Want your clients to leave you POWERFUL reviews? In today’s episode, I’m sharing my tips for actually asking your clients to leave you better reviews. Plus, we’re diving into action steps to take this week to get the reviews pouring in and selling your services!

On Quianna Marie Weekly, we’re chatting about business growing pains, finding genuine connections, and celebrating wins of all sizes through the lens of a photographer at heart. Sprinkled throughout stories and interviews with past clients, photographers and other business owners this podcast is designed to help you step into your purpose and to truly create a life you’re proud of, a life worth photographing and sharing.

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Today’s episode is brought to you by The Green House, my resource garden for photographers! Let me help you AMPLIFY your heart online and in real life to turn bridesmaids into future brides through templates, workshops, and freebies!

Review The Show Notes:

Mistakes Business Owners Make (6:17)

3 Tips For Better Reviews (9:26) 

Your Roadmap To Collecting And Leveraging Reviews (12:06)

Beyond Text Graphics – Bringing Reviews To Life (19:26)

Your Action Plan For This Week (22:52)

More Revenue With Better Reviews (24:12)

Mentioned In This Episode:

More Revenue With Better Reviews: quiannamarie.com/shop

The Green House Resource Garden: quiannamarie.com/shop

Review the Transcript:

?When I went to wedding dress shopping, I had a handful of boutiques on my list. I didn’t know where to start, but I knew I wanted a magical experience, a place with plenty of styles, and honestly, somewhere that didn’t make me feel intimidated. Now, if you’re new here, hello. I am engaged and I am so, so fricking excited that I get to share my engagement era with Taylor.

This is so exciting. I have been waiting a very, very long time to be engaged and it is just so exciting to be in this era. And if you are really, really new here. And aren’t familiar with my background. I have been a wedding photographer for literally over the last 20 years, which is insane to even realize that, but it’s true.

Um, I’ve started my shooting, my first weddings when I was still in high school. And um, so I have a lot of my vendors and connections and friends back in the Bay Area. My territory when I was a wedding photographer was about from Big Sur, like Carmel area all the way up to Lake Tahoe. So I could pretty much get there in a day’s drive up and down the coast of California.

And so that’s where all of my wedding dress shops are, and I had to find some here in Arizona and I didn’t know where to look. I haven’t had any previous experiences with wedding dress shops that I was familiar with, right? So I, I went straight to Google. I typed in wedding dress shops here in Mesa, Arizona, and guess what?

The reviews told me everything I needed to know. One boutique had reviews that just said things like great service or loved it, which is nice, and there really were so many to pick from, but it really didn’t give me the feel for what the experience would look like or how it would actually feel to be in their shop.

Then I found True Society and Mesa, their reviews gold. They currently have over 700 reviews with a 4.9 rating, and that’s a lot, especially for brides of all ages all over the area. I mean, that’s a pretty great rating. People were writing about how beautiful the showroom was, how the stylist made them feel comfortable, how they actually pulled dresses based on their personality and style.

There were even pictures in the reviews showing office space and brides in their gowns, their shop looked clean, a modern and cute with tons of natural light. I even noticed that each bride felt like they had their own little space. So you know, like when you da da like open the curtain and you’re standing there in front of the mirror, it looked like they weren’t on display for everyone in the store to see.

It looked like they had their own little private areas, which I loved that. So guess where I booked my appointment? True Society and spoiler alert, it was everything. The reviews promised. I still can’t believe that I already have my dress. It’s not at all what I pictured or what I imagined, but it’s literally perfect and I’m not even joking when I say I told myself that I gave myself a pep doc because this is what I used to always tell my brides when they would go dress shopping is, Hey, look, you may have pinned all these ideas.

You may have what you think you want in your mind. But until you try them on your body, you literally will probably walk out with something you never imagined. And that’s exactly what happened to me. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it. So we just ordered it and it should be here in December of 2025, and it’ll be just in time for alterations and all the things for our wedding.

