Launch Planning Made Easy for Photographers with Dolly DeLong

Launch strategies aren’t just for educators, and it’s something that I wish I had learned sooner in my photography business. This week on the podcast, I’m diving into the must-know launch strategies that can take your photography business to the next level. We’ll talk about creating intentional content and automating your processes to make everything run smoother. I’m super excited to have Dolly DeLong, a family photographer and systems educator for creatives, with me to share her top tips.

Keep scrolling for links to the episode, show notes, and a full transcript.

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Show Notes

Dolly DeLong: http://www.dollydelongphotography.com/podcast

Free Launch Resource from Dolly DeLong: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/the-launch-bundle-kajabi

The Systems + Workflow Magic Bundle: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/the-systems-and-workflow-magic-bundle-seo-waitlist

Template Shop: https://simplysandrayvonne.ca/shop

Save 50% on Flodesk: https://flodesk.com/c/LIBPSANDRA

Takeaways

• Launch strategies can be applied to various types of businesses, including photography
• Promoting yourself and staying top of mind with clients is essential for success
• Email marketing is a powerful tool for nurturing relationships and generating leads
• Planning and strategizing for launches can streamline the process and increase success
• Understanding your ideal client and catering your marketing to their needs is crucial

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Misconceptions about Launch Strategies
06:18 How Launch Strategies Differ for Photographers
10:49 Streamlining Launch Processes for Photographers
18:10 Planning and Strategizing for Launches
25:38 Automating Launch Processes and Lead Generation
35:28 Promoting Yourself and Staying Top of Mind
39:04 Conclusion and Next Week’s Episode

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About Dolly

Dolly DeLong is a wife, mom, believer and a photographer turned systems educator for creatives. She loves teaching other creative business owners about the power of systems, workflows and sops to better impact the backend of their business so that the front end of their business feels streamlined (and magical).

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What do your taco choices reveal about your wedding photography business? Take my quiz to find out!

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TRANSCRIPT

00:00 Introduction and Misconceptions about Launch Strategies

[00:00:00] Sandra Henderson: Before I started my business working as a system strategist, I truly thought that launch strategies just didn’t apply to me.

[00:00:07] Every example I saw when it came to launching had something to do with educators and coaches. And so as a photographer, I just felt like it had no application for my business. But once I started learning more about how to actually launch things like this podcast and my group coaching program, I realized how incredibly wrong I was.

[00:00:26] Not only do I do several launches a year with my mini sessions, but these strategies can really be applied to things like the start of booking season for weddings or doing print sales or anything like that in your business. Launch strategies have actually helped me increase my mini session bookings by 30%.

[00:00:44] So when I was brainstorming about this episode, there was just one person who came to mind and that was Dolly DeLong.

[00:00:50] Dolly DeLong is a photographer turned systems educator for creatives. Love to see it. She loves teaching other creative business owners about the power of systems, workflows, and SOPs to better impact the backend of their businesses so that the front end of their business feels streamlined and magical.

[00:01:08] During our interview, Dolly and I talked about the importance of email marketing, how photographers can promote themselves in a way that keeps them top of mind with their clients and how being intentional with your content will be a game changer for your next launch.

[00:01:23] Welcome to keeping it candid. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, an international wedding and family photographer and business coach. I help wedding photographers use systems to build out the backend of their businesses to gain control and continue to thrive no matter what life throws their way. On a more personal note, I’m a strong enneagram three wing two who’s obsessed with tacos and my love for travelling combined with navigating chronic illness life are just two of the many things that drive my passion for all things systems workflows and beating burnout as a business owner.

[00:01:53] Join me every week for a candid behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer, where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends. So go grab your favorite notebook and pen and let’s dive into this week’s episode

[00:02:13] Dolly, I am so, so excited to talk more with you today, but before we dive into all of the goodness that I know we have waiting for us, I want to give you the floor for a quick second. If you want to just introduce yourself and let everybody know a little bit about what you’re all about.

[00:02:26] Dolly DeLong: Definitely. First of all, Sandra, thank you so much for having me on your podcast. I’m very honoured you reached out. My name is Dolly DeLong. I am a Nashville-based family photographer and I also am a systems and workflow educator for other business owners. So what that means is I love teaching other small business owners, the importance of setting up systems.

[00:02:51] Workflows and SOPs to better run the back end of their business so that they feel more streamlined and confident running the front end of the business. So that is a little bit about me on the business side. And other than that personal life, I am a wife and I am a boy mom to two wild boys. And, yeah, I’m based in Nashville, Tennessee.

