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When I first started setting up my email marketing strategy, I spent some time looking at the different options and then eventually decided to go with Mailchimp. It was one of the most popular platforms (at the time). And being completely new to email marketing, I wanted something easy to use and affordable for my small business. Mailchimp was free to use up to 2,500 subscribers, which made it the perfect option. Or so I thought… In this article, I’ll cover Mailchimp vs. Flodesk, and why I made the decision to make the switch over to Flodesk.

Starting from ZERO, I knew I was able to use their platform for free for up to 2,500 subscribers. Not knowing anything about email marketing, I remember that number felt HUGE to me. 2500 on my list? That would be amazing. I figured that if that were to happen, I’d be totally ok with paying for their service and continuing to grow my list. (or so I thought…)

GROWING MY LIST (AND BILL)

Over the years, I continued to build my list. Eventually grew past the 2500 subscribers on the free plan and hopped onto a paid plan. I continued using Mailchimp for a long time. I grew my list to 5,000…then 10,000. 

It was long until I reached 20,000 and 30,000 subscribers. At this point, I realized that with every new subscriber, my bill was growing too. Each month I’d go through my list and clean it to make sure I was only growing my list with people that were actively opening my emails. (However, I didn’t want to pay more for those that didn’t open my emails as much). 

I spent more time minimizing my growing list to avoid the constantly rising cost than actually enjoying email marketing, as I had earlier. Then, I hit 70,000 subscribers, and my MONTHLY bill in Mailchimp was over $700. I spent every single month asking myself…is this worth it?! 

To be honest, I also wasn’t a big fan of Mailchimp. It always felt clunky and glitchy. And spent who knows how many hours frustrated with how complicated it was to create a simple opt-in and segment people into the right audience list and start workflows. Everything was a constant headache, and I had to pay the heavy price tag of $700 monthly for it. 

SWITCHING TO FLODESK

I stumbled across Flodesk and INSTANTLY signed up after seeing their famous tag line “Unlimited emails and subscribers, forever.” Followed by;

You’ll never be penalized for successfully growing your business again.

-FLODESK

You know when you find your dream product and feel like the company instantly get’s what you need? That’s 100% what Flodesk did. They understood what I really wanted and needed for my business and NAILED the execution. 

The simple fact that I could have an email marketing provider that would no longer penalize me for growing my list was huge. And that reason alone was enough for me to jump over from Mailchimp to Flodesk.

If you’re hoping to try Flodesk and need a 50% off link, you’re welcome to use my referral link, which will automatically give you the 50% off as well. Enjoy a 30-day FREE trial. No credit card is needed. CLICK HERE TO GET 50% OFF FLODESK

THE COST OF GROWING YOUR LIST

When you’re first getting started with growing your list. You might not think much about how much a list that’s 70,000 or 100,000+ subscribers is going to cost you per month. It’s easy to forget the big picture. But, the right email marketing platform should serve you in the most positive way, not just as you get started but as you scale your business and list. Mailchimp vs Flodesk (I’m willing to say that Flodesk will come out on top for you as well).

I’ll say it again when I started my list at ZERO, I didn’t even bother to check to see how much a 70,000 list would cost me. So if you’re getting started, take it from someone who’s been there. Make sure to look into the future and partner with a company that won’t penalize you for growing your list. That is the last thing you want. 

SETTING UP FLODESK 

I love using Flodesk so much and saw such great success with building my list that I launched a service to help other business owners to do the same.

Maybe building an email list and getting everything set up and automated has been on your to-do list forever. But you have no idea where to start. And what you really need is someone that can set it up for you the *right way* and actually start seeing your list grow with subscribers who are excited to see you land in their inbox. 

With the Email marketing service, you’ll get a fully set up Flodesk account. Including a strategy with opt-ins to grow your list and an automated welcome sequence to make your new subscribers excited about being on your list. 

EMAIL MARKETING SETUP SERVICE INCLUDES:

• Flodesk set up 
• Custom questionnaire 
• Subscriber segmentation
• Custom welcome sequence 
• Opt-in strategy to grow list

If that sounds like something you’d love to do, send me a message to get on the list! I only take a limited amount of new clients for this service and would love to chat more.

P.S. This service is also perfect for anyone that has read the Mailchimp vs Flodesk article and has decided they would like to switch but feel overwhelmed with the idea of migrating everything over.

