Victoria Rayburn [00:00:00]:
If your site isn't built well and doesn't include the right information, it isn't going to convert website visitors into paying customers. SEO can get people to your website, but it can't convert them. So don't waste your time doing SEO work if you don't have a site that serves your ideal customers well. Hey there, you're listening to the Priority Pursuit podcast, a podcast dedicated to helping small business owners and leaders define, maintain and pursue both their personal and business priorities so they can build lives and businesses they love. I'm your host, Victoria Rayburn, and back in my wedding photography days, something other photographers asked me on a regular basis was how do you manage to meet your booking goals every year? Now please know that I don't say this to brag, but during my eight years as a photographer, I never had trouble getting my version of enough business. In fact, I was actually having to regularly turn couples away. A significant part of this was because I really prioritized client experience and made sure that all of my couples felt well served and this resulted in regular referrals. However, another big reason I was able to meet my booking goals, especially in the beginning before I had past clients to refer me, was a result of the flywheel marketing strategy.
Victoria Rayburn [00:01:16]:
Basically, I was able to become entirely self employed, make more money than I ever did working in marketing, and have a career I truly enjoyed because I had a marketing strategy that actually worked as a rise. As a result, I know the power of the flywheel marketing strategy firsthand, which is why I'm so passionate about it and why I talk about it on the show all the time. And whether you are a photographer or any other kind of small business owner, in this episode, I want to share the exact marketing strategy I used to meet my booking goals because I know that this strategy can help you do the same. Now really quick if you aren't familiar with my story, I actually used to be Treefrog's content director about a decade ago and while working at this incredible agency, I started my photography business as a side hustle in 2015 simply to have of a creative outlet that made a little extra money. Because I was so used to using the flywheel marketing method for our clients, I implemented the strategy for my own business without really thinking about it was just something that I did. And as we've discussed in past episodes, we've found the flywheel marketing method to be the most effective marketing strategy for small businesses. And because of this strategy, I very quickly ended up with more business than I knew what to do with. I mean, while working a full time job during the day, I was spending every night and weekend shooting or editing, and I regularly had to turn business away.
Victoria Rayburn [00:02:48]:
Well, I loved being on the Treefrog team. I couldn't maintain having two full time jobs. So at the beginning of 2018, I left the agency to pursue wedding photography full time. Over the course of six years, I had the privilege of photographing more than 100 weddings and for just for the most amazing couples. And like I said before, I truly never had a year where I didn't meet my booking goals. In fact, even after going full time, I was still having to turn business away simply because one, I didn't have the capacity to take on any more work and two, to respect the boundaries that I had set for myself and for my family. Now, other than a few panicked moments during peak COVID, I never stressed about bookings. And I didn't think much about that until I realized that this wasn't the case for many, if not most and other small business owners.
Victoria Rayburn [00:03:39]:
After talking with several small business owners I respected, which included several photographers who were and are way better photographers than I am, it was obvious to me that marketing was the issue. These talented photographers weren't failing to reach their goals because they were offering a poor product or service or because they weren't serving their customers well. Their marketing simply wasn't helping them generate the business that they needed. Now to if you know my full story, you know that offering marketing and SEO coaching for photographers and other small businesses became a big part of my business. That I closed a curator apron photography at the end of 2023 and that I partnered with Treefrog Marketing after Kelly and I realized that we could better serve small businesses together. Now I teach, coach and help small businesses with their marketing strategies full time. Long story short, while I enjoyed photographing weddings, I was making good money and I had no problem filling my calendar and meeting my booking goals. Wedding photography just wasn't going to give me a life that aligned with my priorities long term.
Victoria Rayburn [00:04:43]:
The schedule just wasn't right for my family. In all honesty, and if you'd like to learn more about this decision, I explain everything in episode 116, when and how to pivot a small business, which you can find at the link in the show notes or wherever you listen to podcasts. But even though wedding photography wasn't right for me long term, the flywheel marketing strategy still helped me build the exact business I wanted. And I know it can do the same for you. So like I said at the top of this episode today, I want to break down how I use the strategy, which didn't require going viral or becoming Instagram famous because I know that it will work for your business too. In fact, this marketing strategy is proven to work for small businesses and helped our, and has helped our clients companies grow by up to 800%. Again, we have talked about the flywheel marketing method on several episodes of priority pursuit, but in case this is the first time you've heard of it or you need a reminder, the flywheel marketing method is a marketing strategy where your website and online marketing efforts are in sync and function as a flywheel to continually produce results. Now, in case you aren't mechanically inclined, a flywheel is a mechanical device used to store rotational energy.