[00:03:15] Sandra: I love that. I am all about systems and workflows and SOPs. So you’re totally singing my language with all of that. My stepson is actually at his mom’s house right now but he’s 16. So he’s very self-sufficient. I did actually have a coaching call with my business coach yesterday. It was like two hours long.

[00:03:31] And I said to my stepson, like, this is a meeting that you can interrupt. So anything that you need, just come and get me. Yeah. But of course, he comes in like the only time during the whole call that I’m talking. There was a good hour and a half. Where I wasn’t speaking and I was just hanging out, listening to everybody else.

[00:03:46] But then they’ll like, when it’s finally my turn, it’s like all of a sudden he needs something.

[00:03:49] Dolly: I can’t imagine my son being a teenager. I cannot fathom it. I have nephews who are teenagers and they are like, well, to me, they’re very sweet. I’m sure my, my sister-in-law, as they have like, you know, a different mother-son relationship, but.

[00:04:06] I cannot imagine having a 16-year-old that just blows my mind.

[00:04:10] Sandra: It’s, it’s definitely hard to wrap my mind around some days, especially because I actually started dating his dad when he was only four months old. So I’ve been there watching him grow up the whole time. But I will say now, mind you, maybe I just remembered my teenage years, which were not the greatest of years, but like my stepson is such an easy teenager.

[00:04:29] And I worry that I’m going to jinx it but I don’t know. I’m just sitting here waiting for the other shoe to drop because of course he has attitude and things like that. But yeah, that’s human. I feel like there’s, there’s just a different approach to it now with how we recognize mental health and support our kids and things like that, that I don’t see a lot of the behaviours in him that I recognize from like myself and my friends when we were teenagers.

[00:04:53] So that has been really nice. We actually really enjoy having him around. So I hope that that rings true for you too.

[00:04:59] Dolly: Yeah. No, I’ve heard it like so many people with teenagers or who have Kids who are older now, like adult children, they, they always are reminding me like just, and let them know that you enjoy being around them, even when they’re little turds, that’s like the best way, the cleanest way of saying that they need to know, they are loved even when they are just being little, little rats, like they need to know they’re still lovable. So I am always thinking about that, like, okay, he just needs to know, both my sons need to know they’re so lovable even when, Oh, they are grading my innermost being right now, but I still need to let them know that they’re loved.

[00:05:41] Sandra: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, unfortunately, the, like, grating on the last nerve doesn’t go away, but I wonder, I should call up my parents and be like, so am I still doing that to you at 37? Like, is this ever going to go away?

[00:05:54] Dolly: It never goes away, but I just like, love them so much.

[00:05:57] Sandra: It’s so true. Well, I am so excited to dive into all the things about systems and specifically launching.

[00:06:05] I wanted to talk about how launching you think differs for photographers versus educators. Because I know before I got into the education space, I would see people talking about launching and I didn’t think that it applied to me.

06:18 How Launch Strategies Differ for Photographers

[00:06:18] But then as I got into the education space and started working with launch strategies more, I realized that I’ve been launching my mini sessions several times a year, but I just had no strategy behind it. So I would love to hear your take on how launch strategies differ for photographers who are not in the education space.

[00:06:37] Dolly: Yeah, so I have a really hot take about launching and I’m sure it’s not really controversial, but I’m just setting it up to be a hot take. It’s this, I believe that launching is, is essentially promoting yourself. Like. All the time in some way, selling yourself and promoting yourself. And regardless, if you are a service-based business owner, or if you are like have online courses, or if you have a group program, it doesn’t matter.

[00:07:05] You have to promote yourself. You have to sell your services in order to run your business. And so that’s how I look at launching, just promoting myself. It has helped that I am both a service-based business center with photography and then I also am an online educator with systems and workflows.

[00:07:27] So that’s kind of like helped me. Kind of like bridge that definition for me. I am essentially promoting myself in different ways. Yes. It looks so different as a service provider versus an online, online educator, but essentially the foundations are the same. It’s knowing how to sell yourself and knowing how to promote yourself at different phases, if that makes sense.

[00:07:53] Sandra: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I know my like when I say I had no strategy for my mini sessions, I was the like post it once and then we’re done kind of person. And for some, some years it worked. Some years it was an absolute disaster. I’m glad that I’m not doing that anymore. But yeah, that definitely makes so much sense and just how important it is to keep talking about ourselves and keep promoting ourselves.

