{EP29}: Creative Ways to Use Stock Photos in Your Wedding Biz

Do you ever get frustrated trying to find pretty images to use for your social media, blog, or website? We've got the solution for you! Today's guest is Serena Waller from Delegate & Elevate and Pops of Pretty, and she's sharing her creative tips for using stock photography in your wedding business.  Serena is an inspiration - not just creatively, but from a business perspective as well! Hear how she identified a need in the wedding industry and set about creating a new stock photo subscription program aimed specifically to help wedding pros with their marketing.  Make sure you get your name on the early access list at www.popsofpretty.com and don't miss out on the amazing social media challenge and FREE images she's put together just for listeners of the Smart Business for Wedding Pros podcast! Download the freebie at www.thewedpreneur.com/29download 

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Transcript

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Speaker 1 0:01

[inaudible].

Speaker 2 0:02

This is your host Mary [inaudible] and welcome to the web printer podcast. Join me and my guests each week as I take a deep dive into wedding business, best practices, examine challenges facing our industry and interview wedding industry experts and thought leaders who will share their strategies for taking your wedding business to the next level. Whether you're new in the industry or a seasoned pro, each episode is filled with valuable information aimed to help you build and grow the wedding business that you are dreaming about. I'm already a few are so let's get started.

Speaker 3 0:39

Hello, wed preneurs and welcome to a new episode of the smart business for wedding pros podcast. I am your host Mary Swa field and I am so excited to bring on today's guest. She is a powerhouse of wisdom and creativity and to make things even more exciting, the timing of today's episode is perfect because our guest Cirina is launching something that is going to be a game changer in our industry. So buckle up. We're going to have an amazing time today. Before we get started. I want to thank you for being here today and I want to give a special shout out to the members of the wet printer community. We now have over 4,000 members representing over 16 countries and comprising of every niche in our industry that you can possibly imagine. It is truly a diverse, supportive community and together we are raising the bar and elevating our industry in ways that I never dreamed possible. So Kudos to all of our members for their dedication and drive to making their wedding business dreams a reality. If you are not yet a member, don't worry. It is easy and free to join. Just had to the wed printer.com forward slash join and you too can be part of this amazing community of wedding pros. Okay, you guys, are you ready? Let's talk about our guest today. I am thrilled to be welcoming Serina Waller to the show today. Sabrina began her career in the wedding industry as a catering sales manager and after several years of working with venues, she moved into hospitality sales management where she helped to train and develop sales leaders for fortune 500 companies. Now, after settling in to married and parenting life, she came back to the wedding industry through a publication company with a wedding, a magazine. During this time that she identified a need for industry professionals to develop and maintain a consistent online presence for today's couples. Personality wise, she is a Taco loving coffee, drinking nap obsessed hashtag boy mom of one and a wife that enjoys hiking, traveling, camping, Yoga, flowers, organizing, reading, online shopping, dreaming bag, and most currently orange theory fitness. She loves bubbly in the, in the form of champagne or sparkling water or beer and is always up for an adventure. She has the world's biggest sweet tooth and things. The best part, a wedding aside from the cake is the moment a couple of locks eyes for the first time from one end of the aisle to the other. She also happens to still cry at every wedding unity, both Serina, even the one she only sees pictures of. So Serena is going to be sharing her tips for creativity. Sorry, creative ways to use stock photos in your wedding Biz, but that's not all you guys as of today. So today is May 15th that's the date of publishing this episode. She is only two days away from launching her brilliant new stock photo subscription. It pops a pretty, so unlike most stock photo sites, she created this specifically for the wedding industry, so that means photos of centerpieces and stationary Swedes and all of the imagery that we struggle to find currently and to celebrate this lodge. This is so exciting. She's created an awesome social media challenge for you guys and is giving away a collection of her gorgeous stock photos. For listeners of this podcast. This means you guys are going to get a sneak peek at her beautiful work and you'll have access to a fun challenge to help you implement all of the strategies that she's sharing on the podcast today. I told you this was going to be a good one so you guys can get her challenge and the bonus images by heading to the wed printer.com forward slash 29 download. Once again, that's the word, printer.com forward slash two nine download. Okay. Are you ready to have some fun today? Without further ado, let's get right to the interview. Hi Serena, welcome to the smart business for wedding pros podcast.

