The Podcast for Pet Photographers
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S15E11 | How a seamless client experience leads to a fully booked calendar
What if I told you that it’s possible to be completely fully booked thanks to past clients either returning or referring? That is the reality for today’s guest, who clearly doesn’t do things in halves! A quick look at either his Instagram or Website is proof of that with stunning images, useful information and beautiful design so it isn’t a surprise to learn that his client experience is also seamless. In today’s episode, we broke down exactly what that experience looks to make his clients tell all of their friends!
S15E10 | Demystifying the world of editorial photography with Shelley Paulson
Despite this interview being with one of the world’s best equine photographers, it’s not about horse photography at all!
Instead, Shelley and I dived deep into the editorial world for pet photographers. If you have your own stock library of images, this might just be a great way to add some passive income to your business. Shelley shared exactly how she finds these clients, what it is they’re buying and how her system works to sell images to magazines. In the members half we got into the numbers and then had a little chat about licensing too.
Shelley is truly a wealth of knowledge and what she shared in this interview is sure to get your mind ticking with ideas.
S15E09 | Blogging and other tips for improving your SEO
The Pet Photographers Club podcast is back for 2024 and if like me, you’re taking advantage of this quieter season to update your website and put a blog strategy in place to get you closer to position one on Google, then today’s episode couldn’t be better timing for you.
Late last year I decided to hire a PR consultant for my new photography business. After learning from today’s guest, Zoe Hiljemark back in Season 9 and then following her Facebook Group for a while, I knew she was the perfect fit. She’s been busy pitching journalists for me over the last few months while also sharing extra advice with me on blogging and SEO. Based on her advice, I made some changes to my website which had an immediate positive impact.
I asked Zoe to join me again on the podcast to share some of these insights with you all and you absolutely will not be disappointed.
S15E08 | Know what makes you happy and center your business around that
Today’s guest is the proof that following what makes you happy, can also lead to financial success. She’s big on diversifying and multiple income streams, but her main business is helping fellow pet photographers improve their craft, which aligns perfectly with the lifestyle she has.
I’m talking about Emily Abrahams of Inspawration Photography and in this episode we covered all of that and in the members half, we got into the details of income options for content creators, particularly breaking down the difference between user generated content vs promotion, and what are media kits. We also chatted all about Social Media strategy which is full of tips for pet photographers.
We extended the episode to also discuss teaching and the education realm so if you’re thinking you’d like to get into education.. Stay tuned for that part!
And to wrap up, we had a little extra chat about AI.
Yes, we covered a lot, and absolutely you don’t want to miss this episode!
S15E07 | Pet Photography Success in a Developing Country
Today’s guest has been a working photographer for almost 20 years. She started out in weddings in the UK and switched to portraits when she moved to South Africa. Fast forward to today, she’s reworked her pricing structure to ensure her business is profitable with the 150 clients per year she shoots for, 80% of which are pet shoots. I’m talking about Emma O’Brien of Emma O’Brien Photographer. I’m sure you’ll be impressed as me to learn that she doesn’t do any paid marketing but instead uses a strategic networking approach to ensure her calendar is full so if you’re looking for free marketing strategies, but sure to listen to the second half of this episode where we go into those in detail.
S15E06 | Using a move to set up a profitable pet photography business, the right way
I’ve asked many photographers what they’d do to start their business if they moved to a new place.. And today’s guest has actually done it. She completely transformed her business from shoot and burn family photography in South Africa, to a profitable, full-service specialised pet photographer in New Zealand. She studied and implemented what she learned in order to make that transition successful and now she’s consistently booking clients who typically spend $1800. I’m talking about Salome of Yellow Pet Photography.
S15E05 | Is it really the economy or have we just become lazy in business?
Are you blaming the economy, or the Facebook algorithms for your lack of leads and clients? The tough love in this episode with Johl Dunn is for you. There was lots of real talk, and actionable ideas shared by Johl who ran a photography business for 22 years- pre-Facebook, through the GFC and during Covid too.
S15E04 | Just three years in business and consistently booking her calendar with $2800 sales averages
Today’s guest started her business just before the Pandemic. She utilised the time through Covid to lay strong foundations for her business and hit the ground running when the world opened back up again. She uses direct marketing with giveaways to book clients year round and from those strategies has an average sale of around $2800 and her highest sale to date is $16k! Remember that she’s been in business just a few years! I’m talking about Marie Wulfram, tune in to hear how she achieves all of this.
S15E03 | Your work is already good enough.. focus on connecting with your clients to improve your sales
Do you feel like your work isn’t good enough, or you have too much competition and you’re unsure of how to stand out or why a client should choose you? In today’s episode with Karinda Kinsler we discussed the real reason clients book you, and in the members half of the episode we delved deep into how you can truly connect with those clients to grow your sales. Between all of that we also covered the mistake Karinda learned from in her previous businesses and the impact of implementing change based on that when launching her equine business.
S15E02 | Sub-niching as a pet photographer: hunting, underwater dogs and fall adventures
As if niching into pet photography isn’t a defined enough market, today’s guest, Kristen Murray has gone even more specific and has created three sub-niches that she serves; bird hunts, underwater dogs and fall adventures- and it is working! Her clients are spending multiple thousands for wall art and box sets or albums, and better yet, she enjoys these adventures with her clients!