[00:08:18] I don’t remember if it was with my business coach, or if I read it online or wherever it was, but there was this conversation that I was having last year about how we are the only ones who get tired of talking about our businesses because we are the ones who are talking about it all the time. But.

[00:08:32] Everybody’s not hearing it all the time. And so that was definitely like a mental hurdle that I had to get over.

[00:08:38] Dolly: I like to piggyback on that, of what you just said, Sandra, I was at a conference a couple of weeks ago. It was the creative educator conference led by Laila Ahmadi and she had invited a guest speaker, Ashlyn Carter, who is a copywriter for creatives.

[00:08:55] And Ashlyn was specifically talking about the power of launching. And so she. Said this quote that I’m never gonna forget as long as I’m an online Educator, it was like when you feel like you’re screaming about your offer over and over and over again You, in reality, are barely whispering to your audience. They are barely hearing a slice of what you are trying to promote and so that’s kind of like your permission slip to just like to keep on pushing yourself and to keep on promoting yourself because what you perceive as like, well, I’m just being annoying.

[00:09:34] I am like being redundant. I am just talking about this too much. Like. No, keep on promoting yourself. Like you can do it in different ways to where it’s not, it does. It’s not icky, but you still need to talk about yourself because of what you perceive as yelling. It’s really coming across as barely a whisper online.

[00:09:57] Sandra: Oh, that’s such a good analogy. I loved how you were just talking about how it can feel redundant and like we’re saying the same thing over and over again. That was one thing that brought a lot of clarity to me and kind of figuring out my footing in creating a launch strategy was just finding different ways to say the same thing.

[00:10:16] And so I felt like, you know, I, in my lack of strategy, when I would post it once and forget it, and I was trying to build off of that, it was like, well, how many different ways, or how many times can I say spring minis are now booking or don’t forget to book your session. And it just felt really dry. It felt really like not engaging in any way.

[00:10:35] And so finding different ways to send that message out but keep it fresh brought like a new excitement to it for me so that I didn’t feel like I was like you were saying like screaming a whisper of just the same thing over and over again.

10:49 Streamlining Launch Processes for Photographers

[00:10:49] So, what are some ways that photographers can streamline things during their next launch, whether that be for mini sessions or, you know, a wedding sale or anything that they’re going to be launching this year?

[00:11:00] Dolly: So I am going to try to encourage both the photographer who’s listening in, who might be in year one of their business. And then also a lot of what I’m saying is speaking directly to the photographer who might be in the messy middle. So like years three to five, they are figuring things out very slowly.

[00:11:22] And they have a little bit more figured out than what they had in year one. So if you’re in year one, just like keep on putting your foot forward, and try to see what’s working best for you. Because really like by the time year two, year three rolls around, you should have a cadence with understanding when your high season is and when your low season is, like you should have a really good understanding of when, like those fall minis are going to traditionally book out or spring minis are traditionally going to book out.

[00:11:53] And the reason why I bring this up is that once you get that basic understanding of like, okay, I know for a fact that based off of my last two years or three years of being a photographer, I traditionally tend to sell out of my minis around April and then in, I’m just throwing out examples and then in October and November.

[00:12:15] Okay. So I would say take that information. That is like literal data for you. And then I want you as a photographer to put on your strategist hat. You might just be like, no, I’m a creative. I don’t want to be a marketing strategist. And, but you are like, you are most likely running the show on your own.

[00:12:36] So I’m encouraging you to put on a strategist hat and marketing hat and work backwards. So let’s say you are planning some spring minis and you know that there is this Gorgeous floral field in your district. And like, you always sell out, like, but you’re already stressing out about, Oh, what if I don’t sell out?

[00:12:58] Or what if like this happens? Like those insecurities are coming up and you don’t have to be insecure about it. If you know, like, based on the data from the last two or three years, you can have a system and streamline this.

[00:13:13] So you look at when you ideally want those mini sessions to happen, then work backwards. I would say eight, like if, if that’s too much for you, maybe six weeks backwards.

[00:13:28] So let’s say. April 27th, and so starting March the 2nd is 8 weeks from April 27th, then I want you to be very intentional about the type of content that you are going to create to start bringing awareness to your mini sessions. Does this mean that you, in every piece of content, you’re going to hard sell your mini sessions?

[00:13:51] No. But, you can take, like, your two years’ worth of photography content that you’ve created traditionally around that setting. And you can create different pieces of content leading up to the mini session date. That’s like eight weeks of content. And for me, like, this is exciting. And for a listener who is like, this is stressful.