It’s just so real that it happened. I am so grateful I got to go with my mom. My best friend Siri, who has been my best friend since the third grade, and she’s actually the reason why I moved out here to Arizona. My cousin Kayla, who literally was my first best friend, um, and she still is today, and my auntie Cindy, my mom’s sister, and my mom got to come with me, so it was just, it was so fun.

But anyway, I can get so excited talking about wedding things. We definitely have a series coming up later this fall, talking all about the whole wedding planning process, and I can’t wait to share more about that too. But let’s get back to reviews. Okay, so this is the power of reviews. They don’t just tell you someone is good or a place is great, or the food is delicious.

They literally sell that experience for you. That’s what we’re diving into today, how to get better reviews that bring in more revenue, because as business owners, we are sitting on gold. But most of us aren’t asking the right way or making it easy for our clients to gush about us in a way that actually books more work.

Welcome to Keana Marie Weekly, a podcast for creatives who love to celebrate wins bigger, small by dancing in the kitchen photographers who are excited to serve their clients. And friends who are ready to chase really, really big dreams. You can find all of the resources mentioned in this episode@kianamarie.com slash podcast.

Join me as I share weekly motivation, chat about growing pains, finding genuine connections, and celebrating your wins through the lens of a photographer at heart. Come join me for a dance party. Ready? Let’s go.

Here’s the deal. Reviews are more than just nice words. On a page, they’re like tiny little salespeople working for you 24 7. They boost your SEO. When clients mention cities, neighborhoods, or specific services ranking your business on Google hire, they show proof of transformation. Helping future clients picture themselves in those results.

Right? So like actually working for you, actually getting those transformations. Those results that they’re wanting, they could see it for their own eyes, whether it’s a before and after picture or just any type of result or product or experience and emotion that they’re feeling. They could see it. They could see the proof.

They fuel referrals because when a client mentions a florist, a makeup artist, or a venue in their review, that vendor sees it and they remember you. Your name becomes memorable, right? Like your brand, your business, the services you all of a sudden start popping up for these reviews. And the best part, reviews are user generated content.

They’re marketing. You don’t have to create your clients, do it for you. It is, however, up to us to set our clients up to succeed. We can’t just ask them for a review and expect SEO keywords baked into their responses. So let’s, let’s get real, real quick. Most of us aren’t doing this well. I wanna go over some mistakes business owners are making and how we can fix them.

Okay? Number one. Only asking once you send one email that says, Hey, can you please leave me a review and then never follow up? Number two, you’re not making it easy. Clients want to help you, but they freeze up because they don’t know what to write. So I have a quick story of one of our longtime family friends, Kelly, she got married, I got to photograph her wedding, and she was literally searching for camera bags.

She wanted to purchase a lens. And I’m talking like back then it was, it was expensive. It was like over a thousand dollars lens. I had mentioned I was saving up for, um, she was a long time family friend, right? I would never tell a client this. Um, but you know, it was something I was saving for and she was legit ready to just drop everything and pay for that lens.

And I told her, hold on. No. Like, please, I’d appreciate that. But what I really need is a review. I gave her a couple prompts to share, and I still get inquiries from her wedding venue because of her review. So like even today, even as I’m no longer focusing on weddings, I am still getting inquiries from that one review.

Instead of her just buying me a bag or buying me a gift card, I ask her to leave me a review, and it’s still working today. Number three, settling for surface level reviews. You know the ones, she was amazing. Oh, she’s incredible. Highly recommend. Okay, those are sweet, but that’s not gonna do anything for you on Google.

And number four, bad timing. Asking when the excitement has already kind of worn off, or the sizzle has kind of, kind of fallen off instead of when the emotions are fresh and your client is still on that high, right? That totally natural, completely sober high after working with you. That’s when we have to strike.

That’s when we have to ask, and that’s when they’re gonna be most excited to leave us those reviews. So let’s go into some tips for better reviews. I have three quick tips for you. I wanna kind of flush them out quickly, and then I wanna dive deeper into these. So we really have a good game plan to start collecting and posting and celebrating these reviews.

