← Book More Photography Clients Podcast | Photography Business, Photography Leads, Marketing
Book More Photography Clients Podcast | Photography Business, Photography Leads, Marketing
How to Market Your Photography Business When You Hate Marketing
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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. Welcome back to the podcast. March has been such a fun month already with such juicy topics. I hope that you have enjoyed them. In the first two episodes this month we talked about the foundation that you need, so a lot of tough love happening. We also talked about what actually drives bookings. And today we're talking about your favorite subject, which is marketing. Especially if you hate marketing. If you're someone who cringes when I say the word marketing, or you feel fake when you're promoting yourself, or you're just confused and you don't even know where to start. This episode is specifically for you. I know that for most of us, we didn't get into this space because we love marketing. We first got into the space because we loved photography, or maybe we loved people. And then we found ourselves really wanting to create a business, which then meant that we had to learn how to market and advertise our business. And so if you're overwhelmed or you have a hate hate relationship with marketing, that is okay. I'm going to reframe this whole idea of what marketing even means for you today and I am so excited. So if you're ready, let's dive in. There are a ton of reasons why photographers say that they hate marketing. It can feel salesy and uncomfortable. It might feel like you're bragging. The biggest one is that sometimes it feels inauthentic so you feel like you're performing rather than just showing up, doing what you love and showcasing what you love to do. It might be because you don't know what to say at all and so you don't say anything. And man, if that's not relatable, I don't know what is. Another reason that you might hate marketing is that you get lost in comparing yourself to what other photographers are doing and then it makes you start to question. Oh, so Am I marketing wrong? Do I not know how to market my business? And then you're left feeling confused and frustrated. But here's the truth, and this is that light bulb moment I teased in last week's episode. You don't hate marketing. What you hate is marketing that doesn't feel like you. I'm just letting that simmer. Okay? You don't actually hate marketing. You just hate marketing that doesn't feel like you. That's it. I could end it right there because that is the truth. We know how to communicate. Even if you're an introvert, you know how to communicate. You know what you love to do. You appreciate your clients. It's not that you don't know how to market. It's that you probably have a fear that when you're doing it, it's all those things I said, it's salesy, it's uncomfortable, it's bragging, you feel like you're performing, it's inauthentic. It's all of those things. And so if we just flip a switch and I teach you how to show up and market like yourself, that's going to change everything for you. So I hope that you're breathing already a sigh of relief. Oh, I've never thought about it that way. You're right. Marketing does not have to be selling. It doesn't have to be this big salesy thing. Now that really is what it is, right? Like you are at the end of the day, the reason that you're marketing and is because you're hoping that every time you show up, someone will book you. And that's okay, but just reframe it. And I want you to think about it as marketing is connecting, it's serving, it's getting your point across, right? It. It's always doing something of value. It's not just always asking for a sale. Every time you show up online or anywhere in your community or in an email, wherever it is, you are giving your ideal client the chance to find the photographer that they've been looking for. So start thinking about it like that your ideal client is already out there looking for you. They are. That's just a fact. They're already looking for you. And so they just need you to show up in a variety of platforms and different ways of marketing yourself so that they have a greater chance of finding you. Think about a mom who is desperately trying to find someone to capture her newborn right before that moment passes her by. And so she is out there searching for a newborn photographer and she needs to find you. And so if you're not showing up marketing, there's no breadcrumbs for her to find you. Right? That's what marketing is. It truly is dropping these breadcrumbs and allowing your ideal clients to come find you. So reframe this idea of marketing, right? It's not just self promotion, but it is showing up through an act of service. Right? You are servicing that ideal client. So how do you market to where it feels like you? What does that even mean? Right. Most of us just feel fake or like we're pretending or we're performing when we're marketing because we're oftentimes just seeing what's working for other people, and then we're taking it and we're trying it for ourselves. Now, sometimes that is a good strategy if you really know how to tweak it for yourself, though, right? But most of you don't know how to do that. You don't know how to take something that's trendy and then put your own spin on it. And then now you're literally just copying what someone else did. And that's why it doesn't feel like you. Your marketing should sound like you. When you talk, I should be able to hear your voice. And here's one of the coolest things, too, just as a side note, because it's my favorite thing when I get to know photographers that are in my programs, I can. I get to watch, like, how their content changes. And sometimes I will even message them and I will say, I can literally hear your voice in your caption. Or I can literally see you doing this by