Nikki Estephan, a Connecticut-based brand photographer, has built a reputation for capturing elevated images for female entrepreneurs. Despite her incredible talent (just peep that portfolio!), her clients were feeling a little confused when they landed on her website. 

Nikki has this incredible way of making you feel comfortable in front of the camera all while being able to style you to perfection. But this message wasn’t clear on her website so potential clients were clicking away, thinking that they could never look like the girls in her photos.

After a complete Website Rewrite that focused on clear brand messaging, Nikki saw a 3x increase in weekly consultation calls. (!!)

Here’s how refining the words on her website turned her site into a place that felt aligned with her ideal clients and got them clicking that “Book Now” button.

The Challenge: A Brand Photography Website with a Misaligned Message

Like a lot of photographers, Nikki’s gift is her art. More than that, Nikki’s magic happens when she helps her female clients plan their entire session, styling them from the pearls to their pumps and coordinating all the props. Nikki was well aware of her superpower but had no idea how to communicate it and struggled to turn it into client-connecting-copy.

Her website looked great (how could it not!? She’s a visual queen!) but it lacked a clear message – it didn’t speak to her ideal clients and didn’t guide them along the way.

People often felt intimidated by her and like she was way too fashionable and untouchable. This is the furthest thing from the truth and those who already worked with Nikki knew that she was warm, approachable, and your biggest cheerleader. 

“I felt like [my website] wasn’t me, it was super unorganized and my thoughts were all jumbled together! I was frustrated!!”

When I first reviewed Nikki’s website, I noticed the incredible potential that it had! The female-empowerment mission of her business and the styling services that she provides really makes her stand out from other brand photographers in her area. Her work was beautiful, so now it just had to be paired with copy that speaks directly to their clients and causes them to take action.

Before: A Homepage that Lacked Direction

You have just a few seconds to capture someone’s attention and get them to stay on your website. When a visitor first landed on Nikki’s old home page, they’d see scrolling images, a blurb about her and two blurbs about her services offered.

It was short and concise, but didn’t speak directly to the visitor or guide them towards the next steps. It gave the visitor some information, but the headlines didn’t stand out to help the skimmers. 

There was also no clear call to action. Potential clients weren’t being told what to do next. They could scroll and click around, but what was compelling them to click Nikki’s “Contact” button?

Here’s Nikki’s homepage before the copy transformation (click to zoom in!):

Before: A Too-Personal About Me Page

Here’s a hard truth that most photographers need to hear: no one cares about how much coffee you drink and how much you love your dog (or Jesus). As Marie Forleo says, everyone’s favorite station is WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?). When a visitor comes to your website and clicks over to your About Me page, they’re looking for two things:

1. Does she understand me?
2. How can she help me?

Don’t worry – you’re not gonna squash your personality and what makes you unique. Instead, your About Me page should take those RELEVANT fun facts about yourself and apply them to WHY they are important to the service you provide your clients.

Nikki had a lot of lovely information on her About page about her family, but it wasn’t relevant to the Branding Photography that she offers. 

Social media is a great place to get really personal with your followers and connect with them about all those random things, but your website and About Me page is prime real estate for moving your visitor from just-clicking to dream-client. Make every word count!

Here’s what Nikki’s About Me page looked like BEFORE:

Solution – A Strategic Overhaul of Her Photography Website Copy

To address these challenges, Nikki chose a full Website Rewrite, which includes the 24k Brand Message. My unique Goldmine Messaging Strategy overhauled Nikki’s website words in three simple steps (and was mostly hands off for Nikki!).

Step 1: Mine the Goldmine (aka gather the data!)

I conducted in-depth research on Nikki’s brand, interviewing her favorite clients, analyzing her reviews, and going through a big branding questionnaire she filled out for me, all with the purpose of identifying the exact language her audience uses to express their wants and struggles. 

Like a pile of rubble you just pick-axed out of a goldmine, this is the raw material that’s rich with potential.

Step 2: Refine (aka pull out the core message)

Once I had my pile of branding-rubble, I turned up the heat and sifted through all the research to extract the pure brand gold. We developed the unique message and identity that sets Nikki apart from other brand photographers. 

