Ep 96: Mini Mentoring with Morgan Walworth

00:00:00 [Alison]
You are in that eighteen month wait period.
00:00:01 [Alison]
Right?
00:00:02 [Alison]
Like, we say it’s eighteen months from when the time you start SEO.
00:00:04 [Alison]
You’re doing the right things.
00:00:06 [Alison]
You wanna continue those things and keep that priority.

00:00:08 [Alison]
But this is a lull period where you do wanna get creative.

00:00:13 [Melissa]
Welcome to Get Booked, a photography podcast.

00:00:15 [Alison]
I’m Allison, active duty Marine Corps spouse, family photographer, and business mentor.

00:00:19 [Melissa]
And I’m Melissa, a newborn photographer turned SEO expert for photographers.

00:00:24 [Alison]
Between us, we have twenty seven years in the industry, nine business relocations, and a lot of lessons learned the hard way, through experience.

00:00:31 [Melissa]
We’re here to help you get visible, get clients, and build a business that actually books.

00:00:36 [Alison]
Let’s go.

00:00:40 [Melissa]
Hey, guys.
00:00:41 [Melissa]
Welcome back.
00:00:41 [Melissa]
We are doing another mini mentoring episode.

00:00:44 [Alison]
Some of my favorites.

00:00:45 [Melissa]
These are the ones where we invite someone on, whether it’s a creative, a photographer, a small business owner who needs some help with their marketing.
00:00:52 [Melissa]
We used to do it where if you were moving, but now we’ve opened it up because Allison and I both have realized most of our It’s all

00:00:57 [Morgan]
the same.

00:00:57 [Melissa]
No matter what.

00:00:59 [Alison]
All the same.

00:00:59 [Melissa]
So, if you’re struggling different, but If you’re just struggling with marketing or something like that, you can definitely apply to be on here.
00:01:06 [Melissa]
But today, we have Morgan Walworth.
00:01:09 [Melissa]
So welcome to the podcast, Morgan.

00:01:10 [Alison]
Hi, Morgan.
00:01:11 [Alison]
Welcome.

00:01:11 [Morgan]
Having me.
00:01:12 [Morgan]
Hi.

00:01:13 [Alison]
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
00:01:15 [Alison]
What do you do?
00:01:16 [Alison]
What do you focus on?
00:01:17 [Alison]
Where are you living?
00:01:18 [Alison]
What’s your market like?

00:01:20 [Morgan]
Yes.
00:01:20 [Morgan]
So I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and I actually was a nurse who became a mom, a stay at home mom, and now a photographer.
00:01:29 [Morgan]
So I really found my niche in maternity, newborn, and family photography.
00:01:35 [Morgan]
It’s been about a year and a half officially of my business now, and I’m just really trying to keep pushing it and now diving into lots of SEO and just trying to get recognized beyond just, you know, Instagram and my website.

00:01:49 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:01:49 [Alison]
Okay.
00:01:50 [Alison]
Cool.
00:01:50 [Alison]
So you’ve been doing this for about eighteen months.
00:01:52 [Alison]
Is that eighteen months officially as a business, paying taxes, or what what’s that definition in there?

00:01:58 [Morgan]
Yeah.
00:01:58 [Morgan]
So I actually started photography in high school and kind of learned way back when.
00:02:04 [Morgan]
Put everything down when I went to nursing school.
00:02:06 [Morgan]
Finally, when I became a stay at home mom, I really found the time to be able to dig in, and this has always been a dream of mine.
00:02:13 [Morgan]
But, you know, there’s only so much time in a day.

00:02:16 [Morgan]
And as a nurse, it was kind of one of those things where I was like, oh, I just have always wanted to do it.
00:02:22 [Morgan]
And so, yes, I come I hadn’t picked up a camera since high school.
00:02:25 [Morgan]
And when my kids were, like, old, I convinced my husband to let me buy a camera and do some photos of our own kids.
00:02:32 [Morgan]
And then it just kind of catapulted from there, you know, doing friends.
00:02:35 [Morgan]
And I thought I was gonna keep it a hobby, and it’s just turned into this almost full time business now, and I wanna just keep that momentum going.

00:02:43 [Morgan]
So, yeah, I, gone through July 2024.
00:02:50 [Morgan]
And, yeah, it just officially became a business right then.

