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Marketing to Your Ideal Client
107 Plays2 years ago
Hello friends! Toda'y episode is a long-awaited one where we will talk all about how we attract [our] ideal clients! If you're a business owner of any kind that deals with clients, and especially if your're a photographer or an editor, you will hear our best advice for identifying, captivating, and booking your ideal clients consistently!
Happy Monday!
Your hosts,
Beth and Ayla
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Transcript
Introduction and Topics
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Art of Intention podcast with Beth and Ayla. Two best friends turn creative entrepreneurs. This is a place for us to discuss everything business, friendships, and faith and occasionally more. We're so excited for today's episode. We think you're going to love it. Stay tuned.
Year-End Reflections on Business and Podcast
00:00:20
Speaker
Happy Monday. Wow, it's hard to believe we are nearing the end of September. I don't know about you, but this year has flown by. Oh my gosh, like 100% faster than the last one, that's for sure. But it does mean as we kind of near like fall and everything else, it means we're coming up on another successful year of business, business running. That means some significant time as the Art of Intention podcast too, like
00:00:47
Speaker
Coming around to that landmark somewhat quickly.
Focus: Ideal Clients in Photography and Editing
00:00:50
Speaker
But anyway, in case the title of this episode didn't tip you off, today's episode is for our fellow business people. And we're mainly talking to our photographers and editors. But as always, this topic can extend to any business owner that is seeking to reach a new or specific client base.
00:01:07
Speaker
Yeah. We're going to chat about how you can identify and then successfully advertise to your ideal client, bringing in more of your dream business. Yeah. I'm so excited to get into this. I love chatting everything, ideal clients. So we're going to jump right in, but first let's hop over to community news. Okay. Instagram channels. It's kind of like subscriptions, but free. Um, okay. We have like an
00:01:32
Speaker
open running dm with that creator so first of all before I get into it have you heard of this ayla yes or no no no I have no idea I don't think I've seen it or anything either so I think this is as of a few days ago but I'm not sure Emily said when I saw it I know a couple people who already have it but yeah so like I said it's basically like an open running dm like when you go into the channel and
00:01:56
Speaker
on instagram like if they invite you to their channel you feel like you're just in a group chat dm that's what it looks like what it essentially is the creator can then choose to share things with anyone who is a channel follower like you'll get them sending like behind the scenes raw photos ideas sneak peeks i'm talking about photographers you know
00:02:14
Speaker
And it'll kind of like show up like a DM, just kind of the same kind of thing. Anyone can like those. They can kind of comment like, you know, they can like double tap it and like them, but only a select few people can actually type in something and comment on what's posted in the channel.
00:02:30
Speaker
I would say this is clearly an attempt on Instagram's part to push interaction as it's been trying to do for many years now, increased screen time for the app. I think it's just like their attempt to do that. I will say it didn't strike me as particularly
00:02:46
Speaker
innovative or exciting. I can't say one way or another if it will actually be worthwhile to pursue, but I can also see it falling off the edge, kind of like Instagram's guides feature.
Challenges of Instagram as an Advertising Tool
00:02:59
Speaker
If you remember when they tried to do that a few years ago, it just kind of fizzled out. Do you remember that?
00:03:03
Speaker
I don't know if I do. What was the guides? Like real quick? Yeah. So you know when you're on your Instagram homepage and you have like, you can toggle between like grid view, reels, whatever. Right. Right. You can like press little buttons on the top that like take you from like, okay, you can see the grid with all the squares or you can see the reels and what are they able to do next to it? Other stuff. Right. Right. Like what you've been tagged in. Yeah, exactly. Tagged and then, oh, do they still actually have guides?
00:03:27
Speaker
Wait, hold up. Well, I'm just looking through my profile right now. Yeah. Okay. So go to your profile on Instagram. Do you see where it has the grid with all the squares? Then to the right is reels. Then there's also a brochure. Do you see that? No, I don't mind. You haven't started a guide then. So that's probably why it's- Oh, no, I haven't here. Okay. But the fact that you don't even know what this is, is telling a lot about what I want to say. Like this is exactly- Oh, okay. Wait, no, I see the folder on yours. Okay. So go click on that. And then if you see, and anyone who's listening can do the same thing.
00:03:56
Speaker
These are guides. A few years ago, Instagram released this guides feature where I can create guides. For example, one of mine is Unique California Wedding Venues. You click on it. It's like a blog. It makes it way more of like a blog. Exactly. You can use your own posts and you can also put other people's posts in it. It's kind of like a brochure or a guide or a blog post.
00:04:18
Speaker
So anyways, that being said, that's a pretty darn cool feature. And I thought that was going to be huge. But as you obviously can tell, it kind of fizzled. Like I think people have them still, some people probably use them. I think I could see how this would be useful for like photo editing, but I literally never heard of it. So
00:04:36
Speaker
So that being said, that being said, I could see both of our professions, photographers and editors using it to engage with followers, but I don't know that it would increase the number of followers because there's nothing shareable.
00:04:51
Speaker
My perspective is I don't see it being a great advertising tool. If something isn't going to be a great advertising tool, then I just kind of, I don't put my energy into it. So it's interesting, doesn't feel particularly amazing. And I don't think it will necessarily take off. It's not going to necessarily help you grow. It's just kind of a great way to like engage with people who want to engage with you. Who've already followed you. Yeah. That's kind of my, that's been my thing with Instagram and engagement for a little while.
