Let’s plan this year like a pro! In today’s episode, I’m walking you through your strategy for business visibility all year long in 2026. We’re stepping into the new year booked, busy, and creating content that actually sells. 

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:

Build Your Content Calendar Around Peak Booking Times (1:42)

Capture B-Roll Everywhere – Not Just During Shoots (9:22)

Plan Promos, Launches, Mini-Sessions, & Holidays (11:54)

Use The Slow Season Strategically (17:41)

Lean On Email Marketing With Flodesk (20:34)

Let Your Authenticity Do The Selling (21:08)

Mentioned In This Episode:

Easy B-Roll Ideas For Business Owners: quiannamarie.com/broll

25% off your first year of Flodesk: quiannamarie.com/flodesk

Ready To Book With Quianna?: quiannamarie.com/book

Episode 123 Maximizing Your Mini-Sessions with Kayla Brint: quiannamarieblog.com

The Legal Paige: thelegalpaige.com

Paige Major Youtube Strategist: instagram.com/paigemajorcreative

Connect with Quianna:

Website: quiannamarie.com

Instagram: instagram.com/quiannamarie

Review the Transcript:

Hey, hey. Welcome back to Quianna Marie Weekly. I’m your hype girl photographer and business bestie. Can you believe it’s already January? Holy smokes. Today we’re talking about something every photographer secretly struggles with, and that’s visibility all year long. Whether you’re in a slow season trying to drum up some hype when literally nothing is going on, and you feel like you don’t have any new photo shoots and weddings to share.

Or maybe you’re fully booked and kicking butt, but you know, if you don’t keep up with posting, your audience will think you went out of business. Together. We’re gonna plan your entire year like a pro, so you’re visible, booked, and creating content that actually sells without feeling like you’re posting just a post.

And just to add to the noise of social media, right? We’re gonna talk about content calendars, B-roll, repurposing old work, prepping for launches, and even protecting your time so you can enjoy your business instead of working 24 7. Pull out your notebook and if you have a big year long calendar or those big peel and stick to the wall, post-it notes.

Whip those out too with saddle up babe. It’s the year of the horse and we’re going places.

Welcome to Quianna 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 at QuiannaMarie.compodcast. 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.

Let’s start with your calendar and categorizing some dates. Step one is color coding and blocking out dates. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always been obsessed with going to Walgreens. At the time it was longs or just any type of office supply store. If you put me in that like stationary section with the pens and the notebooks, oh my god, I can literally smell them.

I just get obsessed. Right? This is when we can bring out those little girls that love to get things in order and it’s time to do it now, right? So please take the time now to go through your new year and block off any vacation time. Do not work dates and even consider a handful of recovery dates to leave open after trips, the Monday after weddings scheduled, and then any specific holidays or seasons you’d like to block off.

Literally create some color coding. So you have this like a, like a legend, like we’re like an eighth grade social studies, right? Create that legend so you know what those dates mean, right? I also challenge you to think of those two weeks prior to Christmas. School breaks with the kiddos to spend time with family and summer boat days, right?

We have to pad these days in. The best part about being a photographer is making your own schedule. Now is the best time to make that fricking schedule work for you. Color coding the dates, and to do not work Dates, business days available for photo shoots. Vacations, family days already booked. Weekends and dates available for future weddings will help keep things streamlined, right?

There’s nothing greater than getting an inquiry and just having to glance at your calendar to know instantly if you’re available or if you’re not, or if there’s anything that can be added to your schedule that. May or may not conflict with other things, right? Because something may not be on the same exact day, but you could quite clearly be wanting to book something where it’s across the country and you physically cannot get there, or you’re honoring your energy levels and you just know, hey, that data is available.

It’s technically empty on my calendar, but I am just not going to have the bandwidth or the energy to be fully present. Right? While you’re color coding, I also suggest making a good, better, and best list of the work you feel confident to take on. How many weddings do you need to book to break even to pay your bills and live comfortably?

How many would you need on your calendar to help build your savings, work towards other financial goals, and still feel happy with the workload to allow for the season of life you’re experiencing this season right now? Like what’s literally going on in your life right now and what’s coming up on the pipeline and what’s ahead this year?

