About Your Expectations & Mine – Marketing for Photographers

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If you are considering my coaching – or any marketing services/course – chances are you expect one thing above everything else: results.

Enquiries, bookings and sales.

After all, that’s what marketing promises and that’s what it should deliver. Pretty simple.

You know what?

Not only do I agree with this, I can also guarantee that the pressure on this side of the exchange is as high as it is on yours: I am not one to take any responsibility lightly, ever, and this is one I feel even more because I know how it is to trust someone to enter your business.

There is a much more important question, however, that we seem to have collectively forgotten after years of exposure to seducing ads promoting marketing miracles and success stories shared on social: while it is reasonable to expect results when investing in marketing, how long should these results take and how much work will be required for them to arrive?

Anyone who has worked in marketing and advertising at a professional, serious level will tell you that there is only one type of business that is guaranteed quick and easy marketing results no matter what: the one that is ALREADY getting results.

It is not a case that big advertising agencies charge monthly retainers in the range of thousands of £ or ask clients to provide proof that their sales funnel is already successful: by doing so, they limit their clientele to businesses that are already succeeding.

There is only one type of business that is guaranteed quick and easy marketing results no matter what: the one that is ALREADY getting results.

So what about everyone else?

The equation is pretty easy.

There are two currencies in marketing and advertising: your time and your budget. The bigger the budget, the higher the chances you can speed up the process to the max. The lower the budget, the more time you will need to get where you want.

Lacking both, you will need to compromise on the quality of your leads or evaluate alternative ways to breathe monetary oxygen into your business.

Diving deeper into the “how long?” question

Those listed below are all factors that WILL (not “might”) affect your business results. I suggest you go through this list and keep track of your “No”: the more “no”, the longer it might get for you to get results.

  1. Have you served more than 200 paying clients since opening your business?
  2. Are you already generating the minimum number of bookings necessary to go even every month? Of course, this requires that you have been tracking this with an updated Cost of Doing Business
  3. Do you have more than 3k followers on Facebook (the size of your Instagram is not a real indication of anything unless you have “earn” most of your followers before the introduction of reels)?
  4. Is the vast majority of your following made of potential clients (so no friends, other photographers, or people who have been there for way too long to be considered active clients)?
  5. Have you had any success with online advertising before?
  6. Are your prices in line with the average in your area (or below, not that I suggest they should)?

Now, if you have answered no to most of these questions there is no need to panic, marketing can absolutely still help and, in fact, I would consider marketing help necessary in your situation especially considering how challenging the market is these days!

Just know getting things to work might not be a matter of a few weeks – since the fundamentals of your business need work.

Now, what are MY expectations?

There are 3 things I expect from all clients, and these are non-negotiable:

  1. I expect you to be honest about the above and your financial situation. As mentioned on my homepage and in several other pages, if you are in a financial emergency that should be addressed before you sign up for this coaching (or any coaching really).

    There are plenty of courses and coaches that target specifically people in a financial emergency and promise them a magic solution, but I am not in the business of exploiting people’s fears to sell my services.
  2. You might have noticed that I don’t pressure people to sign up. My process allows for enough time and space for you to decide if you believe this is right for you.

    These are the steps we follow to help you decide:

    – My homepage offers you a checklist to help you understand if this is right for you
    – You have a free 1-hour call with me before you are even offered a space
    – Your offer email includes an additional “Is this right for you?” checklist
    – You are also invited to read the “What if your coaching does not work for me?” article
    – You are given a 30-day money-back guarantee
    – I am also happy to offer additional calls to clear doubts before you sign up


I take this process very seriously, and I expect you to do the same because I want you to sign up feeling confident and knowing you can trust me.

You know why?

Because the absolute worst we can do is to spend our time together trying to convince you that this was the right investment – I want to spend our time DOING THE WORK required for you to grow, succeed and feel amazing.

As someone amazing I recently met told me… “With your best interest at heart”,

Gi

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Conscious Business for Photographers: an introduction

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I have thought long and hard about using the word “conscious” in an industry that offers luxury services, but after a year of work, I still believe this might be the best way to define this new – or better, different – approach to business.

So let’s begin by defining what “conscious” means.

Simply put, “conscious business” is a way of seeing business as a human matter (and experience) because the reality is that every interaction with our clients – from marketing to sales – IS an interaction between two human beings.

Yes, the very same way we claim that our clients forget there is a human on the other side… we also often forget our “clients” are human, going through our same worries, fears, stresses and doubts.

But why does this matter?