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Have you ever met someone and thought to yourself…”I know she has a business and doing really well, but what exactly does she do…and how does she actually make an income?!” In this article, I’m going to pull back the curtains and tell you all about my business, how I make an income (and a pretty amazing impact too).

I was talking to a friend and found that although she knew I had a business (for a long time now). She had no idea how I actually made an income and how I got my business to where it is today. I loved that she came out and just asked me more about what I was doing with my business, how I was making an income, and how it all came together. (SPOILER: My business is FAR from where it used to be).

As we finished my conversation, I thought about how maybe others had the same curious questions but just didn’t know how to ask. Which I totally get. I remember when I started my business how little I knew about business structure and all the different incomes you could make. I didn’t even know passive income was a thing since all I knew was the very simple concept of working for an hourly wage.

HOW I MAKE AN INCOME (AND IMPACT)

I thought what I did was pretty clear, but maybe it’s just like that because I’ve lived it for 10+ years. So for the sake of being transparent and pulling back the curtains to those who might be wondering the same thing, here’s everything you ever wanted to know about how I make an income (and a pretty amazing impact too). Over the years, my business has changed, and so has the strategy behind how I make an income. Below I’ll go over everything you might be wondering about. And hopefully, it gives you some ideas on adding these types of income streams to your own business too.

SERVICE BASED BUSINESS

AS A PHOTOGRAPHER

I started as a photographer, which is probably the most simple income to explain. Clients hired me for a service. As much as I loved this little business I built, the one downfall was the time I had to spend away from my family. Shooting sessions all week and weddings on the weekend didn’t leave me with the greatest work/life balance.

If you currently have a service-based business, you knooooow the struggle!

To build a sustainable business, I knew I had to build a business that allowed me to do what I loved while not giving away all my time. I wanted to be able to spend more with the people I loved.

PASSIVE INCOME (With Digital Products)

Eventually, I started selling digital products. (think downloadable digital products). This can be anything from an ebook, a digital backdrop, online courses, presets, or templates. And this really opened my eyes to a new kind of income. PASSIVE INCOME.

This allowed me to focus on creating one digital product that I could sell over and over again while spending more time at home with my little ones.

I’ve created over 700 digital products over the years but am most known for my preset collections made for professional photographers and creatives looking to elevate their photography.

TIP: If your business doesn’t currently have this kind of income, I highly recommend adding it because it really makes such a big difference when you’re just one person who’s constantly dependent on selling their service or one of a kind products. And it might be a whole lot easier to add than you might think. This doesn’t mean you have to flip your entire business around. Look at it as a new income addition to your already established business.

REACCURING PASSIVE INCOME

With a CRM Software

Over the last five years, I also built a CRM software called The Essential Studio Manager with my husband. (This company was recently acquired ?). But just like my digital products that generated passive income, it collected monthly payments from active users for using the CRM. Photographers use it to manage all aspects of their business with one tool that’s really easy to use.

It’s just like regular passive income, but it repeats monthly for as long as the customer continues using the software.

REACCURING PASSIVE INCOME

Digital Membership/Subscription

I launched Wordsmith in 2021, a digital subscription-based company that generates; you guessed it…passive recurring income by providing monthly professional social media captions for entrepreneurs looking to connect with more clients and customers online.

Are you seeing a trend yet?

Being 10+ years in, I’ve done many different things, everything from service-based, softwares, memberships, and digital products. I have some big ideas for the future that will continue focusing on creating products and services to help entrepreneurs with their businesses. 

Today, about 90% of my focus is on creating resources that generate passive income and 10% on one-off service-based services.

A complete swap from when I first started, and 100% of my income came from being hired for one service.

But you know what the best part is, aside from being able to spend my time working on projects that I love and having more time to spend with my family?

Taking a portion of our income and sponsoring children through Save the Children, one of my favorite non-profits. There’s a special connection with each child, and we have a big binder of photos, letters, and a big world map we’ve used to mark our sponsored children’s locations. Each time we add a new sponsored child to our list, my oldest son helps me with the process.

Although I do many different things, at the core of my business, I want to create something that has a positive impact around the world. Have that be by helping business owners or sponsoring more children around the world.

I hope this quick article gave you some insight into the income you could make with your business. Remember – consider passive income as an addition to your already established business.

