EP 71: 10 Ways to Get New Clients While Your SEO Bakes In

Ep71-10waystogetnewclients === [00:00:00] Melissa Arlena: Guys, all right. You’ve switched over all of your SEO to your new location. You’re blogging regularly, and now you’re just waiting for that SEO to bake in. But we all know it could take months to a year, depending on so many factors, and you want clients. Alison: Yes. So this is a time when like you feel like a sitting duck. So it’s time to get creative. You’ve done a ton of work, you’re continuing to do that work regularly. Um, and so that time period between waiting for everything to bake in and people to start rolling it in your sleep, um, from your web form. This is where my 39 ways to get new leads and new clients comes in. So this is a freebie I have, there’s 39 in the download today, we’re only gonna talk about 10. Um, so they’re organized into different categories from virtual to in-person, networking, um, even some bonus and paid options. Um, so we’ve got a, a nice smattering of a few different options from all the different categories. Um, and hopefully this just jogs your memory. By all means is not an exhaustive list, not even the freebie. So, but if you want that freebie, it is linked in the [00:01:00] show notes. 39 Ways to Get New Clients. Um, one thing you wanna keep in mind though, is no matter what you’re doing to get creative is you wanna keep your ideal client price point. Their pain point and where they physically are in your area, um, in mind, your brand. So all of these ideas, um, may or may not match your brand and clientele. Um, so definitely keep that in mind. That’s a forefront. That’s the first thing is you wanna serve your people where they’re at, and you wanna get those good clients, not just any clients. Um, and so if you need help thinking about more, more creatively about that, grab that freebie linked in the show notes for sure. So, okay. First up, um, Melissa, you’re really good at this one. You’ve done this in at least two locations. Um, join networking groups on LinkedIn that meet virtually or in person. So this is using LinkedIn for free to find stuff. Melissa Arlena: actually haven’t used LinkedIn before. I’ve just gone and looked for networking groups and I literally have just Googled, Alison: Yeah. Melissa Arlena: ’cause I’m, I’m a Google girl, so I just Google, like, usually I try to look for like women’s networking groups, um, because I [00:02:00] feel like there’s a different vibe, uh, and then kind of branch out from there. So when I was in South Florida, I found Femme City and I mean, it was awesome because we would meet like once a month for lunch and it was great. And so I really enjoyed that one. And just meeting other business owners. That’s how I met my bookkeeper. Uh, and then here, I’m, I’m part of the FLUVANNA Women in Business and I found them at the county fair. They had a booth at our county fair. That’s y’all. When I talk about how rural I live, I do, Alison: Like, Melissa Arlena: so I. Alison: Yeah. Middle of Melissa Arlena: But they just had a, um, they just had a whole, uh, business expo the other day, like a, a whole day of, um, speakers and, um, chatting, you know, speed network. Like it was great. So I was very impressed for being out in the middle of nowhere and how small they were, like having that available. And they have like a Facebook group and they do meetups for like breakfast and happy hours and stuff, so. Alison: That’s awesome. We, when I was still in Virginia, be beach, um, I got connected via LinkedIn with Hampton Roads a, a networking group. So it was free to join unlike BNI some other things. [00:03:00] Um, but they met in person once a month. And the cool thing about this was the first meetup I went to, um, was at, oh my God, I can’t even, it was called, it was at grain. Downtown Norfolk. And Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: massive, um, tap where all, they have like a hundred beers on tap at all times. And so it was like five to seven. It was kind of that weird hour where we didn’t have anything going on and so and met people in person and I took my husband and it was a date and it was like this multifaceted attempt at just. Like getting out and meeting people. Um, and so they did that regularly, like every month, and they kind of rotated. It wasn’t always such a cool place, but they Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: different businesses and the same group of people. Um, were, were always there. So, and again, that Melissa Arlena: Yeah, and I think. I think too, to keep in mind guys, some of this you’re, you’re landing in a brand new spot. You’re kind of trying to make friends too. So don’t walk in going, I’m gonna find a client, go in and think I’m gonna find a friend, and then that friend will lead to clients later on. Alison: Exactly, exactly. Mentality is, is everything. Um, Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: guest podcast. Okay. We’re a Melissa Arlena: [00:04:00] Mm-hmm. Alison: we’re a little partial to this one. Um, but whether it’s a local or national podcast. Get the Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: they’re gonna be Melissa Arlena: Yeah. Alison: can blog about being on the podcast. You can link to each other. Um, and then you’re just