296 - The Sustainability Series: Marketing Smarter (Part 3/4) - This Can't Be That Hard

Summary

Podcast Summary: This Can't Be That Hard

Episode: 296 - The Sustainability Series: Marketing Smarter (Part 3/4)
Host: Annemie Tonken
Release Date: December 24, 2024

Introduction to the Sustainability Series

In the third installment of Annemie Tonken's "This Can't Be That Hard" podcast series, titled "The Sustainability Series: Marketing Smarter (Part 3/4)," Annemie delves deeper into building a sustainable photography business. This episode builds upon the foundations laid in the first two episodes, focusing specifically on optimizing marketing strategies to enhance business resilience and sustainability.

Recap of Previous Episodes

Annemie begins by summarizing the key points from the earlier episodes to ensure listeners are up to speed:

Building a Resilient Business (Episode 294):
The importance of creating a business with a financial margin of error was discussed. Annemie emphasized that without a financial cushion, a business is vulnerable to unforeseen circumstances, such as equipment failure or market fluctuations. She stated, “You can't sustain a business that's constantly one dropped lens away from closing its doors” (00:00).
Time as a Critical Margin (Episode 295):
The second episode highlighted the significance of time management. Annemie pointed out that while financial margins are vital, time is an even more precious resource. She noted, “No amount of extra money will ever buy you more hours in the day” (03:25). By creating efficient systems, photographers can maximize their productivity and profitability without sacrificing their personal time.

The Golden Goose Concept

The central theme of this episode revolves around the metaphor of the "golden goose," inspired by Aesop's fable about a farmer who kills a goose that lays golden eggs, only to discover it has no gold inside. Annemie uses this story to illustrate the pitfalls of short-term gains at the expense of long-term sustainability.

Golden Eggs vs. Golden Geese:
In the context of a photography business, "golden eggs" represent one-time bookings that require constant hunting for new clients. This approach is exhausting and unsustainable, leading to perpetual stress and uncertainty. Conversely, a "golden goose" symbolizes a reliable and steady revenue stream that minimizes the need for continual client acquisition.
Implementing Golden Geese Strategies:
Annemie introduces the concept of portrait memberships as a prime example of a golden goose. By offering membership programs, photographers can secure predictable income through recurring payments. She shares her personal experience:
“The membership concept was easy to sell to my clients, not just because the cost was lower, but because it made it really easy... It also was an incredible boost to the sustainability of my business” (03:54).

Benefits of Portrait Memberships:
- Predictable Revenue: Ensures consistent cash flow, reducing the constant need to find new clients.
- Client Retention: Builds long-term relationships with clients, fostering loyalty and repeat business.
- Operational Efficiency: Simplifies booking processes and reduces administrative burdens.

Expanding the Golden Goose Portfolio

Annemie emphasizes that while portrait memberships are highly effective, photographers can diversify their golden geese to further stabilize their income:

Partnerships for Wedding Photographers:
Collaborating with popular venues or wedding planners can generate a steady stream of referrals. Annemie advises, “If you are a wedding photographer, partnering with a popular venue or a wedding planner could be your golden goose” (03:54).
School Portraits for Family Photographers:
Offering school portrait packages can provide bulk bookings at specific times of the year, ensuring a reliable influx of income. She mentions, “School portraits are another really great golden goose opportunity, especially for family photographers” (03:54).
Multiple Revenue Streams:
For family photographers, combining different golden geese—such as school portraits and membership programs—can create multiple layers of income, enhancing overall business resilience.

Strategies for Marketing Smarter

The episode underscores the importance of shifting from traditional, time-consuming marketing tactics to smarter, more sustainable strategies:

Reduce Time Spent on Hunting:
By establishing recurring revenue streams, photographers can significantly cut down the time spent on marketing and client acquisition. Annemie states, “Anything that you do that decreases the time and effort that you have to put toward marketing and increases the amount of predictability in your revenue will make your business more resilient” (03:54).
Focus on Value-Driven Marketing:
Instead of spreading efforts thin across various marketing channels, Annemie advocates for concentrating on high-impact strategies that align with the business’s core values and client needs.
Automate and Systematize:
Implementing automated systems for client management and marketing can free up valuable time, allowing photographers to focus on their creative work and business growth.

Final Thoughts and Teaser for Next Episode

As the episode wraps up, Annemie reiterates the importance of making sustainability the focal point for the new year. She acknowledges the limited time listeners may have during the holiday season but promises more detailed, actionable advice in the upcoming final episode of the series.