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There’s no question that social media can be a big help to your business, whether you’re trying to reach current customers or target new ones. There are also many people who say that social media takes up too much of their time, and they don’t feel like they get enough out of the time they spend on it to make it worthwhile. Here are five tips for spending less time on social media without missing out on all the great benefits as a business. These are the same tips I follow when it comes to all my businesses; Modern Market, Wordsmith & The Essential Studio Manager.

THE IMPORTANCE OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA AS A BUSINESS

We live in a digital world. Most people use social media, so if you’re trying to grow your business, you have to be where your customers are: on social media. But there’s more to it than that. It’s no longer enough to just have a Facebook page and hope for people to like it and engage with it—you actually need content and strategies, or you risk losing valuable leads. Take some time out of your day and design a plan that will allow you to maximize your presence without wasting all of your time (or missing out on opportunities). 

WHY YOU NEED AN ONLINE PRESENCE 

There are plenty of reasons why businesses (and individuals) create social media accounts. It’s a way to share content with your audience and spread your business’s name, establish yourself as an expert in your field, network with other businesses or people in your niche, even find a new employee. However, if you’re struggling to keep up with social media while running a business (particularly if you work solo), then it might be time to evaluate how much time you spend on these platforms and how you can still get all the benefits of using social media, without having to spend so much time on social media.

CREATING CONTENT PILLARS

Content pillars are a core component of every successful social media strategy because they take the guesswork out of what to post, making it easy for you to stay on target and have fun with your content. Pillars are relevant topics and themes that keep your audience engaged. The content pillars I’ve always built my content around is: 

1. Personal 
2. Educational 
3. Promotional 
4. Engaging 
5. Passion

Depending on what kind of business you have, you could adjust these content pillars, or change them to something more specific that your audience enjoys.

CREATING CONTENT AHEAD OF TIME 

Write out a schedule for content creation and stick to it. Schedule your social media posts several days or weeks in advance. Utilize tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, or Later to plan content in advance and save yourself time. These apps allows you to create a queue of pre-written posts, which you can then schedule at different times over an extended period of time. This way you’re not having to do all the work on the go and can dedicate one day to plan and schedule all your content. 

TIP: Just because you automate your posts doesn’t mean you can get away with not showing up online. I try to schedule my posts but then push the notification to my phone so I can post it manually and engage during the best time. Which is typically shortly after posting.

SHOWING UP AND ENGAGING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE

Let’s not forget one of the most important ways to participate in social media is to simply show up. Engaging with your audience requires you to use social media as a place for interaction and presence, even if it doesn’t directly lead to sales or customers. Using it only for promotion means you’re missing out on half of its value. Let’s not forget what makes social media great. It’s a place you can connect. Although I’m all for planning ahead and scheduling my posts in advance, one thing I won’t ever miss (or outsource) is the opportunity to show up and connect with real people. 

 Promoting your business or brand on social media is important, but it’s just one use of a diverse and valuable tool. You’ll get more out of it by showing up and connecting with people in your industry on a regular basis. Even if you’re not being asked for advice or solutions, being there to support and encourage others can help build relationships that lead to collaboration later. Sometimes all you need to start is an introduction, so never be afraid to say hi!

EMAIL MARKETING VS SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

It’s obvious—email marketing is one of, if not THE, most effective ways to reach customers. If you’re hoping to spend less time on social media, then getting your email list started might also be a really great idea. I learned a valuable lesson after spending years building up my Facebook fan page (back when we could still reach our followers organically) and overnight losing that connection when Facebook pushed new changes on who saw our content. I promised myself I wouldn’t make the same mistake with Instagram or any other social media platform. Instead, I used social media but focused more on building my list. A direct connection to my customer and clients. Thanks to my list, I was also able to spend less time on social media, but still reach my audience directly anytime I sent an email. Email marketing is also just one piece of the marketing puzzle, but a piece that I truly enjoy utilizing. 

LIMITING TIME ON SOCIAL MEDIA CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS

Many entrepreneurs say that social media is addictive, and believe it’s holding them back from focusing on what really matters. By spending less time on Facebook and Instagram, you’ll be able to invest more time in other areas of your business—and get much more done in your day-to-day operations. Start by determining how much time you currently spend on social media each day, then figure out if that is the best way forward. Figure out how much time you really need to spend on social media, and then make that your goal. Often enough, when it comes to social media it’s easy to let those quick 5 minutes turn into two hours. By being more aware of how we spend our time on social media, we become more productive with how we spend our overall time. 