I handed over a seemingly boring Google Doc, the 24k Brand Message. While it doesn’t look fancy, it clearly lays out a cohesive message for Nikki’s brand, describing exactly what her client wants, what their problems are, and how Nikki uniquely solves them and leaves them transformed. 

Already at this point, with her messaging refined, Nikki was seeing drastic changes in her communication about her brand!

Think of this document as a pure 24k gold bar, incredibly valuable and ready to be shaped into something you can really show off. Which leads us to the final step…

Step 3: Shape (aka turn the message into infinite content that connects!) 

Just like a gold bar can be shaped into rings, crowns, and coins, I molded Nikki’s message into compelling words for her website. I designed her words to captivate and connect with her client so she can book more of the RIGHT ones every time. 

With her 24k Brand Message in hand, Nikki was even able to transform her instagram captions. Posting becomes quick and easy when you know what message you want to say.

“I feel so proud of not only my copy, but my entire website now! I know what to write now when it comes to my captions, blog posts and even newsletters! She took a HUGE WEIGHT off my shoulders!! It’s not just website copy, it’s your entire brands copy!”

THAT’s the power of aligning your MESSAGE, not just writing isolated “content”.

AFTER: A Home Page that Sells FOR her

I presented Nikki with her website copy in a simple wireframe format that she was able to hand right over to her designer, Jess Nana, who specializes in Showit Web Design. While I can take credit for the words, the design is all Jess and Nikki!

(P.S. I love Showit! You’re currently on a Showit website! You can get a FREE MONTH of Showit with my link HERE.)

Here’s what Nikki’s homepage looks like NOW (Click to Zoom in!):

After following the Goldmine Messaging Strategy, Nikki’s homepage:

• Helps the skimmers. We’re all guilty of skimming websites and information (admit it!)! With bold headlines that carry the main message and show the benefits of working with her, skimmers can quickly understand if Nikki is the right photographer for them. 

• Proves that she’s not just all talk. While Nikki had client testimonials on her site, they were long paragraphs that no one probably read (again…a hard truth!). The new website copy pulled out key sentences that back up the claims in the headlines and sections. That’s social proof with a punch!

• Shows her brand personality and heart. It was important that Nikki’s website sounded like her while still attracting her dream clients. (I talk a lot about this in my Brand Voice Guide). I ended with a heartfelt letter that shows her heart and purpose and distills fears and objections. 

• Guides her visitor to take action. We clarified what Nikki’s main Call to Action (CTA) is for her site (“Book Your Free Consultation”) and placed it in prominent places all over her site! That way, after each section, people have the choice to book or keep reading. (When you see her increase in consultation calls below, I’d say this is working!)

With all of these changes, Nikki’s homepage can sell FOR her even without her having to have an in-person conversation to describe what she does or show her personality.

AFTER: An About Me Page that Doubles as a Sales Tool

Likewise, when we applied Nikki’s 24k Brand Message to her About Me page, I was able to take out the fluff and make it a strong seller on her site.

Now, Nikki’s About Me page:

• Showcases the team behind her brand. A big differentiator about Nikki’s photography is that she has a whole team behind her that helps prepare the client and get them photos they can’t wait to post. This was no where on her previous site, so the About page was a perfect place to introduce her team members.

• Connects her expertise to the transformation she offers her clients. Rather than just a list of fun facts, we strategically chose details that showed why Nikki is an authority in this space and how her unique set of skills will help her clients.

• Makes her clients feel understood and excited to work with her. She shows her authority AND that she understands how they may be feeling. She was once in their shoes and she’s overcome her own fears while helping hundreds of women do the same.

Nikki’s About Me page still shows her personality, but now it’s with PURPOSE. This page is about her, sure, but mostly it’s about how her approach benefits her clients (remember that radio station WIIFM).

Here’s what her About Me page looks like now! (Click to zoom in!)

The Results? – A high-converting photography website that brings in more consultations and aligned leads

It’s been just 4 months since Nikki started using her 24k Brand Message to write her instagram captions and not even 1 month since her website went live with her new copy. In just this short time, she’s:

Tripled her consultation calls

Nikki used to have 2-3 consultations per week. Now, she has 2-3 PER DAY, 2 days a week! What would happen to your business if you got SIX clients on the phone each week?