Speaker 4 4:37

Hi, thanks so much for having me.

Speaker 3 4:39

Well I truly appreciate you being here with us today. And before we get started, as is our tradition, you have a lot of varied experience in the industry is so can you tell us a little bit about your background?

Speaker 4 4:51

Sure. So I actually got started in the industry in 2004 which to me is just kind of crazy. It's been that long. Um, and I've seen a lot happen in change in the industry since. But um, when I got started in the industry, I actually worked for a hotel and I was a catering sales manager and the hotel was brand new. It had only been open I think a week or two by the time I came on board. And I helped them build their wedding business for the first three, maybe even almost four years after they opened. And that was really where I got my first inkling that there was something to this industry and that I was, I loved it. So, um, I worked for the hotel, had a great time, and then had the opportunity to move over to a private wedding venue and do catering sales for them. So I went over there and their volume of business with insane in comparison to the hotel, but the hotel, I was doing all kinds of social events and weddings, but really at this venue it was almost exclusively weddings and we were doing anywhere from four to eight per weekend. Um, and then even started getting into those Wednesday, Thursday weddings, the occasional Monday wedding. So it was really fast paced, really exciting. And really before there was much other than just kind of, uh, the occasional print magazine or bridal show that you could do. Um, and that's when things started to change online. And I could see it, but then I left the industry for a little while and did some freelance wedding planning, worked really extensively and kind of a real corporate capacity in hospitality sales and general sales and then came back to the industry after having my son working for a wedding publication. So through all of that I was using, you know, lots of sales experience, also have, you know, my wedding experience and using my initial degree, which is in communications and PR to start my existing businesses. Amazing. Can you tell us a little bit about those existing businesses? Of course. So I have a delegate and elevate, which I've had now for almost four years. And it is a social media marketing business that works almost exclusively with wedding pros. And in that business I help with a initial strategy and implementation for my wedding clients. So I will do their Instagram or Pinterest, their blogging, their wedding submissions, their Facebook account, any kind of all online presence that they may have. I help them manage that. And then the other businesses pops up pretty and pops up pretty is a stock photography subscription service that is exclusively for wedding pros. And that isn't what we're here to talk about today. And I am so excited because you are literally about to launch in one week. Am I right? Yes. One week from when we're recording. So by the time we publish this, it will be very, very close to your launch days. So, um, how did you come up with this idea? Like what inspired you to start pops up? Pretty sure. So there were actually kind of two layers to this I guess you could say. So I had a client last summer and it was probably, yeah, almost a year to the day. Uh, that came to me and they were in the process of doing this kind of be we rebrand, they really wanted to get better about having all their social channels maintained and everything really cohesive and pretty. And they'd been, they felt like they'd been in the industry for a long time, but their, their overall branding was just really desperately in need of a refresh. So I was kind of consulting with them and helping them build their social media strategy. And as I was kind of looking through their imagery and everything that they have, I thought, oh my gosh, like we are in crunch time for them and we don't have a single image that really feels representative of their brand. And all of the stock photography I had access to was beautiful, but it was very general to more creative industries and not so much the wedding industry. So I said to them, you know, I'm gonna, um, I'm going to meet up with my photographer and I'm going to go ahead and do a shoot so that I have some images to use on your social media that are more on brand for you. And um, it was in that moment that I had a light bulb that said, why am I not doing this for all of my clients or for the entire industry? There needs to be a stock photography option that doesn't look like it's from another country, which is, there's nothing wrong with that. But like, let's have this, that's, you know, something that is applicable to the market that I know is in the u s let's make it, um, you know, not all white, which nothing wrong with all white, but we know that not every wedding is all white. So you know, let's do this. Uh, you know, and I started to pick and choose from the things that I knew were missing from the stock images that I was looking from four as a stock. Um, excuse me as a social media manager. So I was really looking to kind of start to fill those gaps. That's, and it's so incredible. Yeah. And it just kind of started to happen from there. So I'm curious, how long was it from idea to your upcoming launch? Sure. So I came up with