June 11, 2025 • 37 mins
Feeling like no one is booking you right now? You’re not alone, but the economy isn’t the excuse you think it is. In this solo episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on what’s really going on when your inbox is quiet, and how to shift your mindset, energy, and strategy to start attracting clients fast.
You’ll learn:
- Why your energy might be repelling clients without you realizing it
- The exact mindset shift I made when I built my biz during the 2008 recession
- What actually works in today’s market to book clients (no trendy hacks — just truth)
- Why most photographers are focusing on the wrong marketing channels
- The identity upgrade you need to shift from “panicked and posting” to “booked and aligned”
Whether you’re a senior photographer, branding expert, or just trying to stay afloat in a weird season — this episode will ground you, inspire you, and give you a real path forward.
🔥 If you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and want coaching that blends mindset, strategy, and actual results — this is your sign to join my world:
ELEVATE is enrolling now & it is by application only. CLICK HERE for info and the application.
I have one spot open for 1:1 coaching as well - CLICK HERE to book a call so we can chat!
Resources Mentioned:
- Content Fuel
- 30 Day Visibility Challenge
- Flodesk Blog
- Get Flodesk FREE for 30 Days
- The Clarity Method (mini)
- Fearless IPS (in person sales for photographers)
Want to work with Renee?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Tried and True with the Dash of Woo, where
we blend rock-solid tips with alittle bit of magic.
I'm Renee Bowen, your host,life and business coach and
professional photographer atyour service.
We are all about gettingcreative, diving into your
business and playing withmanifestation over here.
So are you ready to getinspired and have some fun?
Let's dive in.
Hey, hey, welcome back to Triedand True with the Dash of Woo.
(00:27):
This is your host, renee Bowen.
Hope you guys are doing allright.
World's a little crazy outthere right now.
It's June 11th 2025.
And, yes, I am based in thesuburbs of Los Angeles.
So if you've seen LA on thenews in the last few days, you
know that we are kind of goingthrough it and, honestly, we've
(00:49):
been kind of going through itfor a while.
If you've been listening to myshow for a while, or you follow
me or you know me or you coachwith me, you know that it's been
rough for a lot of us,especially those of us in the
entertainment industry, for awhile, with strikes and fires
early this year and now theseice rates and protests and
(01:15):
absolutely awful thingshappening to people here in the
city.
So this episode today is notabout that, but I would be
remiss if I didn't say somethingabout it, and I'm not going to
go deep into this.
(01:36):
What I am going to say is thatthis is a humanitarian crisis
and that if you are onlywatching a polarized version of
news, you're not getting thewhole story.
First of all, most of us in LAare fine.
It is not what is beingreported on some of the stations
.
A lot of it is peaceful.
Yeah, there's always going tobe people who take it upon
themselves to do stupid shit,but that is not the majority of
(02:01):
what is going on right now.
So I really just hope you useyour critical thinking right now
, just in general.
Okay, I'm not here to have apolitical conversation with you
or to change your mind, but I dohope that you use your humanity
, and this is my platform.
Okay, my socials are myplatform.
My podcast is my platform.
(02:21):
I am always talking to you guysabout being authentically you,
being the most you that you canbe.
So that's what I'm doing rightnow.
If you don't agree with me, youdon't have to, but if you are
okay with families being rippedapart for people who are not
criminals, people who have beenhere for a very long time, who
(02:42):
have lives, who pay taxes.
If you're okay with that, justas a blanket statement, I
implore you to look at yourhumanity.
Okay, because we are here onthis planet in this timeline.
I truly believe that we arehere for community, we are here
to be together, we are here tohelp each other, and if you're
(03:06):
not doing that in some way andif you're only thinking about
yourself and what's good for you, that might work out for a
little while, but it definitelyis not filling your soul,
because if it were, you wouldn'tbe operating from a place of
fear.
There's either fear or love.
At any given time, you areoperating from one of those two
(03:28):
things, and I talk about thefear part a lot on this podcast.
We talk about that in terms ofyour unconscious programming,
mindset, things like that, and Iknow that if you have these
certain beliefs, that it'sbecause of what you saw growing
up, possibly, and also just yourpast programming, just like any
of us.
But you have an opportunity tothink for yourself.
(03:52):
You have an opportunity to lookat non-biased news sources.
You have the opportunity tolean into your humanity, to your
kindness, to your generosity,to your love, and if you are
someone who values the teachingsof Christ especially, you have
(04:12):
the opportunity to look at whatthat really really means and not
just some man's version of it.
Everything out there is prettyladen with propaganda in some
way or another.
So it's very important for youto use your own critical
thinking skills and it's okay toadmit that you thought you were
(04:35):
doing something different andnow you see what it really is.
It's okay to change your mind.
All that to say.
If you're struggling right now,just in general, if you are just
feeling very beaten down bywhat you're seeing, what you are
consuming online, I wouldencourage you to take a break.
(04:57):
You don't have to be on 24seven.
Okay, you can protect yourenergy if it's really really,
really heavy right now for you,because you're not going to be
good for anybody unless you do.
If that means getting offlinefor a bit or being really
protective about what you'rewatching, what you're hearing, I
totally get that and that'sokay.
You can still create change.
(05:19):
You can still help other peoplewithout being constantly
bombarded with all of the stuff.
Do what you can with what youhave and go out and do something
nice for somebody today Justanybody.
It could be a stranger.
That's going to fill you withdopamine, it's going to make you
feel good and it's also goingto lift that other person up and
that stuff has a ripple effect.
(05:39):
Guys, I posted something on myInstagram story yesterday that
said it's the roomie quote.
It says if everything aroundyou seems dark, look again,
because you might be the light,and I love that because it's
true.
If not you, then who else?
Do a little small somethingthat is going to bring some
(06:01):
light?
Today it doesn't seem like it'ssuper impactful, but it is.
It can be affected by what'sgoing on right now, meaning you
have family members who arebeing ripped from their lives.
I just want you to know that Iam so deeply sorry and I don't
support that, and, although Idon't know what I can do, if you
(06:23):
need help, please reach out,because I am happy to at least
help you find a direction forthat.
Know that my heart is with youand I truly believe that most of
us want to do the right thing.
And if you're struggling withdoing the right thing, if you're
struggling because you'resurrounded by people who are not
(06:44):
on the same wavelength as you Iknow what that feels like.
It's hard Reach out, find yourown community, find your own
like-minded people.
You don't need to believe whatother people around you believe.
Listen to yourself, listen toyour higher self, get in tune
with your higher self and ifyou're having a hard time with
(07:05):
any of this, just tune into yourheart center, literally put
your hands over your heart andjust breathe for a few minutes
and think about someone that youlove very, very deeply.
It'll get you right there.
That's sort of what we shouldbe extending to everyone.
We're all in this together,okay, with liberty and justice
for all, not just for somepeople, for all.
(07:26):
Okay, moving into today's topicfor the podcast, it's not going
to be a super long one, but Iwant to address something that a
lot of the photographers, inparticular, who follow me have
been dealing with, and that isstaring at an empty inbox
wondering if your calendar isever going to fill up again.
Low bookings, no bookings, noleads.
(07:49):
So I want you to know that Isee you and I hear you.
I hear you guys in my DMs.
A lot of you guys are reallyconsidering closing up shop.
Some of you already have, okay,so this episode is for you If
you're tired of hearing oh, it'sjust the economy or no one is
(08:10):
booking right now.
Everybody's going through it.
This is for you, if you'reready to stop spiraling about
that and to start doingsomething about it.
