In fact, it sometimes feels like it takes more work to take time off than it does if you’d just keep on working, right?

We’re used to working around the clock—day and night—answering emails, marketing our business, mapping out strategies, tackling client work, and more.

We convince ourselves that we can’t take a day off, weekend getaway, or week-long vacation without checking our business, because our business is our life—our livelihood. We’re committed to it and its growth and we just can’t escape the feeling that all will come crumbling down if we disappear for any period of time.

I am asking you to STOP! We can’t live this way! We have to stop sacrificing the magic of the holidays and the moments we daydream about because we are over committed to our business!

I know the feeling, but—each year, I take from Christmas through New Years off completely. YEP! It’s true!

It’s my time to rest, recharge, and reset and I’m going to give you the simple steps I take to actually have an “inbox-free” AND work-free vacation.

I do use my time away to plan for the new year, but for me it’s a visionary creative outlet that recharges and inspires me as opposed to “work.”

Right—let’s get started. Here are 3 things you can start doing today, RIGHT NOW, to completely step away from your business and take a vacation over the holidays.

3 Things to Do Now to Prepare for Time Off Over The Holidays

• Batch Your Content

Work ahead, work ahead, work ahead!! I can’t say that enough. AND—I know me saying that already feels like I’ve added more work to your plate, but hear me out.

When you carve out time to do prep work and batch your content, you’ll be amazed how much time you actually save. What is it that Einstein said…

“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I’d spend  the first 55 minutes determining the proper questions to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than 5 minutes.”

Sounds…sciency, I know. And we’re talking content, not scientific problems, but the principle can be applied just the same.

When you carve out time to truly strategize and batch your content, it will take you way less time to actually create your content. I am sure that you have plenty of client sessions to be shared through the holidays. Did you run mini sessions that would fill your feed full of holiday joy? Who doesn’t love to see families snuggling or newlyweds in love? Be sure to use what you have and not spend time creating new content. Plus, this completely frees up your mental space leading up to your vacation and on it.

• Automate

Now that your content—blog posts, social media posts, and emails—are all written…

SCHEDULE THEM IN ADVANCE. The best part of this is…your audience won’t even know you’re gone, which means they’ll stay warm and toasty in spite of your absence because you won’t really BE absent in their minds.

They’ll get the same content they’re used to. My favorite ways to do this are via Facebook’s publishing tools, scheduling WordPress posts, automated emails in ConvertKit, and Planoly for Instagram (you can even schedule your stories – WHAT?!). (these are my affiliate links)

• Be Open

This one is an easy one! Start letting your regular clients know now that you’ll be off. Give them the dates, so they’re aware. As you engage with new clients, talk openly about your “off dates” to them, too.

It’s a great idea to send out a reminder email, especially to your current clients who communicate back-and-forth with you regularly or who have a project in progress. Let them know that you’ll be off, but to please send any deliverables to you by their deadline dates even if they fall within your vacation period as you’ll get to them upon your return.

An auto-reply also works great here, too.

BONUS TIP: Don’t fall into the trap of logging on. If you do, it is a never-ending trap and you’ll miss out on the moments you and your family so diligently planned for.

I hope you plan to spend time with your loved ones and actually take time off over the holidays!

Hearts and Hoorays!

The post 3 Things Photographers should Start Doing To Take Time Off Over the Holidays appeared first on Ally B Designs.

Why You’re Spending So Much Time Convincing Clients to Work With You Rather than Getting Swamped With Clients Who Are Already 100% Sold on Booking You

It’s every photographer’s dream to easily book clients who hire them multiple times and refer their friends and family members. But that dream doesn’t always happen at the rate (and to the level) you might desire because potential clients just aren’t sold on working with you when they land on your website.

This can create one of two scenarios:

1. When a visitor lands on your website and isn’t 100% sold, he or she bounces right off of your website and heads to your competitor’s.
   OR
2. 2. A visitor lands on your website isn’t 100% sold but reaches out to you anyway. You then spend hours back-and-forth via emails and on the phone trying to overcome all of her objections, help her “catch the vision,” and see the value in booking you. Then, she either vanishes never to be heard from again or you’ve spent so much time convincing her to hire you that you’ve already lost your fee before you’ve started shooting or editing her photos.

By not having a clear website that works for you instead of forcing you to do all the heavy lifting, you waste a tremendous amount of time convincing clients to hire you rather than having them 100% sold before they even hit “contact.”

Here are some of the most common mistakes I see photographers making on their website that’s causing them to lose clients, time, and their sanity:

Watch the Real Talk Video Here:

Your Website Doesn’t Connect

Many websites simply serve up information on a platter without truly connecting with the target audience. This means that your target audience never really makes an attachment to you or sees themselves as the type of person you serve.