One thing I have on my mind this year for this new year is planning for maternity leave. Now, spoiler alert, no, I am not pregnant. We are praying and hoping to start our family right after the wedding, but I’m already thinking ahead of our family’s financial needs and what I need to do now to help prepare for that.

When I was living my single life as a photographer, I remember hustling and working every single fricking weekend, turning galleries around on Thanksgiving weekend, which was great for the season of life I was in then. But it just doesn’t sound fun or feasible during this current season of my life. This is your invitation to take the time now to look at your data, understand your numbers, and determine those financial needs based on the workload that feels good.

I also wanna mention here, because I have some tough, tough, like big sister love here to share. I also wanna add that I’m sharing that after two decades of grinding, hustling, and working 50 plus hours a week in my business. In my opinion, this soft CEO era is a bit construed, especially when you’re in a building season.

I wanna remind you to build rest and time off into your schedule. It’s literally the biggest productivity hack ever, but there’s a season for everything and embrace where you are right now. If you’re not where you want to be with your schedule, that’s okay. Let’s get you there so it feels aligned and abundant.

It’s important to understand when your peak booking seasons are. Think mini session seasons, wedding seasons in your hometown, branding shoots, boudoir holidays, whatever your niche is. If you’re mapping out your year in advance, you can create content strategically instead of acting last minute, okay? Like that is not the game plan here.

We are planned. We are prepped. We are primed. And when I say primed, I mean our audience is primed for these sales. This is something every single photographer needs to take the time to do right now. Look at your year as a whole, the entire year of launch dates, upcoming events, things that you’re hosting, right?

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a huge industry event or a live podcast event. It could simply just be you wanna get together with your girlfriends and have a craft night, right? Like whatever that is. You wanna have one of those. Oh my gosh. TikTok has been feeding me some of the cutest videos of girlfriends getting together and creating little farmer’s markets in their home.

So they would get a, get a group of girlfriends together and they will each bring something to share, and then they just kind of do like a swap. So a lot of these things that you’re adding to your calendar are not only business related, right. We need to create time for fun, for new energy, for new opportunities, and really just relaxing and creating memories with the ones we love.

Right? So I just wanna mention that I know I can be a little business heavy in a lot of the conversations I’m having, but to my core, I also wanna encourage you to live your freaking life, right? Going back to your content planning, okay? So. For example, for fall mini sessions, right? Don’t wait until September to post about it.

Okay? Start teasing in July and August with behind the scenes clips, client testimonials, sneak peeks, maybe pop into Target, and maybe you’re just going there for toothpaste, for example, or picking up some shampoo, and you go through the women’s section and you think, oh my gosh, look at this beautiful dress.

This would be perfect for fall mini sessions, or whatever’s coming up, right? Maybe it’s a Mother’s Day outfit, right? Start posting that stuff. Early, way earlier than you think. So this way, when the booking window opens, they’re ready. I love a good Christmas in July sale and love having buy buttons and launches available for many sessions as soon as the end of July and September for October and November dates.

We have to think in advance, babe, if you have any special launches, product releases, or travel dates, mark them down and add those to your content calendar. This first calendar dump will help you stay sane and organized, juggling your life and business, while a content calendar is a completely different plan, right?

So we’ll get into that in a little bit, but I really want you to actually look at your year as a whole, create that space, mark down those dates, and just create that consistency for yourself so we don’t get overwhelmed. Okay? And if you wanna step by step guide to planning your content for the entire year, including video ideas, prompts, hooks, and behind the scenes clips, check out Bloom with B-Roll.

The mini course that was literally made were photographers and small business owners to feel, seen, share their value, and sell simply being themselves. Check out the show notes or head over to kiana marie.com/ b-roll. That’s Q-U-I-A-N-N-A marie.com/b ROLL. There’s no dash in B-roll to learn more and get your hands on that bloom with B-roll course.

Okay. All right. All right. Now that you’ve taken the time to map out your calendar, it’s just as important to block off important dates for events and revenue driving dates as it is to block out days to literally do nothing. Now let’s start sprinkling some content strategy and marketing plans for 2026.

