Book More Clients Photography Podcast - How to Start a Photography Business, Marketing Strategy, How Photographers Make Money

Ep. 38 | Surviving the Slow Season

December 12, 2019 Brooke Jefferson Episode 38
Book More Clients Photography Podcast - How to Start a Photography Business, Marketing Strategy, How Photographers Make Money
Ep. 38 | Surviving the Slow Season
Show Notes Transcript

Today's topic is one that has been talked about over and over again recently. What in the world do we do in our slow season? I know this is something a majority of us struggle with. Most of us do have a “dead season,” even if we don't like to admit it. So, let’s dive into what we should be filling our time with, focus our time on, and what we can do to make money during this season.

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It's not too late to set yourself up for success in 2020 if you aren't currently booked out for the Year of 2020 with calendars on your books and all the ways you're gonna make money. If that's not you, I want to invite you to join my free online training. How to plan out your 2020 photography calendar and get more clients in your books. In this master class, you're going to learn how to map out your 2020 photography calendar. No more planning last minute events and desperately trying to fill your session spots. How to create a strategic marketing plan to book out your year If you're confused on what to post on social media and email your clients, this is for you the two tools that dramatically change the game in my business and gave me my time back and why Planning or 2020 calendar can result in your best year Ever get ahead of the game and go into the New Year feeling confident and ready to have your best year yet you can access this training at frame your way. Dog Brook jefferson dot com slash replay Welcome to the brain your way. Photography podcast. I'm your host, Bert Jefferson. I'm a wife, Mama to two and full time photographer in business. I created this podcast with the aspiring photographer in mind to bring you inspired stories. Strategies to help you go from zero to mostly figures and tips and tricks to get one step closer to work. Live harmony. Are you ready to bring your way to your dream career? Let's dive in. Welcome back to another episode of the frame your way. Photography podcast. Today's topic has been one that's been talked about over and over again here recently and was asked in our Facebook group a couple days ago. What in the world do we do in our slow season? I think this is a great topic to talk about, and I know it's something that the majority of us struggle with. So there's probably a couple of you that might be the exception to this concept. But for the majority of us, we do have what's coined a dead season or a slower season, and the question that always comes around is what do we do with the slow season. So there's a couple points I want to go over today to help us figure out what to fill our time with, what to focus on and how to make money during this slow season where I'm from in Oklahoma, I typically and shooting 10 months out of the year, and I'm not shooting very often in December or January. There's a couple odd sessions that will come in, or a window, your wedding or something like that. But for the most part, I am actually off the clock and not really photographing during the winter in December in January. So I used these months to take a break. You guys, it is okay to take a break in your business. In fact, I am going to encourage that some of you do that if you're the type of person, especially right now, where you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed out, and honestly reaching that burnout point your questioning whether or not this is really for you or your really discouraged because you didn't have the year you wanted a have. If that's you, then you're who I'm talking about. You need to number one. Take a break. You have got Thio Sign off the social media not book anybody for a couple weeks and really just do things that renew ume that refresh you and for goodness sakes, go to sleep for me. I'm so looking forward to the month of December because I am not taking on any sessions after December 7th and the rest of December is mine for the taking. I'm going to be focusing on my family hanging out with Mike, kids doing fun, Christmas crafts, going Christmas shopping and you better believe I will be binge watching some Netflix. I am at that point where I'm not burned out, but I also know that I'm coming to the end of my cup. My cup is just about empty, and I cannot pour from an empty cup. If you've ever heard that, saying it could not be more true, especially if you're listening and you are a photographer and a mother and a wife or a girlfriend or whatever other role you might play, then you have got to rest and get your cup refilled. So that's the very first thing is, some of you might just need to come to terms with the fact that you need a break there is no shame in that. Okay, so the next thing, once your renewed and refreshed and you're ready to go and in your cup is full, the next thing I'm going to suggest you Dio is start working on your behind the scenes. So I basically want you to go to the back end of your business. And I want you to start looking at the different things that you have going on. What can be improved, what's not working, that needs to be working. Are you looking at another photographer's work flow or something else that they're doing? And you're like, Man, I really what? I really wish I could implement that into my business. If that's you, then this is the perfect time to go through and change. Your process is you can make them better. You can take things out, you can enhance them. There are so many options. You guys. So a couple things that I want to point out is all of my episodes from October on this podcast were created for this slow season. Okay, so many of you tuned in and they'd be so excited. But I'm also willing to bet that not very many of you have the time to implement what you listen to. So this is your invitation to go back and revisit those episodes. And during this slower season, start implementing what you learned there. Okay? We talked about websites we talked about funnels, copy, riding all kinds of things. So there's plenty plenty that you can implement into your business to make it even better. The second thing about working behind the scenes you're in your business is are there any changes that you need to make to your actual workflow? Okay, So are you still scheduling clients on paper? Are you still spending days? Just getting one client on your calendar? If that's the case, you might need to look into automating some of the things that you're doing. And this is something that we're going to be diving into inside of the membership site. So you haven't heard about the good news there on? I have launched a membership site called for in your business. This is where we're gonna be diving in way deeper than we get into on the podcast. You're gonna be able to get your personal on specific questions answered as well as have a community of other photographers who want 2020 to be their best year yet. You're going to have access to other awesome photographers. Some of our guess expert speakers are people you have already heard on the podcast are gonna be returning. And then there are other ones you have not yet heard from That will also be on the podcast and then coming into the membership site So we can do deep