00:02:54 [Alison]
So are you doing studio or on location, in home?
00:02:57 [Alison]
What what locations are you shooting at?
00:02:59 [Alison]
All three.

00:03:00 [Morgan]
So I just Okay.
00:03:01 [Morgan]
So do

00:03:01 [Alison]
you have your own studio?

00:03:02 [Morgan]
Not yet.
00:03:03 [Morgan]
No.
00:03:03 [Morgan]
I’ve been leasing.
00:03:04 [Morgan]
Okay.
00:03:04 [Morgan]
And then, in home newborns.

00:03:06 [Morgan]
Cool.
00:03:06 [Morgan]
And I’m in Minnesota, so lots of snow on freezing

00:03:09 [Alison]
That’s why I was asking.

00:03:11 [Morgan]
Yeah.

00:03:11 [Alison]
That’s a big deal.

00:03:12 [Morgan]
Oh, we can’t wait until it will turn green here again.
00:03:15 [Morgan]
But in the meantime, lots of studio and in home.
00:03:18 [Morgan]
And then Okay.

00:03:19 [Melissa]
Well, it’s funny.
00:03:19 [Melissa]
I feel like I’m in the middle of Minnesota right now because we got snow, like, almost two weeks ago, and it’s still here.
00:03:24 [Melissa]
And it’s still not going anywhere.
00:03:26 [Melissa]
So I’m like, this is must be what it’s like to live in those states where it snows and it just is there.

00:03:31 [Morgan]
Yep.
00:03:31 [Morgan]
For months.

00:03:32 [Alison]
It’s so weird.
00:03:32 [Alison]
It’s so weird.
00:03:33 [Alison]
Because we spent four years in Virginia and barely got a dusting one time.
00:03:37 [Alison]
Wow.
00:03:37 [Alison]
And four years, and they’ve they cannot get rid of it right now.

00:03:41 [Morgan]
Yeah.
00:03:41 [Morgan]
Yeah.
00:03:42 [Morgan]
It’s crazy.

00:03:43 [Alison]
Okay.
00:03:43 [Alison]
Cool.
00:03:43 [Alison]
So you’re shooting in home, you’re leasing a studio.
00:03:45 [Alison]
I think that’s brilliant for where you are in your business and then some location as your climate allows.
00:03:50 [Alison]
It sounds like you’re doing a ton, but you’re really pivoting as your area and market allows you.

00:03:55 [Alison]
So I think that’s brilliant.
00:03:56 [Alison]
You’re doing a great job there.
00:03:58 [Alison]
Hey, Allison here.
00:03:59 [Alison]
I have a blog post that is ranking in the top three nationally every spring for its search terms.
00:04:04 [Alison]
Another still blowing up from 2021, I think.

00:04:07 [Alison]
I actually can’t remember when I wrote it, but it’s been a long time.
00:04:10 [Alison]
And it’s the reason I had a before I ever arrived on island.
00:04:14 [Alison]
In April, we’re building that for you live.
00:04:16 [Alison]
Workshop number two is blogging strategically.
00:04:19 [Alison]
Throwing a thousand words and some pics on a post won’t get you traffic or inquiries.

00:04:24 [Alison]
You bring your business, I’ll bring the strategy, and together, we’re gonna nail down custom keyword research, optimized content, and twelve month blogging plan that books for you where you are.
00:04:36 [Alison]
Blog to book, link in the show notes.
00:04:40 [Alison]
What is your business model?
00:04:42 [Alison]
This is the fun part for me.

00:04:43 [Morgan]
Oh, yeah.
00:04:44 [Morgan]
So right now, I’m a shoot and burn girl.
00:04:47 [Morgan]
Okay.
00:04:47 [Morgan]
Because I started as just a hobbyist and now it’s turned into a business, it’s just it’s gotten really busy.
00:04:53 [Morgan]
Not so much here in February, but in the summertime and especially fall, like most photographers, it’s so busy here.

