EP 42: Mini Mentoring with Meredith Maag, Family & Motherhood Photog in Columbus, OH

00:00:00 [Melissa]
If you get all of that stuff set up, it’ll just keep going and then you can move on to the other stuff, but you need to get it set up first.

00:00:06 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:00:06 [Alison]
100%.
00:00:07 [Alison]
But it sounds like you already know what you need to do.
00:00:10 [Alison]
You just need to do it.
00:00:14 [Alison]
Hey, I’m Allison, military spouse and family photographer.

00:00:17 [Melissa]
Hey, I’m Melissa, also a military spouse, lifestyle newborn photographer, SEO expert for photographers.
00:00:22 [Melissa]
Between the two of us, we have a combined twenty seven years in photography and have lived through nine business relocations.

00:00:27 [Alison]
We’ve coached each other through all these challenges, and now we want to share our experience with you.
00:00:32 [Alison]
On this podcast, we’ll give you actionable steps to help you keep it moving.
00:00:38 [Alison]
Alright, y’all.
00:00:38 [Alison]
Welcome back.
00:00:39 [Alison]
This week, we have a really awesome series.

00:00:41 [Alison]
This is one of our reoccurring series called mini mentoring, where we take a real life photographer and business owner, and we chat through her business.
00:00:49 [Alison]
What’s working, what’s not, and hopefully give her some actionable steps, keep it moving.
00:00:53 [Alison]
This week, we have Meredith Mag.
00:00:55 [Alison]
Meredith, welcome back.
00:00:57 [Alison]
I’m back.

00:00:57 [Alison]
Welcome.
00:00:58 [Alison]
Welcome.

00:00:59 [Meredith]
Thank you.
00:01:00 [Meredith]
I’m so excited to be here.

00:01:02 [Alison]
Alright, girl.
00:01:03 [Alison]
So tell us about yourself.
00:01:04 [Alison]
What do you do?

00:01:05 [Meredith]
Sure.
00:01:06 [Meredith]
So I am a what I consider a motherhood photographer.
00:01:10 [Meredith]
So I focus on maternity, newborn families, and I launched my business in 2021, pretty much right after I had a baby in the midst of a pandemic and in a brand new to me.
00:01:23 [Meredith]
My husband and I had recently relocated to Kansas City for his job, and so there was a lot going on.
00:01:30 [Meredith]
And I was very proud of the business that I built.

00:01:34 [Meredith]
I basically was self taught between the motherhood anthology.
00:01:38 [Meredith]
I taught myself everything.
00:01:39 [Meredith]
I know about SEO.
00:01:41 [Meredith]
And within two and a half years, I had really built a business that I was proud of only for my husband’s work to come in and tell us that we’re moving us back to Ohio.
00:01:53 [Meredith]
So we are currently in Columbia.

00:01:55 [Meredith]
Okay.
00:01:56 [Meredith]
And Ohio is our home, so all of our friends and family were here.
00:02:00 [Meredith]
Mhmm.
00:02:00 [Meredith]
But it was a bittersweet move because I had built this thing that I was so proud of that brought me so much joy.
00:02:06 [Meredith]
Really, my clients in Kansas City became community for us because we had no one in Kansas City when we moved there.

00:02:12 [Meredith]
And so it was really, really, really painful to move and start over.
00:02:17 [Meredith]
So we’ve been back in Ohio for a year now, and rebuilding has been slow.
00:02:24 [Meredith]
A lot of that has been on me.
00:02:26 [Meredith]
I’m coming into a season where I’m ready to buckle down because, you know, with the move and we are renovating our house and just, like, getting family settled.
00:02:36 [Meredith]
And on top of that, and I’m very grateful, I have kept my clientele and even built my clientele in Kansas City.

00:02:44 [Meredith]
Wow.
00:02:44 [Meredith]
It’s kept me very busy.
00:02:46 [Meredith]
And so it’s like, you know, the balance of trying to juggle all of these things and maintain Yeah.
00:02:52 [Meredith]
In Kansas City while building the same thing in Ohio that I’m proud of here.
00:02:58 [Meredith]
But it’s just a lot.

00:02:59 [Meredith]
And so I, like, look at all the things that I need to do, and I’m, like, just, like, freeze.
00:03:03 [Meredith]
And instead of just doing the next thing that I need to do Right.

00:03:06 [Melissa]
And

00:03:07 [Meredith]
I I shouldn’t say I’m not doing anything.
00:03:08 [Meredith]
I’m just kind of busiest fall ever.
00:03:10 [Meredith]
And so I’m thankful, but I’m ready to buckle down.
00:03:13 [Meredith]
My daughter will be in kindergarten next year, so she’ll be in school full time.
00:03:17 [Meredith]
And that’s really that’s really the timeline I gave myself to build, was that, like, four period, because she’s at home with me two days now.

00:03:25 [Melissa]
Okay.

00:03:25 [Meredith]
And so next year, she’ll be in school full time, and so I’m ready to kind of take this winter and into spring and kind of get my ducks set up.

00:03:35 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:03:35 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:03:36 [Alison]
You got some okay.
00:03:36 [Alison]
So a couple of questions.
00:03:38 [Alison]
Before y’all moved to Kansas City, when you were in a were you before that?

00:03:42 [Meredith]
We were.
00:03:43 [Meredith]
So we were we’re from Ohio, and then but we were in Austin, Texas for two years before we moved to Kansas City.

00:03:49 [Alison]
Oh, okay.
00:03:50 [Alison]
Okay.

00:03:50 [Meredith]
So have

00:03:50 [Alison]
you I guess my real question is, did you ever have a business or were you shooting in Ohio prior to moving back?
00:03:55 [Alison]
I was actually So it is pretty fresh.
00:03:57 [Alison]
Even though it’s home, it’s fresh.
00:03:59 [Alison]
Yeah.

00:03:59 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:04:00 [Melissa]
And are you traveling back to Kansas City for sessions too?

00:04:03 [Meredith]
Frequently.
00:04:03 [Meredith]
How far away is

00:04:04 [Alison]
Kansas City from Ohio?
00:04:06 [Alison]
Like, I am not drivable.