In the words of Brené Brown:

“All I know is that my life is better when I assume that people are doing their best. It keeps me out of judgment and lets me focus on what is, and not what should or could be.”

Brené Brown

Now if we see business as a human matter the choice for us business owners is simple: we can choose to make every act of business, or interaction with our clients (from marketing to sales, remember?) one that enriches our clients’ lives and fosters trust and respect or choose the opposite instead.

But pay attention: I am not suggesting you let others take advantage of you – in fact, setting strong boundaries and clear business practices is one of the 3 pillars of conscious business.

The 3 pillars of Conscious Business for Photographers: Ask for permission

One of the most common mistakes I see in marketing and sales is to just assume that everyone who contacts us asking for info is doing so because they want to buy from us (or book) there and then, and because of this we are entitled to chase them, follow up, and then consider them “time wasters” if they don’t take part to this fast and furious exchange.

Think about your own experience entering a shop.

Do you prefer being given a little time to look around and compare, and ask questions, or being followed around by someone who won’t let you go unless you explicitly tell them in 4 languages that no, you are not ready to buy?

A simple way for you to address this when people contact you is to… ask.

Especially when running ads, I strongly invite you to ask a simple question “I’d love to send you more details for your specific request, are you looking into booking a session as soon as possible or simply gathering information?” (now this is very formal, so adapt it to your style).

Other questions you might want to ask:

“I need to talk with my partner”

“Of course, no problem! Would you like me to get in touch next Tuesday to remind you of the deadline for this offer?”

or

“Of course, no problem! Would you like me to get in touch next week to check if you are interested in booking a session then?”

Silence in reply to this question is an answer.

Boundaries


Yes, assuming people are doing their best does not mean excusing their behaviour, not holding them accountable.

At the same time, trusting people does not mean allowing them to take advantage of us.

Brené Brown (Dare to Lead) explains this perfectly when she says that the most compassionate and generous people are also the most “boundaried”, but that most people struggle to set clear boundaries.

You can read more about boundaries and how to set them in this article, but I will give you another practical example.

In your contract, you most likely have some clauses or terms that you absolutely want clients to know about: cancellation terms, delivery times, or simply opening hours and how to contact you for business-related matters.


Well, having them in your contract is great – but even better is pointing those terms out to your clients ALSO in the email that accompanies the contract asking if there are doubts or questions. 

This means you are not only “legally” protected, but you have also shown your clients that you are clear and firm about your terms – and not scared to enforce them.

“It turns out that we assume the worst about people’s intentions when they’re not respectful of our boundaries. It’s easy to believe that they are trying to disappoint us on purpose.” 

What if everybody in the marketplace did the same?


This has always been my guiding principle for creating my own ads, but it works for most business practices.

When you are in doubt about doing something, in marketing or business, ask yourself: what would happen if everybody in my industry did the same?

Think about Venture (and they are not alone): they have forever affected negatively the way some people think and view newborn photographers, making your potential clients more sceptical and difficult to deal with.

The examples, unfortunately, are endless.

Offering “free downloads” just in order to harass people with salesy newsletters, free calls that are sales calls, etc… etc… etc…

As you can see, Conscious Business is nothing complicated – or particularly new.

As I always say, it simply is a way of treating every business act as an act of care.

“The Shift: Conscious Business for Photographers” is one of the 4 core programs of our coaching, together with the Marketing Mastermind for Newborn Photographers, the Perfect Pricing Blueprint and Pathway to Creation: Creative Marketing for Photographers.

To learn more about our hands-on approach to marketing that works to get you bookings, visit www.growyourphotographystudio.com

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“I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SH*T”

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Most of our lives are filled with too much pressure.

Financial pressure, expectations, emails, messages and… time pressure. When you have your own business, time pressure and the constant feeling of being about to drown because you simply don’t have time to it all can easily bring you to the point of breakdown.

Shooting, organising studio and props, editing, ordering, answering emails and messages from clients, and on top of all this… MARKETING.

Social media.

Blogs, welcome guides, reels, ads, websites.

No wonder time, or the lack of it, is something we need to address so often during our coaching call on the Marketing Mastermind for Newborn Photographers.

But since all of these activities are essential to our business… is there even a solution to the problem?

After all, being too busy – literally to the point of burnout – is not only seen as normal but often celebrated. 

WHY “TOO BUSY” IS NOT OK

Truth is, being “too busy” does not only make us sick in the long term, it can also have catastrophic consequences for our business. Being too busy, and too tired, often means things don’t happen fast enough because you are always trying to catch up with what needs to be done.

