Successful Creatives

This episode is all about booking destination weddings. If you've been curious about how to get started or you're interested in the strategies of a successful cinematographer on how she's really built her business filled with the weddings that she wants to be shooting. Then get ready for my guest interview with Kelly LaFleur of K. LaFleur Films. 

Today we're talking all about some pricing mistakes. These are the top 5 most common pricing mistakes that I see photographers and creatives make. I'm also going to talk about how you can avoid them and also what to do instead. 

So five things that I don't do now that I'm free from comparison. I don't look at other photographers websites for pricing information. I don't scroll Instagram wishing that I had the weddings that my competitors have. With that in mind, I don't actually even think of local photographers as my competitors at all anymore. I no longer spend countless hours tweaking my website or my price guide. Okay, and I get it. It is really, really easy to fall into the trap of comparison, but we got to get on top of this for ourselves because comparison is honestly the stealer of creativity, of success, of progress, of joy. If you're listening to this and you're like, Mm, I don't really understand what comparison is and why I should even care about it. We're going to talk about why it happens, some strategies to overcome it, and even a way that you can actually leverage comparison to make it work for you, instead of against you.

Today’s episode welcomes on a guest speaker, his name is Doug Levy and he is a Boston area photographer. Who has gone through this really cool evolution of his career path. Starting as a professional umpire, to wedding photographer, to where he is now, working with big brands and celebrity clients like Drew Barrymore. His story is super interesting, he is very transparent and I cannot wait to share this episode with you. Let’s dive in.

38,000 DREAM CLIENTS JUST VIEWED YOUR LATEST POST
What could that mean for your business?

That's what just happened for wedding photographer Samantha Melanson Photography after she posted a reel she created of her photography experience and portfolio using a TEMPLATE (one of Instagram's latest reel features designed to make them that much easier to create).

Ok, let's be real - likely not all 38k were dream clients, but what if even just 1% were? That's 380 dream clients at your digital doorstep, right?

If you're a visual artist - from a wedding photographer, filmmaker or videographer, designer or event planner and you're not being intentional with Instagram, I'm here to help change that because Instagram is literally a direct line to your dream clients. So let's talk about the right and the wrong way to use this incredible FREE tool to grow your business, okay?

HOW TO GROW ON INSTAGRAM:
NO  mindless scrolling
NO watching / sharing videos
NO posting and immediately jumping from the platform
NO comparing yourself to your competitors
YES showing up consistently
YES engaging with your followers
YES building relationships in DMs
YES connecting with a new audience
YES using Instagram's latest features to push reach

I sat down with Sinead Gillespie of Social By Sinead, owner of a Social Media Marketing firm based in Boston to learn how she does it in 3 EASY steps. She shares the exact steps she uses to grow her clients' accounts as well as her own in DETAIL. It's exactly how she left her corporate job and quickly became a 6-figure business owner, and she says it can all be done in just 30 minutes a day using the 10:10:10 Method.

Want more? Join the free group and get an instagram self-audit checklist so you can optimize your listing now. The group is filled with driven creatives, free weekly trainings and lots of bonuses.

Did you know that there are actually just 2 simple steps to get everything you want?

These two steps are also the true foundation of building a successful business. In the newest episode of the Successful Creatives podcast, Erica will walk you through:

• what happens when you DON’T have these two steps implemented in your business
• how you can use them in both your creative business and your personal life to truly get everything you want
• her personal story of how she doubled her photography studio business in 12 months so her husband could leave his full time job and join her (they run their photography studio as a wife + husband team!) 
• How one creative got clear and left behind feelings of overwhelm and failure after a simple 5-minute exercise!

Whether you’re already on your way to living the life you've always wanted, or you’re in a place where you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed or perhaps skeptical, then this episode is for you.  By the end of this episode, you’ll have the formula to build the business and life of your dreams. 

Erica interviews Caroline of Caroline Talbot Studios on her path from CPA to Wedding Photographer to Luxury Boudoir Photography. Caroline shares her top tip on how she knew she was financially ready and able to change directions AND how she's built a cult following of raving fans who are lining up to book with her. While pivoting your career and irresistible marketing SEEM like two vastly different topics, you'll learn the one common denominator to Caroline's success in this must-listen episode.

If you've been considering a change OR you want to learn a strategy to build a loyal customer base, with step-by-step directions, this episode is for you.

There are four major hurdles to entrepreneurial success. This episode addresses the first two that plague creatives - self doubt and lack of focus - and provides 3 practical and easy-to-implement tips to overcome them. 

By Erica Ewing, a multiple six-figure Boston photographer + educator with over 10 years wedding + portrait experience and host of The Successful Creatives podcast. She's been teaching photographers and creative entrepreneurs how to create a business that supports a life they love for over 5 years, and her favorite thing is watching fellow creatives thrive.