Okay. If you are new here. Hi. I’m obsessed with B-roll and love sharing, how documenting and sharing quick videos of my life and business has helped me build a strong personal brand. And if you’ve been following me for a while and you’re a weekly listener, I’m so freaking happy you’re here. You’re back, you’re ready to party, and you’re here for these B-roll reminders.

You know, I can’t stop talking about it because it works. Let’s break down some B roll content ideas to start implementing today to help carry you throughout the entire year, helping your business become the local favorite and the only option for your dream clients. Here’s the truth, babe. Your content isn’t just your polished galleries.

If you’re leaning on your perfectly curated portfolio and magazine worthy feed, you’re missing out on a ton of connection points for the current Gen Zers, they want relatability, they crave experiences and wanna spend every dollar to causes they believe in and they trust. B-roll and the behind the scenes, the laughter, the prep, the setup, the real moments that show your process and your personality.

It’s like the preview of what it’s like to work with you. B-roll helps your audience understand the way you think, why you do what you do, and why you’re qualified to be hired. As we roll into this new year, I challenge you to capture B-roll during your daily life, not just on client days, setting up your home studio, packing your car for a shoe editing sneak peeks.

All of this works and it drives content and engagement. Get into the habit now to record snippets of your everyday life. If this feels overwhelming, like once you put on your content glasses to see content everywhere, it consumes you and you feel like you can’t get anything done. This is why we’re breaking out the calendar now to mark down some dates.

If your brain doesn’t function well with documenting random pieces of content throughout your day, then I totally suggest marking out content days monthly or even an hour once a week, to simply record these mundane and simple tasks that you probably think are boring, but your future clients would love to see.

Okay, so here’s a key tip for you. All right. Use your phone or your camera to grab these clips throughout the week. Nothing overproduced, just authentic moments. My goal with collecting this content is just to capture it. I play with the post later messaging and copy later. I just need the juicy content, right?

I need that content bank. Okay, so let’s chat about repurposing, right? Repurposing old content is so important that wedding you shot last year. Behind the scene videos, before and after edits, client reactions. All of that can fuel social media, email campaigns, and even blog posts. I think a lot of photographers get stuck in truth day all the time.

They think since they don’t have any new material, fresh photo shoots or weddings to post about, they feel dusty and dry with their content. That’s not the case at all. You’re marketing your business. It’s absolutely okay to repost past content, reshare and repurpose. Like your business depends on it because it does.

Okay? Once your calendar and B roll are prepped, plan your content around your promotions, right? Think about their big. Launches. Okay. Like we literally need a runway to plan for. Think of your content like a movie trailer. Tease, build hype, and give your audience a reason to learn more or to hit that buy button, or to just know like, Hey, this sale is coming up soon and I have to act fast because I don’t wanna miss out.

There’s nothing wrong with creating a little bit of FOMO energy when it comes to working with you, right? Because you are a big deal. For example, mini sessions, right? These are your teaser clips, your countdowns, your past client testimonials, right? Anytime you can get your, your camera to record a dad saying, oh my gosh, this was so fun.

This is so easy, right? Like, this is what we need to be capturing to reshare. Now, right? Or during that launch prep time, any of your holiday promos, seasonal, behind the scenes, styled content, client testimonials once again, right? Like this is our time to really create that content for the season. So like, so for example, I know like right now I’m literally recording this.

We are in the thick of the end of the year, so there’s tons of holiday gifts going on, Christmas things, new Year’s celebration, all the things, right? New energy. One thing that I try to prioritize is like being ahead of the seasons, right? So for example, if you are having Black Friday sales and you want pictures of yourself near Christmas trees holding cute presents, that’s the kind of stuff that needs to be photographed in like October, right?

So I’m telling you this now, not to go back and like wish we would’ve done that last year. So we can actually plan and bake those dates and those things into the calendar now, right? So for example, if you have some Mother’s Day mini sessions coming up, okay, we need to start cutting some flowers. We need to prepare those marketing pieces now.

And then of course, launching something new, right? All the behind the scene prep for that mood boards sneak peeks, whether it’s a digital product, whether it is a new location or a new venue that you’re really excited to work out. I see it all the time when photographers are bummed that they didn’t sell out their mini sessions.

But then I look back at their content and see, they posted a couple stories about it two weeks before, like before the date of the mini sessions, and maybe they sent a couple emails. Of course no one signed up. They didn’t even know about it. Your clients that have worked with you before and adore, you didn’t even see it.