the idea last summer. It was probably July or August. I'm, my family and I, we have a camper and I can remember very vividly sitting in the camper and talking about this client to my husband and looking into having going, oh my gosh. Like I have to, I have to do this. And I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't even know where to start, but we're going to do this. So when he and I really started talking about it, um, you know, the seed was planted, but it probably took me, I would say until October to get enough of a fire, um, to really start to move things forward. Like by October, I already had the brand name developed and I already, you know, knew my target market and I had already done a believer, not two shoots. Wow. So I had plenty of gallery content, but I was just not sure what to do on the backend because building a membership site and doing something that is more of a digital product is completely different than my service based business. And I just really kind of was a little bit overwhelmed with where to start and how to move forward effectively. Um, and then it was, I would say probably January before I was like, okay, now I'm like, I'm in it, I'm ready on my team is higher. Like I've got everything working. Um, and then I moved and in that move process I just, life happens and it took me a little bit longer. Um, but now here we are in May and it is ready to go. That's amazing. I love that. I love that moment when you have that idea. And I hear this all the time too, where when you get that like spark of inspiration, it is like a feeling of I have to do this, right? Like, yes, that's how I've had like a million business ideas. But it's those ones where you're like, it has a different feel to it. Right? Yeah. Well, and I read that book by Elizabeth Gilbert Big Magic and talks about that moment that when an idea essentially downloads to you, like it is up to you to do it and if you don't, somebody else is going to. So you either have to start making those actions on it or you know, you're going to find it. Somebody else has done it. Um, and I really kind of felt like I wanted to bring a slightly unique perspective to stock imagery because I had been implementing for so many years at this point. I really was telling so many stories and missing so much imagery in the process. I think that's incredible. What would you say has been the most challenging part of launching this business, especially since you have a very successful business to keep running in the meantime? Right. Yeah. Um, I think, you know, for me, I, I, there's a little bit of that Shiny Object Syndrome where I, I tend to see something that needs to be done or I get excited about something and then I will go and pursue that and then forget to kind of stay the course on the by originally intended to do. Um, and because I get so wrapped up in my client work, it was really finding the balance and the time to say it's okay for me to be working on my business right now and two to carve out that time and to ask for help. That was the biggest challenge for me was to ask for help. Because I'm just so used to doing it on my own. A lot of my clients depend on me to do everything because they're busy too. And I just have a tendency to take on all the burden. And it was finally one of those moments where I said, I'm starting this business to be the CEO of my business and I have to ask for help. It's imperative I have a team, um, and I need to not be worried about asking for permission, um, to ask for help. You know, no one's going to give that to me. I just have to do it. Um, and I'm not going to be able to do it alone. Uh, you just gave me goosebumps because I am so like that where I'm, you know what, I'm [inaudible] my mind is blown because I'm literally at that place where I have, I have a really big idea which podcast listeners you'll be hearing about in the coming months. And I'm sort of feeling that burden of like, how am I going to do all this by myself? And you just inspired me to remember that I don't have to wait for someone to step in and be like, can I help you? Cause no one's young too right now. It's hard. It's so hard in our businesses to realize like, oh yeah, we're the ones that have to give ourselves permission. We're the ones that like if we have big dreams, it's very rare that someone pursues a big dream completely on their own. There's always at least the cheerleader in the background or a support system, like kind of encouraging them along. And for me it's my husband, you know, he's really, really like, Hey, like I am here to help you to like, this wasn't, you didn't come up with this without, you know, talking it through with me. Like, I know where you're at, I know what you want to do with this, so let's do it. Oh, that's amazing. It is so incredible to have that kind of support at home. Yes. And not everybody has it. And that's really difficult, I think when you don't have that support system and you do have a lot of dreams that you want to pursue because then you, you let that seed of doubt get in your head and you think, well, you know, I'll just let somebody else do it because you know they have more time or they have more money or they have more capacity or whatever the excuse we tell ourselves. We let that be our voice. And instead of saying like, no, I'm going to find the support system to help me pursue this.

