465: Ally Stuart Ross – Using photography competitions to successfully launch a total business rebrand

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Ally Stuart Ross of www.mabelandmoose.co.uk is a photographer who has been a PhotoBizX member for a long time. She's someone I've been lucky enough to meet in person – in an authentic Scottish pub, no less, and someone who I've seen work so hard on their business and is now reaping the rewards.

Ally is happily married now; she had a few years as a single mum to 4 kids under 7! Ally's been financially responsible for her children their whole lives and has brought them up with her earnings as a photographer.

She recently went through a total rebrand to Mabel and Moose Newborn Photography, where her focus is newborns photographed in the Scandi style.

In a recent exchange on messenger, she told me…

I haven't done my 1st-year accounts yet but judging by my bank balance, this has been my most profitable year, ever.

In this interview, Ally shares why she completed a total rebrand and why so many people said she was making a massive mistake with the new name, brand, focus and look. And how she's been able to prove them all wrong.

One of the secrets to her successful launch and continued number of bookings is using photography competitions on Facebook, to launch her total business rebrand successfully.

Here's some more of what we covered in the interview:

• What is the scandi style of photography
• How Ally found her new photography style
• Ally's vision for her newborn photography business
• How to measure success in your business
• How to transition to a different photography niche while running an existing photo business
• How Covid19 impacted Ally's business
• Low booking deposits make it easy for wedding clients to book sessions
• Ally's reason for changing her brand name
• How to come up with a catchy brand name for your new business
• Why you need to have a distinctive brand for your business
• How to attract clients when starting a new photography business
• The importance of utilizing Facebook for competitions and lead generation
• What Ally's studio looks like
• Ally's shooting process
• Ally's most popular product and what else she sells to clients
• Ally's average client spend
• Cost of goods with custom prints and where Ally sources them
• Ally's sales session processes
• Why Ally doesn't charge a sitting fee
• What do potential clients win in a Facebook competition
• Pricing and packages
• How Ally runs her competition ads on Facebook
• When is the right time to send booking inquiries to landing pages
• Collecting client's demographics
• How to reject non-contest winners
• Who is Ally's target market
• Spying on target clients with Facebook
• How early do clients learn they need to spend more after their photo sessions
• Generating organic traffic via Instagram
• The need to leave comments on Instagram posts to market your business
• Ally's goal for the next 12 months
• Ally's newborn photography business model

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

If you’re a premium member, you should have received an email with links to your version of this interview – the full length and more revealing version where you hear the absolute best tips and advice from every guest.

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My vision was to become the best newborn photographer in Scotland. – Ally Stuart Ross

You'll also receive access to the members-only Secret Facebook Group where you can connect with other Premium Members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take ideas you hear in each episode and put them into action. There are also FB live video tutorials, role-play interviews and special live interviews happening in the group. You will not find more friendly, more motivated, caring and sharing photographers online.

Seriously, that's not all.

In addition to everything above, you'll get access and instructions on forming or joining a MasterMind Group with other premium members. These groups are super motivating, make you accountable and build friendships with other pro photographers with similar motives to you – to build a more successful photography business.

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything away from what Ally shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below, let me know what your takeaways were, and what you plan to implement in your business as a result of what you heard in today's episode.

I have to keep reminding myself I'm not my target market. – Ally Stuart Ross

If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Ally or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.

PhotoBizX Premium Membership Special!

It's rare to see a special price for the Premium Membership but there's one available for you until Tuesday, May 31st 2022.

Why the special?

Because it's holiday time (I'm off to Spain and France) and there's no better reason to celebrate!

The 12 Month Premium Membership – is normally $200… NOW $120… https://photobizx.com/holidayspecial

This is the cheapest you'll ever see the 12-month membership.

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If you've made a membership payment this month already and want this deal, I'll refund this month's payment for you.

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Make sure you join first, then cancel your existing payments. This way your Premium RSS Feed URL stays the same.

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iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs

Each week I check for any new iTunes or Google reviews and it's always a buzz to receive these… for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, it's confirmation that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they really are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!

Secondly, iTunes and Google are the biggest search engine when it comes to podcasts and it's your reviews and ratings that help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners mean more interviews and ultimately a better show.

If you have left a review in the past, thank you! If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes or https://photobizx.com/google and you can leave some honest feedback and a rating which will help both me and the show and I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL of your website and your name.

I want to have a fair business…I want to be offering fair products. – Ally Stuart Ross

Alternatively, if you've left a review for PhotoBizX and are looking for more backlinks to help your SEO, leave a review for the new Photography Xperiment Podcast and email me your keywords or keyword phrase and where you'd like me to link to.

Another great way to get a backlink to your site is to send a video testimonial. It doesn't need to be fancy and your phone will be perfect. Click record and tell me how PhotoBizX has made a difference to you and your photography business.​