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00:00:01
The Photography Booking Strategy That Will Transform Your Business
52 Plays8 days ago
In this episode, Elena shares the exact strategy she’s used for over a decade to book out her photography calendar months in advance. Inspired by her own experience with her kids’ summer camp selling out in minutes, she breaks down how you can implement the same urgency and structure in your business. By leveraging email marketing, client loyalty, and scarcity, you can create a reliable stream of bookings that sustain your business year-round—without burning out or chasing leads all year.
This episode is packed with actionable advice to help you stop waiting for clients and start filling your calendar with intention.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why scarcity and exclusivity drive bookings
- How to use your email list as your most powerful marketing tool
- Why proactive booking beats reactive scrambling every time
- How to turn past clients into repeat, year-after-year customers
- A proven strategy to fill your calendar during Black Friday
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Transcript
Transformative Photography Booking Strategy
00:00:01
Elena Blair
Hey, empowered photographer. I'm excited today to talk to you about a photography booking strategy that will transform your business. All right. So I want to talk to you about something that happened in my world. That was, to I was like, this company is using the exact booking strategy that I use.
00:00:20
Elena Blair
So this weekend,
Urgency in Booking: A Summer Camp Case Study
00:00:22
Elena Blair
my kids summer camp opened up for business, or opened up for booking for summer of 2026 November 1st. on november first And I had it in my calendar because they'd let us know that it was going to book up. I know that it books up fast. They they told us that it was going to open.
00:00:37
Elena Blair
My alarm went off. i I set an alarm on my phone because they created so much urgency. At 9 a.m. on Saturday morning, my alarm goes off. I'm pouring my coffee. I sit down at my computer. It's 9.07 a.m.
00:00:48
Elena Blair
and the camp is sold out. And luckily, my kids have been going to this camp. My son's 18. He's been going to the camp since he was in second grade. And all my kids go every summer.
Exclusivity and Scarcity in Marketing
00:00:59
Elena Blair
So I know the director and she was able to hook me up. I was like, Kat, I was only seven minutes late.
00:01:04
Elena Blair
But brilliant. This summer camp implements the exact strategy that I have been using for over a decade to book my my family photography client calendar out a year in advance.
00:01:17
Elena Blair
And here is why this works really, really well. So the summer camp doesn't only just create a great experience. It has a brilliant booking strategy that keeps families like mine coming back year after year and wanting that coveted spot.
00:01:35
Elena Blair
So what it does is it creates exclusivity for the email list, meaning if you're on the email list, you're going to get alo a spot at this beloved summer camp. So that's the one part.
00:01:45
Elena Blair
And it creates scarcity. It's going to book up fast. You have to book this now or your kid isn't going to get to go to the summer camp unless you know the director, by the way. Had I waited a few hours, she probably wouldn't have been able to squeeze us in. But I did it seven minutes late.
00:01:58
Elena Blair
I don't I don't try to do that too often.
Ensuring Profitability and Reducing Marketing Efforts
00:02:01
Elena Blair
But why does this work so well? Well, it works well for the summer camp because now they know that they have a full calendar and they don't have to market themselves at nauseam all year to get those spots filled. So it's really good business for the summer camp.
00:02:14
Elena Blair
For me as a family photographer, I go into the next year with my my client calendar nearly full so that I know that I don't have to be marketing in a panic mode. I already have a base clientbased ah client calendar full so I can feel really good going into the next year. This is good business. It's being a good business owner. It's thinking about profitability.
00:02:37
Elena Blair
So why does this work? Well, and why is this going to work for your family photography business? So it works really well because you're focusing on client retention. So the camp delivers a magical experience.
00:02:49
Elena Blair
Literally, this this is like one of the best camps ever. And it makes families like mine loyal for year after year after year. Their reputation ensures repeat customers and the word of mouth referrals bring in the campers, friends and all of that. Right.
00:03:05
Elena Blair
So this is similar with you as a photographer. If you create an amazing, reliable photography experience, clients are going to want to come back year after year and they're telling their friends too.
00:03:17
Elena Blair
At the foundation
Email Marketing for Urgency and Loyalty
00:03:18
Elena Blair
of this strategy, you are leveraging email marketing. So the camp fills its sessions through email marketing only, sending those emails, letting you know that the opening the or the sessions are going to open up on a certain date, having those messages be very targeted and let you know that it's going to sell out fast.
00:03:35
Elena Blair
It allows you to directly email people who already love working with you. This is the same thing for your photography business. So you send an email to past clients who already love you, letting them know that they're going to get an exclusive spot on your client calendar and they're going to get first dibs in that client calendar.
00:03:51
Elena Blair
Email marketing is king and it works really, really well. Like I said, what you're doing is creating scarcity and exclusivity. Your calendar is going to book up quickly with repeat clients. You're letting people know that they feel like they're part of a club. It's almost like working on that, like psychology of buying. If you feel like you're part of something special, you're more excited to book.
00:04:13
Elena Blair
This is proactive, not reactive marketing. So instead of waiting for registrants to trickle in the camp actively fills the spots.
Proactive Marketing for Reliable Income
00:04:22
Elena Blair
For you as a family photographer, instead of waiting for your family photography clients to come in and trickle in all throughout the year, you're actively reaching out to them and putting them on your calendar.
00:04:33
Elena Blair
It works really, really well. So every year during Black Friday, I open up my family photography calendar for the following year. And all of my outdoor family sessions get filled within a couple of weeks.
00:04:46
Elena Blair
It has worked since Marlo was a baby. She's 11. I've been doing this for 11 years. It works really, really well. It allows me to go into the next year with a reliable base income, with immediate cash flow from the deposits to fuel the slower months, and with the freedom from consistent marketing. I don't feel like I have to yell at the internet all the time because my calendar is already full.
00:05:08
Elena Blair
Think about this amazing ah summer camp. They don't even have to worry. They go into the next year knowing that they have their income all set and you have to pay a deposit to get them into the camp. So they have that base income as well.
Booking Strategy Enhancements and Offers
00:05:21
Elena Blair
So I actually have a class called Black Friday Booking. It's available for under $50. If you're interested, I'll link that here. I also will link my free email list guide to get you started with email marketing.
00:05:34
Elena Blair
This is going to help you structure your booking event, use your email marketing effectively, and it's going to help you create emails and posts that are going to make people ready to go, ready to buy.
Applying Demand and Loyalty Principles
00:05:45
Elena Blair
Good business is good business, whether it's a summer camp or a photography business.
00:05:49
Elena Blair
The principles of creating demand, fostering loyalty and marketing proactively remain the same. By a adopting this proven booking strategy, you could transform how you book your sessions from the start of the year with confidence. No more just sitting back and waiting for people to come.
00:06:04
Elena Blair
You are going to them. I hope you try this. Let me know how it goes.