This Can't Be That Hard

We don’t make decisions in a vacuum, and neither do our clients.

Believe it or not, a huge motivator behind our decisions to buy something (or not) is based on what we perceive those around us to be doing. You only have to look as far as the success of influencers to see this at work.

It all comes down to a simple question, “do people like me do things like this?”

And the same is true of your potential clients.

The templates this month help you highlight who you and your people are, and also (just as importantly) who they are not.
Ready to get more consistent with your marketing? Join the Consistency Club!

• Watch the Simple Sales Masterclass where Annemie teaches the 6 steps to running a profitable, sustainable photography business you love.
• Join the TCBTH Facebook Group - a supportive, business-focused group for photographers.
• Leave a review!

Regardless of where you live and what kind of clientele you serve, the coming season is likely one marked by shifting schedules and higher-than-normal demands on everyone’s time.

The good news is that it’s also a time of year when the demand for photos is at its peak in most circles.

Your job this month is to connect those dots: acknowledge that your clients have a lot to juggle and that they probably feel like their own needs often come last (or close to it). Then reassure them that working with you will not only be easy but actually relieve stress and/or reward them with the joy and satisfaction of new photos.
Don’t forget, even if you’re already booked up for the season ahead, be sure to keep on top of your marketing (and if you haven’t listened to Episode 226 of the podcast, be sure to check that out - Jaye McLaughlin shared a great strategy for hanging onto leads that come in after you’ve filled all your spots for the busy season).

If you’re on the other side of the coin and feeling nervous about a too-empty calendar, keep the faith! Episode 227 of the podcast will give you some strategies (as will the 5-day Business Plan Glow-Up).

Either way, I hope this month’s templates make it easy to stay consistent with your marketing!

• Grab your ticket for the 5-Day Business Plan Glow-Up
• Watch the Simple Sales Masterclass where Annemie teaches the 6 steps to running a profitable, sustainable photography business you love.
• Join the TCBTH Facebook Group - a supportive, business-focused group for photographers.
• Leave a review!

Raise your hand if you’re the kind of person who agonizes over decisions. If you write long pro/con lists or take months to decide on the next move, I’m looking at you!
While that kind of thoughtful, contemplative approach is to be commended in many areas of life, in others, there's potential for getting stuck in analysis paralysis... and that can be deadly when it comes to business.
Instead, as scary as it sometimes is, I try to live by the philosophy that there are truly no "mistakes" in business... only lessons learned. Within responsible reason (no going broke, please!), as long as you learn and grow, risks lead to progress even when plans don't pan out. Staying stuck and fearing failure helps no one.
Instead, I want to encourage you to ask yourself "what's the worst that could happen?" when considering opportunities to push your business forward.
Let's get unstuck by abandoning the idea of mistakes and find the freedom that comes from accepting uncertainty and imperfect choices as normal parts of the learning process.

Resources:

• Listen to the Simple Sales Limited Series Podcast where Annemie teaches the 6 steps to running a profitable, sustainable photography business you love.
• Join the TCBTH Facebook Group - a supportive, business-focused group for photographers.
• Leave a review!

Every other Friday, at 2pm Eastern, I join up with a group of talented people on the social media site, Clubhouse, to discuss topics relating to photography and the business of photography. We pick a different topic and this week’s topic was Our Favorite Business Tools. People in the room are able to ask questions or add to the discussion and we never know who might join in. This week, Sarah Landa, everyone’s favorite SEO guru was there; and we got some great insight from Carolina Guzik, host of The Tog Republic.

In case you’re not on Clubhouse, I’m posting our most recent get together so you can listen in (with everyone's permission, of course!)

If you'd like to learn more, below are the participants and links to the tools and sites we mentioned. I think I’ve listed them all, but forgive me if I left something out.

These are non-affiliate links to the tools and services we discussed. We are not getting any compensation for recommendations. We are simply sharing the tools and apps we like and use.

Productivity tools and apps:

Full Focus Planner https://fullfocusplanner.com/

Asana https://asana.com/

Dubsado https://www.dubsado.com/

Zapier https://www.zapier.com/

Flodesk https://flodesk.com/

Pic-Time https://www.pic-time.com/

Carolina Guzik’s podcast The Tog Republic https://thetogrepublic.com/

Services, Communities, and Education:

Image Salon https://imagesalon.com/post-production

Sarah Landa (SEO) https://www.sarahlanda.com/complete-seo-basics

The Family Narrative https://www.thefamilynarrative.com/

Illuminate Classes https://www.illuminateclasses.com/

Sabrina Gebhardt’s education site, https://www.sabrinagebhardt.com/education

The Simple Sales System Masterclass www.thiscantbethathard.com/simple

Colie James’ education site, https://coliejamesphotography.com/dubsado/

Brooke Schultz http://brookeschultzphotography.com/love-soaked-family-photography-the-course/

Participants’ sites:

Amy Sanusi (Kinship Photo) https://www.kinshipphoto.com/

Mary Otanez https://www.maryotanezphotography.com/

Sabrina Gebhardt https://www.sabrinagebhardt.com/

Jess Koehler https://www.jesskoehlerphoto.com/

Posy Quarterman https://www.photoposy.com/

Colie James https://coliejamesphotography.com/

Resources:

• Listen to the Simple Sales Limited Series Podcast where Annemie teaches the 6 steps to running a profitable, sustainable photography business you love.
• Join the TCBTH Facebook Group - a supportive, business-focused group for photographers.
• Leave a review!

Brene Brown (who - I'm certain - needs no introduction), says:

"I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment."

There's no more potent marketing juice than a prospective client who feels connected to you. If someone is randomly Googling around to find a photographer and reaches out to you and three others to compare pricing, you've got a far bigger hill to climb to book them than you would with the person who's been following you and reading your emails for months, thinking "I just KNOW we'd be friends in real life."

But how do we connect with strangers on the internet? How do we intentionally cultivate that sense of belonging among our readers/ followers without being manipulative?

If we go back to Brene's quote above, how do we make people feel seen, heard and valued?

How do we make them feel like they're in a judgment-free zone?

Generally, in the anonymous online world, the best way to do that is to show up honestly, which includes both the good and the bad. The trick is finding the balance... which is what this month's Consistency Club is all about.

• Watch the Simple Sales Masterclass where Annemie teaches the 6 steps to running a profitable, sustainable photography business you love.
• Join the TCBTH Facebook Group - a supportive, business-focused group for photographers.
• Leave a review!