Speaker 3 15:11

Oh, that's incredible. And it's so funny that you mentioned that because one of my focuses recently has been overcoming self limiting beliefs. And I actually have a whole podcast planned around it, which I'm really excited for it. But it's funny how that, you know, it gets into your head and if you're not careful, it'll really bring you down. Right. So I think that that's amazing that you were able to really push past that and ask for the help that you needed. You're such an inspiration. Oh, well thank you. So today we're going to share some really creative ideas about using stock photos in the wedding industry. And I'm super excited to dive into this. I do think there's often a difference of opinions in the industry when it comes to stock photos, how to use them properly, all of that good stuff we're going to talk about. Um, and I think there's so many cool ways to use them if they're, if it's done properly. So let's dive right into this. Let's talk about the first creative way that wedding pros can use stock photos in their business.

Speaker 4 16:06

Yeah. So of course, you know, and it's one of those things that may seem like a no brainer, but using stock imagery for all of your social platforms. I know for a lot of wedding pros, Instagram's kind of your place to go. And that's also the one that has the highest pressure for everything to be perfect and beautiful and you know, look a certain way. But stock imagery is a great way to fill your gaps on Instagram, on Pinterest, on Facebook, um, and really across any of your social channels. And you don't have to just take an image and use it. ADDS is there's so much that you can do to enhance that image, to make it more your own. You can add your filters, you can add your graphics to it, you can really kind of start to tell your story and beautiful way with stock imagery.

Speaker 3 16:53

Oh I love that. And I definitely do this. Like I, it's so funny. Instagram stresses me out. I'm not gonna lie it actually hiring someone to manage my Instagram is on my wishlist for this year because I find especially as a service based business, like it's, I, if I'm taking photos of what I'm doing everyday, it's the, I would be me sitting in front of my computer. Like how boring is that? Right? So yeah, I've really found that stock imagery has helped me so much just provide visual interest that is on brand, um, and allow me to communicate what I'm trying to communicate without me having to search for really interesting photos to take. Cause I just, I, it is not my specialty. I'm not good at taking, I'm actually really terrible at taking photos to begin with. But um, so I love that. I love that opportunity to be able to use up to an, and I love how you said enhance your brand instead of like, it doesn't have to be all of your posts, right? Like it's

Speaker 4 17:51

to fill those gaps. Exactly. And that was really what for me, I was thinking, okay, um, you know what kind of the inception for a lot of galleries was, okay, I'm working with a wedding planner and, um, they want to talk about wedding favors and I cannot find images of wedding favors to saved my life, you know, that aren't the ones that are already like in shops that you can just, you snack when she really aren't supposed to do for copyright purposes. So it started with those little things is what, what do I not see a whole lot of in what can be used to really kind of educate our readers about whatever it is that we are encountering as wedding pros that people need to be educated on.

Speaker 3 18:33

That is so amazing. And you are so right, like I subscribed to several stock photo, um, membership sites, but you're right, none of them are wedding specific. Like even for my wedding planning business, like we're constantly, when we blog and all of that good stuff, desperate for photos to support what we're blogging about. And if we don't have them from some of our weddings, then we're basically out of luck right now. Exactly for now because now you're going to fill those gaps and that's really exciting. Okay. What is the second creative way that wedding pros can use stock photos?

Speaker 4 19:06

Sure. So the second one that I recommend is either for inspiration or mood board creation. So this obviously is a little bit more relevant if you're a planner or designer or a florist and you're looking to share color palette ideas, floral ideas, um, overall just kind of mood of the day. As you're going through that process, you can actually pull stock images instead of going on Pinterest and stealing somebody else's image to a stock site. And you can start to pull those elements that will help to enhance your mood board. And I think that that's a really great way to start to inspire your clients to think a little outside the box. I know a lot of people have said, well, you know, my brides are on Pinterest all day and all they're seen as the stuff that we did last year. They're not seeing the current stuff. So everybody wants the same thing. How can I get them to think outside the box? And that's really what I want people to be able to think about for stock imagery is how can I use it, the stock imagery in a creative way to be able to get people thinking outside the box.

Speaker 3 20:03

Oh, that's incredible. And uh, as a wedding planner, I completely appreciate that because I know, you know, when we do design proposals and try to inspire our couples, it can get really frustrating because on one hand we don't want to show them, like you said, previous work because we don't, we don't want the industry moving backwards. Like we really, really want to be forward thinking. And often we hesitate. We're like, should we be showing these, you know, images, first of all, often it's of someone else's work, which doesn't, does it make anybody feel good? But I love this idea that we can use them, especially from that mood and color aesthetic standpoint. So that's brilliant. I love that. Okay. What is the next way