00:05:00 [Morgan]
So it was busy enough that I had to say no to people last year, and I’ve thought about changing my model.
00:05:07 [Morgan]
I know you guys are Mhmm.
00:05:09 [Morgan]
Big on, like, the simple sales and in person sales.
00:05:11 [Morgan]
And I’ve looked into that, but I also am in the market where clients are a lot of my friends and families in the same socioeconomic status as me and, someone that can afford a $1,200 photo shoot today.
00:05:25 [Morgan]
So I don’t want to become that photographer where I exclude all of my friends and family from using me, but I also am running myself into the ground.

00:05:33 [Morgan]
So I’ve kind of I’m trying to change my minis this year where I’m only offering, like, 10 photos and using you know, starting to do the add ons.
00:05:43 [Morgan]
Mhmm.
00:05:43 [Morgan]
Purchasing more.
00:05:44 [Morgan]
Yeah.
00:05:44 [Morgan]
Kinda into simple sales a little bit, but also looking at hiring some help.

00:05:48 [Morgan]
I just hired one person to help me, and so I’m I’m kind of thinking about it at that way.
00:05:53 [Morgan]
If I can continue bringing as much revenue in and keep this momentum going, I’m gonna need help.
00:05:59 [Morgan]
Yeah.
00:06:00 [Morgan]
So, yeah, that’s kind of where So

00:06:01 [Alison]
let me let me back pedal for a second.
00:06:02 [Alison]
What what is your average client investment, or what are your price points?

00:06:06 [Morgan]
So my mini sessions last year were 300.
00:06:10 [Morgan]
I’m gonna increase that to, like, $3.50 this year.
00:06:13 [Morgan]
And I did, like, 85 mini sessions last year.
00:06:15 [Morgan]
I did, like, a total of 200 and sessions or something, and my new You

00:06:20 [Melissa]
have a lot of friends.
00:06:21 [Melissa]
Oh, yeah.

00:06:22 [Alison]
That’s a lot of friends.
00:06:23 [Alison]
It’s become a lot

00:06:24 [Morgan]
of word of story, but, yeah, I wish I had that many friends.
00:06:28 [Morgan]
And now, like, my newborn sessions are $6.99.
00:06:31 [Morgan]
Okay.
00:06:32 [Morgan]
So you still on, you know, in comparison, somewhat of a lower end, but I feel nervous even being at that price point.

00:06:39 [Alison]
Is $6.99 newborn for I’m sorry.
00:06:43 [Alison]
Is that the same price for maternity and your family location stuff or is that only for newborns?

00:06:47 [Morgan]
It’s about the same.
00:06:48 [Morgan]
I think, like, I have sixty minute session options, and I think my sixty minute is at, okay, $5.99.
00:06:57 [Morgan]
So newborns are a little bit higher.

00:07:00 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:07:00 [Alison]
I take I go up to ninety minutes with a newborn.
00:07:02 [Alison]
I love that you’re offering a shorter session.
00:07:04 [Alison]
I don’t think I’ve met another photographer that does that on the regular other than myself.
00:07:08 [Alison]
So good job.

00:07:08 [Morgan]
That’s good to hear.

00:07:09 [Alison]
Okay.
00:07:09 [Alison]
So in that, you said shouldn’t burn.
00:07:11 [Alison]
So those prices, 49, $5.99, $6.99, and then go into $3.50 for your minis.
00:07:16 [Alison]
And that currently is all inclusive for everything for those fuller sessions.
00:07:19 [Alison]
Right?

00:07:20 [Alison]
Yes.
00:07:21 [Alison]
Wanna bring on help.
00:07:22 [Alison]
What kind of help are you bringing on?
00:07:23 [Alison]
Like, what are they gonna take off your plate?

00:07:25 [Morgan]
So far, editing.

00:07:27 [Alison]
Okay.
00:07:27 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:07:27 [Alison]
Okay.
00:07:28 [Alison]
Cool.
00:07:28 [Alison]
Are you outsourcing that to an edit editing agency or do you have somebody that you’re hiring directly?

00:07:34 [Morgan]
Directly?
00:07:34 [Morgan]
An agency.
00:07:35 [Morgan]
Well, yeah, it’s a company of, like, three editors.

00:07:37 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:07:38 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:07:38 [Alison]
Okay.
00:07:38 [Alison]
Cool.
00:07:38 [Alison]
That’s awesome.

