The Photographer Marketing Mindset

The breakdown to why you don’t have enough leads in your business.

It’s the start of a new year which is why it is important to start out strong, with a plan and determination to hit your goals and make 2026 a great year for your business.

I am hearing more than ever at the moment things like
Facebook ads aren’t working,
It’s hard to get clients.
I’m worried about the economy.

Are these statements true? For some photographers yes for others no

The thing is social media was so easy for so long and now you have to tweak, work smarter and spend a little more to get the same results.
Times change, strategies change so you have to evolve and change with them, not sit there, and do the same thing that no longer works and complain.
When we have a tightening economy the first thing to dry up is passive marketing so as portrait & wedding photographers, we need to have an active marketing strategy. This puts us back in control of our business destiny and we can control & predict our business cashflow.

I was fortunate to be around as a business pre social media (yes, I am that old) and you had to work for leads a lot harder and do more leg work, network more and get creative.
The principles are the same, but I think in some regard social media made us lazy and we rely too heavily on it at times.

What I want to walk you through here are some different ways to look at marketing from a different angle and that is mindset and the way we look at it and show up in our business. At the end of the day, you are the business, and your thoughts & beliefs dictate what actions you take and don’t take which then dictate the results you get.

No leads isn’t the problem it’s a symptom of the problem, the actual problem tends to come down to lack of action.

Let me explain.

When it comes to marketing, we tend to overcomplicate it.
Step 1 – Identify who your ideal client is for each area of your business.
Step 2 – Identify where your idea clients hang out; virtually (online) and in person.
Step 3 – What is an offer, USP or promotion I can put in front of them to engage and take an action – click on a link, fill out their details, enquire for more information enter to win etc.
Step 4 – take action!!!!

This seems like an oversimplification, but it really isn’t, the first three elements of this process seem to be the easiest but where most of us come unstuck is step, taking action.

Let me give you an example: you are a newborn photographer, and you have identified an obstetrician practise that services your idea client. You have worked out a promotion or gift card that they could offer their clients from you but that’s where you stop.

What if they say no, who am I to even ask, what if the offer isn’t good enough, what if they don’t like my photos etc…

We let these thoughts and negative self-talk stop us from taking an action that has the possibility to bring in quality clients & thousands of dollars to our business.

Why do we do this?

What stops us taking the action needed?

It all comes down to mindset and the limiting beliefs and blocks we have about ourselves and others and the inability or aversion of getting out of our comfort zone and doing something we have fear around. We tend to take the path of least resistance like posting on social media, updating our website etc which are all passive marketing strategies but don’t get us the results we desire.

Success in business is Step 4 – taking those actions you are fearful or and taking them often. Those who are successful consistently take action outside their comfort zone. So, approach that wedding venue, that obstetrician, book that expo stall, test out that Facebook Ad, try a new promotion. They won’t all work but the more action you take the more likely you are to get the leads needed to make the business successful.

At the end of the day, you are the business, so your results are dictated by the action you do and don’t take. I have a training that I did on this topic so if you want a deeper dive into this and some action steps to take to make sure your marketing is on point this year then feel free to dm me on Instagram @johldunn and I will send it through.