00:05:21
Speaker
It's obviously a great marketing tool if you're trying to reach clients and stuff. It's free marketing. It's a way to reach people worldwide, really. It can be hard finding the algorithm and stuff, but generally, it's good. My followers will know this. I've been so inactive on my Instagram the past couple weeks. It's because my client list is booked out. Don't be like me. Not to say you should drop off of Instagram because you don't need to book any clients. I know that's not the best practice, but it's exactly what you said.
00:05:50
Speaker
I'm not, I don't have quite a marketing need right now.
Defining and Finding Your Ideal Client
00:05:54
Speaker
And so my energy is being put into serving my clients, right? So I can see that just in general, if it's not going to help your marketing, somebody like photographers who are constantly booking themselves and constantly seeking out new clients, if it's not helping you do that, I can understand why your energy wouldn't be put into it. Like that's all great and fine on paper, like, oh, engage with your followers and all these things. But that seems like a lot of energy to sow into.
00:06:15
Speaker
follower engagement, like I feel like celebrities could do that if people engaged with them. But yeah, I don't know. That's an interesting one. I'd have to like look at it.
00:06:25
Speaker
Yeah. And it's interesting because they just rolled out subscriptions recently and this is like a non paid subscription. And so it's like, okay, you're kind of canceling out the subscriptions feature that Instagram just did. So it's, I don't see it really going anywhere. It kind of, it seems conflicting and not as super exciting and not a great way to market. So I don't know. I think I would encourage any photographers who are using it right now to maybe consider not putting so much time into it because I don't think it's necessarily going to help you grow. And,
00:06:52
Speaker
It's just taking away valuable time you could be spending towards something else that will help you grow and help your business get better. Okay, so getting into today's episode, what do we mean when we say ideal client? An ideal client is a client who
00:07:09
Speaker
clicks with you artistically. They admire your work even before they reach out to you. They pursue you because they respect you, they want to pay you what you're asking for, and just basically they cause no trouble. Oftentimes, what's focused on today in the photography and editing world when talking about an ideal client is more stylistic preferences. Clients who bring you business that reflects your favorite style, your favorite kind of work to do.
00:07:34
Speaker
Absolutely. Basically, what's your demographic is the broad term and then niching in even more when it comes to style and everything like that. I feel like that's where you'll find your ideal client. With that, we are not saying that clients who differ from your preferred style are bad clients, not at all, but rather
00:07:53
Speaker
you will probably be able to serve clients better who align with your favorite style or at least something close to it, your interests, your personality, and potentially even core beliefs. I think especially with something like, you know,
00:08:07
Speaker
wedding photography and times where you get really close to these people that you're working for, the more you click with them, just the better you're going to be able to serve them. So overall, an ideal client is somebody who honestly is a joy to work with and who feels the same about you. In my opinion, you'll do lots of work when starting your business before first finding your ideal client. But once a job like that comes around,
00:08:28
Speaker
you may find yourself finding more and more of those clients as you advertise it. And as that's the work you put out, more of those ideal clients will start finding you. Again, you're not excluding anybody, but rather attracting others that you click with. And many factors go into that as you'll hear us discuss.
00:08:45
Speaker
Yeah, I like that. Okay, so to start rolling right into this, Ayla, I want to chat for a second about your experience with clients. Can you tell me if you remember the transition going from having work from clients, just like in general, to getting your first ideal client? What did that feel like? What stood out to you about the experience? And do you remember if it affected you emotionally or mentally? Just anything you want to share about this?
00:09:10
Speaker
Yes. Oh, I definitely, I definitely remember it and like, I love this. So, okay. So when I jumped into editing and like I, like I just said a second ago, I definitely think any business that you start.
00:09:22
Speaker
there will be a time you're working for anybody. And I don't mean to word that isn't like you're gonna do jobs you hate and then blah, blah, blah, because I wouldn't put that on anybody else's photography work. I wouldn't put that on anybody else. So you're just finding people who are different as you go to kind of like niche down, find your ideal clients. So definitely when I started out, I took lots of jobs that I probably wouldn't take now these days. Again, not because anybody else is doing anything wrong, but I was just working for everybody really. And I feel like it's kind of a rite of passage.
00:09:51
Speaker
And we're going to expand on this later, but it helps you figure out what you don't want in a client. So like, just kind of enjoy that part honestly and take it all in. However, I knew I wanted to work for wild and adventurous photographers. That's always been like forefront of my website. That's always who I wanted to work with. I wanted to work for the destination photographers. And with that, I knew that most people
00:10:14
Speaker
in that like photography direction have this really vibey artistic always like unique style from person to person but they all kind of follow this general like moody creative editing path sometimes going into like film whatever it was kind of less about style and more like I want to work for like adventurous destination
00:10:33
Speaker
photographers so with that that was my ideal client and i launched my business in july of 2021 and i think it was november or december when i got an inquiry from someone exactly like that and when i tell you i literally jumped for joy because i was getting inquiries
00:10:49
Speaker
I worked for a few people. Some people I still work for and then some who either found other editors or no longer needed editing, like no, no bad past relationships for me whatsoever. Like they've all been positive. Just people I don't work for anymore who, you know, it was kind of like whatever they
Identifying Red Flags in Non-Ideal Clients
00:11:03
Speaker
needed editing for, I would do.