From the brand colors you choose to the photos you showcase to the copy on your web pages, your potential client needs to be able to link themselves to you. Whether something you say on your website makes them laugh, a color you select makes them feel like you offer a luxe service, or they’re drawn into your brand photos because they’re a young, rural family who loves lifestyle photography and your shots show young, rural families on country roads or playing in overgrown fields, they need to see themselves and connect.

Your Website Doesn’t Provide the Right Information They Need

Your website may just list out your services without providing any information on the types of packages you provide and the investment for your services. It might also just list out your packages and prices without casting the vision for the type of photography experience you offer and what clients can expect when working with you.

You might not address some of the common questions they have. You might also forget to speak to their pain points or values, so they just see you as another “package with a price” rather than a talented photographer who sees them and what they want to see in their final photos.

On the same note, you might also overwhelm them with too much information. Meaning they’re confronted with walls of text and pages of information to scroll through or too many packages to choose from without clear differentiators.

Your Website Doesn’t Have a Clear Buyer’s Journey and a Clear Outcome

From the home page to the about page to the service page, gallery and contact page, your website has to lead buyers on a clear path that involves a final objective.

Visitors will often leave a website because they’re confused or aren’t guided towards the actions to take. For example, if you want visitors to move from your home page to your service page, direct them there and give them a call to action to check out your services. Once they’re on your services page and have seen what you offer, direct them to your contact page or to book a call on your calendar, depending on your objective.

Every page of your website must be a guided step towards hiring you.

When you don’t provide the journey or the necessary information and connection on your website, potential clients end up contacting you over and over again to ask questions or have you “help” them through making a decision. You should have already helped them through that process on your website. Otherwise, you end up wasting so much valuable time responding and that’s time you could devote to being fully present on your shoots or with your favorite people.

All of these items should be easily addressed in your client experience, so potential clients are already sold on working with you by the time they reach out.

If you want to create a completely branded client experience that does the selling, connecting and heavy lifting for you, saving you time and energy, reach out to me via the contact page to discover how I can help you create it.

SIGN UP TODAY FOR MY FIVE DAY EMAIL CHALLENGE!

WHAT GOES WHERE?!
Create a website that converts!

Each day you will receive an email focusing on ONE page of your website so you can put this information to use and create content that connects with your dream clients and converts into more sales!

SIGN ME UP FOR THE CHALLENGE NOW!

Hearts and Hoorays friends!

The post Is your photography website converting? appeared first on Ally B Designs.

I couldn’t have found a more fun-loving client when Raelene Schulmeister of Raelene Schulmeister Photography crossed my path. Raelene is tons of fun and super playful and her old branding came off more serious and closed-off than she wanted. She really wanted everything within her personality to truly shine in her brand, because she felt like there was a major disconnect.

A little bit about Raelene Schulmeister Photography and What Owner Raelene Was Going For

Raelene is a photographer who has been in the industry for a number of years. She shoots weddings and also provides business consulting to other photographers who need a helping hand.

She decided it was time for a rebrand because she was finally comfortable with herself as a business owner and realized her business needed to show off her personality and reflect what made her different.

Our Branding Journey Together:
How Raelene Came Up with Her Rebrand Strategy and What We Did

As part of my branding process, I always send my clients a questionnaire to answer.

Here’s how she answered some of my questions, so you can get a feel for the feedback she provided and how I took that feedback and translated it into her design:

• Name 3 celebrities whose style inspires you: “I fricking LOVE Jimmy Fallon. I love that he makes time for being silly, and lets the world know it’s okay to be laughed at. I also like his style, that he can dress casually and still be taken seriously. I also love Anna Kendrick – classic with a little bit of pop, quirky but just a down to earth presence.  Ellen also resonates with me – classic style, outgoing personality and the ability to make everyone feel comfortable…makes sneakers look cool and match everything..I feel like she portrays or presents the attitude that you CAN be professional and casual and personable all at the same time…and you should be.
• Ask 5 people to describe you: “Dependable, caring, giving, trustworthy, hilarious, real, thoughtful, talented, loud, big presence, debater, driven”
• What are you passionate about and how can this benefit your dream client?: “Being efficient in all tasks, like shooting efficiently on a wedding day so my couple can spend time with their guests and actually enjoy the day they’ve planned and worked so hard on. Being efficient in my workflows so clients aren’t waiting a crazy amount of time to get images back. I’m passionate about treating my clients like humans instead of just a dollar sign or an award for a standout image or epic photo recognition in online communities.”

This type of deep digging and feedback is invaluable. Without this underlying work, it’s much more difficult to truly brand a website that’s authentic to its owner’s vision and mission.

The Moodboard

Before I begin working on logos, I always create a custom mood board for my clients.

