Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area.
Hank Paul of www.hankpaul.co is a Sydney based wedding photographer who reached out to me as an expert on being queer-inclusive in his photography business.
- He said in his email that some possible topics he could cover include:
- Deconstructing gender norms in wedding photography
- How to be a more inclusive photographer
- the value of niche marketing
- and Queer visibility with your business
A day or so later, I received a message from Ally Stuart Ross, a long time premium member and recent interviewee, who wrote…
I listened to an interesting Aussie photographer last night and thought he'd be great for the podcast. He's offering queer ally advice on how to get your wedding business LGBTQ+ inclusive and friendly.
I don't photograph weddings, but I've already changed a couple of things from what he shared on my site.
I took Ally's message as a sign and am rapt to say Hank shared some terrific and actionable insights on attracting more of the LGBTQ+ community to our photography businesses.
Here's some more of what we covered in the interview:- Is it okay to ask couples upfront if they are gay
- The difference between queer and gay
- What is queer inclusion
- When do you use queer and/or LGBTQ+
- Why you should refrain from using the term ‘same-sex couples'
- The need to ask couples what language they want to be identified to feel safe
- Why some LGBTQ+ couples feel unsafe when approaching service-based businesses like photographers
- Discrimination and gender equality
- How to incorporate queer-inclusive content into your branding and services
- Why the phrase ‘ladies and gentlemen' not inclusive
- What is a non-binary person
- How to address people when doing family sessions to be inclusive
- Gender fluidity and what is it
- Why you need to embrace inclusivity in your photography business
- Who are Hank's ideal photography clients
- How Hank started his photography business
- What to do to become a more inclusive photography business
- Is it necessary to feature a photo of a queer couple on your homepage
- The need to have an inclusion statement on your website homepage
- What to include on your website to show your business is inclusive
- How to use pronouns properly when introducing yourself to clients or at events
- Is it a good idea to run model calls to find queer couples for your portfolio building
- Does Facebook flag and restrict certain LGBQT+ terms in the Facebook Ad platform
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.
Plus special member-only interviews.
Queer inclusion is really about acknowledging that people are different and people have different ideas and say different things. – Hank Paul
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.
Seriously, that's not all.
In addition to everything above, you'll get access 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 Hank 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, and what you plan to implement in your business as a result of what you heard in today's episode.
In 10 years from now, one in six weddings will be queer weddings. – Hank Paul
If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Hank or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.
LAST CHANCE — PhotoBizX Premium Membership Special!It's rare to see a special price for the Premium Membership but there's one available for you until Tuesday, May 31st 2022.
Why the special?
Because it's holiday time (I'm off to Spain and France) and there's no better reason to celebrate!
The 12 Month Premium Membership – is normally $200… NOW $120… https://photobizx.com/holidayspecial
This is the cheapest you'll ever see the 12-month membership.
SPECIAL BONUS FOR EXISTING MEMBERS
If you've made a membership payment this month already and want this deal, I'll refund this month's payment for you.
For me to process the refund, you'll need to email me your Paypal email address which may be different to your regular email address.
Make sure you join first, then cancel your existing payments. This way your Premium RSS Feed URL stays the same.
NOTE: If you are already on the special price from last year, there's no need for you to do anything. Your existing membership will automatically renew at the special price.
iTunes Reviews and Shout-outsEach week I check for any new iTunes or Google 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 and Google are 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 or https://photobizx.com/google 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.
Pronouns are not exclusively just for queer folks. Pronouns are for everyone to share and I do see a future probably 10 years from now where introducing yourself with your pronouns is just as common as introducing yourself with your name. – Hank Paul
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:Hank Paul Queer Business Educator Website
Freebie Download: 3 Mistakes You're Probably Making at LGBTQ+ Weddings
Queer-Owned: The Ultimate Guide to Personal Branding for LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs by Hank Paul on Amazon
Thank you!Thanks again for listening and thanks to Hank for sharing his thoughts, ideas and experiences on creating an all-inclusive environment for our photography business to help LGBTQ+ clients feel safe, heard, understood and importantly, welcome to do business with us.
Niche marketing is the way to go when you only need a small number of sales. – Hank Paul
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
The post 467: Hank Paul – How to attract LGBTQ+ clients to your photography business appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.
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