[00:14:14] I don’t want to do that. Like, hear me out, hear me out. You have to start planting seeds in people’s brains and minds early on. Because just because you post about it. Once that doesn’t guarantee everybody’s going to see it. And most likely the algorithm, like we all talk about the algorithm, but most likely your viewers won’t see it.

[00:14:37] So you really have to be intentional about sprinkling and reminders leading up to that April 27th date. How do you do that? Like you were saying, Sandra, you talk about different facets and different factors of the mini sessions. So you don’t have to say the same thing all the time. But you can, like, get people interested, and excited about working with you.

[00:15:00] Okay, so one way to streamline it is to work backwards, to plan ahead and work backwards and be intentional. A second way to streamline it is if for sure you know you want to set up Mini session dates on April 27th. I would say plan ahead then and just do everything on the backend in your CRM tool, like HoneyBook or Dubsado or 17 hats, whatever CRM tool you use, like make sure you have all of those puzzle pieces put together in order for a streamlined mini session booking to happen. So if a person does, let’s say you start announcing it on March 2nd, they’re like, Oh, I want to book it right now.

[00:15:41] You can send them the link. So that is one way to streamline, just like, so you don’t have to go back and forth with potential clients. So make sure you have that set up right off the bat. A third thing that you can really be intentional about to streamline your success, is by maybe carving out once or twice a week.

[00:16:02] Like being. Very forward-facing with your marketing and messaging and help cast a vision, like, let’s say on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. and on Thursdays at 10 a.m., that’s when you’re either going to go live on Instagram or you’re going to do something that That, you know, where your audience is and you can then start like creating content pieces about, okay, like I’m going to talk about why I would book a mini session over a full session if you have children and then another day you can talk about like how to prepare for a mini session.

[00:16:41] You can create different forward-facing content to get people excited about booking those mini sessions with you.

[00:16:48] Sandra: Those are such great examples. And as you were talking, I was thinking about how often we see things like that in the wedding photography industry, where people are creating reels with like, you know, this is what you do want to do with your wedding.

[00:17:00] This is what you don’t want to do with your wedding. We can really do it the same way across the board with any kind of portrait. And I definitely, Don’t see it as much in the family photography industry. So I’m so glad you brought that up.

[00:17:11] Dolly: Yeah, it’s really good too, I’m a family photographer, but what wedding photographers really good wedding photographers do really well, I’ve noticed is like, they are really good about talking to their potential couples.

[00:17:25] 6, 9, 12 months down the line, like, because if you think about it, like, it’s not like somebody’s going to book your services and then next week you’re going to do their wedding, like, no, like you are most likely if you’re Like, again, really good at casting that vision as a wedding photographer, you are going to be booking clients like nine months, 12 months, sometimes even like a year and a half ahead of time, because you are presenting like this vision to them early on, as soon as they get like either they’re planning on getting engaged, they’re already engaged, and then you’re helping them cast that vision.

[00:18:04] So as a family photographer, you can do the same thing. Maybe at a little smaller scale, like obviously somebody’s not going to book you for a year and a half down the line for family portraits. That’s very rare unless you’re a travelling family photographer going international, but we’re talking smaller scale here.

18:10 Planning and Strategizing for Launches

[00:18:25] So I want you to like, if this is an April mini session and you are sitting in February, start thinking through like. What is happening in April that a lot of families are like really heavily involved in like I can tell you like normally This is like a month of Easter sometimes even like depending upon where you live in the country spring break Mother’s Day is coming up.

[00:18:53] So you need to start like Looking ahead in your marketing and see, okay, like what can I start talking about right now so that my families can start planning for the next two, three months, because I’ll tell you this as a mom, it’s not helpful for me to only like plan on a day by day basis.

[00:19:13] I have to really like look ahead. And my husband’s way better at this than I am. And like, I’m sure some families are like, what? Like what? Your husband’s better at this than you are. Like, yes I have to give credit where credit is due. My husband has helped me out a lot in this, as far as being more intentional with our family goes, but we are already thinking ahead of like what we need to do as a family in June, July, and August.

[00:19:37] Like, and we have like the things that we’re doing now, it was decided like. November and December. Oh, like, these are things we have to keep in mind for February, March, and April. So, put that, if you are working with families, you have to like, put on the thinking cap, the strategic cap of like, what are they thinking about right now?