Because, listen, I built myphotography business in 2008 in
a recession, with no money and abasic camera, three really
(08:30):
really young kids, no backupplan, no resources.
So when people say it'simpossible to grow in this
market, I call BS and it's notjust delusional thinking.
What you need right now isn'tmore freebies that are going to
sit in your downloads and neverget used.
You don't need TikTok trends.
You need a mindset reset and anactual plan that works.
(08:56):
So let's get into what Ibelieve those things are.
First, let's get somethingstraight the number one thing
that's going to stop you fromgetting booked is not the
economy, it's your energy.
I'm not talking about beinghigh vibe 24 seven and
pretending that things aren'thard.
Hello, I just addressed in thebeginning of this episode how
things can be really hard.
(09:16):
I'm talking about the energythat leaks out when you're
panicking that please book thatdesperation vibe that repels
clients faster than a badwebsite.
So if you're sitting thererefreshing your email every hour
wondering why nobody's bookingor nobody's reaching out to you.
I want you to ask yourself thisquestion what energy am I
(09:39):
actually bringing to the table?
Cause clients aren't justbuying photos.
They're buying confidence,they're buying certainty, and
they're buying the vibe thatthey want to be around.
So take a moment today andbreathe.
Reclaim your power, becauseyou've got it, but you can't
access it when you're inscarcity mode.
(10:01):
Instead of saying things like Ineed clients, I want you to say
things like the right clientsare actively looking for someone
like me, and it's my job tohelp them find me.
So let's talk for a second,really quick, about the
strategies that actually workright now to get clients, and
then we'll get back to themindset.
But, strategically speaking,fluff aside, here's what's
(10:27):
actually working right now, evenin a tight market.
And no, it's not just somebasic guide I got from ChaiGPT
that I'm passing on to you,because that stuff doesn't work.
The reason it doesn't work isbecause it's not aligned.
Your energy is everything, andwe'll get back to that in a
minute.
The first thing I want to talkabout, though, is local
visibility Okay, it's highlyunderrated.
Your SEO, your Google businessprofiles, secret weapons Okay,
(10:52):
most of you are sleeping onthese things, so I want you to
post to your Google businessprofile once a week and use
keywords that you know you wantto rank for.
You can upload photos, you canupload video.
All of that stuff reallymatters, and this is something
that I see a lot ofphotographers forget about.
It's just, it becomes somethingoff to the side, but you can
(11:15):
really own local traffic andinquiries with consistency.
The thing is, though, is thatyou have to do it often and be
consistent.
This is something you canautomate.
The second thing I want tomention is that in-person is
making a comeback.
Okay, collaborations with localbusinesses like coffee shops,
boutiques, salons they workPop-ups, giveaways, styled
(11:40):
shoots anything that is going toget you in front of more of
your target clients.
This is one of the things thatI did in the very beginning of
my business, and I continue todo now, in just various
different ways, but there areother people in your local
market who are also looking foryour target client.
How can you get in front ofthem and pool your resources?
(12:04):
I want you to walk in.
I want you to pitch yourself.
Don't be afraid to say thingslike hey, I'd love to feature
you in a shoot and cross-promote.
That boldness really does standout.
People just aren't doing it asmuch anymore, and so it stands
out even more.
Now, if you want something, youhave to kind of go get it guys
more.
Now.
(12:24):
If you want something, you haveto kind of go get it guys, and
as an introvert, that is not adesirable thing for me, so I get
it.
I know you don't want to do it,but how bad do you want this
business to work?
What if one very low liftcollaboration with one to two
local businesses could bring you10 clients in the next three
(12:47):
months?
Would it be a yes for you then?
Okay, ask yourself what if?
Get curious.
It's really easy to soak in thenegativity that's going on
around us.
And again, I'm not talkingabout being toxically positive
all the time.
I'm talking about doing whatyou can with what you have, and
(13:07):
if this business is important toyou, you need to tell people
about it.
And when you start doing that,you start empowering other
people to talk about you behindyour back so that you don't have
to do as much of this ongoing.
It starts to take on a life ofits own if you build it with the
(13:28):
right intention and the rightmessaging.
The problem is that a lot ofyou guys are just sort of like
doing what you think works forother photographers and that's
why it's not hitting Okay.
So it's really important tolook at your own purpose, your
own why, your own target clientand to dig in and do that
foundational work, whether it'sby yourself or with a coach,
(13:49):
that is foundational.
So if you haven't done thatstuff, you need to dig into that
.
The third thing I want tomention is that video is still a
great way to build trustbecause it's fast.
Okay, I know a lot of you guysdon't want to be on video.
You don't want to be talking onvideo.
In particular.
(14:10):
I get it Again.
I say what if this one videocould get you in front of a
handful of new clients that youbook?
Would it be worth it then?
It's not about becoming famous,it's not about going viral.
Your face, your voice, yourprocess that's part of what you
(14:31):
do, and I've done many shows onthis.
You guys just specifically onthis topic, about building
visibility, I even have a whole30-day visibility challenge
built on this whole idea.
Okay, so there are so manyresources for you about this and
I know I've talked about this alot, but there's a reason why I
(14:52):
continue talking about itbecause it works.
Reels and TikToks that teach ortell stories convert yeah, using
a trending audio is helpful,but when your messaging is
dialed in and aligned, you don'teven need that.
When you are in touch with yourpurpose and your why, you can
communicate that over and overand over again to your audience
(15:15):
in many different ways, becausethat's literally just what
marketing is.
It's not about coming up with anew idea every day and throwing
something up against the walland hoping that it works,
because you saw your friend inanother state do something and
their video just happened to hit.
Okay, you need to look at youraudience and you as a person,
(15:36):
you as a brand, and yourmessaging.
How do you want your clients tofeel when they experience your
brand?
Build that into a video.
Nobody can do what you do, likeyou do it.
You need to own it.
You need to be your biggestcheerleader.
I know it's hard.
I know it's not what you wantto do, Okay, but it's not just
(15:57):
about you showing up and talkingabout me, me, me, me, me, uh-uh
.
You need to be talking to yourclient.
That's why the target clientwork is so important because you
want that person to feelsomething.
Your marketing really needs tobe all about them.
So if you're just talking aboutyourself constantly or on your
(16:18):
website or whatever, that's abig issue here.
Take yourself out of theequation.
This isn't about you, eventhough it is your business.
It's about how your clientfeels when they experience your
brand.
How do you want them to feel?
What do you want that journeyto look like?
Have you mapped it out?
If you haven't, that needs tobe done.
(16:41):
The fourth strategy Email stillworks, you guys, if you use it
right.
Okay, I'm not talking aboutjust promotions constantly and
selling and emails, but weeklyemails with value, with behind
the scenes, what you know yourtarget client likes to see from
you before and afters, whateverthat might be.
(17:02):
Those actually work.
And not enough of you guys areusing emails.
I don't care if you have 25people on your list.
Email them.
Those people are on your listbecause they either reached out
to you for service or theysigned up for a freebie from you
, or they signed into a galleryto see images and you have a
(17:25):
valuable commodity now you havetheir email address.
Don't take that lightly.
You need to nurture thesepeople.
The real ones will stick around.
You'll get to see who the realones are by the content you
serve them and whether or notthey stick around or they
unsubscribe.
(17:45):
That's the other thing.
You cannot get too bent out ofshape about the unsubscribes.
That's always going to happen.
You're always going to saysomething that offends somebody.
Okay, I can't tell you guys howmany responses I'll get to my
email.
Sometimes that are just.
They make me like cacklebecause I cannot believe
somebody would actually take thetime to type some of this stuff
(18:07):
out to me.