IT’S OK TO NOT ALWAYS WANT TO CREATE CONTENT 

Being on social media is important because it provides another way for people to engage with your brand and business. But just because social media plays a big role in how we market our business these days, doesn’t mean we should feel obligated to spend all our time on it. I’ve actually had more success with marketing by being less on social media because it’s allowed me to focus my time on other parts of my marketing strategy that so often got pushed to the side. Remember: Social media marketing is just one tiny piece of the marketing game. There are many other ways you can go about marketing your business. What’s most important is that you find a way to market your business in a way that you enjoy. If social media isn’t at the top of your list, then stop making it such a huge priority and instead focus on marketing you enjoy. 

Thankfully, I specialize in creating social media captions that can easily be customized to who you are and what you do. They are perfect for any kind of business owner ready to start showing up online consistently.

WORDSMITH SOCIAL MEDIA CAPTION EXAMPLES:

1) BIG WARM HELLO (PERSONAL)

I haven’t introduced myself on here for a while so I thought I’d do that again. A big warm hello to all of you  My name is [name] and I’m the [girl, woman, man driving force, dreamer] behind [your business name].

When I was [age or time in your time] I fell in love with [what you do] after [an experience that helped you find your passion] and in [year you started your business] I decided to go for it and [your business name] was born.

I spend most of my days [what you typically do for your job] and love every minute of it. For me, what I do is so much more than just a job, it’s something I picture myself doing for years to come because it allows me to [your favorite part of what you do], and I honestly couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

I’m also a [something else you are, parent, mom, occupation] and obsessed with [something you love to do, like spending time with your family, drawing, reading, etc.] in my free time.

I’d love to get to know you a little better, comment below and come say hello and tell me where you’re from, it’s always so much fun to see where everyone is!

2) THE PERFECT FIT  (EDUCATIONAL)

What’s the number one thing you look for when you’re searching for the perfect [enter your job title]? Is it [list a few things like price, style, location, personality, etc]? If you’ve been looking for a [your job title] you’ve probably realized that it can be a little overwhelming at times and I’m here to help you in your search with my 5 best tips on finding the perfect [your job title]! 

[offer tips to help them in their search. ex; if you’re a photographer you might mention that they should view their portfolio to see if they have the right style, or that cheaper prices can sometimes be a red flag]
1. [Tip number one]

2. [Tip number two]

3. [Tip number three]

4. [Tip number four]

5. [Tip number five]

I hope these little tips help you with your search. If you’d love to talk more about hiring me as your [job title] then shoot me a message! I have a few [available appointments, spots, sessions, etc] in the next [week, month, year] and would love to send you some more information to see if we’d be a great fit! 

3) WHERE ARE YOU FROM (ENGAGING)

I’d love to know; where are you from? There are so many new faces, and it’s always fun to see where everyone is located! Most of you probably know, but I live in [your current location] and have been calling this beautiful place home for [how many years you’ve lived there].

Near or far, comment and below and let me know where you’re from!

FREE INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS

You can get a whole month’s worth of social media captions when you sign up for the free trial for Wordsmith. A platform dedicated to helping business owners create great content. I publish new content for you to use every single month!

If you’re a business owner, spend less time on social media without missing out on any of its benefits and be more productive with how you use social media to grow your business.  This will in turn help build your brand and give you back valuable time.  Start by creating daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly goals for yourself on social media so that you can track your results over time. You don’t need to spend hours each day managing your social media pages. Sometimes it comes down to using these marketing tools more efficiently to get the most out of them. 

Ready for more? Join my newsletter and be the first to know about new articles published on the blog, business tips, and of course, all the best strategies and free resources. There’s a reason this list is 70,000 strong!

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I’ve always been one of those people who wanted to do as much as possible, as fast as possible. Which sounds great in theory but doesn’t actually work so well in practice. Over the years, I’ve learned the value of batch working. Which has helped me become significantly more efficient in my workflow. Now I have far more time available to dedicate to the things that really matter.

In the world of startups and entrepreneurs, working longer hours means you’re working harder. But it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting more done or spending your time in the most effective way possible. In fact, working too much can become counterproductive. As your brain will start to lose focus, and you’ll waste time on unnecessary activities. (Like checking your Facebook notifications or refreshing Instagram). If you want to be productive, learn how to batch work. This way you’ll get more done each day with less stress and fatigue.