[00:19:58] It’s not most likely what’s happening now. Yes, they’re bogged down with like, what’s happening, like, technically, but they’re really thinking about, oh, I need to like, start Start planning out like what we’re going to do for Easter. And I need to do like, what are we going to do for summer break? So get in there, get in their shoes in a way, and like be at the top of mind for yourself and that will benefit your business in so many ways.

[00:20:24] Sandra: Yeah, that is such a good point. Putting ourselves into our client’s shoes or potential client’s shoes is so important. I don’t think there’s really a way to successfully market your business if you don’t do that and you don’t know who it is that you’re speaking to.

[00:20:39] Dolly: Yeah. And like, it’s, And especially, that’s why I wanted to mention that in the very beginning of this episode, like, if you are in year one of your business, like, don’t beat yourself down because you’re still figuring out who you want to ideally serve, and who you want to photograph like if I’m speaking directly to photographers or and if I’m not speaking to photographers Then who in general who do you want to serve because it might feel like you’re just throwing spaghetti at the wall and figuring out But once that’s spaghetti starts sticking and like if things start clicking then, you know, like, okay These are the people I want to talk Talk to and serve and then you’ll know like what they’re You’ll see like what their buying behaviour is like, what their patterns are like.

[00:21:25] It really, when you are intentional about looking at that, you will see like, Oh, like this is true, it started clicking for me like a year or so ago with, a certain type of clients buying behaviours. I was like, Oh, when I market this during this time of year, they are most likely to buy versus if I market this month, like They won’t buy it. It’s just so crazy how that works out.

[00:21:50] Sandra: It’s so true, but it just kind of goes to show how important it is to pay attention to things like that and not just have inquiries coming in and out. And like all of that is great, but understanding where they’re coming from, why they’re hiring you at certain points definitely gives you an advantage when it comes to marketing your business in the future and not wasting your time on maybes and just focusing your energy when you know you’re going to be getting those yeses.

[00:22:16] Dolly: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Exactly.

[00:22:19] Sandra: So there are any ways that you’ve been able to automate launch processes that photographers and business owners might not necessarily have thought of?

[00:22:26] Dolly: Yeah, definitely. Well, this is not so much an automation, but just a system I have put in place for myself at the beginning of the year.

[00:22:35] And then I assess every quarter. So for those of you who are like, you love casting a vision and planning ahead for the full year, you’re going to love this point. And for those of you who are like, I don’t like planning the full year then you’ll like point two. So point one is I love at the very top of the year, I love Casting a vision for the full year of like how my, I know what my services are already.

[00:23:03] I know what makes me money already then. And so I like to plan ahead for, and you see Sandra, Sandra can see like my calendar right behind me. I know when I’m going to be busiest with family photography.

[00:23:16] Sandra: Hey friends, I’m interrupting this episode because I wanted to remind you that the waitlist for my brand new template shop is now open.

[00:23:24] This template shop is going to be filled with everything you need to simplify and streamline your business behind the scenes, including things like HoneyBook smart file templates, email swipe files, workflow processes, and tutorials to help you get them built inside your CRM. So many good things are coming.

[00:23:40] So head over to SimplySandraYvonne.ca/shop to get on the waitlist and you’ll also have a chance to enter to win a free bundle as well as get a little special something to say thank you for being here. That’s SimplySandraYvonne.ca/shop.

[00:23:58] Dolly: Then, that, like, flip, I know, like, we’re using photography as an example, but, my other service is Systems and Workflow Education.

[00:24:07] So, then, once I know my busier seasons for family photography, I can look at my slower seasons when I’m not getting as many inquiries, because, like, in January and February, it’s like dreary and gross here in Nashville. And so I’m not getting as many inquiries for outdoor photography. So that’s when a lot of my systems and workflow education picks up.

[00:24:31] And so I know, okay, this is when I’m going to be heavily marketing certain things, for the education side of my business. And so that’s how I’m able to like market and plan out. My entire year and see, okay, this is what I’m going to be talking with to my families. Okay. This is when I’m going to be amping up my promotional for my students for systems and workflow education.

[00:24:56] Again, it’s taken me like five, almost five years to get, like, to understand like the ebbs and flows of like my business. But okay. So let’s talk about for the students, for the. Client, the listener who’s listening in and you’re like, I do not, that makes me want to vomit, like just thinking ahead for a full year.

[00:25:16] Okay. I hear you. I would encourage you to look ahead for the next 90 days. Like what is happening in the next 90 days. How you can be better prepared as a photographer and what is happening? Like, I know right now we’re recording this in February and 90 days out is March, April, and May. And again, that season is like spring minis, motherhood sessions.