Increased her inquiries from Google and Instagram

Her DMs have been blowing up with inquiries and she’s also reported an increase in people reaching out after finding her on Google! She’s able to have a cohesive message between her socials and website and those dream clients who are finding her website know exactly what to do when they land on her page – book a consultation call!

Connected with Higher-Quality Leads

Not only did the quantity go up, but the quality of her leads increased. She’s attracting more of her dream clients AND is connecting on a deeper level with them. She reported she’s experiencing:

“deeper connections with my clients! It’s like they GET me even more now, and in return, I’m able to know THEM better! That’s what it’s all about – true, deep connection.” 

Because Nikki’s website now has a solid connecting point for her clients, they’re able to bond over a shared goal. Her clients know she’s in their corner right from the start.

Easier content creation

Nikki never has to worry about what to post. She has a messaging guide that she can plug and play into instagram captions and a website full of words she can reuse across all her social media platforms. 

“Captions are a BREEZE now! I just follow the brand guide she created and boom, perfectly on-point captions helping my ideal clients”

Key Takeaways – Website Copywriting Tips for Photographers

So what can you learn from Nikki’s website transformation? What actionable steps can you take TODAY to align your brand message across all your platforms and start booking more of your dream clients?

Conduct thorough research on your brand 

You simply cannot skip this part! Sure, we can pull words and ideas out of the air, but there is no guarantee those ideas will be what your clients actually want. Instead, you need to do some work and understand your client’s point of view. Read through your reviews and look for patterns. Interview your favorite clients to hear directly from them (no matter how sweaty you get on the phone!). Look for a few patterns:

• What do they want?
• What struggles do they have?
• How do you uniquely solve their problem?
• What benefits does your service offer them?

Prioritize a client-centric message 

This involves taking your ego out of it. You’re here to help your client solve their problem. Rather than taking the tone of “look at what a great photographer I am”, flip it and take on the perspective of “I understand what you need and here are why my skills will give you exactly that thing.”

Once you’ve done your research, you can write and speak directly to your client. Use “you” more than “I.” Use your research to speak like your customer (even pulling out the exact words they said in your interviews!). And when you feel like you’re starting to talk more about yourself, add in the phrase “So that…” to show how that special thing about you actually helps your client reach THEIR goals.

Implement clear CTAs

I see you, vague “Contact” button that’s buried in your website header.

You need to decide what it is you want your client to do after they’ve landed on your website. What’s the next step in your booking process? We want to decrease the amount of vagueness and friction.

In Nikki’s case, it was to get people to Book a Free Consultation. So, that’s the language we used on her CTA buttons throughout her website and put in a prominent place on her menu. 

For your own website, don’t get cute with this. Just be clear! Is it “Book a Call” “Schedule Your Session”? Whatever it is you want them to do…tell them to do it.

Don’t just tell them to “Say Hi” or “Contact Me”. Be clear, my friend. 

Is it time to fix your photography website? Reach out to Cassie, a Copywriter for Photographers!

Nikki’s business transformation proves that great photos aren’t enough to book your dream clients. The words on your website need to work FOR you and explicitly tell your clients why you’re the best (or worst!) fit for them.

If you’re a photographer struggling to attract your ideal clients, your website just might be the problem. 

My Website Rewrite service helps photographers like you:

• Craft a brand message that speaks directly to your ideal clients so you can work with the people that light you up
• Turn your homepage into a strategic sales page that connects to your clients and helps them overcome objections so they’re ready to book
• Optimize your About page so your clients trust you to take care of them as an empathetic authority in your industry
• Use headlines and calls to action to guide your potential clients towards the next steps in booking you so they never get lost on your site

When I asked “If someone called you and said ‘why should I have Cassie review my website?’ what would you tell them”, Nikki said: 

“Because you can’t afford not too! Seriously you’re leaving lots of moola on the table. But also, the clear direction for your messaging post working with Cassie is brand changing!”

When you’re ready to book more of your dream clients, Schedule a Call with me HERE!

Nikki’s website credits:

Photography: Nikki Estephan | Design: Jess Nana | Copywriting: Cassie Torres