00:04:08 [Meredith]
It is.
00:04:09 [Meredith]
It’s all What?
00:04:11 [Meredith]
So all dry ends.
00:04:12 [Meredith]
A lot of times, I can drive out quicker than I can fly out.

00:04:16 [Alison]
Oh, yeah.
00:04:16 [Alison]
By the time you do layovers and stuff.
00:04:17 [Alison]
How long’s the drive?

00:04:19 [Meredith]
Like, ten hours.
00:04:19 [Meredith]
Oh, god.
00:04:20 [Meredith]
No.
00:04:21 [Meredith]
I listen to you guys.
00:04:22 [Meredith]
I put on a good little podcast.

00:04:23 [Alison]
You know, I got a

00:04:24 [Meredith]
kid and a husband at home, so I just treat it, you know, like a little bit of a daytime.

00:04:29 [Melissa]
A little bit.
00:04:29 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:04:30 [Melissa]
I mean, like, it’s better.
00:04:31 [Melissa]
Yeah.

00:04:31 [Alison]
Also, how what are you when you do go back, how how often are you going, how long are you staying, and how many sessions are you getting in for a trip?

00:04:40 [Melissa]
Hey there, photographers.
00:04:41 [Melissa]
Struggling with what to blog about?
00:04:43 [Melissa]
Tearing at that blinky cursor, waiting for inspiration to strike?
00:04:46 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:04:46 [Melissa]
We’ve all been there.

00:04:47 [Melissa]
That is why I created the blogging club.
00:04:50 [Melissa]
Imagine this.
00:04:51 [Melissa]
Every month, you know exactly what to blog.
00:04:53 [Melissa]
No more guessing games or frantic Googling.
00:04:56 [Melissa]
Each month, I’ll walk you through SEO friendly blog post outlines with examples, teach you the latest SEO and marketing tips in a master class, and support you live in a monthly q and a to answer all your blogging questions.

00:05:08 [Melissa]
Plus, we’ve got a community to cheer you on after every post.
00:05:11 [Melissa]
Let’s take the guesswork out of blogging and start driving those dream client.
00:05:15 [Melissa]
Head to the bloggingclub.com and use code t b c trial to get 50% off your first month and join us today.

00:05:24 [Meredith]
It really depends.
00:05:25 [Meredith]
So I partnered with a local day care when I was in Kansas City.
00:05:30 [Meredith]
I got to know the owner very well, and so I do all of their photos.
00:05:34 [Meredith]
So I do their spring, fall, and Santa for them.
00:05:39 [Meredith]
Okay.

00:05:39 [Meredith]
And so I’m back at least three times a year, at least three.

00:05:44 [Alison]
Okay.

00:05:44 [Meredith]
Up to five so far.
00:05:46 [Meredith]
So this time when I go out, I will do all of the day care photos with Santa, and then I have two I have a maternity session and then a family session.
00:05:58 [Meredith]
That is that’s doable for me.
00:06:00 [Meredith]
October, I took on a bit much, and it was a learning situation for sure.
00:06:05 [Meredith]
I took on way more than I should have.

00:06:08 [Meredith]
I got it all done as I do, but it was not pleasurable.
00:06:12 [Meredith]
Shooting is it’s as you know, it’s a Back end.
00:06:15 [Meredith]
Back end.
00:06:16 [Meredith]
And I was just like, I was editing hours a day, and it was too much for me.
00:06:20 [Meredith]
So October was a little much.

00:06:22 [Meredith]
I did six mini sessions.
00:06:25 [Meredith]
I shot a family film, and I did two other full sessions.
00:06:29 [Meredith]
And so it was beautiful on the front end, and then it was a bit much on the back end because as you guys know, that editing process editing is not my strong suit in the sense that I nitpick myself over and over and over again.
00:06:45 [Meredith]
It’s something I need to get better about, but I was editing a lot.
00:06:48 [Meredith]
But, like, everything learned and so come next fall, I will know that I cannot take that many clients.

00:06:54 [Meredith]
But it’s hard because since I’m not out in Kansas City all the time, like, I wanna see my clients.
00:07:00 [Meredith]
And most of my clients are returning clients, and I just adore them.
00:07:05 [Meredith]
And anyone who has come back, it is someone that I have loved working with, and so I don’t wanna turn them away.
00:07:11 [Meredith]
Well, Well,

00:07:11 [Melissa]
and it’s good because, like, that’s one of the things we talk about.
00:07:13 [Melissa]
Like, if you can go back to your old location and service it while you’re building in the new location, then you’ve got income coming in.
00:07:19 [Melissa]
You’ve still got new stuff for your portfolio like that.
00:07:21 [Melissa]
So that’s good there.
00:07:23 [Melissa]
What have you done for your new location as far as, like I’ll jump in on, like, SEO.

00:07:27 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:07:28 [Melissa]
Sure.

00:07:28 [Meredith]
Most of my questions are SEO related just because I know that you two have gone through this before.

00:07:34 [Melissa]
Yeah.

00:07:35 [Meredith]
But like I said earlier, all of my SEO is self taught.
00:07:38 [Meredith]
It’s something that I actually find very interesting.
00:07:42 [Meredith]
Mhmm.
00:07:42 [Meredith]
But it’s just, you know, something that keeps getting pushed to my back burner.
00:07:46 [Meredith]
And, Melissa, kind of like you said, I have been very fortunate that my back hasn’t been up again all, and I’ve been panicked to bring an income because I’ve had great income coming in still from Kansas City.

00:07:58 [Melissa]
Mhmm.

00:07:58 [Meredith]
So SEO has definitely been on my back burner.
00:08:01 [Meredith]
And so I’d love to chat with you guys about it.
00:08:03 [Meredith]
I’ve already done my keyword research

00:08:05 [Melissa]
Okay.

00:08:06 [Meredith]
And all of that business.
00:08:08 [Meredith]
And I’m, you know, monitoring my keywords, which I don’t know if that’s helpful or not because, you know, every day I’m getting a ping from

00:08:15 [Alison]
Not every day.
00:08:15 [Alison]
Mm-mm.
00:08:16 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:08:17 [Alison]
Oh my god.
00:08:17 [Alison]
Weekly at most.

