A great website should do more than look pretty. It should help you attract and convert your ideal clients, without driving you crazy in the design and maintenance processes. And while the design is important, your website strategy is about a lot more than looks. In fact, planning your site strategy starts long before you ever open a site builder.

In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Showit website designer from Launch Your Daydream, Kelsey Christine, about web strategy for photographers.

Kelsey shares her advice for photographers who want their websites to look great and function well. She explains her Showit template customization process and where you should start if you’re in need of a website. We also chat about our love-hate relationships with blogging and whether or not it’s still important for photographers.

What’s in this episode:

• Where to start when designing your website [3:22]
• How Kelsey’s clients can update their own websites long after working with her [6:30]
• What Showit is and what sets it apart from other website platforms [8:25]
• How to create a website that’s beautiful, functional, and effective [10:45]
• How to utilize video on your website [12:29]
• Whether or not you should list your prices on your website [14:39]
• Common mistakes to avoid on your photography website [17:47]
• The right way to use SEO as a photographer [19:26]
• How to use blogging to keep your website relevant on Google [21:13]
• Behind the scenes of the ‘done for you’ website design process at Launch Your Daydream [23:49]
• How to keep your website secure and up-to-date [27:07]
• Kelsey’s best business advice for photographers [28:29]

If you want to create a beautiful, functional, and effective website, tune in to this episode.

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SUBSCRIBE: iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher

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Resources Mentioned

Showit

The Bokeh Podcast by Nathan Holritz

Meet Launch Your Daydream
At Launch Your Daydream, we know that photographers need their business to visually represent the quality of their work while also communicating their value and who they are as a person. We are Showit design partners who help photographers identify a unique brand identity and Showit off via a quick, 4-week template customization for their website, so they can stand out from their competitors and confidently continue growing their photography business.

Connect with Launch Your Daydream

Check out the website

Connect with Kelsey on Facebook

Follow Kelsey on Instagram

Did you love hearing Kelsey’s tips for building a beautiful and functional website? Check out another episode from Mark Rossetto – Preparation is the Key to Success – With Mark Rossetto

Transcript

[00:00:00] Kelsey Christine: If it doesn’t feel right to you, you’re feeling a little tug in your intuition to try something else. Don’t be afraid to try something else, because that’s the whole point of us owning our own business, right? Is to do what we want to do and run it the way that we want to run it. And then with that being said, of course, I would also follow that up with the expectation that some things aren’t going to go great and this is all about trial and error and those errors are going to happen. But that’s okay. It happens to literally all of us, and it’ll just be a learning experience and you’ll know, all right, that didn’t work, I’m going to try something else.

[00:00:36] Lisa DiGeso: Welcome to the Art and Soul Show, where we dive into heart opening chats on photography, business, life and that messy in-between. I’m your host, Lisa DiGeso, a mom, a photographer and entrepreneur. And I’ll be sharing honest conversations and advice for photographers with insight on mindset, entrepreneurship and creativity. The goal of this podcast is for you to be able to gain insights and strategies that will get you real results. Because, let’s face it, having a photography business can be lonely, but it doesn’t have to be. This is the place you can go when you need a boost of encouragement, a kick in the pants and inspiration to pick up your camera. This is the Art and Soul Show. Hello, my beautiful friends. Welcome back to the show. Today I’m hanging out with Kelsey Christine from Launch Your Daydream. So they know that photographers need their businesses to visually represent the quality of their work while also communicating their value and who you are as a person. Kelsey and Britt, our Showit design partners who help photographers identify a unique brand identity and Showit off via a quick four week template customization for their website so you can stand out from your competitors and confidently continue growing your photography business. Now, I am really excited to dove into this conversation today, you guys, because as you know, I had a website hack earlier this year and I have been kind of spinning my wheels, trying to figure out how to get my own website back up and running. So I actually have recently signed up for Showit. So I am super excited to dove into today’s conversation. Today I’m joined by Kelsey Christine and we are going to talk about all things Showit and website. So welcome. 

[00:02:23] Kelsey Christine: Thank you so much. I’m so excited to be here and represent Launch Your Daydream. I’m typically here with my other half Brit, but today it’ll just be me kind of speaking for the team.

[00:02:34] Lisa DiGeso: I love it. So tell us really who you are and what you’re really passionate about. 

[00:02:39] Kelsey Christine: Of course. Yeah. So I kind of again, speak for both of us here. I’m Kelsey, and we are passionate about helping photographers feel confident in their business. It’s something that when we started out doing our design work, we didn’t realize was kind of one of the outcomes of our work. But over time, we’ve really learned that it does help with that confidence, and that’s one of the things that we’re most proud about. But I also just have to say from a kind of more fun, a personal point of view, something that Britt and I are very passionate about, is that Backstreet Boys are better than NSYNC. 

