The Systems and Workflow Magic Podcast

Can you answer this question right now, off the top of your head: what happens from the moment a client fills out your contact form to the moment you deliver their gallery? Every single step? If you're blanking (or cringing a little), this episode is your wake-up call, and I mean that with so much love. In this episode of the Systems and Workflow Magic Podcast, I'm revisiting one of my oldest episodes from over five years ago and giving it a major refresh, because we need to get back to the foundations. I'm walking you through five concrete steps to building your very first business workflow as a family photographer, and I'm sharing the embarrassing SD card story that made me realize my business was running on memory and prayers instead of actual systems.I decided to redo this episode because I've worked with hundreds of family photographers (especially inside my membership, The Family Photographers Marketing Society), and I keep seeing the same pattern: you know your process, you've done it dozens of times, but it's all trapped in your head. And when everything lives in your brain, things get dropped. This episode is your permission slip to start with just one workflow and build from there.What you'll learn in this episodeThe real reason family photographers resist building workflows (hint: it's not laziness, it's an unspoken belief about creativity)My SD card horror story and the missing SOP that caused itHow to brain dump your entire client journey for one service in 30 minutesThe four natural phases hiding inside every client workflowWhat "rinse and repeat" looks like in practice and why most photographers skip this stepAnd So Much More!Resources & Links Mentioned In This Episode▸ Read the full blog post that goes with this episode (that way, you get all the links mentioned): https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/family-photographer-workflow/▸ The Family Photographer's Marketing Society: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/the-family-photographers-marketing-society▸ Grab the FREE Family Photographers Marketing Trends Report: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/family-photography-marketing-trends▸ Apply HERE to work with me to be your 1:1 marketer for your family photography business!Connect with Me (Dolly DeLong Education)💻 Website📱Instagram🎥 YouTubeThanks for joining me on The Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode:✅ Sign up for weekly reminders + free resources here → Business Tools🥳 Share a screenshot of this episode on your IG story and tag me @dollydelongeducation so I can cheer you on!🔗 Affiliate links included. I only recommend products I personally use and love.what is a workflow for photographers, family photographer workflow, client workflow for photographers, how to build a photography workflow, photography business systems, dubsado for photographers, photography client journey, SOP for family photographers, standard operating procedure photography, photography business organization, CRM for family photographers, trello for photographers, client experience photography, photography backend systems, family photography business tips, workflow steps for photographers, photography business automation, how to document your photography process

Are your sessions sitting with empty spots, and it's making your stomach hurt? Same.In this episode, I'm spilling the tea on exactly how I built a simple giveaway strategy that helped me fill motherhood session spots, grew my email list by 25+ local families, and gave me a repeatable system I can use year after year.Here's the deal: 2026 has been different. Sessions aren't booking the way they used to, and I'm hearing this from family photographers everywhere. So instead of panicking (okay, I gave myself five minutes to panic), I sat down and treated my motherhood sessions like a mini launch. I worked backwards from my session date, built out evergreen infrastructure, created long-form content, ran a strategic Instagram giveaway tied to my email list, and then nurtured that list. I'm walking you through every single step so you can take this strategy and apply it to your own minis.What you'll learn in this episodeWhy planning your mini session marketing in January matters (even when it feels way too early)How to build an evergreen landing page that gets stronger in Google every single yearHow to think like a launch strategist for your mini sessionsWhy long-form content and SEO compound over time, and what that looks like in a real photography businessAnd so much more! Resources & Links Mentioned In This Episode▸ Read the full blog post that goes with this episode (that way, you get all the links mentioned): https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/giveaway-strategy-fill-mini-sessions-family-photographers/▸ The Family Photographer's Marketing Society: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/the-family-photographers-marketing-society▸ Grab the FREE Family Photographers Marketing Trends Report: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/family-photography-marketing-trends▸ Apply HERE to work with me to be your 1:1 marketer for your family photography business!Connect with Me (Dolly DeLong Education)💻 Website📱Instagram🎥 YouTubeThanks for joining me on The Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode:✅ Sign up for weekly reminders + free resources here → Business Tools🥳 Share a screenshot of this episode on your IG story and tag me @dollydelongeducation so I can cheer you on!🔗 Affiliate links included. I only recommend products I personally use and love.motherhood mini session marketing, giveaway strategy for photographers, how to fill mini sessions, family photographer marketing plan, email list growth for photographers, Instagram giveaway for photographers, SEO for family photographers, evergreen landing page photographers, mini session marketing strategy, long form content for photographers, family photographer email marketing, how to book motherhood sessions, marketing systems for photographers, DubSato for photographers, photographer giveaway ideas, session marketing plan family photographers, how to market mini sessions 2026