Like you actually gave me youremail for a reason and I'm
giving you some reallyinteresting information.
Like, for instance, one of theemails that I sent out to my
list of photographers, because Ihave two lists.
I have a photographer list, Ihave lists for creatives and I
also, so I have three.
I also have photography clients, right.
(18:30):
So, like two photographers, Isent an email about AI, about
chat, gpt, because y'all know Ilove me some chat, gpt and AI in
general, and somebody just kindof let me have it about how AI
is the devil.
That's cool.
You don't need to like it, youdon't need to use it and you
don't need to subscribe if youdon't want to hear what I have
to say, that's totally fine.
(18:51):
I want the people on my list tobe engaged.
I want the people on my list tobe my people.
I'm building a community here.
I'm not trying to suck in everysingle person on the planet.
I want my people to be here.
So I want you guys to approachyour email list like this
(19:12):
Nurture it, foster it.
Think of it as your littlecommunity that you're building.
These are your people.
What do you want to tell them?
What do you want to share withthem?
Okay, the wins, the good, thebad.
And then, yeah, when you arerunning a promo or when you are
running a session.
But it's not even about thecalls to action, it's about the
(19:32):
connection, because you poppingin to their inbox once a week
consistently lets them know hey,you're in business, okay.
So, even if they're not lookingfor one of your services,
somebody that they know might be, and you're top of mind now
because you're in their inbox.
Social media is that endlessscroll.
(19:53):
You can't rely on showing up onsomeone's feed.
Even if you're running ads, youcan't really rely on that,
because the targeting has gottenvery hard with ads.
But people have asked to be onyour email list because they
liked something about you, andnow you get to foster that
relationship and get to knowthem better.
(20:15):
It's kind of amazing and youcan keep this simple
relationship and get to knowthem better.
It's kind of amazing and youcan keep this simple.
You don't need a system.
You don't need to buy aplatform like Flowdesk, which is
what I use.
I think it's a great value andI think it's amazing, but use
what you have.
If that's all you can do rightnow, eventually, when you do
build up a bigger list and youwant to start automating some
(20:37):
things, you probably will needto look into investing in a
platform, but, like Flowdesk inparticular, is very affordable,
it's easy and you can do somevery robust things with it.
I'll post in the show notes alink to a blog that I did all
about this and the link to signup for a free trial for Flow
(20:57):
desk If you're interested.
The idea, though, is that youwant to be sending your list
content that you know is goingto be valuable for them.
Okay, what do they want to hearabout?
What would be reallyinteresting and different, not
the same old?
These are the five dresses thatI recommend that you wear for
your summer session.
Okay, think out of the box.
A little side tip a great way toget ideas for these is to go
(21:20):
into Tik TOK.
So if you go into Tik TOK andyou press the little search icon
and you just start typing inwhatever the first word is, so,
like if you're a seniorphotographer, you can type in
senior portrait and then seewhat auto fills and then see
what those videos are.
You do need to filter it for,like, the most recent ones.
So I suggest at least withinthe last, like one to three
(21:42):
months, you'll start to see whathigh school seniors are
actually searching for there.
Okay, and then when you gounder there, you'll see a lot of
different videos and thenyou'll see people are also
searching for this kind of likeon Google, are also searching
for this kind of like on Google.
Those are really great topicsand keywords.
(22:06):
And, yes, I do suggest using AIand chat GPT for this.
I have something called contentfuel that can help you with
that.
I'll link it below in the shownotes.
It's basically a massive amountof prompts for chat GPT and
ways to use them moreefficiently.
Plus, you also get access to myown custom GPT for high school
senior photographers in there.
It's literally built from allof my coaching and all of my
marketing education.
(22:26):
That's built into content fuelas well.
And the last strategy that we'regoing to cover today is a
strong offer with urgency andclarity.
So we're going to talk a littlebit about some sales techniques
.
Book now is not really acompelling CTA.
What's going to make somebodyactually want to book with you?
Fall sessions are 80% booked.
(22:49):
Here's how to grab one of thelast three spots.
That's a little more specific.
That creates a little bit morefriction.
I'm not telling you to lie.
I'm not telling you to like goout there and be super weird and
salesy, but you do need to makeyour offers clear and timely
and easy.
You got to make it easy, okay,like, don't make your clients
(23:11):
jump through a whole bunch ofhoops.
Nobody wants to do that.
And this brings up a very hottopic to call or not to call,
right?
So there's that camp ofphotography educators that will
tell you that you need to get ona phone call with somebody
immediately.
Don't have pricing listed onyour website, just have a form.
As soon as they fill out theform, you call them.
(23:33):
Then you sell them into theprogram, you sell them into one
of your sessions.
Is that effective?
Hell yeah, it's very effective.
Is it something that everyphotographer wants to do?
Absolutely not.
I'm one of those.
Okay, I have been running avery successful, six figure
profitable photography businessfor a long time and I don't want
(23:57):
to get on a phone call unless Iabsolutely have to and I will.
There's always the option toget a call with me, but I have
set up my lead process so that Ibasically hold their hand
digitally.
I get their questions answered,they know exactly what to
expect, without me having tosell them into it and without me
(24:20):
having to be with them to do it.
Okay, so for me and this is justme don't come for me.
But if I'm online looking forany service and I have to jump
through like 12 different thingsto just get you to respond to
me, I'm not going to want tobook you.
I don't care how good your workis, and if I have to wait for a
(24:42):
phone call from you before Ibook you, that's a no for me.
I'm ready.
When I'm ready, I want to beable to get the information I
need fairly quickly.
That's why I suggest havingautomations built in with your
CRM so that when the form isfilled because, no, I don't
think you should be putting fullpricing on your website.
(25:04):
That's not what I'm saying here.
I think that starting points, Ithink that average spend all of
that is great, but there'sother messaging you can build in
that is going to let thesepotential leads know that you
are not a $200 photographerthat's just going to meet them
at a park.
So I'm speaking now mainly tomy higher end, luxury portrait
(25:26):
photographers.
What I do and what I teach is asession fee as well as a
minimum purchase.
Okay, so I'm not like a all in,here's all the digitals kind of
thing, and if you're out theredoing that and you are seeing
that in actuality that is not aprofitable system and that
you're super busy and booked,maybe you're even at a higher
price point, maybe you're even$1,200, let's say $1,200 to
(25:51):
$1,500 and they get like 20 or30 digitals with that, I'm going
to challenge you to look atyour numbers and realize that
you're not making as much as youthink because of the time
you're spending with each ofthese clients, including their
editing and the session, butalso the emails, the phone calls
, the walking them through it.
(26:12):
If you're doing all of thesehigh touch things like doing
consults with them, getting onphone calls, making sure that
they're prepared, and you're notmaking 2000 and up per portrait
client, you're probably notmaking a lot in profit,
especially now with howexpensive life is.
So I encourage you to look atyour numbers if you haven't in a
(26:34):
while.
I know it's scary to jump fromjust including digitals to
selling product, but that is thebest way to make higher sales
but also to take better care ofyour clients, to provide a more
luxury experience for them andto set yourself apart in your
(26:57):
market.
But back to the CGA urgency andclarity.
So what other sort of languagecan you be using that is going
to get people to actually pullthe trigger, and sometimes you
have to incentivize them.
Sometimes that looks likebooking now and you receive this
.
I'm not a big fan of discounts,but you can absolutely include
something really awesome thatyou can actually get on your
(27:21):
regular price list.
What can you include that willgive your clients something a
little bit more and make themfeel more taken care of if they
just go ahead and book that by acertain date?