00:08:18 [Alison]
Weekly at most for that very reason.

00:08:20 [Melissa]
Yeah.

00:08:20 [Meredith]
Yeah.
00:08:20 [Meredith]
So Actually, because I have not, like I mean, October wasn’t me.
00:08:24 [Meredith]
And on top of work, I mean, my husband has a birthday, my daughter has a birthday, and so

00:08:28 [Alison]
October Yeah.

00:08:29 [Meredith]
Yeah.
00:08:29 [Meredith]
For us.
00:08:30 [Meredith]
And so I know that I need to blog more.
00:08:35 [Meredith]
That’s something I would love to talk to you guys about, like, kind of your best blogging practices because I’ve heard mixed reviews on some best practices as I’m sure we all have.

00:08:45 [Alison]
And so I kind

00:08:46 [Meredith]
of love to chat with you guys about that too.

00:08:48 [Alison]
Well, let’s let’s back up.
00:08:49 [Alison]
Like, what are your goals?
00:08:50 [Alison]
How long do you wanna keep going back to Kansas City?
00:08:53 [Alison]
Are you trying to phase that out?
00:08:54 [Alison]
Are you just working with the same group of people?

00:08:57 [Alison]
Like, what do you wanna be doing in Ohio?
00:08:59 [Alison]
Like, especially next year with your daughter going to school, like, what do you want to do?
00:09:03 [Alison]
What’s your plan?
00:09:04 [Alison]
And how and then we can decide how we’re gonna get

00:09:06 [Meredith]
there.
00:09:07 [Meredith]
So my goal is to continue to serve my Kansas City clients.
00:09:11 [Meredith]
I’m not necessarily trying to grow more in Kansas City.

00:09:14 [Alison]
Okay.

00:09:15 [Meredith]
But to continue to serve my clients out there well when I’m out there quarterly.
00:09:20 [Meredith]
Quarterly is my goal.
00:09:23 [Meredith]
Then, I mean, I wanna build in Ohio what I started to build in Kansas City and then continue to build it here.
00:09:29 [Meredith]
How did

00:09:29 [Melissa]
most of your clients in Kansas City find you when you were

00:09:32 [Meredith]
there?
00:09:32 [Meredith]
From Google because I worked really hard

00:09:34 [Melissa]
Okay.

00:09:34 [Meredith]
Myself to page one.
00:09:36 [Meredith]
Okay.
00:09:36 [Meredith]
So I have always put my eggs per se in my Google basket versus Uh-huh.
00:09:42 [Meredith]
And so but I don’t know if that’s still a best practice.

00:09:46 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:09:46 [Melissa]
It is.

00:09:47 [Alison]
It is.

00:09:48 [Meredith]
Some someone just found me on Instagram, and I have always felt I’ve had very few people who have reached out find me on Instagram, but pretty much everyone who ever has has never hired me.

00:10:01 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:10:02 [Alison]
It’s either not an ideal client for any number of reasons or it’s a long game showing with them what’s possible.
00:10:08 [Alison]
Yes.
00:10:09 [Alison]
Instead of, like, just kinda saying this is this is what you could do.
00:10:13 [Alison]
This is what you this is what’s you know, taking people who don’t know what they want, and then maybe they’re following you for a long time and they’re like, okay, I really do want that.

00:10:20 [Alison]
I find Instagram is more

00:10:21 [Melissa]
of like, they’ve already inquired with me, and now they’re following me on Instagram just to see, like, what’s going on, what’s the latest stuff.
00:10:27 [Melissa]
Like, that’s how it’s always been for me.
00:10:29 [Melissa]
I haven’t gotten clients from Instagram.
00:10:30 [Melissa]
I would say, definitely, the first priority would be focusing on your SEO and all the stuff you did in Kansas City, doing it again now for those new keywords and, like, making sure everything in place and then blogging and stuff like that.
00:10:43 [Melissa]
Because here’s the thing, if you get all of that stuff set up, it’ll just keep going and then you can move on to the other stuff, but you need to get it set up first.

00:10:51 [Melissa]
Yeah.

00:10:51 [Alison]
100%.

00:10:52 [Meredith]
We agree.

00:10:52 [Alison]
But it sounds like you already know what you need to do.
00:10:55 [Alison]
You just need to do it.
00:10:58 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:10:58 [Alison]
And when you’re in that launch phase when you’re in that launch phase of of getting traction in Ohio, that’s the hardest part.

00:11:05 [Melissa]
Yeah.

00:11:05 [Alison]
Like, you need to be blogging.
00:11:06 [Alison]
If you can pull it off, one quality blog post a week Oh.
00:11:09 [Alison]
For a couple of months

00:11:11 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:11:11 [Melissa]
And

00:11:11 [Alison]
then back off months.

00:11:13 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:11:13 [Melissa]
Because you kind of need to, like, blitz that new area.
00:11:15 [Melissa]
You do.
00:11:16 [Melissa]
You need

00:11:16 [Alison]
to you need to signal to Google in every way possible.
00:11:19 [Alison]
I am here.
00:11:20 [Alison]
I am here.
00:11:21 [Alison]
I am here.

00:11:21 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:11:21 [Melissa]
I think this

00:11:22 [Alison]
is where and you need to remove everything from Kansas City off your website.
00:11:25 [Alison]
Yes.
00:11:26 [Alison]
Have you done that already?
00:11:27 [Alison]
I

00:11:27 [Melissa]
have.
00:11:27 [Melissa]
Okay.
00:11:28 [Melissa]
Cool.

00:11:28 [Meredith]
Good.
00:11:28 [Meredith]
Good.
00:11:29 [Meredith]
Good.
00:11:29 [Meredith]
Me because all I went back and I deleted a ton of blog posts.
00:11:33 [Meredith]
Because I’m like Oh, you didn’t need to It was not even worth me going in and changing.

00:11:36 [Alison]
And rechanging?
00:11:37 [Alison]
Okay.

00:11:37 [Melissa]
Okay.

00:11:38 [Meredith]
Because there were there were so many.
00:11:39 [Meredith]
But that like, so many Kansas City throughout that I’m like, I would just

00:11:43 [Alison]
Start from burn it down.

