104: Better Photos Aren't Keeping You from Being Booked

*New* One-On-One Facebook Ads Help

I cover: 
• seasonal demand cycles and why spring inquiries return 
• choosing now how winter will feel in 2027 NOW
• saving from May through November to reduce pressure 
• the updated Meta ads support structure with landing page review and data check 
• why “better photos” is rarely the booking problem 
• visibility as the main driver of consistent bookings 
• internal visibility through client experience and past-client communication 
• building trust before the inquiry by putting key info on the website 
• making booking easier with fewer offers and simpler messaging 
• treating marketing like real work instead of waiting for inspiration 

My Instagram + My Membership

Transcript

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The Seasonal Booking Reality

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, everybody. Um, okay, so this episode is really going to be about a couple hard truths of what actually works for staying booked or booking consistency, and then the one main lie that everybody's sort of floodling around in. Okay. So first I want to say I want to chat about a few industry conversations that I've had lately. Uh so the first is that people are remembering that people start to book when the sun comes out and the weather gets better, and then they feel better, and then life feels more aligned. So I wanna I wanna make note of this because I'm thinking about your hearts and minds of early 2027. And I want you to think about that right now as well, because we're in now May, pretty much, and May is when people, the general public, looks up and sees that it's nice outside and thinks like, I should capture this. Any any time before that, that's a push that either happened because there's a life event, a pregnancy, a newborn, um, a first birthday, a milestone that caused the average consumer to look for photography, or it was because you did hard fought marketing work to turn their heads to look at your business, whatever it is that you were offering. So I think it's really important to not get, I see everyone's like, oh, sigh of relief, right? Sigh of relief, people are reaching out, they're actually interested in photography again. And that's what we've known is true, and that cycle makes the business feel really hard because again, we now may we'll go into this later part of spring, summer will float along, um, fall will hit and punch us all in the face, and then we'll be back in this cycle again. So right now, right now, at the end of this time that was maybe harder, maybe you felt self-doubt, maybe you felt I want to quit, maybe you felt all kinds of feelings over the past three months as you faced a period of income instability or or lower income or or whatever, and it felt like it made you look in the mirror about yourself. Uh part of it was not true because you're actually you're actually in the hardest marketing time, but you're making data judgments about it as though as though it's a normal time. So because a lot of people are seeing an uptick in inquiries and bookings because the weather is better, that natural flow of what humans are doing and how they relate to family photography is a better time to get marketing data because then you can actually have marketing that isn't relying on you physically turning people's heads to look at what you're doing.