Let’s talk about those mistakes, okay? We’re gonna fix that. Before we break down these quick tips, you have to have somewhere to send your reviews. I suggest setting up a Google Business page first. Start there. Many platforms like The Knot, LinkedIn, Yelp, and TripAdvisor, Airbnb, they all have their perks for reviews.

I mean, even Amazon, right? But unless you are physically selling products on Amazon, like we don’t need to worry about that right now, right? But you actually own your Google Business page. This is where we have to start. Start there so your SEO starts working for you. Collecting reviews in your emails and texts are always great.

I mean, this is a great starting point if you don’t have your Google Business page set up yet. This is the power of making those reviews work for you. We want to pop up for those Google searches, and it’s not gonna happen if they’re only on your website or if they’re only on your Canva graphics that you’re posting on social media, right?

Like we have to get these baked into the SEO world for for us to pop up. So here are three ways to start getting better reviews today. Number one, timing is everything. Ask when excitement is at its peak, like right after delivering a gallery, finishing a project, or wrapping up a milestone together.

Number two, give prompts, not homework, right? So instead of just saying, Hey, leave me a review, which makes people freeze, give them a plug and play questionnaire. Things like, what problem were you facing before we worked together? What did you love most about the experience? What specific result or outcome are you excited about?

Where are you located or where do we work together? This adds those juicy, location-based keywords. And then number three, capture the emotion. Y’all know I am obsessed with B-roll and behind the scenes and literally all of the content that you’re creating during your client experience is what’s going to fuel, like the background, literally like the background of the Canva templates or um, even just the full on reels and stuff that you add to your website backed with these reviews.

Oh my gosh. All of the emotions, right? So encourage your clients to share the behind the scenes screenshots of excited Text B roll of their reactions or a selfie right after they worked with you. These add authenticity and could be repurposed into content that builds trust. These quick three key tips are easy to implement when you have a system in place.

And remember to ask your happy clients, turn into raving fans and wanna shout about you on the rooftops. We just need to ask and funnel those responses to work for us. Let’s dig a little deeper into these questions for better results. When asking for reviews personally, I love to send a follow up email after delivering the galleries or wrapping up a coaching container and ask, Hey, if you have just two minutes, can you please answer these questions?

Or if you have five to 10 extra minutes, can you please pick three to five of these questions to share a review when you get a chance? This gives my clients a heads up that I’m asking for their feedback, and they can be as intentional and as thorough as they can be based on their schedule because sometimes it is just a matter of asking for a quick review and sharing that response.

Sometimes the one or two liner from a text message is screenshot able, like that is gold. That is something that you could absolutely add to your stories. Add to your marketing campaigns and for future launches, right? Like people want to see those quick little one-liners, but then I also feel like there’s so much value in asking for a way more thorough and just more intentional response, right?

And I love giving them options based on a quick response or, Hey, can you give me a little more time for this? Right. So let’s go over a roadmap to collecting and leveraging these reviews. Okay. I love a good, better, and best reviews framework, and we’re gonna get into that right now. All right, so a good review.

This is short and sweet. This is something that I would ask someone that only has one to two minutes where a quick review. So I would literally ask, can you please share a quick review that shares your experience? What did you love most about working with me? How did I make the process easier or more enjoyable for you?

Would you recommend me to a friend? Why? Okay, so I love that question. Would you recommend me to a friend? Because that is something that typically most people don’t ask. Right? When they say, Hey, can you leave me a review? What was your experience like? Right? Adding that extra element of, would you recommend me to a friend?

You have to put yourself in the shoes. I’m taking you right back to me Googling, or I literally was like on my phone searching for a wedding dress shop. I am looking from the perspective of all those other brides that have left a review, right? I’m thinking, oh my gosh, like. Would I be her friend? Like would I trust her advice?

So we’re trying to put ourselves in the shoes of our clients and asking someone, would you recommend me to a friend? You’re literally teeing them up to speak directly to that client, right? Like that future client. Love those questions. That’s definitely a short and sweet, good response for a review. A better review would be adding stories and results, so it’s a little more detail to highlight your journey.

So questions I would ask for that. What challenge or question were you facing before hiring me? That’s directly pointing to a pain point they may have had. How did my service or product help solve that problem? So it’s getting into that desire. And what was one thing that surprised you in a good way about the experience?

