302 - Google Ads for Photographers with Lindsay Herkert

people. But the fact of the matter is, as the industry grows, it becomes harder and harder to find those new people using just those tactics. Enter Google ads. Now, I know that all of us tend to balk a little bit when it comes to spending money, and potentially a lot of money to get people to see our businesses and connect with us. However, when it comes to Google ads, unlike Facebook ads or Instagram ads, you are paying money to have someone who is actively searching for what you

do find you first. It is a quick path to being, you know, on that first page of Google. And the truth is, because this is an underutilized resource in the photography industry, those ads are not as expensive as they are in other industries. Today, my guest is Lindsay Herkert, and she is a Google Ads expert who has been using Google ads in her own photography business for years to fill her calendar and keep herself completely booked.

Today, she's going to be talking not just about Google ads, but about how that strategy is part of a bigger sort of system and cycle where she's finding new clients, that way, getting them to actually book and then continuing to serve them for years to come. And I think her insights are so exciting, and I'm really excited to share them with you. Welcome to this can't be that hard. My name is Annemie Tonken, and I help photographers run profitable, sustainable

businesses that they love. Each week on the podcast, I cover simple, actionable strategies and systems that photographers at every level of experience can use to earn more money in a more sustainable way. Running a photography business doesn't have to be that hard. You can do it, and I can show you how. Lindsay, welcome to this can't be that hard. I am so excited to have you on the show. This is a juicy conversation that we are diving into today. How

story we all know. And then in 2017 we had a surprise move to Austin, and so I was forced to start over, which I was completely bummed about. I didn't know anybody in Austin, but it ended up being such a blessing, because I built my business the right way, and strategically right. So what happened was, after I, like, picked myself up and stop feeling sorry for myself. I signed up for some business courses and some workshops. And at the time, I have to admit, like I felt really disappointed

by what people were teaching. I felt like it was kind of platitudes. I remember hearing like, know your why a lot, which I felt like is important, but when you're looking for hard hitting advice, it's right, disappointing, yeah, and I remember one particular workshop I was at and really frustrated, and I recognized another photographer, and I knew she was successful, a successful

photographer in Austin. And during lunch, I, you know, swallowed my pride, and I went over to her, and I asked her, I just told her my situation, and I said, you don't have to answer me. I know you're my competition, but I would appreciate any advice you could give me. And that's when she

told me about Google ads. And I think at the time, I. I remember going home and talking to my husband and being like, super nervous about it, because I was in free, afraid to invest the $300 a month, which is what she, um, recommended. And to me, that just seemed like such a huge commitment. But over the course, I realized, like, if you're charging what you're worth, then that $300 a month should more than cover one client like or one client should more than

cover that cost. And Google Ads brings you so many more than one client. And fast forward to now, and I have a fully booked calendar and making more money than I ever thought, and I've learned so much about that mindset shift of having to reach out and hustle for clients versus clients coming to me right and not just not just clients, but ideal clients, clients who value what I what I do, and are willing to pay for

it. I wanted to say that I think that there is this sort of myth that you learn to use a camera and that people are just going to come to you and like, demand to pay you by high prices, ask to be your photographer. You see, like you hear this story, and I'm like, Who is that

person? And I realized at the beginning of this I just said, like, I built my business through family and friends, but if I'm honest, that was incredibly painful and exhausting, and that discounting mentality and like getting on Facebook groups, and

clients aren't. But when there's like a friend or a family, there's like, this additional pressure, and coupled with this weird pressure to like, am I supposed to give them something or discount something, or is this supposed to be free? Or like, how does this work? It just feels a lot cleaner and let and more professional. Honestly, when I am working for someone who found me and hired me because of what I offer, not because of who I am. Yes,

and it's so much work. So anyway, I know at it's hard for us as photographers to transition into like business mode, or being an a successful entrepreneur, and putting like you talk about it all the time, the foundations in place and the fundamentals in place to run a successful business, I think it's an unusual industry that we're in. You know, it's creative. We offer a service. We

offer it's a product. We're reflecting how people look so it's really tricky, but it's all the more reason to spend the time to get your systems in place. And I well, I'll put a pin in that.

