How My Mind Was Blown | A Year Later

If you have followed me for any length of time in the past year, you have heard me refer to my experience in working with Katelyn James last year. Just over a year ago, I drove from Atlanta to Richmond, VA to participate in a workshop hosted by Katelyn. At the time, I was just a few months into being a WAHM (work at home Mom) with Levi and knew I needed to make some changes in my business to grow myself in 2015 and onward.

I saw on her Instagram feed that she was hosting a special workshop different from her others that she normally does. This one was focusing on branding and marketing. I was in the middle of my rebrand and knew that this was EXACTLY what I needed to hear; so I invested $750 in the workshop and four days to drive up there and back and spend two days listening to Katelyn teach us about branding and marketing in our businesses. (Best $750 I’ve invested in my business ever!)

Katelyn started her business when I did back in 2008 and is now one of the industry’s leading photographers for education and teaching other photographers how to run their businesses successfully. I started following her way back when she was Inspired Design by Katelyn James and just in college (she’s a few years younger than me). I still don’t remember how I came across her page at the time, but it has been incredible watching her grow over the years into the amazing photographer she is and the amazing educator she is in the industry. Not only is she amazing on those levels, but she and her husband, Michael, are so personable and genuine. They love Jesus and it shines and shows in their business with their clients and their KJ education clients. I’ve got to see Katelyn twice since the workshop and she hugs me and talks to me every single time. Guys, she’s like a celebrity in the photographer world and everyone wants time to talk to her and meet her when we attend workshops and conferences, and she takes her time to talk to and take pictures with everyone who comes to her. I saw Michael last week at The Event when I was in DC, and while I hadn’t seen him in over a year, he came and hugged me and told me how glad he was that I was there. I just love how warm and welcoming they both are!

I came back from the workshop with my mind reeling from all of the stuff I learned. I went from the idea of changing Making Memories Photography to Eight Twelve Photography to completely scrapping all of that and making my business name my name. Katelyn spoke a great deal of truth to me in the power of my name and how my business name reflects much of my business and how I want to be seen by my clients and potential clients.

I feel like I have gotten to hang out with her a lot in December, as I have been taking her online editing course. I watch pretty much anything she has online with educational stuff. I read her blog daily. She just inspires me!

I was ready to make changes; and changes I made! I know that these changes made a BIG and GIANT difference in my business. I’ve seen it and you probably have too if you’ve been following me for any number of years. This time last year, I had ONE wedding booked for 2015. By the end of the year, I finished with eleven. My goal had been to hit ten for the year. Already for 2016, I have eleven lined up with a handful of consults on the books for more possible weddings. I’m hoping to hit at least fifteen and possibly take an extra one or two depending on when they are spaced out with my others. The changes I’ve made and am continuing to make are working and I’m so thrilled.

Big Changes I’ve Made: 

1) Blogging: I used to blog every once in a while. Pretty much whenever I had a session and sometimes here and there I would sprinkle a random post in there. Last year, I blogged 2-3 times a week almost every week of the year. Katelyn blogs nearly every workday of the week, and I’m working up to that, but I was so happy with my blogging presence in 2015 and how much it connected me to my clients and possible clients. My average blog traffic was maybe 50-75 hits a week before I started blogging consistently. Now, I’m hitting at least 1,000 a week, and even more on the weeks that I post a wedding or engagement session. And while 1,000 might not be a ton, it’s significantly more than what I was doing the years before!

2) Faster turnarounds: In relation to the blogging, I used to blog the weddings I shot weeks and weeks after I shot it or even waited until I had all of the pictures edited and released to the bride. Where is the excitement in that? The wedding was 4 weeks ago and I was just getting to blogging it?? Everyone has moved on at that point and there really is no point in blogging the wedding by then. So I followed Katelyn’s lead and started to blog the Tuesday after the wedding. And I added to the number of pictures I blogged… by a lot. Last year, I consistently blogged every wedding the Tuesday after the wedding. My girls now know and expect their blog post from their wedding to be posted the Tuesday after they get married. This creates such an excitement that is shared and passed around.

In addition, when I was working full-time, my turn around to my clients to get all of their pictures was 6-8 weeks. I could sometimes get them done faster, but it was near impossible with me working a 40 hour week (haha… more like 50-60 as a middle school teacher!) to get the pictures edited faster. I set a goal for myself this year to have each wedding turned around before the next one I shot. So when I was shooting in September a wedding a weekend, this meant that many of my brides got their pictures within a WEEK of their wedding- all 800+ pictures. And none of my brides waited more than 3 weeks for their wedding pictures. I know that this spoke to my girls; and I was happy to deliver their pictures to them so quickly after their special day.

3) InDesign: I LOVE InDesign. Katelyn showed us all of the stuff she does on her site using InDesign as well as her entire bridal magazine she gives to her girls in their welcome packages is made from InDesign. I was amazed at all of the amazing stuff you could do with InDesign. Katelyn opened my eyes to a work of graphic design I didn’t know I could do! Ben had just purchased the entire Creative Cloud for us to use, so right after I left Katelyn’s workshop, I came home and spent an entire weekend making my bridal magazine and learning how to use InDesign. Out of all of the Adobe programs, I feel like this one is the easiest to learn and use. I’ve loved the subtle changes it’s made in the look of my blog posts. I’ve also used it to make my online Bridal Guide I send to all brides when they inquire as well as paper products I’ve used throughout the year.