00:11:04
Speaker
I remember the first inquiry from an ideal client and I was over the moon. I looked at her Instagram and it was like everything I'd been looking for and I was like oh and granted to any editor who's maybe looking for their ideal client and they're like how do I do that when I've never worked for an ideal client? I will say right now I was lucky to have some of Beth's work in my portfolio as an adventurous photographer so I was lucky to be able to use some of that to advertise
00:11:28
Speaker
Like, I understand not everybody gets that privilege, but I was able to. But anyway, this was a person I didn't know in real life who had the exact portfolio I was looking for. And I was stoked. And I put my heart and soul into that first gallery. I was lucky she didn't even want a trial run. She was like, oh, onboard, here's my first gallery. And when I tell you, I like put everything I had into that one to make it perfect. Because I was like, this is exactly who I want to serve. And so,
00:11:54
Speaker
Yeah, I was over the moon to have reached somebody like that. That was one of my biggest goals and then from then more increase came Even now I'm in the process of I have to waitlist clients and it's kind of a bummer because the for the last six months I don't mean like I'm not trying to brag whatsoever but in the last six months I pretty much only have gotten inquiries from ideal clients and it's a bummer to have to turn them away But that was always the goal is you want everything about your brand your website everything to attract exactly that so
00:12:24
Speaker
if i could just edit everything in the world i'd be taking everybody i'd be taking everybody on and again it's not because i ever said i don't want to work for everybody else never on my instagram was i like i hate light and airy editing like i never said any of that but it's just i started turning around the work i was putting it out using it to advertise of course with permission on my instagram and that's just going to attract more of the people um
00:12:46
Speaker
that you like it'll come back so yeah i was so excited when i was able to settle into that niche because also that type of editing just brings me a lot of joy too like i find a lot of creativity in it and i think it's the perfect balance of creativity in my job but also like i'm able to just do it well
00:13:03
Speaker
That's why I wanted to be patient to that too. I was so excited when I got my first ideal client and that's never ended. Inquiries that I keep getting with that style, I'm just like, yes, this means I've finally done something right. It didn't happen overnight. You guys probably heard it. It was months before this happened. Every now and again, after that, there was still an inquiry.
00:13:25
Speaker
that wouldn't align with my style, but luckily I know a lot of editors. I could just refer them to an editor that would suit them better. That's a whole other thing, but it never stops getting exciting when somebody perfect for you.
00:13:36
Speaker
reaches out. It's a lot of fun. I love that. Yeah. So it sounds like it was pretty like, I would say even life changing and definitely career impacting and encouraging to have that, to finally have that transition and it kind of snowball. It was a snowball effect. So 100%. Awesome. Love it. So now we'll get into more towards identifying an ideal client and as cliche as it might sound, sometimes the best way to figure out what you want is to identify what you don't want.
00:14:05
Speaker
And Ayla, in the photography editing world, I'm going to ask you another question. What are some red flags and potential clients that might give a hint that this isn't an ideal client for someone? Yeah, of course. There definitely are some.
00:14:26
Speaker
I feel like red flags with somebody who aren't your ideal client, there's kind of two kinds. There's some that are like not, not wrong on that person at all. Like for me, not even red flag, but just like if somebody were to reach out and their editing style was just not like what I want to do. It's like in studio, all white background, very posed, not saying at all that I don't like that.
00:14:48
Speaker
or that they shouldn't do that kind of photography. It's just that's never what I've edited. I wouldn't be able to serve them very well. So it's just a style, like we said in the beginning, just a style difference that might be like, Oh, I'll probably refer you to someone who can serve you better. Then there's red flags on like, sounds harsh, but like that person just might not be very good to work with and might cause problems later, honestly. So of course, like number one, I would say if the
00:15:10
Speaker
If the vibes are off, and I know that's super subjective, but it can go for photography clients to a photo shoot to a wedding as well. If you feel something deeply unsettling about this, it most likely will come up later. And not to say like the client has one tiny request and you're like, bad vibes, not going to do it. I'm not saying that. But if you just encounter little things that you're like, just brush off and ignore, they could potentially be a problem later. This is why a bit of communication is really important to have.
00:15:39
Speaker
before booking either a Zoom call, a phone call, at least a few email exchanges.
00:15:45
Speaker
In fact, my system to onboard a new photographer for editing services, it used to actually be set up to where somebody could just sign up and book themselves as a client. That happened once and it ended up working out fine, but somebody like filled out my inquiry form and then just was like in my system as a client and could theoretically send me jobs. And I hadn't checked out their Instagram. I hadn't checked out anything about them. Like I said, it ended up working out, but I now have inserted a step in my workflow so that I have to approve them.
00:16:13
Speaker
And it gives me room to look at their Instagram, chat with them a little bit and not approve like, are they good enough for me? It's literally, can I serve you the best? So I definitely take some time to like look through their Instagram and just see style wise first, if it's something I want to move forward with.