This should all be tied to yourmessaging, which goes back to
your why and your purpose, andif you don't have a strong sense
of that, I encourage you to diginto it.
(27:41):
I have a mini offer called theclarity method that you can
purchase.
It's under a hundred dollars,it's a video and a workbook and
it walks you through the basicsof what I do with my one-on-one
clients.
So if you can't invest incoaching right now, that's a
really great place to start isthe clarity method.
It will walk you through thebasics of what I teach in
(28:02):
coaching and there's a workbookthat's going to prompt you to go
deeper.
Definitely check that out.
I'll link it below in the shownotes as well.
But if you can invest incoaching, that's your best
option for really getting thismessaging dialed in, because the
truth is that your marketingreally isn't broken, but your
belief in that offer might be.
(28:24):
You got to sell yourself onyourself before you can sell
anything to anyone else, whichleads me to this very last
little tidbit that I want toleave you with before you wrap
up, which is the shift in youridentity.
Okay, shift your identity,shift your results.
This is the part that mostpeople skip or don't want to
deal with the part where youbecome the version of you who's
(28:46):
already booked out, because letpart where you become the
version of you who's alreadybooked out, because let me tell
you what that version of youdoesn't do.
She doesn't scroll otherphotographers all day, she
doesn't change her prices everyweek and flip-flop between what
someone else is doing, becausethey seem to have it together,
because, unless you see theunderside of somebody's business
, you don't really know what'sgoing on and you don't really
(29:07):
know how much money they'remaking.
It can seem like they're doinggreat and they're booked
constantly, but how much moneyare they actually making?
Are they just charging a lowprice, like I was just talking
about?
Are they running themselvesinto the ground?
Are they editing all their ownimages and spending like eight
hours per session editing?
Side note, if you're doing that, please audit your time as well
, because that is a huge reasonwhy you're going to burn out and
(29:30):
also not be profitable.
That version of you, though,also does not blame the
algorithm or the economy or waituntil things are perfect.
What she does do is she leads.
She shows up even when she'sscared, and she makes decisions
from where she's going, notwhere she's been and not where
she feels stuck.
You got this Okay.
(29:51):
You didn't start this businessbecause you thought it would be
easy.
Most likely you probably had apretty good indicator that this
was going to be a decent amountof work to build.
But it doesn't mean it can't befun.
You can ask my group, elevate.
I'm always saying if it's notfun I don't want to do it.
(30:12):
So part of being a photographybusiness owner is really digging
into what it is that lights youup, because if it doesn't feel
good, you're not going to wantto do it.
You might be able to do itshort term, but you're not going
to want to do it.
You might be able to do itshort-term, but you're not going
to do it long-term.
And rewiring those beliefs stopworking from your past, tune
(30:33):
out the noise around you andstay focused on your goals.
Okay, where you want to go.
Now you do need to know whereyou want to go.
So if you haven't done thatwork either, I do suggest the
clarity method.
I'll link it below Again.
Like I said, it's a little minicourse.
It's not as much of a deep diveas a one-on-one container would
(30:54):
be with me in coaching, but itwill get you started and it will
give you a kick in the pants.
I also have calibrate, which ismy private podcast, which is
all mindset, all hypnosis, allactivations.
It is up to you daily to decidewhere you want your energy to go
.
It is up to you to be in thedriver's seat with your
conscious thinking brain and notallow your unconscious mind to
(31:16):
drive the car, because yourunconscious mind will always
pull you back to safety.
It will always look at thecraziness around you and go, oh
my God, this is too scary, weshouldn't be doing this.
Get back inside.
It's safe inside, and I knowit's tempting to listen to that,
and I know some days you'regoing to let it win, and that's
(31:37):
okay.
Don't beat yourself up.
What matters is that you openthe door again and come back
outside, that you don't let itkeep you down.
Your unconscious mind reallydoes want the best for you, but
it just thinks that keeping yousafe is the best idea and, as
you know, there's no growth insafety.
So if you're ready to shift outof stuck and into CEO energy,
(32:00):
there's a seat waiting for youin Elevate or in one-on-one.
I'm signing up my next sixmonths of Elevate right now.
We start in July, we go throughDecember.
It's only for femalephotographers who have been in
business for a minute.
I'll post the link below.
You can get all the details andall the testimonials.
It's a pretty amazing and veryspecial program that I'm super
proud of.
(32:20):
It is a group membership.
It's more like a mastermind,but it's a little bit different
than either of those things.
More like a mastermind, butit's a little bit different than
either of those things.
And what makes it so amazing isthe group of women who keep
re-enrolling every semester.
I've worked with a lot of themfor years now and I adore them.
So not only will you getcoaching from me, you're going
to get a really awesome group ofwomen who are going to support
(32:42):
you and bring you into our fold.
So if you're looking forcommunity and support,
accountability, marketing, helpand mindset, check out Elevate.
The link is below.
And if you want something moreindividualized or focused, you
can look into one-on-onecoaching.
That link is below too.
All right, I know it's reallyscary out there right now, trust
me, and I know what it feelslike to question if this is all
(33:05):
going to work out.
Listen, a lot of y'all knowthat I am married to an actor,
writer, filmmaker.
Things are not good in thatindustry right now.
My husband is literally tryingto do whatever he can to make
whatever he can, but we lost ourhealth insurance this past year
.
For the first time in over 30years, my husband did not make
(33:26):
earnings for the Screen ActorsGuild insurance, which is one of
the best insurance plans in theworld, I'm convinced.
So we were very spoiled, but itwas also one of the reasons why
we were still able to live inCalifornia, because we didn't
have to pay ridiculous amountsof money for really good
healthcare ridiculous amounts ofmoney for really good
(33:49):
healthcare.
And now we do so on top of himnot bringing money in, we now
have to pay for healthcare.
That is not as good by anystretch of the imagination, and
although it's most likelytemporary at least I hope so it
is what it is.
So I got to make this work.
There have been a lot of days inthe last, I would say, year and
a half, even though mybusinesses both of them are
(34:13):
successful, bring in money, keepus going there's been a lot of
days where I've literally beensitting on the floor of my
office in a panic.
The good thing is that I canget myself out of that so much
faster than I used to be able to.
I've had anxiety my whole lifeand panic attacks since I was in
(34:36):
my early 20s and for years Ididn't have panic attacks years,
even with menopause.
I had it under control.
Menopause, I had it undercontrol and then last summer
they started again and it wasvery, very much tied to this
whole thing.
All this situation with theeconomy changing, my husband not
(34:56):
working, me being thebreadwinner having to do all the
things.
But I am well-resourced.
I have so many more resourcesthan I used to, even five years
ago, but especially like 20years ago.
Like I have so many moreresources, and so do you, I
would encourage you to look intohow many resources you do
(35:17):
really have.
Cause at the top of your head.
You might not think you do, butI want you to look into it and
I want you to realize that youare further along than you were
even last week, and the factthat you're listening to a
podcast like this tells me youdo want more for your life and
you do want more for yourbusiness.
So you got this.
You can do this.
Okay, we can do this.
(35:38):
I'm saying it just as much formyself as I am for you.
Keep your eye on the prize guys.
You've got clients out therewho are just dying to find you.
You have to be findable, andthere is a very easy way to do
that you just tend toovercomplicate things, okay, so
you got to stop looking aroundfor permission and you got to
(35:59):
start building your own momentum.
You don't need a biggeraudience, but you probably do
need a more clear message and astronger belief in your gifts.
I believe in you, but, moreimportantly, you've got to
believe in you.