00:11:45 [Meredith]
We’re just starting at $3,300 as is.
00:11:49 [Meredith]
But that is something that I would love to chat with you guys about because I heard on another podcast that I should have one keyword per page.

00:11:58 [Alison]
Yes.
00:11:58 [Alison]
At we just recorded an episode about that.
00:12:01 [Alison]
Yes.
00:12:01 [Alison]
That is not doing that is one of our top SEO mistakes.

00:12:05 [Meredith]
Okay.
00:12:05 [Meredith]
Okay.
00:12:05 [Meredith]
So that’s good to know.

00:12:07 [Alison]
Otherwise, you’re cannibalizing.
00:12:08 [Alison]
They’re just eating each other and you

00:12:09 [Meredith]
do nothing.
00:12:10 [Meredith]
Okay.
00:12:10 [Meredith]
Okay.
00:12:11 [Meredith]
That makes sense to me.
00:12:12 [Meredith]
That’s so good to know.

00:12:13 [Meredith]
Okay.
00:12:13 [Meredith]
My next question is does stand for a blog post as well?

00:12:17 [Alison]
Yes.
00:12:18 [Alison]
Yes.

00:12:19 [Melissa]
Which I know that starts getting into your, like, well, how many then I can’t say that I’m a, you know, Columbus newborn photographer over and over again.
00:12:25 [Melissa]
You’re right.
00:12:26 [Melissa]
You can’t.
00:12:26 [Melissa]
You can use Columbus newborn photographer in the text of your blog post and link it back to, like, your homepage, but you need to use other keywords.
00:12:34 [Melissa]
So and it may be figuring out what are some of the smaller cities around Columbus, what are some of the neighborhoods that your ideal client is in.

00:12:41 [Melissa]
And then really too when it comes to blogging, it’s more of blogging FAQ and tips and advice stuff than, like, talking about the session.

00:12:48 [Alison]
Yes.
00:12:49 [Alison]
Yep.
00:12:49 [Alison]
K.
00:12:49 [Alison]
Yep.
00:12:50 [Alison]
You’re solving those problems, and then you need to be a local expert on top of that.

00:12:54 [Alison]
Like, right now, here’s what I want you to do right now, like, today, this weekend.
00:12:57 [Alison]
I want you to start writing a blog post about Christmas family friendly Christmas events in Columbus, Ohio.

00:13:03 [Melissa]
Okay.

00:13:03 [Alison]
I did this for, Oahu last year and, Google said, what did you do?
00:13:08 [Alison]
Something’s wrong with your website.
00:13:09 [Alison]
We have an anomaly.
00:13:10 [Alison]
Thousands thousands of clicks.

00:13:13 [Meredith]
That’s amazing.

00:13:14 [Alison]
So it’s and and you’re gonna do it from a mom perspective.
00:13:17 [Alison]
What would you take your kids to?
00:13:18 [Alison]
When are they happening?
00:13:19 [Alison]
And what and then you’re gonna take that say all those events and you’re gonna organize them in different ways.
00:13:23 [Alison]
Okay?

00:13:23 [Alison]
You’re gonna do one that’s like all the Christmas movies showing in the theaters.
00:13:26 [Alison]
Okay?
00:13:27 [Alison]
Their dates.
00:13:27 [Alison]
And then you’re gonna do, like, all the tree lightings, all the Christmas prints.
00:13:30 [Alison]
You’re gonna organize them by category, when, where, and with all the details.

00:13:33 [Alison]
And then you’re gonna have another one that’s chronological order.
00:13:36 [Alison]
Like, so if I say, hey.
00:13:37 [Alison]
It’s December 6.
00:13:38 [Alison]
What’s going on today?
00:13:39 [Alison]
I can jump down to that part of your post, and I can say, oh, okay.

00:13:43 [Alison]
This is what’s going on this weekend.
00:13:44 [Alison]
This may have this week.
00:13:45 [Alison]
You’re gonna link to all of those original posts.
00:13:48 [Alison]
Google’s gonna go, oh my gosh.
00:13:49 [Alison]
She’s like her.

00:13:50 [Alison]
Like, really, like, she’s really here.
00:13:51 [Alison]
And then you’re gonna go and share that post when it’s finished with pretty pictures and and you’re gonna do a little, hey.
00:13:57 [Alison]
I’m Meredith Mac.
00:13:57 [Alison]
I’m a da da da newborn photographer in here.
00:13:59 [Alison]
Care to get my lead magnet in the middle of it.

00:14:01 [Alison]
Okay.
00:14:01 [Alison]
Just remind them why are they there.
00:14:03 [Alison]
They’re there for Christmas events, but you’re also gonna introduce yourself.

00:14:06 [Melissa]
Okay.
00:14:06 [Melissa]
Yeah?
00:14:06 [Melissa]
Yeah.

00:14:06 [Alison]
And you’re gonna link back to your website, your your main page in that blog post too.
00:14:10 [Alison]
And then when it’s done, every week from one till Christmas when it’s done, you’re gonna post it in a Facebook page

00:14:16 [Meredith]
Okay.

00:14:16 [Alison]
For moms in in Ohio, like Columbus.

00:14:20 [Meredith]
That’s something else we can talk about because I do not utilize Facebook like I should for my business.
00:14:26 [Meredith]
So you can tell me all the things because I know zero things about using Facebook.

00:14:30 [Melissa]
That’s all I do.
00:14:31 [Melissa]
That really The only way you wanna

00:14:32 [Alison]
do it.
00:14:32 [Alison]
That’s the only thing you wanna do.
00:14:34 [Alison]
Okay.
00:14:35 [Alison]
Hey, girl.
00:14:35 [Alison]
Yes.

00:14:36 [Alison]
You.
00:14:36 [Alison]
The one stuck in that business quicksand, it’s Allison here.
00:14:39 [Alison]
If you’ve been staring at your pricing, overwhelmed by SEO, social media, and email list, or just feeling like you’re spinning your wheels trying to make things profitable, I’ve got you.
00:14:49 [Alison]
I’ve been there.
00:14:50 [Alison]
Right now, I’m offering a $100 off one on one coaching just for my podcast listeners.