00:16:30
Speaker
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Traits of Ideal Clients
00:16:40
Speaker
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00:16:58
Speaker
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00:17:23
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00:17:51
Speaker
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00:18:16
Speaker
a really tricky relationship later on. For photographers, if they refuse to pay a retainer to book you, for me as an editor, if someone refuses to send anchor images for editing, not wanting to sign a contract, not being able to accept kind of simple, I guess, boundaries, these may sound obvious as you're listening to us sit here and list them out, but in the moment they may come to you with a reason that maybe pulls on your heartstrings or they say it nicely, or you maybe not catch that you're now going outside of workflow.
00:18:43
Speaker
or they say maybe in a way that intimidates you into accommodating them but no matter how it's said it's still not ideal it's a red flag and it very well could come back to bite you later especially if you feel like you're being bullied into accommodating them yeah and speaking of that if i can just interject really quickly um absolutely i would say also having a bunch of excuses for everything kind of hand in hand with that is also a red flag and if you haven't experienced that um you'll understand when you do experience that but yes someone who
00:19:11
Speaker
It doesn't seem to want to commit to your services. It keeps getting your hopes up that they will book and then that they will pay and then they just end up always having an excuse, always falling through. You're better off releasing them as a client and filling that spot with someone that's more reliable even if they pay less money or even if it's not the same kind of job. It's just, yeah, that's a red flag as well. Anyways, keep going, Ayla.
00:19:32
Speaker
Well, yeah, and with that, I've had it before where someone will reach out to me for editing on Instagram, which is totally fine. I'm all good with that. To make my system as organized as possible, I will just send them a direct link to my client inquiry form. I don't have to do this.
00:19:49
Speaker
We talked about this on our workflows episode. I've tried to go out of this workflow many a time and it just confuses everybody later on. So if they message me on Instagram, I'll just send them to my inquiry form. It takes like a minute to fill out, gets you in my system, sets us up for success. And all the people refuse to do that step. And they're like, well, can't I just send you a gallery? I don't want to fill out forms. And I'm like, in my mind, I'm like, if you can't follow
00:20:16
Speaker
Imagine going into a coffee shop and just sitting down at a table and being like, you should just know my order. Come bring it to me instead of going up and ordering the way they've designed it to be. How are they supposed to serve you? Well, how is any of that? So like for me, if you can't keep up small ends of your, your side of the deal, it's just gonna, it's gonna, you know, it gets uncomfy later on. So small thing, you might think it's small and oh, I'll just, well, I'll just fill it out for them or I'll just,
00:20:42
Speaker
And the things like that might keep coming up now, yeah. And as photographers too, now you've got someone who doesn't want to pay the deposit or who...
00:20:50
Speaker
doesn't want whatever, you know what I'm saying? Just like the little things are important. Yeah. And if it's a long-term relationship, if you have the kind of clients where it's more of a long-term interaction like photographer, if it's a wedding, that's a year away or for editors where it's a recurring client, you really want somebody who is okay with going through the proper channels. Yeah.
Strategies for Attracting Ideal Clients
00:21:10
Speaker
And, and like most people have it set up that way either if they find somebody who's willing to accommodate them without the proper steps, that's, that's fine for them. That'll be on that editor. So.
00:21:24
Speaker
Oh, kind of what you were saying, Beth, about filling that spot with a more reliable client. This kind of has happened to me where I more reluctantly take on a job. In the beginning of my career, I took a lot of one-off jobs, which I don't offer anymore. I only offer client relationships. But in the beginning, I was taking more one-off jobs. And I took one on that I was a little uneasy about. She was like, this is one-off, but could be a relationship. And I was like, OK, I'll take it on. We'll see. And then a really good inquiry came along right after that that I wasn't sure if I had the room for.
00:21:42
Speaker
Yeah, and it's happened to me where...
00:21:54
Speaker
Now I'm not saying that's a guarantee, but I'm saying it can happen to maybe you take on something you didn't really want and then something you do want comes along and now you no longer have the room for that. And I know that's kind of like wishy washy math, like it's not a guarantee, but I'm just saying, you know, you don't have to pressure yourself with taking everything on because it's your income or because whatever, like give yourself some grace and some room for the ideal clients to come through. And we'll get to strategies on that in a little bit here.
00:22:19
Speaker
But another non-ideal client is somebody who wants to hire you for convenience and not because they know or love your work. This one's crazy. It could probably go off on it. But if you're being pursued just because you were easy to find or cheap, then some potential problems you could run into are future style disputes. You have no idea if they actually like your style or not. Complaints like this could lead to them asking for a refund, especially if they're budget chasers.
00:22:46
Speaker
It's just a lot better to go with someone who isn't seeking you out because you're convenient or cheap because they know your work and they want your work. And with that, this can kind of go right into if there's somebody who doesn't really care about what they're hiring you for. And this might sound weird,
00:23:02
Speaker
But it's a real thing. And perhaps it could apply to photographers more than editors. I've sort of had this a bit. I'll expand. But basically, if someone just isn't that into what they're asking of you, you might have a bride who's asking about photography, but that's not the biggest thing on her plate. She's like, whatever, take the pictures. I don't care. Now, you as the photographer, you lack clear direction from them. And maybe they'll end up unsatisfied, or you don't have any inspiration to go off of. I could imagine for a photography consult, if the client doesn't have any inspiration,
00:23:31
Speaker
about what they want for their wedding, I could see you spinning this positively and this can make room for you to swoop in, get them inspired about their wedding day photos and be like, I see this and this and this for you. But just know it could be a way different experience as opposed to someone who understands wedding photography, at least a little bit, and gets inspired.