So if you're listening to allthis today and you're thinking,
okay, I really need this energyin my corner every week, you're
probably ready for what I offerin coaching.
(36:21):
Those links are below, both forelevate and for one-on-one, but
either way, I want you to do onething today to move forward.
You're not behind, you're nottoo late, you're not too old,
you're not too young, you're notinvisible.
You're just one powerful shiftaway from the breakthrough that
you've been waiting for.
(36:42):
Let me know how you felt aboutthis episode over on Instagram
at Renee Bowen.
I'd love to chat with you, asalways, and if you feel like
this was helpful.
Send it to a friend or share iton Instagram and tag me.
You know I love that.
Be good to yourself, okay, loveyou Bye.
Welcome to Tried and True with the Dash of Woo, where
we blend rock-solid tips with alittle bit of magic.
I'm Renee Bowen, your host,life and business coach and
professional photographer atyour service.
We are all about gettingcreative, diving into your
business and playing withmanifestation over here.
So are you ready to getinspired and have some fun?
Let's dive in.
Hey, hey, welcome back to Triedand True with the Dash of Woo.
(00:27):
This is your host, renee Bowen.
Hope you guys are doing allright.
World's a little crazy outthere right now.
It's June 11th 2025.
And, yes, I am based in thesuburbs of Los Angeles.
So if you've seen LA on thenews in the last few days, you
know that we are kind of goingthrough it and, honestly, we've
(00:49):
been kind of going through itfor a while.
If you've been listening to myshow for a while, or you follow
me or you know me or you coachwith me, you know that it's been
rough for a lot of us,especially those of us in the
entertainment industry, for awhile, with strikes and fires
early this year and now theseice rates and protests and
(01:15):
absolutely awful thingshappening to people here in the
city.
So this episode today is notabout that, but I would be
remiss if I didn't say somethingabout it, and I'm not going to
go deep into this.
(01:36):
What I am going to say is thatthis is a humanitarian crisis
and that if you are onlywatching a polarized version of
news, you're not getting thewhole story.
First of all, most of us in LAare fine.
It is not what is beingreported on some of the stations
.
A lot of it is peaceful.
Yeah, there's always going tobe people who take it upon
themselves to do stupid shit,but that is not the majority of
(02:01):
what is going on right now.
So I really just hope you useyour critical thinking right now
, just in general.
Okay, I'm not here to have apolitical conversation with you
or to change your mind, but I dohope that you use your humanity
, and this is my platform.
Okay, my socials are myplatform.
My podcast is my platform.
(02:21):
I am always talking to you guysabout being authentically you,
being the most you that you canbe.
So that's what I'm doing rightnow.
If you don't agree with me, youdon't have to, but if you are
okay with families being rippedapart for people who are not
criminals, people who have beenhere for a very long time, who
(02:42):
have lives, who pay taxes.
If you're okay with that, justas a blanket statement, I
implore you to look at yourhumanity.
Okay, because we are here onthis planet in this timeline.
I truly believe that we arehere for community, we are here
to be together, we are here tohelp each other, and if you're
(03:06):
not doing that in some way andif you're only thinking about
yourself and what's good for you, that might work out for a
little while, but it definitelyis not filling your soul,
because if it were, you wouldn'tbe operating from a place of
fear.
There's either fear or love.
At any given time, you areoperating from one of those two
(03:28):
things, and I talk about thefear part a lot on this podcast.
We talk about that in terms ofyour unconscious programming,
mindset, things like that, and Iknow that if you have these
certain beliefs, that it'sbecause of what you saw growing
up, possibly, and also just yourpast programming, just like any
of us.
But you have an opportunity tothink for yourself.
(03:52):
You have an opportunity to lookat non-biased news sources.
You have the opportunity tolean into your humanity, to your
kindness, to your generosity,to your love, and if you are
someone who values the teachingsof Christ especially, you have
(04:12):
the opportunity to look at whatthat really really means and not
just some man's version of it.
Everything out there is prettyladen with propaganda in some
way or another.
So it's very important for youto use your own critical
thinking skills and it's okay toadmit that you thought you were
(04:35):
doing something different andnow you see what it really is.
It's okay to change your mind.
All that to say.
If you're struggling right now,just in general, if you are just
feeling very beaten down bywhat you're seeing, what you are
consuming online, I wouldencourage you to take a break.
(04:57):
You don't have to be on 24seven.
Okay, you can protect yourenergy if it's really really,
really heavy right now for you,because you're not going to be
good for anybody unless you do.
If that means getting offlinefor a bit or being really
protective about what you'rewatching, what you're hearing, I
totally get that and that'sokay.
You can still create change.
(05:19):
You can still help other peoplewithout being constantly
bombarded with all of the stuff.
Do what you can with what youhave and go out and do something
nice for somebody today Justanybody.
It could be a stranger.
That's going to fill you withdopamine, it's going to make you
feel good and it's also goingto lift that other person up and
that stuff has a ripple effect.
(05:39):
Guys, I posted something on myInstagram story yesterday that
said it's the roomie quote.
It says if everything aroundyou seems dark, look again,
because you might be the light,and I love that because it's
true.
If not you, then who else?
Do a little small somethingthat is going to bring some
(06:01):
light?
Today it doesn't seem like it'ssuper impactful, but it is.
It can be affected by what'sgoing on right now, meaning you
have family members who arebeing ripped from their lives.
I just want you to know that Iam so deeply sorry and I don't
support that, and, although Idon't know what I can do, if you
(06:23):
need help, please reach out,because I am happy to at least
help you find a direction forthat.
Know that my heart is with youand I truly believe that most of
us want to do the right thing.
And if you're struggling withdoing the right thing, if you're
struggling because you'resurrounded by people who are not
(06:44):
on the same wavelength as you Iknow what that feels like.
It's hard Reach out, find yourown community, find your own
like-minded people.
You don't need to believe whatother people around you believe.
Listen to yourself, listen toyour higher self, get in tune
with your higher self and ifyou're having a hard time with
(07:05):
any of this, just tune into yourheart center, literally put
your hands over your heart andjust breathe for a few minutes
and think about someone that youlove very, very deeply.
It'll get you right there.
That's sort of what we shouldbe extending to everyone.
We're all in this together,okay, with liberty and justice
for all, not just for somepeople, for all.
(07:26):
Okay, moving into today's topicfor the podcast, it's not going
to be a super long one, but Iwant to address something that a
lot of the photographers, inparticular, who follow me have
been dealing with, and that isstaring at an empty inbox
wondering if your calendar isever going to fill up again.
Low bookings, no bookings, noleads.
(07:49):
So I want you to know that Isee you and I hear you.
I hear you guys in my DMs.
A lot of you guys are reallyconsidering closing up shop.
Some of you already have, okay,so this episode is for you If
you're tired of hearing oh, it'sjust the economy or no one is
(08:10):
booking right now.
Everybody's going through it.
This is for you, if you'reready to stop spiraling about
that and to start doingsomething about it.
Because, listen, I built myphotography business in 2008 in
a recession, with no money and abasic camera, three really
(08:30):
really young kids, no backupplan, no resources.
So when people say it'simpossible to grow in this
market, I call BS and it's notjust delusional thinking.
What you need right now isn'tmore freebies that are going to
sit in your downloads and neverget used.
You don't need TikTok trends.
You need a mindset reset and anactual plan that works.
(08:56):
So let's get into what Ibelieve those things are.
First, let's get somethingstraight the number one thing
that's going to stop you fromgetting booked is not the
economy, it's your energy.
I'm not talking about beinghigh vibe 24 seven and
pretending that things aren'thard.
