing it enough. You're not specific enough, right? So if I came to your content and I was auditing it, do you think that I would say, yes, this is too vague, or would I say, great job? I can tell exactly what your niche and who your ideal client is. So I want you to take some notes on that and I want you to really, really think about that point. Because this, again, it's not to box you in, it's to make your marketing easier and it's to get you closer to your booking goal. Marketing mistake number four, and this one is, is one that has popped up in the last two years over reliance on AI generated content. AKA you're using Chat GPT for all of your marketing. And I can smell it from a mile away. So can everybody else. It is very obvious. The people who are writing and making things fit into their brand versus copying and pasting what chatbots spit out Chat GPT. And I've done this, I've tested this again and again and again. Doesn't matter which platform or version you're using. I have tested it for four different kinds of photographers and every time I put it in there, they are still so close to the same. So Chat GPT can only give you so many ideas, right? And if you don't know how to manipulate chat GPT or how to give it feedback and really tweak it to your voice and your brand, it's going to be way too obvious. And then again, you're going to sound like everybody else. Because if you're using it, and I hope you are for some things, I am definitely pro to chat GPT, but doing it in a strategic way. Okay? Not just letting chat GPT basically spit out stuff and then you use it. You, you have to be very smart about the different stages in your marketing that you're using it and then also what the final product looks like. So I am pro chat gbt. I have a whole episode on it. I think we have two episodes on it now. And so, yes, I want you to be using it, but I don't want you to be relying on it and using exactly what it spits out. So you know if you're guilty of this or not. And so I'm just going to let you write down whether this is a mistake you're making or you feel like you got this under control. The fifth marketing mistake is you are using little to no SEO or keyword strategy. This doesn't just mean blogging. This doesn't just mean on your website. This goes across the board to even social media. This is a very popular one that I see, and it's one that I kind of just want to shake you a little bit and say, hey, you're sleeping on this strategy that does help you book clients in your sleep. And I know that is kind of one of those too good to be true statements, but it's very true. There are literal times when I've woken up and I saw that somebody booked me or bought something overnight and it was through a Google search. Very, very cool. It does work. And so you have to learn how to use it. So I want you to think about this one. On a scale of 1 to 5, 1, meaning you are so overwhelmed not using SEO at all, to five, you, you're pretty much an expert and could teach a class on it. How would you rank yourself? And I would say if you're anywhere three or below, then this is one that I would say, okay, this is a mistake that I am making and I need to do some changes and make some improvements. Marketing mistake number six, inconsistent or random marketing. And this one's probably going to get you to it. I mean, you just, you would know immediately, yes, I'm consistent or no, I'm not. I hear it all the time, Brooke, I need to be consistent. I know I'm not consistent. I do really good for two weeks and then I just fall off for four months. I have been there, too. So it's definitely not just you, but this just comes from not understanding marketing strategy and also not having a plan in place. You just don't have a system. Once you nail down a marketing system and you're very confident in a strategy, it becomes easier to become consistent. And then it's not like, oh, I know I need a post, so let me just throw this random thing up there or let me show off some pretty pictures. And you think that that reel is going to go viral because it was, it's your, like, hands down favorite session you've ever had. And then you're. It's just, it just doesn't do good with engagement. Right? So you don't want to be doing random posting or being inconsistent with your marketing because that's going to hurt you more than it's going to help you. And so the flip side to that is, again, having a system that works for you and being able to rinse and repeat that every single month so that you're not having to scramble at the last minute or start feeling anxious that, oh my gosh, I need to be consistent. I need to be posting and I need to be doing this and I need to send an email out. It's okay. Nope, I know what I'm doing on what day. I know how many emails I can batch in an hour or I know that I can come, you know, I can edit five reels in one hour. So when you have a plan and a system, it becomes so much easier to be consistent. And the last one, certainly not least, though, is that you're just simply not diversified your marketing. It's just a fancy way of saying you're really relying only on one type of marketing and, and nothing else. And I don't. You don't want to put all your eggs in one basket for anything. You might be relying way too heavily on social media, and you know that you need to be doing other methods of marketing. You just haven't had the time or you don't understand the strategy or you don't know where to start. And so I don't want you to, again, put all of your energy and effort into one method of marketing and hope that that's going to get you to your booking goal. Because I'm sad to tell you that it's probably not really