My daughter Jess was only 4 weeks old when we decided to take her to one of those casting places. You know, where they dip their hands and feet into a bucket of goo and create those cute little moulds. It wasn’t my idea, it was her dad’s actually. I was extremely comfortable not going ANYWHERE in the first few weeks after she was born, but I reluctantly agreed because after a spot of Googling I had managed to find a lady doing it from her home literally 5 streets away.
Safety.
Great.
I could totally run home from there if it all went pear shaped.
AND … worst case … it was only about $250 (back in the day) so it wasn’t the end of the world if I just cancelled it all and got the hell out of there.
I had a severe case of first-baby-itis. I often refused to leave the house until I knew Jess was sleeping so I’d have a good 30mins – 2 hours when she wouldn’t scream in public to get things done. For those that know my story, it turns out I had a pretty handy case of post-natal anxiety that went undiagnosed for many years. Fun times yeah.
I’m definitely not the only one!
The thing is, LOTS of new mums experience these kind of feelings – whether they are living with any kind of mental health issue or not.
Many of them are completely and utterly terrified at the idea of taking their baby to the child health nurse one minute down the road at the local chemist, let alone spending the entire morning with a newborn photographer on the other side of town.
For most, you are one of the first places they have even been beyond their lounge room since they brought their new little roommate home.
Your future clients are freaking out right now about so many things that you either can’t relate to or have completely forgotten about because your own kids are all grown up (and you’re now freaking out about a whole range of other issues. Oh apparently that doesn’t end no matter how old they get, great news hey!).
They’re also about to dish out hundreds or thousands of dollars on the experience.
They’ve just dropped down to 1 income remember … and spent a small fortune on their pram, cot, breast pump and epidural!
But they desperately want to do it. The newborn photography thing.
So how can you help?
Well it’s time, my photographer friends, to start ALLEVIATING THEIR FEARS! And the easiest way to do that is with some digital marketing. Hooray! My favourite topic.
Here’s some questions I have for you today …
- Do you tell people what to expect when they come to your studio?
- Do you share stories about your past clients and what that experience looked like for them?
- Do you make it easy for them to find you, where to park and know what to bring?
- Do you explain to them what will happen if things don’t go to plan?
- If they have older siblings, do you help them feel confident that you will be able to capture the photos that they desperately want – even with a raging toddler in tow?
- Do you let them know what happens if it rains at their outside session?
- Do you give them plenty of testimonials and reviews to read?
- Do you let them know your qualifications and experience?
- Do they know that you prioritise their baby’s safety and provide a sanitised working space?
- Do you let them know that there are options if baby is sick or the day doesn’t go to plan?
- Do you explain to them how the ordering process works or what the actual costs are, so there’s no surprises?
- Do you share your face … so they know who you are and what to expect?
- Do you share your values, interests, passions and business practices so that they feel that they can relate or trust you?
- Do you show them behind the scenes footage or videos of your studio so they know what it all looks like?
- Do you tell them that you are there to help make their whole experience go smoothly?
Kate, I’m all over it. I already send them a welcome guide.
Sure, a lot of this is outlined in that PDF that you send to them after they have booked.
But what about the people that haven’t booked yet? What do they get? A long winded FAQ page on your website? Hmmm, it’s handy … sure, but does it help to alleviate all of their fears?
Those 15 dot points above (and trust me, there are PLENTY more) are an absolutely perfect example of valuable content that you can create in your digital marketing, particularly on social media. If you can answer all of their questions and hold their hand as they conquer their fears, half of the work is done before they’ve even sent you their first email!
Getting bookings can be hard.
Don’t make it even harder.
Talk about all of these things in your Instagram stories, posts, create a Q&A highlight, write blogs and share them on Facebook. The list goes on!
Every little bit counts … and the Mamas (and nervous nellys) out there will thank you. That I know for sure.
Want more help with your digital marketing? Knowing what to post on your socials can be a major drag, so I’ll just tell you how to do it ok? Come and hang with me in our awesome community of likeminded portrait photographers when open the doors to my course SOCIALLY SET again in January 2022. You can find out more here.
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