[00:03:13] Lisa DiGeso: I love it.

[00:03:13] Kelsey Christine: Great.

[00:03:15] Lisa DiGeso: Back street’s back.

[00:03:15] Kelsey Christine: All right. Thank you. 

[00:03:22] Lisa DiGeso: Oh, it’s so great. So I recently had a website hack and I am starting literally from square one. Like, I honestly hadn’t updated my website since like probably anything since 2015 and oh, like that was just the pictures. And then before that it really was like I said it and I forgot it. And so obviously I got hacked. And so I have recently signed up for Showit. And in all honesty, logging in, I’m a little bit overwhelmed with the website design or even where to start. So I know what you guys are showing web designers with templates. So can you maybe share where I should even start? 

[00:03:59] Kelsey Christine: Yeah, that’s a great question. First of all, I’m so sorry that that happened to you, but.  

[00:04:03] Lisa DiGeso: It’s a blessing. I think last. 

[00:04:04] Kelsey Christine: Thing I was going to say, maybe it was kind of meant to be because it sounds like you needed to think about it a little bit. But yeah, it can certainly be a learning curve in any new platform. But I would say with any website design, any platform, honestly, don’t even look at Showit yet. We would say start with strategy first and that’s what we do with our clients. Before you even start thinking about the design and how you want to lay everything out, you want to make sure that your messaging is strong first and set in strategy. So we kind of ask you to put yourself in your client’s shoes and think about what kind of problems and concerns are they having when they’re coming to you? Like, what are the questions that they’re going to have for you and how can you get in front of that? So how are you solving those problems and concerns that they have? And how and why can they trust you to be the one to do that for them? In addition to that, like what makes your experience unique aside from others? And I know that this sounds like a lot, and it can be, but this is one of the most important parts of the process to make sure that your strategy is really strong by the time you get to the design. So yeah, so this is something that we help our clients do, but it’s also something that you can do on your own. It’s just asking yourself those questions, honestly. Start with a pen and paper, or if you’re more of a Google dot gal, pull up a new Google doc and just start thinking about, okay, what do my clients need? What are they worried about? How can I help them? How can I prove to them that I’m the one to help them and. How can I show them exactly what they can expect when working with me, as well as what they’re going to miss out on if they don’t work with me. And that’s going to help you. Then when you go to jump into the design, you’ll be more like, Okay, I know what I’m trying to communicate. And now let me just figure out how to lay it out. And then when it comes to where to start with the actual design, though, when you are ready for that, that is why we love templates so much. It can be really overwhelming to just be looking at it like a blank slate. Right?

[00:06:02] Lisa DiGeso: Like, I don’t even know what I’m doing here. Yeah. It’s like going to a buffet and going, like, I don’t even know. Hungry.  

[00:06:10] Kelsey Christine: Exactly. Yeah. It’s so overwhelming. So. So that’s why we do love templates, because you already know that it’s been built by a trusted designer, so you know that the design is there, and then you kind of just fill in the blanks. But I know that even sometimes that’s hard, too. And that’s why we now have focused our primary service on helping do that for photographers. 

[00:06:30] Lisa DiGeso: I love that because like, I’m busy. I run two companies. And as we were talking, I was like, I don’t know where I’m going to find the time even to build my website, let alone learn a new system. So how can you share the process of how once you’ve built it for your clients, how are they able to update it? Like what kind of training do you give and how? How does it work? I’m such a how girl. 

[00:06:55] Kelsey Christine: Yeah, I know. I love that. Yeah. So. So our process personally, we have a bunch of partners that are kind of like our design partners, other Showit designers who create their own templates, because it kind of helps us create a fun little community there. So we’re collaborating with other designers. There’s a ton out there, but you can kind of browse what they have, choose which one fits best, and we’re always here to help if you can’t, if you can’t figure it out, because that part’s overwhelming, too. But so then, you know, will we end up customizing the template for you. And part of our process when we’re showing you updates and getting your feedback is we’ll record a walkthrough video. So I would be showing you your website and talking through what I’ve done and showing you areas where we can change things or you can swap out images and stuff like that. And these walkthrough videos are really key in our process because it’s also what you’re going to get upon kind of wrapping everything up and launching with us as we will show you how to make those image swaps, make any text swaps, update things on desktop versus mobile, stuff like that moving forward so that you can do it yourself. And with that being said, Showit also has an amazing help team. And that’s one of the reasons we love them so much is they are really quick with the live chat, but then they also have a great resource full of different things like help articles and things like that. So you can pretty much find how to do anything that you’re trying to do moving forward. So there’s a lot of resources there.