Victoria Rayburn [00:05:56]:
A flywheel includes a heavy wheel or disc that's mounted on an axle that can rotate. Now to understand this analogy, it's important to note that flywheels are different from regular wheels and that flywheels store energy, allowing them to rotate and function from their built up energy reserve even when new energy isn't being applied. For example, think about a hand crank flashlight. When you rotate the crank, you give the flywheel energy, which it stores. As a result, when you need to use the flashlight, you don't have to crank the wheel to keep the light on. Instead, the flashlight uses its stored energy from its flywheel to power the flashlights bulb with a hand crank flashlight. If you apply energy upfront, you'll have light for a long time. And in the same way, when you use the flywheel marketing method, you or your marketing team will need to put in quite a bit of work upfront.
Victoria Rayburn [00:06:53]:
Then, once you've built a strong marketing foundation, your marketing will more or less continue to work on its own, just requiring minimal maintenance, which is ideal for busy small businesses who want to see big, consistent results. Now, you might be listening and thinking something like, I don't need a marketing strategy, I'll just use social media, eventually go viral like so and so did, and all will be well. But friend, I have to tell you that that's like building a house out of straw. Okay, so maybe it's been a while since, you know, you were in the first grade and you thought about the story of the big bad wolf and the three little pigs. But as a reminder, three little pigs build houses. The first builds his out of straw, the second builds his out of sticks, and the last pig builds his house out of bricks. Then when the big bad wolf comes to huff and puff their houses down, only the brick house remains. Well, not having a marketing strategy and instead trying one marketing tactic after another as you have time, like so many small businesses do, is like building a house out of straw or sticks, and then it will not protect you or help you for very long.
Victoria Rayburn [00:07:57]:
Sure, it might look nice at first and it might even be fine to build, but it won't set you up for long term success. A marketing strategy, on the other hand, like the brick house, gives you a firm marketing foundation that delivers consistent results so that you'll be taken care of long term. Basically, when you utilize the five wheel marketing strategy, you can feel confident in your marketing as opposed to trying one marketing tactic after another without seeing results and focus on other important aspects of your business and life outside of the office.
Natalie Franke [00:08:29]:
What would you do with an extra 45 minutes every workday that would save you 16 hours a month or roughly eight days a year? And over the course of your career, we're talking about over one year of your life. Saved all that time back? Well, many independent business owners spend far more than 45 minutes a day on administrative tasks, and with honeybook you can get that time back and then some. Honeybook lets you easily manage projects, contracts, invoices, scheduling and client communication, saving you time and allowing you to better serve your clients. For a discount on your first year of honeybook, visit honeybook.com and subscribe with the code priority Pursuit. 45 minutes a day adds up quickly. Use it to focus on what matters most.
Kelly Rice [00:09:14]:
Many small businesses don't have an effective marketing strategy, and because of this, they try one tactic after another without seeing results. This not only prevents consistent business growth, it makes managing marketing efforts more difficult.
Victoria Rayburn [00:09:27]:
Than it should be.
Kelly Rice [00:09:27]:
As a marketing agency for small businesses, we understand how frustrating it can be when hard work doesn't deliver the results that you want. Because of this, Treefrog has developed a proven four step marketing system that will help any small business grow. On our website, you can also schedule a 30 minutes discovery call to discuss working with Treefrog to build a marketing strategy that will allow your small business to finally see the growth you've been working so hard to achieve.
