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🤔 What makes up a good website?

A good design? Nice colors? Pretty pictures? A well-thought-out brand?

What if none of that mattered? 🤯 All this stuff is important but…

Today we’re talking about what is necessary to build a website/design for your visitor’s digital experience so that you can get more inquiries and book more clients 💰

🏛🖥 Website

You need to make your website about the SINGULAR visitor – not you!

You MUST ask these questions:

1. Who are you talking to? Talk to one person.
   – How many times on your website do you say “Me, I, Myself” as opposed to “You”
   – Do the research on who that person is. Create buyer personas (give them a name, age, etc. – aka demographics)
   – 📚 MUST-READ: Building A Story Brand by Donald Miller
2.  What are they trying to accomplish?
3.  How can you help them?
4.  What “path” can they follow to get what they’re looking for?

🏛💼 Portfolio

• Include images everywhere
• Show images 1-at-a-time
• Show full sets or stories, not a “best of” album
• Don’t overwhelm
• Show what you want to shoot
• Remove the “story” that you have about images (the copy)
• Tell stories with images
• Keep color and B&W together

🏛🔑 Overall Key Points

• Keep it simple
• Call to action (CTAs) on each page!
  – Have a global “Get Started” button
• Put your phone number on your site
  – Have a separate business phone number
  – Tools: Google Business Phone Number; Text Now app; Ooma
• Guide your visitors
• Simplify the nav
• Pick a primary goal
• Sprinkle testimonials THROUGHOUT your website – don’t have a separate “Reviews” page
• Reach out for testimonials = you guiding the conversation (but don’t put words in their mouth) – instead, find out what makes you different!
  – Get 1 long-form and a few short-liners. Put in a google doc and review with your clients to make sure it’s OK
  – Transition Interviews: map out your customer journey – at each milestone/point do a transition interview to gain positive and negative feedback (record with permission)
• Hire a copywriter!! Communicate consistently!
• Having video testimonials = FIRST, where is this video going on your page? SECOND, guide the questions = get specific (don’t give generic questions because you’ll get generic answers – aka, “How did you like your experience” a no, no!)
• Show your face as a photographer! Let them get to know you – build that connection immediately!

🔑 BIGGEST TAKEAWAY: KNOW WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO!

💭 Room Questions & Discussions

• 💭 Pricing on a website?
  – Have a ball-park, starting price, display the benefits (don’t give everything)
  – Pricing = logical mindset but your website = emotional mindset
  – Frame your price = gives value
• 💭 Too many CTA’s?
  – Yes. Don’t have too many distractions or too many options (the paradox of choice).
  – Each page needs to lead to the next!
  – “Find out more about our process” button instead of “Contact Us Now” x4 (esp if you have a Contact form page)
  – Try: Next & Previous CTA’s (Step 1, 2, 3, 4… Book)
• 💭 Being friends with clients?
  – Relationships are #1. But don’t mistake that for being BFFs (you still can and it sometimes happens). In terms of your website, potential clients aren’t coming to find a friend. They have a problem that needs to be solved (photos), your copy needs to resolve this!
• 💭 What if I offer different markets of photography (wedding vs newborn)
  – What makes them different? How can you let them self identify?
  – Provide different URLs (Ex. BryanPhotos.com/commerical/ – so these clients don’t even see wedding content)
  – When you INDEX these pages, Google will more likely pull these pages compared to your main page!!
  – Don’t design or build your website for SEO (what SEO actually means, Google is trying to give relevant results to its users based on their needs) = DESIGN for people!
  – Use SEO in blogs, marketing, Youtube, etc. instead!

✏️ 4 Tips for Copywriting

1. Put it all in one place – it gives you a holistic view (makes sure pronouns, flow, the story is consistent)
2. Use a tool called Grammarly (not just spelling mistakes – advice for tone, intent, run-on sentences)
3. Read your copy OUT LOUD to yourself
4. Read it OUT LOUD to someone you know

Or hire someone to do it! Make sure this person knows you = remain authentic!