[00:08:25] Lisa DiGeso: I love that. Now, what would you say are the benefits over, say, a WordPress or a Squarespace or even like a Wix site? I know that a lot of new photographers start on those freebie ones. So what benefits would you say that Showit has over those? 

[00:08:38] Kelsey Christine: So we have been all over the place and we have tried all of all of the platforms. We started working with Squarespace and Showit back in the day when we started working together. But we have now chosen to specialize in Showit for a lot of reasons. And one is that that help team we have experienced with a lot of other platforms that they are not as helpful or it’s almost impossible to even talk to a human, but Showit, we know, we know some of the people by name back there, like they are always there and always helpful. So that’s a big one for us and for our clients because we know that our clients are going to need that too. But from a design perspective, we really love how creative you can get with Showit. It’s a drag and drop platform rather than something like Squarespace or Wix, one of the ones where you’re kind of working in blocks and things just get kind of forced into place. But with Showit, you can literally drag and drop things anywhere you want, which opens up the creative liberty you have like so much more. So that’s been really fun for us to get creative with and also the fact that their mobile design and desktop design are separate so that you can really, truly optimize your mobile design. And that’s something else with some of those other ones like Squarespace or Wix, it will just automatically kind of translate your site into mobile and you might notice sometimes things look a little wonky or it doesn’t really maybe that’s not the way you would have chosen to display it on mobile. So we love that Showit allows for that, especially because now Google Search Engine prioritizes mobile websites over desktop when it comes to your SEO rankings. So you really want to make sure that your site is optimized for mobile. So just one of the many reasons we love Showit and I think it’s actually a platform that’s been specifically created for creatives and really photographers is why we even found out about it through the photography world. There’s some I think the majority of their users are photographers and it’s just. Like I said, the creative liberty just kind of proves how much fun we can have with interactivity and really showcasing your portfolio and things like that. 

[00:10:45] Lisa DiGeso: I love that because as photographers, like putting our work out there on a website and having it used as your sales machine is so important and is not working as a sales machine. It’s probably doing more harm than good. So what advice do you have for creating that website that is not only just beautiful but really functions as a sales machine for photographers?

[00:11:07] Kelsey Christine: Yes, good question. So, I mean, again, back to that strategy, always start with putting in the strategy first. So some of that stuff that I mentioned before as far as like there’s a lot of copy, there’s a lot of magic in the copy that you put on your website. So definitely starting there. But then I would also say when it comes to the layout of things, you’re kind of taking your prospective clients on a journey. So you are in the driver’s seat and you have control of where you’re making the turns and where you’re taking them. And so, again, it always comes back to putting yourself in their shoes, acting like you’re them. Looking at your website, where would you go next? Where would you click? And you can kind of lead them that way. So one of our main kind of pieces of advice when it comes to those kinds of questions is making sure there’s a clear call to action on every single page on your website, meaning you’re telling them what to do next. You’re not leading them to a dead end so that they’re like, okay, I’ll just click away. Give them a button that says what to do next, whether that’s going to the contact page, learning more about you or learning more about your services. Again, you have to think strategically. What do you want them to naturally do after whatever they have just done on that page? So yeah, you’re really in control and it’s kind of fun to think about it that way. Like I’m going to take them on a journey if they land here, where do I want them to go next? And of course the goal is always to get them to reach out to you in the end.

[00:12:29] Lisa DiGeso: I love that. Now, what’s your thoughts on the video? Because I know that video is huge on social media with Instagram turning to more reels and TikTok is huge right now too. So are you seeing a trend with more video showing up on websites too, and what would be a strategy around that? 

[00:12:45] Kelsey Christine: Yeah, actually, I hadn’t really thought about it until you just said it, but I have seen that with a lot of our clients. I’ve noticed a lot of our photographers going ahead and getting like brand videos made. So you know how you’ll do? You’ll do your headshots, you’ll get a behind the scenes photo session taken of you to use on your about page. I’ve been seeing more and more photographers get videos done of that. And sometimes it’s just, you know, one that we kind of use in the background. It’s not necessarily like an interview style or there’s no audio to it, but you can kind of see the interaction between you and your clients. And I think it really helps in just kind of making people feel more comfortable before they even reach out to you. And you can see, especially with people who do like family photography or I know, I’m sure with things like newborns and stuff, a lot of clients are worried about how you’re going to handle their babies and things like that. So anytime you can showcase what that looks like and show, you know, just kind of warm everything up a little bit, I think that’s great. I also recently had a client who did sort of like a welcome video on her about page where she’s just talking a little bit more about her philosophy and it goes hand in hand with the copy that’s on that page. So if they don’t want to watch a video, they still get the message. But if they do want to watch the video, they can see her face here, her voice. And it really, again, just makes you feel a little bit more comfortable and they’re probably more likely to reach out after that.