00:14:55 [Alison]
Book now and you can schedule your coaching session during any time of December 24 or through February 25.
00:15:01 [Alison]
This is your chance to get personalized or I mean personalized eyeball deep in your business on the things that matter most.
00:15:08 [Alison]
Whether it’s upping your pricing, strategizing a move, or just finding more clients ready to give you all their money and make it rain dollar bills.
00:15:15 [Alison]
Let’s stop feeling stuck.
00:15:17 [Alison]
Get out of your own head.

00:15:18 [Alison]
Start building a business that serves you and your family.
00:15:21 [Alison]
Click the link in the show notes, reach out and tell me you want that $100 off, and let’s keep it moving.
00:15:26 [Alison]
The rate of return on Facebook is even less than Instagram for us.

00:15:31 [Melissa]
Okay.
00:15:31 [Melissa]
So when it comes to Facebook, it’s not that you’re trying to find it on Facebook because sometimes those can be the worst.
00:15:37 [Melissa]
Like, when people are posting, I don’t wanna spend an arm and a leg, that’s not your client.

00:15:39 [Alison]
That’s no.

00:15:40 [Melissa]
But what you’re looking to do with the Facebook groups is when you’re sharing information of, like like Allison said, like, a post on what to do with your kids and stuff, That’s a great post to share in a mom group because they’re gonna click on it, and then that’s gonna drive traffic to your website.
00:15:52 [Melissa]
And when it’s driving traffic to your website, that is signaling to Google that you have quality content, and Google tracks your clicks and stuff.
00:15:58 [Melissa]
And so it’s that rising tide lifts all ships.
00:16:01 [Melissa]
Yes.
00:16:01 [Melissa]
When these blog posts are doing well for you, they’re lifting up your other pages and stuff.

00:16:05 [Melissa]
So definitely starting to blogging strategy and blogging for specific things around Columbus to really let Google know that you are local there.
00:16:13 [Melissa]
When we first got down to South Florida, I think I was posting, like, three posts a week.
00:16:17 [Melissa]
I was trying to blitz it and get as much out there and stuff because it takes time.
00:16:20 [Melissa]
So that’s the thing.
00:16:21 [Melissa]
You know, like, some of these blog posts, even the Christmas one may hit right now because you’re pushing traffic to it yourself.

00:16:27 [Melissa]
And then by next year, you’ll come back next year in, like, November and just go in and update everything.
00:16:32 [Melissa]
And then that will start pulling more organic traffic and stuff.

00:16:35 [Alison]
So your URL should not have the year in it?
00:16:37 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:16:38 [Alison]
Do not put that not put 2024.
00:16:40 [Alison]
Columbus, Ohio Christmas events or whatever whatever keyword you find that you need to target that’s family specific, but no year.
00:16:46 [Alison]
Okay.

00:16:47 [Alison]
But the year in the title, but not in the URL.

00:16:49 [Meredith]
Okay.
00:16:49 [Meredith]
That’s so good to know.
00:16:50 [Meredith]
Okay.
00:16:50 [Meredith]
Yeah.
00:16:50 [Meredith]
I’ve burned up another question.

00:16:51 [Meredith]
So right now, I’m basically targeting Columbus, Ohio newborn photographer.
00:16:56 [Meredith]
Since that’s the main client I wanna bring in, I always wanna bring a newborn then in hopes they stay with

00:17:00 [Alison]
me.
00:17:00 [Alison]
Yeah.

00:17:01 [Meredith]
But I also want to target maternity and family.
00:17:06 [Meredith]
Please tell me if I’m wrong.
00:17:07 [Meredith]
Right now, I’m focusing on newborn.
00:17:09 [Meredith]
I need to get that build up, and then I’m like, okay.
00:17:11 [Meredith]
Then I’ll go off into the other two as is.

00:17:15 [Meredith]
But, like, for if I did

00:17:16 [Melissa]
I would I would hit maternity first.
00:17:18 [Melissa]
Hit maternity first?
00:17:19 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:17:20 [Melissa]
Like, I mean, newborn, obviously, because that’s what you want.
00:17:22 [Melissa]
But you wanna hit maternity because if they’re, you know, if they’re pregnant, then they’re having that baby.

00:17:26 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:17:26 [Melissa]
And then family can come a little bit later.
00:17:28 [Melissa]
Are you targeting keywords for your maternity page and your newborn page and your family page yet or just your homepage?

00:17:34 [Meredith]
For all of them.
00:17:34 [Meredith]
So I can tell you are what they are, but I will tell you that I have done very few blog posts, Columbus, Ohio maternity photographer, and I’ve got my ranking.
00:17:45 [Meredith]
They’re all going up.
00:17:46 [Meredith]
The reason why I didn’t choose to focus on maternity first is because that did not get as many clicks as Columbus, Ohio newborn photographer.
00:17:55 [Meredith]
It was, like, one forty to two ten.

00:17:57 [Meredith]
So not a

00:17:58 [Melissa]
huge jump, but No.
00:18:00 [Melissa]
And that’s pretty normal.
00:18:01 [Melissa]
The thing is you wanna be targeting, like, all of them at once kind of thing, or at least maternity and newborns are either.
00:18:05 [Melissa]
You don’t have a whole purpose

00:18:07 [Alison]
on the juice of it sitting there.
00:18:08 [Alison]
You need it at least there in live even if it’s not perfect.

00:18:12 [Meredith]
So it’d be okay if I did, like, want a blog, like, let’s say because Melissa like you, when I was really launching in Kansas City and worked really hard to get on page one, I was doing three blog posts a week too.
00:18:23 [Meredith]
Yeah.
00:18:24 [Meredith]
So would your recommendation then be to do one post a week for each maternity, newborn, and family?

00:18:30 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:18:30 [Melissa]
And I mean or you could even remember with these blog posts, you want them to be I would almost do it because you wanna saturate that local area.
00:18:38 [Melissa]
So if you’re doing, like, one for newborn and it’s a post about, like, how to prepare for a newborn session or something, not really gonna put a location keyword in that.
00:18:46 [Melissa]
So it’s okay if you’re doing another, like, more of a session share, but you’re doing a local smaller keyword.
00:18:52 [Melissa]
So I would balance that out.