dives and really give you guys all the secrets that we have and show you how to run a successful and sustainable business. So if that sounds like you still free to go check out all of that information, it is linked in the show notes as well as you can go to frame your way dot brooks jefferson dot com You can check all that out now, Once you've done all of that, this is also a perfect time for those of you who feel like you're behind in scheduling out your social media so real quick. How many of you? Even if I can't see you put your hand high If you said at some point during your fall season Oh, my Gosh, I'm so behind at posting my work and sneak peeks and showing everybody my sessions. How many of you felt behind my hand is so high in the air right now because that's how I felt. So what is awesome is when we have the slower season, we have a break in all of our sessions and clients. We now have extra time to dedicate to planning out our social media content. And I highly recommend you use this time to do so. I don't care if you schedule for every day you find what works for you. But I want you to really use this slower season to get ahead in your social media calendar. Okay, so use it to work on your content. Use it to get caught up in your business. Use it to promote yourself, start doing some early promotions. Which brings us to the next part of what to do in your slow season. So a lot of your like Okay, great. The things you've said don't make me money. Well, you're right. And like I said before, I plan my you're out to be photographing sessions 10 months out of the year, so I am making money from photography sessions 10 months out of a year and two months. I'm not okay. I'm typically usually not. So what I do is I plan for that. I am making I know that the 10 months I'm working on sessions needs to be split up toe last meet. Ah, full year. And that is what I'm trying to get across to you. It's so if you do have a slow season, maybe you're in one of the Northern States or another country where it's cold way more months out of the year than it is where I'm from. If that's the case, then you're only photographing six months on and six months off. Same thing applies to you. Okay, So for the six months that you were in your active booking sessions and talking with clients and all that stuff, then you're gonna use the other six months for all this planning. But also make sure that your pricing yourself towards gonna last you the whole entire year. Okay, so that's my golden nugget for you today on that, but there are ways that you can still make money in your slow season, and it kind of correlates with our black Friday episode because some of the things I said and there you can do during your slow season two. So one of those is why don't you start promoting your spring sessions? Okay, go ahead and get those locked in, Get people booked for, um, get your deposits down. That some money right there that you could be bringing in up. Sell your clients. So during the slower season, people aren't gonna be outside. But guess what? They're probably gonna be working on their homes or wanting to rearrange, especially right before spring hits. It's not called spring cleaning. Out of coincidence, it's called spring cleaning, cause that's literally when we want to, like, change things around so you can find a way before the spring season hits to go ahead and up, sell people or sell prince of last year's or canvasses or whatever you want to do there. The other thing, too, is think outside of the box ideas. Okay, So if you are a natural light photographer and your bread and butter comes from being outside and doing sessions outside just like me, then that is where it's at. Okay, so What does that mean? That means during the slow season, especially if the weather is nasty, where you live and you get a true winter and it's just impossible. Nobody wants to be miserable cold outside. Then one of the things you need to start doing is thinking of outside the box ideas. Okay? And there's two things that came to my mind. Number one. Can you rent a studio space somewhere? Okay, I know there's gonna be a couple of you where you think that is absolutely impossible. Great. That's all right. Maybe that one's not for you, but for the majority of you, you have access to renting a space, whatever that looks like. Maybe it's a wedding venue event center that you can book out on a week day. Or maybe it's a Airbnb house you can book to do indoor sessions. So these tie in together number one can you run out of studio space induced studio styled sessions, and that ties into number two, which is, can you offer indoor photo sessions during your colder season? So one of the things that I'm probably going to be offering and you know you all know me I'm just gonna tell you as I go, and if I end up not doing this, then I don't do it. But right now I am wanting Thio offer in home lifestyle sessions for a special price. Not necessarily a discounted price, but an entirely different package where I'm only gonna offer these sessions through January and February so back when it's not gonna be warm enough to go outside but still cold enough to where I do want to shoot sessions. But I want to make people comfortable. So I'm thinking about really pushing these lifestyle family sessions where I come into your home and I photograph you in your natural habitat and in your natural element. And I think a lot of people will actually go for this, especially during these colder months. So that's an idea for you to offer as well. So during your slow season, it doesn't mean you're doing nothing. It does mean you're taking time to rest and renew if you need it, which, honestly, I bet all of us need it in some capacity. Maybe some of us only need a week. I bet some of us could take the next 90 days off and we would love every minute of it. But we probably depend on some of that income, so that's not completely doable. But that's the first thing. And then the second thing was to work and you're behind the scenes. What do you need? Automate? What do you need to change? How can you make your client experience better? All of these things will be diving into in the membership site, but you're more than welcome to start brainstorming ideas on your own. And then number three would be Start selling out sessions, find a way to up, sell your current clients and think outside the box. What can you offer during your colder season that you're not typically going to offer in your busy season? So I hope that this helps. I hope your brain the wheels in your brain, are turning that you're able to take at least one idea from this an implement in your business and make a return on your investment because that is the ultimate goal. So please enjoy your slow season. By the time this airs, I will be laying on the couch watching Netflix. I can assure you so please on, come to the Facebook group and please tell me what Netflix shows and who Lou shows and movies. I need to be listening Thio, because I'm gonna need all of your suggestions because I'm not kidding when I say I'll be on that couch. I will be on that couch enjoying my rest, and I hope you will, too. Can't wait for next week's episode. You guys really super excited to tune in and I will see you then I want to be featured on the podcast. I'm currently looking for photographers who are interested in a coaching session that will be recorded and aired on the podcast in 2020. To apply to be a guest on the show, please visit Brooke jefferson dot com slash apply.