Based on the images Raelene pinned on her inspiration board, I created the below mood board. Common threads emerged throughout the colors, fonts, and images she selected and I was able to pull out the following color palette and fonts. We were onto something!

The Initial Logo Design Options

Next, I started on the logos and came up with the following options:

The Final Logo

After getting feedback from Raelene and doing my usual OCD tweaking and perfecting of the design, she fell in love with the following logo:

The Final Website Design and Social Media Branding

Raelene really wanted a website that made customers feel comfortable—like they could kick off their fancy shoes, curl up, and chat with her over a cup of coffee. She wanted it to feel super outgoing, fun, casual, loyal, and dependable.

We achieved this by:

• Utilizing her brand colors and playful design elements throughout— We sprinkled her playful color palette throughout the website and added extra playful details throughout the web copy and pages.
• Social media kit: Facebook Cover Photo, Profile Pic, and branded email signature—Once we’d nailed down Raelene’s brand and her website design, we took that same style, look, and feel and carried it onto all of her social media platforms

• Ready to share price sheet for any email inquiries (and print ready to hand out)— Anytime you brand your business, it’s important to carry that brand throughout every item a potential client might come into contact with or every place he or she might find you. We designed an on-brand price sheet that Raelene can easily send (or hand out to) any potential client who inquires.
• Welcome kit to answer any questions couples might have— This welcome kit provides another opportunity for potential clients to engage with Raelene’s brand on an even more personal level. It provides more details and answers potential questions plus cuts back on correspondence and lays the foundation of her boundaries and client experience.

For Raelene, we also built a custom ShowIt site. This is a website platform specifically for photographers that does an excellent job of showcasing photography portfolios.

Launching Raelene’s Site and Keeping On Top of Her New Look

Once I’d designed her website and after all the techy stuff and designs were approved, I started building her site (pink hammer and all).

I always build the homepage and the base template first. This way we can finalize the overall design aesthetic and work out the overall feel. So once the homepage is approved, I carry the design throughout the rest of the website.

We used her brand elements and patterns to spice up her photography images and website copy.

Click Here to See Raelene Photography’s Live Site

Are you ready to build a brand that not only showcases the REAL you behind the business you love but converts into more paying clients?

Yes! Take Me to Your Services Page

Hearts and Hoorays friends!

The post A Rebrand Story: Wedding Photographer Raelene Schulmeister appeared first on Ally B Designs.

We’ve all felt it—that icky feeling that starts in our mind and works its way down to our heart and gut. That feeling of jealousy, of comparison, of “not good enough.”

We scroll through Instagram, we visit website links, we see the results other people are posting and then the questions pile on top of one another:

Why not me?

I not getting the clients, how come?

Other photographer’s dreams coming true and mine are just hanging there. Why?

The comparison game is a game no one should partake in, because it’s a game you can’t win. No matter how hard you try.

If you compare yourself to someone else and feel like you fall short, feelings of inadequacy arise.

If you compare yourself to someone else and feel like you’re better, feelings of superiority and pride rise up.

Both of those are negative, nasty emotions. Being humble is one thing. And being proud of yourself is another. But, you all KNOW the kind of “not-good-enough” and “I’m-better-than” feelings I’m talking about, and I think we can all agree that they don’t serve you or your business.

So, how do we overcome the comparison game and stay confident in who we are and what we’re doing? Here are 3 steps to do just that:

1. Keep Your Head in Your Lane

Keep your head down and focused on what you’re chasing. Otherwise, you’re looking everywhere else, following what others are doing, and you’ll end up chasing what they’re chasing which may not be your end goal.

Ya know how when you’re driving, your vehicle goes in the direction you’re looking? The same applies to your business. Keep your eyes in your lane and you won’t see what others around you are doing, because you’ll be focused on what you’re doing.

That’s not to say that you should be aware of your market and your competitors. You should be, but “awareness” and “focus” are two very different. Be aware of your competitors and colleagues, but be focused on you.

2. Consider Your Years in Business and Unique Goals

If you’ve only been in business for two years, stop comparing yourself to the person who’s been in business for 10 and 15. Also, if someone whose been in business for 2 years is way ahead of you and you’ve been in business for 5, don’t get down on yourself. That business owner might have a lot more hours to put towards their business, they might not have a family, they might have different goals, and they’re plate might not be as full as yours. We never know someone else’s story, vision, or ideas around work-life balance, so we really cannot compare on an apples-to-apples basis.

We’re all different. We all have different circumstances, and we all have different goals in mind.

3. Choose to Celebrate

Ok, I don’t know why exactly this is true, but when you start celebrating someone else, the jealousy and feelings of inadequacy start to disappear. You get caught up in that air of excitement and gratitude and it propels your own business forward.