25:38 Automating Launch Processes and Lead Generation

[00:25:45] So, If I was like, Only wanting to do, If I did not like the idea of like casting a vision for the full year, Then I would just do every, like, 90-day assessments. Like what’s happening in the next 90 days?

[00:26:00] Okay, how can I create content that serves the next 90 days that helps people help me keep, helps people keep me top of mind or helps me stay top of mind to my ideal client? How can I create content that helps me stay top of mind? And not just content, short-form content, but what type of long-form content.

[00:26:25] Okay. This might be getting a little more like… A little bit more strategic and I don’t want people to like tune me out. How can you create long-form content that not only answers the question, like immediate questions for the next 90 days, but is more evergreen for, I don’t know, like summer.

[00:26:44] Like, so how can you balance both? Like, can you take, let’s go back to the Tuesday, Thursday example on Tuesdays. You are intentional about creating the next 90 days worth of content that speaks directly to what’s going on in the next 90 days. And then on Thursdays, you’re like, okay, summer is happening in the next quarter after this quarter or fall, okay, what type of content should I be creating that will attract the right type of client to me? And so maybe making Tuesdays the more next 90 days content and then Thursdays the more evergreen content, like seasonal content. I really hope I’m making sense.

[00:27:27] Sandra: Oh yeah, absolutely. That makes total sense. It’s just so important to always be thinking forward. I’m going to go back to using my mini sessions as an example again, but there was a large portion of time that I was Booking my weddings and not taking any time to plan when I wanted my mini sessions to happen, but I love doing mini sessions.

[00:27:48] And so it was like every season I was like, Oh no, I have to launch this or I’m not going to have enough time. They’re happening in a month or whatever the case may be. And I would just have to. Find a date that I could squeeze them in around my weddings. And I eventually had to kind of make a decision for myself.

[00:28:04] Like, what is my priority going to be? If I want my priority to be weddings, then maybe I ditch the mini sessions. If I want to keep doing mini sessions, then I have to make those dates a priority. And so I think even just for like our own sanity, it’s so important to have an idea of what’s coming up next, but just finding those, like.

[00:28:22] tangible chunks of time that it’s easy to look forward on. So like you were saying, like the 90 days and just kind of breaking it down into quarters or whatever it is, that’s going to work for you.

[00:28:31] Dolly: I will also say another strategy that I really wish was taught to me a year one and year two was this. And I know like, again, this is not like a sexy TikTok viral video strategy I’m about to share.

[00:28:44] This is about lead generation. So email marketing. So again, before you, before the listener tunes me out, hear me out on this one. You should always have email marketing, and email growth at the, like, at the very front of your mind every single day, because what, like, as you’re growing your email list. They should be funnelled into like, some sort of nurture strategy.

[00:29:09] You’re nurturing them either weekly, bi-weekly, once a month. And then, your email subscribers are most likely, they will. I, I, it’s not a most likely scenario. They will be the ones that book with you before your social media books with you, unless it’s very weird where you are just, I don’t know, like, I haven’t, I have only experienced the cause I have a very small family segment.

[00:29:43] Of subscribers, and those are the ones that book me out year after year after year, versus my bigger Instagram audience on my photography page, like, it’s very, it’s very clear to me. Every year, as I go into like, I really need to always focus on email marketing, nurturing my newsletter every week, reminding them what I do, reminding them about blog posts, reminding them about family photography, reminding like, just like every single week.

[00:30:13] And so when I do open up those doors to many sessions, they’re the ones booking me first. And then I’ll have a few stragglers from either SEO or Instagram stories.

[00:30:25] Sandra: Yeah. I’ve noticed the exact same thing in my business too. I really started leaning into email marketing for my mini sessions last year.

[00:30:32] And of the 12 sessions that I did for my family mini or my family minis, my fall minis, 10 of them had come from my email list and they were repeat clients. And the other two had come through social media. So that was really eye-opening for me as someone who even had been doing email marketing for a long time was just like, wow, like I kind of have just been half-assing it because it was like, cool, I’ll get a few from here.

[00:30:57] But like I was really focusing my energy on social media and when I flipped that and put my energy into email marketing and just casual content on social media. It was like a night and day difference with the level of sales I was making.

[00:31:10] Dolly: Yeah, that’s so true. And to listeners who are like, okay, Dolly, can you give me tangible examples of like, how to do this in the next 90 days?