Victoria Rayburn [00:09:52]:
Now, in this episode, I'm going to briefly walk through the four phases of the flywheel marketing method and the specifics of how I used each of these steps. However, if you want a full breakdown of the Flywheel marketing strategy, I highly recommend downloading our guide, the most effective marketing strategy for small businesses, the flywheel marketing method. This guide walks you through this entire strategy step by step, and even includes examples and checklists you can use to implement the strategy on your own. We'll be sure to link to this episode in the show notes, but you can also find it@treefrockmarketing.com flywheel the flywheel system includes four phases. First, understand your audience and create clear messaging. Second, build a strong foundation with a strategically built, SEO optimized website. Third, create content and a sales funnel that serve your ideal clients well. And then fourth, promote your products, services and content.
Victoria Rayburn [00:10:45]:
Again, I will break down each of these phases, but I do want to note that these phases are meant to be completed in order, and with every step you complete, you'll increase the effectiveness of your marketing. Basically, don't start a step four like truly work your way through. It's a system. Start with one go all the way through. So if you've listened to any episode of priority Pursuit, you likely already know the importance of understanding your audience and creating clear messaging. This is absolutely the most important step in marketing and something small businesses often fail to do. After all, if you want to convert prospects into paying customers, you have to know who you're talking to and what to say to make them want to do business with you. So to complete the first step of the flywheel method, you need to identify who your ideal customers are, work to truly understand them, and write what we call your marketing guiding statements accordingly.
Victoria Rayburn [00:11:36]:
And this is the first step of the strategy because your marketing is only going to work if every facet of your flywheel is built with your ideal customer in mind and if the language you use speaks to them. Now, to keep this episode as concession as possible, we aren't going to go over how to identify your target audience. But like I mentioned before, we have a guide that walks you through every step of the flywheel marketing strategy, including a six step process that will help you identify and thoroughly understand your ideal clients. And again, you can access this guide by going to treefrogmarketing.com flywheel. But once you know who you're talking to, you'll be ready to create clear messaging for them, which is simply communication that your ideal customers can understand quickly and easily. Again, if you've listened to just about any episode of priority Pursuit, you know that the key to successful marketing is clear messaging. This is because people don't always support the best businesses or invest in the best products or services. Instead, they typically purchase the products and services they can most easily understand.
Victoria Rayburn [00:12:42]:
To ensure your message is clear and customer focused, you simply need to create what we like to call your five marketing guiding statements, which include your talking points, your one liner, your story, pitch, your why and your sales script. In case you have no idea what these items are or how to write them, we have a free mini course that walks you through exactly what each of these elements are and how to create them. I'll explain where you can find this course in just a minute, but first I want to clarify that your marketing guiding statements are part of the first phase of the flywheel marketing method because they are the gps of your marketing efforts. Meaning, once you have these statements written, you'll know exactly what to say on your website, in content and social media posts, and even directly to prospects to convert prospective clients into paying customers. Now, we've already had several episodes about marketing guiding statements, so yours all may already be done, but in case you've yet to complete this critical step, we put together a free mini course, breaking down exactly how to write your marketing guiding statements. You can access this mini course at the link in the show notes or by going to treefrogmarketing.com marketingguidingstates I know that this has been a very brief overview of a very critical step, but I want to highly encourage you to check out our free guide and the mini course I mentioned because I can honestly say that my marketing worked because I knew exactly who I was talking to and what they needed to hear. And this resulted in my business standing out as couples searched for wedding. To give you a little more insight, I specifically targeted type A brides in the Indianapolis area.
Victoria Rayburn [00:14:20]:
And because I knew my ideal client was highly detail oriented, my messaging very much revolved around the fact that my team and I would provide thorough communication and pay attention to the little details so that our detail oriented brides could enjoy their big days while being confident that they would love their wedding photos. And this messaging made me the obvious choice for my ideal clients because I was able to speak directly to their problem, which was the fact that they were worried that they weren't going to love their wedding photos because they were afraid that their photographer wouldn't be as detail oriented as they were. Again, this messaging made me the obvious choice for my ideal customers, but it also helps differentiate me from my competitors. I mean, if you're a couple looking for a wedding photographer, who are you more likely to remember? A wedding photographer who simply offers wedding photography services or a wedding photographer who empathizes and helps solve a problem for type A brides? Now, truly knowing my ideal client and having clear messaging didn't just help with my marketing, it also allowed me to thoroughly enjoy my job. You see, I am a highly detail oriented person and I just was not going to enjoy working with couples who didn't care about timelines or the many little details that go into a wedding. So in addition to improving your revenue, taking the time to understand your ideal clients and creating messaging specifically for them is going to help you attract more of the people you actually want to work with and who doesn't want that. In case you are a visual person at the time of this recording, at least my photography website is actually still live. So if you go to Victoriarayburn photography.com you can see my messaging in action.