For the first half of the episode, I asked Kristen about finding these clients and then we got deep into photographing hunting. The episode comes with a warning, we did discuss what those photoshoots look like, including the details of one form of hunt in particular so if you don’t want to hear about that, just fast forward past. I’ll put a little warning at the time.
In the members’ half of the interview, Kristen really was an open book, talking about why she’s showing her clients lots of images, and how her process avoids the overwhelm that might otherwise come with that.
We also spoke about her pricing structure, popular products and client response.
On top of all that, she got into the specifics of how to get started with underwater dog photography, and we spoke about her newest offering, travel sessions!
S15E01 | Offering a video service for pet parents
We’ve all seen the popularity of video increase through social media over the last couple of years, but what about video for a more permanent solution? Something not only to be viewed once and posted as a Reel or Tik Tok, but to be held onto closely as a beautiful keepsake to refer back to time and time again.
That’s what today’s guest, Andrea Fleury is offering pet parents. Videos that capture the true personalities and the relationships these clients share with their pets. She captures the tiny moments that would otherwise be the strongest memories of these pets- think snuggles on the couch, audio of a pet snoring or a puppy running in slow motion with ears flapping.
It starts with an upsell to the client, then comes the storyboarding and of course, shooting and delivering the finished cinematic film- and in today’s episode, you’ll learn exactly how that all works!
S14E14 | This is what success in the UK looks like as a pet photographer
Today’s guest is a videographer turned pet photographer after documenting his mum's senior dog for the last 6 months of her life. Fast forward to today, his website is ranking page one of Google in the highly competitive London market, and his layered marketing approach converts super well thanks to a refined enquiry process. I’m talking about Alex Class and if you want to know what building a successful business looks like- tune in!
S14E13 | Embracing AI for personal creativity
Often we see this super creative work of other photographers and feel somewhat inferior.. or at least I do anyway! So it’s hard to imagine that someone who really thinks outside the box, could have ever been convinced by an art professor that they were not creative enough to be a photographer.
That is the unfortunate reality for Carol Arscott who gave up photography in college for that very reason. Years later she came back to it and not only is she a full time pet photographer being paid for her work, I would argue that sh’e s at the forefront in terms of creativity as she embraces AI to bring her artist vision to life.
S14E12 | Financial planning: what we need to know as professional pet photographers
I never quite understood the exact role of a financial planner. I mean, I have an accountant? Don't they basically cover the same thing? Do I also need to pay another finance person? In today's show, that question, among many others were answered.
And look, I know finances aren't usually a crowd favourite topic among us creatives, but I did get an amazing guest on the show today who knows exactly how it is for us as creatives to deal with everything in terms of accounting, financial planning, and then also the psychology around money.
S14E11 | The international Pet Photographer of the Year Awards- what’s new under the new hosts, Unleashed Education
The International Pet Photographer of the Year Awards is the biggest of its kind! It was hosted by us here at The Pet Photographers Club until last year, and it's now under new management with Unleashed Education as the host.
They've introduced a few changes which will ensure the competition can continue into the future and so this week I had Craig and Charlotte join me to answer all your questions!
S14E10 | Turn your website into a high-ranking, conversion machine with Jeff Brown
Jeff Brown started his photography career in the defence force which gave him many opportunities. One of which was photographing the queen which of course he used as part of his branding message on his website when he ran his own studio. Today he spends his time helping other photographers grow their business.
In today’s episode, we dive deep into branding and websites, and if you are a premium member Jeff gave some really practical advice in the second half to help you improve your website conversion, and stay at the top of Google!
S14E09 | Show, don’t tell when it comes to injecting personality into your website copy
You’ve heard it a thousand times before.. “add personality to your website” but.. What does that even mean other than saying “Hey I’m your wine-loving pet photographer?”.. Well today’s interview with Austrian based elopement photographer and copywriter extraordinaire, Mariah Wall has got you covered.
S14E08 | Co-hosting a super-charged event for a $6k mini-session day
Do you always here that one of the best marketing avenues is to attend dog-friendly events to get in front of the right audience.. But, there aren’t any around you.. Or not enough? Then tune in to today’s episode to hear how our guest created her own dog day out, and it wasn’t even as overwhelming as that sounds!
S14E07 | This is what a million dollar studio looks like
You are in for a real treat with today's episode- John runs not one, but two studios, and over the last couple of years has focused his marketing to become known as an expert pet photographer, despite offering other genres and today, 70% of his million dollar revenue comes from pet photography!
It is a not-to-be-missed, long interview so pop your headphones in, take your dog for a stroll and be prepared to stop to jot down notes.
S14E06 | Insights into the world of horse photography
If the horse world intrigues you.. But you’re not quite sure about offering equine portraits, do not miss this episode with two of the world's most respected equine photographers, Emily Hancock and Hannah Freeland of Training Barn.
We discussed if and how a pet photographer can also offer horse photography but then we went well and truly beyond that. We chatted about marketing and why shooting competitions was the opposite of helpful for Hannah trying to book equine portraits. We chatted safety and horse behavior.
And then in the members half of this interview Emily gave us an insight into the world of creating and selling art in the traditional sense. She also shared her experience working with a marketing firm for both her portraits and her fine art work, as well as how she sells her fine art work to interior designers.
Hannah shared exactly how she books great clients through referrals, and why clients would fly her to the other side of the world and pay £30k+ for portraits.
Hear all about it in this weeks episode!