[00:14:13] Lisa DiGeso: I love that because it’s something that I’ve been toying with the idea of. I love video and I love audio. And so just putting my face into some words and my photos, I’m just like, wow, this doesn’t feel like they’re actually getting to know me or they book me. So I was toying with the idea of coming up with some sort of welcome video. Mm hmm. So I love that. I love that. That’s actually. You’re seeing that. Yeah. I’m on the right track.  

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[00:14:37] Kelsey Christine: I love that idea. 

[00:14:39] Lisa DiGeso: So what is your take on having your prices listed as a photographer right on your website versus sending them out after an inquiry? Because I know that there is like both sides of the coin there. So I’d love to hear your opinion on that. 

[00:14:52] Kelsey Christine: Yes, I actually love this question. I might go on a little tangent, but I love it. So we typically recommend showing ‘starting at’ prices. So it’s kind of in the middle. It’s not a no, it’s not a yes, but you’re at least giving a ballpark range so that you are weeding out anyone who’s just price shopping, bargain hunting. You don’t want to waste your own precious time with people who don’t actually care about the value and are just looking for something within their budget. We at least recommend putting that starting out price when it comes to showing full packages, I’ve kind of noticed that it can work either way. We have some clients who just put everything out there and some who say, Here’s, here’s my starting out price. Here’s the. Ridge that a typical client spends and you can reach out for more details. So I’ve seen both sides of that coin work, but I definitely recommend at least starting at. But even further, the thing that I love to talk about is we always recommend creating what we call an experience page when it comes to showcasing your pricing. Because we see a lot of photographers, they’ll have, you know, the tabs on your website you’ll have home about. And then sometimes they’ll have an investment page, a portfolio page, sometimes a testimonials page, etc.. We recommend combining all of those into one experience page and perhaps one for each niche. If you have family, maternity, a newborn, have one, have one experience page for each specialty. But the purpose of these pages is to communicate the value of your business and your experience so that by the time they see your price, they don’t bat an eye. They’re like. Oh. Of course. 

[00:16:34] Lisa DiGeso: Of course. 

[00:16:34] Kelsey Christine: Rather than just clicking on an investment page and seeing the price without any explanation or any expectations. So we recommend yeah, kind of starting with some of that strategy like I talked about talking about your client’s pain points and understanding what they’re coming to you for, make them feel heard and understood. Then you talk about your process and exactly what they can expect from you and some of those things that kind of show them that your experience is special and unique because of X, Y, Z. Bringing in some testimonials and bringing in some of your galleries. You can showcase sliding galleries that don’t take up a lot of space, but that still showcase a lot of your work. So that, again, they’ve seen all this value. It’s building up and building up. And then by the time they get toward the bottom of that page, they see the price. And, you know, it doesn’t feel like it’s out of nowhere. It makes a lot of sense at that point.

[00:17:24] Lisa DiGeso: I love that so much. And I think I love that because it sounds like there’s a bit of a pivot from the traditional way we’ve always thought: this is how we are, we’re photographers, this is all about us. This is our there’s our photos, this is our gallery, right? Here’s a contact page. And I’m like, Oh, I’m so bored of this, how can there be a better way of doing this? And it sounds like you guys have kind of cracked that code on that, so I’m really excited. You think like that. So what would you say are some big mistakes that people make with their websites, especially for photographers? 

[00:17:53] Kelsey Christine: I would say the one that we see the most is when it comes down to not clearly identifying their niche or specialty. And that’s in two ways. One, just like for your own sake of knowing what your specialty is, a lot of times we see the photographers who dabble in weddings and families and even like headshots and events and, you know, a little bit of everything. And that, unfortunately, is not going to speak to anyone specifically. So someone’s going to be more likely to click away because, again, they don’t feel like they’re being heard and seen and understood. So one figuring that out, but then to actually making it clear and known on your website specifically when you land on your home page, it should be clear right away what your specialty is and and where you’re doing this, where are you located? And that’s something that is like missing a lot, right?  

[00:18:47] Lisa DiGeso: Yeah. 

[00:18:47] Kelsey Christine: Where are you? 

