Welcome to Season 1 Episode 7 of the Creative Business Success Podcast! In today's episode, I talked to Amber, a fantastic wedding photographer from Arizona. She knows who her ideal client is, but has been having trouble finding and connecting with them. We brainstormed some ideas to help Amber grow her photography business so she can go full-time!

Here is a cheat sheet of some of the episode highlights:

Amber's intro, 0:52

Finding Amber's ideal clients, 1:39

Amber's current marketing and outreach efforts, 3:04

Expanding services and client follow-up, 6:10

Partnering with other local businesses, 7:10

Capitalizing on special interest groups, 8:12

Localizing your online efforts, 9:00

-How to automate your workflow/process!- 9:29

Local networking while having fun! 10:35

Optimizing your vendor email funnel, 11:25

Setting yourself apart from the masses, 14:14

Incentivizing interaction from qualified leads, 15:55

Where to connect with Amber! 18:38

Don't forget to grab your free trial of Dubsado to help you manage your clients and workflows!

Let’s dive a little deeper into a few solutions to help you connect with your ideal clients, though!

1 | Expanding services and client follow-ups

When you're working towards freelancing full-time, your signature service might need some boosters to get you started. Amber's main service is wedding photography and she supplements it with engagement sessions. One of the things she can do to expand her services and keep her clients connected with her is to offer anniversary sessions. It's a natural progression from wedding photography - Amber's clients will already be familiar and comfortable with her, after all!

By doing something as simple as adding a client's wedding date to her calendar with a yearly reminder and then sending a Happy Anniversary card with a 10% off coupon before their anniversary date, she could start to book consistent return clients for anniversary photography. People like to be remembered, even if it's just a quick handwritten note with a memory of their wedding. This is a simple action that could have a huge return on investment!

Go beyond what you already offer and find complimentary services. These little extras and personal touches can set you apart from your competition and bring your clients back time and again!

2 | Network while having fun!

Networking DOES NOT have to be a drag or a chore. There are so many ways to organically network. After all, one of the first questions that many people ask after meeting someone is, "So what do you do?" This is the perfect opportunity to tell them what you're up to in your freelancing career without being pushy or salesy. If Amber goes to a Harry Potter trivia night at a local bar, she'll meet plenty of other Potter nerds. When they ask what she does and she responds that she's a wedding photographer, there may be someone who says, "Oh my gosh, my best friend Suzy just got engaged and you guys would get along so well! Can I have a business card?"

Don't write off organic networking opportunities! They can be even more powerful for client referrals than traditional networking.

3 | Incentivize qualified client leads

Getting leads is great, but if they aren't qualified (aka aren't your ideal client), they can end up being a waste of time for both of you. Amber had gotten a great response to a date night giveaway that she did at a bridal show,