3) At Home Consults: I converted a portion of our front room last year into a meeting space with my clients. Now, this change didn’t come from Katelyn, as she doesn’t do consults, but this came from Justin and Mary. On the way home from the workshop last year, I listened to hours of podcasts from Justin and Mary, Jasmine Star, and other industry photographers. Justin and Mary have an amazing system that I decided to do for my business. And I’m telling you, it works! I absolutely love hosting potential MMP Brides in my home for consults. It’s so much more personal than going to a random Starbucks. We have such a wonderful time talking and getting to know each other! I have booked every single bride who has come to my home since I changed to this model. I had two clients I met with outside of my home last year due and neither of them booked me. Not sure if that’s a coincidence or not, but I think having them at my home has something to do with it.

I’m hosting my first workshop next month on this very topic and how to get those inquiries into clients and the process I now do! Oh and guess what I made this in? 🙂

4) Welcome Packages: Katelyn shared with us the idea of Welcome Packages, so last year, I started instituting Welcome Packages in my business for my couples. They have changed over the last year in what I include and I’m still working on the right items to fit my brand and provide a fun package for them, but consistently over the last year, I have included a wedding magazine that I designed to help my brides in their wedding planning process, some yummy candy treats, personalized date night cards, and a few other goodies. I love getting to welcome my MMP couples with these fun Welcome Packages. I know they love them as well!

This was one of the first Welcome Packages I sent earlier in the year. They have adapted some since then, but I am so happy with giving my clients these fun “welcome to MMP” packages!

5) MMP Bride Facebook Group: All of my brides now when they book me, get put into a Facebook group with all of my other MMP Brides. I have loved seeing them connect with each other in the group over their weddings, like each others blog posts, and even post and ask questions about wedding planning as well as vendors in the area. Katelyn told us at the workshop that this group would take some time to build up a community; and as my business continues to grow, so does this community of ladies who connect through one common thread: I’m their wedding photographer. I can’t wait to add more brides to the group!

6) My Face: Before last year, the only place you could find a picture of me for my business was the “about me” section of my website. No where else would you know who the photographer was behind the pictures that were taken. Now Katelyn told us that our face needs to be everywhere— okay, not everywhere, but that I’m more than a logo and more than just the pictures I take. If I’m going to be the face of my brand and my business I legit need to be the face of my brand and business. People need to see who I am. After talking to Katelyn about it, I made changes and even did a blog post on why this is important!

7) Making Personal Connections: Since I am not working full time as a school teacher anymore, I am able to spend more time committed to my clients. I have loved getting to know them more on a personal level throughout the year through texting them to check in or follow them on Facebook or Instagram to see what they are up to. I know so much more about my clients than I was able to years ago. I know that my girls appreciate the personal connection as well.

8) Ben as a Full Time Associate: I had already decided to add Ben to my team as a permanent associate to my business before going to Katelyn’s workshop, but seeing how well so many two person photography teams did, I knew I wanted to add him to work with me. Prior to last year, Ben joined me at weddings in which brides requested a second shooter. Many of them did, so Ben had been shooting with me a lot in the past years; but we decided in 2015 to market my business as a two person team, Ben being my all-time second shooter. He now joins me at all bridal shows and consultations with my brides. This way, the first time they meet Ben isn’t on their wedding day. I want them to get to know Ben just the same as they get to know me. It’s been an awesome change I made for 2015. I couldn’t thank Ben enough for all of the amazing help and work he has done for me. I couldn’t go back to not having him work with me!

9) Holiday Gifts: At the end of the year, my clients receive a special Christmas or Hanukah gift from me as a thank you for trusting me to take their pictures as well as a fun first married Christmas gift. I love baking cookies and making stuff around the holidays, so it’s a perfect gift to give to my clients! I have loved doing this for my couples the past two years! Per Katelyn’s idea, they also get a something else throughout the wedding process, but I don’t want to reveal it as I like keeping it a secret for my girls! But let’s just say I love doing and they love receiving it! (Katelyn knows what I’m talking about!)

Things I Still Need to Work On:

1) Brand Boosters: These are the things that Katelyn talks about that help people make a connection to you or make you think of them when you hear of something. For example, whenever I think of the color teal, I ALWAYS think of Katelyn. Hands down. A friend of mine is obsessed with David Bowie, so when he died this week, I immediately thought of this friend and wrote something on his Facebook wall. I would love for my followers and clients to have something they see or think of and immediately I come to mind. Right now a few of my “brand boosters” could be my love of running and how I post about it, my love of cooking, or my closet that is filled with striped clothes and the color blue. But I’m not quite there on something that my followers or clients thinks of me

2) My Online Presence: Particularly, my website. I really love my website. It showcases my work and my business in a creative and unique way, but when I look at it, I’m not sure it really reflects my style and how I want to be seen online. I have a friend in the business with a similar site; and I feel like her site reflects her style, but I’m not so sure about mine. Ben did an AMAZING job of designing it and putting it together for us, but I’m still trying to figure out how I want my online presence to be through my website. I got to really thinking last week at The Event when Jen Olmstead talked to us about branding and our websites. My website and blog are not cohesive, and I want that as well. I’m not going to rush into anything, but be on the lookout this year for changes to the look of my website and blog. I plan on making some changes.

Katelyn, THANK YOU so very much. You are amazing and I am so thankful for your willingness to teach me and others in the industry. I can’t wait for the next time that I will get to see you and learn more from you! Making micro changes and producing macro results, right Katelyn? 🙂