00:23:50
Speaker
by that process. And I've had it in editing too where it is like, well, I just hate editing. I don't want to do it, which is fair. I have, like I, I've edited for people like this. I get it. Uh, like I have current clients now who are like, I just don't want to sit down and do editing at the end of the day. But that's different than like not really caring about how the photos turn out at the end. Cause it just, it creates fuzzy boundaries. There should be a goal in mind of what you, what you want to have, I guess.
00:24:15
Speaker
Right. And kind of with that, like you said, with wedding photographers at least, you're like, well, a client doesn't really know what they want, could leave room for you to get creative. And that's true to some extent. But if a client just doesn't seem to really care about anything, that also might translate to things like the timeline. And all of a sudden, you're trying to get a timeline out of them. You're trying to get details from them. You're trying to get information out of them that you need to successfully complete your job to plan ahead to get your things booked.
00:24:42
Speaker
And if they or if they just are indecisive and they can't even choose a date because they're just kind of like, eh, whatever. There's so, and that's wedding specific. There's lots of ways this can affect any photo shooting family. Right. So just kind of thinking about that. It may seem like not a big deal, but just keep your eyes out for that. It's not something to just ignore. Look into that and see if that's going to be a problem.
00:25:06
Speaker
Absolutely. And if you if you're just gifted and can like handle it and get that out of people, that's great. It just will be different than somebody who's like a lot more involved in the process. And then this is kind of my last point with this as far as things to watch out for if and this is this last point is very different when talking between photographers and editors. So I'll make it like clear between each point.
00:25:28
Speaker
if they refuse to give you some control. Now, for editors, your photographer's in control of what their photos look like. If they have preferences, it's not because they're being picky or anything like that. I've said this, and I'll say it again, they've created a style that's unique and precious to them, and it's your job to, most likely, to most of the editors I think I'm talking to, it's your job to replicate that across a gallery. You're not making any choices for them. It's their work, and it's okay for them to
00:25:58
Speaker
there should be give and take and feedback as far as correcting how things look. Now, photographers, that does not give you the opportunity to just pick a part where you normally wouldn't pick a part.
00:26:11
Speaker
Like when you're outsourcing your editing to somebody else, you are relinquishing a little bit of control because ideally not each and every photo is suddenly just under your gaze anymore. You should be able to trust that if you give an editor a little bit of guidance through anchor images and through a consultation, now you're giving up control to them across the whole gallery. So there is a little bit of like control that you have to let go of. However, if an editor should know that your work's precious and be willing to
00:26:39
Speaker
make it as perfect as you would across all the photos. For a photographer being hired by either a bride or a couple shoot or whatever they'd be hired for, I think there's a lot more of clients need to be willing to let you just kind of do your thing.
00:26:54
Speaker
and do your work because they've hired you for your work. Like I could, yeah, like basically they look on your Instagram and see your style and they're like, Oh, that's really great, but I don't like when photos are that warm. Can you maybe cool it down? And then I don't like the scenery. Can you maybe do it here? Well now you're just asking me to not do my style at all. Another photographer might be better for you if, if you can't let me like do what I do, you know, like, so it's kind of different, but
00:27:20
Speaker
between editors and photographers, but generally if a client's not willing to give you some control, especially as the photographer, that could set you up for a tricky relationship later. And then potentially you're handing back work that doesn't look like your normal work at all. That's now being shared and tagged as your work. So again, not saying they're wrong for not liking your preferences, but if you notice they're like, well, I don't like this, this, and this about your photos, it might be like, well, here's a photographer that fits your needs a bit more. You should be very happy with them, I think. Right. Exactly.
00:27:49
Speaker
Okay, so with everything that you just shared, everything we just discussed, we now have a great outline of an ideal client by kind of reversing all of that. So an ideal client is someone who goes through your proper channels for booking, payment, etc.
00:28:04
Speaker
someone who loves your style and chose you for your work, someone you get along with personality wise because you're going to be working together so you got to click, someone who is upstanding and pays on time, isn't trying to play any games, isn't trying to con you in any way, isn't just searching for budget or discounts, no discount shoppers, and someone who values your craft and field of business, someone who respects it as a legitimate business, a legitimate service.
00:28:32
Speaker
Love it. And that I will say is I think something that is really big in photography. There are still some people out there who don't think what you do is that hard or that it's like that legitimate of a business, but it's just as much of a business as anything else if you're registered.
00:28:48
Speaker
Yeah. And another one is someone who has a vision for what they want and it aligns with your ideal style. And the reasons it's so important is not for any selfish reasons, although it may seem that way to some, but the purpose of limiting your accepted work or your clientele to align with a certain style that you love is so that you can serve them better. Let's hope your best work when it's something that you're passionate about, something that you think is beautiful that matches your own style. So if you take on work you don't love,
00:29:18
Speaker
it's actually your clients that suffer because they won't get the best work that you have to offer. And then I would say lastly along with that, well, not lastly, but you know, is someone who will be a returning client and who will refer you to others. And if you're doing all that other stuff, if all the other things align, then that's going to be a returning client, someone who refers you well. And yeah. Yeah. I really liked that point at the very end of just like,
00:29:45
Speaker
don't underestimate aligning style and vision overall. I think people who are really into, they know kind of general if they like lighter photos or warmer or they like this landscape or something like that. Some people might construe that as controlling, but I think that gives you an excellent map to just jump off of, especially if it works with you.