This also means your energy, creativity and brainpower are not being used much for “high level” decisions and planning.

We are so busy working on the daily maintenance of our “car” that we lose sight of what matters the most: our destination, and how to get there.

STEP 1: WHERE TO START

Ever noticed how, when you feel overwhelmed, even the tiniest request or annoyance can push you over the edge?

That I just can’t do this feeling.

So here is the first recommendation: write a list of all the activities you are responsible for in your business.

Important: I am NOT asking you for a to-do list.

Your list should resemble something like:

  • Handling enquiries and bookings
  • Shooting
  • Editing
  • Accounting
  • Buying props
  • Cleaning the studio
  • Social Media (list platforms)
  • Blog posts
  • Google My Business
  • Updating the website
  • Advertising

Write down as much as you can.
Then keep this list with you and keep adding to it.

STEP TWO: DO I NEED THIS?

Look at the activities you have marked and answer the following questions:

  1. How is this going to affect my business?
  2. Is it really necessary?
  3. Is it urgent?

Something necessary and urgent should, indeed, be addressed first.

Urgent but not necessary… should only be done when you have extra time, or outsourced when you have extra money.

Eliminate everything that is not necessary and write it on a separate list.

“I REALLY DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!”

In the early days of my career, I remember spending Saturday evenings trying to learn how to do things I didn’t know how to do, fully aware that it wasn’t “my job” and that it was taking me much longer than it should have.

At the beginning that sometimes wasn’t even a choice, I just didn’t have the money to pay someone to do it.

But then, as time passed and the business kept growing, that habit did not leave me.

I got busier and busier, but I was still doing everything. 

One part of me still felt like I needed to save money for “more important things”, another part of me didn’t think others would do as good as a job.

After all, I was a perfectionist.

Until, one day, the reality of what I was doing started to sink in.

1 – The more time I was spending time doing things that “weren’t my job” (for example, building a website) the less time I had for those activities that could help me get more clients.

And you know what? That’s how you make money.

Money that you can in part invest to free more of your time, get more clients and live a more sustainable life.

2 – In most situations, I didn’t need my “suppliers” to do a perfect job.

If they were good enough to take the job from 0% to 90%, I could take it to 100%, get a great final product in 1/10 of the time.

Starting to outsource also gave me a chance to test suppliers, build a relationship with them and give them a chance to learn more about my business. Some of them have now been working with me for years and my “final touches” take minutes, not hours.

3 – Time and freedom have simply no price.

Our time is limited, for real. 

So how much is an hour of your time worth it? And should you really spend it doing something you should not be doing in the first place?

For me, the answer is not and let me tell you one thing: the sense of relief I felt the first time I paid someone $80 that gave me a free evening to do what I wanted was inebriating.

Back to your list, chances are sometimes you feel the way I described at the beginning of this section.

That “I could use this money for something else” and “I know I would not be happy, I am a perfectionist”.

I want you to mark all activities that make you feel like that.

A few that I think might be on your list: website (especially building it), blog posts, admin, accounting.

One part of me still felt like I needed to save money for “more important things”, another part of me didn’t think others would do as good as a job.

After all, I was a perfectionist.

STEP FOUR: EVALUATE OPTIONS

Now you should have a list of activities that are necessary to your business and that you should not be doing.

Some of them will be urgent, some won’t.

Start from the urgent ones and evaluate options for outsourcing.

Ask in your favourite Facebook groups, ask other local businesses, and have a look at platforms like Fiverr.

When it comes to platforms like Fiverr please be extra careful with gigs that are way too cheap. There is always a reason.

Also, contact the seller before placing an order. Ask if they have worked with anyone in your industry before and, if that is the case, ask if you can see a sample of their work.

If not, ask for other samples.

And then just do it.

Outsourcing most of your activities won’t be a huge investment, so don’t waste weeks making a decision!

Part of your job as a business owner is to evaluate risks and make small decisions quickly, so your business can keep moving forward and your time and energy can be spent on what really matters.

Hi, I am Giulia (weird, uh? It sounds like Julia – but it’s written with a “Gi”) and I am the founder of Grow Your Photography Studio.

I am known for my no-BS, hands-on approach to helping newborn photographers get more clients and grow a business they actually enjoy running. I believe marketing should not be a “necessary evil” and that taking action is the first and most fundamental step toward success.

Feeling on the brink of burnout? Read our guide “Photographers on the brink of burnout“

Thinking about our Marketing Mentoring programme? Read this first

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