getting to know you’re putting your name out there, you’re putting yourself out there. I would Melissa Arlena: Oh yeah. Alison: with a local podcast. Do y’all Melissa Arlena: Yeah, I actually, so, you know, it’s funny being at that Women in Business thing, the retreat thing last week I found out, uh, that one of the ladies who’s presenting, she has a podcast, uh, like it’s something about like, um, the balance, like that work life balance is a myth kind of thing. Um, and so she’s got a podcast going on and she’s also apparently the, uh, marketing director for like the local cable station. So. So there’s that, but I was like, oh, that would be a great one to get on her podcast and stuff to try and find local clients and everything. Alison: Yeah, that’s really awesome. Okay, so similar to being a guest on a podcast. Number three, I actually did this as soon as I got to Hawaii. I started a local podcast, so there’s Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: a local podcast. The the [00:05:00] market in, in the search volume for, for that kind of local work is. minimal. um, when you’re a place like Hawaii and people wanna know about Hawaii, I started a podcast, um, to get to know business owners. And this was an idea I had all on my own. It was people I was already kind of interacting with on Instagram before I ever even arrived on island. Um, and so I have, and it’s y’all, it’s still out there. It’s called Aloha Oahu, um, where I was just wanting to get to know local vendors, the people who. Started businesses here on island who weren’t like corporate or local chains of big franchises. Um, there’s a skate Melissa Arlena: Network angle. Yeah. Alison: There’s, and, and we did this virtually, like even though they were on island and in my backyard, have the hardware or the capacity to do in-person interviews. And so we just got on the computer just like me and Melissa are doing right now, and Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: just asked them, um, I’ve met some really cool people. Come to find out later, after we recorded, our kids played on the same soccer team.[00:06:00] Melissa Arlena: Yeah. Alison: Like, Melissa Arlena: Yeah. Alison: really cool. She’s a military Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: Um, and the whole idea was, the whole purpose behind that for me was getting to know my area, becoming a local expert, but then also backlinks, backlinks, backlinks. It was a Melissa Arlena: Yeah. Alison: them to, Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: Like I asked them to blog about it, to link back to me not Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: not to link to Apple, but to link to their blog post about their interview. Um. Melissa Arlena: Yeah, and that actually leads to the next one because I was gonna say, you could take that transcript and turn that into a blog post for you. Alison: Yeah. Yeah. And I, you might have been like the unbeknown like inspiration for this because you’ve been doing this forever. Number four blog and interview with a complimentary local vendor. And when we say complimentary, like somebody who is Melissa Arlena: Serves your audience. Alison: your Melissa Arlena: Yeah. Somebody who served your audience that isn’t a competition. Yeah. So I started off with, um, there was a girl who owned a, uh, maternity shop. In Fredericksburg when I lived there. And it [00:07:00] was actually funny ’cause it was before I got pregnant with Grace, so Alison: That Melissa Arlena: I thought I was done with babies and I was like, whatever. But, um, I met her ’cause David and I were down there on a date night and I saw her store and it was brand new. And I said, we’re going in, I’m gonna introduce myself and I’m gonna secure an interview with her because literally she has the clients that I want, pregnant women in my area, walking in her door. Um, and she was great. And so I inter, I did an interview with her. And then I ended up doing interviews with some other places. Like I went to other cities that I served, found maternity shops there, did stuff with them. And so then when I was moving to South Florida, I was like, oh great, well I’ll just do that again. Well, COVID had hit y’all and like, unfortunately all those little places like just went out of business sadly. Um, so I had to like. Think outside the box. And so then my thought was, okay, well I wanna work with higher end clientele. Like I wanna get people who have a little bit more money to spend that kind of thing. So I start, I just sent off emails to a bunch of interior designers after I like vetted their stuff on Instagram and things, and like made sure like, okay, you’re good. Um, and I reached [00:08:00] out to a bunch of interior designers and did interviews with them and stuff. And so that way I could kind of get to know them and, and hopefully get on their referral list. Alison: Which was matched perfectly to all the interior nursery designs that you were photographing Melissa Arlena: Yes. Alison: at the Melissa Arlena: Yep. Alison: Um, I did, I did short for a shorter time. I interviewed doulas. Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: like your pregnant mamas are looking for, for doulas, right? Melissa Arlena: Yep. Alison: same Melissa Arlena: Yeah. Alison: you see the theme here, guys. A senior, a senior boutique shop isn’t gonna serve a newborn client, right? A Melissa Arlena: Great. Alison: going to serve a, so y’all get the idea. Um, okay, so moving on, five, host a giveaway with those same vendors. So I did this back in Virginia Beach. Um, I had some friends open up a boutique that was amazing. I absolutely love this place. Um, and I hosted a giveaway for a newborn session, one during the slow season. I think it was like January, February timeframe. family photos. Um, and the winner got a shopping credit at, at, at polish. So the, the boutique was Polish. They’ve been open less than a year. They had fabulous stuff for [00:09:00] everybody. Seniors, like high school, seniors, um, women, middle aged, like the whole thing. And it was all super cute. Like I absolutely loved it. Um, and so my mom got to wear, got to go shopping at, at this brand new boutique. She got something she loved and then she was able to wear it in the photos, which just kind of. Scratch everybody’s back. It was fantastic. It was this really pretty pink, pastel pink, um, puffy sleep top. Um, that Melissa Arlena: oh, that’s cute. Alison: So, and they’re always seasonally minded. So regardless of what season it is or what you’re shooting, I mean, make sure your, your clients like the stuff, but host a, host a giveaway with them. Um, and that way you’re sharing the burden of sharing it. You’re sharing, you’re doubling your, um, email, uh, email list and your marking list and your audience and with half the work, right? So, Melissa Arlena: Yeah. Alison: That was other places that you could do, um, host a giveaway. Think about like other boutiques, children’s boutiques, interior designers, uh, I don’t know why mobile tan salons came to mind, depending on, like, think about services, [00:10:00] stylists, things like that. Um, it doesn’t have to be a brick and mortar because the next one at a brick and mortar, I would suggest, um, with a, a children’s boutique number six hosted in-store event, um, with a Melissa Arlena: And actually Alison: yeah. Melissa Arlena: I did that. So with that maternity shop? Yeah. Like as Alice and I were pre, like, before recording, we were going through some of these things and then we were like, oh yeah, I did that. Oh yeah, I did that. Like we’d forgotten. But yeah, they, that maternity shop, I came in and did um, uh, mother’s Day photos. So I did Mother’s Day mini sessions there and stuff. So I just was able to like. Be in front of people, you know, make a little bit of cash kind of thing. Um, and yeah, it was super, and like Alison said, they shared the burden of like, sharing everything and trying to get things booked. It wasn’t just me. Alison: Yeah, that’s awesome. And, and getting that face to face. ’cause people buy from the people they know, Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: So Melissa Arlena: Oh, and we had, um, we had a mini mentoring too, Alison: Yeah, so Angie of Bella Marie Photography, Melissa Arlena: but yes. Mm-hmm. Alison: she’s like going all over the low country [00:11:00] doing this, doing these, um, heirloom portraits in store. And so she’s working with these nice children’s boutiques. She’s setting up in shop people come to the store to get their photos done. They, I think they may even come to get their, I don’t know if they’d come to get their photos to see them. The reveals, um. they’re coming in and of course they’re gonna shop. So win-win for everybody. I did something similar. I was actually contacted by Janie and Jack. This was be before they went, like outlet mall brand. This was when, when they were a little bit more high-end, they would contact, they contacted me in Alabama. And it was part of a store credit incentive. So if they spent so much money in store, they would get to schedule a session with me and then they would come back to the store to shoot that 10 minute in-store studio session. I brought Melissa Arlena: Okay. Alison: They actually sent me everything. They sent me. They were like, here’s everything. We want you to do this, give us two. And I did it twice a year. I probably did it three times, um, before it all, before we moved away. But, um, so they would spend their credit come back to [00:12:00] get the photo session done, then they would have to come back again to see the photos and buy them. And then I made off what I, I was compensated for whatever the client purchased. So it was in my best interest to theme it, decorate it, do a really good job. Um, but they came into the store two extra times and of course, what else is happening? They’re shopping. Right. Melissa Arlena: Yeah. Yeah. I love Janie and Jack. Alison: Yeah, I did that in the fall and spring for a while. And I even, and I blogged about it and I even. Credit to blogging. I had other random photographers reaching out to me to see if it was a legitimate proposition, if it was a scam or not. I was like, Melissa Arlena: Yeah, Alison: funny. okay, so add break. I just thought about that. Melissa Arlena: no. Alison: So moving on to number seven. Um, create a Facebook group to support your ideal client. Um, that does sound like another level of. Hades to some of us. Um, or you can be super active in an existing group. Think like a moms group, um, like