Hello, I just addressed in thebeginning of this episode how
things can be really hard.
(09:16):
I'm talking about the energythat leaks out when you're
panicking that please book thatdesperation vibe that repels
clients faster than a badwebsite.
So if you're sitting thererefreshing your email every hour
wondering why nobody's bookingor nobody's reaching out to you.
I want you to ask yourself thisquestion what energy am I
(09:39):
actually bringing to the table?
Cause clients aren't justbuying photos.
They're buying confidence,they're buying certainty, and
they're buying the vibe thatthey want to be around.
So take a moment today andbreathe.
Reclaim your power, becauseyou've got it, but you can't
access it when you're inscarcity mode.
(10:01):
Instead of saying things like Ineed clients, I want you to say
things like the right clientsare actively looking for someone
like me, and it's my job tohelp them find me.
So let's talk for a second,really quick, about the
strategies that actually workright now to get clients, and
then we'll get back to themindset.
But, strategically speaking,fluff aside, here's what's
(10:27):
actually working right now, evenin a tight market.
And no, it's not just somebasic guide I got from ChaiGPT
that I'm passing on to you,because that stuff doesn't work.
The reason it doesn't work isbecause it's not aligned.
Your energy is everything, andwe'll get back to that in a
minute.
The first thing I want to talkabout, though, is local
visibility Okay, it's highlyunderrated.
Your SEO, your Google businessprofiles, secret weapons Okay,
(10:52):
most of you are sleeping onthese things, so I want you to
post to your Google businessprofile once a week and use
keywords that you know you wantto rank for.
You can upload photos, you canupload video.
All of that stuff reallymatters, and this is something
that I see a lot ofphotographers forget about.
It's just, it becomes somethingoff to the side, but you can
(11:15):
really own local traffic andinquiries with consistency.
The thing is, though, is thatyou have to do it often and be
consistent.
This is something you canautomate.
The second thing I want tomention is that in-person is
making a comeback.
Okay, collaborations with localbusinesses like coffee shops,
boutiques, salons they workPop-ups, giveaways, styled
(11:40):
shoots anything that is going toget you in front of more of
your target clients.
This is one of the things thatI did in the very beginning of
my business, and I continue todo now, in just various
different ways, but there areother people in your local
market who are also looking foryour target client.
How can you get in front ofthem and pool your resources?
(12:04):
I want you to walk in.
I want you to pitch yourself.
Don't be afraid to say thingslike hey, I'd love to feature
you in a shoot and cross-promote.
That boldness really does standout.
People just aren't doing it asmuch anymore, and so it stands
out even more.
Now, if you want something, youhave to kind of go get it guys
more.
Now.
(12:24):
If you want something, you haveto kind of go get it guys, and
as an introvert, that is not adesirable thing for me, so I get
it.
I know you don't want to do it,but how bad do you want this
business to work?
What if one very low liftcollaboration with one to two
local businesses could bring you10 clients in the next three
(12:47):
months?
Would it be a yes for you then?
Okay, ask yourself what if?
Get curious.
It's really easy to soak in thenegativity that's going on
around us.
And again, I'm not talkingabout being toxically positive
all the time.
I'm talking about doing whatyou can with what you have, and
(13:07):
if this business is important toyou, you need to tell people
about it.
And when you start doing that,you start empowering other
people to talk about you behindyour back so that you don't have
to do as much of this ongoing.
It starts to take on a life ofits own if you build it with the
(13:28):
right intention and the rightmessaging.
The problem is that a lot ofyou guys are just sort of like
doing what you think works forother photographers and that's
why it's not hitting Okay.
So it's really important tolook at your own purpose, your
own why, your own target clientand to dig in and do that
foundational work, whether it'sby yourself or with a coach,
(13:49):
that is foundational.
So if you haven't done thatstuff, you need to dig into that
.
The third thing I want tomention is that video is still a
great way to build trustbecause it's fast.
Okay, I know a lot of you guysdon't want to be on video.
You don't want to be talking onvideo.
In particular.
(14:10):
I get it Again.
I say what if this one videocould get you in front of a
handful of new clients that youbook?
Would it be worth it then?
It's not about becoming famous,it's not about going viral.
Your face, your voice, yourprocess that's part of what you
(14:31):
do, and I've done many shows onthis.
You guys just specifically onthis topic, about building
visibility, I even have a whole30-day visibility challenge
built on this whole idea.
Okay, so there are so manyresources for you about this and
I know I've talked about this alot, but there's a reason why I
(14:52):
continue talking about itbecause it works.
Reels and TikToks that teach ortell stories convert yeah, using
a trending audio is helpful,but when your messaging is
dialed in and aligned, you don'teven need that.
When you are in touch with yourpurpose and your why, you can
communicate that over and overand over again to your audience
(15:15):
in many different ways, becausethat's literally just what
marketing is.
It's not about coming up with anew idea every day and throwing
something up against the walland hoping that it works,
because you saw your friend inanother state do something and
their video just happened to hit.
Okay, you need to look at youraudience and you as a person,
(15:36):
you as a brand, and yourmessaging.
How do you want your clients tofeel when they experience your
brand?
Build that into a video.
Nobody can do what you do, likeyou do it.
You need to own it.
You need to be your biggestcheerleader.
I know it's hard.
I know it's not what you wantto do, Okay, but it's not just
(15:57):
about you showing up and talkingabout me, me, me, me, me, uh-uh
.
You need to be talking to yourclient.
That's why the target clientwork is so important because you
want that person to feelsomething.
Your marketing really needs tobe all about them.
So if you're just talking aboutyourself constantly or on your
(16:18):
website or whatever, that's abig issue here.
Take yourself out of theequation.
This isn't about you, eventhough it is your business.
It's about how your clientfeels when they experience your
brand.
How do you want them to feel?
What do you want that journeyto look like?
Have you mapped it out?
If you haven't, that needs tobe done.
(16:41):
The fourth strategy Email stillworks, you guys, if you use it
right.
Okay, I'm not talking aboutjust promotions constantly and
selling and emails, but weeklyemails with value, with behind
the scenes, what you know yourtarget client likes to see from
you before and afters, whateverthat might be.
(17:02):
Those actually work.
And not enough of you guys areusing emails.
I don't care if you have 25people on your list.
Email them.
Those people are on your listbecause they either reached out
to you for service or theysigned up for a freebie from you
, or they signed into a galleryto see images and you have a
(17:25):
valuable commodity now you havetheir email address.
Don't take that lightly.
You need to nurture thesepeople.
The real ones will stick around.
You'll get to see who the realones are by the content you
serve them and whether or notthey stick around or they
unsubscribe.
(17:45):
That's the other thing.
You cannot get too bent out ofshape about the unsubscribes.
That's always going to happen.
You're always going to saysomething that offends somebody.
Okay, I can't tell you guys howmany responses I'll get to my
email.
Sometimes that are just.
They make me like cacklebecause I cannot believe
somebody would actually take thetime to type some of this stuff
(18:07):
out to me.
Like you actually gave me youremail for a reason and I'm
giving you some reallyinteresting information.
Like, for instance, one of theemails that I sent out to my
list of photographers, because Ihave two lists.
I have a photographer list, Ihave lists for creatives and I
also, so I have three.
I also have photography clients, right.
(18:30):
So, like two photographers, Isent an email about AI, about
chat, gpt, because y'all know Ilove me some chat, gpt and AI in
general, and somebody just kindof let me have it about how AI
is the devil.
That's cool.
You don't need to like it, youdon't need to use it and you
don't need to subscribe if youdon't want to hear what I have
to say, that's totally fine.