00:30:06
Speaker
I think it's so fun to be like just in on the process with somebody I would definitely call that ideal and also don't sleep on that last point that Beth made about a returning client I think for photography we can think it's so one-off but like if it's somebody who's like oh you took my engagement photos now I want you to shoot my wedding and now I want you to shoot for our first baby and I want you to shoot for my friend like are you kidding there's
00:30:29
Speaker
You're set for your business, if you can find somebody like that. And word of mouth, I feel like people, because of social media and the way we advertise these days, people might forget about word of mouth, but especially if you're working locally in your town and not traveling very much, word of mouth is so important. And I have it set up for editing, actually. I absolutely depend on returning clients. That is my entire business structure, is long-term clients.
00:30:56
Speaker
And I set up a little referral program. It's not quite active anymore because I'm not taking on new clients. But generally, if a current client refers me to a new one and they onboard with me, the person who referred me gets a discount on their next gallery. Just little rewards like that for word of mouth and things like that. Because also, I like that so much more than Instagram because it's a real person who can validate that my work's
Consistency and Business Sustainability
00:31:20
Speaker
good.
00:31:20
Speaker
It was successful and they can happily like pass that along to another person like somebody doesn't have to dig through that on Instagram So like I love if I can find somebody who refers but of course then that has to it's unfortunate because I have to it has to pause when my Books are closed, but I I love referrals and those also make me do a little happy dance like because again, it's it's somebody Yeah, you basically want to be good enough that somebody will go tell you good will go tell others about it They'll do the advertising for you exactly
00:31:48
Speaker
So if you're like, okay, thank you, Beth and Ayla, I understand now what my ideal client is, but now how do I find them and how do I convince them to work with me? We're going to wrap this episode up with you with just some rapid advice on that. But like, let's talk about hooking and sticking with your ideal clients.
00:32:07
Speaker
Okay, yes, let's get into this. So number one piece of advice that I will give to anybody who is trying to capture their ideal client is only post work that reflects your ideal client. Even if it's repetitive, do not post work that you do not want more of in the future.
00:32:27
Speaker
Done, that's it. I know it can be hard and I know it can sound scary because with social media algorithms you have to post so often, you got to post so much, but repetitive posting, posting the same kind of content more than once is actually better than posting more diverse, just everything you have, just kind of throwing it all out there if it doesn't align with your ideal style, your ideal client.
00:32:51
Speaker
Yeah, that one is so real, especially for the editors listening to you. I know that can be tricky because you're editing for probably multiple people with slightly different styles. I get this and...
00:33:02
Speaker
you can go the direction of like, I edit any style, but generally I have found much more success when my website and my Instagram aligns with things that are at least close to each other. If I can have, I need to work on this a little bit, not gonna lie, but if I can have a nice looking feed that looks consistent, that would attract the people I wanna work for, that just does a lot better than if I'm posting, oh, here's a cool edit, here's a warm edit, here's a greenie, here's a bit like, rather than all over the place is that I'm generally consistent. And again, it's work that I want more of.
00:33:30
Speaker
I feel like that usually comes around the more I do that. So it can be tricky, but definitely the more consistent you can keep it. And like Beth said, um, it might sound repetitive, but if it's the work that you are wanting to attract, just, just go for it, especially in the beginning when maybe your portfolio, when you're still working up to it, you like that said, it might be tempting to just post everything you have, but trust me, sticking with what you want to come back to you pays off in the long run.
00:33:57
Speaker
Yeah, that's honestly, if you guys take anything from this episode and you make that one change, you're going to see the biggest shift in your business, I think, over almost anything else we can tell you. Not truly anything else, but that's pretty high up there.
Conclusion: Impact of Ideal Clients
00:34:10
Speaker
After that, you're going to want to have a really good workflow. If you want those clients to go through your proper channels, then definitely it's up to you to make it a great experience. This is also how you get those people to be returning clients and refer you to others, like we just harped on earlier. I know it's easier said than done, so just start with having good automations and easy contact form.
00:34:30
Speaker
consistency with email and communication and you'll be off to a good start. Beth and I have an entire episode titled Workflows One on One, which is a great place to start for this if you're wondering about your workflows or you're just getting into it or you know you have to make things easier. That's a great episode to check out. We go really hard on the importance of easy workflow and pretty much lay it out step by step for you on how to get started. So go listen to that when you're done if you need to check out your workflows.
00:34:55
Speaker
Check that out. I love it. All right, so the next thing that you can do to hook your ideal client is you can actually say who your ideal client is. You can absolutely say this kindly and gently and with tact. And one of the ways you can say that is you can share on your website and socials that you like to chat with your inquiring clients first to make sure you're a good fit. That's a good gentle way to phrase that to say, I just don't take on any work. I want to prioritize making sure that we click first.
