Momentum | The marketing podcast for photographers

Today, Nathan Holritz — the owner and CEO of Photographer's Edit and host of the photography podcast Bokeh — is on the show to share a little bit about his journey and why you need a Big Picture View to get the most out of your business and your life. You don't want to miss his thoughts on the difference between being a proactive vs. reactive business owner and how you can start implementing a big picture, proactive mindset in your business. It's a game-changing perspective.

Dani Diamond, a NYC based fashion photographer and educator, is on the show today to talk about how he answers the question, "Should I become a portrait photographer?" His refreshingly honest response is not what you might expect! Dani also shares marketing tips and advice for slow seasons that will help you run your photography business profitably.

Professional photographer Bill Ramsey shares the simple marketing tactic that saved his business and shows that marketing doesn't have to be complicated.

Today we have Scott Wyden on the show. Scott is the Chief Community Officer at Imagely and has been a professional portrait photographer for over 20 years. The industry has changed a lot in that time, and today Scott joins me to share how his lead generation system keeps him busy — actually providing him with so many leads that he has enough to share with his photographer friends!

I'm excited to have Tyann Marcink back on the show today. It's been a while since we've talked and I'm excited for you to hear how her Vacation Rental Photography Business has grown and where it's taken her. Tyann is the industry expert and she has some great tips that will help you expand your business into this profitable and fun niche.

On today's show, we have Marco Ibanez, an award-winning boudoir photographer and photography educator from the metro Washington DC area. Marco has an inspirational story to share about a tragedy that changed his life and shaped the way he runs his business. Marco shares how he built a thriving boudoir photography business based on passion and simplicity.

Earlier this year, I met Nina Larsen Reed at WPPI. I instantly liked her and new that I had to have her on the show. Nina is passionate about education, quotes the same books I do, and has only been a professional photographer for four years. And this was actually just her first year photographing weddings. She set a modest goal of booking 10 for the year. By March, she'd already booked 22! How impressive and exciting is that? Be sure to tune in to hear how she launched her wedding business, why having a hyper-niche is so important, and how she converts Instagram followers into clients.

Today, we're excited to have KISS Books CEO and Founder, Shaun Gordon on the show. Before starting Kiss, Shaun was a wedding photographer for 15 years and had photographed over 500 weddings. His past and present experiences give him a unique perspective on the industry and I'm excited to share our discussion with you today. He has some great tips and shares easy to implement marketing tactics that some of the industries most successful photographer are using to sell albums and build thriving businesses. KISS is offering our listeners $150 off of a $250+ sample order with the code stickykiss. Offer expires 12/31/18. Kiss Books: https://www.kiss.us/

Brooke Summer is a boudoir photographer, educator, and overall marketing genius based in Denver, CO. She’s also one of the most strategically-minded photographers I’ve ever met. As the founder of Business Straight Up, Brooke teaches professional photographers and creative entrepreneurs how to think differently about business — especially in their marketing. What makes Brooke unique is that she’s also a full-time photographer… which means she actually practices what she teaches. I was so pumped to have her on the show to talk about: -How she integrates her website and email marketing into one unified strategy; -How email marketing has helped her book the right type of clients that don’t balk at her prices; and -How she teaches email subscribers to take action.

Michael Sasser talks about the value of video on photography websites, tips on email marketing and the hurdles that come with being a male boudoir photographer.

Today Todd Watson, Co-Founder and CEO of Showit is on the show. Todd has been helping photographers create beautiful websites that book their ideal clients for 12 years and today, he's here to share his thoughts on what's working with photography websites, blogging, and marketing in the photography industry.

When I met Matt Mathews, I knew right away that I had to have him on the show. Matt has a really cool and pretty unusual photography story. I can't wait for you to hear how he went from working at a Walmart portrait studio as a teenager, went to nursing school and ended up being an incredibly successful boudoir photographer and educator. Tune in to hear the marketing and sales tricks that Matt Mathews has used to increase his sales from $70k to $400k in just a few years. (FYI — this episode contains some adult language.)​

Jen Swedhin, founder of Jen Gets Shit Done is on the show to talks to us about the benefits of choosing a hyper-niche, ditching the "To Do" list and why she took email off of her phone.