Speaker 4 20:45

on collateral? Um, so everybody really should, we all know that in our proposals and our welcome kits and all of our, you know, various items that our clients are going to see, that we want those on brand and we want them to feel representative of our, our couple and the type of brand that we're trying to portray. So collaterals, a really fantastic way to put stock imagery on there. Um, and this goes for ads also, um, to be able to really kind of hone in on those little elements that we can add to the welcome kit or the timeline that really makes them feel something for the day. So not having to use somebody else's images are really fantastic thing to be able to say, oh, I'll come into papa flower picture in here. Um, when we're talking about like a timeline or I'm gonna pop this picture of, you know, whatever desk scape is because I want them thinking about, you know, how it is that I'm pulling together all these inspiration pieces, whatever it may be, collateral really should have some imagery on it, um, to, to give it that extra pretty feel and to help you stay on brand. So stock imagery is perfect for that too.

Speaker 3 21:51

Okay. That gets me really excited because I can't tell you how many times, and I know my listeners feel this when you're trying to create some of your marketing collateral or working with a graphic designer and they're like, okay, can you, do you have any images from your weddings that are the same, you know, on brand colors and I'm always like a new, yeah. You know, like, or if there's only a handful or it's not quite the right shade or, or whatever the problem is. Right. So, um, that's fantastic. And I know that a lot of people struggle to find ways to pull their brand together with imagery that way. So this will be such a great opportunity for those of you, for example, if you're using Canva or if you're working with a graphic designer to be able to send them a whole bunch of images that are going to work really well with your brand. And we all know a picture says a thousand words, right? Like, yes, we're so image driven these days and your customers are to your potential clients are too. So there's so much research and evidence that shows that provide are using graphics within your marketing materials is going to have, it's just going to resonate and connect with that client a whole lot more than just using a whole bunch of text.

Speaker 4 23:00

Yup. Exactly.

Speaker 3 23:01

Fantastic. Okay, this is so good. I'm so excited about all of this. What is the fourth idea that you have? Have