[00:18:50] Lisa DiGeso: Or what’s your last name? Right?

[00:18:52] Kelsey Christine: Yeah. Who are you and where are you? What do you do? So that’s very important and it’s also helpful from another strategy perspective. As far as SEO goes, once you’ve done some research and figured out your SEO keywords, that’s going to go hand in hand with your specialty and location. And so it’s smart to have that on every page so that no matter where they’re coming from, whatever page they’re landing on, they should be able to know right away those things who you are, what you do, where, where you are. 

[00:19:21] Lisa DiGeso: So when it comes to SEO, is that something that you also help your clients with, too?  

[00:19:26] Lisa DiGeso: Yes, we do. So it’s built into our process a little bit just because we have seen how important it is. And so we have a great tool that we use, kind of like a third party tool that helps us do the research. Because one of the things Britt actually started out, it’s like the SEO expert and she has slowly taught me a little bit and a little bit more, and now I’m starting to feel like I really get it. And I remember this epiphany I had when she helped me realize that. So you could be really excited that you are ranking for, let’s say, Nashville newborn photographer. Let’s say you’re like, oh, I’m looking, I’m ranking number one on Google. But the problem is, what if no one’s actually searching those keywords, then it doesn’t matter, right? Yeah. So the research that we do is helping you figure out what relevant keywords are actually being searched within your niche and your location. So we will give you a list and there’s an add-on for us to help you rename all of your photos and things like that, or you can do it on your own. But utilizing those keywords, go ahead and name all of your photos so that those are in there working for you behind the scenes. And then, of course, something that we do for everyone is going in and doing the SEO settings in Showit, which honestly, another reason I love Showit makes it so easy. You don’t have to understand SEO really. There’s just a sidebar that says SEO settings. You put in your page title, your description. As long as you’re using those keywords that we’ve helped you find, then you should be good to go. So yes, SEO is something we help with. It’s very important. And we also try to make it easy for our clients to understand what’s happening so that they can continue to manage it on their own.  

[00:21:13] Lisa DiGeso: So what’s your thought on blogging? Like, is blogging dead? Is it something you should be studying? You should still be doing it? Or like, what are your what’s your opinion? 

[00:21:20] Kelsey Christine: Yeah, I hate to say it because I know a lot of people hate blogging, but blogging is not dead. Blogging is very important, especially, again, going back to that SEO. It’s just such a good way to help you in your search engine rankings. One of the big things I know I talked about earlier is that Google prioritizes mobile websites. But another thing that’s important is how relevant your website is. So there’s an algorithm that checks how the last time your website was updated, when something changes on your website to know that, oh yeah, they’re still working on this website. It’s still relevant. It’s up to date. So any time a new blog post is posted, it’s going to tell Google that your website is up to date. Of course, your website’s not something that you’re going to constantly be going in and changing, or at least it shouldn’t be if you’ve kind of like done the work up front. So yeah, the blog is the perfect way to do that. With that being said, I know that it can be, it can feel really overwhelming. I mean, we feel that way about our blog. We don’t mind keeping our blog up to date either. But there are definitely some strategies and ways to get around that. And it’s not something that you have to do every single day. But if you’re someone who doesn’t blog at all, start with baby steps, start saying, okay, you know what, I’m going to try one a month. Let’s just see if I can get one out every month, whether it’s a recent session I did or just something. Again, we want to think about those keywords. So if you want to showcase a local venue or something like that, they don’t have to be really long stories. I know some people’s blog posts are, but they don’t have to be. Especially as a photographer. You’re lucky that you can kind of let your photos do most of the talking in your blog post, and you can just use the text part to get some of those keywords out and to just kind of tell a little story. And then that’s it. That’s all you really need. It doesn’t have to be super scary. 

[00:23:13] Lisa DiGeso: Well, you know, what’s funny is I love blogs and I hate blogs for recipes so much. Oh, yeah. Because it’s like you’re like, okay, I want to know how to make, like, an avocado cheese dip or something, right? And then you Google it and then you hear about someone’s history of their, like, tour of Italy, and you’re like, I just wanted to make the darn dip.

[00:23:30] Kelsey Christine: Oh, I know. 

[00:23:31] Lisa DiGeso: No, no, I know.

[00:23:32] Kelsey Christine: Yeah, they’ve started putting, at least most of the ones I’ve looked at, they’ve started putting buttons that say jump to recipe. And when I saw that, I was like, Hallelujah. I feel bad because I know the person wants to share their story, but I’m like, I’m just hungry right now.

