I met Chris through the International Academy of Wedding Photographers a few years back. I was looking for a second shooter and he was wanting to travel and shoot in multiple states. Over the years we kept in touch. Jason and I were thrilled when we got to meet his soon to be wife Micaela last year. Chris had met Micaela through a photography conference and they proceeded to date long distance. While their relationship grew, the travel left less time for Chris to market his business in the way he wanted to. So how do you hit the Restart button when your leads have dried up and you aren’t booking the way you want to? Most people would say to pour money into Facebook ads and wedding related publications. While that kind sometimes help, there are better options out there that made more sense for who and what Chris Sosa Photography stands for. A few months ago, Chris came to us basically saying “we were in a major booking slump after a period of doing almost nothing to actively market our business. We had no direction and didn’t know what to do to connect with people”. We sat down with the two of them to chat about what he could do to get the ball rolling on almost a marketing budget of zero.
Marketing doesn’t always require money. Sometimes, all you need is a good product and drive to serve. As we walked through the coaching process with Chris, we explained to him that simply marketing through service often reaps better rewards. When you step in to help your small business community and get to know them, they are ten times more likely to refer you than if they saw an ad about you. We helped them make a zero marketing budget game plan that relied heavily on showing up and getting to know others in their community. I recently heard back from Chris and Micaela and the results are awesome! I am SO proud of them as they walk through their action plan! Here is what Chris had to say.