00:18:54 [Melissa]
Try and figure out what are those higher end neighborhoods, what are those smaller pockets of the city that, you know, maybe have a different name to them or some kind of, nickname or something.
00:19:03 [Melissa]
And so I would alternate between that.
00:19:05 [Melissa]
So that’s where I’m okay with a session share when it’s targeting, like, probably more of like a zero volume keyword.
00:19:10 [Melissa]
Because even though it’s a zero volume keyword, it’s still establishing that you serve that area and then all of adding up.
00:19:16 [Melissa]
So I would do at least one post a week that is a location post.

00:19:20 [Melissa]
And by location, I mean, like, those smaller cities and stuff like that.
00:19:22 [Melissa]
And you can make that for newborn.
00:19:24 [Melissa]
And then I would do a tips post, and then like a local community post.
00:19:28 [Melissa]
So you could switch that tips between one week it’s maternity, the next week it’s newborn.
00:19:33 [Melissa]
But I want one post that’s featuring a session with a local small spot, one post that is featuring some kind of FAQ, whether it’s maternity, newborn or family, something to deal with that.

00:19:42 [Melissa]
And then that third post, I want it to be like a community type post.
00:19:45 [Melissa]
So it’s like doulas Yeah.
00:19:47 [Melissa]
Parks in the area, kid friendly restaurants in the area, something like that.
00:19:51 [Melissa]
Okay.

00:19:51 [Meredith]
Yeah.

00:19:51 [Alison]
Okay.
00:19:51 [Alison]
So that all brings me to that’s all really good stuff.
00:19:54 [Alison]
Do you have an email marketing wait list set up or lead magnets?

00:19:58 [Meredith]
So that’s actually something that I would love to chat with you guys about.
00:20:01 [Meredith]
I do have an email list that I try to serve on a weekly basis.
00:20:07 [Meredith]
However, most of them are all from Kansas City.
00:20:10 [Meredith]
So it would be fantastic something.
00:20:14 [Meredith]
I just am not sure what that something is because it looks different now.

00:20:18 [Meredith]
You know, when I launched my business, I was only, you know, focusing on Kansas City, but now I need to focus on these Columbus clients as well.
00:20:25 [Meredith]
So kind of segmenting my email list.

00:20:28 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:20:28 [Melissa]
You know, you’re gonna untouch Kansas City right now as Kansas City, and then you can still email both groups with, like, general stuff to stay top of mind.
00:20:37 [Melissa]
But then if you have a specific event like a Santa session that’s coming up in Columbus, you know, Santa Minis that Kansas City doesn’t need to know about, then you can separate it out of, like, okay.
00:20:46 [Melissa]
Let’s exclude anyone who’s got a Kansas City tag.

00:20:48 [Alison]
Who are you using for email marketing?

00:20:50 [Meredith]
I use Flowdesk.
00:20:51 [Meredith]
Okay.

00:20:51 [Alison]
So two segments.
00:20:52 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:20:53 [Alison]
Kansas City is a segment.
00:20:54 [Alison]
Ohio is a segment.
00:20:55 [Alison]
Anybody?

00:20:55 [Alison]
You can’t even make another segment for, Santa Metis or each lead magnet.
00:21:00 [Alison]
So do you have it then or you need to create one?

00:21:02 [Meredith]
So I have one on my website.
00:21:05 [Meredith]
What’s it for?
00:21:06 [Meredith]
Are you talking about, like, a pop up?

00:21:07 [Melissa]
What’s the topic?
00:21:08 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:21:08 [Melissa]
What’s the

00:21:08 [Alison]
what are you trading for their email?
00:21:10 [Alison]
Like, you’re okay.
00:21:11 [Alison]
So it’s just a joiner.
00:21:12 [Alison]
You’re asking if you’re you’ve got an okay.
00:21:14 [Alison]
Okay.

00:21:14 [Alison]
So you’re inviting them to sign up, but you’re not giving them any value for that signer?

00:21:18 [Meredith]
No.
00:21:18 [Meredith]
It basically is like, you know, join my weekly newsletter, like, a little, like

00:21:24 [Melissa]
So I would say, as you’re writing these blog posts, like, focus on the blog post first.
00:21:29 [Melissa]
Don’t worry about building the email marketing list.
00:21:31 [Melissa]
Focus on the blog post.
00:21:32 [Melissa]
Because once you get enough blog posts together, you can create a lead magnet just rounding up some of those blog posts.
00:21:38 [Melissa]
So like, you could grab three posts that are family related and do a lead magnet for that.

00:21:42 [Melissa]
Three posts that are motherhood, new actually, maternity and newborn, you can combine.
00:21:45 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:21:45 [Melissa]
So you could just grab three posts of maternity and newborn.
00:21:47 [Melissa]
My favorite is like the best birth pros.
00:21:49 [Melissa]
So if it would be like the best birth pros in Columbus, Ohio.

00:21:51 [Melissa]
Okay.
00:21:52 [Melissa]
And then that way, if she’s pregnant or she’s looking for a newborn session, she’s probably still pregnant most likely, but that’s a good lead magnet for that.
00:21:58 [Melissa]
And then, like, you know, you could do kid friendly restaurants, the best parks, like,

00:22:01 [Alison]
you know Yeah.
00:22:02 [Alison]
My favorite is, like, the best baby before maternity leave shot in person.
00:22:05 [Alison]
Because I always was looking for where can I try on maternity clothes in person?
00:22:09 [Alison]
That kind of stuff.
00:22:10 [Alison]
Like, where can you buy in person maternity clothes?

00:22:12 [Alison]
Where can I buy baby shop like, your favorite baby shops?
00:22:15 [Alison]
And then you’ve got you’re hitting that local stuff on the blog side, and then you just put all that work and take that same work and duplicate it into a downloadable PDF.

00:22:23 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:22:23 [Melissa]
Just jump on to Canva and find a PDF type thing that you can just pop some of that.
00:22:27 [Melissa]
You don’t even it’s not even copying pasting everything.
00:22:29 [Melissa]
You’re just grabbing bits and pieces.
00:22:30 [Melissa]
Yeah.