[00:23:46] Lisa DiGeso: I’m sorry. I just want to know how to make cheese avocado dip. So I love that you have done for you service and honestly, it’s super affordable as well. So can you share how that process works and how somebody would start to get started, especially if they already are coming from having a website and a business already? 

[00:24:06] Kelsey Christine: Yeah, of course. So, do you mean like with us specifically how our process works?  

[00:24:11] Lisa DiGeso: Oh, yeah. 

[00:24:12] Kelsey Christine: Yeah, sure. So, I mean, always start by just reaching out to us. We love to hear about you and your business, kind of what you’re looking for. But if you know that you’re ready to do this template customization thing, we recommend starting by choosing your template. So it’s kind of fun. You get to go and kind of window shop for fun templates. Like I said, we have narrowed it down at least to our recommended designers. We’re open to working with ones outside of that, but we typically ask to kind of like share it with us first so we can make sure it seems aligned with your business and your goals. And we can also help you choose if you’re feeling a little stuck. But once you have chosen that template and you know that you’re ready to rock, that’s when we start on the strategy stuff. So remember, we don’t jump into that design until we have the strategy down. So for us that just looks like a questionnaire. We send you an online questionnaire where you work on putting yourself in your client’s shoes and giving us some insight into your business and your niche and your goals, things like that. And then we use that strategy alongside the copy you currently have on your website, if you already have one to kind of we kind of do like a hybrid. We’ll take some stuff from your current website and add in some of the really good stuff from your questionnaire to make sure that we’ve got that strategy in there. So we’re not we’re not copywriters by any means. We have copywriters that we love if you were someone who wanted to do a huge revamp, but we are there to help you figure out what that copy should look like. We also, like I said, take care of the SEO, so something that will ask you. Within that questionnaire is going to be some specifics about the locations you want to try to rank for any specialties you want to try to rank for. And then we’ll do that research for you to show you which keywords are actually being searched, and then you’ll either rename your photos yourself or we’ll do it for you depending on what you chose, and we’ll get those all uploaded into Showit. And then once all of that background strategy stuff is done, we just go for it and we’ll start applying all of that to your template customization. And then that is, like I said, when you will get that walkthrough video, so you’ll get to see it all come to life on your screen and we’ll just kind of talk through you, show you what we’ve done. Most of it should be pretty self-explanatory since you’re working with the template, but I’ll be honest, sometimes I end up moving things around a little bit or I’ll say, I’m going to take a canvas from this page and put it over here, because that makes more sense to me. We definitely want to make sure that it’s working for your business and your strategy, so we’ll walk you through that. And then the great part is you get to leave comments right there in the video and then we apply your feedback. And it’s such a quick process after that point.  

[00:26:52] Lisa DiGeso: I love that, I think because it is so overwhelming, especially if you have something already and then you’re trying to just jump into something else. I love that you have this system in place just to walk someone through it and sounds like you really take care of your clients. And I love that.

[00:27:06] Kelsey Christine: That’s the goal.

[00:27:07] Lisa DiGeso: So how can photographers ensure that their websites stay up to date and avoid getting hacked like me and locked out?

[00:27:15] Kelsey Christine: Yes. I hope that no one else has to deal with that. So I think that the security aspect has a lot to do with the actual platform you use, which is another reason we love Showit. They make sure the site is safe and they actually do the installation of this thing called the SSL certificate. Again, it is the techie side of us, but all I know is that when I’m ready to launch a site, I say, Hey, Showit, help team, it’s me, can you install the SSL certificate? And then they do and then your site is protected. So awesome. Awesome. Yeah. It’s so great that like whether you’re working with a designer or not, they make it so easy for you to do and it just, it feels really great to know that you’re protected. 

[00:27:56] Lisa DiGeso: So I love that because I was coming off of a WordPress that, oh gosh, that I started building in 2010 with absolutely zero skills and didn’t know anything about updating anything, didn’t know I was supposed to update anything, and just kind of let it out with my other company and my wonderful business partner takes care of all to the techie tech site. So I was like, How should my website be going to the Viagra site? I’m not selling Cialis.  

[00:28:25] Kelsey Christine: Oh no.

[00:28:26] Lisa DiGeso: But that’s okay. I’m going to rebuild and it’s going to be amazing. 

[00:28:28] Kelsey Christine: Yes. 

[00:28:29] Lisa DiGeso: So what has been the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given? 

[00:28:35] Lisa DiGeso: Oh. 