just based off the way that you described it. So you want your marketing, again, to sound like you. You want it to reflect you, which means your. Your thoughts, your opinions, your values. If you're. If you're a funny person, we want to see that personality. If you're more serious and polished, we want to see that personality, like, it be cohesive. And it should also attract people that you actually want to work with, right? You're not for everybody. Last last week's episode, I told you that you're not going to be affordable to everyone. I'm also going to tell you, like, not everyone's going to like you either. That's not to be mean. That's to say that your people are out there for you and there are other people out there for other people, right? Who maybe they want someone that's a little more go with the flow and funny and spastic compared to a more polished Introverted, quiet type of person. Right. We don't know there's people out there for everyone. And so this is, again, this is not about a perfectly curated feed. Although sometimes I don't like to say that because I don't want you to get the wrong impression that your feed doesn't matter, because I'm just going to tell you that it does. But what I'm saying is it's not about perfection. It's truly about how can you show up in your content to where it's no longer like, oh, yeah, I've seen and heard this before, but it's like, no, oh my gosh, that sounds just like Ashley or oh, oh, wow. Yeah, I can tell before I even read the caption that that is going to be from Brooke or whatever it is. Right. That's what I want your people to start saying about you. So types of content that really work well and help go beyond just the generic stuff is showing us behind the scenes. I say this a lot because it's so easy, but it's so important. Like, people want to see you, they want to hear you, they want to see, they want to understand what is it even like to be in your shoes or be in the client's shoes. So sharing things like that is going to help break you through the mold. Talk of talking about why you do what you do, why do you love it? Why did you pick the niche that you're in? You know, what are your favorite things about it? What are some challenges that you're experiencing? We want to see the real and imperfect moments alongside of the. Of the highlight moments. Right? So pull back that curtain and just let people see real moments that have happened, real stories. We want to see your personality. Please, please. We want to see your personality. Don't just write things because you think it's supposed to be super polished. Write things how you would speak them. And one of my favorite tips to give is instead of typing out what you want to say, I want you to start using the voice recorder and voice memo on your phone and start just speaking it and then copying it exactly like you said it. That's how you're going to get you into your marketing. When your marketing feels like you and it feels genuine and you're very happy and content with it, then it's no longer going to feel like a chore for you to work on marketing stuff. Right? Like it's. Marketing won't feel like a chore once you are confident and you're content with what you're putting out there. I want you to keep it simple. It doesn't have to be this long, drawn out, complicated marketing strategy. I just want you to create a simple, repeatable system for you, right? Like a strategy that you are going to be able to use again and again. Again. We want to see your work. We want you to show yourself, tell us your story, what's going on in your everyday life. I know you feel like the most boring person on the planet, but people love watching people. It's a wild concept. I want you to educate why you do again, why you do what you do, what to wear, what they can expect. Take them behind the scenes of your client experience. Show us how you are an authority in your space. And then again, don't forget to ask for the booking. Right? That's what you're here for. Showcase testimonials, talk about your availability, make sure that you are announcing big things that you have going on. And when you rotate through these, you're not going to wonder like, oh my gosh, what should I be posting? What should I be saying, right? It's just, it's a beautiful mix of all the things and it's going to allow people to get to know you, understand how your business works, why you're different from other photographers. Sometimes you don't even have to say that. You're just kind of showing it just by marketing and showing up for people. And again, you don't have to post every day. You just have to post with purpose and intention and give value. I also, again, I want to remind you that when I say marketing, I don't just mean social media. It's not the same thing. Marketing does not equal social media. Right? There's multiple methods. Social media is one piece of that puzzle. And if it's the only thing you're doing, like I've said time and time again, you're leaving bookings on the table. You really, really are. So when I say marketing, I'm talking about every single way that you could possibly show up and get in front of your ideal client. And some of those aren't even online, right? Some of them I want you to physically get out and do your marketing. Like get out there. This could look like getting involved in your local community. You could partner with a local business, you could attend a community event, you could leave your business cards like physically somewhere. There's so many ways that you can get involved in your local community. Email marketing is another one we've talked extensively about. For sure. You could blog, there's word of mouth There is SEO, there's your website. There is your Google business profile. There are so many ways you guys that you can market your business. And so don't get caught up in thinking that marketing is just social media, because it's not. So when I