Molly Marie from Molly Marie Photography and Boudie Shorts is with us today to talk about one of our favorite subjects, partner marketing. Cultivating relationships and friendships will help you not only in your business but in your personal life as well.
“Taking the time to meet people and build a
friendship makes working together easier, more fun
and more valuable.”
Be Authentic
Nothing will close more doors than approaching networking and relationship building from the perspective of “what can this person do for me.” Be authentic. Take the time to explore how you can help someone and what you can offer them before you approach what you’d like them to do for you.
Make it Easy
The easier it is to schedule meetings with others, the easier it will be to setup relationship building conversations. For example, Assistant.to is a free plugin for your gmail inbox we recently discovered that allows you to quickly share dates that you’re available so that the person you’re reaching out to can set something up with you on the spot. No back and forth, no delays. We are big fans.
Leave the House
Your greatest partners are local to you. Get out of the house and meet them! While sending an email is a good first step, nothing beats in-person networking. Networking groups are a tried and true way to meet people who are willing to chat and open to working together.
While networking meetings do take a block of time, in the long run they’re faster and more efficient than sending emails and waiting to hear back from people. Don’t be deterred by groups that charge a fee. These groups are attended by serious and successful business people.
Use Mobile App Technology
Mobile apps (which you can create with StickyAlbums) can help you get your foot in the door or solidify an existing relationship. Building an app for a partner with their logo, their contact information and their portfolio or products is a way to offer tremendous value to partners.
Molly expanded on this last year and held a studio open house. She invited local business to attend and provide a service (free chair massage, flowers, baked goods, etc) in exchange for a page in the app that she created which advertised their business. Guests at the event were able to download the app and use it to enter a giveaway by scanning a QVC code. Molly also sent the app to her entire email list.
This kind of partner marketing helped Molly host an amazing event that cost practically nothing and ultimately helped her book sessions and build relationships with local businesses.
About Molly, and a Free Gift
Molly Marie is the owner of Eau Claire, Wisconsin’s premier boudoir studio. Through a passion for photography and a desire to help women discover their inner and outer beauty, she’s cultivated a strong business presence in the area and enjoys teaching and sharing with other photographers at Boudie Shorts.
Molly’s love for photography started in the high school darkroom with a photography class. The creativity, imagination, and ingenuity involved with photography amazed her – who wouldn’t want to do this for a living? During college, at the age of 19, and with $0.81 to her name, she built a website and started a photography business. Through hard work, dedication, and the appropriate marketing strategies, she’s taken a humble beginning and turned it into six figures annually.
Molly has a special gift for our audience. You can access her fantastic, “How to Get Started in Boudoir Photography” guide HERE.