00:07:39 [Alison]
That’s the best thing you could do.
00:07:42 [Alison]
I’ve been doing it for

00:07:43 [Morgan]
I already feel a weight lifted.
00:07:45 [Morgan]
Yeah.
00:07:45 [Morgan]
I’m I’m excited about it.
00:07:46 [Morgan]
I hope it goes well.
00:07:47 [Morgan]
Okay.

00:07:47 [Morgan]
Cool.
00:07:48 [Morgan]
Alright.

00:07:48 [Melissa]
With your pricing and packages and the amount of sessions that you said you did, are are you at a point of I’m okay and happy with this amount of sessions, and do you need to adjust the pricing so that income wise?
00:08:00 [Melissa]
I guess I’m trying to make sure that you’re profitable and that you’re Yeah.
00:08:03 [Melissa]
Not burning out.
00:08:04 [Melissa]
And so, like, I totally understand the friends and family thing.
00:08:06 [Melissa]
You can always have a friends and family discount, by the way, that, like, if they’re a true friend or family There’s so many ways.

00:08:12 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:08:13 [Melissa]
You could just be like, hey.
00:08:13 [Melissa]
If you’re really someone that I like, here’s a discount that would bring that price down.
00:08:17 [Melissa]
But then that way, when you bring in new clients at a higher price, they’re not getting the friends and family discount.
00:08:23 [Melissa]
Yeah.

00:08:23 [Melissa]
And it is funny.
00:08:24 [Melissa]
If you raise your prices and you get that first person at a higher price, it makes you wanna kick yourself for not having charged more.
00:08:30 [Melissa]
I was around your price.
00:08:31 [Melissa]
I was, like, $6.50 all inclusive.
00:08:33 [Melissa]
And then when I switched and that first person paid 1,200, I was, what am I doing?

00:08:37 [Melissa]
But I think for you, if you’ve got friends and family and stuff, I think a friends and family discount would be really good on that aspect because then you don’t feel bad about it.

00:08:43 [Morgan]
So how

00:08:44 [Melissa]
do you feel about a friends and family discount?
00:08:45 [Melissa]
I mean,

00:08:45 [Morgan]
I think that’s a great idea.
00:08:47 [Morgan]
I’m most nervous about not being busy.
00:08:50 [Morgan]
I I enjoyed getting out of the house.
00:08:52 [Morgan]
Of course, there’s that fine line of being busy where I’m getting out of the house and doing something I love, but also on the other end is being burnt out.

00:08:59 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:09:00 [Alison]
I think it’s a delicate balance that you really have to figure out for yourself.
00:09:03 [Alison]
I do a private unlisted offer for my friends.
00:09:06 [Alison]
I don’t do many sessions at all, period, point blank.
00:09:09 [Alison]
Yeah.

00:09:09 [Alison]
Here in Hawaii, but I do them for my friends and family.
00:09:12 [Alison]
They’re not cheap.
00:09:13 [Alison]
Okay.
00:09:13 [Alison]
I’m still charging $500 for a twenty minute session, and it’s only gonna include 10 images.
00:09:17 [Alison]
That means, like, you really gotta wanna work with me because quite honestly, I’m military, so I don’t have super tight friends and family right next to me all the time.

00:09:24 [Alison]
You know what I mean?

00:09:25 [Morgan]
Sure.

00:09:25 [Alison]
But, like, if you really wanna work with me and you’re military and your friends and family, I wanna work with you, you also really gotta want it because I’m not Right.
00:09:31 [Alison]
I’m not sheenburn, and I don’t wanna be resentful that I’m getting up at sunrise, you know, for nothing.
00:09:36 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:09:36 [Alison]
At the same time.
00:09:36 [Alison]
So, yeah, a and you can even have a private unlisted page where you can send people, directly.

00:09:41 [Alison]
This isn’t connected to anything on my website, but for you, you know, our QR code for for those people.
00:09:48 [Alison]
So what can we what what’s kind of your transition?
00:09:51 [Alison]
What are how can we help you?

00:09:53 [Morgan]
What’s your question, please?
00:09:54 [Morgan]
I really wanna start marketing more.
00:09:56 [Morgan]
I mean, I’ve dug into your podcast.
00:09:59 [Morgan]
I’ve really worked on my SEO this winter.
00:10:01 [Morgan]
I started a blog finally weeks ago, which I I need to work on.