that converts. And then the next arrow, or pillar, is an exceptional client experience. And these arrows, once you have everything set up are spinning in the background. It's like your wheel working for you. You're not having to, like, you know, hustle all the time, right? It does take time to set up, but it's spinning and working for you in the background. And these three arrows are spinning around the most important pillar, which is

ideal clients. And I just want to take a minute and talk about what that means, because I think it's this word that's thrown around, or ideal customer avatar. And I think the typical way people go about it is you sit down and you write on a piece of paper, like a story about somebody that you envision, that you're taking

photographs of. But. I think about with ideal clients is like animate your ideal client is different than my ideal client, but something that we have in common with ideal clients is that they need to value what we offer and be willing to pay for what we offer. And I think all of us as photographers need to get that in our heads, and then we dive deeper into the characteristics of our ideal

clients. And I think so many people are looking outward when they're thinking about this, but I think the important piece is to look inward first, and like, define who you are as a

photographer first. So I was working with a student, and she came to me and she said, like she felt like she was at a disadvantage because she could only shoot families during the week, but I told her to lean into that and market it, because I'm sure there's tons of people that want a photographer that shoots during the week, so that would be one of the characteristics that she's

marketing. And this is so important, especially when we use Google ads and SEO, because you really want to be clear about who you are going after, right or for like your students that are offering print sales or prints like you want to use, or know that that's who your ideal client is, people that are primed and ready to buy prints. You don't want to have to convince them. I mean, you convince them a little bit, but you don't want to have to be like, hustling and spending all your time

this and this. There's a lot of like, hard selling involved in that, which, you know, maybe it'll work, but it's emotionally taxing, and it spends a lot of time. Versus somebody who's like, I saw your website and your process, it's exactly what I've been looking for. Where do I sign? It's like, oh, call your friends and tell them to call me. Like, it's such a great feeling. Yeah,

as photographers. I think the reason I reached out to you, Annemie, was you did that podcast about social media and how you are backing away from posting your clients on social media. And I think so often photographers, maybe because our product is so visual, rely on social media, but social media is called interruptive marketing, and it's based on interrupting people while they're doing something else, so they're not thinking about purchasing photography, they're scrolling or playing a game.

It's similar to print ads back in the day, like if you're flipping through a magazine, and it's good for awareness, but it's really it's a hard sell. So you can still use social media as like a secondary thing, but your main focus should be intent based marketing, which is basically focusing on Google. And I do it through Google ads, which I've talked about, and dialed in SEO, and these two things drive quality leads to my website. So Google ads, in particular, you are only paying

per click. So sometimes it's called Pay Per Click advertising. You're using keywords and headlines to connect with the right people and come to and then they come to your website. So my goal is always to have at least 500 people visiting my website a month like that would be my slowest month. In my higher months, I want anywhere from like 1500 to 2000 people in my busy months. And in Austin, it's definitely like in California.

When I was in California, it was more spread out, but in Austin, it's definitely like spring and fall because of weather. So I do that through intent based marketing, which is just like appearing in front of my clients when they're actively searching and ready to buy. So somebody who's at their lunch break looking for a family photographer, and then I show up on their Google search, then I've already taken half the work out of the process.

be that hard business. And I Yeah, Facebook and Instagram. But when I started getting into that and seeing the power of like, oh, I don't actually have to hustle for every single new set of eyeballs. I can pay money and have more people see the stuff, and then, you know, ultimately you get better at that and find the right people

and all that. And as I started learning how to do that, I have lots of complaints about meta and, yeah, Facebook world and Instagram ads and all that sort of stuff, which is a whole separate conversation. But as I learned more about ads in general, I was like, if I were trying to grow my photo business right now, Google ads are where it's at because, again, it's not because somebody's scrolling and they meet a certain avatar,

whatever. It's literally because they just typed in, I'm looking for a family photographer in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Like, how can you get more targeted than that? That's so it's so good. So, yeah, you're paying for those ads. And it is a it's an investment upfront, but as soon as you start to see that ROI, it more than pays for itself. It's just, it's, it seems to me to be such a no brainer. And you're right.

