Feeling curious about how to make money outside of photography? Maybe you love your role as a photographer, but you’re curious about diversifying your income and creating endless revenue potential. In today’s episode, I’m sharing my story of growing my business to become a business coach with diversified income.
As you know, I love talking about this idea of being more than just one thing as it’s in such alignment with being Called to Both. This looks like being called to:
- Both the mom and the business owner
- Both the service provider and the online creator
- Both creative and analytical
- A CEO and a homeschool mom
- Embracing all aspects of what you are, and getting to be your whole self.
Today’s episode is brought to you by my Affiliate Marketing Jumpstart Guide. I’ve developed an affiliate marketing strategy that has brought me freedom in my business and I’m sharing this strategy in my free guide!
Listen to this episode now:
Search for episode 132 of Called to Both on your favorite podcast player!
Three Shifts to Diversifying Your Offerings Beyond Photography
I know many photographers LOVE being photographers. LOVE IT. AND they want to explore the potential of making income in new ways, creating new offers, and streams of income that are more flexible. You’re my kinda people!
There are 3 specific shifts that happened that led me to where I am today—making money outside of photography services.
Mindset Shift
One of the very first things I had to do was admit that I wanted more. I needed a mindset shift. Not only did I have to be okay with wanting more, but I needed to have an openness to seeing something new. This didn’t mean starting over, it simply meant more.
There was always a pull for me to do something more. I may not have always know what it would be, but I was drawn to the idea of creating content, building an audience, and helping others.
There were so many mentors and people that I looked up to during this shift, but also resources that helped me to make a major mindset shift. Two of the most powerful books I read on my journey were The Artist’s Way and Your Dream Life Starts Here. Both of these books just helped me to quiet the noise of others’ expectations of me and what I offer.
Content Shift
The next shift I had to make was a content shift. People only know you for what you’ve shown them, so you have to make a shift in the type of content you’re putting out there. I have to show up in a new way as a version of myself that they hadn’t seen. I looked at it as stepping into the version of myself I wanted to be in 3-5 years.
It took me a full year after I wanted to start a Youtube channel to actually get this move to happen. I was dragging my feet to make this happen. This shift will take time and it may not feel natural:
- At one point I was talking about things for the first time and it felt random
- At one point I was talking about things that no one asked me for, and that’s normal
- At one point, I didn’t know the income potential of an audience
You will also be in this space and you’ll feel discomfort. Once you start making that shift, things will start aligning and falling into place.
Offer Shift
The last thing I needed to shift was in my offers. This is where a lot of people ideally like to start, but I’d encourage you to save it as your third shift if you can, so that you’ve warmed your audience up to it. I personally saved it, because didn’t know what I would end up creating for my offers. I just knew I needed to build interest for something.
There is such a huge opportunity for income potential when you’re looking to create new offers and diversify. Before I made the shift, I could only make money if I sold a session or an album.
I played around with different ideas of what I could offer—similarly to trying to figure out what my photography style was, what things I wanted to shoot, or who my ideal client was. You’re figuring out what new offers are going to align and fit too.
My first move for a new offer was creating an in-person The Styled Shoot Workshop pretty shortly after I started making educational content on YouTube. Next, I created my first digital offer, Hook and Book Brides, a course for wedding and portrait photographers.
After that, I started to get requests for coaching and mentorship. While I dabbled in that a little bit off and on for a few years before, I leaned into it about 4-5 years ago. Now, my signature offer is my 1:1 coaching called Accelerator coaching.
During this time, my Youtube channel got monetized, which meant I would make money directly from ads on my videos. Now, I’m also able to do brand deals, affiliate marketing, digital products, templates, speaking, coaching, and Google Adsense commissions.
Remember, while your offer is really important, it won’t matter if you’re still in your head about it or you haven’t created the interest through your content. You’ll need all three of theses shifts in order to begin the journey to your next best thing.
One of the biggest shifts for me in my offers and opportunities was in my affiliate marketing income. I was blown away at the opportunities that affiliate marketing can offer business owners and how it even supplemented my income while I was on maternity leave. Make sure you grab my Affiliate Marketing Jumpstart Guide to get started with affiliate marketing today!
If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating on the podcast and want to connect with others who are called to both, make sure you come join us in the PhotoBoss Facebook Group!
Find it quickly:
3:16 – The shift in my heart and mind
5:17 – The books that helped me to shift
5:57 – The shift in my content
9:43 – The shift in my offers
16:45 – The power of affiliate marketing
Mentioned in this Episode:
Ep 121: Why Every Photographer Should Have Multiple Income Streams + How to Get Started
The Affiliate Marketing Jumpstart Guide
Connect with Joy:
Instagram: instagram.com/joyymichelle
Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UC-Ou6jRKxcjMrVMxWxLO_fQ
Facebook: facebook.com/joymichellephotography
Coach with Joy: joymichelle.co/coaching
If you decide to use any of the links above and buy through them, I’ll receive a small commission back. All of those affiliate income commissions really add up over time and help generate revenue to help support this podcast.
Looking for the Transcript?
