So, you know I have a thing for YouTube. It beats out Netflix for the top spot in my viewing schedule. I watch all sorts of content from vlogs to gaming, tutorials to DIY and pretty much everything in between. Along the way, I’ve collected a rather substantial subscription list, and one of my favourite topics is women in business. Or women who HAVE a business and sometimes talk about it on YouTube.
Women on YouTube, basically.
But, even with my extensive and widely spread interests, I have way more male creators than female in my feed. It’s a thing, the head of YouTube even said so, and they’re encouraging women to get more involved. I’ll see you there! Haha.
Anyway, back from the sidetrack, even with my intent to curate a predominately female feed I struggle to find new channels to follow. So I was thinking, maybe you’re struggling to find some awesome female creators too. And, as is so often the case, a list was born! Here we go, I might even come back and do this again for other genres;
Women in Business that I follow on YouTube
Katnipp
Catherine, the owner of Katnipp Insullrations, runs a YouTube channel with content around how she runs her Etsy store. It’s fun and interesting to see how she goes about creating products, what happens behind the scenes and all the fluffy cute STUFF. I’m not interested in pastels or Etsy usually, but I love watching her videos which are currently coming out multiple times a week. And yes, she may have helped inspire the desire to do a studio vlog myself; coming soon (my first attempt was SO bad, haha. I’ll be back!).
Lavendaire
A lifestyle YouTuber, Aileen of Lavendaire sharing lots of content around personal development, her YouTube channel development and other lifestyle videos. I found her when Samara and I were first starting with the Podcast, and she had some great tips about improving your sound and all that jazz. I’ve since subscribed for her relaxed and easy to watch content that inspires me to look at everything things differently. Especially my to-do list!
Becki and Chris
You’ll have to ignore the Chris part of this husband and wife channel, but to be honest, Becki does 90% of the work for the content (they say so themselves), so I consider this a female-led content creator. If you know me and my aesthetic you’ll get in a SECOND why I love Becki’s videos SO much. I came across their channel via some photography tutorials, then fell in love with their interior design style. Now I’m an avid watcher of their vlogs (they have a helicopter, btw!) and never miss a video. They recently went a little viral from 10k subscribers to over 100k. Who says hard work doesn’t pay off?
Julia Trotti
An Aussie! I found an Aussie. Haha. Julia is a Sydney based photographer (love that!) who creates content around her business, photography and occasionally vlogs. I love her behind the scenes videos of her photoshoots, and the relief that hearing an Australian accent (they’re few and far between it feels like!) brings. If you’re at all interested in photography, you’ll love this channel. Julie is full of hot tips and suggestions; I know you’ll learn a lot.
Sunny Lenarduzzi
If you’re in business and want to grow it using social media, you need to start watching Sunny. I first came across this channel while looking for information on Periscope (remember THAT mess, lol). I didn’t have an account (that I knew of) on YouTube at the time so I didn’t subscribe, but even now I remember watching her straight-forward tips and practical advice. That’s a cornerstone of her content. Plus, it’s SO nice to see a female creator in this field, that is especially male-dominated. Go Sunny!
Mr Kate
Easily the sweetest lady on YouTube, Kate of Mr Kate is a Creative Weirdo who started with a blog, started making YouTube videos and has built it into a pretty massive operation. If that’s not inspiring enough, their content is impressive and often features other YouTubers (fun!) and behind the scenes peeks into how their business runs (see the first Office Goals series where they make over their offices). Love a good blogger success story, and the energy in this show is the BEST.
There you go, team. I hope you pop over to YouTube and check out these awesome women in business. I know for some of you that’s not an area of interest, but seriously, there’s so much gold to be found on these channels beside that, it’s still worth a look for you too!
You’ll love it!
And well, while you’re there, you should check me out. For a while there I was getting pretty consistent with video uploads. Made a 3 months/100 subscribers video and lost ALL of my mojo. Of cooourse. But it’s coming back. I’ve been recording stuff lately that once I get some time to edit, will be there in April. See you there!
A few weeks ago now I had my tarot cards read. It was an impromptu thing at a party (shout out to Liv and Ben!). Given it was only weeks after giving my notice, of course, I wanted to know how my business would go. How would it all turn out, this leap of faith I’d made? It turns out that the cards had some news for me.
There’s someone out there (possibly more than one) that are working against me. There are people, she said, working against you and doing what they can to turn the tables on your fortunes. Doing their best to sabotage what I’m doing through lies and rumours.
Before you panic, spoiler alert, they will be unsuccessful.
