Are you planning on taking it easy with your summer marketing? Think again! In today’s episode, I’m sharing how what you do this summer will directly impact your bookings this fall. Plus, how to actually use the summer “slow” season to your advantage. 

ting 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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Review The Show Notes:

Visibility Has A Lag Time (3:30)

Summer Is When Attention Is Easier To Capture (4:57)

Your Future Launches Need Content Now (5:39)

This Is Why Brand Shoots Matter Right Now (6:38)

The Women Who Win… Plan Ahead (7:11)

What To Post To Be More Visible (7:35)

Mentioned In This Episode:

Book More with B-Roll Mini Course: stan.store/quiannamarie/p/bloom-with-broll

Connect with Quianna:

Website: quiannamarie.com

Instagram: instagram.com/quiannamarie

Review the Transcript:

Hey. Hey, gorgeous! Welcome back to Quianna Marie weekly. Mike and I have officially planned our honeymoon, and we are so freaking excited. I desperately wanted to visit Montana and explore Glacier National Park for our honeymoon, but with us being mindful of our family financial goals, Mike was literally freaking out about the resorts and how they were charging upwards of $2,500 per night for these luxury experiences.

You know, my husband, he was just totally sticker shocked, so we decided to book a cute little a-frame cabin just outside of Payson for a fraction of the cost. It’s crazy to think that I have photos of cabins, just like the one we booked on my vision boards, and I just can’t believe that we get to finally plan our honeymoon.

Also, side story, commercial break. If you’re unfamiliar with the state of Arizona, Payson is about 90 minutes to two hours away from us. And, uh, it’s actually pretty close. We go up there camping all the time. Mike goes up there hunting. So if you’re like, okay, wait, what’s happening? It’s just a short drive from our home.

All I asked for for our honeymoon was a couple’s massage. I really want just like cozy and clean beds to lounge around in and take naps and access to nature. I definitely need to be able to sit out by the fire or enjoy coffee in the morning listening to the birds and just relaxing. I really wanted this time for us to just.

Literally be lazy and do nothing. Mike requested not to cook at all with access to really good restaurants. He does most of the cooking for us, and he just really wanted a break without having to cook, and I totally get that. The cabin experience will be perfect to explore day trips to Sedona, check out Payon and surrounding areas, and we’re even gonna take a train ride.

I am so freaking excited. He’s excited. We have it booked on the calendar. MA’s gonna watch the girls our two German shepherds while we’re gone and we’re in motion like we are booked and ready to go. Now, I love keeping this podcast a blend of personal, educational, and real life moments for business owners, but I’m not just updating you with this honeymoon story just because.

I’m sharing this glimpse of our real life to let you know that I’ve been planning our honeymoon before we even got engaged. And if I’m being real honest here, I’ve had hopes and dreams for our future honeymoon before I even met Mike. Sure. I’ve dreamt of Italian villas or those huts on the water, and Bora Bora, I’ve dreamt of it all as we got engaged and started planning our wedding, considering our budgets wants, needs and everything changed.

Thinking about our honeymoon, dreaming of our ideas and searching for options was something we did way in advance. This is exactly what we’re diving into for today’s episode. What you do right now for your marketing and visibility will absolutely impact your bookings and future sales in seasons ahead.

What you do this summer, it directly impacts how booked you are this fall, and I see this mistake all the time. Business owners treat summer, like a slow season. They pull back, they slow to post. Like they maybe even just stop posting. They wait until they need clients to start showing up again. But the business owners who are fully booked in the fall, they didn’t start in October, they started now literally in each, like in the beginning of the year, winter, spring, I mean, anytime they are starting right now.

So let’s talk about why this matters and how to actually use this season to your advantage. Visibility has a lag time. Here’s the truth, most people don’t wanna hear. Marketing doesn’t work instantly. Surprise. You can’t just post something and then instantly have your inbox flooded with inquiries, people throwing your credit cards at you, right?

Like, sure, that would be so nice. And maybe you have some virality or some posts that just totally hit and that happens, or you get an incredible referral. I know for example, I just wrapped up my photo shoot with my friend Jillian Murphy, and I’m not even joking. She created just a couple posts of our experience and boom, I ha booked three calls of people that wanna work with me.

And I just, I just couldn’t even, like, I was just so grateful, right? Those types of little unicorn moments happen and we wanna be prepared for them, but for the most part, as they don’t, right, it takes time. People need time to find you, follow you, trust, you decide to work with you. So if you go quiet this summer and start taking things slow, you won’t feel that immediately.

You’ll feel it later when fall rolls around and your inbox is quiet. The clients you want in October are watching you in July. If you’re planning to launch something new or increase brand awareness for your busy season coming up, the secret is to start now. Start showing up, build your brand awareness, and build a hype around booking you.

While everyone else is busy with the kids traveling, trying to keep cool by the pool, this is actually to your advantage to get ahead with your marketing game. Summer is when attention is easier to capture. Here’s the opportunity most people overlook. Okay? Summer content feels. Lighter, more fun, more lifestyle driven, easier to consume, right?

It’s very lighthearted. People are scrolling more casually. They’re dreaming, they’re planning ahead. This is your chance to show up as being relatable, consistent, and visible, not perfect, right? We aren’t like making these Super Bowl commercials over here. We just being present. Your clients may not be actively searching for your services they need in the fall for the summer.

But with more visibility, you can quickly build trust and grow some fomo to work with you. When they’re ready, your future launches need content. Now, if you have fall mini sessions, holiday offers Black Friday sales Q4 launches. You can not wait until September to start creating content. Sorry sis. You’re gonna be behind.

