Ever wondered if your freebies are helping people buy—or just taking up digital space? In this episode, I’m sharing how a single podcast (shoutout to Jenn Green!) made me rethink everything I’ve ever created. I ran my freebies through her mini/medium/large framework, pulled in ChatGPT to help, and uncovered a few surprising gaps—and a lot of hidden potential.

If you’ve got a few too many opt-ins floating around… this one’s for you.

Find it Quickly

[00:00] Something strange started happening with my freebies… 👀

[01:07] What does it really mean when someone downloads three freebies at once?

[01:56] Did my “everything” page work a little too well?

[02:43] Multiple freebies, multiple formats… but where’s the journey?

[03:51] A single podcast episode flipped how I think about every freebie I’ve made

[05:18] Do you have a strategy beyond opt-ins?

[05:46] So I fed ChatGPT the podcast transcript and said: analyze this for me

[06:57] The moment I realized I wasn’t repurposing my best content

[07:58] When AI told me I had no large lead magnets 😅

[08:39] What actually is a high-value freebie?

[10:09] Can a 20-minute video be considered “in-depth”?

[10:53] Spoiler: I don’t want to teach anything for 90 minutes

[12:41] Revisiting my “email guide” freebie

[13:29] Will turning one training into two formats = a better experience?

[14:48] My new non-negotiable: every freebie must lead to a win

[15:35] Want to clean up your own freebie graveyard? Start here

[16:23] It’s not about more content. It’s about making it all work together

Mentioned in this Episode

My Everything Page

Client Hub for Airtable

Content Hub for Airtable

Workflow Magic

Systems Saved Me Podcast (Guest Host Jenn Green)

Ready to make booking you effortless for your clients? In this episode, I’m breaking down how to create a five-minute booking process using a well-structured proposal (or quote/smart file, depending on your CRM). If booking feels like a scavenger hunt, leads will ghost instead of sign—but with the right setup, you can take them from inquiry to booked in just minutes!

If you’ve been following along in the Client Experience Series, this final step ties everything together! Plus, if you need an easy button, check out my pre-made booking proposal templates for Dubsado & HoneyBook. No Canva or coding required!

🔗 Grab your proposal template here → coliejames.com/booking-templates

Don't forget to use the code PODCAST for 10% off.

Find it Quickly

1:09 - Why You Need a Five-Minute Booking Process

2:38 - Key Benefits of Proposals & Smart Files

3:29 - What Makes a Highly Converting Proposal?

3:55 - The Header Section

4:52 - The About You Section

6:00 - The Process Section

6:33 - FAQs & Handling Objections

7:25 - Simplifying Your Offers

8:59 - Making This Work Without Dubsado/HoneyBook

9:23 - Final Tips for a High-Converting Proposal

9:47 - Easy Button: Proposal Templates

10:41 - Next Steps & Wrap-Up

This is the third episode of the Client Experience Series! Now that you’ve mapped out your client experience, it’s time to turn those steps into workflows inside your CRM. In this episode, I’m breaking down how to structure your workflows into phases, determine what should happen automatically versus manually, and set up the triggers that keep everything running smoothly. If you haven’t listened to last week’s episode on mapping your client experience, go back and give it a listen first!

Find it Quickly:

01:19 - Breaking Your Client Experience into Phases

02:32 - The Four Essential Workflows

04:21 - How to Assign Workflow Triggers

05:13 - Automate vs. Manual Steps

06:11 - Does It Need a Personal Touch?

07:07 - Example: Building an Inquiry Workflow

10:26 - Creating a Workflow Recipe

12:41 - Testing Your Workflows

13:56 - Final Thoughts & Next Steps

Client Experience Audit

Ep. 195 - A Breakdown of My Audit Process

Ep. 196 - How to Begin Mapping Your Client Experience

This is the second episode of the Client Experience Series. Today I'm sharing a breakdown of how to begin mapping your processes as the first step to create and implement your client experience inside your CRM. If you haven't listened to last week's episode on how to audit your current client experience, give it a listen and take my new CRM Self-Audit Quiz at coliejames.com/audit

Find it Quickly:

00:46 - Recap on Client Experience Series Episode 1

2:01 - Identify Your Touchpoints

3:49 - Required Action or Response?

5:52 - Where will the touchpoint take place?

6:59 - IdentifyTimeline for each touchpoint

9:32 - Recap and Next Steps

Mentioned in this Episode

Client Experience Series: Ep 195 - My Audit Process

Take the Self-Audit Quiz

If this is the year you're looking to improve your client experience, you've come to the right place! Auditing your systems and workflows is key to not only improving your experience, but optimizing and refreshing it year after year. To kick off our new client experience series on the podcast, I'm sharing a breakdown of my own audit process and what I'm looking for in your systems!

Find it Quickly:

00:29 - Starting the Client Experience Audit

1:19 - Winter is Coming Series Recap

5:17 - Identifying Red Flags in Client Experience

6:21 - Steps in a Client Experience Audit

12:27 - Self-Audit Tools and Next Steps

Mentioned in this Episode

Winter is Coming Series:

• Ep 26: Auditing Your Offer
• Ep 27: Auditing Your Message
• Ep 28: Auditing Your Systems

Take the Self-Audit Quiz

Beyond our careers, we're real humans experiencing real obstacles in our lives. Katrina joins us to share how a boudoir session helped her overcome a really dark and insecure time in her life, encouraging her to do the same for other women. Plus, listen in as she highlights how she's been awarded a few grant opportunities and why other creatives need to apply too!

Today’s episode is brought to you by my Client Hub Template inside the DIY Systems Template Shop. Business owners often have their client information spread across a variety of different tools, making it hard to access the information they need to make critical decisions. That’s why I built the Client Hub Template for Airtable, to take the guesswork out of building your own!