The fact that there’s someone out there with a laser focus on me and I have no idea they exist is laughable. Imagine handing over so much of your time and energy to tear someone down and not mean a thing to them? Talk about a waste of your talents. I think that this person (these people) should probably just focus their efforts on getting better instead. (HA. Burn).
Since that reading when I’ve mentioned the key point (there were others, about my life, relationships and more) people have mentioned that they’ve heard this or that. That sure, they’ve heard whispers of negative comments and people trying to ‘cut my grass’ with existing clients. Apparently, the cards are dead on. That’s awkward.
But here’s the thing; I choose not to focus on that.
Before I was alerted to this situation I knew very little about what other people are saying about me. I knew even less about the people pitching their wares at my clients, positioning themselves to replace me given the chance. And I was doing just fine. Great even. Better than ever and I know who I am, where I stand and what I can deliver.
A lot has changed for me in the past few years, piece by piece I’m opening up about all of that. To myself, and to you guys too. And while it has been difficult, and I feel like I was torn down and I’m rebuilding. One thing is clear; I am stronger than ever. Surer than ever. More confident, determined and carefree (in the no fucks given sense) than ever.
Let them come at me. Whether they are a real (or actually an imagined) threat, I’m ready.
If there’s one thing I know about myself now, it’s that I don’t want to work with a client that can be ‘stolen’. I think this newfound oomph comes from knowing my worth. Knowing what I bring to the table and as the old saying goes, not being afraid to eat alone.
After all, when I was a lot more involved in my blog, gaining sponsorship and working with brands, I learned a lot of those lessons the hard way. Which might be a story for another day. #BlogWars – Dun dun duuuunnnn.
What I am doing instead of worrying about these naysayers? That’s easy, I’m making plans for the blog, my business and for my life. If you read the Suger News on the weekend, you’ll know I’ve come clean about how unwell I’ve been. Right now, what’s important to me is refreshing my ideas around what I want for myself. Where do I want to be? WHO do I want to be? What to do want to do and who do I want to do it with.
I figure that if I am myself, the truest version of unique me, no one can touch me.
My friend, let me tell you, that goes for you too. With whatever you are doing and wherever you are going. Don’t let those who would plot and plan against you, even those who would tell you it can’t be done, get in the way of you doing it. Not if it’s something you really want for yourself. It’s taken me some time to figure that out so let me share the love. Fuck ’em. You’ve got this.
It comes up in conversation more often than I can count. People wondering what IS IT exactly that I do? I have a blog, for sure. But that can’t earn me a living, right? (right! Haha). So with family Christmas card season just around the corner, I thought I’d make my Mum’s life (and yours) easier and just tell you.
Break it down bit by bit.
If you wanted how I make money specifically on the blog, I have a video about that. Pop over to my (poor, sad, lonely, neglected) YouTube channel to check it out. I do plan to make more videos, but you’ll see below, I’ve been busy so it’s been put on the back burner for a hot minute.
Kicking it off with Suger Coat It.
Right! Let’s kick it off where it all started with this blog. Suger Coat It was my first endeavour into the online world, digital marketing and list building after spending two years failing out of a Business degree. What can I say, I’m not a great student, and never have been. But I love to learn new things by myself from a book or the interwebs; so, I just figured it out.
I write this blog as often as possible and share to the NUMEROUS social media channels attached to it including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube and a neglected Tumblr and Google + page. Through Suger Coat It I generate income through sponsored posts, content creation (for brands not displayed on my social), digital product sales and ad.
Attached to this is the Suger + Ink podcast (we are re-branding!! Watch out for THAT) with Samara, formally of Blonde Ink. We have learned SO MUCH over the past three seasons of the show and I just love that it just gets better as we go along. Season Four is going to be epic, just two girls living their best 30-something lives.
Then there’s my new Instagram Suger Eats where I can share more of my food photography which has been so successful on Unsplash. I’ve always loved cooking and taking photos of food, something that has gone by the wayside a bit. As part of doing more stuff I love to create, Suger Eats was born. We’re so close to 100 followers and it’s as exciting as the first time I had an account hit that milestone. So cool.
And of course, there’s the Suger Coat It YouTube. As I mentioned above, about this time last year I was 100% in and making a video a week NO MATTER WHAT. It did awesome things for learning an entirely new and somewhat tricky medium (which hurts and I’ve bitched about THAT a lot). It also taught me how to build something from scratch instead of relying so heavily on the audience I do have here and on Facebook.
The Leave Home Blog.