Any types of wins or any type of thing that they, maybe they just weren’t expecting. What result or outcome are you most excited about? So, same thing. I mentioned them again, but remember these are good, better, and best ones. Okay, so let’s get into the best. This is when we’re gonna really hit hard. This is when I say, Hey, if you have five to 10 minutes to share a review, I would absolutely appreciate it.

Please answer three to five of these questions. You can be as thorough as you like. I will most likely chop it up a little bit if needed, but I just would love to hear your response. And also too, this is where you can even ask these anonymously, I’m not even joking because you are also asking for feedback because I think there’s something so beautiful about recognizing, Hey, I’m the business owner, I’m human.

I would love for you to share your review and obviously speak so kindly and give me that five star review. But if there’s any feedback or if there’s anything that you think I should change or update or implement or maybe go about differently based on our interaction, like please share that feedback.

You’ll be surprised how many people actually find that refreshing and actually openheartedly want to help you improve, right? So I know sometimes that can come with some gut punches or like a tinge of self-doubt. Like, Ooh, can you just tell me how amazing I am? I don’t wanna hear the ways I can improve.

I don’t like criticism. Right? Like all those things definitely get the best of us. But I do think there is so much to be said about asking for feedback, right? So this is where some of those best responses can come from, which is a full review that shares the transformation. So here’s some questions for that.

What made you decide to work with me instead of someone else? So highlighting, you don’t have to mention the other business, you don’t have to mention the other coach, their photographer, the other realtor don’t, you don’t have to mention their names, but what made you decide to work with me instead of someone else in our neighborhood?

How would you describe the overall experience from start to finish? What specific results, milestones, or wins have you experienced since? So this is huge. Okay. So this is not just highlighting, hey, this is what it was like to work with you, but since I have worked with you, whether it’s purchase a product or obtained your services obtained, I don’t even know what that word is, right?

Like, or, you know, experienced your services and worked with you. What’s happened since, right? Like, have they gotten compliments? Have their, their sales increased. Have their money mindset shifts, you know, changed. Have they bought a fricking house and were they able to host their first Christmas, even their home?

Right? Like, what is it? What is it that is a win that they’ve experienced since working with you? Once again, you’re speaking directly to those clients that are lurking online. Would you recommend me to others in, and this is where I have a little asterisk, where it’s like you’re entering your city, your state, your industry.

So would you recommend me to anybody else here in Phoenix, Arizona? In Dallas, Texas, or other photographers, whatever that industry is? And if so, who would benefit the most? So this is a huge key question. So you’re not just asking, you know, Hey, who would you recommend me to, but who would benefit the most?

But working with me? And once again, you are literally self identifying those reviews as people are reading, thinking like, oh, like you’re identifying who they are. Another question is, in your words, how would you describe me or my business to someone who has never met me? Okay. So I love that question because once again, it opens up another personal touch, right?

It adds a little bit more of that personality. Those emotions and those really just personal touches of someone that’s not just a transaction based. But hey, if you had to describe me to someone else, it may not even describe the services. I cannot tell you how many times, especially looking back in my experience as a wedding photographer, if you go through a lot of my.

Reviews. I have a ton on the knot that are still up there. I mean, it’s insane how many of those reviews don’t even mention the pictures. This is a beautiful question to ask because it actually removes you from your product and from your brand and from your business, and it actually answered this. The questions like what is it about what you’re providing that actually has nothing to do with the services once again.

Speaking directly to those Googlers. Okay. I also love to ask for my favorite clients that I think will do this. Please record a video to share. It can be a vertical or horizontal video, literally sitting on your couch at home or right in the front seat of your car. I ask them to refer to those questions and pick and choose a handful to answer.

Then ask them to send me the video. No edits required. Just the quick FaceTime video. I can repost and share that right there, babe is gold. So this week on Instagram, I’m going to be sharing a handful of those reviews that I have gained from past clients, friends, and people that I have worked with. That I’m just so, so excited to share.