[00:28:36] Kelsey Christine: Okay. I actually think I may shout out another podcast host for this one, Nathan Holritz of The Bokeh Podcast. Britt and I had a Facebook group back in the day. We don’t run that anymore, but it was just educational stuff for photographers. And he came and did a talk for us in there once, and it was really eye opening for me because he talked a lot about outsourcing and delegating tasks and the power that that can have on you as a person. Yeah, and I know that some of us are in a place where we’re not ready to do that yet financially, but anywhere that you can or I’d say at least make it a goal, say, okay, this year I’m going to try to make this much money so that I can start hiring someone for my social media or hiring someone to help me with my taxes, whatever it may be. It’s so draining as a business owner to wear all of those hats. And then by the time we get to the part that we’re actually supposed to be doing, the part that we actually love, we’re so exhausted, you know, it’s like, Oh, come now, have a consult call with a potential client or now come shoot this session and you’re just drained because you were working on your social media calendar all morning and then you’re not 100% there anymore. And, and and that just kind of defeats the purpose of doing what you love, right? So anywhere that you can and at least make that the goal to delegate and outsource any tasks that are not directly influencing your bottom line. Meaning like it’s not the bread and butter that you are there to do. If someone else can do it, someone else is better at it than you. Then see if you can get someone to come help you with that and it will feel a million times better.

[00:30:16] Kelsey Christine: So much better. Like when I started outsourcing my editing. Yes. And I know it’s a hard one for me because I am such a control freak. 

[00:30:23] Kelsey Christine: I understand that. 

[00:30:25] Lisa DiGeso: I was like, okay, well, pretend that what I am putting on social media is done by me. I record the video of how I’ve done it for my editor and then I send the rest. And even if she gets to like 95% there, my client’s not going to notice that 5% difference. Yeah. So you just. It just saves me hours and hours and hours. I feel so good. So good. And bookkeeping, too. 

[00:30:45] Kelsey Christine: Oh, yeah. Yeah. As creatives, we’re not, most of us are not good with numbers. I know. I’m like, budget? 

[00:30:57] Lisa DiGeso: Oh, dear. I wouldn’t give that advice, though. So what advice do you have for someone maybe who’s just starting out? 

[00:31:05] Kelsey Christine: Oh, I feel like that’s also something I could talk about all day, but I think the first thing that comes to mind for me is just kind of trust your gut when it comes to things and to not or to try to not get too caught up in the comparison trap. I know that it’s hard and there is something to be said for looking to others for inspiration and advice. Of course, it’s great to do that, but don’t get stuck feeling like you have to be doing something that everyone else is doing just because everyone else is doing it. Like if there is a program everyone’s using or a way everyone is presenting themselves online. If it doesn’t feel right to you and you’re feeling a little tug in your intuition to try something else, don’t be afraid to try something else, because that’s the whole point of us owning our own business, right? Is to do what we want to do and run it the way that we want to run it. And then with that being said, of course, I would also follow that up with the expectation that some things aren’t going to go great and this is all about trial and error and those errors are going to happen. But that’s okay. It happens to literally all of us and it’ll just be a learning experience and you’ll know, all right, that didn’t work, then try something else. 

[00:32:15] Lisa DiGeso: I love that. You know, it’s funny, I’ve done, I think, over 120 episodes. And I don’t think anyone’s ever given that advice of like, be comfortable with your failure. Like, it is awesome. You’re just learning something from it. I love that. Beautiful.

[00:32:26] Kelsey Christine: Thank you. 

[00:32:27] Lisa DiGeso: So, are you ready for our lightning round? 

[00:32:30] Kelsey Christine: Yes. 

[00:32:31] Lisa DiGeso: Go to karaoke jam. 

[00:32:33] Kelsey Christine: Baby Got Back.

[00:32:34] Lisa DiGeso: Oh, good. What is something you will never get tired of? 

[00:32:41] Kelsey Christine: Reality TV.

[00:32:42] Lisa DiGeso: Oh, so good. Did you see that new one that came out on Prime?

[00:32:47] Kelsey Christine: What is it called?

[00:32:48] Lisa DiGeso: It’s like, oh, gosh, what is it called? It’s like bringing people back from their past and hooking them up. It’s like a new one. I just started last night. 

[00:32:55] Kelsey Christine: I didn’t, I didn’t start watching it, but I saw it advertised there. And I saw, like the plot. And I was like, Yep, I’m going to watch that.

[00:33:03] Lisa DiGeso: I started watching it, my husband’s like, Seriously, what are you watching now? And I’m like, Oh, it’s going to get good. He got into it. I’m like, watch. And like, they’re going to create more drama. They’re going to bring her people back and her people back. And he’s like, You just live for this stuff, don’t you? I’m like yes, I do, I do. So what would you take to a deserted island? 