like 99 of us. One method of marketing is not enough. Now, are you going to be able to learn seven methods marketing overnight? Absolutely not. And I wouldn't want you to because then you're just going to be so stuck in that inconsistent cycle all over again. What I want you to do is I want you to be able to see different methods of marketing and then pick one or two to pick up and learn and add to what you're already doing. That is exactly what I did. That is how I self taught myself to get really good at this kind of stuff. To love business, to love marketing, to be able to write well. I took things and I learned it one by one by one. And I want that for you too. So if any of these mistakes you're like, yes, I am definitely making a couple of these. Maybe let me even admit I'm making all seven. I want you to know that it doesn't mean that you are bad at marketing. Marketing is a skill that you can flex your muscles and you can get better at. It simply just means that you haven't learned it yet. No one's ever showed you a simple system to do it and no one's ever showed you how to do it. On top of having a real life and wearing a million hats, I work full time, I'm a wife, I'm a mom, I'm a photographer, I'm a friend, I'm a lot of other things. And so because of that, I had to learn how can I fit my business in my life and not try to fit my life in my business. You see what I'm saying? Because when you are overwhelmed, obviously you're going to start dropping balls. But I want you to imagine with me for a minute that marketing your business actually felt easy and it actually felt fun. What if you opened a content calendar that told you exactly what to post and when? What if you had email templates sitting in your inbox ready to customize and send in under 10 minutes? What if creating reels didn't make you want to throw your phone across the room? Because you had the scripts, you had the ideas, and you finally had the confidence to just hit record? That is exactly what you get inside of my brand new marketing membership market like a tog. If you're tired of feeling invisible, you're tired of relying on referrals, you're tired of wondering why your marketing isn't Working, then this is your solution. This is the very next step for your photography business. Here is what you will get inside. You will get a plug and play monthly content calendar that can be used for any social media platform. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc. So there's no more staring at a blank screen wondering what to say. You're going to get a ready to send monthly email template that engages your audience and gets people excited to book with you. All you have to do is customize it and hit send. If you have a Flodesk account, then you get to actually import this to your account, edit it and send it. You will also get real ideas and scripts. The ideas, the hooks, the captions, all written for you and all you have to do is film. And the best part, you will receive a monthly coaching call with me and the other photographers inside of the membership where I will personally answer your questions, I will audit your content and I will teach you different methods of marketing. Plus, to sweeten the deal, as if I'm not giving you enough, I want to give you a free social media audit. So what this means is I will personally review your Instagram and your Facebook and I'm going to give you a real time audit with specific feedback on what's working, what's not, and exactly what content you should be creating to reach more of your ideal clients. So if that sounds too good to be true, I'm telling you it's not. I really did create this membership because we sent out a questionnaire and we have also been speaking with different photographers at different levels. And the number one problem that you tell me is that it's marketing. It's hands down marketing. You don't know where to start, you're overwhelmed, you need a system, you need someone to tell you what to do. You wish you could hire a social media manager, but those costs hundreds and thousands of dollars. And I am giving you this membership and I'm giving you the solution for less than a hundred dollars. In fact, it's half of that. It's $50 a month and you're gonna get your full marketing strategy, you're gonna learn some new things and you're gonna be in a community of photographers that want to grow their businesses too. So I would love to see you inside of this membership. It is literally launching as you're listening to this and February 1st is our first grand old big day that this membership will be officially live. But you can go ahead and join it and jump in and start planning your February content. Our first coaching call is going to be on Friday, February 6th. Cannot wait to mastermind with you guys. Hear your questions, audit your content live and you are going to be rolling into February with the best content you've made for yourself probably ever in your business. So you can check out all of the details and get signed up@brookejefferson.com membership I hope after listening to these seven mistakes that are costing you bookings, you were able to have an eye opener to the ones that you really need to improve. And also I hope you got a pat on the back at least for one of the things that maybe you're doing right already. You are on the right track. Yes, you can market. You just have to flip your mindset and tell yourself that yes I can. I can make this fun. I can market just as good as anybody else. And I know that through consistent marketing and having a recognizable brand, I will hit my booking goal. I will see you on the next episode and hopefully inside the membership.