Victoria Rayburn [00:15:57]:
But again, this first step is the most critical step in building your flywheel because your marketing is only going to work if you know who you're talking to and what to say to make them want to work with you. And in all honesty, every marketing tactic is a waste of time and money until you take the time to complete this step. With this in mind, I once again want to encourage you to check out our flywheel marketing guide, Treefrogmarketing.com flywheel and to take our free messaging mini course at treefrog marketing.com marketing guiding statements, which is all one word, no hyphens, nothing fancy, and we will include links to both of these resources in the show notes. So that's the first step of creating your marketing flywheel, understanding your audience and creating clear messaging. Now let's move on to step two, building a strong foundation with a strategically built, SEO optimized website. Your website is the foundation of all of your marketing and communication efforts and is your small businesses most powerful marketing tool. That said, it is not enough to just have a website. Your website needs to serve your ideal clients well by helping them quickly and easily understand what you offer, how you can help solve their problem and how they can work with you.
Victoria Rayburn [00:17:12]:
And your website needs to be able to easily found where prospects are actively looking for your products or services among the top of Google search results. So I know I'm throwing a lot of resources at you today, but again, I firmly believe that this marketing strategy was why it was able to be a full time photographer. With this in mind, I do want to share another guide with you. So like I said, your website needs to serve your ideal clients well and keep their attention by helping them quickly and easily understand what you offer, how you can help solve their problem, and how they can work with you. To do this, you need to make sure your website includes the right information. In other words, your website needs to include the information that your ideal clients need to make a decision in our experience, there are eight things that every business's website needs to include to convert site visitors into paying customers. If you'd like to learn what those eight elements are, visit treefrogmarketing.com website to access our free guide. Eight things every small businesses website must include to convert visitors into paying customers.
Victoria Rayburn [00:18:13]:
Now my website certainly included these eight elements, as well as other information that was pertinent to my ideal clients. Again, you can see my site@victoriarayburnphotography.com and by including this information on my website, I experienced a result that many of my peers didn't an inquiry booking rate of approximately 95%. You see, because my website included the information that my ideal clients needed and answered their questions, it repelled those who weren't my ideal clients. And when couples inquired and scheduled a coffee date, which was the call to action my site gave them, most were already sure they wanted to book with me. Basically because my website served my customers well. It both generated business and helped me save time by filtering out unqualified leads so I wasn't wasting my time meeting with couples who just weren't the right fit. And when your website includes the right information, your site can help you do the same. So again, please be sure to visit treefrogmarketing.com website or the link in the show notes to access our guide.
Victoria Rayburn [00:19:14]:
Eight things every small business's website must include to convert visitors into paying customers so that you can turn your website into a lead generating, sale making machine. Now, in addition to including the right information, your website also needs to be found where your ideal clients are already looking for your products or services. Among the top Google search results you see, 97% of people use Google when they're in need of a product or service. As a result, if you can get your website in business to rank on the first page of Google, you can get your information in front of prospects who are actively searching for and likely ready to purchase exactly what you have to offer. Basically, when your website ranks at the top of Google search results, you don't have to spend so much of your time going after new leads. Instead, many of your strongest leads will start coming to you through Google. With this in mind, in phase two of the flywheel marketing method, you want to take the time to optimize your website and business for search engines. SEO, which stands for search engine optimization, is a free process that helps your website rank well on Google or other search engines.
Victoria Rayburn [00:20:23]:
When users conduct searches related to your products, services or content, there are a lot of moving parts to a successful SEO strategy, but SEO has the power to do big things for your small business. After all, when people intentionally look for a service or product, most go to Google and many are ready to make a purchase. So when your website is one of the first solutions they see in a search, they will be more likely to buy from you. And for me, SEO played a huge part in my marketing strategy. In fact, every year, 40% of my clients found me through Google. In other words, SEO was responsible for nearly half of my income. And because my website ranked on Google, my ideal clients were able to easily find my website and information. As a side note, SEO only works well if your website serves your customers well.