And this is the power of generating those B-roll clips, so you actually have them to pair with this, right? So imagine having a review from a photo shoot. Let’s say you’re a photographer, you’re booking out many sessions this season. You not only have the voiceover of a dad or of of parents speaking about their experience, but then you also have little video clips to like share the kids having a good time.

Right. So I just think it’s so powerful to see that, and it’s not just a Canva graphic, but the text. So let’s get beyond the text graphics. Okay? We’re gonna bring these reviews to life, okay? So like I said, you’re recording short testimonial clips during and after the session. Um, you can screen record their IG stories.

So if someone is raving about you sharing about their experience, maybe they’re on their way to the photo shoot or they’re on the way to that consultation or. Onto your restaurant or you know, onto your, they’re on their way to their open house with you, whatever that is, like sharing those, grabbing those, and then reposting those gold.

Any type of audio snippets, so a boxer or a voice note, you can turn those into audiograms easy. Right? Pairing reviews with professional photos or behind the scenes clips is the game. So a couple examples. Um, a quick 22nd clip of your client laughing mid shoot, right? So just giggling, dancing, enjoying the photo shoot, and then the quote, right?

Like sharing their testimonial on top of that. Boom. Relatable and powerful. If you have a carousel post, I suggest one slide that has the client’s word on it. So this is where the, the text graphics do come in, but share that client review. Then the second slide, share some behind the scenes photos, whether it’s a video clip or just a behind the scene photo.

And then the third is the final image, right? So imagine this, right? So I want you to take this. As if you were a photographer, planning your mini sessions, okay? And you have the first clip is the something that the mom had said about you that was just so fantastic about your experience, about her experience working with you.

And then the second is the little behind the scene clip. Maybe it’s chaos getting the kids ready. Maybe it’s the shot of all the clothes lined up on the bed, right? Or maybe it is just the kids getting out of the car seats at the park ready for their photo shoot. And then the third is the final portrait, like just one picture that explains this, like all this hard work.

So think of this carousel post, like a review sandwich. Okay. So you have that top piece, which is that bun. So starting that off with their testimonial, just words on the page. The meaty part in the middle is there behind the scene photo or little video clips of B roll. And then that third bun, that sandwich, that smushes it all together, is that final photo.

Doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, you should be doing this. Oh my gosh. If you’re a wedding photographer, imagine receiving a video of your clients opening their wedding album together for the first time. All of the happy tears, laughs, and emotions flipping through their wedding day. No. I literally need you to picture this.

Okay. Instead of just writing text or sharing about how many pages are in your album or what to expect, or what type of covers or leathers or leatherette or fabrics do you have for wedding albums, I want you to picture a couple sitting at their kitchen table who are sitting on their couch. Their phone is propped up and all you see is them opening up their wedding album and maybe you get like a double video of it, right?

So you have one phone that’s recording their response, and then another phone that’s actually showing them flipping through the page. So you see what photos are looking at. Oh my goodness, that gives me the chills, right? That right there is messaging that is powerful messaging and not you just sharing about how great you are or what your clients can expect from you.

It’s seeing it. Clients trust other clients more than they trust us first, right? So I wanna repeat that. Clients trust other clients, like future clients, trust other clients before they trust us. So I love a good action plan, okay? Because I can give you all this information, I can share these questions, and then I don’t wanna leave you hanging here.

So I love a good action plan. Here’s how we’re gonna implement this this week, okay? So I challenge you pick two past clients, clients that you love, clients that you would absolutely love to work with again, or more clients that you wish, um, were like them and that would come into your network, right? So just pick two.

Send them a warm message, a personal request for an updated review. So you’re literally asking them and then offer three prompts to guide their response. That’s it. Okay. So once you have those responses, whether they’re just answering a couple of those questions, then you’re gonna create one text graphic, one behind the scene clip, and one reel with their words.

Okay. That’s like literally, I keep saying that’s it, and then I keep adding more, but like it’s really that simple. Now that you have those juicy pieces to pull together for those reviews, then you can start posting and tagging them. This builds community and social proof. Not only are you asking them to take those reviews and to post them, like give them that link that sends them directly to your Google Business page, but also you can, you know, receive them in an email.