(18:51):
I want the people on my list tobe engaged.
I want the people on my list tobe my people.
I'm building a community here.
I'm not trying to suck in everysingle person on the planet.
I want my people to be here.
So I want you guys to approachyour email list like this
(19:12):
Nurture it, foster it.
Think of it as your littlecommunity that you're building.
These are your people.
What do you want to tell them?
What do you want to share withthem?
Okay, the wins, the good, thebad.
And then, yeah, when you arerunning a promo or when you are
running a session.
But it's not even about thecalls to action, it's about the
(19:32):
connection, because you poppingin to their inbox once a week
consistently lets them know hey,you're in business, okay.
So, even if they're not lookingfor one of your services,
somebody that they know might be, and you're top of mind now
because you're in their inbox.
Social media is that endlessscroll.
(19:53):
You can't rely on showing up onsomeone's feed.
Even if you're running ads, youcan't really rely on that,
because the targeting has gottenvery hard with ads.
But people have asked to be onyour email list because they
liked something about you, andnow you get to foster that
relationship and get to knowthem better.
(20:15):
It's kind of amazing and youcan keep this simple
relationship and get to knowthem better.
It's kind of amazing and youcan keep this simple.
You don't need a system.
You don't need to buy aplatform like Flowdesk, which is
what I use.
I think it's a great value andI think it's amazing, but use
what you have.
If that's all you can do rightnow, eventually, when you do
build up a bigger list and youwant to start automating some
(20:37):
things, you probably will needto look into investing in a
platform, but, like Flowdesk inparticular, is very affordable,
it's easy and you can do somevery robust things with it.
I'll post in the show notes alink to a blog that I did all
about this and the link to signup for a free trial for Flow
(20:57):
desk If you're interested.
The idea, though, is that youwant to be sending your list
content that you know is goingto be valuable for them.
Okay, what do they want to hearabout?
What would be reallyinteresting and different, not
the same old?
These are the five dresses thatI recommend that you wear for
your summer session.
Okay, think out of the box.
A little side tip a great way toget ideas for these is to go
(21:20):
into Tik TOK.
So if you go into Tik TOK andyou press the little search icon
and you just start typing inwhatever the first word is, so,
like if you're a seniorphotographer, you can type in
senior portrait and then seewhat auto fills and then see
what those videos are.
You do need to filter it for,like, the most recent ones.
So I suggest at least withinthe last, like one to three
(21:42):
months, you'll start to see whathigh school seniors are
actually searching for there.
Okay, and then when you gounder there, you'll see a lot of
different videos and thenyou'll see people are also
searching for this kind of likeon Google, are also searching
for this kind of like on Google.
Those are really great topicsand keywords.
(22:06):
And, yes, I do suggest using AIand chat GPT for this.
I have something called contentfuel that can help you with
that.
I'll link it below in the shownotes.
It's basically a massive amountof prompts for chat GPT and
ways to use them moreefficiently.
Plus, you also get access to myown custom GPT for high school
senior photographers in there.
It's literally built from allof my coaching and all of my
marketing education.
(22:26):
That's built into content fuelas well.
And the last strategy that we'regoing to cover today is a
strong offer with urgency andclarity.
So we're going to talk a littlebit about some sales techniques
.
Book now is not really acompelling CTA.
What's going to make somebodyactually want to book with you?
Fall sessions are 80% booked.
(22:49):
Here's how to grab one of thelast three spots.
That's a little more specific.
That creates a little bit morefriction.
I'm not telling you to lie.
I'm not telling you to like goout there and be super weird and
salesy, but you do need to makeyour offers clear and timely
and easy.
You got to make it easy, okay,like, don't make your clients
(23:11):
jump through a whole bunch ofhoops.
Nobody wants to do that.
And this brings up a very hottopic to call or not to call,
right?
So there's that camp ofphotography educators that will
tell you that you need to get ona phone call with somebody
immediately.
Don't have pricing listed onyour website, just have a form.
As soon as they fill out theform, you call them.
(23:33):
Then you sell them into theprogram, you sell them into one
of your sessions.
Is that effective?
Hell yeah, it's very effective.
Is it something that everyphotographer wants to do?
Absolutely not.
I'm one of those.
Okay, I have been running avery successful, six figure
profitable photography businessfor a long time and I don't want
(23:57):
to get on a phone call unless Iabsolutely have to and I will.
There's always the option toget a call with me, but I have
set up my lead process so that Ibasically hold their hand
digitally.
I get their questions answered,they know exactly what to
expect, without me having tosell them into it and without me
(24:20):
having to be with them to do it.
Okay, so for me and this is justme don't come for me.
But if I'm online looking forany service and I have to jump
through like 12 different thingsto just get you to respond to
me, I'm not going to want tobook you.
I don't care how good your workis, and if I have to wait for a
(24:42):
phone call from you before Ibook you, that's a no for me.
I'm ready.
When I'm ready, I want to beable to get the information I
need fairly quickly.
That's why I suggest havingautomations built in with your
CRM so that when the form isfilled because, no, I don't
think you should be putting fullpricing on your website.
(25:04):
That's not what I'm saying here.
I think that starting points, Ithink that average spend all of
that is great, but there'sother messaging you can build in
that is going to let thesepotential leads know that you
are not a $200 photographerthat's just going to meet them
at a park.
So I'm speaking now mainly tomy higher end, luxury portrait
(25:26):
photographers.
What I do and what I teach is asession fee as well as a
minimum purchase.
Okay, so I'm not like a all in,here's all the digitals kind of
thing, and if you're out theredoing that and you are seeing
that in actuality that is not aprofitable system and that
you're super busy and booked,maybe you're even at a higher
price point, maybe you're even$1,200, let's say $1,200 to
(25:51):
$1,500 and they get like 20 or30 digitals with that, I'm going
to challenge you to look atyour numbers and realize that
you're not making as much as youthink because of the time
you're spending with each ofthese clients, including their
editing and the session, butalso the emails, the phone calls
, the walking them through it.
(26:12):
If you're doing all of thesehigh touch things like doing
consults with them, getting onphone calls, making sure that
they're prepared, and you're notmaking 2000 and up per portrait
client, you're probably notmaking a lot in profit,
especially now with howexpensive life is.
So I encourage you to look atyour numbers if you haven't in a
(26:34):
while.
I know it's scary to jump fromjust including digitals to
selling product, but that is thebest way to make higher sales
but also to take better care ofyour clients, to provide a more
luxury experience for them andto set yourself apart in your
(26:57):
market.
But back to the CGA urgency andclarity.
So what other sort of languagecan you be using that is going
to get people to actually pullthe trigger, and sometimes you
have to incentivize them.
Sometimes that looks likebooking now and you receive this
.
I'm not a big fan of discounts,but you can absolutely include
something really awesome thatyou can actually get on your
(27:21):
regular price list.
What can you include that willgive your clients something a
little bit more and make themfeel more taken care of if they
just go ahead and book that by acertain date?
This should all be tied to yourmessaging, which goes back to
your why and your purpose, andif you don't have a strong sense
of that, I encourage you to diginto it.
(27:41):
I have a mini offer called theclarity method that you can
purchase.
It's under a hundred dollars,it's a video and a workbook and
it walks you through the basicsof what I do with my one-on-one
clients.
So if you can't invest incoaching right now, that's a
really great place to start isthe clarity method.
It will walk you through thebasics of what I teach in
(28:02):
coaching and there's a workbookthat's going to prompt you to go
deeper.
Definitely check that out.
I'll link it below in the shownotes as well.
