5 reasons I’m fully booked

A few years ago, when I started getting fully booked 3 months out I thought it was a blip.

It obviously wouldn’t last. 

But fast forward 3 years & not only did it continue, but demand rose & rose.

So despite doubling the number of sessions I offer to 6 – 8 sessions a week, I then started being booked up 4 & sometimes 5 months in advance.

A close photographer friend, despite incredible work, had been really struggling to bring in bookings.

& so asked me what on earth she could do to turn this around, which got me thinking.

What is it that I believe helps small business to grow, not just as a one off, but consistently.

& that, for me absolutely has to be marketing.

You could be the best photographer in the world, but if you don’t focus & build on your marketing then you’re destined to fail.

I’ve been lucky as I’d worked in marketing for over 10 years, the last 4 years as a senior international brand manager.

Which gave me a huge head start in terms of knowing what the key elements were to begin building a brand & a solid marketing plan.

So here are the top 5 elements of marketing that I think are at the core of what has helped my business grow:

1. I’m niche

In being so niche it meant I could focus enabling me to become really qualified in that area of photography.

It also meant that I became synonymous with that style of photography. So you become good at it & people know you for it.

What then happens next is that locality goes out of the window because people will travel miles to you & your pool of prospective clients becomes huge. 

2. Use Instagram

Honestly it is the strongest tool in my marketing arsenal. I’ve built a solid instagram base that now enables me to reach thousands of new potential clients every day, it also enables me to drive an additional 3k people to my website every month – in fact you reading this blog right now is the perfect example of how I do that.

Plus the more traffic I drive to my website, the better my website will rank & the more people will see my site first when they’re searching for a photographer.

3. Build a brand

It’s kind of related to point number 1, but is so important that it deserves its own point. You need a strong brand built around your niche.

So if themed cake smashes are your favourite thing to do then by heck focus your brand on that. Have a fun logo, talk about why themed cake smashes are the best on every platform you can.

Be the leader in this area, developing new & exciting cake smash sets for your clients. Work with the best businesses that fit with your brand from cake makers, to companies that make the best tutus & crowns, to film prop companies that you rent incredible sets from.

4. Be unique

Don’t just copy someone else, you’ll always be a step behind & that is the worst platform for a business.

Develop ideas that are unique to you & your vision. As an example, yes there are tonnes of photographers specialising in baby posing, but you could own traditional posing – so talk about the history of baby posing, encourage every client to bring their parents to part of the session to capture a heritage photo with the grandparents.

Build your brand around family, comfort, tradition. There are a million ways to build a unique brand, look & style, so don’t undersell your potential by simply copying someone else.

5. Never stop

Building a solid marketing base doesn’t happen over night, it takes years of constant activity, planning & developing.

Coming up with unique ideas for amazing photos needs work, it takes planning, investment & time. This can mean very late nights (I work until 1/2am 6 nights a week at the moment).

It’s not easy & there is no fast pass, you have to work at it constantly even when, like me, you’re turning away 5-15 sessions a week because you’re fully booked, still keep up with your marketing to maintain that momentum. 

It’s worth also mentioning that my business model is based on speaking to new people.

Because I focus on newborn – 1 year, I don’t necessarily target repeat lifelong clients.

But if family sessions are core for you, then ECRMs to existing & past clients also needs to be part of your marketing plan.