[00:33:21] Kelsey Christine: I would love to say some kind of smart, strategic answer here, but for me, I feel like I just need music to survive. So if there was some way I could have, like, a source of music that’s not going to, like, have a battery die on me or needs wifi. I just need music, and I’ll just. I’ll just dance the pain away. 

[00:33:38] Lisa DiGeso: I love it. I love it. Solar. What’s the last thing you did for yourself as an indulgence? 

[00:33:45] Kelsey Christine: Actually, this past Friday, it was just one of those days I was feeling in my feels. And so I said, You know what? I’m signing off of work early. And I opened a bottle of rosé and put some brie in a baked brie with bread. And I put on a corny rom com and I instantly felt better. 

[00:34:08] Lisa DiGeso: Ah. You’re speaking my love language.

[00:34:11] Kelsey Christine: Yes, ma’am. I love that.

[00:34:14] Lisa DiGeso: So your favorite snack?

[00:34:16] Kelsey Christine: Anything involving carbs and cheese. Yeah. Yeah. Bread, cheese. All of it.  

[00:34:22] Lisa DiGeso: I love it. What did you want to be when you grew up?

[00:34:24] Kelsey Christine: I actually wanted to be a Broadway performer. Oh, I know, Britt, fun fact, she wanted to be a meteorologist. 

[00:34:31] Lisa DiGeso: Interesting.

[00:34:31] Kelsey Christine: We are so far off from that. But we love what we do now.

[00:34:36] Lisa DiGeso: So favorite movie?

[00:34:39] Kelsey Christine: Okay, I’ll speak for Brit on this one, too. We love the Backstreet Boys documentary called Show Em What You’re Made Of. It’s fantastic if you can find a way to watch it. Yeah, it’s our tradition every time we live in different states. And so every time that we get to get together in person, it’s our tradition to watch it together.  

[00:34:55] Lisa DiGeso: I love that. I love that. I think my business partner and I think it’s really important to keep finding ways to keep your business fun. And it sounds like there’s a really tapped into that too. I love that. So what makes your soul light up? 

[00:35:09] Kelsey Christine: I would say, at least for me, it’s any time I create some kind of connection or community with people. And I think that that kind of goes hand in hand with our work too. And this is why I love things like this. Like your podcast is a virtual community, and even though it’s just me and you talking right now, this is a new connection. And then we are now talking to all these other people listening who are, you know, hopefully finding something inspiring from this, something related to chasing their creative or entrepreneur dreams. And like, as corny as it might sound, I think that’s so beautiful. And I don’t think any of us as creative business owners could do any of this without some kind of community. So it really lights my soul up any time I see something like that happening in the works. 

[00:36:00] Lisa DiGeso: I love that. I love that. I was. What was I watching? I was watching or listening. It was something about being self-made and I was like, Well, none of us are really made, right? We all rise by lifting each other together and we learn from each other. Exactly. And I just love that. So where can our listeners learn more about you and from you?

[00:36:17] Kelsey Christine: Well, our Instagram is @LaunchYourDaydream and our website is LaunchYourDaydream.com. I think those are the most common places you’ll find us. You can reach out to us via contact form on our website or just email us hello at launch or daydream dot com. We’re always happy to make new friends. If you have any questions or want to talk about Backstreet Boys, we are here to do so. 

[00:36:41] Lisa DiGeso: I love that. So I love to end my interviews with this last question. And it is what are you currently artistically curious about?

[00:36:52] Kelsey Christine: That’s such a fun question. I feel like I’m always curious about so many things. I’m the type that like picks up a million different hobbies and never finishes any.

[00:37:00] Lisa DiGeso: Yeah.

[00:37:01] Kelsey Christine: But I know Brit and I actually for years now have been interested in learning how to make our own fonts. Oh, yeah. So neither of us have done it yet, but it’s something I know we’re both still curious about. I think she even enrolled in, like, a course, but it’s one of those things that gets put on the back burner. But now that I’m saying this aloud on a podcast, Brit and I will make our own font someday. So just come check back with us and see if we’ve made our font yet. 

[00:37:27] Lisa DiGeso: Yeah I love that. That’s so great. Well, Kelsey, thank you so much for hanging out with me today. 

[00:37:34] Kelsey Christine: Thank you. I’ve loved this. This is so fun.

[00:37:37] Lisa DiGeso: All my friends. What a fun conversation. Thank you so much for joining me today, my beautiful friends. I appreciate you listening and tuning and hanging out with me each and every single week. I am sending you so much of my light and love today and every single day. We will see you next time.