So yesterday we went over marketing horror stories, and a few things they had in common.
And it’s a BIG one if you recall – it’s that tactics alone like posting to Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Ads, Email lists, etc, alone?
Won’t get you very far, if you don’t have the RIGHT message…
That marketing is the communication of the value of your products and services. The things I listed above are the tactics, and really the CHANNELS of where you put that message.
And when you get that message right, and you can communicate that value to the right people, people won’t be annoyed by your marketing.
They’ll ENJOY it.
Look FORWARD to it.
It will brighten their day.
They’ll finally “get it.”
They’ll BOOK you.
And then they’ll actually THANK you.
A prime example is this email I got just 4 days ago from a Mom who booked a tween session in response to my marketing (she was not a past client):
I don’t think any of us started as photographers for the money.
We had other reasons.
But ultimately, we all need to make a wage for our businesses.
And the more goodness you can bring into the world, the more value you can bring to others, the more your business will grow for the long haul.
So how do we actually DO that?
And not only DO that…but create marketing that actually COMMUNICATES that…
We sell the positive side-effect of our photography…
And once we figure out what that is, we not only emphasize that by showing instead of telling, but by baking it into our actual business, so our business and sessions themselves BECOME marketing on their own.
But let’s get into the nitty gritty of that:
Step 1: Recognize the “side effects”
Step 2: What do people buy that gives the same side effect?
Step 3: Why should people care?
Step 4: What are the NEGATIVE side effects of your business/product/session?
Step 5: Tell the specific STORIES of the positive side effect(s), in detail (ex: looking at an album with your grandchildren and telling the story of how Katie used to do the floss like no other and laughing…..)
Step 6: Tell YOUR story on why that side-effect matters to YOU
Step 7: Bake MORE of the side effects into your business…Into your products, into your sessions, into your viewing, into your phone calls.
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If your side effect is self-love for tweens…then how can you give them more of that? ANSWER: questionnaires from parents. Make them feel good how they are now, not with tons of makeup or clothes that “aren’t them.” Check out the video that explains it all here.
Step 8: Make it easy for people to share your story
Step 9: Bake it into your blog posts…your about page…your captions on social media posts.
So let’s start with the FIRST step, which is recognizing the side effect.
What is the side effect that after somebody has a session with you and has those lovely photos in their hands?
What do they FEEL?
How do they REACT?
Do they feel closer to their family?
Feel beautiful i their own skin?
Do they open their album during every family occasion and laugh and reminisce for years?
Do they remember the things and memories they would have otherwise forgotten?
For me, a huge part of my business is playing toward the side effect of people feeling good about themselves.
One way I do this very successfully, is with my tween “Who I Am” sessions.
But I’ve used similar for quite a few other types of sessions…it really is baked into my business.
And so my messaging, no matter what social media channel it goes on, is based around tweens feeling good about themselves, and ultimately moms feeling like they’re being a good mom for helping their tween out.
Because while a mom may NOT be searching for a tween session (most aren’t), they probably ARE dealing with the challenge of their tween…
The heartbreak of the popular girls making fun of her.
The self-consciousness of wearing braces and glasses.
The horror of her daughter thinking she’s fat (when really she’s a twig)
But I don’t just TELL them a session would equal self esteem directly…
I SHOW them with words.
You can get my scripts with more details at this link.
Cheers!
Lisa Edwards
P.S. Obviously there is a lot that goes into this type of marketing…it’s not just figuring out the side-effect you sell, but communicating it, and honestly the MOST important part?
Is baking it INTO your business…
Because baking it into your business?
Makes your session and business the marketing, and the marketing your business…[total mind F righ?]
You can learn how I bake the side-effect into my business with tween sessions in this 60 minute video at this link.