While we’re talking about blogs, there’s also the little engine that could, The Leave Home Blog. My big idea that keeps plodding along with spurts of attention and drabs of forethought. I love this idea and have always referred to it as my big break waiting to happen. It’ll need some changes to bring it into 2018 for that to happen, but I have hope.
The consistency here has improved a lot since Charlotte started doing the majority of the work relating to the Leave Home Blog, especially its Instagram. The rest of the platforms are more automated, but we make (very little) money through sponsored posts and ad sales. The Leave Home Blog is currently funded by Suger Social, which brings me to, Suger Social.
The actual business business.
I registered the business name ‘Red Phone Business Services’ in 2010 as an umbrella to put all my social media, digital marketing, and at the time, copywriting, VA, and freelance services. This business operated in the background of numerous full-time and part-time jobs over the years. It bumped along sometimes making hobby money and sometimes being close to my full-time income.
About two years ago I decided that it needed to come under the Suger brand (invoicing for blog posts or content was confusing as a starting point). I wanted to call it Suger Media (taken!) and didn’t want to lock it into Suger Social Media (also, wordy). So I just went with Suger Social and locked that down throughout the internet.
Shortly after I brought on Charlotte who is our first ’employee’, followed closely by a book-keeper who was a godsend getting my invoicing and bank statement reconciliations under control. Plus, my accountant loves her, so that makes for an easy tax time. And I bought on a VA of sorts to help with the WordPress sites when we build them. I lay them out, set them up, and he fills them in.
Later this year, or next, I’d love to bring on a video editor (I have one locked in when I’m ready!) and more of a full-time assistant with strong admin skills and a drivers licence. Someone who can work more autonomously so we can continue to grow because I’m doing the ‘stuff’ I’m actually good at.
Because we’ve been growing, fast!
Suger Social currently runs the social media for seven businesses full-time from financial planning to fashion, recreation to accommodation. The team, which started as just me, but thankfully has grown have also created or assisted to execute marketing plans for numerous businesses in 2018 through consults and planning masterminds. There is nothing we don’t do really from hourly VA services to re-branding, marketing consultations and training. We also deliver workshops, build websites, some ads strategy and planning, and I’ve been trying my hand at more and more photography for specific social media use.
So, yeah. THAT’S what I do these days.
I’m not sure Mum is going to be able to fit that ALL in the Christmas newsletter, but it should make a nice change from Melissa does something on the internet and seems happy. Which, let’s face it, is the truth of it. Haha. Mum nailed it again.
Do you work online? Is explaining what you do something that happens regularly? I know I need more of an elevator pitch to summarise all this goodness, but do you have one? Give it to me below!
I’ve been a little quiet for the past couple of weeks. From the high of daily (ish) blogging, it was a bit of a comedown. So, without excuses or blame, I want to tell you what was going on in the hopes it might clear the way for some words to show up.
“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”
― Anne Lamott
You know the quote, right? Maybe you’ve heard of it. I was never sure how I sat with that. After all, we each have our experiences of things. Who says our version is THE version? In fact, it’s something I’ve always been cautious about on this blog because even when people THINK I might be talking about them, usually I’m not. So, I avoid blogging about things that weren’t my experiences or things happening in other people’s lives. Which, as I said, has served me. However, this past month and I felt like there was nothing to say, alluding to someone else’s situation or even offering an opinion/preaching.
I’m questioning everything.
It’s the worst.
To shake it, I just sat down to write. Monday was our anniversary; we celebrated 13 years. While I was pondering what I write about marriage and relationships, I worried about how that would land for some people in our life. Then the other day, I was feeling overwhelmed by social media, and when I went to write about it, it felt like I was having a dig at people who ‘do the thing’ that was overwhelming me.
See what I mean? Those are just the two most recent examples. I’m sure it occurs to some of you (myself included) that my procrastination technique of discarding everything I write before it has been published might be back. I get that; I wonder about that too.
But, I also wonder if sometimes it’s the right thing to do.
The last thing I would want is for someone to read what I have written and feel like them enjoying their Instagram moment was making me feel like crap, and they should stop. Or that someone who has recently confided in me is now the topic of a blog post. I choose to share my life here, and others have the right to choose too.
Boundaries have long been a question for bloggers, certainly those that share their children’s lives, but it goes further than that. We are responsible for the words we use and the stories we tell. Most importantly, to the context of this post, how we tell them. The tone and the intended outcome.
How do I write, share and document my life when my thoughts and ideas feel so tied up in my experience (and the experience of others) right now? This is the question. My current age-old question, which, as I write this, it occurs to me that there’s a pretty simple resolution.