I love to think of creating content like cooking dinner. Now, stick with me here. I’m gonna go a little outside of the box here in the way my brain works, but I just follow me here for a second. Okay. When you’re cooking dinner, you have all your sides, your protein, your carbs, and even a delicious mocktail to enjoy or maybe a cocktail.

And when everything is made in the right order, everything can be enjoyed together. Hot and ready around the same time. I believe that’s art, right? It’s tough juggling so many bowls, frying pans, temperatures of the oven, the barbecue, and all of the ingredients all at once, right? I remember when I first started learning to cook, I was like, how is everything going to be plated at the same time?

And how does everything stay warm and something’s not get cold? Right? When it feels aligned. And the cook can actually sit down and eat with everyone. It’s magical. I don’t know about you, but I actually grew up in a kitchen where my mom would serve us first. So like she would serve us plates, she would serve my dad, we would sit down and then we weren’t allowed to get up until my mom finished eating, so, which was fine because she was always like the last to be fed, which is just so crazy to me because Natalie and our family, I know it’s just the two of us, but like Mike and I, we played our food and we sit down together.

So it’s just interesting the wait. Things happen, but once again, I digress. My brain is going crazy. So I want you to think of content this way too. All the dishes made to make that meal, AKA, your offers, your photo shoots, your weddings are like, the dishes for that meal melted together with the ingredients, like your email list, social media posts, launch dates, and all of the planning it takes to have everything done at the same time.

There’s a science to that. I’m always inspired by my business bestie page with the legal page. Follow along with her content to p her launches big annual sales and offers that align perfectly with her content. She never just posts to get content up and to stay relevant. Every piece of content drives traffic to her online shop.

Her sales copy has a thread line between her emails, her podcast, the blog, and even sponsored ads are all on the same page, literally, right? She is the legal page. It’s taken me years to feel confident with content that aligns with my launches. So let’s do this together now. Right now, at the beginning of a fresh new year.

This is why, and I’m so sorry, I sound like a broken record, but this is why I am super proactive about capturing B-Roll. So I always have a bank of quick videos and photos to feed into these marketing tools. Planning as much as we can in advance helps make your life as a business owner easier, but also helps build the hype you need to actually sell out your mini sessions, your future events, and fun offers.

If you’re planning to host a retreat this spring, we should have booked a brand session this last October or November. If you’re planning a Mother’s Day mini session day, or any fun weekend with Mother’s and Father’s Day weekend coming up soon, finalize your location, book the studio, and create that sales page right now.

I love thinking of launches with a six month planning process, six months out, right? So six months before finalizing the details on logistics, four to five months out, I’m recording videos, building my content bank, and begin marketing. Three to four months out I have that buy button and link and sales page ready to purchase.

So this way, when we’re down to one to two months out, over half of my mini sessions are already sold out already. If you need help with selling out your mini sessions and creating incredible experiences for your families, scroll back to Episode 123: Maximizing Your Mini Sessions with Kayla Brint.

This episode is packed with education, encouragement, and photography hacks to sell out those mini sessions. Now let’s dive deeper into this slow season after you’re feeling confident with your calendar, the content and upcoming launch change to plan for. What can you do right now if you’re feeling a bit in a slump or a slow season?

Maybe it’s the weather and there’s literally snow on the ground or slow wedding season is happening, or maybe January through March are typically slow photo shoot months, right? Let’s make a game plan to maximize this time because we both know that photo shoots and physically holding your camera for shoots may be slower, but the work never really slows down.

Slow season doesn’t mean downtime. It’s when all the magic happens. That’s when you can batch and create content, brainstorm ideas and plan campaigns for your next busy season. I suggest taking this time to batch shoot content. Okay, so this is where you can get created with new styled shoots. Stock B-roll research locations for photo shoots, visit wineries and potential wedding menus you’d like to work at one day.

This is your time to be creative. If you’ve always dreamed of a beach shoot in Southern California, book your ticket and go play. If you’ve been wanting to get your YouTube channel started, make sure to follow my bestie page major at page major creative for all of your YouTube tips and education. It’s not just time to stare at your phone, take your butt and your phone outside to generate content.