Decide Now For Winter Survival

SPEAKER_00 2:56

But instead, many of you have made data judgments about what works in marketing during this hardest time. So as we swing forward to 2027, right now I want you to say, Do I want to do that again? Do I want to, and you have a choice because this is your business and you can do whatever you want with it. There's going to be a segment of you who, no matter what you're doing, it's just going to ask too much of your heart to try to market through the winter. Unless you're doing something year-round, like maternity or newborns. The rest of you who are in that group who you thought this is going to be the quarter that I make money when I never have before, and this is the quarter that I book sessions, January through March. And then the marketing that is asked of that monumental task of turning heads to look at you, not even taking advantage because there isn't any just native SEO people looking at you no matter what. It's either like you had a session type that got a lot of attention that was maybe something that you offer. Like I know local photographers and other photographers do really well with snow minis. That's a very concentrated choice and a marketing effort that has to be built out in the beginning so that you can have attention for those things. Or studio shoots or whatever it is. Okay, so this is this is the time right now where we are in the year, this is actually a time to decide how you want that period of 2027 to feel. I say this because of this. Let's say that you said, I am not gonna do that again. It destroyed my confidence. The marketing task was too large, which I would say would be true for the vast majority of people. Because if you come up with a good offer, you definitely can market it, you definitely can get visibility and you definitely can book it. That asks a lot of you as a person, as a marketer, as someone putting yourself out there. So if you were like, F that, I am not doing that again. Okay. And I want to say that it this is a perfectly valid frame of mind to say, like January through March, I'm just gonna hibernate. I'm just gonna be, and whatever comes in comes in, but I can't do it again. You need to start a savings account May 1st. And you need to put a section of your income that you get from now through November into that account to protect yourself. Because what we can't have is you making up for your losses because you thought this is the year I'll do $7,000 a month from January, February, and March. I'm just pulling a random number out of the air, and then you didn't, and then you continue on moving forward, you you feel this warm sun on your face, and you say, I'm leaving that feeling of failure behind. And then you arrive in January 2027, and you have another question. Are you gonna do that again? Or do you have a little honeypot of savings that's just gonna carry you through that and you're just gonna chill? And whatever you get, you get, but you're not putting the pressure on yourself. Whichever path you choose is totally fine. Of course, the marketer in me is like, you can do it, you can market, you can, but like having those personal conversations, right? There's like aspirational and then there's reality. So the reality is that the average family photographer, solo entrepreneur, mother who woman, person on the planet trying to make it through January through March as a human, many of those people do not have the ability to market in such an aggressive and strategic way that would be required of that time period to turn heads to look at you. So that's just what I want to say. It's a lot easier to market when you offer have native attention coming in. Like you have SEO, you have you're doing more shoots, there's you just have more going on. So there's more people looking at what you're doing, and then your job is just to have consistency and invite those people into your brand. It's a lot harder to go up to people's houses, knock on the door, and say, hey, look at what I'm offering. And they're like, uh, well, we are we don't we don't do photography right now. And you're like, I know, but hear me out. Like that is a huge ask. Okay. So May 1st, decide. Decide what 2027, January through March is gonna look like. And whatever that is, is if you're like, no, I learned a lot, I data gathered, I figured out what worked and what doesn't. I want to keep my money, I don't want to have to rely on a savings account. That's amazing. Like you can do it. I have full faith that people can do it. I just want to be honest that it asks a lot. And so there's a seasonal depression that people suffer with during that, uh, me included, during that time period that adds an extra heavy weight. There's lack of light, there's lack of of doing things, there's there's a million things going on in that time period that might not make it conducive to you being a supermarketer at that time. That's just what I want to have you all decide on May 1st. Because just decide and go with it. Because if the answer is that you're just gonna create this savings account so you can relieve the pressure, you have to decide that now. You can't, what you don't want to do is decide that in November and then be like, oh my gosh, now I have to do 430 Santa minis so I can make it through. We don't want, we want to protect your creativity so you don't burn yourself out.

Build A Savings Buffer Early

SPEAKER_00 8:41

Okay, other thing, other quick

New Meta Ads Support Offer

SPEAKER_00 8:43

change. So as you guys know, I've been doing the one-on-ones. Um, those have turned into almost exclusively please help me set up my meta ad or my Facebook ad, which is totally fine. I love doing it, but the 90 minutes is a really tough time frame in which to do it because I first want to review and possibly make changes to where that ad traffic is going. And it's hard to get through that all on the call. So I made uh either the Facebook course still exists, it's just DIY, you learn, you do it on your own. I pop I popped in there yesterday and I'll pop in there more live if people have questions, but it's not a handheld experience. So this is like meta-ads. So the first part is you tell me where you're sending the traffic. So before we even chat, and I'll create a Loom video of that page, of that landing page or that blog post, and give you like here's what I would change, here's here's what I would add. So then the first call that we would do is creating the ad itself and and like the back end, you have your Zoom open and you shared your screen, and I'm walking you through how to do it. And then in four to six weeks after that, we'll meet for a final call to review the data. One that will force you to keep the ad up that long because no matter what I say, you guys keep pulling your ads down really early because you're convinced they're not working. And then you, and then I feel like that complete experience of okay, we built this landing page, okay, we built the ad. Okay, we're checking the the data of the ad will give you confidence to do it moving forward. And that's what I want. Okay, so that's the one like offer change because I just thought, like, I'm trying to be very aware of doing providing solutions to the questions and the things that people are actually struggling with. As much as I love a one-on-one where we're just chatting generally about marketing, that's not as helpful as saying, like, you are here, no ad, and then you are here with an ad. That's