Ask myself, what is the intention of my writing?
If I’m worried that there’s judgement or opinion about how someone is living their life, maybe there is. And I need to take a look at that. What if what I’m writing is coming out as judgmental and preachy because that’s the space I’m in right now? Possible, right?
When I look at a post, and the intention is to help or serve, not shame or judge, that should be clear. It’s something that I can stand by if it does come up as a problem for someone. I think that’s the way I’m going to go about it. Because giving up and saying nothing, well, that won’t work for me. I think we all knew that.
I’d love to hear your thoughts? Have you ever crossed the line with someone else’s story? How do you balance sharing what is true of your experience and other people’s version of things? Do you think my intention thing will work, or am I just giving myself a free pass?
I’m probably the last person you should be listening to on the topic of building a healthy email list right now. My newsletters have been infrequent and uninteresting, to say the least. But, take this as a do what I say, not as I do kind of thing, okay? If you’ve got that firmly in mind, let’s move on.
You see, I’ve managed lists from a few hundred subscribers all the way up to ten thousand, and the secret is? They’re all the same. Big lists or small, established or brand new. You grow them the same way. You maintain them the same way. And in the end, if you don’t take care of it, people unsubscribe the same way.
Let’s get started, shall we? Email list building 101.
When building an email list, you have to offer people a decent reason for them to be there. Your offer must have genuine value to the subscriber. And no, as fun as it seems to you, subscribing to buy stuff from you one day is not a good enough reason.
That said, side note, make sure you are collecting email addresses, with consent, from people who ARE buying from you. At least you know those people already like you. Right? Do this by asking existing customers and clients to join the list, give them the opportunity at every stage of the transaction and more often than not, they’ll take it. Now back to a decent offer thing.
A decent offer to subscribe is the reason you see so many offerings of content upgrades and freebies on websites. Things such as how-to guides, sample product (especially popular with stock photos), checklists, webinars or eBooks. The subscriber is offered the ‘thing’ for free in exchange for your email address. These are great. I highly recommend having an offering or five because they work. People love a bargain and something that’s free, well even better.
BUT.
And that’s a BIG BUT.
Make sure what you offer for an incentive is actually worth the trouble of subscribing, confirming and waiting for that download to appear. Because if it’s a page or two made in Word and half of it is your bio, then you’re not offering actual value there. I once subscribed to receive a checklist for creating a YouTube video. The document I received was very schmick and professionally done, but the content was a single page long. I mean, hardly worth the effort and I was immediately a little put off the list.
Then you have to consider if it’s something your audience really wants. I offered a Suger Drinks cocktail ebook once, not a great lure at all. People just weren’t that into it and so they didn’t see the point of signing up to get it. No problem, moving on to the next idea. Start by testing it with your existing audience. If they’re not that into it, back to the drawing board for you. This item, this discount or free download or offering, MUST be worth the effort.
Bring the value, not the sales pitch.
Think creatively, this part of the journey isn’t about making a sale. Put that out of your head. You’re not selling your wares right now. You’re selling value. This offering has one purpose. And that is to be of value enough to the person who sees it that they subscribe immediately.
When you have an offer (or five) that are performing reasonably well when promoted to your existing customers, clients or audience, you can move on. That last part, it can take a while and an investment in developing something great. But rest assured, when you get something that works, it will keep working for a long time afterwards.
Widen the net.
Next, you need to widen your net to promote your list. If your offer is performing well enough with your existing audience, they’ve signed up already. But how do we reach more people, right? Short version, with ads. Facebook and Instagram ads.
Stop. Don’t eye roll at me that Facebook and Instagram are over. That’s not even close. What is even close to being over is the free ride we’ve been enjoying up until now. Chalk the freebies up to good luck and implement a genuine Ad strategy to grow your list.
Not sure what you’re doing? There’s SO much free information online. Google it my friend. Spend smaller amounts to test the performance of your ads. Find something that works, then and only then, put more money behind it. Have a look at brands like Showpo and Wish, they out pretty much 100% of their marketing budgets into content creation and Facebook ads. You can’t argue with that kind of growth!
And finally, make it idiot proof.
If you want people to subscribe, you need to mention it, make it easy and generally talk about your list whenever the opportunity arises. For the first year of my newsletter, I posted the link to Twitter and Facebook every single week. I’d talk about what great content was coming and the freebies for subscribers. It was a whole thing. People felt part of it and being on the list was worth it.