I'm spilling the tea on exactly what I'm doing this April to market my family photography business, and fair warning, one of these three strategies is getting me way outside my comfort zone (and it has nothing to do with cameras). Whether you watch this on YouTube or listen on the podcast, you're walking away with three specific, doable marketing moves you can steal for your own business this spring.Spring is not just a busy season for family photographers. It is your launch runway for summer and fall bookings. The momentum you build right now is what fills your calendar in three to six months. In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on my own April marketing plan: the SEO foundation work I'm grinding through, the in-person networking event I'm forcing myself to attend (pray for me), and the one Instagram metric that is changing how I think about content in 2026.What you'll learn in this episodeWhy broken links on your website are silently wrecking your SEO and your client journeyWhy in-person networking still matters for family photographers (even when it feels miserable)What "sendable content" means and how to create it as a family photographerAnd so much more!Resources & Links Mentioned In This Episode▸ Read the full blog post that goes with this episode (that way, you get all the links mentioned): https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/spring-marketing-strategies-family-photographers/▸ The Family Photographer's Marketing Society: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/the-family-photographers-marketing-society▸ Grab the FREE Family Photographers Marketing Trends Report: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/family-photography-marketing-trends▸ Apply HERE to work with me to be your 1:1 marketer for your family photography business!Connect with Me (Dolly DeLong Education)💻 Website📱Instagram🎥 YouTubeThanks for joining me on The Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode:✅ Sign up for weekly reminders + free resources here → Business Tools🥳 Share a screenshot of this episode on your IG story and tag me @dollydelongeducation so I can cheer you on!🔗 Affiliate links included. I only recommend products I personally use and love.april marketing for family photographers, spring marketing photography business, broken links SEO photographers, SEO for family photographers, in-person networking family photographer, local networking photography business, Instagram DM shares algorithm, sendable content family photographers, Instagram marketing family photographers 2026, spring marketing plan photographers, 4C framework family photographers, marketing systems family photographers, how to market photography business spring, family photographer visibility, photography business marketing tips, networking events for photographers, Instagram reels strategy photographers, content strategy family photographers

Okay, family photographer, I need you to be honest with yourself for a second: when was the last time you checked your website for broken links? Not just a quick glance at your homepage. I mean, actually going through and making sure every single link works. Because I just discovered that my own website had over 166 sessions landing on a "page not found" error, and I'm spilling the tea on all of it in this episode. Whether you watch on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast player, stick around because I'm walking you through why broken links matter, showing you a completely free tool to find yours, and doing a live demo of how I'm fixing mine in real time.Here's the backstory: I've spent the last four years separating my photography website from my systems and workflow education website. I'm a solo business owner doing it all myself, and I believe in slow, sustainable growth (and I'm willing to put in the work)! But when I checked Google Analytics and saw that "page not found" was one of my top three most visited pages? Yeah, I spiraled for about five minutes. Then I made a plan. Because that's what we do around here.What you'll learn in this episodeWhy broken links are one of the sneakiest things quietly undoing all of your SEO workHow broken links leak your link equity (that trail of trust between your pages)The completely free tool I'm using right now to find every broken link on my websiteAnd so much more!Resources & Links Mentioned In This Episode▸ Read the full blog post that goes with this episode (that way, you get all the links mentioned): https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/the-free-tool-im-using-to-find-every-broken-link-on-my-photography-website/▸ The Family Photographer's Marketing Society: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/the-family-photographers-marketing-society▸ Grab the FREE 2026 Family Photographers Marketing Trends Report: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/family-photography-marketing-trends▸ Apply HERE to work with me to be your 1:1 marketer for your family photography business!Connect with Me (Dolly DeLong Education)💻 Website📱Instagram🎥 YouTubeThanks for joining me on The Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode:✅ Sign up for weekly reminders + free resources here → Business Tools🥳 Share a screenshot of this episode on your IG story and tag me @dollydelongeducation so I can cheer you on!🔗 Affiliate links included. I only recommend products I personally use and love.broken links family photographer website, how to find broken links on your website, broken link checker free tool, SEO for family photographers, website health for photographers, crawl budget explained photographers, fix broken links WordPress, family photographer SEO tips, 404 error fix photography website, link equity for photographers, brokenlinkcheck.com tutorial, website maintenance family photographers, SEO website audit photographers, Google Analytics broken links, photography business backend systems, broken links and user experience, WordPress redirection plugin, family photographer marketing systems, SEO beyond blogging photographers

