Alison Bell, Melissa Arlena

Get Booked: A Photography Marketing Podcast

Business EN ↓ 126 episodes

Stop posting and praying. Start booking. Get Booked is the podcast for photographers who want real marketing, SEO, and business strategies—not another guru telling you to "just be consistent."Your hosts? Alison Bell and Melissa Arlena—two photographers and military spouses with 27+ combined years in the industry. Melissa is an SEO educator who runs Picture Perfect Rankings, teaching photographers how to get found on Google. Alison is a business mentor who's successfully moved her photography business across the country (multiple times) and knows how to book clients fast in any market. Each wee...

Author

Alison Bell, Melissa Arlena

Category

Business

Podcast website

keepitmoving.libsyn.com

Latest episode

Jul 6, 2026

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Episodes

65: The Truth About AI Search (Spoiler: It's Still Just SEO) 04.08.2025

Have you been seeing those "SEO is dead" headlines all over your feed lately? Yeah, me too. And honestly? I'm getting a little fired up about it. So here's the deal – everyone's trying to tell you that AI has killed SEO and now you need to learn some fancy new "AIO" (AI optimization) strategy. They're launching courses, hosting webinars, and basically trying to convince you that everything you've...

Summer Bonus : The SEO Strategy That Saved My Photography Business 28.07.2025

Hey there! While Alison and I are soaking up those summer vibes until September, I'm not leaving you hanging. I'm sharing some of my favorite guest appearances from this past year – the ones that had you frantically taking notes and diving into implementation mode. This week, I'm bringing you my conversation with Colie James from the Business First Creatives podcast. We dive deep into something th...

Summer Replay : Blog Better Than A Bot, How to Stand Out in an AI World 21.07.2025

AI-generated content is everywhere, flooding the internet with bland, forgettable posts that all sound exactly the same. So how do we make our blog content stand out to both Google and our dream clients in 2025? Here's the thing - we're not anti-AI. Both Alison and I use it regularly in our businesses, and we think you should too. But we're seeing a huge problem with how photographers are using it...

Summer Replay : Time Blocking, Calm the Calendar Chaos 14.07.2025

Feeling like a ping pong ball bouncing between tasks all day? Constantly switching from editing to emails to client calls and ending up mentally exhausted with nothing meaningful accomplished? We've been there. That scattered, overwhelmed feeling where you're busy all day but can't point to what you actually got done. The research backs it up too - every time we switch from task to task, we waste...

Summer Replay : 80/20 Rule Small Efforts, Big Results for Photographers 07.07.2025

Ever feel like you're doing ALL the things in your business but somehow still not seeing the results you want? Girl, we've been there. That's exactly why we're diving deep into the 80/20 rule (also known as the Pareto Principle) and how it can completely transform the way you run your photography business. The 80/20 rule isn't some made-up business guru nonsense – it's a real principle that shows...

Summer Bonus : Real Talk About Marketing with Colie James 30.06.2025

Re-Airing: Our Chat with Colie James About Marketing That Actually Works We had such an amazing conversation with Colie James on her Business First Creatives podcast that we just had to share it with you all! Colie invited us on to talk about marketing strategies, and honestly, we got so real about what's actually working (and what we've totally abandoned) in our businesses. If you don't know Coli...

64: The Real Reason Photographers Avoid Their Books (It's Not Math) 23.06.2025

Y'all, can we talk about the elephant in the room? That pile of receipts sitting on your desk, the QuickBooks notifications you've been ignoring for months, and that sinking feeling every time tax season rolls around? Yeah, we're going there today. This week, we're bringing you Melissa's actual bookkeeper, Jenny Vazquez from Foxtrot Bookkeeping, to spill ALL the tea about why photographers need to...

63: IT Girl to SEO Queen - How Melissa Turned Tech Skills into Photography Gold 16.06.2025

Alison is interviewing Melissa, who literally went from fixing computers in corporate suits to building photography empires with killer SEO strategies. If you've ever wanted to throw your laptop out the window because of alt text and header tags (while simultaneously trying to feed your kids lunch), this episode will save your sanity. What You'll Learn: • Why your keywords are having an identity c...

62: Frustrated to Fearless: How Alison Turned 7 Business Moves Into A Superpower 09.06.2025

Melissa is putting  Alison in the hot seat because honestly, she's been way too humble about moving her photography business SEVEN times. Time to spill the tea on how she turned military-spouse chaos into her coaching superpower. 3 Key Takeaways: • "Too Early" Doesn't Exist - Start prepping your business move yesterday. SEO takes 12-18 months to work its magic, and everyone underestimates how time...

061: Email Marketing for Photographers with Mrs. Vondy: The Email Queen 02.06.2025

On this episode, we sat down with Shannon Vondy (aka Mrs. Vondy, aka The Email Queen) to talk about a topic many listeners struggle with - email marketing for photographers. As someone who's been a member of Shannon's email club for over a year and a half, Melissa was excited to bring her expertise to our listeners who are relocating or restructuring their photography businesses. Shannon went from...

60: Mini Mentoring with Caroline Eidson in Tulsa, Oklahoma 26.05.2025

In this week's episode, I'm thrilled to welcome Caroline Eidson for our mini mentoring series where we help photography entrepreneurs navigate business transitions. Caroline's journey from wedding photographer to mom of four to relaunching her photography business specifically for families and newborns offers valuable insights for photographers at any stage of business restructuring. Key Takeaways...