This section is called make it idiot proof for a reason. Mentioning it, telling people to subscribe is one thing, but making it easy is the real key. Have multiple subscribe buttons and options, even word the ‘subscribe now’ differently to make sure it’s clear. Include a link to your sign up form whenever you can. Add it to your website’s menu bar for goodness sake.
The last thing you want to do is have someone land on your business page or website, and NOT be able to figure out how to subscribe. Make their life easier and your list fatter. Make it EASY. Not sure if you’ve made it obvious enough, ask a friend to head to your site and subscribe. If they can’t find it, no one will. Move it!
And that, my friends, is my post about making your email list MORE subscribe-able.
This was a question sent to me by Carly, who is looking to grow her audience for an upcoming book release. Hopefully, that helped, Carly. But the tips will work for anyone. Keep it simple, offer people value, and really consider what’s in it for THEM when they subscribe. We’re all clear what’s in it for us. Before you take the first step, know what’s in it for them. No arguments.
Have a question for me about blogs, business or branding? Let me know, I’m happy to help.
This week’s video is all about how to take better food photos, at home. After my Easter Cook Off collab with Brittanie last week, I’m going through some basics for taking and editing better food photos. I might not have had much success with my cheesecake, but I can take a food photo or two.
The good new is that it’s simple enough you can do it at home using basic equipment, items around your house and natural light. Sure, I favour a camera with a prime lens, but if all you have is your phone, that will work too.
K.I.S.S.
Keeping it simple your food photos can be next level sooner rather than later. This video includes some Lightroom Classic CC “edit with me” footage. Walk through the simple steps I take to edit food photos in Lightroom using the basic panel, sharpen mask and more.
I’ve included some links below to Brittanie’s Cook Off video (such a lol), another editing video where I share my tips for editing my outfit photos, and my Unsplash profile link where you can download some of these shots for free. Which, some of you have already done and tag me in them over Easter weekend. So fun!
This transition into a new focus of the blog has been hard. People who are no longer interested falling by the wayside, engagement dropping and me feeling like I don’t know what the heck I’m doing anymore. Then yesterday happened. The post about the Baby Thing happened and I had to face something.
You’re just not that into it. Awkward.
I started to question the idea of writing about business specifically for women. And as for the whole blogging and social media thing goes, I worried that there was no one there. I was wrong. People are still there, maybe YOU’RE still there. But no one said anything because, well, they didn’t care about what I was talking about and the way I was delivering content.
A blog is nothing if it’s not personal. I think somewhere I forgot that. Probably around the time that we had to pay back the Australian Government our entire life savings and then some. Forget probably; that’s what it is. It has to be. The shame of failure and what that says about me as a person and my ability to deliver value here. Yesterday when I was afraid, I hit publish anyway.
And the support just showed up.
There’s a lesson in there for all of us running blogs, brands or businesses. Sometimes it takes sharing these moments, ourselves, to really allow people out there to connect with us. To give them a reason to stop what they are doing to comment back or tag a friend. Not as a strategy to gain more traction or sales, but as a way to genuinely connect with people. To share the ups and downs, the triumphs and the lessons hard-fought for and earned.
I’ve heard you, whether you said it out loud or not. To be able to speak with women, who want to create something for themselves, I need to be willing to share myself. Wholely. Without fear of the judgement that the internet can deliver so swiftly. Be patient with me, team. Apparently, after all this time, I’m still learning.
That’s a ballsy title, right? Digital Marketing for an International Charity 101. Rather pompous but stay with me. Did you know that Samara, the other half of my podcast team, is a digital marketer? She is, and a big one. She works in Digital Marketing for an international charity, St Vinnies. That’s Saint Vincent De Paul to the rest of the world, haha.
In this episode, I interview Samara about her job. Stretching my interview muscles because I feel like hearing the experience of women is so important to what I’m trying to do here with this blog. We started talking and the episode ended up almost 40 minutes long and I loved every single minute of it.
I was impressed AND I needed to know more.
In her role, Samara works with the state managers and oversees the social for their Facebook and their CEO Sleepout event. Things like, how did she get there and what ‘qualifications’ did it take. What does she do day to day, and how much hands-on and planning stuff does she do.
And then most importantly, how does she deliver on the brand voice WHEN people can be dicks. By brand voice, I mean those few words that make a brand a living breathing thing. When it’s generosity, how can you be generous in the face of not that? As a charity who is involved heavily in supporting refugees, people can push your buttons.
I end up losing my mind over that a bit, haha.
