432: Twig and Olive – Creating a photography brand is the secret for success

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

Doug Weittenhiller of www.twigandolive.com is one of four who have teamed and created a unique business that involves a lot of travel, photography, product creation, speaking and teaching.

They're super active on social media, have attracted many fantastic reviews, and appear to be living the dream.

Their catch-cry is…

Unposed narrative photography of the people you love. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, we are constantly travelling the world.

Their focus in regards to photography are weddings, families and styled newborn sessions.

In this interview, Doug shares how Twig and Olive have structured their business with multiple income streams and diversified their photography away from weddings to become a financial success in an ever-changing industry. One thing has remained solid throughout — their editing style and a commitment to presenting a recognisable brand to their clients.

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

• How Twig and Olive Photography works as a business
• Things to consider when going into an LLC
• Voting rights and settling disputes in an LLC business with 3 partners
• How revenue distribution works with Twig and Olive's product and service offerings
• How to deal with the forecasted decline in weddings
• Twig and Olive's income streams
• How to develop a successful photography business while travelling
• Building a portfolio from travel photos to book future clients
• How to build a recognisable photography brand
• Twig and Olive's formula for having consistent shooting styles with multiple photographers
• The importance of having a variety of photos while building your brand
• Using social media and an email list to reach potential clients when travelling
• How to guarantee bookings before flying to travel destinations
• Why Doug thinks FB paid ads are more effective than boosting posts
• Developing a photo style for your photography brand
• The importance of having a consistent editing style
• How important is it to develop a style or look for the success of your business?
• How important is an email list today?
• Is email marketing dead or dying?
• Important things to consider when utilising email in a business
• Setting the proper rules for your registered domain email

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.

Plus special member-only interviews.

Being able to show a body of work that is consistent no matter the location, is how we built the brand. – Doug Weittenhiller

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 Doug 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.

Find great light. Find great texture. Put people into it. – Doug Weittenhiller

If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Doug 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.

Ensuring that you have a domain that has Sender Policy Framework (SPF) rules is one of the easiest things you can do in order to increase your deliverability. – Doug Weittenhiller

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.

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The live sessions have been recorded. You'll now have access to them on the PhotoBizX website.

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Since the start of the course, I have had three people find me through Google searches, two for headshots and one for family photography. I have never had search clients before. – Ed Shananhan

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