The Big Lie About Better Photos

SPEAKER_00 10:35

what I want. Okay, so um here's the lie. Okay, we're gonna start. This is like a truth and truths and lies types episode. So the lie is that if my photos were better, then I'd be booked. And you this may be happening subconsciously to you, so because, and you'll what the way you'll know is if your your brain says little really unhelpful things to you like this. If you only shot blah, if you only edited like so-and-so, if you only had this location, if you only had better light, if you only if that is how you are experiencing our industry, then you're probably stuck in this, even if it's subconscious. The reason that it's not true is that first most clients cannot evaluate technical quality the way that we do. And so we're already the worst judge of this to start with. So we're the worst because like I can go and be like, like this happens to me all the time. This is why I'm I'm the worst use case person, right? So I'll go to someone's, I'll see someone's something on like the for you page, and I'm like, oh my gosh, it's so pretty. Because I'm really picky about what editing I like because this is my job and I'm this is what I've been doing for 15 years, of course. So the cover image is like what I like, warm that how I describe my own editing. Warm, soft, and organic. Okay, that's what I like. So it fits all those things. It's like glowy field, soft, warm, kind of really, really inviting, right? And I go to the next image and they've switched their the way that they're shooting, and maybe they're shooting like a different way into light or whatever, and now it's too harsh, too contrasty, and I click out of the post. Okay, so that's what I'm doing. The average client is not doing that. They are not doing that. They're like, oh, that's pretty. Oh, this pretty. Oh, this pretty. Oh, this oh, her portfolio is super consistent. Oh, I'm not gonna get uh bait and switched. Obviously, I'm not talking about someone who has like an one amazing image on their website and then all their other work is completely inconsistent. I'm talking about technical evaluations on contrast levels between four and 10. Okay. That's how we're looking at stuff. That's not how clients are looking at stuff. How clients are looking at stuff is like what feeling is it provoking for them, right? It's like mostly like, oh, I would love a photo of like I would love a photo like that of me and my kids. That would be like very standard feeling. Then they're like, who is this person? Are would they do can they even consistently produce this result? They go on your page, they see that you can consistently produce the result, and then they're like, but who is this person as a person? Are they like a normal person? And then if you have it available, they will try to build trust with you, and then they will check into your brand and build familiarity with you. They're not saying, I really liked that photo, but I can see that you clipped your blacks. They're not saying that. So that's why we're the worst evaluators of this and why we build this entire false mindset around if the photos were better, I'd be booked. Because it's just better is always going to be subjective. And because we're the specialists at the top, we are the worst people to decide that. So the here's here we're gonna launch into the hard