Victoria Rayburn [00:21:16]:
If your site isn't built well and doesn't include the right information, it isn't going to convert website visitors into paying customers, which we just discussed. SEO can get people to your website, but it can't convert them. So don't waste your time doing SEO work if you don't have a site that serves your ideal customers well. Now there are a lot of moving parts to a successful SEO strategy. Like I said, and we are not going to get into the technicalities in this episode. However, like I mentioned before, we have a guide that walks you through every step of the flywheel marketing strategy, including the six things you need to do to give your website a strong SEO foundation. And again, you can access this guide by going to treefrog marketing.com flywheel. But essentially because I built a strong marketing foundation for my business with a strategic website and optimized that website for search engines, I was able to reach and engage my ideal customers which generated more revenue.
Victoria Rayburn [00:22:15]:
And there is no reason that you can't do the same. All right, after you've built a strong foundation with a customer focused, SEO optimized website, the next step in the five wheel method is to implement a content marketing strategy and sales funnel that serve your ideal customers well and make them want to further engage with your business. Now, getting a prospective customer into your buyer's journey starts with content marketing. In case you aren't familiar with content marketing, content marketing is a marketing strategy where businesses create and distribute valuable, relevant and engaging content to attract their ideal clients. And for the record, when I say content, I mean blog posts, videos, podcast episodes, episodes, infographics, organic social media posts and any other medium that allows you to share a message and engage with your audience. And a sales funnel is simply a content marketing framework that converts potential customers into paying customers. Essentially, a sales funnel allows you to serve your prospects, build trust with them and help them see your product or service is the answer to the problem they are facing. To complete this phase of the flywheel marketing strategy, you need to develop five marketing pieces and these pieces include awareness content, a consideration landing page, also often called an opt in page, a lead generating offer, an automated follow up email campaign, and then a decision landing page.
Victoria Rayburn [00:23:40]:
Again, I want to keep this episode short and sweet for you so we aren't going to dive into the ins and outs of all of these elements. However, I do want to briefly discuss how I use this framework to create my sales funnel for my photography business. First, for awareness content and use blogs. This was simply what was easiest for me. I blogged educational content that my ideal client would find helpful, that featured wedding advice, and I also blocked my weddings and engagement sessions that I photographed to highlight my work. And in all of my awareness content, I included CTA's. That led prospects to my lead generator. For my lead generator, I created a PDF of wedding day timeline templates that helped prospects ensure that they had plenty of time set aside for photos.
Victoria Rayburn [00:24:24]:
It detailed things like, you know, if you have a catholic ceremony, this is what your about what your timeline should look like if you're doing a first look. If you're not doing a first look, it there were, I think, ten different options within this PDF, I want to say. But it was thorough and worked well for my ideal clients. And yeah, this proved to be highly effective for my type A audience who was very concerned about timelines. After downloading this timeline template, prospects received six emails from me that offered them more value, spoke to their concerns, and led them deeper into my sales funnel and eventually to my decision landing page, which was simply my wedding photography service page where they could learn more about wedding photography packages and schedule a coffee date with me, which was the call to action that I gave them. Now, I know this is a very quick overview, but if you'd like to learn more about each of these pieces and how to create a content marketing strategy and sales funnel that serves your customers well, I want to once again encourage you to go to treefrogmarketing.com flywheel or check out the link in the show notes to access our free guide. The most effective marketing strategy for small businesses the flywheel marketing method. Again, this guide walks you through every step of the Flywheel marketing strategy, including how to develop the five sales funnel pieces with examples.
Victoria Rayburn [00:25:42]:
All right, I know this episode has been a lot, but we are moving on to the fourth and final step of the Flywheel marketing method, which is promotion. Basically once you have a customer focused website, content and sales funnel, you need to promote these items. Now you might be listening and thinking got it. I will just share about these things on social media and my flywheel method will be complete. And while you should certainly post about these items on social media, organic social media alone isn't enough for most small businesses anymore. I mean, have you ever wondered why your social media posts don't actually drive new business? Well, many small businesses think that simply posting to their social media channels will be enough. But thanks to ever changing social media algorithms, this isn't how it works anymore. Now full disclosure, organic social media didn't work well.