I challenge you to repurpose past shoots, turn old weddings, mini sessions, and branding shoots into social media posts, reels, and email campaigns. It is okay. I am literally giving you permission. This is your green light, your green slip, the green flag to repurpose and reshare. Okay? This is your business we’re talking about.

We’re not talking about you going to every single Taylor Swift concert or making up pretend things in the past, right? Like this is your business. It’s okay to market it right? Prep for launches, plan your copy, visuals, and email sequences ahead of time. This new year will be filled with abundance, peace, and receiving wealth for both you and me.

We got this right, but we have to prep those details. Now, don’t make it harder on yourself and scramble once the busy season picks up, because we know it will and it’ll be here fast. If you don’t know where to start with generating content during the season, I suggest meeting up with a friend, preferably a business bestie or a new vendor friend to grab coffee, go for a walk with, or explore local venues and wedding expos together.

Take us behind the scenes of your chats, what you’re looking forward to for the new year, and let us tag along. Sometimes just getting out of the house makes content creation and generating ideas so much easier. Now that we have a plan for this slow season, let’s get your marketing, social media and email campaigns to run like a well-oiled machine.

Everything must work together for lasting impressions online, right? We’re not creating content just to pop up and sizzle and you know, blast the fireworks here. Like we are creating content that resonates, that feels aligned, and that is just gonna be magnetic for our dream clients. Email marketing is key.

It’s the direct access to your audience. Don’t rely on those algorithms that literally only like 3% of your audience will see. Emails sell your sessions faster than Instagram ever will. This is why I’m obsessed with flow desks and love sharing about it. If you haven’t started your email list, what are you waiting for?

Head over to QuiannaMarie.com/flodesk To learn more and get started today. It’s legit. The only way I sell out my mini sessions every season, okay. My love visibility doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you plan, prep and show up consistently with confidence.

Use your slow season wisely. Capture B-Roll everywhere. Repurpose old content and align your marketing across all channels. Remember your content is your proof. Proof that you’re a professional. Proof that you’re fun to work with. Proof that you deliver results. That’s what converts followers into clients.

Plan your year, show up as yourself and let your authenticity do the selling. If this episode got your brain buzzing and you are ready to finally plan your year of content without feeling overwhelmed, let’s book a Brand A together. We’ll map out your next big launch. Plan an entire elevated photo shoot together to capture headshots, lifestyle photos, B-roll clips.

Product stuff. Literally tons of content to fuel the campaign, sales pages, social media posts, and all the content you’ll need for ads. There’s something magical that happens on brand aids. It’s like you come in as one person and leave as the next version of yourself. It’s so fricking awesome, and I would love to help capture your magic.

Literally, it is such a dream to see my business besties. Step in front of my camera. And like enter this new era. Like, ah, it is just, it’s just so magical. So head over to the show notes to learn more or check out keana marie.com/book to book your next hot girl. Walk with me to chat all about the visions and ideas for your next shoot.

I wanna hear it. Let’s talk about what’s happening. Let’s talk about your big goals, your big dreams. Let’s just plan this fun dream session, and then we can help turn those visuals like into tangible real marketing tools. Before you go, I wanna leave you with these three affirmations for the week and honestly to reference for the entire year.

Affirmation number one here, this slow season isn’t a setback. It’s space. Space to breathe, to dream, to reset. Everything I need is already lining up for me. Affirmation Number two, I’m building a business that actually fits my life. I don’t have to rush, I don’t have to force it. My steady, intentional effort is more than enough.

Affirmation number three, I let go of the pressure to hustle 24/7. I choose ease, alignment, and showing up as my real self. The seeds I’m planting right now, they’re going to bloom bigger than I can ever imagine. You are incredible my love. We need more people to know about you as a big favor and huge ask.

Please subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with your photographer besties who need a little extra visibility magic in their business this year. I appreciate you more than ever. And look forward to building the business of our dreams together this year. Can’t wait to chat next week. Keep on dancing, babe.

Kay. Love you. Bye. That’s a wrap on another episode of Quianna Marie Weekly. Thank you so much for your listenership and support. You can find the resources and show notes for this episode and more at QuiannaMarie.com/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.

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