Be honest with yourself for a second. When was the last time you sat down at the very start of a month and knew, before the first week even hit, exactly what you were going to blog, what Instagram content was coming from that blog, and what you were emailing your list? Not reacting to a slow week. Not panic posting because inquiries dried up. Just a plan, a real one. If that question made you squirm a little, this episode is for you. In Episode 226, I'm spilling the tea with content marketing strategist Kara Duncan of The Kara Report, and we are breaking down why strategic SEO blogging is the marketing foundation most family photographers are skipping, and how one blog post can fuel your entire week of content across Instagram and email.I'm sitting down with Kara Duncan, the founder of The Kara Report, where she does content marketing, specifically Pinterest and blogging, for service-based businesses, mostly photographers. Full transparency: Kara writes the blog posts for my photography business. When I knew I needed to record a blogging episode built for family photographers, she was my first call. We also have a pretty big announcement at the end of this one, so make sure you listen all the way through!What you'll learn in this episode (hint: it's beefy!)Why those old-school session recap blogs with 50 to 80 images are working against you in 2026What "keyword intent" actually means and why chasing big money keywords on your blog is not the moveThe stat that stopped me in my tracks about blogging, page one, and how long it actually takes (72.9%, and yes, I said what I said)How to turn one single SEO blog post into your Instagram content AND your email for the week without starting from scratch every timeAND SO MUCH MORE!!!!Resources & Links Mentioned In This Episode▸ Read the full blog post that goes with this episode (that way, you get all the links mentioned): https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/seo-blogging-strategy-family-photographers/▸ The Family Photographer's Marketing Society: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/the-family-photographers-marketing-society▸ Grab the FREE 2026 Family Photographers Marketing Trends Report: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/family-photography-marketing-trends▸ Apply HERE to work with us to be your marketers for your family photography business!Connect with Kara Duncan📱Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekarareport💻Website: https://thekarareport.com/Connect with Me (Dolly DeLong Education)💻 Website📱Instagram🎥 YouTubeThanks for joining me on The Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode:✅ Sign up for weekly reminders + free resources here → Business Tools🥳 Share a screenshot of this episode on your IG story and tag me @dollydelongeducation so I can cheer you on!🔗 Affiliate links included. I only recommend products I personally use and love.SEO blogging for family photographers, strategic blogging for photographers 2026, keyword intent for photographers, family photographer marketing system, blogging vs Instagram for photographers, content repurposing photographers, Google Search Console photographers, family photographer SEO strategy, how to blog as a photographer, internal linking photography website, done for you blogging photographers, reactive marketing family photographer, KPI tracking photography business, blog to Instagram repurposing, family photographers marketing society, email marketing for photographers, one blog post multiple platforms, Kara Duncan Kara Report, Enji KPI tool, family photographer content planning

In this episode of the Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast, I’m sitting down with fellow family photographer Jenny Macy to discuss something many photographers struggle with: consistently marketing while running a busy business and raising a family. Jenny shares her story of building a photography business across three different states, ranking on the first page of Google, and eventually growing into a national associate photography team — all while raising three young kids 🥳We also talk about how she uses the Family Photographers Marketing Society to simplify her weekly marketing so she can spend less time stressing about captions and more time focusing on her business and family.Resources & Links Mentioned In This Episode▸ Read the full blog post that goes with this episode (that way, you get all the links mentioned): https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/seo-blogging-batching-marketing-strategy-family-photographers/▸ The Family Photographer's Marketing Society: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/the-family-photographers-marketing-society▸ Grab the FREE 2026 Family Photographers Marketing Trends Report: https://systemsandworkflowmagic.com/family-photography-marketing-trendsConnect with Jenny Macy:📱Instagram: @thescalablephotographyco💻Website: https://thescalablephotographyco.com/🎥YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCod6O9Qeqq2DTZqDhJhuwEwConnect with Me (Dolly DeLong Education)💻 Website📱Instagram🎥 YouTubeThanks for joining me on The Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode:✅ Sign up for weekly reminders + free resources here → Business Tools🥳 Share a screenshot of this episode on your IG story and tag me @dollydelongeducation so I can cheer you on!🔗 Affiliate links included. I only recommend products I personally use and love.family photographers marketing society, marketing for family photographers, SEO for family photographers, blogging for photographers SEO, photography marketing systems, batching content for photographers, family photography business marketing tips, SEO blogging strategy for photographers, how to market a photography business organically, family photographer associate team, scaling a photography business with associate photographers, long form content for photographers, marketing systems for creative businesses, SEO strategy for photographers, social media captions for photographers, blogging for photography business growth, family photography marketing membership