00:10:05 [Morgan]
And now I’m just at the point of, you know, it is quiet season here in Minnesota and maternity and newborn, but I want more of those raw leads to come in.
00:10:14 [Morgan]
And I don’t know if it’s something I can do and just be patient waiting for my SEO to kick in, hoping I’ve done everything right, or if I should be paying for some Facebook meta ads or Google Ads, which I used to do.
00:10:27 [Morgan]
Yeah.
00:10:27 [Morgan]
So that’s kind of where I’m at.
00:10:28 [Morgan]
It’s just, like, the marketing.

00:10:30 [Melissa]
Google Ads will help with getting to the top, but, I mean, it’s one of those a pay to play kind of thing.
00:10:34 [Melissa]
I think Facebook ads, you probably wanna look at, are you getting enough people on your website right now where retargeting ad would work?
00:10:40 [Melissa]
Or How old is

00:10:41 [Morgan]
your website?
00:10:42 [Morgan]
I switched to Showit last year, a year a full year ago.

00:10:44 [Alison]
So it’s still fairly new.
00:10:46 [Alison]
So that’s Okay.
00:10:46 [Alison]
And then you said you started your blog when?

00:10:48 [Morgan]
Like, two weeks ago.

00:10:50 [Alison]
Oh, girl.
00:10:51 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:10:51 [Alison]
Okay.
00:10:51 [Alison]
So let’s think eighteen months is our is our normal bake in time.
00:10:55 [Alison]
Right?

00:10:55 [Alison]
And that’s eighteen months

00:10:56 [Melissa]
of Started your SEO.
00:10:58 [Melissa]
Like, pedal

00:10:58 [Alison]
to the metal.
00:10:59 [Alison]
Right?

00:10:59 [Morgan]
Like Okay.

00:11:00 [Alison]
So you want Melissa’s knows all about that on page and blog SEO, but, like, there’s that in between time that, okay, if you’ve started everything, there’s that wall where, yeah, you’ve gotta wait and kind of get creative about window.
00:11:12 [Alison]
And that’s where I do think Google Ads will help with your SEO.
00:11:15 [Alison]
Nobody said for could tell me for certain, yeah, that’s gonna help you.
00:11:18 [Alison]
I always saw a an up tick in my organic traffic when I had paid for s for Google Ads for certain topics and keywords.
00:11:27 [Alison]
They kinda go hand in hand, even if nobody’s gonna admit it.

00:11:30 [Alison]
But this is a good time for the people who are getting on your website and seeing your blog to do some retargeting ads on Facebook.
00:11:38 [Alison]
You are in that eighteen month wait period.
00:11:39 [Alison]
Right?
00:11:40 [Alison]
Like, we say it’s eighteen months from when the time you start SEO, you’re doing the right you wanna continue those things and keep that priority.
00:11:46 [Alison]
But this is a lull period where you do wanna get creative.

00:11:49 [Alison]
It sounds like you have plenty of business, but because things your blog and your website are so new, it would probably be a really good time to consider retargeting ads.

00:11:58 [Morgan]
Okay.

00:11:58 [Alison]
As long as you’ve got that Facebook pixel installed, you can do meta ads to retarget anybody who has been to your website already.
00:12:05 [Alison]
So you’re not paying for cold leads.
00:12:07 [Alison]
You’re not paying for people who are not a good fit.
00:12:09 [Alison]
It’s somebody who has already searched you, found you, and been on your website, and then you just get back in front of them again.
00:12:15 [Alison]
That Well, I love a good Facebook retargeting ad.

00:12:18 [Melissa]
You can do those cheap.
00:12:19 [Melissa]
Okay.

00:12:19 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:12:19 [Alison]
Those can be pretty cheap.

00:12:22 [Melissa]
Hey, quick break to tell you about something that could change your business.
00:12:25 [Melissa]
One of my students, London, was stuck relying on referrals and social media before she joined Found and Booked my SEO group coaching program.
00:12:32 [Melissa]
Less than a year later, she’s ranking on page one of Google, raised her prices, and left her 6 figure job to go full time with photography.
00:12:39 [Melissa]
If you want results like that, I’m hosting a free master class called the five SEO mistakes killing your photography business.
00:12:46 [Melissa]
I’ll show exhibits keeping you invisible on Google and how to fix it.