Call to Action:
Annemie encourages listeners to embrace sustainability in their businesses, regardless of their current stage, stating, “Sustainability is something that we have to constantly be looking for in our businesses and working toward” (07:50).
Upcoming Content:
She hints that the next episode will provide specific, tangible recommendations for implementing sustainability measures, addressing the need for detailed guidance that may have been missing from this series.
Season’s Greetings:
Annemie closes the episode with warm holiday wishes, fostering a sense of community and support among her listeners.

Notable Quotes

On Financial Resilience:
“You can't sustain a business that's constantly one dropped lens away from closing its doors.” (00:00)
On the Value of Time:
“No amount of extra money will ever buy you more hours in the day.” (03:25)
On Memberships as Golden Geese:
“The membership concept was easy to sell to my clients, not just because the cost was lower, but because it made it really easy... It also was an incredible boost to the sustainability of my business.” (03:54)
On Sustainability:
“Sustainability is something that we have to constantly be looking for in our businesses and working toward.” (07:50)

Conclusion

Episode 296 of "This Can't Be That Hard" serves as a pivotal segment in Annemie Tonken's Sustainability Series, urging photographers to rethink their marketing strategies by embracing predictable and sustainable revenue streams. Through insightful discussions and practical examples, Annemie equips her listeners with the knowledge to transition from exhausting client hunts to nurturing golden geese that ensure long-term business stability and success.

Listeners are left with a sense of empowerment and anticipation for the final episode, where they can expect concrete steps to further embed sustainability into their photography businesses.

Explore More:
For additional resources, links, and downloads related to this episode, visit thiscantbethard.com.
Subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes to support the show and share the love with fellow photographers.

Timeline Reference

00:00 - Introduction to Episode 3
03:25 - Annemie's Introduction and Recap of Previous Episodes
03:54 - Discussion on Golden Goose Concept and Memberships
07:50 - Emphasis on Sustainability as a Core Business Value
09:23 - Conclusion and Teaser for Next Episode

Transcript

Unknown Speaker (0:00)

Hey guys, welcome to this third episode in my end of year series on building sustainability into your business. If you haven't caught the rest of those, I mean, you can listen to this episode first, but honestly, if you missed the first two, I'd probably pause this one and go back because these episodes are kind of building on each other. So at the end of the last episode, I asked you to think about the things in your business that were taking up valuable real estate in your time and your energy. And if you took me up on that even for a couple of seconds, I imagine that, you know, some pretty obvious answers probably came to mind, right? Meetings, emails, admin in general, if we're talking about the photography side of things, maybe it's editing, but I bet that almost every single one of us probably included marketing on that list, right? Marketing is the thing that we do, the activity that we do to find new clients for our business. And it can be really time consuming. Both the activity itself, right? Going out and running mini sessions or writing emails or any of those kinds of things, but also the mental real estate that marketing takes up. It's like all the thinking and worrying that we do about finding that next job and marketing is also a chore that's never really done until we're ready to close up shop for good. Right? Which brings me to another story that you're probably familiar with if you heard the first episode of this series. I talked about the parable of the Taoist farmer. This one, the one that I want to bring up today, is Aesop's fable about the golden goose. So as a refresher, because I'm sure you've heard this somewhere along the line, but maybe not recently, the story of the golden goose is that there's this farmer and his wife. It's always a farmer, but there's this farmer and his wife. And they had a goose that laid a golden egg every day. And while this first started happening, they were very excited. After a while they started to take that for granted and they got impatient and know. They were like, well, if let's just kill the goose and we'll open up the goose and get all the gold out. So they did that. Stories from the olden days are dark, folks. But they did that. They killed the golden goose and then they opened it up only to find that there was nothing inside at all. The moral of the story was that their greed cost them this steady, reliable source of wealth. So let's think about golden eggs as booked sessions, right? That is the payday in Our business and most photographers are running around looking for sessions like it's some big golden Easter egg hunt, which is exhausting. It's also frustrating when you look around and you see other photographers with their, you know, basket full of eggs and you think, ah, you know, that one should have been mine. And it's stressful because every egg that someone else finds feels. Feels like one less egg available to you. Right. Which is why we need to reduce the amount of time that we spend hunting for eggs and start hunting for golden geese in our business.