WHY ENTREPRENEURS SHOULD LEARN TO BATCH WORK

Entrepreneurs are well-known for working long hours—and that’s a good thing. But, entrepreneurs often struggle with not enough time in the day. They often find themselves not getting enough time for other important things. (Like sleep or exercise, and not spending enough time with family and friends). However, entrepreneurs can learn to manage their time better.

Here’s how: By learning how to batch work. 

WHAT IS BATCH WORK?

In a time where everyone is expected to be available all of the time, batch working can give you valuable control over how much work you take on in a given period. If you’re strapped for time and need more things done in less time, batch working is an excellent way to get stuff done. This also frees up your mental capacity so that when you are not on duty for one specific task, you can focus on other aspects of your business. Here’s what we mean:

Let’s say you find yourself spending a lot of time doing many tasks throughout your workday; you bounce from checking emails to a client call, then work on a new blog article, jump on IG or Facebook for a few minutes, all while searching the internet for something you need. You’re doing A LOT all at once every day.

WHY DOES BATCHING WORK SO WELL?

Batch work, on the other hand, divides specific time-consuming tasks (like checking your emails, responding to clients or writing IG captions) into a set time frame. During this time, you focus only on that one task. 

By dedicating time to doing only one thing, you become more focus and more efficient in the work you do. 

For my business, I’ve learned to batch work for many different things. One of the main ones is writing social media captions. Something that used to take me so much time! As someone who writes social media content for others (in the Curated Captions Membership). I’ve learned that I write better when I have a set amount of time to just sit and write and really focus only on that one thing. I turn off my phone and remove all other distractions. Instead of writing one caption per day, I spend a few hours and write ALL captions for the months. Now that task is not something I need to do daily, and the work I produce is far better because it was created with 100% of my attention.  

BATCH WORKING FOR EFFICIENCY

The idea of batch working involves breaking down work into manageable chunks. Business owners who successfully incorporate batch working into their schedule say they now spend less time worrying about their to-do list and more time actually getting things done. It’s a matter of learning how to manage your energy rather than an endless stream of tasks. It may be tough in the beginning—and definitely requires some discipline—but after a few weeks or months, you’ll likely begin to notice that you have days where you just get loads done with very little procrastination.

WHAT IS TIME BLOCKING

This is when you schedule chunks of time for specific tasks. The idea behind it is that if you block off time for each task, you can accomplish more during your workday since you’re not trying to multi-task or manage distractions. Block off uninterrupted times in your calendar specifically for certain activities. Schedule appointments with yourself, basically. If there are times during your day where you tend to get distracted or find yourself unproductive, blocking them out could help keep you on track. For me, time blocking & batch editing go hand in hand. 

THE POWER OF BATCH WORKING + TIME BLOCKING

Entrepreneurs are often so busy jumping from one thing to another that they don’t even realize when they might be falling behind. Using time-blocking in your schedule allows you to see exactly how much time you’re spending on each task, and when you can allocate more time to something that needs it. When used alongside batch working, entrepreneurs can be more efficient at work than ever before!

How you can batch work and get more done in less time

There’s a lot of flexibility when it comes to how you want to manage your time and still get a lot done. Find a method that works for you and stick with it. For example, say you check email only one time per day—during the morning. Keep that routine daily (or weekly, or monthly depending on what the task is).

START BATCH WORKING TODAY!

You’ve heard of The 4-Hour Workweek—but what about a 4-hour workday? What if instead of working for eight hours, you worked just four hours in the morning, leaving the rest of your day free for personal activities or even working on another project? It might sound crazy at first, but batching can save you an incredible amount of time—and could be one of your best tools for moving forward in reaching your biggest goals!

Speaking of getting more done in less time, I have plenty of resources to help you with your business. If you’re interested in becoming my newest client (and letting me write ALL your IG captions every month), then head on over to the Wordsmith to learn more! 

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It’s no surprise that social media is one of the best tools to grow your business by connecting with more clients or customers. Although social media has changed a lot over the years, one thing stands true; People will seek to connect with people and brands that they love. In this post, I’ll share with you 5 secrets to growing your social media following quickly.

But as business owners, it’s easy to feel like we’re just not finding the right people online. Scaling a following is a lot of work, and often enough, it’s tied to not having a solid social media strategy. So in this article, I figured it would be fun to list five tips that have helped me the most when it comes to growing a social media following.

