Ben Hartley – Booked 2.0: The Ultimate Guide to Getting Photography Clients
During my first year in business, I felt like I sat in front of the computer just waiting for an inquiry to come in…
Every time my inbox number went up, I got giddy with excitement!
Often times it was just an advertisement from B&H reminding me about another lens I didn’t have.
…I KNEW my work was good, but the only people that were booking me were my friends and the people they recommended me to.
If I was going to make this into a full time career that could support my family, I needed to figure out how to get more people to know about my business, because whatever I was doing just wasn’t working.
Fast forward a few years and I now receive over 650+ inquires a year, had to hire an office manager to keep track of everything, and brought on 2 more full time photographers just to fulfill demand.
What changed?
I learned how to build systems that generate leads on autopilot.
But more on that in a second, you see…
Most Photography Businesses Don’t Fail Because Of Their PhotographyThey fail because they struggle with the business demands of running a studio and only focus on creating beautiful images.
It’s not their fault though…
I used to think this way too.
It makes perfect sense to think that if you keep improving at your craft that booking clients would become easy.
When it comes down to it, amazing work won’t save a poorly run photography business.
Having a consistent stream of photography leads is so much more than just being able to do what you love every day.
When you have an abundance of people wanting your service, two amazing things start to happen.
- You can increase your prices (and gain more financial freedom)
- You can choose who you want to work with (no more saying yes to pushy problem clients because you need the money)
Contrary to popular belief, the photography industry isn’t dying.
There’s actually an explosion of opportunity to earn a living capturing images… if you know how to market your services.
Hi there, my name is Ben Hartley and in the last four years I’ve built a six figure photography business, was rated the #1 wedding photographer in Ohio, and now have an entire team of people that I employ to help me shoot some of the most beautiful weddings in the world.
Now I want to show you how you can do the same, and it all starts with getting clients.
But before we get to that…
I want to address some common myths photographers have about getting clients.
Myth #1
You have to compete on price to get bookings
I’m going to start with this one, because it’s the one I hate most.
Whoever competes on price loses.
They lose because it’s not sustainable. It’s the race to the bottom.
The results may mean you book weddings, but at those bottom rates you would have to shoot so many events that you will burn out, hate work, struggle with personal life balance and rob yourself of the joy of owning your own business.
How much you charge is a reflection of your own self worth and the quality of your brand.
Clients are happy to pay premium prices if you’re delivering more value then what you’re charging them.
Let me explain with a story…
A few weeks ago I set out to the store to buy a bottle of wine for a dinner party.
But not just any bottle of wine…
This was an important event so I wanted this wine to be amazeballs.
So I’m looking at all of the wine options and I see two bottles. I’m not that familiar with wine so both look similar.
One of the bottles of wine was $50 the other was $18.99
Which bottle of wine is the better bottle?
Which bottle of wine did I choose?
I grabbed the $50 bottle of wine.
I get back to the house, and my buddy asks me why I chose that particular bottle.
“It was the most expensive and I wanted to serve the best” I explain.
When your brides see your work priced in the middle of the market, they logically conclude that your work is average.
Do you know who will never hire you?
A bride who really cares about her photography and wants the best of the best.
Which leads me to the next myth about booking clients…
Myth #2
People book you based on the quality of your work
While you do need to be a competent photographer, the quality of your work is usually not the factor that is losing you the booking.
To many photographers focus their energy on WHAT they do and HOW they do it you ignore the only thing that really matters…
Your WHY.
That’s what separates you from everyone else.
It’s the reason they book YOU instead of Sally down the road.
WHY do you do what you do?
When you focus on making your WHY the centre of your brand, you get to show your own heart.
This builds trust and relationship.
For example, I photograph weddings in order to give back tangible memories (a.k.a. prints) that can physically exist as daily reminders to my clients of who they love, and why they love those people.
I shifted my entire business to emphasize that single belief.
…and that’s when things exploded.
Remember, photography is a SERVICE based industry.
We are not being hired as craftsmen.
Craftsman focus on WHAT & HOW.
Service-based industries focus on WHY.
Too many photographers romanticize the idea of what a large city provides.
They imagine bigger budgets and more brides.
What they leave out of their fantasies is the increased competition and brand diffusion that comes with larger markets.
What I mean is this, in a small city, if you structure your marketing in the correct way then you have the ability to OWN the market.
To be known as THE go-to photographer.
The business that defines the expectations that all clients should experience.
The real problem most photographers have isn’t that their town is to small…
It’s getting their name out there and in front of the right people.
Why “Word Of Mouth” Isn’t EnoughMost photographers depend exclusively on “word of mouth” to drive the growth of their business.
Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool to generate leads, especially when you understand that you have real control over it…
However word of mouth is just one way to get clients.
I was never comfortable with the fact that I was putting the success of my company in OTHER PEOPLES HANDS.
That’s why I’ve spent the last 4 years perfecting systems that generate leads for me 24/7 from multiple sources.
And the good news is, these systems can be copied and deployed in your own business so that you can start taking control of your own marketing.