00:12:49 [Melissa]
The link to register is in the show notes or head to pictureperfectrankings.com/mistakes.
00:12:57 [Melissa]
I would say blogging.
00:12:58 [Melissa]
Now’s the time.
00:12:58 [Melissa]
I know you just started the blog, But while you have the downtime now, write as many blog posts as you can, and then schedule them out one a month.
00:13:06 [Melissa]
And then that way, you’ve got that continuing to build.

00:13:08 [Alison]
What’s your blog strategy?
00:13:10 [Alison]
Do you have a list of ideas and topics that you’re already pursuing, or are you just kinda going willy nilly?

00:13:16 [Morgan]
I’ve started to.
00:13:16 [Morgan]
I teamed up with an interior last week, and we each wrote a blog post about each other.
00:13:21 [Morgan]
Cool.
00:13:22 [Morgan]
And, otherwise, like, I just did tips for your in home newborn session to try to get some of those keywords.
00:13:28 [Morgan]
And I do have a list of blog posts because this has been something that’s been on my to do list for the last year, but I work during my kids’ nap times and bedtimes.

00:13:36 [Morgan]
So getting those extra things checked off the checklist is is slow, but I’m I’m motivated to to keep it going.
00:13:43 [Morgan]
And I think one a month feels attainable.

00:13:46 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:13:46 [Alison]
Make your goal to get, what, nine done before April, and that’s the year’s taken care of.
00:13:51 [Alison]
But really focus on supplying client education where you’re you’re gonna help your clients, but also it’s gonna get found.
00:13:57 [Alison]
You wanna get in front of those people.
00:13:58 [Alison]
So people who are looking up interior design, that’s great.

00:14:01 [Alison]
What about what about other children boutiques or doulas?
00:14:04 [Alison]
What’s the what’s the genre that you wanna do more of that you could replicate that model with the interview?
00:14:10 [Alison]
You know what I mean?
00:14:11 [Alison]
Like, there’s tons.
00:14:13 [Alison]
Big leagues, maternity stores,

00:14:14 [Melissa]
things like that.
00:14:15 [Melissa]
All the past clients that you’ve already shot, if you’ve got them on an email newsletter list, then when you write these blog posts, you send it out to them, and you stay top of mind.
00:14:24 [Melissa]
And then that’s and then know.
00:14:26 [Melissa]
So you send out a newsletter, like, even once a month.
00:14:28 [Melissa]
Hey.

00:14:28 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:14:28 [Melissa]
Here’s a blog post from this month.
00:14:30 [Melissa]
Here’s what’s coming up that I’m booking.
00:14:32 [Melissa]
Did that many sessions last year.
00:14:33 [Melissa]
Like, that’s gold for, like, a list for this year to be booking.

00:14:37 [Melissa]
Yeah.
00:14:37 [Melissa]
And it it could be that you do find, obviously, for the location you’re in, that you’re gonna have a busy season, and then you’re gonna have a slower season.
00:14:44 [Melissa]
I mean, I have that with mine, and Allison has that with hers of I know for SEO stuff, January is off the charts crazy, and July is dead.
00:14:52 [Melissa]
Okay.
00:14:52 [Melissa]
I just have to realize, average them together and you’re okay.

00:14:55 [Melissa]
But Yeah.
00:14:56 [Melissa]
You’re not gonna have it every month that’s gonna be crazy busy.

00:14:59 [Alison]
But you can also when you know that’s coming, I just did a workshop on this.
00:15:01 [Alison]
Right?
00:15:02 [Alison]
Mac map out your marketing for the you know, this is a slow time right now.
00:15:05 [Alison]
So you can plan for next February and do an in store boutique heirloom photo something session in in somebody’s store.
00:15:12 [Alison]
And you can work with a with a a like minded brick and mortar business.

00:15:16 [Alison]
You can get cold leads that way by working with different people, and you can collab and team up on some of that marketing material.
00:15:23 [Alison]
Maybe they have to spend so much in the store to get a free session with you, and then whatever you sell to them is your take home, but the people are being exposed to you.
00:15:30 [Alison]
They’re working directly with you.
00:15:32 [Alison]
They’re building that rapport with you in store already, and you feel like a stranger.
00:15:36 [Alison]
Right?