Victoria Rayburn [00:26:32]:
Or it did work well. Sorry, it did work well when I started my photography business, so I didn't utilize paid advertising regularly. However, if I were to start a photography business or another kind of business today, I would certainly make it part of my marketing strategy. Because in order to reach and connect with your ideal clients, you have to get your content in front of your audience. Since organic social media is no longer a dependable resource. This phase, the last phase of the flywheel marketing method includes helping your audience find your website and content through social media ads. Google Ads nurture email campaigns and targeted email campaigns. Now, if you would like to learn more about running social media ads and Google Ads, go back and listen to episode 126, why small businesses should invest in social media ads, and episode 115, how to use Google Ads to small business, which you can find at the link in the show notes or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Victoria Rayburn [00:27:29]:
Again, I know that this was a lot of information, but I wanted to break this down for you because again, the flywheel marketing method was so much of why I was able to reach my booking and income goals every year. That said, if you're listening to this episode and thinking how the heck am I possibly going to find the time to implement this strategy? Or is it even possible for a single person to implement the viable marketing method on their own? I want to address this question before we wrap up. First of all, can you implement the strategy by yourself? If you have the time, yes. Between drag and drop, web builders like Showit, YouTube, how to videos, resources we're committed to sharing with you via priority pursuit and atreefrogmarketing.com and all of the information available on the Internet. You can implement this strategy on your own, especially if you use our flywheel marketing guide, which, as I mentioned, you can find at the link in the show notes or by going to treefrogmarketing.com flywheel. However, as a small business owner or leader, handling every aspect of the strategy on your own likely isn't the best use of your time. After all, several skill sets and knowledge you may not currently have will be required, and chances are, the time needed to learn these new skills and information will take a lot of time, which will inhibit business growth and prevent you from focusing on other important aspects of your business as well as your life outside the office. Now, personally, when I implemented the strategy myself, I wrote all of my content and did my own SEO work.
Victoria Rayburn [00:28:58]:
However, to make this strategy feasible, I outsourced a few things, including website design and the design of my lead generator, and I utilized VA to get all of my content online. That way I could still market my business well, but spend my time focusing on other important aspects of my business. Implementing the flywheel method is a lot for a single person or even a small team to handle. That said, like I did with web and graphic design, you can outsource some of or even all of this strategy. In fact, at Treefrog we build and maintain flywheel marketing systems in full for our clients so that they can focus on other important aspects of their businesses as well as their lives outside the office. If you are interested in working with us at Treefrog, we would love to jump on a discovery call with you which you can schedule@treefrogmarketing.com or via the link in the show notes. Again, I know that this was a lot of information, but like I said before, I was able to become entirely self employed, make more money, and have a career I truly enjoyed because I had a marketing strategy that actually worked. Does it lead to more business overnight? No, but it gives you a brick house of a marketing strategy that will help you see long term, consistent results.
Victoria Rayburn [00:30:16]:
In case I haven't said this enough times, I'm passionate about the flywheel marketing strategy because I've experienced its power firsthand. And regardless of what kind of small business you run, I hope you'll take advantage of this marketing strategy that has proven time and time again to be highly effective for small businesses. So if you haven't already and you are ready to make the flywheel marketing strategy your own, visit the link in the show notes or go to treefrogmarketing.com flywheel to access our guide. The most effective marketing strategy for small businesses the flywheel marketing method. Like I said, this guide walks you through this entire strategy step by step, and even includes examples and checklists you can use to implement this strategy on your own. All right, this was a long one. But I so hope you'll take advantage of this strategy, because again, it works now. Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of Priority Pursuit.
Victoria Rayburn [00:31:13]:
If you enjoyed this episode, we hope you'll take a moment to share it with your small business friends and that you'll join us next week for even more marketing boundary and priority driven tactics you can use to build a life and a small business that you love.