It’s like that whole “you reap what you sow” principle. Every time you feel icky feelings creep up when you’re looking at someone else’s success, send congratulations their way. Take that insecurity and turn it into inspiration.

So stay in your lane—stay on your course. We have to decide what “succeeding” means to us and not compare that to others goals. Set your own and strive to make them.

Having a unique brand that is true to you will always help you stand out to your people and when you know you’re being true to yourself, your vision, and your goals, you don’t have to worry about what others are doing.

If you feel like you’re not being true to yourself  in your business or you don’t have a stand out brand….

Grab My FREE Copy of  How to Build a Stand out Brand Here…

Hearts and Hoorays friends!

The post 3 Ways to Stop Comparing Yourself to Other Business Owners appeared first on Ally B Designs.

So many of us entrepreneurs are multi-passionate. We have big visions and see opportunity EVERYWHERE. We don’t necessarily want to be “all the things” (or do them), but we know there are more things we’re passionate about and more offerings we can dominate.

This idea-driven tendency can be overwhelming when we don’t quite know how to merge them all together, however—or even if we should.

I hear this question ALL the time when photographers and entrepreneurs want to add on different product or service offerings: Do I need to have two separate brands, websites, and social media accounts?

This question alone can keep photographers stuck for months or EVEN YEARS.

Not knowing how to merge offerings and interweave the common themes in your multifaceted business can leave you spinning your wheels and making some costly mistakes.

Creating a cohesive and clear brand that is all encompassing is hard. But making your website actually make sense to your potential clientele is even harder.

How do you talk to so many different “dream” clients when they are all so different? How do you connect your services in a way that makes sense without losing business? How do you ensure you’re not confusing everyone?

So, if you are a multi-passionate photographer who offers newborn sessions, family sessions, weddings, pet photos, maybe even corporate headshots, or speaking and education…..

How do you show this on your website?
AND
How do you share this in your messaging?

First of all—let’s answer the question. You CAN have one website, one brand, and one account for your social media platforms if you do it right.

Watch the Real Talk Video version of this blog post here:

And, here are a few pointers for how to DO IT RIGHT:

1. Make Your Navigation Clear— If you have many different options in your menu, it can be confusing and people won’t know where to click. So have your branded services separated into clear categories on your navigation menu. This can be something like: Newborn  | Family | Weddings. Then you can have sub-categories for with a dropdown of pricing, galleries, etc. For example, for newborns your sub-categories might be birth photography and Fresh 48, etc. This leads your potential clients directly where you want them to go and on a clear buyer’s journey so they don’t leave your site confused without taking action.
2. Use Different Prompts—Have prompts and calls to action on your homepage that take your client to the exact service they are looking for (i.e. three image blocks to take them to the services page for family, weddings, or business photography). On those pages, make sure your copy and messaging speaks to that specific client. Your individual pages are really where you separate out who you’re speaking to and connect the common thread around your “why” and story.
3. Create Specific Branded Materials—Have a different price sheet or welcome packet for each category or service. DO NOT provide one where you explain it all. No one wants to shuffle through information they do not need. And trust me they won’t. They will end up emailing you and asking you all of the questions you just provided information for because they can’t find it easily and they don’t have time to figure it out.
4. Design Cohesively and Appropriately—Make your brand cohesive and appropriate for all services.. You do not want to have a baby/newbornish logo if you are trying to book brides or educate other business owners in your industry. They will be put off.
5. Discover the Overarching Thread or Theme—Find a way to tie each service together. What is the common thread that runs through everything you offer? What is your unique selling point?  Now if you are absolutely set on NOT picking a niche , find a way to present your services in a way that is unique to you and how your clients can evolve. You can still find a niche within all your services. Maybe you want to focus on booking weddings and then growing along with them, and you’re really passionate about working with boho brides and boho personalities across services. So you want to have the journey from the engagement to wedding, wedding to newborn, newborn to family. OR maybe you want to be a newborn and family photographer who just loves the love between family and offer weddings a few times a year. There is always a way to spin it where you are telling the story of why people should connect with you and why they should stay with you for the long haul.

If you’re someone who’s asked this question and found yourself stuck with your branding, then I have something special for you…

Go here to get my FREE mini brand and website audit where I will personally respond with an action plan of the top 3 things you need to do to make your website clearer and more cohesive so that it connects with your target audiences and converts.
Hearts and Hoorays!

The post Can I be a multi-passionate photographer or will I need two brands and websites? appeared first on Ally B Designs.

Like most entrepreneurs, if you’ve been in business for any amount of time, you’ve probably struggled to generate leads to convert to clients to convert to revenue AND real relationships.