But if you can invest incoaching, that's your best
option for really getting thismessaging dialed in, because the
truth is that your marketingreally isn't broken, but your
belief in that offer might be.
(28:24):
You got to sell yourself onyourself before you can sell
anything to anyone else, whichleads me to this very last
little tidbit that I want toleave you with before you wrap
up, which is the shift in youridentity.
Okay, shift your identity,shift your results.
This is the part that mostpeople skip or don't want to
deal with the part where youbecome the version of you who's
(28:46):
already booked out, because letpart where you become the
version of you who's alreadybooked out, because let me tell
you what that version of youdoesn't do.
She doesn't scroll otherphotographers all day, she
doesn't change her prices everyweek and flip-flop between what
someone else is doing, becausethey seem to have it together,
because, unless you see theunderside of somebody's business
, you don't really know what'sgoing on and you don't really
(29:07):
know how much money they'remaking.
It can seem like they're doinggreat and they're booked
constantly, but how much moneyare they actually making?
Are they just charging a lowprice, like I was just talking
about?
Are they running themselvesinto the ground?
Are they editing all their ownimages and spending like eight
hours per session editing?
Side note, if you're doing that, please audit your time as well
, because that is a huge reasonwhy you're going to burn out and
(29:30):
also not be profitable.
That version of you, though,also does not blame the
algorithm or the economy or waituntil things are perfect.
What she does do is she leads.
She shows up even when she'sscared, and she makes decisions
from where she's going, notwhere she's been and not where
she feels stuck.
You got this Okay.
(29:51):
You didn't start this businessbecause you thought it would be
easy.
Most likely you probably had apretty good indicator that this
was going to be a decent amountof work to build.
But it doesn't mean it can't befun.
You can ask my group, elevate.
I'm always saying if it's notfun I don't want to do it.
(30:12):
So part of being a photographybusiness owner is really digging
into what it is that lights youup, because if it doesn't feel
good, you're not going to wantto do it.
You might be able to do itshort term, but you're not going
to want to do it.
You might be able to do itshort-term, but you're not going
to do it long-term.
And rewiring those beliefs stopworking from your past, tune
(30:33):
out the noise around you andstay focused on your goals.
Okay, where you want to go.
Now you do need to know whereyou want to go.
So if you haven't done thatwork either, I do suggest the
clarity method.
I'll link it below Again.
Like I said, it's a little minicourse.
It's not as much of a deep diveas a one-on-one container would
(30:54):
be with me in coaching, but itwill get you started and it will
give you a kick in the pants.
I also have calibrate, which ismy private podcast, which is
all mindset, all hypnosis, allactivations.
It is up to you daily to decidewhere you want your energy to go
.
It is up to you to be in thedriver's seat with your
conscious thinking brain and notallow your unconscious mind to
(31:16):
drive the car, because yourunconscious mind will always
pull you back to safety.
It will always look at thecraziness around you and go, oh
my God, this is too scary, weshouldn't be doing this.
Get back inside.
It's safe inside, and I knowit's tempting to listen to that,
and I know some days you'regoing to let it win, and that's
(31:37):
okay.
Don't beat yourself up.
What matters is that you openthe door again and come back
outside, that you don't let itkeep you down.
Your unconscious mind reallydoes want the best for you, but
it just thinks that keeping yousafe is the best idea and, as
you know, there's no growth insafety.
So if you're ready to shift outof stuck and into CEO energy,
(32:00):
there's a seat waiting for youin Elevate or in one-on-one.
I'm signing up my next sixmonths of Elevate right now.
We start in July, we go throughDecember.
It's only for femalephotographers who have been in
business for a minute.
I'll post the link below.
You can get all the details andall the testimonials.
It's a pretty amazing and veryspecial program that I'm super
proud of.
(32:20):
It is a group membership.
It's more like a mastermind,but it's a little bit different
than either of those things.
More like a mastermind, butit's a little bit different than
either of those things.
And what makes it so amazing isthe group of women who keep
re-enrolling every semester.
I've worked with a lot of themfor years now and I adore them.
So not only will you getcoaching from me, you're going
to get a really awesome group ofwomen who are going to support
(32:42):
you and bring you into our fold.
So if you're looking forcommunity and support,
accountability, marketing, helpand mindset, check out Elevate.
The link is below.
And if you want something moreindividualized or focused, you
can look into one-on-onecoaching.
That link is below too.
All right, I know it's reallyscary out there right now, trust
me, and I know what it feelslike to question if this is all
(33:05):
going to work out.
Listen, a lot of y'all knowthat I am married to an actor,
writer, filmmaker.
Things are not good in thatindustry right now.
My husband is literally tryingto do whatever he can to make
whatever he can, but we lost ourhealth insurance this past year
.
For the first time in over 30years, my husband did not make
(33:26):
earnings for the Screen ActorsGuild insurance, which is one of
the best insurance plans in theworld, I'm convinced.
So we were very spoiled, but itwas also one of the reasons why
we were still able to live inCalifornia, because we didn't
have to pay ridiculous amountsof money for really good
healthcare ridiculous amounts ofmoney for really good
(33:49):
healthcare.
And now we do so on top of himnot bringing money in, we now
have to pay for healthcare.
That is not as good by anystretch of the imagination, and
although it's most likelytemporary at least I hope so it
is what it is.
So I got to make this work.
There have been a lot of days inthe last, I would say, year and
a half, even though mybusinesses both of them are
(34:13):
successful, bring in money, keepus going there's been a lot of
days where I've literally beensitting on the floor of my
office in a panic.
The good thing is that I canget myself out of that so much
faster than I used to be able to.
I've had anxiety my whole lifeand panic attacks since I was in
(34:36):
my early 20s and for years Ididn't have panic attacks years,
even with menopause.
I had it under control.
Menopause, I had it undercontrol and then last summer
they started again and it wasvery, very much tied to this
whole thing.
All this situation with theeconomy changing, my husband not
(34:56):
working, me being thebreadwinner having to do all the
things.
But I am well-resourced.
I have so many more resourcesthan I used to, even five years
ago, but especially like 20years ago.
Like I have so many moreresources, and so do you, I
would encourage you to look intohow many resources you do
(35:17):
really have.
Cause at the top of your head.
You might not think you do, butI want you to look into it and
I want you to realize that youare further along than you were
even last week, and the factthat you're listening to a
podcast like this tells me youdo want more for your life and
you do want more for yourbusiness.
So you got this.
You can do this.
Okay, we can do this.
(35:38):
I'm saying it just as much formyself as I am for you.
Keep your eye on the prize guys.
You've got clients out therewho are just dying to find you.
You have to be findable, andthere is a very easy way to do
that you just tend toovercomplicate things, okay, so
you got to stop looking aroundfor permission and you got to
(35:59):
start building your own momentum.
You don't need a biggeraudience, but you probably do
need a more clear message and astronger belief in your gifts.
I believe in you, but, moreimportantly, you've got to
believe in you.
So if you're listening to allthis today and you're thinking,
okay, I really need this energyin my corner every week, you're
probably ready for what I offerin coaching.
(36:21):
Those links are below, both forelevate and for one-on-one, but
either way, I want you to do onething today to move forward.
You're not behind, you're nottoo late, you're not too old,
you're not too young, you're notinvisible.
You're just one powerful shiftaway from the breakthrough that
you've been waiting for.
(36:42):
Let me know how you felt aboutthis episode over on Instagram
at Renee Bowen.
I'd love to chat with you, asalways, and if you feel like
this was helpful.
Send it to a friend or share iton Instagram and tag me.
You know I love that.
Be good to yourself, okay, loveyou Bye.
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