00:15:36 [Alison]
That’s something I did with Janie and Jack.
00:15:38 [Alison]
God, it feels like a oh, it was a decade ago.

00:15:40 [Morgan]
It was

00:15:41 [Alison]
a really long time ago.
00:15:42 [Alison]
But that’s how Janie and Jack did.
00:15:43 [Alison]
They would they had people all over the country.
00:15:45 [Alison]
And so during a certain month, if their customers spent so much money in store, they got to sign up for a free in store photo session.
00:15:54 [Alison]
And so I came to the store with my light up, a very very small, modest white backdrop, and it was just for the kids, usually five and under.

00:16:01 [Alison]
So you didn’t need a whole lot of space, and I would just do some personality portraits.
00:16:06 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:16:06 [Alison]
Like, I had the freedom to do what I wanted with it.
00:16:08 [Alison]
You could do heirloom portraits.
00:16:10 [Alison]
For the store, it brought customers back to the store again, and then they had to come back to the store a third time to see their images.

00:16:15 [Alison]
And they basically did that was my first stab at in person sales, is they literally had you come in store, look at them on my computer, and decide right then and there what they were gonna buy.
00:16:23 [Alison]
You can handle that however you want.
00:16:24 [Alison]
But getting them to come into the store benefits the shopkeeper.
00:16:28 [Alison]
And then, of course, if they spend so much money, and then if they actually wear the clothes from the store, hello, maybe they’ll use those photos.
00:16:33 [Alison]
You can offer those photos to be, you know, part of their retargeting and ad strategy as well.

00:16:38 [Alison]
Okay.
00:16:38 [Alison]
Also, if you can do that, the store should have their own email marketing where they’re promoting you coming in.
00:16:44 [Alison]
Right?
00:16:44 [Alison]
So then you’re getting in front of those people via email as well.
00:16:47 [Alison]
So So you really wanna think through the whole domino effect of how would you promote this if you’re collaborating with anybody on any on any event.

00:16:55 [Alison]
Right?
00:16:55 [Alison]
How are they gonna also promote it?
00:16:57 [Alison]
Make sure you’re mutually benefiting each other and making it easier on the store.
00:17:00 [Alison]
Like, I’ll write all the emails for for the first for the four week buildup.
00:17:05 [Alison]
Just please send them, and here’s my email address.

00:17:07 [Alison]
I wanna see them too.

00:17:08 [Morgan]
Yeah.
00:17:08 [Morgan]
Okay.

00:17:09 [Melissa]
I love your designer angle too of, like, referrals and stuff like that Because there are gonna be people who hire a designer to decorate their nursery, their kids’ room, their houses, things like that.
00:17:19 [Melissa]
Having that access to their client roster, especially if you guys are trading blog posts

00:17:23 [Morgan]
Mhmm.

00:17:23 [Melissa]
Then they can send that out on their email list and get you in front of those people.
00:17:27 [Melissa]
And then when those people click on the website to read the blog post, then those retargeting ads you can run and everything.
00:17:33 [Melissa]
Yeah.

00:17:33 [Alison]
And then going back to that email your own email marketing, do you have that set up already?
00:17:38 [Alison]
Do you have a lead magnet?
00:17:39 [Alison]
Are you collecting email way outside of clients?

00:17:42 [Morgan]
I have one blurb on my website that people can join the email list.
00:17:46 [Morgan]
I’m just looking into using Flodesk because I’ve been using Breville, but now I have too many email contacts for it.

00:17:52 [Alison]
Yeah.

00:17:52 [Morgan]
So I haven’t ever sent newsletters.
00:17:54 [Morgan]
I’ve only ever Okay.
00:17:56 [Morgan]
Sent out, like, many of our live for fall or whatever.

00:17:59 [Melissa]
Yeah.

00:17:59 [Morgan]
Yeah.

00:17:59 [Melissa]
That’s what most and you’re not alone.
00:18:01 [Melissa]
That’s what most photographers do.
00:18:02 [Melissa]
So you’re

00:18:02 [Morgan]
not alone.