You’ll be feeling rushed, stressed, and you’ll be scrambling. Instead, this is your window and this is the time to capture photos and B roll. Plan your messaging, build your content library so when it’s go time you are ready. You won’t be posting a quick sale or mini session release and hoping and praying that you get signups.

You’ll be releasing dates to your email list and selling out half of your sessions before you even post on Instagram or social media. None of that urgency and trust happens while you’re posting about summer concerts and pool days in your stories. Post those if you feel aligned and it helps share your personality.

Totally. Right? I’m not saying don’t do that, but don’t forget to share more about your business, your offers, and how you’re the best option in town. This is why brand shoots matter most right now. Let’s connect the dots here real quick. Okay. If you need consistent content, elevated visuals to prove that you are a legit.

Content that does the selling for you. You don’t need to figure it out later or plan that shoot someday. You need to capture it now because one intentional brand session this summer can give you months of content clarity in your messaging and all of the confidence to show up consistently and that momentum.

That’s what books you help this fall. The women who win Plan ahead. Let me say this, with so much love, okay, babe. The women who were fully booked making consistent income, launching with ease, they’re not winging it, they’re planning ahead. They’re thinking, what does my business need 90 days from now? Not just what do I feel like posting today?

That shift alone, that’s what separates the dreamers from the doers. So what should you be posting, right? Like, I love this, right? I’m like, okay, I’m on my high horse right now. I’m on my soapbox. I am preaching, preaching, preaching. Okay, you gotta do this, do this. Now, if you’re a little confused thinking, okay, I get it.

I need to post more content. I need to be more visible. What the heck should I be posting? Well, let’s dive into this. Okay? I suggest breaking down your client experience. Take us behind the scenes of your photo shoots, events and conferences You attend, share before and afters, and the transformations. If you’re a family photographer, start posting about location and outfit ideas.

Share sweet stories about the families you’ve photographed. Talk about how you’ve handled situations that could have gone down all wrong with meltdowns and kids freaking out, but how you save the day, speak directly to the wants and needs of your clients. This is just a rant I need to share right this second, please, for the love of God, stop posting inside jokes with other photographers or others in your industry.

Keep those in the dms and stop making content that pokes fun at your clients. For example, if you’re a wedding photographer, I suggest skipping content about vendor meals or lack thereof, and talk about the drama with the seating chart instead. I know so many photographers that make content that feels like inside jokes for other photographers, and then wonder why more photographers than soccer moms and potential clients follow them.

Keep your content client focused, sharing insight to their desires, pain points, and ultimately what they want from working with you. Okay, rant over. I just had to get that off my chest. I see it all the time. Please stop poking fun at your clients and make it more about building those, those relationships or those shares or those conversation starters, so that way, let’s say you’re, if you are a wedding photographer, right?

You are posting about the seating chart instead and drama about the seating chart. Do you know how many bridesmaids sisters best friends are going to share that with their sister versus photographers circling how vendor meals, soccer, how you had to like sit on the corner over here is like in the dark and like those are things that brides, bridesmaids and wedding guests just cannot relate to.

They need to know this of course, right? Like kind of. But they don’t. Right? Like that’s totally a photographer’s inside joke. So this is me. I said rent was over. It wasn’t. I just wanna remind you that whatever those like industry inside jokes are, keep those in the dms. Talk to those with other realtors, other dog walkers, other hairstylists and photographers and business owners, right?

Like that can be our sense of humor, and I totally think there’s a space for that. But I suggest, especially as you gain more visibility and you want more ideal clients, not other industry friends following you, or you don’t want all that content just directly speaking to them. Please make sure that you are connecting and creating some inside jokes with other brides or other moms or other dads that you’re planning to photograph at these family sessions.

Right? Okay. Sorry. Now I can say rant over. Okay. So going back to summer visibility equals fall bookings. It doesn’t matter what time of year you’re tuning into this podcast, you are meant to hear this when you need it. Most visibility takes time and consistency. Start showing up now, so your future self and your future bank account, and clients can think you’ve later.

Yes, book the flight. Enjoy those late days with friends and spend time with your family. Make time for fun this summer, but don’t hesitate or take it easy when it comes to your business. Marketing is a slow burn, but once it’s cooking and the coals are hot, it’ll keep burning for you With very little maintenance, start now.

Keep making content, showing up and sharing your experiences. You are worthy of being seen. You deserve to have a bank account that matches your efforts and energy. Your clients will be searching for you when they need you. Make sure they could find you. So if you’re listening to this and thinking, okay, I know I need to show up more, but I don’t know what to post, start simple.

Just start. Start with behind the scenes. Start with capturing your day. Start with showing and sharing your work. That’s exactly why I created Book More with B-Roll. The mini core is to help you actually create content without overthinking it. And if you’re ready for the next level to have content done for you, planned, out, captured, intentionally, and ready to use, this is your season to book a brand session.

Not later, not when it’s stressful. Now, when you have time to use it. All right, my love. Don’t let Summer slip away by thinking you have time because fall is coming fast. The question is, will you be ready or will you be scrambling? This is your sign show up now. Create now be seen now your future booked out.

Calendar is depending on it. Now I wanna leave you with a couple affirmations as we wrap up. I trust that showing up today is planting seeds for the clients I’ll serve tomorrow. I don’t wait for the perfect moment. I create momentum with what I have right now. My visibility is building something bigger than I can see.

And I’m committed to showing up. Anyway, you got this, babe. I am so excited for you and your thriving business that you’re growing. I’m cheering for you always and forever. Keep on dancing. Can’t wait to see you soon. 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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