Buy Now >>

Find it Quickly:

00:24 - Meet Katrina

02:10 - The Journey to Boudoir and Wedding Photography

03:51 - Overcoming Personal Challenges Through Boudoir

05:56 - Balancing Boudoir and Wedding Photography

06:33 - Navigating Studio Spaces for Boudoir Photography

09:51 - The Power of Repeat Clients and Referrals

13:36 - Exploring Small Business Grants

16:57 - Tips for Successful Grant Applications

28:25 - Katrina's Upcoming Boudoir and Portrait Workshop

Mentioned in this Episode

Episode 70: Know Your Purpose with LaJune King

Citizens Bank

Verizon

Comcast Rise

Goldman Sachs

HoneyBook Breakthrough Grants

HoneyBook

Connect with Katrina

Website: katrinacrossphotography.com

Instagram: @katrinacrossphotography

Workshop: eventshare.link/clicktoelevate

Are you relying on your clients to become repeat clients solely because they loved their images from their last shoot? Sometimes that's not enough—the key to client retention in a creative business is a well-crafted client experience. Natasha Sewell joins us to share how she's created an intentional workflow and client experience that bring customers back to her time and time again. Listen in as she highlights where you should share frequently asked questions, how optimizing contact forms creates a better opportunity for you, why video content is so important, and the value of continuing client relationships post-delivery!

Today’s episode is brought to you by my Client Hub Template inside the DIY Systems Template Shop. Business owners often have their client information spread across a variety of different tools, making it hard to access the information they need to make critical decisions. That’s why I built the Client Hub Template for Airtable, to take the guesswork out of building your own!

Buy now >>

Find it Quickly:

02:10 - The Importance of Client Experience

04:18 - In-Home Photography Challenges and Tips

09:11 - Enhancing Client Communication

12:30 - Utilizing Video in Client Experience

15:04 - Post-Session Client Engagement

31:28 - Optimizing Your Contact Page

Mentioned in this Episode

Episode 123: 3 Videos to Create for Your Client Experience Right Now (Video Visibility Series)

Episode 28: Outsourcing for the WIN with Kati Douglas

Pic-Time (Use code COLIE for 15% off)

Loom

Kit

Client Experience Freebie

Connect with Natasha

Website: npsphotography.com

Instagram: instagram.com/npsphotography

Client Experience Freebie

When you sit down to write an email, do you find yourself staring at a blank screen lacking inspiration? Today's episode is meant to inspire you with tools and templates to help get out of your head and into the inboxes of your audience! In this episode, Hannah Davis joins me to talk about her preference for email marketing over social media, her process for writing newsletters, and how tools like templates and AI help her get started in content creation.

Today’s episode is brought to you by my Content Organization Hub! If you are drowning in a sea of post its trying to keep track of all your content ideas or maybe you’re struggling to remember what you posted on which platform and when, I totally get it.

That’s why I created the content organization hub for air table for just 9. You can finally put an end to content chaos. Imagine having all your marketing content in one central location. Easily linked, perfectly organized, and ready to go whenever you are. Grab the Content Organization Hub and get 10% off with code PODCAST!

Mentioned in this Episode

Ashlyn Carter's Copy Bar

Episode 138: Generating Monthly Recurring Revenue with a Membership (Beyond Services: Expanding Your Offer Suite) with Liz Wilcox

Episode 044: How to Use Emails to Make Friends with Liz Wilcox

Connect with Hannah

Website: madewithboldness.com

Newsletter: madewithboldness.com/newsletter

Instagram: instagram.com/madewithboldness

Is networking a part of your business strategy this year? If it's never felt like the right move for your business, today's episode may change your mind. Master connector, Mikki Wilson, joins us to explore the importance of relationship marketing in growing a creative business, as opposed to traditional networking. Listen in as she shares practical strategies for effective networking, both in-person and online, the essence of maintaining a supportive community, and the need to build authentic connections.

Today’s episode is brought to you by my Client Hub Template inside the DIY Systems Template Shop. Business owners often have their client information spread across a variety of different tools, making it hard to access the information they need to make critical decisions. That’s why I built the Client Hub Template for Airtable, to take the guesswork out of building your own!

Connect with Mikki

Website: dotconnectorconsulting.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mikkiwilson

Instagram: instagram.com/mikconnectsdots

Does your marketing strategy and content fall flat? Maybe you struggle with knowing what to create. In today's episode, Dayna Schaaf of This Can't Be That Hard joins us to introduce The Marketing Jar, an analogy which categorizes marketing efforts into rocks, pebbles, sand, and water.

Listen in as they share how prioritizing high-impact activities (rocks) and spreading them throughout the year while filling in with medium-impact (pebbles), foundational (sand), and daily tasks (water) can help photographers strategically plan their marketing.

Grab the planner mentioned in today's episode!

Today’s episode is brought to you by my Content Organization Hub! If you are drowning in a sea of post its trying to keep track of all your content ideas or maybe you’re struggling to remember what you posted on which platform and when, I totally get it.

That’s why I created the content organization hub for air table for just 9. You can finally put an end to content chaos. Imagine having all your marketing content in one central location. Easily linked, perfectly organized, and ready to go whenever you are. Grab the Content Organization Hub and get 10% off with code PODCAST!

BUY NOW >>

Find it Quickly:

00:21 - Meet Dayna

01:56 - The Marketing Jar Analogy: Planning Your Content Strategy

2:47 - The Rocks: High Impact Activities

13:15 - The Pebbles: Medium Impact Activities

17:07 - The Sand: Foundational

19:58 - The Water: Daily Tasks

22:49 - Evergreen Content and Automation Tips

31:53 - Recap and Resources for Effective Marketing