…even if you live in a small town
…even if you just moved to a new area
…even if you’re competing in an over saturated market
…even if you don’t have a “marketing budget”
Here’s what’s included…
Module 1 – Value Driven Growth
Providing value to your clients and potential clients is the foundation that your brand needs to be built on. This module explains why it’s so important and gives you a blueprint on how implement it your business for explosive growth.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this module:
- How to separate your business from other photographers and dominate your market (no matter how small)
- How to ACTUALLY give value to your clients
- Why most photographers struggle with bookings (and how not to be one of them)
- What you should NEVER do when you get an inquiry
- The BEST way to attract clients (without spending ANY money)
- Getting a lot of inquiries, but not a lot of bookings? The bad news is you’re not communicating your value well enough. The Good news? I’ll show you how to identify and fix it
- The #1 mistake photographers make that is costing them bookings
- How to create a 5 star experience for your clients (that they can’t help but talk about)
- When you’re selling photography people are booking you based on the quality of your images, right? WRONG. In module 1 I’ll show you what REALLY matters to clients
Module 2 – Ideal Client Discovery
Rather than casting your net far and wide trying to attract anyone and everyone, I want you to be attracting the exact leads that you are dying to photograph. The type of clients that bring a smile to your face and makes this the best job in the world.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this module:
- Want to attract clients who value your work? I’ll show you how in module 2
- The first (and most important) question you must answer before discovering your ideal client
- Learn the step-by-step framework for discovering your perfect client (so we can customize your marketing just for them)
Module 3 – Blogs & Magazines
Getting your work featured across blogs and publications does more than just help attract leads, it builds authority and elevates your brand. This module teaches you how get your work published and how to use those features to boost bookings.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this module:
- Why getting your work published is important + my personal list of websites and magazines to submit to
- Learn what to do AFTER you get published to amplify your exposure and get more clients (even for the smallest blog feature)
- Think getting your work published is going to be a lot of work? Think again, because I’ll show you how to get your clients to do all the heavy lifting (and be thrilled about it)
Module 4 – Reviews
The #1 thing that potential clients consider when deciding whether or not to make a purchase is to see the experience others have had already. They want to see proof that you are in fact worth it. It is one of the most important things that you can do for the longevity of your brand.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this module:
- Learn my step-by-step system for generating tons of five star reviews
- The exact websites you should be focusing building reviews on (and when to switch to a different one)
- How to boost your reviews by using a simple trick + get access to my client review request template
- Did you get a negative review? I’ll show you a simple formula you can use to handle unhappy clients
- What to do with reviews once you have them to maximize your “social proof” and make future clients more likely to book you
Module 5 – Bridal Expos
Bridal expos tend to get a bad rep. I get it. They aren’t for everyone, however most people simply approach the whole thing wrong. I want to show you how to rock your next bridal expo.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this module:
-
- The 7 rules you MUST follow in order to rock your next bridal show (and not waste your money)
- How to design your booth to stand out from other photographers
- How to build a massive crowd around your booth (and steal the show)
- Step-by-step breakdown of the strategy I used to book $70,000 in new business from a single bridal show
- Get exclusive access to my personal proven scripts that you can copy/paste into your own business
Module 6 – Booking Boosters
Want specific actionable strategies to super charge your photography business? In this module I cover 19 tactics that you can implement today to get leads filling your inbox and blowing up your phone.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this module:
- Discover the 19 “marketing boosters” you can use to crush your competition
- Tired of competing against so many other photographers? I’ll reveal my strategy for using your competition to get easy bookings
- Learn how to to assemble your “dream team” of loyal vendors that will sing your praise and shower you with leads (this strategy is how I booked my first $10,000 wedding)
- Want leads fast? I’ll show you how to get them in minutes using a little known social media trick
- The #1 untapped lead source you’re NOT using
- The “old school” sales technique that instantly skyrocketed my bookings
- The quickest way to start getting clients when just starting out (or starting over in a new town)
Module 7/ 8 – SEO Blueprint
Take SEO into your own hands and learn how to rank for anything. This is not a general guide. I hired a professional SEO expert to reveal what’s working in SEO today… even the stuff Google doesn’t want you to know about.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this module:
- Understand how search engines work (so that you can bend them to your will)
- The #1 ranking factor Google uses in 2017 to determine who gets shown on the first page
- Learn the “3 Bucket” approach to optimizing your website for higher rankings
- The “12 SEO sins” almost all photographers make with their websites (and how to painlessly fix each of them)
- What local citations are and why they’re critical if you want online success + get access to my personal list of over 90+ citation sources
- 16 natural ways to build POWERFUL links to your website (so that you rank for keywords that matter)
- My exact 5 step SEO blueprint for getting on the first page of Google (without spending any money)
Module 9 – Facebook Ads For Photographers
Facebook ads don’t have to be expensive. I’ll teach you how to create ad campaigns that work.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this module:
- Learn what “traffic temperature” is and why it’s critical when running paid ads
- The Facebook ad campaign ALL photographers should be using in their marketing
- Copy and paste my most successful Facebook ads (and start getting ultra cheap leads this week)
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