People aren't talking about it or using it anywhere near to its potential in this industry, exactly. And

photographer. You know, it was the first time that you kind of feel like, Oh, I I am good at this. I'm not having to, like, hustle, or, like, vague, you know, right, run these deals, or say one spot left. It's just people are coming to me, and then it you really dial in your process, and you raise your prices even more because you're in demand. It's just phenomenal, but it's so cool, because everybody can use it to their own liking, or what, whatever it is that they offer, it is just

so specific. So I do think it's important that if you're going to use it, like I said, you have your pricing high enough that you're covering it, and that you have a website that's built to convert and I can talk about that just a little bit, some things that I've seen a lot of times, when I look at new photographers websites, or people that are just starting out, they use a template, or have a website that doesn't take up the whole page, it's kind of

concentrated in the middle. And this is like, it show, it doesn't show confidence, or what you're you know, or that you're showing up for people also just having quality photos on your website, not quantity, but quality, and having a reason for each photo. And then my last piece of advice with the website is having your contact button often and scattered throughout easy to find, because that's the ultimate goal when once they land on your website. Let me ask

WordPress. Is my favorite, just showing up and being confident and definitely editing those photos to be consistent, like a consistent editing style on your website really helps. And I'll tell you one other little trick or something that I've noticed is a lot of times photographers don't have their branding complement the tones of their photos. I've noticed, and this can also make a huge difference. Like, I can think of one particular student who had just beautiful photography, but her

branding didn't really help. It Pop, and she switched it. I was hesitant if I should say anything, and she ended up switching it. And she texted me. She's like, I don't know if it's because of the. But I just booked two newborn sessions today, so it was kind of cool to see, yeah,

level. So, like, right professional, up to date, you know, to your point, like, consistent branding and, yeah, easy to read. I you said, like that should be obvious, and it should be obvious, but it is funny, how many templates that are built for photography look like museum galleries, which is, you know, esthetically beautiful, and I appreciate

that. We all want everything to look really beautiful on the page, but it does also have to convert it's not a museum, it is a storefront and and I think that people need to remember that that doesn't mean you have to have like a flashing red Buy Now button, but right there. You need to find some middle ground that works.

lot of selling involved. So I've done the like, it's all done, and I don't have to go back and forth, like we talked about earlier. It's so empowering and exciting and fun, you know?

remember a story. I think she was a boudoir photographer, and she had invested in a studio, and the studio flooded, and at first she was so bummed, but she's like, it was the best thing, because it allowed me to take the time to get all of my marketing and the experience in order and write out all the

templates. And if I had any piece of advice for photographers out there, is like, just take the time to do this, think about your client journey from inquiry to the last time you're going to you know the last interaction with them and write out all the emails, all the copy. And if you there's something important that you have to say, then say it multiple times in short chunks.

But this is what establishes you as the expert and gives you control, like say what you need to say and take control of the situation. And if you take the time to do this, you'll have a better experience. They'll have a better experience. And I think this is the key to just really delivering a good experience, whatever that looks like for you and your clients, but just taking that time and road, mapping it out and getting it in order.

amount that it brings me. The other thing that is scary for people is actually just setting up the Google app, because it is a little overwhelming. But once you know how to do it and it's but especially for photographers, it's pretty, pretty easy, so

But really, once you do dial it in and maybe give yourself a few months and maybe invest in having somebody help you learn how to do that, and we'll talk about that in a minute, but once you get to that point, it really is like, yeah, you're paying for something that then turns around and pays you back. And there are so many things that we spend money on in this industry that have no guaranteed or No, not even like a sort of guaranteed,

I know. I know. So this, it is funny to me how our industry has been so slow to accept ads as a legitimate means to building a business.

them. I remember, every year for a while, I was taking her out to dinner on her birthday, because I was so grateful nobody had ever said it, you know, or I didn't really understand the power of it, yeah, and I think it's especially pertinent for me now, because when I first started my photography business, I had two toddlers and eventually another baby, and I got to spend all day with them, and then in the evenings, I would go out and shoot, and it was almost like a little break

or something. But now I have a 10 year old in elementary school, a 13 year old in middle school, and a 15 year old in high school, and this is the second year with three kids at three different schools, right? And my 15 year old works and plays sports, but doesn't drive yet, right? So my time is so precious. So if I'm leaving in the evening, I'm usually missing family time or a sporting event, and so I want to make sure that, like, I am going to people that value what I do, and I'm getting

paid for what I do. And Google Ads really is the one that like change, like, just flip the script for me, because it brings me the right clients. Amazing. So, so

on that page. I also have a guide that I think you're going to link in the show notes that gives like a step by step with screenshots, version of how to set up your Google. Ad, and this is super helpful. Should get you a really good start. The course goes deeper into optimizing the ad and just understanding it so you have more confidence in building it on your own. So good.

the Annemie seal of approval. I feel like Google ads are a really reasonable way to increase your exposure, you know, connect with people who are actually looking for photographers and yeah, but I love that you couch that in a bigger system of like, your business kind of has to be ready for it, and then once it is, it's just this, like, cycle that keeps on keeping on.