My biggest thing was TELL ME HOW YOU DO THAT. How, can I do that? And how can I bring that to my business? Watch the episode here. We started recording our conversations over Skype and making it available on my Youtube channel. This episode was too good not to share, it’s easily my personal favourite we’ve ever done.
Business nerd, you know how it is. Haha.
And here we go. Pull up a comfortable spot, probably a beverage, and enjoy the newest episode. Not that into videos? It’s still available on iTunes and SoundCloud. Get the podcast into you. Did I mention I’m really proud of this episode? I did, didn’t I. Haha. My bad.
Questions? Let us know. I’ll drag Samara over here to answer all the digital marketing questions you can throw at her. If you have a question or topic you want us to cover on the podcast, leave it below. No topic gets left behind.
Planning a creative business photo shoot? Great! This is probably one of my favourite topics to talk about in business and easily my favourite thing to do. Making sure I have a collection of images I can tap into that are personal and filled with brand personality. That resource of creative business images is essential to managing my social media presence day in and day out.
Planning a creative business photo shoot will ensure your brand, blog or business has everything it needs to make waves on social media. All tied in a neatly branded bow. But planning it, executing it and getting to the stage where you have the images to use can be problematic. That’s where this video comes in.
In this video, I’m sharing my tips for planning your next photo shoot including;
Choosing the colours, brand story, location
Hiring a choosing a photographer, developing a relationship, doing the deal and knowing the terms
How to get comfortable in front of the camera
How to make image selections at the end
Why a business photo shoot?
I’ve used creative business photo shoots for a number of years now (see above). I love the evergreen content it creates for my businesses. I have at my disposal an archive of great images I can pull out when I need to inject a little more personality into the blog or social media. Despite numerous hair colour changes along the way (whoops), I have been able to use them year after year.
Having an archive of images improves your brand, blog or business’s overall branding. Go back to the images above and you can see the ‘brand story’ run through the photos. The black, white, blue, grey theme is there. Sometimes subtly and sometimes through obvious clothing and location choices. Consider that as you plan your clothing, prop and location choices.
Consider how much easier it would be to make your website look awesome or roll out content on your social media with these images in your pocket? That part of what you want to plan before your business photo shoot, what EXACTLY are you looking for? Are they all action shots, or are there some posed? Will you use flat lays and product shoots? Use that Pinterest board and plan out the types of images you want beforehand.
What others say.
Nikki from Styling You says in her post 13 tips for professional business photos (another good one, if you’re looking for tips). This post was the reason I started booking this kind of business photo shoot. For a long time, Kel and I had taken all my photos and they were never quite what I was looking for. With Nikki’s tips in hand, I decided to plan my own shoot. I’ve never looked back.
“Having a set of current photos available at the ready to distribute to media, event organisers and for use on your own social media networks helps you to present an image of your business that is true to you and what you represent. Basically, having headshots and creative photos of you ‘doing business’ makes you look more professional.”
Deb from Debbish used a recent milestone birthday as an excuse to have a personal photo shoot. The images from this shoot could easily be used as part of her professional portfolio as a book writer and reviewer, should she need them. She used a local photographer looking to develop her portfolio and the results are amazing.
“I’d previously contacted a local photographer, Jessica Gunn Photographer as I’d initially planned to get some new headshots done for the blog (and Linked In etc) before the Romance Writers’ Conference in August… but it just didn’t happen. Jess was recommended by a friend and I’d looked at her work and thought we’d be a good fit.”
If you have questions, make sure you leave them in the comments here or on YouTube. It loves that kind of thing. Now, on to the good stuff. Below is the PDF download of the important things to plan/book when putting together your creative business photo shoot. No sign up required, go nuts.
If there’s one thing I’m obsessed with at the moment it’s how to take better pictures. For business, but also for pleasure. I watch YouTube tutorials, I’ve read books and PDF downloads. All on how to take better photos. When I want to know something, I go all out for it. OB-SESSED. Improving my skills is where it has been at, for me because I love capturing a moment, and for my business.
This post isn’t about the humble brag of finding a new branch of my business. It’s about what I’ve learned in the process of getting better. And I’m a long way from great, good even, but I’m learning. So, are you ready to grab some tips to improve your photography today? Easy tips that you can put into action right now and see a change.
Ready to take better photos?
For me, the biggest factor in taking better photos is WANTING the photo. Whether you’re taking it or being in it, you really have to want to be there capturing that moment. That is what you’re doing after all. Whether it be a product to be sold or a family Christmas, these are moments to be captured.