Speaker 4 23:08

a lot of posts. So, um, everybody should be blogging, whether you like to know, um, it's, you know, a lot of people say, oh, blogging's dead people don't read. There are so many reasons that you need to have a blog, but you know, we get in this habit and you know, I've been in it too with a lot of my clients is we just post our real weddings, which is great. I mean that's really, if, if we're being honest, that's what keeps people on the site is to really read about our real weddings and see all the events that we're doing. But we have to recognize that not everybody has tons and tons of weddings every year that they can share. Like maybe they only do one a month and then you know, they should be blogging once a week or twice a month, whatever the frequency that's right for them. But then they realize, okay, well I've shared my real wedding. Now what? So you can use stock imagery to fill those gaps on your blog. You can talk about your story, you can educate your clients. You know, this is a really great opportunity to say, okay, I'm going to tell a story with these stock images about, let's just say for example, we're again back to flowers. I love flowers. So that's always my example. So we're going to talk about the different types of flowers. We're going to talk about the different colors that are available. We're going to talk about how you pick that beautiful burgundy, you know, [inaudible] that is on that Pinterest board. But we're also going to talk about how that actually could have 17 different shades because this is grown in nature. People, this is real stuff. You know, you can't, you can't fabricate that unless you're using, you know, fake stuff. So let's actually go through the process of what happens when they go through the floral consult and they, they're, you know, picking their, their budget for their florals, lets you know, kind of walk them through. And you could do this with any of the galleries really. Um, but the idea is that you can fill those, those, um, those gaps and break up the text because again, nobody wants to also break read like this great big crazy long blog posts without having a little bit, you know, they need little chunks. So it helps that break that up and kind of walk through and through the story. That's incredible. And I mean, we could do a whole separate podcast about why it's so important to blog, but, um, it's one of those things and I think we all know and it's just like, oh no, I don't know if I have the time. But here's the thing I've found too, is that when I'm blogging, if I can feel space with imagery, it makes it flow a lot better. It makes it a lot easier. And I did a really great podcast, actually, it was episode nine, I believe, with Kevin Elizabeth. And she is a master at this, at educating her clients using her blog. Um, and one of the greatest tips that she gave, which I think is really relevant here, is she uses it not just to attract new clients, but when she's working with her current clients, if they ask frequently asked questions that she's learned over the years, her clients are going to ask, she just sends them a link to a blog post that you've already written. Right? So that saved her so much time. She doesn't have to keep rewriting the same information in emails. Um, it increases her SEO like crazy. Right? Yeah. And you having the opportunity to be able to use, to have this imagery that you can use to support what you're writing about will make the process just that much easier. And I am all about making processes easier these days, so that's awesome. I love that. Okay. What is the fifth and final creative way that wedding pros can use stock photos? Yeah, so this one, you know, this goes a little bit hand in hand with blog posts, but you can really use documentary on your website and it's totally okay to do that. Um, you can use it to, again, break up texts. You can use it as cover images, as banner images. You can use them, you know, for your little thumbnails. When you want to direct people to another section of your site, you can really use it to, again, get cohesive with what it is that you're doing. And one of the great things about stock imagery is that you can put whatever, again, filters or graphics that you want on it. So if you wanted to, you know, overlay something on top of a stock image and use, you know, one complete gallery, you're going to get that really cohesive, consistent look and feel. But it's a great way to fill those little sections because again, uh, we, we all get tired of reading like blocks and blocks of texts and it really helps you kind of break that up and, and do color blocking and you know, um, slap a stock image on there and you're good to go. Definitely. And I think that that's really important. And websites are changing. They're changing really quickly. No longer are our websites sort of the end all be all of being able to advertise our brand. Whereas now they're really sort of a validation factor there. There's still the storefront, but it's more for validation and people are spending less time. So they're trying to achieve the same result in terms of validating that you're a legit company, finding out more about you seeing some of your work, but they are spending less time than I find that if we can make it visually appealing and like you said, less text, more visuals, then it tends to engage people a lot more, I find. And they're going to stick around a lot longer. And we are such visual beings. And I think that when I go to a website and it's visually interesting and cohesive, I am as a designer, like that cohesive color Palette is really important to me. It just makes me feel settled, right? It makes me feel like this person is professional and knows what they're doing and all of that subconscious stuff that happens when you're looking at a graphics. But I love this idea. And then the really, the options are limitless on your website when it comes to that. Um, and of course I will say the one question that I see pop up, especially from new, um, new people who are just getting into the industry is whether or not they can use stock photos in their portfolios. So yeah, this is the one area that I would say like, you can use them as inspiration as long as you're really clear and transparent about the inspiration piece. But, um, I don't think like a portfolios the right place on your website for stock photos. Right? Yeah, absolutely. Well, and really nobody should ever use only stock imagery on their site. Like on it when, when you're brand new and you don't have, you know much to show then sure. But obviously as you get more seasoned, do you want to start, you know, switching these things out and you want this documentary to fill the gaps instead of really kind of represent your entire brand. But, um, yeah, it's definitely one of those things. I think people you get into this deal of what, what can I do with stock imagery that I can't just do with that gallery that such and such photographer sent me? Well, you know, you don't own the copyright of images from that photographer, so you're really not supposed to crop. You're really not supposed to put overlay or text or you know anything, unless they explicitly give you that permission. In most cases they're not going to do that. Yeah. I'm so sure there are going to be sections on your website where you're like, it would just be so much easier to pop somebody else's work in here so that I'm allowed to mess around because I don't want the backlash and as as it should be. But yeah, I mean, stock imagery is a wonderful tool to use, but it is just that it's a tool. It should never be, you know, a hundred percent representative of them,

Speaker 3 30:13

your business. Awesome. So I have a question for you. One of the things that I've heard people push back a little bit against stock photography is the fact that, um, it's, it can be used by all of your other competitors or other people in the market. So do you have any exclusive stock photos like, or will you do exclusive shoots for people if they ask you to so that nobody else can have access to those photos?