Social media continues to grow as the primary method of connecting with ideal clients and customers, so knowing how to use it effectively can be your key to success in business. Although it can be tricky to master, it’s also an essential marketing channel that you should absolutely be using if you haven’t already. While your friends and family members will always be your first fans, you can go beyond this by creating a social media following of people who are truly interested in your brand and what you have to offer them. Here are five steps to grow your social media following and connect with more ideal clients and customers through social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

#1 Be Authentic 

To connect with your ideal client and build a loyal following, you must be yourself. Social media is all about sharing information and connections; it’s not about contrived sales pitches. The more authentic you are on social media and across all your marketing efforts, the better clients will respond to you and your business. And if they don’t respond well? Then they probably aren’t your ideal client anyway—and you needn’t waste time trying to win them over.

#2 Create Content Pillars 

A content pillar is a structure or framework for your brand. Most successful brands have more than one: HubSpot has six, and Zappos has five. Content pillars are there to help you develop specific types of content. So start brainstorming what kind of pillars and strategies might work best for your own business. Remember: It’s not an exact science! If it were, we’d all be doing exactly what everyone else was doing (which would make us interchangeable with our competitors). Just make sure your pillars and strategies give you room to be creative and differentiate yourself from others in your industry over time. This tip alone should help you so much when it comes to growing your social media account.

After testing many different types of content pillars, I’ve found that the following five have done the best for small business owners. 

CONTENT PILLAR EXAMPLE

• Personal – Sharing things about who you are
• Engaging – Questions, polls, posts that people can easily engage with.
• Promotional – Sales, promotions, and other kinds of pitches.
• Passion – Why you do what you do. 
• Educational – Sharing helpful tips is a great way to help others and position yourself as an expert in your industry.

By covering these five content pillars, you’ll have enough range in the content you share. Instead of having a page that only posts sales pitches and promotional material, or one that only shares personal posts, you’ll have a perfect balance in the type of content you share and content your audience will be excited to see.

These are the same content pillars I use when I create captions for our Curated Captions members. This way, my clients have a whole month of content ready to go and have the perfect mix of captions.  

If you’d like to see what that looks like, sign up for free and get instant access to a whole month of social media captions that are ready for you to customize and post! 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREE CAPTIONS

#3 Engage With Ideal Clients and Customers

If you have a business, chances are you spend a lot of time using social media in hopes of connecting with your ideal customer or client. The key with social media is realizing that not everyone will be part of your online community—focusing on ideal clients and customers will help your business grow more effectively. When building your following, find ways to connect with people who need what you offer. For example, if you own a personal training business, share tips for putting healthy habits in place or useful tips for eating clean and cutting out processed foods. You’ll not only engage new potential customers but also show off your expertise.

#4 Develop Stronger Relationships

This is a key component of any social media marketing strategy. You can create many connections without necessarily developing relationships (or scaling your business), but these connections will be few and far between. In order to grow your social media following, you need to build a strong connection with the right kind of people. Don’t just post content, and disappear but make sure to take time to engage with others, especially those who are taking the time to engage with your content. 

#5 Post Consistently 

Consistency is key in everything you do. It’s easy to get stuck in a routine, but if you want your social media following to grow, it’s essential that you post consistently. You never know where new clients might come from and showing up consistently will pay off quickly when it comes to anything you do in life and business. 

Although social media continues to grow and provide a wide range of ways for you to promote your brand, there are a few things you should always remember: make it personal, use images that represent your brand, build an audience over time, and don’t just push out content. Post with a purpose and make real connections with the right people. All of these will help ensure that your efforts pay off in a big way. I hope these 5 secrets to growing your social media following tips help you connect to more customers and clients online!

It’s up to you as an entrepreneur to decide what works best for your business—but following these five tips should be part of every strategy.

Don’t forget; Behind every brand, there’s a passion and a story.

Start sharing yours today. Grab that free month of captions to get started!

ACCESS FREE IG CAPTIONS

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The last time I set up my in-home studio space, I had to figure it out as I went. Having gone through the process already, I knew exactly what I needed. I figured it would be a perfect way to give photographers some insight on how they, too can set up a fully functional in-home studio without spending a fortune. I recorded the whole process so you can watch the setup and create your very own dream studio space!  I’m sharing all the details on how to create this dreamy space in a complete DIY White Studio Setup Guide as the newest freebie in our resource section.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD DIGITAL GUIDE

Over the years, I’ve always gotten a ton of questions on what materials I use. Especially for the floor and so excited to finally have an actual mini guide on the entire setup. You’ll know exactly what I use, how to set it up and learn some bonus tips on shooting in natural light. 