Are you the person to do it?
For a long time, I stopped taking my camera with me to places. It stayed home and there was no chance of every capturing anything. I wasn’t that into it. Then, all of a sudden, I started bringing it along again. My camera, although often left unused, at least it was there. From there, it was a case of just taking more photos, practising and slowly but surely get better. One day it just happened, I was able to take better photos.
Practice makes perfect.
I could pretty much leave this one here and call it a day. For a while, I almost did. One of THE most effective and immediate ways to improve the photos you take is to take more of them. Try it. Take your camera on an outing or set up a flat lay. Instead of snapping a handful of photos, take hundreds. Approach it as an exercise in seeing things differently. Just make sure you take lots.
You might just be surprised at what you have in there.
But practice isn’t just about firing off a million and one pictures. It’s about looking at what you did take and seeing how you could have done it better. Did you crop off someone at a wide spot or miss focus point? Great. Now you know how to do it better. Try again. Something distracting in the background or the picture is weirdly framed? No problem, work out how to avoid that next time. Learn to see it before you hit the shutter button.
Get to know your camera.
The main thing you can do to take better photos is to take some time to get to know your camera {or device}. As soon as I got my new camera, I started hunting for tutorials on YouTube to walk me through the different settings and buttons and modes. All the things. If you’re shooting with your phone, don’t stress, there is plenty out there for you too.
The more you know, the more you can do and the faster you can get. For me, at the moment, changing back from the Fujifilm to Nikon is tricky. Even though I learnt how to use a Nikon originally, I’ve been using my Fujifilm camera for a couple of years now and it’s become second nature. That’s what you’re going for. Make those settings and buttons familiar.
Focus + Angles.
While you’re taking those million and one practice photos, take the time to try different points of focus and angles. Make your photos more interesting by looking at the subject differently. Practice using your focus points to choose what to put in and out of focus. Try standing above or below something. Trying something outside the ordinary will immediately make your photos better.
Can I say, there are more ways to take a photo than you would think.
It could be about moving around so that the lighting is better from the other side. It could be that all of a sudden that plate of food looks more interesting from above or from level to the table. Consider everything, it’s the digital age there’s no such thing as wasting film {was there ever though, really?}. Keeping moving, keep shooting and remember to keep looking. Before long, you’ll be taking better photos too.
An idea or concept.
Before you snap that picture, do you know what it is you want in it? Do you have any idea what you want it to say? That might seem like a weird idea or suggestion, but taking a moment to take better photos by knowing WHY you’re taking a photo. And sure, making memories might be part of it, but why this moment? Why right now? If you know what you’re capturing, and a little bit about the why. Trust me, it will help you see the story in the image.
In the end, the images you are taking are the story. It’s up to you to find a way to convey it to those who see them. What’s happening? Who ARE these people? What matters in this moment and why did you think it was worth saving? Start to answer those questions for yourself. Start to see the moments you capture through that and you’ll take better photos. Why? Because they’ll mean something.
Pin for later?
There you go, team. My hot tips for taking better photos. Now get out there and practice, because like I said, practice is really what makes all the difference here. I’d love to see what you come up with, feel free to tag @sugercoatit on Instagram. Happy snapping!
As far as YouTube achievements go, this feels like the first one. 100 subscribers, I’ve now officially made it. Small pickings by a lot of channels standards, but a milestone achievement none the less. When I started posting regularly in August this year, I certainly didn’t expect to be here already.
I’m a blogger and small business social media coach, so I applied a lot of those same methods to growing my channel. This post is for those of you wanting to do the same thing, or who are curious about such things. It’s especially for those who thought that maybe someday they might start but who are a little worried that no one would ever watch.
Same.
But, they did. Not in droves, and I certainly won’t be rivalling the big guns anytime soon, but they did show up. With a consistency that is both charming and motivational. From everywhere. From the blog, from YouTube search, from browse functions and other social media. Thank goodness, because there’s no hiding your success or failure on YouTube. It’s there for everyone to see.
The main thing I learned being a blogger who started YouTubing, is that not everyone who reads your blog or enjoys your photos on Instagram are interested in your videos. Perhaps even fewer will take the time to move from Facebook to YouTube to watch them. And that’s okay; people have their ways to consume media.
That point, about people viewing media where THEY want, is worth keeping in mind if you decide to start a YouTube channel. I had no idea who Casey Neistat was until I started getting interested in YouTube. It’s one of those platforms that you’re either into, or not. So, don’t expect your existing audience to care automatically. That doesn’t mean they won’t. Keep sharing on whatever platforms you have available to you.