📢 Easton Reynold’s Take

@eastonreyolds

Marketing to Millenials vs to Boomers is DIFFERENT

• Use to be portfolio heavy… not anymore! The focus is now on…
• What is the experience like working with you? Why is it different than working with the thousand other options?
• Use video to (80% more likely to engage, 60% more likely to convert)
• Don’t rely on SEO!

Easton’s Company👉 The Art of 6 Figures

🔗 References + Links

• 📚 If your website was an employee, would you fire it? By Allan Burg
• 🤖 HotJar or Mouseflow: see how users experience your website (what they click, how they scroll, etc.)
• 🔈 Share audio for social for testimonials with Wavve
• 📚 Building A Story Brand by Donald Miller
• ☎️ Text Now
• ☎️ Ooma
• 📚 Influence by Robert B. Cialdini
• 🎥 Starts with Why? by Simon Sinek

👋 Follow Bryan, Nathan, and Sprout Studio

• Bryan
• Nathan
• Sprout Studio

🤝 Kiss Books & Sprout Studio

• 📔 Kiss Albums Demo
• 🌱 Sprout Studio Demo
• 🌟 Kiss Books EXCLUSIVE: The Stack FREE Book

💬 DM Bryan & Shaun on IG for Spreadsheets

• Bryan
• Shaun
• Sprout Studio
• Kiss Books

💸 Pricing Calculator

• Price your Wedding Album Calculator

🏛 4 Fundamentals

1. Believe in albums: you – yourself – as a photographer need to believe it (conceptually) if you’re going to sell it
2. Couples WANT it: couples today are unlikely “longing” for a USB stick – the want the heirloom
3. Quality/Access/Communication: give your clients something they can’t get elsewhere (physical product AND/OR experience)
4. Make it easy: too many options are overwhelming, your process (workflow) may be too complicated, too many barriers (upgrades, paper thickness, cover finish, etc.)

💭 Did you know?

• Consumer Stat: 70-80% of “DIY album makers” that get started, do not finish/ditch it!! If you think there isn’t a need, there is!

🤔 How to respond to common kickback

1. “I’m not a good salesperson” = change your perspective! 
   What if you’re just “serving” them like how you “serve” photography?
   ***It is a disservice to the photos/experience they paid for not to offer such.
2. “My couples can’t afford it” = clients WON’T afford them…
   You have justify the value in them!
   Value formula: 1 = value they get > 2= money they part with
   #1 needs to be greater than #2
   ***You can also offer them payment plans! (Ex. allow pro-longed payments and delivery it on their 1 year anniversary)
3. “My clients are not near me” (Aka Elopements)
   Get creative! How much do you want to invest in this? Is the return worth it?
   Ex. Show them on a video call; Provide a “preview” virtual/digital album; Send an album with a return label; Send a mini album kit (with swatches)
4. “My clients don’t like their albums” (not what they expected)
   Firstly, this is very rare!
   Set the expectation. Do this at the initial client consultation! Ex. “First thing you’re going to see after your wedding is the design of your album. Within those 2 weeks, you get 3 rounds of changes (swap photos, add photos/pages) before the agree upon final product”. Make them a part of the experience while maintaining control!

🔑 Key takeaways

• Photographers = control the album, clients = allow them to make changes — otherwise, it will fall through…
• Albums are apart of your customer’s journey! Make it become known, that this is apart of your experience = more referrals, more products sold, and so on!
• Showcase your albums over your platforms – website, social, etc.! (Ex. via Instagram stories)
• There is an emotional attachment when clients see their photos – show them!

🔗 Reference Articles + Links

• Article: How to sell a wedding album to every one of your couples (4 Fundamentals)
• Article: 6 surprisingly simple ways to sell more with sample wedding albums
• Alisha’s: Preview Party – Ask her on IG