I spent a total of $138. But for a smaller set up you can spend as little as $86 for the same look. This has been my go-to setup for years. 

The digital guide includes the following: 

• Video tutorial on the studio setup
• Step-by-step instructions
• Item list (with direct links) 
• My favorite natural light setups

There are a few diagrams to show you some of my favorite ways to use natural light and the final results. This way you can learn a little bit about how to shoot in this space as well. 

Below are a few questions I’ve also gotten a lot in the past. Although I no longer shoot full time, these will be helpful for any photographer looking to grow their business. In the past, I’ve always had in-home studios and loved every minute of it!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE

WHY DO I PREFER HAVING AN INDOOR STUDIO?

The majority of my sessions consist of baby sessions and maternity sessions. Since babies are little, I need something simple, cozy and comfortable. My other sessions are done outside, so I don’t need a space for my traditional sessions that gives me a ton of space. With itty bitty babies, it’s actually nicer to have something that they too can feel comfortable in. And as a photographer, it’s awesome to have a space where everything is set up how it needs to be without needing to constantly set up and tear down. Choosing a space like this helps me as a photographer create more consistent work, and I love that about using a studio space.

This studio space will be used for baby, newborn and commercial sessions.

Since those are what I’m booked for most, it’s very convenient to have it at home because it means I don’t have to drive anywhere for the session, saving me time throughout the day because I can go from working in my office to shooting a session, then jump straight into editing which I love. I have a limited amount of time available so the less I have to drive back and forth the better!

LARGER STUDIO

Since I might require a larger space now and then, I found an amazing 2000+ sq ft all-white studio space that is available on an hourly rate. IF I need something bigger than the space I use at home I can easily use this space on a need-to-use basis without having the incredibly high overhead cost of retail space. Many larger cities offer this sort of thing, just search for photography studio space rental. It’s an awesome option for those of us who don’t have the space at home or prefer to have something outside their home without having to sign a long lease and have a monthly studio rental bill.

BUT WHAT WILL MY CLIENTS THINK?!

I get this question from fellow photographers who have thought about setting up their own in-home studio but are scared that it doesn’t look professional to clients who will be booking them. My advice on that is this; I have never not booked a client due to my in-home studio. When clients book me, they are looking at the finished product, my work and fall in love with that, not my studio space. They trust me as their photographer to create the same quality of work for their session. When potential clients go over my work, they care much more about what my work looks like, than how large my studio space is. Many of my clients become wonderful friends and since many of them book me for their maternity, newborn, then baby milestones they feel incredibly comfortable here. I love welcoming clients into my home and studio.

So if you’re on the fence about it, give it some thought. An in-home studio might be a wonderful fit for you and your clients.

Ok now to my favorite part, let’s go over how to set up your very own in home studio!

NATURAL LIGHT

If you’re a natural light photographer like me, then having a space that has plenty of that gorgeous light is top priority! I picked a room that basically consists of large windows on one side giving me plenty of light to work with. The room is filled with beautiful light, and that’s exactly what you need when you count on natural light. If you love using studio light, then having natural light is not a priority.

ENOUGH SPACE

Think about how you want to use the space. What type of sessions you want to offer and find a space that gives you enough space to work in. Since I love working with babies and newborns, I don’t need a ton of space to move around. I’m usually up close and personal when I’m shooting so a wall that is 9+ feet wide is great for space. Since the room I’m working in, also allows me to shoot long ways I have 30+ feet that I can shoot from the other way and get farther away portraits. I love creating dreamy backlit images so shooting directly against the windows will be perfect for those sorts of portraits!

WHITE FLOOR

This is one of the things I get the most questions on. What type of floor do I use? As you can tell by the images, there’s a slight glossy look to it. Prior to switching to these types of floors, I used seamless papers and just got frustrated with the number of times the paper would tear or all the staining that would happen when it was in use. Working with babies = lots of drooling so having something that isn’t going to show drool spots is awesome. It’s the perfect white, shiny and since it has that smooth finish, it makes it easy to clean.

So you’re probably wondering, what the heck is it and where can you get some!? You’ll get all that info in the digital guide. I have a whole sheet that lists all the items I used for my studio so you can use the exact same pieces. The floor is by far, the best part about the whole thing and it took me a long time to figure out exactly what worked the best.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD DIGITAL GUIDE