Speaker 4 30:38

So yes, I mean, I've got a team of photographers that really kind of specialize in custom brand photography. So in that case, it's one of those things where we just connect you with them. So we can say, okay, like this is what you're looking for. Like this is who we would recommend that we use or that you use, whether they be in your geography or you want to just ship them a box of goodies and then they will do custom filing for you. Yeah. So we do have resources for that. And then the other thing that, that we've recently decided to do is that we're actually going to cycle the gallery so they will expire after a certain point in time. So you're not going to be able to go back to images that were in the, um, subscription six months ago because those will expire. So we're going to do that so that we can keep it fresh so that people who've been with us longer, obviously we'll get more content to work with and the, the newer folks and then, you know, that way we're hoping that you don't see a whole lot of repeat stuff. Awesome. Yeah. So it's, it's one of those things you got to personalize it. You definitely have to personalize it. And if you really use a strong, I always say if you use a strong caption, if you use a strong story, um, it's not as much of a worry that that image is something that you've seen before. Um, yeah,

Speaker 3 31:51

yeah. I've never actually really thought about what you were saying about being able to customize the stock images. And it seems so obvious now that you've said it, but, um, and using those different filters. I've done text overlays before, but I think that, you know, being able to adjust or edit them the way that you want them to look to match your brand is also really a great opportunity to make them different from everybody else. And one of the things that I always remind people too is, um, I think sometimes we think our audience is really small, but it's a big world out there. And the chances of somebody recognizing one stock photo and being like, Oh, I saw this other, you know, florist from San Francisco using that two weeks ago is likely. Right, right. Yeah. Well, and you know, it is, it's

Speaker 4 32:34

one of those things because we're in this creative space in, most of us are following other vendors, um, in, in the interwebs. You know, we, we will recognize it so much sooner than then. They will, you know, there's no doubt about it. Um, and, and that's one of those things, once you've built up your portfolio, then you're probably not going to need to use documentary. So it's one of those things just don't, you know, don't stress about it. But, um, one of my favorite tips is take a stock image, um, and lighten it up, darken it up, you know, do whatever kind of filters or as a photographer would say, do whatever editing style that you want, and then use that as an educational piece for your clients. So if you're super worried about it, like, find a way to turn that and flip it into an educational piece. So, okay, I'm, I'm using this image. You can get paid completely honest and say, this is a stock image, friends, you know, like, all right audience, let's talk about this. This is what it looks like. This way. This is what it looks like. This way, this is what it looks like. Now I want you as my couple to be thinking like, which style resonates with you or which thing about this image resonates with you? And really kind of just find a way to like flip it to work, to your advantage that it's not, um, you know, a completely fresh or unseen image. Oh, I love that.

Speaker 3 33:44

That's such a great idea. Um, do you have anything? Okay. So this has been amazing and I love all of these ideas. Um, before I let you go though, you and I were chatting before we went live and you have a very special treat for our listeners. So you know how much I love special treats and freebies. So can you share what you're offering to our podcast listeners today? Yeah,

Speaker 4 34:07

yeah, yeah. So I have something called the pop it up challenge and this challenge is a pdf that gives you all the details on how to use some stock imagery, some ideas, some hashtags that you can use, a captions, examples of captions and themes that you can use. And you get at 15 free images. So I have a special selection. Yeah. I have a special selection of images for the listeners. So when they go to subscribe, they'll, they'll get the challenge and then they'll get a link to download all the images and um, they can do as they please with them.

Speaker 3 34:41

That's amazing. Thank you so much for being so generous with my audience. So for anybody who wants to get this Freebie and those 15 images, you can head to the wide printer.com/ 29 download. So once again, that's the word, printer.com 29 download. Um, and I will link to that in the show notes for sure. Now the other thing I want to ask you is for the listeners who are now jumping up and down with excitement and wanting to get in on your subscription site, how will they go about doing that?

Speaker 4 35:13

Yeah, so all you have to do is go to pops up pretty.com and there'll be the opportunity there for you to sign up. And uh, the subscription options will be listed there. For launch week, we're doing a special words only $19 a month, so super reasonable, super accessible for you. Um, and then after the launch week, it'll go up to $29 a month. So it'll still be available. Just be a little bit more and it's just a monthly service. There is a quarterly option in there and an annual option, but the monthly is a great place to start. If you just want to test the waters,

Speaker 3 35:44

that's incredible. And $19 a month is extremely affordable. So, um, I encourage everybody who's listening to take advantage. It is life changing. I can tell you that the first time I subscribed to, um, a subscription service for stock photos, it was I wanna say like a year ago, um, it was actually for my other business, but I, my mind was blown and it's so convenient to be able to hop on and find search for those images that really line up with your brand. Um, but I will say I am extremely excited about this one because like Sarena said, there's nothing out there for the wedding industry right now. There's lots of, you know, um, stock images out there that are for female entrepreneurs and that sort of thing. But I find I have to like rifle through hundreds of photos to try to find anything that even hints at being related to the wedding industry. So that is going to be a game changer. And I just know that you are going to be overwhelmed with how many people are going to subscribe to this.