Maybe you’re not getting enough traffic to your studio or you’re not getting enough eyes on your website. If you know you have a great offering and can close clients, but you can’t get enough clients your way to close, I want to share a smart solution with you. It’s a great lead generation tool and a resource you can use to better serve your clients.

Why an Interact Quiz Should Be On Your Website

As socially responsible, heart-centered business owners, it’s hard to find strategic ways to market and grow your business without feeling icky or “salesy.” I don’t know about you, but when it comes to growing my business and serving my clients, I want things to be fun, natural, and real—lots of celebrating, lots of laughing, and lots of connecting. That’s why using Interact lead quizzes can be such a fun and useful way to get more people your way.

An Interact quiz does a number of things. It helps you:

1. Serve Your Audience in a Better Way
2. Educate Your Audience More Meaningfully
3. Grow Your Email List More Organically
4. Get Targeted Information About Your Audience

You can serve your audience by offering them a solution to one of their problems. You can help them make a decision about themselves or educate them around a topic that will improve their lives.

You can also get valuable insights about your audience from a quiz.

When I created my lead quiz for my own business, I wanted to find a way to segment my followers according to their needs in order to better serve them. I know I hate when I receive emails that aren’t really specific to what I am looking for, so I wanted to be able to provide just what they needed.

I also wanted to help them discover where they were at in their journey and what service is best suited for them according to their goals and branding and design budget.

One great thing about quizzes is that they’re super fun (I mean—who doesn’t like to take a quiz that gives you more insight into your business or self?) and they don’t add to the dusty stack of pdfs many business owners are collecting in various places on their computers and phones.

So, chances are, you’ll turn more website visitors into leads, because they’ll give you their email address in exchange for taking the quiz and getting their results. THIS is how you grow your email list more organically. Then, you can start emailing these leads blog posts, offers, etc., tailored to their needs.

How to Put a Lead Quiz On Your Website and Set it Up

Creating a quiz to generate leads for your business might seem daunting, but it’s really straightforward and the point of this post is to give you an idea of how I did it, so you have a solid starting place.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Sign up for Interact

Interact offers a free trial membership and a number of subscription tiers based on your business needs and size. The tier above free gives you the ability to collect emails, which I think is the best option, because one of the big goals of a quiz is to grow your email list without having to spend a ton on advertising. It also ensures that you’re not driving traffic to your website without a way of “collecting” that traffic and trying to convert it into customers.

• Create Your Quiz by Following the Step-by-Step Prompts

The next thing you’ll do is follow the step-by-step prompts to create your Interact quiz. You’ll want to think through the type of quiz you want to create and the results you want.

Here’s the very simple approach I used: I worked backwards!

To create the results for my quiz, I worked backwards from the results that I wanted my clients to end up on. That way I could specifically create questions that directed them to what their needs were.

I want to better support my followers with segmentation. Not all of my clients are ready for my top service and this quiz helps me better gauge what kind of followers I am attracting more of and where they are in their business journey. This allows me to create better content for them and their specific needs!

I ended up choosing the “personality quiz” that Interact offers, because it’s the one that helps me reach my goals.

Did you use auto-redirect or call to action on your quiz and why?

• Finally, add your quiz to your website (don’t worry, it’s super tech-friendly!)

Once you’ve created your quiz, now all you have to do is add it to your website. You can either embed it on your website or generate a link that leads to your quiz. Easy peasy. Interact also provides step-by-step instructions on how to embed a quiz on your website.

What Kind of Interact Quiz Should a Photographer Use

If you’re a photographer, you might be wondering what kind of quiz to use and what your quiz should be about. Interact categorizes their quizzes into : personality, scored, assessment ( or multiple choice), matching, trivia, and true or false.

You can read more about all the types here in their “Explanation of Different Quiz Types” post.

The most popular is the personality quiz and it’s how I tailored my quiz. You can learn more about making the personality quiz here.

Before you pick the type of quiz you want, it’s best to think through what your quiz will be about, because that can help you pick the type.

As a photographer, you could create a lead quiz that asks the question: “What kind of session suits your needs?” You could then 1) solve their problem around what session to choose and 2) educate them on why, say, a mini session or lifestyle session is best for them. You could then continue to email them with info around those sessions and provide a call to action to book that particular session.

Or you could ask the question: “What style of Newborn session are you looking for?” This quiz could help your client drill down on their style and also give you insights into the kinds of setups and props your clients are looking for.

An Interact quiz is such a fun and useful tool to use to serve your audience, gather useful insights, and grow your email list. If you’re looking for a way to generate more leads or gather further insight, it definitely could be the solution you’re after.

If you have any questions and want to chat more about Interact shoot me a message via my contact form!

Hearts and Hoorays friends!

The post Why You Should Use a Quiz on Your Website appeared first on Ally B Designs.