00:22:31 [Melissa]
But that’s gonna be a better lead magnet because now it’s local, because it’s talking about things this.

00:22:35 [Alison]
And searching for.

00:22:37 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:22:37 [Melissa]
And you’ve got it so that it’s it’s dialed in on this is for families, this is for maternity newborn.
00:22:42 [Melissa]
Because, like, I have someone in my blogging club.
00:22:43 [Melissa]
She’s got a lead magnet about hospital bag checklist.
00:22:46 [Melissa]
Okay.

00:22:47 [Melissa]
And she was talking about she was like, I get a lot of sign ups.
00:22:49 [Melissa]
She said, but one of them was in The UK last week.
00:22:51 [Melissa]
And I was like, yeah.
00:22:52 [Melissa]
That’s a terrible local lead magnet.
00:22:54 [Melissa]
Yeah.

00:22:54 [Melissa]
It’s a great lead magnet if you’re gonna put together a course for parents to take new photos of their baby or something, but it’s not great when you’re looking for local clients.
00:23:01 [Melissa]
So by doing those blog posts and focusing on those, you can then create that lead magnet and then your email marketing.
00:23:07 [Melissa]
And one thing I would say with the emails too with the segmenting is Flodesk has it set up now where once they join, you can have an automatic email that goes to them that says, hey.
00:23:16 [Melissa]
Are you Kansas City or are you Columbus?
00:23:18 [Melissa]
Click on the link to get on the right list.

00:23:20 [Melissa]
And then that way, they self segment.
00:23:22 [Melissa]
Yeah.

00:23:22 [Meredith]
That’s a great idea.
00:23:23 [Meredith]
I love that.
00:23:25 [Meredith]
Okay.
00:23:25 [Meredith]
So when it comes to that lead magnets, what have you found works best?
00:23:32 [Meredith]
Because for a hot minute, I tried like, it sends a PDF on Instagram.

00:23:37 [Meredith]
Oh, many many

00:23:38 [Alison]
yeah.
00:23:38 [Alison]
Okay.

00:23:39 [Meredith]
Oh, but no one does.
00:23:40 [Meredith]
Oh, your people are.

00:23:41 [Alison]
Your people are

00:23:41 [Melissa]
on your website.
00:23:42 [Melissa]
I would do it on

00:23:43 [Meredith]
your website.

00:23:45 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:23:45 [Alison]
Mhmm.
00:23:46 [Alison]
100%.

00:23:47 [Meredith]
Or I mean Yeah.

00:23:48 [Alison]
You can

00:23:48 [Melissa]
share it on a story here and there and just do the link for download, that kind of thing, but I would do it on your website.

00:23:53 [Alison]
The link, you can get to the link from Instagram, but I’m not pushing it on Instagram.
00:23:57 [Alison]
I’ll share it from time to time.
00:23:59 [Alison]
I mean, Google works and SEO works because people are already warm.
00:24:02 [Alison]
They’re looking for it already.
00:24:03 [Alison]
Right?

00:24:03 [Alison]
Like, I’m not Instagram is just for fun, and it’s its own thing.

00:24:06 [Meredith]
So much better because Instagram went on me and currently deleted off my phone.

00:24:11 [Melissa]
So Yeah.
00:24:12 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:24:12 [Melissa]
I would focus on the SEO and the blogging and just, you know, kind of rinse and repeat what you did before.
00:24:18 [Melissa]
Because keep in mind too, you did all of that.
00:24:20 [Melissa]
And then then there was a point where you got to stop and you didn’t have to do more and your calendar started booking.

00:24:24 [Melissa]
That’s what you wanna do again.
00:24:25 [Melissa]
You wanna get those going and get that calendar.
00:24:27 [Melissa]
I wouldn’t

00:24:28 [Alison]
I wouldn’t totally ignore Instagram because people who find you on Google are gonna come check you out and, like, assess you on Instagram.
00:24:34 [Alison]
Like like, that’s what I was saying.
00:24:35 [Alison]
I can bug you.
00:24:36 [Alison]
So don’t but just don’t feel like it’s a strategy you have to maintain.
00:24:39 [Alison]
Just be there.

00:24:40 [Alison]
And that’s just be open.

00:24:41 [Meredith]
A lot of times, if I’m in a really good rhythm, I am scheduling everything out and I’m just not there right now.
00:24:46 [Meredith]
And so I definitely will always use Instagram, but, you know, it’s like, you need to do 15 reels and

00:24:52 [Melissa]
this and

00:24:52 [Meredith]
I’m like Yeah.
00:24:53 [Meredith]
Yeah.

00:24:54 [Alison]
I wouldn’t worry about that.
00:24:55 [Alison]
My final tip for you though, because you’re so busy, outsource that editing and culling.
00:25:00 [Alison]
I know.
00:25:01 [Alison]
I started it this summer and I’m not going back.
00:25:03 [Alison]
I know.

00:25:03 [Alison]
I love it.
00:25:04 [Alison]
It’s it’s really life giving.
00:25:05 [Alison]
It’s truly life giving.
00:25:07 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:25:07 [Alison]
Yeah.

00:25:08 [Alison]
I use Iconic Edits.
00:25:09 [Alison]
So, I and once you it Culling is an add on, it’s ridiculous.
00:25:13 [Alison]
Like, it’s so good.
00:25:14 [Alison]
It’s human eyes.
00:25:15 [Alison]
They don’t they don’t use any AI.

00:25:17 [Alison]
I anchor edit and I sent like, this morning, I sent them a gallery of 600 images.
00:25:21 [Alison]
That’s a lot.
00:25:22 [Alison]
That’s a lot for a thirty minute family session.
00:25:25 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:25:25 [Alison]
And they’re gonna call it down to less than 90, and my gallery reveals are gonna go faster, and my clients are gonna be overwhelmed, and I’m not touching it.

00:25:32 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:25:32 [Melissa]
And I actually use AI for mine.

00:25:33 [Alison]
I use AI to do my anchor edits, but having somebody else that it has to go to knowing that their deadline and how they work, like, it’s an accountability to me as well to get it done on time instead of me having it to the last minute.