00:35:24
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. That is so important and going off of that, you can use social media to guide people into becoming an ideal client. Sometimes it's as simple as a person being maybe unaware that they should use your contact form or that they should take a look at your styling guide. As an expert in the field, it's your job to let people know that you're the expert and they can trust you to guide them.
00:35:44
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. And then if I can just jump in with that thought, this is often something I, as a photographer, am doing on my social media because a lot of people who want to do photos don't really understand what makes a great photo. They'll see work that they admire. They'll be like, oh, I love this photo shoot you did. I love your style. I love how all your photos always turn out with your couples.
00:36:06
Speaker
And it's something I have to explain that like, okay, these photos look like this because they went out of their way to choose an amazing spot. They dressed a certain way. They didn't clash with the environment. And so a lot of what I do and a lot of what you should do if you have an ideal client you're trying to reach is educate people on how to become that way. So you can have your dream photo shoot, but it's not going to necessarily be in your backyard wearing polka dots.
00:36:36
Speaker
It's something they may be able to do and willing to do, but they need to be told how and told what the important things are. Some things might not matter, but let's focus on the things that matter. I want you to be willing to drive out of your way to go to an amazing spot.
00:36:51
Speaker
I want you to look at the 15 page styling guide that I gave you that talks about the right kind of colors and patterns to wear and to avoid, you know, stuff like that. So be very outspoken about how people can have a good photo shoot. I phrase it like, here's how to have an amazing photo shoot, you know? So that's kind of how you can phrase that. Well, yeah.
00:37:13
Speaker
I remember a couple years ago when you started really delving into that like client education of how to look and stuff and I remember at first thinking like oh like I wouldn't have thought of that like I don't know but then it totally makes sense like imagine someone looking at your Pinterest or your Instagram being like I want my photos to look like that and then they pick a spot and pick clothes that aren't the same and then what if they come back to you and they're like well my photos don't look like what you posted it's like it's because we didn't do anything and it's I've I've had to
00:37:40
Speaker
Again, for the editors, I've had to explain to photography clients the importance of anchor images with their style. I've had photographers in the past pull up past weddings I've edited because I have my portfolio available for any of you and say, can you please make my photos look like that?
00:37:58
Speaker
And those photos were shot in a backyard garden with roses everywhere and lots of greenery. And then they'll send me photos at the beach with blues and no greenery. And I'm like, beautiful photos, beautiful work. They're not going to look like the garden wedding because it's a completely different place. And also my presets are obviously
00:38:20
Speaker
for each client is actually legal for me to use clients presets on for other clients. So like I cannot use that preset unless I purchase it, but then you got to pay for it for me. Right. So right. I can't even use the preset that they used unless I own it myself. Right. So
00:38:36
Speaker
And even slapping the same preset over a beach wedding versus a garden wedding is still going to look different. So it's okay. I can still match skin tones. I still understand what they mean by matching the style, but sometimes there is still that separation of, well, this looked so good for this wedding. That's because the photographer shot it that way and designed it to look good that way. Your photos are completely unique to you and unique to that landscape. Let's work on them.
00:39:00
Speaker
You know, like I understand that you like the skin tones to look like this, but the rest of the photo is going to look different and that it's just kind of working together. And that's why I like anchor so much. I'm like, this is, this is your style. This isn't that photographer's style. This is yours. So let's like make it custom and unique to you. So I totally get that. Like sometimes, and it doesn't make them a bad client at all. It's just sometimes it's a little bit of explaining of.
00:39:22
Speaker
I think I can serve you better than trying to replicate somebody else's wedding that I did you know. Yeah and I've like you said I've had clients come to me and say oh you know I loved this photo shoot that you did and I'll be like oh yeah that was at the beach and they live in like some small mountain town and they don't want to drive for three hours and I'm like you are not going to get the same vibe the same coloring or anything if you're not willing to drive to the beach for that.
00:39:44
Speaker
Yeah. It doesn't mean forest photos aren't beautiful, but if you want them at the beach, we got to go to the beach, you know? And yeah. Yeah. And I think most people will get that. But if for some reason they're like, well, no, can you take it in the woods? It's like, well, let's just, let's just redesign. Yeah. It's like, well, let's just redesign this to suit you better in the wood. Yeah. No, totally. I'm sure a lot of the, again, I haven't had to deal with this too much as a, as an editor, but I'm sure some of the photographers will be like, Oh yeah. So, and it just takes some polite, gentle,
00:40:11
Speaker
education on your end. And then this kind of goes back into what we talked about at the beginning. If there's just no give and take with that relationship, well, you can deduct from there if you'd like to continue working with them in the future, but probably not. Next up with this, this is a really big lesson I learned at the beginning of this year. Website, website, website. Your website is so important as a photographer, as an editor, as any business owner, a coffee shop, a nail salon.
00:40:39
Speaker
anything. I can't think of a single service I have booked where I didn't look at the website for nails, for hair, somebody to, I don't know, come paint my house. Well, I've never had that done, but you know, I don't know about you. I check people out before I book them, websites, socials, like I check out everything. You want your ideal client to love your website and feel like they can trust you. My first draft of my website early on
00:41:05
Speaker
I, it was a professional, you know, alright, professional looking website, but not for the kind of professionals I wanted to hire me. For me with photography, because I love the adventurous, outdoor, moody, filmy, vibey style, I sometimes forget there's still a demand for like,
00:41:21
Speaker
Christmas photos done at the mall, studio lighting. Again, not saying that's bad. I wouldn't edit for that. I just definitely, I go the other direction for photography. I think my first draft of my website almost would have catered more towards studio, post.