You can receive them in a text, send them in a video, whatever works for them. We’re gonna make it work. So now I know this can feel overwhelming. You’re already juggling client work, emails, social media, all of the things. That’s why I created my new digital product called More Revenue With Better Reviews.

It’s a plug and play guide that helps you collect the kind of reviews that actually move the needle in your business. Inside you’ll get mad lib style review templates that make it easy, super easy for your clients to answer SEO friendly prompts that naturally add in location keywords and transformational results.

Copy and paste scripts so you can send in emails or texts when asking for reviews. It’s quick, affordable, and ready for you to start using today because the truth is the best. Marketing isn’t what you say about your business. It’s what your clients say about you. If you’re ready to stop those one-liners of, oh, she was amazing reviews, and start collecting testimonials that bring in more revenue, head over to kiana marie.com/shop.

Or check the link in the show notes to grab more revenue with better reviews. You’ll be amazed how fast this shifts Your visibility helps book more clients and even build stronger relationships with vendors along the way. I have to add this because this is so important when it comes to reviews. Before we wrap up, I have to remind you.

It’s a give and take world, right? Like it’s an ebb and flow, and the more you put out there, like the more you open up your arms to share, the more you receive. So I cannot leave you without reminding you to go leave reviews. Please leave reviews for your hairstylists. Have you ever left review? You’ve probably been going to her for a decade.

Have you ever left her a Google review? The restaurant that you and your family go to and you’ve been going to for generations, have you ever left them a Google Review? Probably not. This is your sign, and if you’re not actually leaving Google reviews, go find them on Yelp. Even just adding it to a Facebook post sharing, Hey, my family and I come here, you know, for all of our birthdays, all of our anniversaries, and this is our favorite meal, and.

Whatever, like just sharing, sharing those reviews, sparking, just excitement for the local businesses around you that’s going to radiate so much. And this is the best part too, your name, so especially if you’re a personal brand, your name is attached to that review, so the more reviews you leave. Oh my goodness.

This also goes for leaving photos. So, okay, so this is huge. I did not expect to go on this tangent, but I have to share you this ’cause I just can’t keep this bottled up anymore. But especially if you’re a photographer and you frequent venues or you frequent locations for your mini sessions. Post photos.

Now you don’t have to post client photos to, you know, blast your clients all over Google. You can save those for your portfolio. But sharing locations, right, like sharing where to park, sharing, uh, what to expect when you arrive at this park, or best locations for photo shoots. Holy smokes. Your photos will blow up on Google.

It’s insane. I have some photos that I have posted back in the Bay Area where I’m from in San Jose, and I’m not even joking. I have hundreds of thousands of views on photos of like local parks. It’s crazy. And it’s, they’re still working today because people are actively viewing them, sharing them.

Googling them, right? So once again, guess whose name is tagged to those photos? Me. My name is Keana. My business is Keana Marie Photography. If they had any other questions or they wanna follow up, they could literally type my name into Google and find me there as well, right? So please don’t just leave, you know, written reviews for the businesses and the local places that you love.

Share photos. Take a picture of your food. We’re taking pictures of our food. Anyway, post it, leave that review. Okay. Because I truly believe that what you put out there is always well received, and it always comes back to you tenfold. That’s it for today’s episode. Remember, your next client is probably reading reviews about you right now.

Let’s make sure they’re reading words that make them say, yes, I need to hire them. Until next time, keep showing up, keep creating, and let your happy clients. Help do the marketing for you. I am always cheering for you. Make sure to check out the shop@keanamarie.com slash shop to grab that guide today. Get started and I cannot wait to share your reviews.

Alright babe. Keep on dancing. Love you. Bye. That’s a wrap on another episode of Kiana Marie Weekly. Thank you so much for your listenership and support. You can find the resources and show notes for this episode and more@kianamarie.com. Slash podcast, I’d be honored if you’d show your support by leaving a review and rating on your favorite podcast app.

Until next time, keep on on dancing.