[00:31:20] Like, how do I grow my email list out? Well, if you’re brand new to email marketing, I do want to share this. You have to like, have an incentive for a person to actually be added to your email newsletter. An incentive you- or you’ve heard it called a freebie, a lead magnet. Just whatever. But why would a person like me hand over their email to you? Like, make it really easy for them. Don’t just like put it on your website, like join my newsletter. That has a conversion rate of less than 3%.

[00:31:56] Like it’s very bad. But have a real incentive. They, if, if somebody really does want to work with you, like maybe a really simple way, what would be join my newsletter and get 20 percent off for your next session, like that’s an incentive right there, or a big incentive that works for me is a style guide.

[00:32:21] Because moms, like, I know, as a mom, and then I serve moms, like, we are, like, stressed out about how could, like, how do we dress our kids? Like, how, how do we, like, show up and, like, make sure that these, like, I’m investing a lot in photos. I want to make sure my kids, and my family looks good.

[00:32:41] Like I’m not a stylist. Like, how do I do this in the most stress-free way possible? So I’ve created freebies and guides on like a free style guide so that they can use that regardless if they’re working with me or if they’re working with someone else, they show up and they show up well. Another idea I have that I’m kind of like thinking about doing is a private podcast for families. Not for family photographers, not like education, but for families who are especially moms, because moms don’t have time to sit around and read a novel about like, Oh. Now, like, this is how you get dressed, and you go through your class, like, I, as a mom, I’m like, I need, if I’m gonna learn something, I need to learn, I’m gonna pop it in my earbuds while I’m driving my children to school.

[00:33:31] So, photographers, maybe consider, Putting your, if you have a style guide, or if you have blog posts, or if you have a series, put that series in the form of a private audio podcast and do that as a lead magnet. And then it’s like a fun and cool and new way, to deliver free value to your potential clients.

[00:33:53] And then they’re thinking about you cause they’re listening to your voice. They’re making that little emotional connection with you. Through your voice, and then hopefully that also adds. Like they’re segmented into your weekly newsletter and then you are again building that relationship with them.

[00:34:10] Sandra: That’s such a great idea. I love that. I mean, video is not my favourite, but I do it because I know how important it is. So I love the idea of doing something that’s audio-based for clients so that they can listen to it on the go. I’m sure photographers across the board can find that as a takeaway, but definitely family photographers.

[00:34:27] You brought up such a good point about how a lot of parents. Don’t have time to just sit down and read through a PDF of tips. But if it’s something that they can listen to while they’re on the go, then that is going to go so much further. And I really loved what you said about how you give the style guide, even if someone is not going to be working with you.

[00:34:46] This is just available on your website. And I think that When it comes to a lot of tips and tricks, photographers are worried about sharing that information because what if they take that and they go work with somebody else, but it’s going to happen. It’s totally going to happen.

[00:35:00] And so I just love that you have that information available to potential clients and if it helps them somewhere else, that’s amazing. But if it helps them and they want to book with you, then it’s really contributing to that like, know, and trust factor.

[00:35:15] Dolly: Yeah. And so like how this ties in, cause your question, Sandra was like, how does this tie into like your promotional period, your launching period as a photographer, so consider this as yours. Like promotional phase of growing at being very intentional about lead generation.

35:28 Promoting Yourself and Staying Top of Mind

[00:35:30] Let’s just say growing out your email list. If that’s like simple layman’s terms right there. So I want you, the listener to be very intentional and have a plan of action of how you are going to push people. I’m going to say, I’m going to be aggressive when I say this.

[00:35:51] Every single day, like, have like some sort of call to action on your stories, or if you don’t use Instagram on TikTok, if you don’t use TikTok, like, wherever you are presenting yourself, you need to also be very intentional about growing out your email list every single time you post. Like, it might seem overwhelming to you, but the whole thing is, like, you really need to, like, bring people in and grow your email list.

[00:36:17] The right people. The right people. Not just everybody. The right people. Because then, that way, they are being nurtured by you year-round, hopefully. I, I’m not saying they’re going to guarantee book with you like next week, but you will stay top of mind to them. You are delivering value to them, hopefully.

[00:36:37] And if not every week, maybe every other week, if not every other week, once a month. And then, when that time comes, they will either book with you or they will send somebody your way because they’re like, wow, Sandra, like has all these great tips about like either how to get ready or, I don’t know, like those tulip sessions she did, like they were so beautiful.