You know the quote, “If you’re a jack of all trades, you’re a master of none.” And, when you’re a multi-passionate, multi-talented person that can feel kind of…harsh. It feels especially so if you’ve been told that many times by the people in your life.

It’s great to be good, interested, and passionate about so many things, but how do you make that work in a business? And how do you turn that into a good thing rather than the mediocre thing you’ve always felt it means?

I have worked with so many photographers who want to be the end all be all, “I-do-everything photographer.”  The problem with this theory is that you are then selling yourself for a quick buck instead of really being passionate about your services and in love with them.

When I brand my business—no matter what different types of services I’m adding— I stay truly authentic to who I am as a person and lean into that when I create my services and packages I offer to my clients.

If we are only offering the best of what we do, we can then find ways to supplement within that field and still LOVE every minute of it.

By doing this, you can offer new and different session types within your niche OR you can become an educator in your niche. You won’t be remembered for EVERYTHING, but you will be remembered for what you excel at and are truly talented and passionate about.

Here’s the REAL truth about offering ALL THE SERVICES…

For the Real Talk video version of this blog post watch it here:

When you offer all the services, you attract everyone.

Sure, that sounds great, but pause and think about that for a minute. Not everyone is a great client and not everyone is the type of client you want to work with.

When you niche down and then add on multi-faceted services within your niche, your business will flourish because people will see your passion and talent in that area and start to remember you FOR THAT.

You know the saying – “The Riches are in the niches!”

So, how do you pick a niche in your photography business? Well, I’m going to give you some homework, so you can do just that.

Here it is:

1. Go back and look at your work and pick out your favorite sessions and photos. Why are they your favorites?
2. Think back to the clients who lit your soul on fire before and after the shoot. You know the ones who you could not believe contacted you and you couldn’t wait to shoot. Then, you could hardly wait long enough to get home and go through all of the magical photos. Why did you love this client? What kind of session was it?
3. Who are photographers that inspire you and make you strive to be better? What do they offer? Why do you look up to them? While I do not want you to build your services or packages because of how someone else did, iit could be as simple as they lead their clients with natural posing and shoot with love. How can you apply this into your brand, shooting style, and services?
4. Take a good hard look at where you are in life and know what fits with who you are and what kind of time you have and who you will connect with organically. Not all of us want to work every weekend and be a wedding photographer. Not all of us want to handle newborns and have soft loving hands, AND not all of us have the patience it takes to work with families with little kids. Where do you fit in here?
5. What do you have the most experience in? Have you found that you have educated yourself in one industry and have perfected your style? BUT most importantly have you found through this extra education that you still love it and have a hunger for more?

If you answered these questions out load, you might already have your answers. Is there a collective theme that runs through them? Find it. In there lies the photographer you want to be…the photographer who is happy and successful. In there lies your niche. Go after it!

But if you are want to work grab my How To Pick A Photography Niche Workbook so you can scribble your heart out! Brain dump all of your feelings, get messy, and do the work! You will be glad you did!Hearts and Hoorays!

The post How to Pick a Niche in Your Photography Business appeared first on Ally B Designs.

When clients and colleagues begin to see you as the expert in your field and you know you’ve really mastered your craft, the natural next step is to add additional services—such as education, speaking, or workshops—to your offerings.

This is wonderful, but when you hastily tack them on to your existing brand, it looks like just that…a random add-on.

When you click through your website, it looks messy, current paying clients get confused because they’re not sure you even do the same services, and your prospective clients have NO IDEA what exactly they’re looking for and how to get it.

The biggest problem I see with multi-passionate, multi-service photographers is that they’ve created additional services without a plan.

You have to have a plan when adding a new facet to your business so you are adding income NOT taking away from your already successful business.

So exactly what did you do wrong?

Watch the Real Talk Version of this blog post here:

Here’s why you and your brand aren’t making a great first impression that leads to inquiries and bookings:

1. You’re confusing—You have to make it as easy as pie for the type of clients you know you want to work with to understand what you have for them. Don’t confuse them by talking to your “other” audience. Your brand and website should be cohesive and understood as one entity – the YOU in your brand – so clients understand why it all works together and they have no doubt their getting excellent service from you no matter what they hire you for.
2. You’re not telling your story—WHO ARE YOU? Why should you be the one a potential client invests in. You have to tell the story of your brand and why each service and facet works with who you are! If you’re adding something just because it is the “thing to do” people will see that your heart isn’t in it and that you are only trying to make a quick buck. If you show your heart and are clear, it’ll organically reveal how everything works together, so there is no doubt you’re “IT” for a potential client. Show your servant’s heart and let leads and clients know you are invested in their success.
3. You are a HOT MESS—Your messaging, graphics, and website are confusing and not consistent with your brand foundation. They do not create a clear and concise brand to encompass all that you do. You tossed up a new service without a clear plan, didn’t stay consistent with your branding, and didn’t think it through to connect directly with who that audience is without confusing the current audience for a different service. When your services have competing graphics or messages, it can be totally overwhelming. When this happens, people jump ship and hire who they understand and “get.” Make your messaging and story work for each service so people understand and naturally want to book you.
4. You are not being YOU—People can read right through it when we are pretending to be something we are not. When we add new services or facets to our business, we have to align it with who we are. It is the connection to us that clients love and understand. We can convert sales way easier when people know they can trust us. Also, when we’re copying someone else’s success, it’s only that—a copy, a “B” version of someone else’s work. Stay true to who you are and what you are great at and maximize that. Don’t do the “it thing” because that is what you think will make you more money. Do what aligns with your heart and where you want your brand and business to be in the future (you know, back to having that plan).
5. Your message is muddled—You haven’t properly introduced the new areas of your business and made your current clients aware of the changes you’ve made. You also need to make sure your new potential clients understand where it all began. You know how important your client experience is and all of the pieces that make your clients feel special. BUT that has to start with your messaging. You have to share the story so everyone knows what to expect and doesn’t end up thinking that you just don’t “do that anymore.”
6. You are not leading your clients through the journey—You have nailed your client experience and know it’s important, but you are not implementing this on your website. When you’re a multi-faceted brand, you have to make your website a “choose your own adventure” style, so it’s obvious where the client – whoever it is – should go next. Make the path the potential client needs to take on your site very clear so he or she follows the buyer’s journey. Tell them and show them where to land—hold their hand and show them you are invested in them.

If you read this and think, “Gosh, this is totally me! My brand is a confused, hot mess right now,” then I want you to know that I can easily help you fix that with my FREE mini brand and website audit.

I will personally respond with your top 3 action steps to take to create a brand that connects with all of your audiences and converts into more paying clients.

Go here to take advantage of this offer and get an action plan of the top 3 things you need to do…

Hearts and Hoorays!

The post Why You and Your Brand Aren’t Making a Great First Impression appeared first on Ally B Designs.

When you think of a brand and a business, you might think they’re one in the same. But, they aren’t.

Your business is essentially the piece that markets and produces your products or services.

Your BRAND is the personality, character, or image you APPLY to your products, services, and messaging.

Obviously, these two things intermingle and overlap, but you have to think about them separately in order to clearly communicate to potential clients and convert them into lifelong loyal supporters who continue to hire you and refer you regardless of what you offer.

This is even more critical when you offer many services such as photography, educational workshops, speaking, etc. Every single service needs to fit like a puzzle piece into your overall brand so you communicate a very clear message.

In order to seamlessly and organically run a multi-faceted business that doesn’t confuse leads, you have to tell a story that demonstrates WHY all facets work with your brand.

If you’re adding additional services, education, or speaking that is from your heart, then the story should be easy to tell. When you’re sincere and not just adding on “all the things” to make more money, it’ll be evident to everyone who comes across you as to why you are the ONE to choose no matter what service you’re selling.

Watch the Real Talk Video Version of this blog post here:

So why is intentionally hashing out your brand story so important?

1. Brands Can More Easily Pivot and Adjust
2. Brands Inspire Loyal Followers and Buyers
3. Brands Make Bigger Impacts

When you intentionally build a clear brand, you can easily pivot directions or add on new services because your people—your audience—cares about you not just what they’re selling. Which leads to the next point…a brand inspires loyal followers and buyers who stick with you no matter what you do. They’ll buy many different products from you or hire you for many different services because they connect with you. And it’s this connection that allows you to make a bigger impact

When people see the heart, personality, and passion behind your products and services it’s easy to align that with causes or companies that match it. And because your followers connect with you, they’ll likely connect with the same causes or outreach opportunities that you do, which means you can have a greater impact.

So how do you tell an overall brand story that you can apply to every service, message, and social media post you put out so you truly create an impact brand that connects and converts?

1. Show people you’re invested in their success
2. Tell them why you are adding this new part to your brand or why you have it
3. Show them the REAL you to create a connection

Your brand story and genuine persona has to be super clear on your website and in your emails, ads, social media posts, graphics, marketing handouts, and every piece of communication. It CANNOT be confusing or potential clients will not book. Remember, a confused buyer (or client) is no buyer at all.

If you have a personal brand and share the story, it’ll pull every one of your services or offerings together even if they’re different types. If it’s a jumbled up muss, every potential client who lands in “your space” will be confused.

If you read this and wondered:

• “Well, what specifically do I need to do to create that clear and cohesive brand across all my services?”
• “What’s the first thing I should focus on or fix?”

OR

• “I currently offer services and education on my website, but I’m not sure if I’m creating a clear impression and connection..”