00:41:38
Speaker
mall, Christmas card, photography. And that's not who I want to hire or who I want to hire me. When I shifted my website a few months ago into, it's okay to gather inspiration from what other photographers are doing or actually gather inspiration from what your ideal clients are doing.
00:41:56
Speaker
or you as a photographer the work that you want to put out photographers who are out there doing that getting the clients that you want what is their website look like do not copy that's not what i'm saying do not copy their writing or their photos or their colors or anything like that but it's okay to get inspired and see what others are doing in the industry check out website
00:42:16
Speaker
um templates on pinterest things like that i took a deep dive into what the clients who i wanted to hire me were doing on their websites and it wasn't this clean white easy font whatever it was crazy colors it was beautiful photos it was um things like that it was getting artistic with it which gave me a lot of freedom and it was fun for me to do but basically
00:42:36
Speaker
for like as an editor i'm like if i was hiring a photographer to take my photos would i hire me based off my website basically does that make sense but yeah like you you'll attract them through through your website if if you want to work for you know
00:42:55
Speaker
a traditional church wedding photographer who does really nice professional super sharp church weddings and your work is like families at the river that's great but that ideal wedding photographer probably won't book with you if that's everything that's on your website so kind of like what Beth said about putting out the work that you want that's
00:43:14
Speaker
We were kind of explaining that for socials, but 1000% your website has to look like that too and goes with everything else. Easy to navigate all of that stuff. This is actually a lesson for me. Make it easy to navigate on your phone. I love making my website look oh so pretty on a desktop and then coming to the phone layout and just being like, oh, that's my least favorite part of doing website design. But come on guys, who's opening up their computer to go on websites anymore? Not a lot of people. So make it easy to navigate on your phone as well.
00:43:43
Speaker
That's a great one. And then kind of my last one, this one's a little different. It's kind of sort of after you've already hooked this ideal client, but I didn't want to complete this episode without making this point. I was about to write the point under promise and over deliver. I'm sure a lot of us in the service industry have heard this, but you know what? I've started to disagree with that in the last couple of months. And here's why. Now I just say promise and deliver. Consistency is key.
00:44:12
Speaker
If you've hooked an ideal client in the past because you kind of schmoozed them with luxury treatment because maybe they were your first ideal client. So you're like, ooh, I'm going to throw this and this and this into your service and oh, I'm just going to throw this. And then they recommend you to somebody else and you don't do any of that.
00:44:29
Speaker
No, no. That would be embarrassing if it was like, oh, they brought me champagne on my wedding day and they sent a little wedding video and they gave me twice the amount of photos they promised. And then that's not your business model. So you don't do that with the next person. How cheated would they feel? And I'm not saying that's what people are doing with overpromise and underdeliver. And not to say you can't just
00:44:52
Speaker
throw little things in that are kind of like a treat to each person. Like, you know, I'll send little Christmas packages to my client. I don't have that on my website. Like service comes with Christmas package at Christmas. You know, that's a human decision that I make. I'm not saying you can't do that, but I would say promise and deliver and stay consistent.
00:45:12
Speaker
And if you do throw in a little, oh yeah, I bring my bride coffee on her wedding morning, best be offering that to the next bride at a wedding. Yeah, you best be doing that to every service. So just basically promise and deliver. Make your promises that hook your client and then stick to it and absolutely follow through.
00:45:30
Speaker
Well, and I would say I agree with that and that's such a good point and I've never really thought about it in that context. But I think as you're explaining it, it made me realize that's a really quick way. I think a lot of people get stuck in a loop of overworking and eventually burnout because you didn't scale your business to that. You kind of got stuck. Like you said, you offer it to your ideal client and all of a sudden you realize, oh, uh-oh.
00:45:54
Speaker
I think people saw that. I need to offer that to everyone else now and maybe even backtrack, try to see if I can do that for somebody else I just worked with. That's also a way you can really harm your business by trying to stick to that model in an unrealistic way.
00:46:10
Speaker
And if you want to offer absolute luxury services, I do a photo book delivery and I do coffee the morning of and I send you a little package the day you get whatever, fine, make it a part of your package and get paid for it, you know? Yeah, make sure and think about it and make sure you can actually sustain this.
00:46:27
Speaker
Thank you guys for listening to today's business chit chat. Overall, identifying and strictly marketing to your ideal client is going to improve your work quality and your quality of life. It's one of the best ways to scale your business and while it may take time and a lot of hard work, it's absolutely worth it.
00:46:47
Speaker
100%. As always, this was so much fun for us. We always look forward to getting to share our thoughts on topics like this, everything business and photography related. And as always, we hope you got something useful out of it. We are always open to hearing your podcast topic requests, continuing the conversation. So if you have a request for a topic, send it to us on Instagram at Art of Intention podcast. Also, you can always find us on Spotify, Apple, Google podcasts, and Zencaster. Until next time. Bye.
00:47:16
Speaker
you