In one of the most honest, down to earth interviews I've experienced, Nikki McArthur from Epic Danger Photography pulls no punches. You'll hear that she loves making money from her portrait photography business. Her clients think she's f@#&*ng awesome and they all want to be her “besties.” The secret Nikki says, is to reveal your personality for photography business success. It's that easy.

Funny thing is, you'll want to be her “bestie” following this episode, I know I do!

So how did she go from charging $350 per session to averaging over $2000 in a short time. Sure, her photography improved but not by 10 times! It was a website change. Yep, a website change and the permission to be herself.

Here's some more of what we cover:

  • How a change in branding can affect your whole business, especially the profits
  • Why a template/off the shelf website is hurting your business
  • Nikki hired a mentor for $600 per HOUR! Discover why it was worth every cent and changed her photography business for good
  • So you're a photographer and you think you can design a cool website… find out why you're dead wrong!
  • Nikki gives away her hi-res files as part of a referral program, some photographers say she's crazy but for $6000 she thinks she's smart
  • If you believe you have an “average” or even boring personality, discover why you must let it show in your branding
  • You may think you're like another “hot shot” photographer but you're not and you never will be. Doesn't mean you're not awesome!
  • Finding the right photography clients that suit you isn't as difficult as you think. Simply swear at the ones you don't want, Nikki does
  • How Nikki's portrait photography sales went from $350 to over $2000 without a change to her photography or shooting style
  • Have you thought about taking beer and donuts to your clients home for their sales sessions? Maybe you should…
  • Why do sales sessions at the clients home instead of your home or studio?
  • Is it really possible to be profitable with your family portrait business, have time for yourself, 3 kids and a husband?
Following this interview, I'll be surprised if you aren't re-evaluating the way you express yourself through your marketing material, your website, your branding. Let's face it, there are a crap load of photographers that can shoot as good as you, maybe even better if you're being honest. The thing is, there is still only ONE of you!

Work out how to get your personality out there, on show and clients will want to have you shoot for them. You can be their “rock star” photographer – and yes, this will work for portrait and wedding photographers.

So, how do you know if you're on the right track? Like Nikki, once you've had your “holy crap moment” you'll just know.

Nikki McArthur Epic Danger Interview

What's on Offer for Premium Members

Mini sessions are a popular way to make quick money with a timely promotion for a special event or date like mothers day.

When Nikki first advertised her mini sessions she booked one single client… In her words, fail.

The next two years she was booked solid and had to extend her promotion to handle the bookings.

In the Premium Members area, you'll hear exactly what Nikki did to dramatically turn things around PLUS, Nikki has provided the advertising artwork she uses to get booked back to back for this promotion and what she used the first time. The difference is f@#$%ng incredible!

The big question is, does your promo material look more like Nikki's first attempt?

Nikki McArthur Epic Danger Interview

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview with Nikki, I'd love to know what your biggest takeaway is – what is the one thing that you'd like to implement or learnt from what she had to share? Let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.

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

If you'd like an easy way to show Nikki your thanks and support for the show at the same time, click the link to create a tweet and automatically let Nikki know you're listening: https://photobizx.com/nikki.

iTunes ratings, reviews and Shout-Outs

Each week before recording the podcast I check iTunes for any reviews and each week I'm excited to see what you've had to say about the podcast and am usually blown away by the comments and reviews. This week was no exception with one of the all time best reviews I've received for the show to date.

A big thanks this week to Devin and Kathryn of Anchor and Veil Photography in Charlotte, North Carolina – thanks for the incredibly generous review!

Also, a massive thanks to Patrick of Praverb Dot Net, Hapster08 from Australia, love the title of your review, Jose Lamarque of Lamarque Photography from the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas and The Real Doctok from the UK.

PhotoBizX iTunes Reviews

Sincerely, thanks so much for your rating and review, I appreciate the time you've taken and it's a big help for the show.

It's these iTunes reviews that make a big difference to the podcast being ranked well and found in the iTunes store. If you have the time and are happy to leave an honest rating and review, head over to iTunes. Don't feel your comments have to be long, involved or gushy, an honest opinion is all I ask.

Don't be shy about leaving your business name in the review either – that way I can add a link in the show-notes and show my appreciation with a proper thanks and a Google loving back-link to your website.

Get in Touch or Leave a Voicemail Message

If you'd like to get in touch, ask a question or make a suggestion for the show, you can email me andrew@photobizx.com, find me on Twitter https://twitter.com/andrewhellmich or on Facebook at https://photobizx.com/facebook – I'd love to hear from you!

Nikki McArthur Epic Danger Interview

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

http://epicdanger.com

https://www.facebook.com/EpicDanger

https://twitter.com/epicdanger

http://instagram.com/epicdanger

Tara Whitney

http://www.lightroomretouching.com – Home of the Lightroom Retouching Toolkit that Nikki uses to save time editing and leave more time for beer, donuts and kids

http://vsco.co/film – film presets for Lightroom and Aperture

Jonas Peterson

Steve Saporito podcast interview

Pro Select – the best portrait sales software out there

Preveal – iPad Sales Tool for photographers

Kristen Kalp – Braand Camp Blog

Blog Huh – Nikki's husbands website/business

Tamara Lackey Photography

Jasmine Star Photography

Nikki McArthur Epic Danger Interview

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

If you've been enjoying the podcast, I'd love for you to tell another photographer about it – it could be in a Facebook Group you're a part of, a photography forum,  with a photographer friend or on twitter.

If you do have a twitter account, simply click here: https://photobizx.com/tweet or use the share buttons below.

Thanks and speak soon

Andrew