Don’t have an existing audience? Start to build one just as you would for business, a blog or a brand. Your YouTube channel needs that support from social media to drive traffic. I learned that. YouTube rewards those who can bring the audience to them, so you need to be doing that for every single video, or it will crash and burn into YouTube obscurity.
Which is a big pile, let me tell you.
Then, there’s the whole your content probably sucks thing. New to making videos? The sucking thing, yeah, that is probably you especially if you haven’t invested a lot of time into learning the tricks of the trade. When I started out, I thought to get on or behind the camera would be the hard part. It turns out to only be a quarter of what’s going on.
Learn as much as you can so your content is the best it can be. The best way to do this, in my experience, is to choose a posting schedule and stick to it! Practice makes perfect, right? But done is better than perfect. I’ve learned a lot by just doing it and getting my videos out on a regular schedule. I did my best to determine the best ways to deliver it. Which meant watching a whole heap of tutorials about using, at first, iMovie, then Adobe Premiere Pro.
Like anything online, consistency is critical.
When I was creating content, I tried to figure out who would be interested in it. Everything from the actual video material to the supporting shares or blog posts, to the titles and thumbnails of the video. Since I started back in August, I’ve changed some of my thumbnails three times. Not ideal. But also important because I learned better ways to do things.
Another thing that “just showing up” did for me was to put me in front of the camera week after week. Sometimes on multiple occasions just to make the one video. I’d practice recording with my camera, my webcam and my iPhone 7+. I learned how uncomfortable I could be in front of the camera and how often I say um or so. I pity Samara and all the work she has to do with our podcasts now. Haha.
Thanks, Samara, I owe you one.
My next lesson was that sound is almost, if not more, important than the actual video quality. I found that people left my videos faster if there was s sound issue. So, I made videos where I could use my podcast microphone. This strategy worked fine for the social media posts and blogging tutorials. But it wouldn’t work for moving content. After about a month, I purchased the Rode Video microphone; the little one, not the boss pro one. I’ve used it once so far, so it’s hardly been essential.
Which brings me to the next point. The gear, while it does impact your end result, shouldn’t stop you from making something. As I mention in the video, I’ve recently upgraded my webcam as a sort of reward for the work I’ve put in so far. But I didn’t need any of it to start. And you don’t either. So, forget the excuse that you don’t have the right gear and get started creating.
And that is some of what I’ve learned in my first three months as a YouTuber.
3 months, 20 videos, 100 subscribers and countless hours of fun, frustration and f-bombs. Thanks for coming along for the ride! If you’re on YouTube, I’d love to have you join us. Leave me a comment or a like, the algorithm over there likes that kind of thing, apparently. If not, I’ve embedded this video below. Enjoy!
I swear I wrote this post last week. Maybe I dreamed it. I wanted to make sure I gave you all plenty of notice so if you wanted to come and hang out, we could. But well, it’s Thursday and that post doesn’t actually exist in the world. Apparently, it’s stuck in the depths of my brain. Time to extract it.
Ready?
Okay, so Saturday I fly to Melbourne to attend the Adevee Fashion Festival on Sunday night. I’m excited to see the range of clothes on the runway and visit with my Melbourne favourites. If you’re able to get there, the word on the street is that there are still seats available. Grab your tickets on the website using the ticket BLOGGER10 for a discount.
Who ARE these people?
Well, Adevee is an Australian online e-boutique representing plus size, curve and inbetweenie on-trend stylish fashion solutions for women ranging in size 8 – 32. The show will contain brands from their range, obviously, so I’m excited to see what’s coming online for plus fashion here in the coming months. Let me know on Facebook or Twitter if you’re going to be there. I’ll keep an eye out for you.
Then, I spend a few days working with clients and eating all the things. Pretty standard for my visits to Melbourne. This time, however, I’m going to see if I can put together something of a vlog. Worst case, check Instagram stories for all the goss. I still haven’t figured out my camera situation in terms of vlogging, but I’ll make it work.
Probably, I’ll make it work.
Come Thursday I’m hanging out with the fine folks at Bupa. They’re putting on a couple of functions for the blog awards finalists starting with a workshop, then the awards night. Awesomeness. There are some bloggers in the mix that I’ve known forever. Some I’ve met once or twice. And plenty of fresh meat. I can’t wait to spend some time getting to know them and talk blogging with bloggers. One of my favourite things ever.
So, all the things, short version. I fly home Saturday. Phew. Stay tuned for updates. x