Then….

….I can easily help you fix that with my FREE mini brand audit where I will personally respond with your top 3 action steps to take to create a brand that connects to all of your audiences and converts in to more sales and bookings.

Go here to take advantage of this offer and get an action plan of the top 3 things you need to do…Hearts and Hoorays Friends!

The post Why You Have to Have a Brand and Not a Business appeared first on Ally B Designs.

We’re living in an era where so many of us business owners find ourselves passionate about many things. While we may have a core service, it’s hard for us to think of only doing that for the rest of our lives, because we want to pull in other pieces of our passions to help more people and increase our revenue streams.

The problem we often face in doing so is that when you have a multi-faceted business with a few different services, it can be confusing to clients and potentials clients who might find themselves asking: “what exactly does she do?”

If you have one main service and you’ve introduced a new service such as speaking or training other business owners, it can also be confusing to prospective clients who visit your website and only see testimonials or past work from your previous service and nothing from the new one.

As a photographer, you might be adding in an educational service like coaching, courses, or mentorships for your peers. You might be adding in speaking for clients or speaking to mentor peers.

You might be adding in a shop.

You can absolutely cohesively design your brand to fit your many passions and meet more clients’ needs, but it has to be done correctly and organically or your brand will start to feel murky and unauthentic.

So, how do you ensure clients and potential clients don’t get confused by your multifaceted brand and service offering? Well, first, you need to understand the reasons why—on a surface level—they’re getting confused:

Watch the Real Talk Video Version Here:

You have a business not a brand

If you have a strong personal brand that represents who you are, you can easily add in other services, facets, and offers as long as they organically relate to you.

You can’t add in additional facets or services to your business when they do not organically work together. If you have a business that focuses on one thing it will be super confusing if you bring in something on a different level. For example, if you’re a newborn photographer and that is you’re only service, it would be very confusing to customers if you all of the sudden introduced a course for photographers on how to pose couples for engagement or wedding shoots.

Clients get confused when they see you as one business service and you’re “pigeonholed” in their minds as that instead of as one brand with a core message and style that extends through every service you provide.

You might not be showing up and being YOU in all facets of your brand

You might not be showing up as yourself in all facets of your brand, meaning certain services may feel forced and unauthentic. When that happens, it’s difficult for potential clients to connect with you and what you’re offering. If you’re a passionate photographer who is adding on a coaching service for other photographers, but you’re just doing it to make more money and for no other reason, potential clients will feel that. Your service will feel forced and not like an organic extension of your business, who you are, and what you love.

Whereas if you’re a photographer who is constantly getting asked to turn your beautiful photos into birth announcements or holidays cards and you absolutely love to do that yet you don’t have a shop that sells that side of your business, you can easily and organically add that extension to your business and it will feel right because you’re doing you and being you in your brand.

Your brand might not be consistent

Your brand might not be consistent across your social media platforms and website, but consistency is about so much more than that. Your brand might not be consistent in your language, brand graphics, style of edits, posting schedule, or more.

When you run a multi-faceted business with a service, speaking, or  training, etc., you might not clearly communicate to each audience and target market. You may be trying to speak to all audiences at once (which really means you’re speaking to none at all).

Your website might be a mess or unclear

Your website might be outdated, cluttered, or confusing. Potential clients and current paying clients might have a hard time following a “logical buyer’s journey” on your website. You might not be relating to each one in an impactful way, showing them what they need from you, and how to get it.

If it’s not clear what you offer, to who, and what people must do to book you, you’ll lose out. And if your offerings are unclear, making it hard for people to know what to book and which offering is best for them, you’ll also lose out. A confused potential client is a client who you will either spend way more time on back and forth emails and communication OR (the shock and horror) they won’t buy from you at all!

You might not be asking for the sale

You might not make it clear what the next steps are to book you for each service or venture. A photography client might get bombarded with messages about your courses and think you can’t service them (or no longer can, if they’re a past client) and a peer who needs some training might struggle to find your educational services and, if she does, might not clearly understand what they entail and how to work with you.  

You might also forget to ask for the sale on your posts or website pages. If you’re not ending posts or pages with a “call to action”—aka something that says “reach out to me” or “shoot me an email to book…”—you’re not giving each potential client an action to take after coming in contact with you.

If you have a multi-faceted brand and you’re not sure if it’s being portrayed organically and clearly to paying and potential clients or if you want to add a service and aren’t sure how to fit it into your brand…

…click here to get a free mini brand audit with me. I will personally respond with your top 3 action steps to take to create a brand that connects with all of your audiences and converts into more sales.

Hearts and Hoorays Friends!

The post 5 Reasons Potential Clients Are Confused By Your Brand appeared first on Ally B Designs.