00:25:45 [Meredith]
What is there And if you I could just chat with you guys all day long.
00:25:49 [Meredith]
Yeah.
00:25:50 [Meredith]
I’m using AI too right now, Melissa.
00:25:52 [Meredith]
And

00:25:53 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:25:53 [Melissa]
I her place.
00:25:54 [Melissa]
I use it for mine, and then I use, like, a I had my own profile for a while, and Allison can attest, like, last I think it was, like, last fall or something.
00:26:02 [Melissa]
I was like, guys, I don’t know what’s going on.
00:26:04 [Melissa]
This profile, like, keeps updating.

00:26:06 [Melissa]
And because I’d gone from Virginia to Florida back to Virginia, it was so bad that I was like, alright.
00:26:11 [Melissa]
I can’t do this anymore.
00:26:12 [Melissa]
So I

00:26:12 [Alison]
ended up I do.
00:26:13 [Alison]
You upload final edits, and I never do that.

00:26:16 [Meredith]
Yeah.
00:26:16 [Meredith]
I do.
00:26:17 [Meredith]
Like, I am, like, fine tuning, and I’m having the same issue.
00:26:20 [Meredith]
Like, sometimes Yeah.
00:26:21 [Meredith]
It’s like

00:26:22 [Melissa]
And you may I gotta have two

00:26:23 [Alison]
profiles for different locations.
00:26:25 [Alison]
Like, I have I have one for I have one for beach.
00:26:27 [Alison]
And then if I were to use the beach one on the mountain one, it would not go well.
00:26:31 [Alison]
Even if you just do

00:26:32 [Melissa]
the culling, like, that can be a huge, like, time suck and stuff.

00:26:36 [Meredith]
Oh, for sure.
00:26:36 [Meredith]
That is not my biggest hang up is editing because Yeah.

00:26:40 [Melissa]
Like Yeah.
00:26:41 [Melissa]
There has to be a point where you have to let go.
00:26:42 [Melissa]
Like, I think when I first started using Imagine, I was, like, way too into it.
00:26:45 [Melissa]
And now I’ve just basically got where I’m, like, nope.
00:26:47 [Melissa]
This profile works for me.

00:26:49 [Melissa]
I can dial it in.

00:26:50 [Meredith]
I might

00:26:50 [Melissa]
make a few tweaks, but I let go a lot of my perfectionism.
00:26:54 [Melissa]
So Yeah.

00:26:55 [Meredith]
Yes.
00:26:55 [Meredith]
That’s something I definitely need to work on

00:26:57 [Alison]
as So to recap our tips for you, the blog strategy.
00:27:01 [Alison]
There’s a lot of little strategies in that.
00:27:03 [Alison]
Blitz it multiple genres, what to do when, get local local local.
00:27:08 [Alison]
That Christmas one, go ahead and do that one, like, ASAP because people are gonna be searching that.
00:27:12 [Alison]
Even if you wanted to do a Thanksgiving one, like, right now and then the Christmas one this weekend, like, turkey trot some things.

00:27:17 [Melissa]
You could at least do, research for a Thanksgiving one right now and write it later.

00:27:21 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:27:21 [Alison]
And then you could also do, like, do that at Easter, fourth of July and all the things all the things.
00:27:26 [Alison]
Then we wanted you to lead magnet.
00:27:28 [Alison]
Do the blog post together in a lead magnet.
00:27:30 [Alison]
Use that to exchange value for those emails so you have them for later, segmenting your your places, and then be that local expert and outsource your editing.

00:27:40 [Alison]
That way you can do more.
00:27:41 [Alison]
Do you have any questions for us?

00:27:42 [Meredith]
Oh my gosh.
00:27:43 [Meredith]
You guys, I could sit here and chat with you all day.
00:27:45 [Meredith]
Yes.

00:27:46 [Alison]
That’s what we like to hear.

00:27:47 [Meredith]
But no.
00:27:48 [Meredith]
Not I don’t the only other question that I have, and I don’t know if we even have time, is Google and AI related.
00:27:55 [Meredith]
And if you guys have any insight on how AI is going to change SEO, if going to change, if it’s going to make

00:28:02 [Alison]
No crystal balls.

00:28:03 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:28:04 [Melissa]
No crystal balls on that one.

00:28:05 [Meredith]
Anything.
00:28:06 [Meredith]
Okay.
00:28:07 [Meredith]
We’re all it’s Heather.

00:28:08 [Melissa]
It’s still it’s still still an unknown.
00:28:10 [Melissa]
So yeah.
00:28:11 [Melissa]
If we get anything, we’ll put out an episode about it.

00:28:13 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:28:13 [Alison]
Awesome.
00:28:14 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:28:14 [Alison]
That’s a great show episode.
00:28:15 [Alison]
That’s a great idea, Meredith.

00:28:17 [Alison]
Well, girl, thank you so much for sharing all of this with us and with the listeners and just being willing to jump on here.
00:28:22 [Alison]
And hopefully, it’s really helpful, and keep us updated on how it all goes.

00:28:25 [Meredith]
Oh my gosh.
00:28:26 [Meredith]
I will.
00:28:26 [Meredith]
Thank you guys so much.
00:28:28 [Meredith]
I appreciate you more than you know.
00:28:30 [Meredith]
Awesome.

00:28:30 [Alison]
Y’all have a good one.
00:28:31 [Alison]
Thanks.
00:28:32 [Alison]
Bye bye.

00:28:36 [Melissa]
Thank you so much for listening.
00:28:38 [Melissa]
If you’re enjoying the show, would you do two things for us?
00:28:40 [Melissa]
First, leave a review.
00:28:42 [Melissa]
Just stars would be awesome.
00:28:43 [Melissa]
And two, forward this episode to a biz bestie, Nil Spouse, or anyone facing moving their business.

00:28:49 [Melissa]
We’d love it if you shared this episode with even just one person.
00:28:51 [Melissa]
If you have questions, you can reach out to Allison on Instagram at Allison Bell Photog, or you can find me, Melissa, in my Facebook group, Picture Perfect Rankings.
00:29:01 [Melissa]
Check the show notes for links, and we’re so excited to have you