say showing up authentically and as yourself, I mean in all the possible ways that you could ever market to somebody. So don't stay glued to social media alone. Use multiple channels that will work together to push you in front of your ideal client. I really also need y' all to just stop waiting until you feel like you're ready or you're inspired, because you'll be waiting a really long time, okay? Consistency will beat perfectionism every single time. This is like my mantra because I'm a recovering perfectionist if you don't know. And so a lot of times I have to tell myself, just get it done right. Done is better than perfect. Just get out there and do it. Doesn't mean put out crap, right? Like, don't go market your business and then do a really crappy job on it. It just means quit telling yourself these excuses and get out there and do it. You won't love every single piece of content or email or event or whatever that you create or attend, right? You're not going to love it all. That's completely normal. But did you take a step to get closer to booking an ideal client? Yes, you did. So give yourself permission. Permission to start messy and just get better as you go. You've got to start today, right? Be consistent. If you are someone that is like, I don't know where to start when it comes to marketing. If you're super overwhelmed, here's what I want you to do. I want you to pick one platform and I want you to show up there consistently before you go do something else. Okay? So pick one avenue of marketing. Get really good at it. If social media for you, it just absolutely overwhelms you to no end, then go start with something else. Eventually. I want you to pick social media up just because literally everybody has a phone, everybody has a Facebook and Instagram account. So it would be nice for you to have a presence there. But don't get overwhelmed. Pick one place, get consistent. Batch your content. I'm going to tell you a secret. I'm batching my content right now with these podcast episodes. I'm not just recording one episode. I'm recording a minimum of two, if not three episodes in one sitting because that is how you build momentum and you get the tasks done every week. Looks different in my life. And I know it looks different in your life. I can't just hope and pray that every single week there's going to be time for me to sit down and record a podcast. There have been weeks where when I didn't batch, I was battling a cold and I felt sick and I felt horrible and I was like, oh, my gosh, I really need to get this done. That's just not a good way to live. And so batch your content. Set aside one to two hours a week to sit down and batch all your emails or batch all your social media posts for the next two weeks, or whatever that looks like for you. Keep a running notes list right on your notes app, a running list of content ideas, and just keep it going. Anytime something comes to you and you're like, oh my gosh, I really want to tell this story, or oh my gosh, I don't want to forget this moment, write it down in your phone. Use your real life right, Showcase your sessions, talk about your clients, showcase your process. Use all of that as your content. You already have way more to say than you think. You just have to start saying it. And sometimes when we're in a place of overwhelm, what we need is we need one day where we do not edit a photo, we do not scroll social media, we do not open our laptop, we go outside or we play games with our family, or we do hobbies that we love, or we go on a very weekend trip to somewhere. And then when we come back, we feel renewed, refreshed, and like our brain can actually think. And sometimes that's what you need. Okay, before I go on any more tangents, let's bring it back. The biggest reframe that I want to give you again is that you don't hate marketing. You just hate marketing that does not feel like you. That's the big reframe. So take that mantra and really let it simmer and sit with it. And I want you to flip your perspective about marketing. I also want you to remember that marketing is so much bigger than just a social media platform. It is every way that you show up for your ideal client and give them those little breadcrumbs to where they will eventually book you. Keep it simple. Use some of these strategies. Okay, you have got this. You already know. You already know that if marketing is your biggest nemesis, I already have your solution. It's the market, like a tog membership. Come check it out. Come look at all the details. We have incredible bonus trainings that dropped. We would Love to have you in there. There's about 20 or so of us inside of the market, like a toggle and we have a monthly coaching call and photographers in there are super excited. You also get access to my student Facebook group where there is 250 or so of us in there as well. And so you're just getting an amazing community that is hustling after goals like you are. Next week we've got another fun behind the scenes episode and I'm just gonna break it all down for you and tell you what I would do differently if I were starting my photography business today. It's gonna be honest, it's gonna be candid, and it's gonna be really, really helpful for you to hear the things that I wish I would have done in the very beginning. So whether you are brand new, you are definitely gonna love this episode, or if you've got a few years under your belt, I still think you're going to love this episode. Even if it's just like resonating with me thinking, yep, I wish I would have done that too. So get excited. I cannot wait for next week's episode. Thank you for continuing to press play on this podcast week after week after week. You are the reason I continue to do this. If for some reason you'll ever stop listening, I'll just stop podcasting, right? So. So keep showing up for me, I'll keep showing up for you, and I will see you in the next episode.