Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area.

Melinda Hird of  www.melindahirdphotography.com.au is a Sydney based branding photographer and videographer who transitioned to the genre from her wedding and portrait photography background.

I've known Melinda for over 10 years and can't remember if we met through the AIPP or through a mutual friend and then photographer, Brian Chapman. I recently saw her name pop up in a testimonial while doing Rachel Bourke's Sales Training.

I reached out to ask her thoughts about the course and ended up recording a short segment for the episode featuring Rachel a few months ago.

It was when looking for her phone number online, I noticed Mel had moved into personal Branding and headshot photography.

Knowing this is a growing market and a genre many photographers are now pursuing, I thought it'd be great to hear more about Mel's move into the world of corporate and branding photography from weddings and portraits.

This interview is the result of that conversation.

Here’s some more of what we cover in the interview:

• Why move from wedding to personal branding photography
• Making the transition while remaining in business from one niche to another
• The first thing Mel did when making the transition to a different type of photography
• Why keeping your brand name really matters
• What happens inside the BNI group meetings to benefit a photography business
• What makes BNI interesting and valuable when creating your own network for your business
• Is networking the best way to attract branding photography clients
• How to attract clients when networking is not an option for you
• How to incorporate video content into your branding photography business
• Why video is important with personal branding photography
• Adding more videographers and how to structure your pricing
• What is personal branding and personal branding photography
• How Mel works with her videographer team on a personal branding shoot
• How to stand out from the noise and make your videos interesting
• Mel's packages and pricing for personal branding photography jobs
• How Mel gets in front of speakers as her primary target clients
• Why knowing how SEO works for your website is extremely helpful
• Establishing your daily presence on social media and why it gets more traction
• Giving rewards or rebates to your clients
• How contracts and agreements work for personal branding photography
• A snapshot of how Mel works with her clients
• What is a strategy session and should you be offering them to your branding clients
• The importance of constant education and self-improvement for your business
• Doing your homework first and knowing what works for you when signing up to any program or seminars

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

If you’re a premium member, you should have received an email with links to your version of this interview – the full length and more revealing version where you hear the absolute best tips and advice from every guest.

If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interviews each week, get access to an amazing back catalogue of interviews and ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet.

Just because this is your target market, it doesn't mean you say no to everything else. It just means you become the specialist in this area. – Melinda Hird

Plus special member-only interviews.

You'll also receive access to the members-only Secret Facebook Group where you can connect with other Premium Members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take ideas you hear in each episode and put them into action. There are also FB live video tutorials, role-play interviews and special live interviews happening in the group. You will not find more friendly, more motivated, caring and sharing photographers online.

Joining a Mastermind Group (encouraged by Andrew) has been incredibly valuable and fun, I look forward to connecting with my group members every week. Jina Zheng, Premium Member and Melbourne Children photographer.

And that's not all… you get a set of [insert crazy giveaway]… I'm kidding!

Seriously though, that's not all. In addition to everything above, you'll get access to and instructions on forming or joining a MasterMind Group with other premium members. These groups are super motivating, make you accountable and build friendships with other pro photographers with similar motives to you – to build a more successful photography business.

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything away from what Melinda shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below, let me know what your takeaways were, what you plan to implement in your business as a result of what you heard in today's episode.

Keep your brand as your name because people work with people. People will remember you more than your business name. – Melinda Hird

If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Melinda or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.

iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs

Each week I check for any new iTunes reviews and it's always a buzz to receive these… for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, it's confirmation that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they really are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!

Secondly, iTunes is the biggest search engine when it comes to podcasts and it's your reviews and ratings that help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners mean more interviews and ultimately a better show.

If you have left a review in the past, thank you! If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes and you can leave some honest feedback and a rating which will help both me and the show and I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL of your website and your name.

Alternatively, if you've left a review for PhotoBizX and are looking for more backlinks to help your SEO, leave a review for the new Photography Xperiment Podcast and email me your keywords or keyword phrase and where you'd like me to link to.

Another great way to get a backlink to your site is to send a video testimonial. It doesn't need to be fancy and your phone will be perfect. Click record and tell me how PhotoBizX has made a difference to you and your photography business.

Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:

Melinda Hird Photography Website

Melinda Hird on LinkedIn

Melinda Hird Photography on Facebook

Melinda Hird on Vimeo

Rev Transcription Service

Rev Call Recorder

BNI: Business Network International

Episode 21: Brian Chapman – How To Have A Profitable Portrait Photography Business and Happy Clients

Episode 294: Rachel Bourke – How to make consistently higher sales to every photography client

Evergreen Facebook Ad Funnels for photographers course

Thank you!

Thanks again for listening and big thanks to Melinda for coming on and sharing her thoughts on building a branding photography business after transitioning from full-time wedding photography.

If you can add emotion to your videos, you're going to connect to a wider audience more effectively. – Melinda Hird

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!

That’s it for me this week, hope everything is going well for you in life and business!

Thanks and speak soon
Andrew

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The post 325: Melinda Hird – Making the leap to personal branding photography and video appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.