Speaker 4 36:43

Well, I'm super excited and I, what I'm loving right now is because it's in such early stages, I am so looking for feedback. So after people subscribe, I want to hear like what are you looking for? What color pallets missing? Like what is missing? Because I'm really trying to make sure that there's a combination of things that you can use from the behind the scenes style imagery to the desk shots in the flat, a flat lays. I want there to be like a really good variety, but I also want to make sure that I'm not missing, you know, any of the particular categories that are out there. I mean obviously we know that that there's a huge honor gets it's wedding planners that are going to use this. But you know, I want force to be able to use it and invitation designers and caterers. I want everybody to be really feel like it's accessible. So, um, I encourage lots of feedback even before you subscribe, you know, shoot me an email and say, hey, this is what I'm looking for. Can you help me out? Um, because it's, it's just the, an opportunity for us to all, again elevate the industry and work together to help to, to address the needs that we're seeing in the market. Okay. That

Speaker 3 37:44

is so incredible you guys, and this is a great lesson to all business owners who are listening. It is so important to reach out to who you're serving and find out if you're serving them properly and they need and fill, fill that gap of whatever they're looking for, or at the very least, you know, be aware of what it is that is out there. And that's an incredible offer. And I think that that's gonna really help refine the kind of content that you're able to create because you're right, the industry is so large, there's so many different sectors within it. And to be able to fill all of that is just going to be a big challenge for you office. But also it's just going to be such a great resource for wedding pros worldwide. So that is so exciting. Yeah, I'm excited and just been so great. I'm, I'm so excited for your new endeavor. I know my listeners are too, I'll be linking to the pasta, pretty sight and Freebie in the show notes, but how else can people reach out to you if they want to connect with you with some suggestions? Is it better for them to DM you on Instagram or shoot you an email? Can you just share how they can reach out to you?

Speaker 4 38:46

Sure. So you can definitely DM me on Instagram. The pops a pretty Instagram is pops up pretty stock and you can also reach me on the delegate page, which is just delegate and elevate, um, for my Instagram. And then both websites are the same. So delegate and elevate.com and pops up pretty.com and my email address is listed on those. So really, however you prefer to communicate, I'm, I'm on all platforms, all of them,

Speaker 3 39:12

aren't we all? Yes. It has been such a pleasure chatting with you today. Thank you so much for being here and as a reminder everyone to get that Freebie, you go to the wed preneur.com/ 29 download. Thank you Serena so much. Thank you. Have a great day. You too. Hey, what preneurs. It's me again. How much fun was that? Cirina is such an inspiration and I really love how she got creative in her business by responding to a need that she experienced in the wedding industry. If you're like me, you know it can be a struggle to come up with pretty content for your social media website and blog, but I'm going to share a little secret with you. In just a few weeks. I'm going to be launching a mini course that is going to help conquer your social media overwhelmed. Now, I'm not going to give away any more details about it just yet, but stay tuned to the podcast for more information. What I will tell you is that you should had to pops up pretty.com right now and depending on when you're listening to this episode, either get your name on the waiting list for her subscription service or if you're listening to this after May 17th you can just go right ahead and sign up for it. She is offering early access pricing for a limited time, so what are you waiting for and don't forget had to the wed printer.com forward slash two nine download. That's 29 download to get your free social media challenge worksheet and those free stock photos that she's put together for this audience. That is a wrap for today, my friends, thank you so much for being here today and I encourage you to tune in next week. We're going to be talking about how to legally protect your business and it is an episode that you do not want to miss. See you then.

Speaker 1 40:59

[inaudible].

Speaker 2 40:59

Thank you so much for joining me for this week's episode of the wet printer podcast. I'm so incredibly grateful to all of my listeners and would like to take a moment to invite you to keep the conversation going. Head on over to my free online community at the [inaudible] dot com forward slash join if you enjoyed this episode, help us spread the word by leaving us an honest review on iTunes. I appreciate each and every one of you and welcome your feedback and next time [inaudible].