Conversion and nurturing trumps photography lead generation numbers

Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area.

Paula Brennan of www.paulabrennan.com.au came to my attention following an email from PBX member and photographer Debi Brett. The email went out to her subscribers – saying that she is making a pivot with her photography and moving from family photography to commercially focused photography.

I replied, wishing her success, saying I loved the email and understood the direction to free up her weekends for more family time.

In Debi's reply email, she mentioned today's guest – Paula Brennan.

Debi said…

I did some coaching with Paula earlier this year, and she is nailing the Personal Branding niche with $10K a day shoots. She's based in Queensland, Australia and totally lovely!

I did some searching after that to learn Paula is all about helping women feel more confident to pursue their dream business through personal branding photography & education.

She says she sees the world through marketing goggles, has been photographing professionally for over 20 years, and LOVES what she gets to do.

In this interview, learn it's more about nurturing and conversion than simply generating more leads.

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

Paula's reason for pivoting from weddings to portraits
How to have a profitable portrait photography business
What is digital marketing and how it applies to photographers
Why you should consider personal branding photography as a niche
How to transition into a personal branding photographer
Paula's photography style
Why it's OK to show your older photography work
Paula's revenue from personal brand photography
Earning 10k a day from portrait sessions
Paula's target demographic
Paula's best-selling packages
Working with a team to have a successful business
Paula's yearly turnover
Why Paula is not keen to post content on Facebook to market her business
Using paid ads to reach clients
Are Facebook ads more effective than Instagram ads for personal branding photographers
Knowing your target demographic and which marketing platform to use for paid ads
Outsourcing
Cultural differences to pay attention to when outsourcing staff
Using Facebook ads to generate bookings or send leads to landing pages
Paula's lead handling process
Why you should answer every phone call – even unlisted numbers
What lead magnets are the most effective
Why Paula's pricelist is NOT published on her website
The need to get potential clients on the phone
How Paula's handles client group bookings
The kind of Facebook ads Paula runs
What are lead pages and do you need them for your ad campaigns
How much should you be spending on lead ads
How to automate your marketing
What's included with Paula's personal photography branding course
How to nurture your photography leads
Paula's advertising re-targeting process

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.

If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interviews each week, get access to an amazing back catalogue of interviews and ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet.

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I haven't erased any part of my evolution. I love my clients to be able to go back and have a look at where I've come from. So if you dig deep right down to the bottom of my Instagram page, you can see if you dig deep into my wedding pages, you can see the evolution of the brand. As a business owner who kind of helps people to market, I think that those stories are really important for your clients to be able to see as well. – Paula Brennan

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 to 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 Paula 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, what you plan to implement in your business as a result of what you heard in today's episode.

All of the genres I've photographed over the years, be it babies, weddings, engagements, couples, families, I think that they all add to my arsenal as a creative. – Paula Brennan

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

iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs

Each week I check for any new iTunes 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 is 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 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'm always hungry to create something new and innovate. Funnily enough I'm not actually driven by money. I'm driven by creativity and innovation. – Paula Brennan

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.

Book Your Next Wedding Challenge – FREE

Anna Pumer is kicking off her wedding booking challenge next week!

Here's what she'll be covering…

What REAL couples think of your website – what puts them off, what they love to see and what's important to them
Killer first impression: Get website visitors wanting more
Stand out from the crowd: Find the things that make your potential client say “OMG we need to meet this photographer”
Get your portfolio banging: Make your dream client fall in love with your work and need you at their wedding
Make your contact form irresistible: get your dream client emotionally invested in you already
Craft an email reply that gets them booking: You've got the enquiry, don't waste it! We're going to revamp your email reply so they won't ghost – and will book

More details at: https://kickassphotographers.com/challenge/

Shireen Hammond has a new group for female photographers looking to grow their business.

Let me help you shortcut many of the normal mistakes that photographers make, and show you a faster, better way.

Let me show you how to gain customers that not only refer you and shout out about you, but that come back to have you capture their family as it grows, time and time again.

Let me show you how to ‘Create Images that SELL' every time, no matter what stage of your photography journey you are in.

More details here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/shireenbizmembers

Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:

Paula Brennan Website

Paula Brennan on Instagram

Paula Brennan on Facebook

Episode 087: Sue Bryce – How to Make Real Money From Your Photography Business Right Now

Thank you!

Thanks again for listening and thanks to Paula for coming on to share her thoughts, ideas and experience on creating a super successful personal branding photography business and why conversion and nurturing trumps photography lead generation numbers, every time.

I'm just about solving problems, not about sales. ‘I'm here to serve, not to sell' is my kind of motto. – Paula Brennan

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!

That’s it for me this week, hope everything is going well for you in life and business!

Thanks and speak soon
Andrew