here, moms of Kailua, Kailua Mom, tribe, [00:13:00] um, low country moms, whatever is super active. And work your little fanny off to get that top contributor, badge. Comment, comment, comment, provide value, tell people about things, make suggestions, um, and just be super active. And then when there is a authorized business post. Post in your business, use them to crowdsource some of your own information and ask, answer some of your own questions. Um, Melissa Arlena: Oh yeah. I love that. I love that for a moms group crowdsourcing, especially if you’re new to an area, like I did that here for Charlottesville. I was like, I don’t know all the family friendly restaurants, but I wanna write a post about it. And so I just posted in there and all the moms were like, oh, this one and this one and this one. Um, so it was great ’cause I wouldn’t have known otherwise. Alison: Then in the on the verge of like networking and stuff, there are Facebook groups here in Hawaii, Monsu called Monsu Surf and it’s a meetup and they have these predetermined weekly regular meetups where you basically, um. Crowdsource your childcare like, and then you get to go surf. So you take turns keeping all the kids on the beach and making sure nobody dies or drowns and you get to go out and [00:14:00] surf. And so it’s in person, it’s networking, but it all starts on Facebook. Um, so join groups like that. What, like are there walking groups? Are there biking, cycling groups? I don’t know, like what have you. so Melissa Arlena: I don’t know, but I think the, I think the picture that goes along with this post on your Instagram needs to be a video of you surfing. By the way, Alison: Oh my God, they look horrible. There’s no flattering photo of me surfing. None at all. Like I, some people look Melissa Arlena: I don’t think we care. We just wanna watch you surf. We want like a little short video. Tell Colin to get the, get the camera out there and record a little video. Alison: we, we’ll see. We gotta get the Pro GoPro working. Um, okay, so number eight, and this is something I did start a free photography class at a library or. giving y’all way more than you need here. Or a MOPS group. Go talk to a MOPS Melissa Arlena: Yeah. Alison: Get in front of be a speaker, Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: Um, you can start a free Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: like photography for moms photography. Sports photography if your kids are older. Um. Know your audience. Like, is your, your mom’s gonna be able to come to the library for a class for sports photography. They might really like the [00:15:00] idea of it, but it might need to be a virtual class or Melissa Arlena: Yeah. Yeah. Alison: Um, but like you think about your preschool moms, they’re, they’re coming to the library already. Like, Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: do it during the day? Can there be childcare in another room? Can, can it be a quick down and dirty 30 minute thing like, you know, for several weeks at a time? And that’s what I did. It was a whole series, um, a one hour for like, I think three or four weeks. Um, same time, same place. And we just, we did the same. Um, Melissa Arlena: Actually, oh my gosh. I did a one. I did it for the mops groove. Oh my gosh. Now that you say that, I’m like, I can remember being at my church and presenting on photography to a bunch of moms because the mops had like a big day of speakers. Holy cow, I can’t believe all this stuff I’ve done, and I keep forgetting that I’ve done it. Alison: We had our mobs group had a speaker like every other week, Melissa Arlena: Oh yeah, this was a, this was like a big event where it was like an all day event. Yes. But I remember preparing my presentation and all of that stuff. Alison: slide. Your slide deck. That’s Melissa Arlena: I can probably go find it still. Alison: guys. Um. [00:16:00] Okay. Number nine, join your Chamber of Commerce, um, or your local small business administration. So Melissa Arlena: Yeah. Alison: have different personalities wherever they are and may or may not match your group. But what I really appreciate about a chamber of commerce or an SBA or even a networking group of any kind, you’re there for business. Like it’s, you don’t feel like a false pretense or you’re trying to like. Oversell yourself. Everybody’s there for the same purpose. Everybody’s trying to see how they can help each other, um, Melissa Arlena: Yeah. Alison: the end goal of making money. Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: can just, that, that weirdness or feeling slimy just goes out the door ’cause everybody’s doing the same thing. Um, so. Melissa Arlena: Right. Yeah. Alison: Our chamber does. Um, every other month there’s a big giant member meeting where you get Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: yourself. They send out member emails, events, and offers. They’re constantly asking people like, how can we promote you? How can we promote you? Um, at our member meetings, you can pass out flyers. So I printed out like little [00:17:00] flyers that were really pretty, um, full color that people could take with them, put ’em on every table. Everybody got to look at ’em, take a picture of ’em, take ’em home. And I just collected ’em at the end. And then I passed ’em off. The next, next one, whatever was left over, um. And then on the oth o other months we have pos. So a po Hana here in Hawaii is just a happy hour, pal means done work, done with work. Um, and so you pay an extra $25. I’ve taken Colin to them again, like as little dates, um, but you get to see the inside of different businesses that may or may not even be open to the public. You talk to people, you meet other people, you pass out cards. Um, and it’s super casual at our, our Chamber of Commerce. So. It may or may not be that way for y’all. What’s, and you like your SBA? Melissa Arlena: Well, the SBA. Yeah, I’ve, I’ve actually, so I would say with the SBA, um, like Allison said, it’s not really something you join, but they host classes here and so you can kind of network from those classes, but then you can get to know the SBA, um, and you can find out what, what they offer to support you as a business. And that’s [00:18:00] where, this is a little, like, these are a little different from your networking groups that we talked about before. ’cause the networking groups are usually a bit more casual, that kind of thing. Whereas your Chamber of commerce, these SBA, um. Uh, events and stuff, they are much more business focused. Like it’s down and dirty. Like, Hey, we’re not gonna talk about, you know, the best bar to, you know, go on a date night. They’re like, we’re gonna talk about your numbers, we’re gonna talk about your marketing plan, like, it’s gonna be a little bit different. So that’s why we have these separated out. But yeah, I think the SBA here does a good job. Alison: And that’s why I say the Chamber of Commerce can be, have different personalities. ’cause ours Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: very casual. And I’ve Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: I’ve, we talk about bars, but like Kilo Music School out here, um, there’s a kids focused art lab out here. And so we have a, we’ve created this like kids centric, like basically small group within the chamber of people who all have similar. Um, interest. And so getting together and pulling events together, like it’s, it’s been really cool to see everybody, um, support each other with free events. Just trying to get out in the community and get in front of people. so [00:19:00] finally, last one, number 10, volunteer in your community. And this can look like so many different things. This can be photography related, business related or not. Um, get in your, your child’s classroom. Go to that preschool, um, offer fundraise, you know, offer your photography services at fundraisers or for nonprofit. Um, Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: own episode to just be a human. Be Melissa Arlena: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Alison: be afraid to talk about yourself. What do you do? Oh, I’m a photographer. Like Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: I didn’t just move here like I also am. And you can practice that in your, with a friend, with your husband in the mirror. Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: don’t be afraid to talk about yourself as a photographer first, Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: then you can add in like, oh, also I have kids and I have this, or I have a dog, whatever. Um, so get Melissa Arlena: Yeah, I rem I remember donating to, it was a Christian school, um, auction. Silent auction. And I donated to that like when I was brand new. Alison: Yeah. Melissa Arlena: and I can still remember this session and stuff that I did ’cause somebody bought it and I was super excited about it and stuff. Um, so yeah, that [00:20:00] was a long time ago. But then recently, you know, I. Obviously I’ve said at my dau, my kid’s school, like, yeah, I’m a photographer. And the kindergarten teacher was like, Hey, can you come in and take some, you know, it was that cute thing where the kids were busting outta the paper last year, so I just popped in for half an hour, you know, took a bunch of pictures of the kids coming out through paper or whatever, and sent ’em over to her like, Alison: That’s awesome. Melissa Arlena: and it wasn’t anything, I didn’t get paid for it and I didn’t get like credit for it, which was fine. I wasn’t looking for that. I just was looking for a chance to volunteer. And then most likely she’s gonna remember next time somebody’s like, I’m looking for a photographer. She’d be like, oh yeah, there’s this mom in my class. Alison: yeah. Being human. There it Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: guys, that’s all 10. This is just 10 of the 39 that are on that freebie, um, to helping you get new clients. So. You want, you wanna match your brand, you wanna find your people, which Melissa Arlena: Mm-hmm. Alison: to know the demographics and know who your ideal client is. Um, so if you need more help, make sure you hit the show notes and download that freebie. So, if you’re gonna do one of these, let us know. Reach out to us on the gram. Uh, I would love to hear, hear what you, what you tackle. [00:21:00] Good. Melissa Arlena: I was like, are we gonna be like till next time or something? But Alison: Oh, I was, I was gonna let you chime in. Melissa Arlena: oh, till next time.