00:18:03 [Alison]
You’re still new.
00:18:03 [Alison]
I know everything feels very overwhelming, like, there’s so much to do as there kinda is.
00:18:08 [Alison]
I would also take this time to figure that out.
00:18:10 [Alison]
Even if you just open up Flodesk and you import all your contacts into a segment that says clients, do that.
00:18:16 [Alison]
And that way, you can set up as you’re setting up those blogs to publish, you are also going to set up those emails to email to those all of your past clients when those blogs go live.

00:18:26 [Alison]
And you’re gonna say something you’re change that take that blog content.
00:18:29 [Alison]
You’re gonna snip it, put a little summary, some little something oh, read more, a button there, connect with me on Instagram so you’re top of mind, they’re following me on social, they’re clicking back to your website, that’s what you really want, and even with just people that are already in your in your orb.
00:18:44 [Alison]
And then once you get the blogging system going and you get really comfortable with with emailing the people you’re already connected to, then you can really focus on a lead magnet to pull in cold emails and set up a, automated workflow to deliver that stuff.

00:18:57 [Morgan]
Yeah.
00:18:57 [Morgan]
If you

00:18:57 [Alison]
know you’re gonna

00:18:58 [Melissa]
have any spring events or even just when your spring calendar is gonna open, putting those in there and saying, hey, guys.
00:19:03 [Melissa]
These are the dates I have available on my spring calendar.
00:19:05 [Melissa]
Even if it’s not a specific date, but it’s I have three spots in April, and I have four spots in May, or however you wanna do it.

00:19:12 [Morgan]
Just

00:19:12 [Melissa]
kinda letting people know because then you may get somebody who’s, oh, yeah.
00:19:15 [Melissa]
I want portraits.
00:19:16 [Melissa]
Let’s go ahead and and get that knocked out.

00:19:19 [Morgan]
Okay.

00:19:19 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:19:20 [Alison]
That’s brilliant.
00:19:20 [Alison]
It’s it’s really good.
00:19:21 [Alison]
So to wrap up, we got a lot going on, but you’re doing really well.
00:19:25 [Alison]
So you’re I

00:19:25 [Morgan]
think you’re

00:19:26 [Alison]
doing really well.
00:19:27 [Alison]
Just think about your boundaries.
00:19:28 [Alison]
Think about what is enough for you without burning out because nobody can tell you, except for you, what that is what that is.
00:19:35 [Alison]
Your blog has started.
00:19:36 [Alison]
And so right now, we want you in this, in this slow season to really focus on that blog.

00:19:41 [Alison]
Try to get all your articles done for

00:19:43 [Morgan]
the rest

00:19:43 [Alison]
of the year between now and December so that you can schedule them out and not think of and then get Flodesk working and get all your clients into Flodesk so that as you’re scheduling those blog posts, the same day or next day, an email goes out to the to them about everything that you’ve got going on, you know, your tips, your locations, your interviews.
00:20:00 [Alison]
Get those clicks back to your website.
00:20:02 [Alison]
That’s gonna drive your SEO up too, your reliability that people are are going direct.
00:20:06 [Alison]
And then after you’ve set up some of those systems and you’re feeling really good about it, maybe consider some retargeting Facebook ads and maybe even Google ads to help the SEO juice go a little faster.

00:20:18 [Morgan]
Okay?

00:20:18 [Alison]
You got it.
00:20:19 [Alison]
You got it.
00:20:19 [Alison]
You’re doing great, Morgan.
00:20:21 [Alison]
Yeah.
00:20:21 [Alison]
Feel free to reach out to us on Instagram, guys.

00:20:23 [Alison]
Listeners, if y’all have any questions too about these, reach out to Melissa on Instagram or myself as well.
00:20:28 [Alison]
We’re happy to Thanks so much, Morgan.

00:20:30 [Morgan]
Thank you.
00:20:31 [Morgan]
Thanks for being here.

00:20:34 [Melissa]
Thank you so much for listening.
00:20:35 [Melissa]
If you’re enjoying the show, would you do two things for us?
00:20:38 [Melissa]
First, leave a review.
00:20:39 [Melissa]
Just stars would be awesome.
00:20:41 [Melissa]
And two, forward this episode to a biz bestie, mil spouse, or anyone facing moving their business.

00:20:46 [Melissa]
We’d love it if you shared this episode with even just one person.
00:20:50 [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.
00:20:59 [Melissa]
Check the show notes for links, and we’re good to have you guys here.