Visibility Trust And Simple Booking

SPEAKER_00 13:58

truth. So the first one is that no matter what you want to say, or what anyone else wants to say, or someone is talking about editing, or you just need to, you know, edit more. I don't even know if people educate like this, but if they do, whatever. They're saying you just need these attributes and then you will be better, right? Or you just need this styled shoe, or you just need this content. Visibility wins the game. Every time that's the hard truth. You could be, I know plenty of photographers who, when I technically, with my technical professional eye, look at their work, I'm like, it's flawed. Uh, the client doesn't care. This person has a booming business because they're consistently producing work that may be technically flawed, but the client doesn't care because it's not, we're not that's not how they're viewing it. So the the visibility of that person, whether it's that they created a really good client experience and they have a lot of and they have an email list and their their visibility is is internal, which a lot of photographers who are very quietly successful have an internal um visibility that we don't even see. It's not it's not outward, it's their client communication, their client experience. Everything is given to the past client in a way of being like, please, and I'll am inviting you back in. Um, and we don't see that. So then we're like, oh, well, you know, they they're not technically good, so they must not be booking when in fact this person's booking out very consistently, has for years and barely shows up anywhere else because the visibility is internal. Conversely, you could have someone who has really good external visibility, they have really good SEO. If you have good SEO, you're just gonna get people to look at your website. That's it's a basic equation. And if you've done a good job of consistency, trust, familiarity, and that feeling of like, I like her work throughout the whole site, and I like to I seem to like her as a person, that visibility will help that person get booked. If you're someone who's really good at social media and you're constantly getting new local eyes on your business, that visibility will win the game as long as it's backed up by consistency, trust, and familiarity. Okay, the second hard truth is they're remembered for something that's not that has nothing to do. It was it's not like when you talk to somebody who's a past client of a photographer and they're like, I just really love the um how she moved the grain slider slightly up. That's not what they're saying. They're saying like they have consistency. Every session we've done with her has been fun, and the images all go together. This is like what the basic layman who doesn't know anything about photography is gonna say. And it was always in a pretty location, and she helped us style our family. Like that's what it is. You're you have a recognizable style and voice, you are showing up consistently for the people who are checking into their brand your brand and they're in that gaining familiarity phase. You're repeatingly telling people what you're repeatedly telling people what you're doing, you're excitedly inviting people in all the time. The excitement is missing. I know I've said it, it's been like my theme, but it really is. Okay, the third, what are we on? One, two, three, hard truth. Uh, they make it easy to book. That's just an we sorry, I'm getting bamboozling myself. It has to be easier. Like, I'm sorry, but it has to be easier. This goes into the one, two, three, four, fourth hard truth, which is people are trying to build trust after people book. You're like, if they would only write in on my contact form, I could win them over. No. That work needs to be done before. Maybe in 2021 that would work. You could be like, once they write me, I'm gonna give them my 75-page PDF on everything they need to know. Take the freaking PDF and turn it into your website. There's no benefit to you keeping things gate kept because the attention span of the human goldfish doesn't want to wait for that information. And think about think about this, okay? You're a potential client, you stumble upon a website, you see a good feeling, you feel a good feeling, you see consistent imagery, the person seems nice, and they're like, write me. And so you do. You're like, hello, it's me. What do I do? I want a session, and then they're like, send you this extremely helpful document, okay? So then you read it. Well, maybe you read it. Some people don't open anything. That's the other hard thing about this method. But let's say you open it and then your like trust is like through the roof. You're like, oh my gosh, she has an amazing location. She's gonna help me style. She, here's how she's gonna handle my kids. Here's here's her weather reschedule policy, all these things now. Switch it. You've arrived on the website, and the website is that PDF. Are you feeling less trust with that person? No. So you need to build trust before the inquiry. You have to even if you have an inquiry process, you still need to build trust. You can't. I see so many people who are trying to bypass this by being like Instagram to like a session page where it's like here's it's like motherhood sessions and here's the dates, and that's all that's available. And they're like, I keep posting about it, and no one, no one has anywhere to build trust with you. You have to give them trusty little buckets to marinate in, like little pieces of uh chicken in a chicken noodle soup. They have to sit in there, they're they have to get used to you, and then they can move forward with the process. So you can't say like, write me and then I'll take good care of you and explain my brand. Explain it beforehand. How to build trust before bookings, we all know. Showcase