[00:37:00] And I have a friend who really loves tulips. So I’m going to send her your way. I don’t know. Just like, just as an example, it’s just really important to stay top of mind. And again, let me reiterate. It’s important to sell yourself all the time. You can like, you just need to get over the, the sorry, like you need to get over the mindset of like, it’s really icky and gross to sell.

[00:37:25] I mean, you can make it icky. You can make it sleazy, but it’s really like you have to really learn how to get comfortable with promoting yourself because they’re like other people’s opinions aren’t paying your bills. Like you, you have a business to run. You have overhead to do like, to contribute to, you have your family to contribute to.

[00:37:47] And so, and I, I think I got better at selling once I started having kids. Cause I’m like, Oh, like I need to start buying diapers. I need to start buying formula. Like, Oh, other people’s opinions don’t matter as much because I have a business to run. And so I’m just going to keep on, keep on going, keep on pushing towards my goals because it impacts my sons and impacts my, family.

[00:38:11] Sandra: Yeah, absolutely. That’s so important. I love that. Well, before we wrap things up, Dolly, I would love if you could just quickly share where everybody can find you on social media so they can come and give you a follow.

[00:38:23] Dolly: Yeah, definitely. If you are more interested in just The photography side, you can find me @dollydelongphoto, but if you want more systems and workflow education to apply to the back end of your business, you can find me @dollydelongeducation.

[00:38:39] I also have a podcast, the Systems and Workflow Magic Podcast. Those episodes come out every Monday and then I have YouTube episodes that come out every Friday. I love diving into different systems, workflows and SOPs and just making it really tangible for you, the listener, so that you can take more baby steps to be more streamlined.

[00:39:03] Sandra: Love it. Well, thank you so much again for joining me. This was such a fun interview, and I know that listeners are going to have so many takeaways that they’re going to be able to apply regardless of what they are launching this year. So thank you for everything that you are sharing, and I hope that our paths cross again one day soon.

[00:39:17] Dolly: Thank you so much for having me, Sandra.

[00:39:19] Sandra: Of course.

39:20 Conclusion and Next Week’s Episode

[00:39:20] Oh, that was such a fun interview. And if there’s one takeaway that I really want you all to leave this episode with is that launching is essentially just promoting yourself regardless of whether you are a service-based business owner, or if you’re an online educator, everybody needs to be promoting themselves.

[00:39:38] One thing I’ve talked about a lot with my own business coach is how we are the only ones who get tired of talking about our businesses because we have to talk about it so many times for people to actually hear about it, and there are two major factors. There’s probably more, but two major factors that go into play with that are one only about 1 to 2 percent of people are actually seeing the content that we’re putting on social media.

[00:40:02] And I know for photographers, a lot of what we’re doing for marketing, we’re relying on social media for that. Hopefully, after listening to this episode, you’re going to be feeling more confident about leaning into things like email marketing, but I know a lot of people are really focusing on social media.

[00:40:17] So I get that. And then the second thing is that studies have shown that the average person needs to see something at least seven times for it to resonate before they actually realize that they’ve seen it. So if you have to show somebody something seven times, but they’re only going to actually see one to 2 percent of the things that you are actually posting, realistically, like you could be looking at hundreds of times that you have to talk about something before someone is actually going to buy.

[00:40:46] So, the next time you’re putting together an email, or you’re creating a blog post, or you’re writing a social media caption, and you’re feeling cringy about promoting yourself, just remember that. You are the only one who knows you’ve been promoting yourself as often as you have. And if you’re not going to be promoting your business, then you can’t expect anybody else to be promoting your business.

[00:41:08] So it’s time to get comfortable with promoting yourself. Start telling everybody how amazing you are, because we know that you are, and it is time for you to sing that from the rooftops because everybody else deserves to have some of that amazingness in their lives to.

[00:41:21] Now, next week, I am going to be back with a short and sweet little episode. With family photography being such a huge passion of mine and something that I’ve been doing as long as I’ve been doing weddings, I feel like there’s definitely a place for it here on the podcast.

[00:41:35] So if you’re a family photographer or interested in getting into family photography, definitely come back next Wednesday, where I’m going to be talking all about my three favourite family session prompts to get natural emotions in your photos.

[00:41:49] Until then friends, have a great rest of your week and stay cool, however you can, if you’re in the midst of summer like I am.

[00:41:56] Thank you so much for listening. You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandrayvonne.ca/shownotes. In the meantime, let’s connect! You can find me on Instagram and TikTok, just search Simply Sandra Yvonne. And if you love this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave a review until next time!

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