Today I'm happy to have Tara Giles back on the show. Tara is a high school senior portrait photographer from Washington state. Her story will be familiar to many of you. Photography was a hobby, became something that she did on the side and then three years ago, she took the plunge and left her corporate job to pursue photography full-time. We had a great conversation about her experience making the leap to full-time, why she chose to focus on seniors and how she puts her own twist on senior model programs

Ted Leonhardt is on the show today. We had a great conversation about why it's so hard for creatives to talk about money, negotiate, and charge what we're worth (and tactics for fixing it).

When Leslie Kerrigan started photographing seniors ten years ago, it was a niche that nobody else in her area was focusing on. Today, that is not the case. The senior market has exploded and she has to stay on her toes to continue to be the most sought-after photographer in her area. How does she do it? In our conversation, Leslie, who is also the founder of Seniorologie shares some of her best tips for marketing and running a senior rep program. She also shares her thoughts on working from home versus having a studio, her favorite lens, and tips for partnering with local boutiques.

Writing a strong headline isn’t hard. Nate Wright is on the show with four simple rules that will help you write headlines that get you leads, in no time.

Vanessa Joy has been on the show quite a few times and is always one of my favorite photographers to chat with. In addition to being a talented photographer, Vanessa is also a talented business woman. She's creative and innovative and I'm excited for you to hear some of the ways that she's using social media to find and book new clients. She also shares how she approaches raising her prices and the most unusual lead source that she's ever had.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Teri Fode, a senior portrait photographer from Sacramento, CA. Teri is truly an inspiration. She’s been in business for 15 years and along the way, she’s figured out how to turn every client into a customer for life. Tune in to hear how she handles pricing, email marketing and why she never tells anyone that she’s a professional photographer.

When Spencer Lum was starting out in the photography industry, he was 100% willing to hustle and do whatever it took to succeed. And hustle he did. He took whatever job came his way and found himself working 80 to 90 hours each week. He was busy. He was in demand. And he was just barely paying the bills. On today's show, Spencer shares how he was able to turn his business around and take his booking rate from 38% to booking 24 out of 25 weddings.

Ariana Falerni explains why it's important to show products & shares how to use Shoot&Share to create marketing materials & sell wall art in-person and online.

On our latest episode of the Momentum podcast, Vickie and I talk about how choosing one market completely changed her business, how she’s tapped into word-of-mouth marketing, and her annual fashion show — the one marketing event that drives most of her business for the entire year.​

Meet Cole Joseph — photography coach legend! Cole’s devoted his business to helping photographers improve photography and run a more sustainable business. He’s just launched some cool new tools to make the administrative side of photography business much easier. He also has an awesome perspective on the industry as a whole. Today, we’ll be talking with him about what investments every photographer should make in their business, how technology can replace the need for hiring office assistants, and how to stand out from your competition.

In this episode of Momentum, I had the chance to talk to Jamie Larson of The Snap Society. Jamie’s a world-class photographer, photography coach, and guru of in-person sales.We dive into why (and how) to use in-person sales to serve your clients, how to transition your business model without losing clients, and how to do in-person sales without feeling pushy (which was one of my biggest hesitations in my photography career).

Doug Weittenhiller of Twig & Olive shares about the Trifecta of running a smooth photography business, their amazing story, and tips for new photographers.

Kirk started out in photojournalism, but then the entire print industry went digital. Day rates dropped and Kirk needed another option so he decided to try wedding photography. Determined to make it something he enjoyed, Kirk's wedding photography became a hybrid of photojournalism and fine art. After years of running a wildly successful wedding photography business, Kirk started Mastin Labs where he develops incredible tools to merge consistency and depth of film with the speed and ease of digital photography. I had the chance to talk to Kirk about the art of simplifying — in our photography, gear, marketing, and overall approach to business.

​Lisa Edwards is a photographer based in Butte, Montana. She’s also one of my favorite guests. After years of shooting high school seniors and families, Lisa saw an opportunity for a brand new niche — tween photography — which tripled her sales in just one quarter. In addition to running her photography studio, Lisa owns Photo Bacon, a master resource for photographers wanting to tap into the tween market. In this episode, Lisa tells us how she developed this new market for tween photography and how she promotes, runs, and sells her tween mini-sessions.

Cyrissa Carlson is a photographer, business coach, and probably the most energetic, charismatic person I know. She also happens to be an absolute rockstar at social media for photographers! Cyrissa’s coaching business — The Sparkle Society — is all about supporting photographers with the know-how, tools, and a vibrant community to build incredible photography businesses. I had a blast talking with Cyrissa about how to use free social media channels — especially Facebook Live — to get more views and higher engagement that lead to more bookings. Here are the highlights of our great conversation.