real client experience, show the behind the scenes, show your personality and excitement, produce a consistent imagery, be simplistic, not do that work after they write in. Okay, what are we on? Can't count five. They the people who are booking consistently are treating this. This is gonna this might be a little stingy. So put on your put on your ointment. Uh they're treating it like it's a real business. Okay, so let's say that I am a marketing manager for a a business in my town, and I show up and I'm and like my boss is like, Welcome in, Fiona. Hopefully it's a woman, or I'm just gonna not, I'm just gonna walk out anyway. So we'll say it's a woman, and she's like, Welcome in, Fiona, and I sit down and she's like, Here's your marketing task for today, and I'm like, I don't really feel like it. I'm waiting for the motivation to cover me like a warm blanket, Barbara. Do you mind? Do you mind if I just sit here in silence or scroll on TikTok for six hours first? What is what is she gonna say? She's gonna say, You're fired. Okay? So, like, you are her in your own business. You cannot wait to feel inspired. You need to follow a plan. It doesn't have to be a social media plan, doesn't mean that you have to bark it on social media, but you have to be gaining visibility somehow. And then you're going to have to do the boring work of repeating what works. If I was a marketing manager for a small business and I was trying to reinvent the wheel every single day, I they would not keep me employed because I would be spending so much time in the creation phase and the ideation phase and not the execution phase that I wouldn't be a good employee. So that is another hard truth. It's not your marketing is not sitting there waiting for you to feel uh shot by an arrow of inspiration to take the first move. You just gotta move. You just gotta move. Last one is offer uh simplicity. Like, I I need to. This is like I'm looking in the mirror and I'm like, offer simplicity if you. Like I am in it, okay. I understand. I love to make my life friggin' hard because I like to photograph a lot of things. But I know, I know, and this is what a lot of you I was just reading my sock and it says the brand is Eat My Socks. I don't even know where these socks came from. Sorry. I thought it said something else for a second. Like I could barely see it because my eyes are all filled with allergens. Um anyway, I got sidetracked by my own sock. What the heck was I talking about? Okay, so you want to have. I really want to look at the Instagram of the Eat My Socks brand. So that's what I'm gonna be doing after this. You want to have it. What was I saying? Hold on. Beep, beep, boop, boop, boop. Okay, this is it. This is it. B, you have to know that if you have lots of offers that you are taking on, you are every new offer that you decide on. If you're like, I'm gonna offer motherhood minis and these, and I'm gonna offer these, and I'm gonna offer this, I'm gonna offer newborn sessions, and I'm gonna offer maternity sessions, and I'm gonna offer the every single one of those is 10 hours of work to get that marketing plan written out and going. So just think about it that way. It's okay. Like there's a lot of you out there. The best thing you could do for yourself would be to simplify. That would be the best thing. And then all you're talking about is the one thing that would help you so much. Okay, so quick little episode. I don't know if it's quick actually, because there's a lot of random ranting, but just a few things to think about when you're looking at people and you're like, but how are they booked? It may be some of these hard truths are the things that are keeping you back, not that you need this new stack of presets or this client closet, or if your client would just freaking wear oh short overalls and hunter boots, which I'm like, why did I give away my hunter boots? First of all, I'm sorry, sorry to hunter boots. Living in the Pacific Northwest, hunter boots kind of suck. I had them forever, and the salt water, which is where I actually wear need my hunter boots, it like eats the rubber away. We have actual companies here that are like fishing companies that make way better boots, but you know, the hunters are acute. I also learned, realized today, or I was went down a rabbit hole of my accent. So Pacific Northwest, Seattle area accent of not saying tease. I didn't realize this until someone said it, but like winner, like we we say instead of no one here is like it's winter time. We're like, it's winter. So anyway, that I'm learning more about my own speech. Winter, Costco, we say cost co, we say Costco. Uh, we don't say tease. So I didn't know. You know, you learn something new about your little self all the

Offers Membership And TikTok Challenge

SPEAKER_00 24:52

time. Okay, so if you need help with a Facebook ad, I have my new little snuggle zone where we talk, where we talk twice, and I do a loom video and you get yourself all set up to be able to repeat that process moving forward. Like I want it to be like, okay, I checked off being a person who knows how to run Facebook ads. That's what I want you to be after this. If you don't want help with just everyday stuff, join the membership. Oh, in the membership, we we had our co-working, which is basically like once a month we meet at the end to check in on how the month went, then kind of plan for the month forward. And it's really fun because you hear what everyone's doing. And I decided that in the membership, we're gonna do a May TikTok challenge because I think too few of us are on that app. Um, and I think it's actually a really, really good place for photographers to be. I've talked about it before. So if you're interested in building a TikTok, join the membership and we're gonna be doing a May TikTok challenge. Okay, hope you guys have a good week.