Hi! My name is Rachel. If we’ve not met before, I’m a wedding photographer and business coach on a mission to help wedding professionals elevate the quality of clients you attract, craft a luxury client experience, by focusing on what matters and profitably automating everything else.
Today we are talking about 3 important marketing lessons from the new Elvis movie.
My latest obsession has been the new Elvis movie and so today I’m going to reference it quite a bit. It was so good, you should absolutely go see it in theaters. I have a feeling it will sweep the Oscars this year. I really like what they did with the story and the art and the costumes. All around it’s a really fun watch and I’ve been having a really fun time listening to the soundtrack.
But aside from my obsession over the film itself, I think there’s some really cool lessons to be learned from the film that we can apply to our own marketing as wedding professionals.
Elvis didn’t become a household name for generations because he was mediocre. He’s literally still so famous that even if we don’t know a ton about his life, we know his characterizations- we know about Elvis impersonations, little things, moves, and sayings he did. I found out that I knew a lot of his songs without knowing they were his. So what we’re looking at is superstardom! A level of magnetism that transcends the ordinary and becomes notably extraordinary. So today, I want to talk about how you can tap into that superstar magnetism in marketing your business, and get out of mediocrity and obscurity.
This is how to stand out in a crowded market so you can charge premium prices and be known as the go-to person for high end weddings.
- To be a superstar you have to have something that makes you incredibly unique and different. Tapping into what makes you unique instead of trying to look like everyone else is the first ingredient of superstardom. I’m not talking about “trying” to be unique or different, but tapping into the truth of what is already inside of you that’s uniquely you.
Superstars don’t get to bend over and blend in, the point is to stand out. Standing out is scary, but there isn’t another way to get there. Fear and insecurity get in the way of this and makes us feel like we aren’t good enough, we aren’t interesting, there’s nothing unique about us… what we find unique is boring to other people, imposter syndrome, and all the rest. You name it, fear will attack your greatest superpower, so it’s your job as a business owner to look that fear in the face, and realize that it’s not true.
The truth is that we are all made with unique gifts and a message that the world needs. If you don’t believe this for yourself, that points to some deeper mindset work that you need to be doing- but for the moment, know that I believe that for you. The truth is that we become mediocre because we choose to hide there. The truth is that your uniqueness was meant to be shared, and when you press into who you really are, and share that with your clients through your copy, your images, your social media, your website, amazing things happen with your marketing.
For example, I know that one of my unique superpowers is that I naturally sense how someone’s feeling, the energy of the room, and I care a great deal about how things are flowing. I’ve tapped into being purposeful and intentional about the energy that I show up in, and how I’m supporting my clients with my attitude and the way I guide the environment. For a long time, I didn’t know that this was something to talk about, I didn’t even really know that I did it. My clients were the ones to tell me that I did this- and I began to talk about this in my marketing copy and sales calls. This is now one of the main selling points of working with me- one of the differences that makes people feel comfortable with me, and willing to spend 8K to work with me, instead of the dozens of photographers in my area they can get for less than 3k.
- You have to be 100% authentic to your creative fire.
In the film, how Elvis was characterized by the filmmakers, the turning points of the story were all moments when he chose to be 100% authentic to who he was, chose to not bend to pressure to be something else, and chose to stand out instead of blend in. Every time he did that, it was met with wild success, records sold, movies watched, concerts attended, and a fame that spread like wildfire. He did this when everything seemed on the line, and when he felt like he was losing his career. He took big risks and chose to be extra, you know?
In some respects, I think this is the dream when you start your own wedding business, right? You want to make a living doing what you love, and what you’re creatively passionate about. It’s really easy to get so lost in all the doing and the work and the clients and the business, that you forget why you love this. This is 100% the road to burnout, so I’ve been trying to really be mindful about staying authentic to and nurturing my creative fire.
Because when you do what you love, and you’re all in, and you’re having a great time, that’s infectious and magnetic, and it truly makes marketing much more effortless, because everyone wants to be with the people who are having fun. Being magnetic attracts people to you!
We lose authenticity by trying to offer too many services to too many different clients, and by trying to serve every whim of the market, instead of honing in on what we LOVE. Overtime, this might change. Right now, maybe you love doing weddings, but in the future, maybe your passion will shift to families.
Staying truly authentic means that you will experience pressure to blend in, to do what everyone else is doing, or to do something that doesn’t feel aligned. When that happens, it’s important to know that authenticity doesn’t happen without testing. Feeling that pressure means you’re on the right track, it’s a good thing. You’re being tested to see if you will be unwavering.
Take this as your permission today to be extra, to put work aside and go do something that you love, or even close an avenue of business that doesn’t bring you joy. Your creative flame IS what makes you unique, so lean into that! Decide that you are going to be authentic and showcase your unique gift, even if it feels a little scary.
- You need to enter the flow.
It’s very clear that Elvis as an entertainer wasn’t about the moves he did or how good of a dancer he was, he was letting the music flow through him, he was in the flow, in the pocket, really feeling and letting that feeling express itself through movement.
As a creative professional, we need to do the same with our photography. We need to be purposeful about getting into the flow and be intentional about our creativity. That’s the difference between sitting listening to a good musician and getting up and dancing your heart out at a concert.
What our clients want at the end of the day is to be able to feel their memories when they look at their images. I truly believe that you can be a good photographer, but totally miss that next level art that comes from really being in the flow. That next level art IS the expression of your uniqueness that draws next level clients like a magnet.
Some of the things that I do to get in the flow are listening to music, dancing, taking walks, visualizing the wedding day, and the shots I want to get, how I want it to feel. During the week, I make time to do some meditations, pray, spend time with my thoughts, and allow myself time to think and process. All these things open up the flow and allow you to be more present, more intentional, and do your absolute best work.
This is how to stand out in a crowded market so you can charge premium prices and be known as the go-to person for high end weddings.
If you want some personalized help with your marketing and seeing where you can improve and infuse that magnetism into your branding, your website copy and images, you know that I offer free 15 minute business audits. These audits are not sales calls, they are literally there to help you get clarity on all this, and to help you take that first step forward. If you want to have a free 15 minute audit with me, follow this link to book yours right away! https://racheljordaneducation.com/audit/
That’s all for today!
See you next week.