59: Batching Working Smarter, Not Harder 19.05.2025

In this episode, we dive into a business strategy that has saved our sanity as photographer entrepreneurs: batching! We explore how focusing on similar tasks for extended timeframes can help you feel more accomplished and less scattered, especially during business relocations or restructuring. Key Takeaways: Start small - Begin with just one repetitive task you can batch for an hour to knock out a...

58: Quarter 2 2025 Update 12.05.2025

In this quarterly update, we reflect on our business goals from Q1 2025 and share our plans for Q2. We discuss strategies for balancing work with personal life, revenue insights, and upcoming initiatives to grow our photography businesses. Our quarterly goal-setting process has been transformative for maintaining focus and measuring progress. By reviewing achievements every three months, we're abl...

057: Systems Superstar Colie James on CRMs & Client Communication 05.05.2025

Colie James is an systems superstar! (I hope visions of Molly Shannon are fluttering in your subconscious!) Family documentary photographer and systems guru, Colie James is giving us the simple on ramp to a 5 minute booking process. In this episode we get: Colie's preferred CRMs and why What emails to send every inquiry What to put in EVERY. SINGLE. EMAIL. (Alison & Colie may have shared a moment...

056: Stop Ghosting Your Own Leads 28.04.2025

You're probably doing this and don't even know it! Do you have a system for inquiries and leads? Are you anticipating their questions? Are you making it EASY for new inquiries? This week's episode is all about that crucial first step during inquiries into clients with a system!   Links: Leave a review in Apple or on Spotify Download 39 FREE Ways to Get More Clients Get Melissa's Free Blog Post Top...

055: Show Your Face! Using Video to Connect with Clients 21.04.2025

Are you using video in your business? And not just for social media? Showing your face will connect with your clients from the get go. We're talking about how we use video on the back end of our businesses for inquiries, clients, and email communication.   Links: Leave a review in Apple or on Spotify Download 39 FREE Ways to Get More Clients Get Melissa's Free Blog Post Topics Find Alison on IG @‌...

054: Client Automation - Work Smarter Not Harder! 14.04.2025

This episode is all about streamlining. What are those repetitive tasks that we can eliminate and save time? There are several tools and tasks that we use to automate! It can be scary at first when you forget what you've emails or tasks you've automated, or when they don't fire correctly. For the love, slow roll into this! Don't try to do it all at once. Tool Time: Use Zapier to connect apps that...

053: Mini Mentoring with Kayla Victor moving from Michigan to Dallas, TX 07.04.2025

Mini Mentoring is a series where Alison & Melissa get the low down on a real life business owner in need of some support! If you're interested in being on the show, DM us on Instagram! Kayla is moving again for the 5th time in 3 years! And no, she's not military affiliated! She is a family, maternity and motherhood photographer moving from Michigan to Dallas this spring. You can find Kayla at kayl...

052: Financial Fridays 31.03.2025

Face it. You have to look and talk about your finances. Similar to Marketing Monday, pick a day every month or every week to dig into your money. We're listing out some of our regularly batched financial tasks like taxes, owner's compensation, and bookkeeping.  If you're putting off logging expenses for you annual taxes.. listen to this episode!    Links: Leave a review in Apple or on Spotify Down...

051: Marketing Mondays 24.03.2025

How do you make sure you're consistently marketing your business? How do you avoid the feast/famine cycle? We're talking all about your minimum required effort that needs to happen regularly! That can be weekly, monthly, or even a mix. You don't need to do everything, but you do need to be consistent. Links: Leave a review in Apple or on Spotify Move Your Business Checklist Blog Post Topics @‌keep...

050: Demystifying Branding with Kristin Korn 17.03.2025

If you've ever given a side eye to the importance of copy writing or brand messaging, this episode is for you! Kristin Korn is a brand and marketing master. She's the owner of multiple businesses including CORE Brand Marketing. On this episode Kristin demystifies branding - it's so much more than colors and a logo! We're getting into unique value propositions, pain points, and triggers and how to...

049: Our Favorite Keyword Research Tool 10.03.2025

We talk about the importance of blogging a lot, and not duplicating your keywords. Well, how do you know which keywords to use? What's being searched? We're sharing the lynchpin to that whole process: our favorite keyword research tool. Listen in for a fast intro to how to use it, what its capable of and what the data means for you. Listen to Episode 5 about Keywords for a run down on what they ar...

048: Mini Mentoring With Angie Moore in Summerville, SC 03.03.2025

Mini mentoring is an episode series where we get a quick run down on your business struggles and we give you our best advice for keeping it moving!  Angie moved from New York City to Charleston, South Carolina. She's worked in maternity, newborn and family photography but has pivoted to heirloom studio photography. She's been relaunching in SC for a couple years now and has some good things going!...

047: Oversharing or Just Right? What to Post on Instagram Without Cringing 24.02.2025

No matter what social media platform you use, what to post can cause confusion, paralysis and overwhelm! Let's get back to the basics … YOU. What makes YOU unique? Not just your photography but your family, pets, where you live, your philosophy to photography… there's much more than just your work to share about! And believe us, people want to know about those every day details that seems boring t...

046: Time Blocking Your Calendar 17.02.2025

On this episode we're avoid mental fatigue and greater efficiencies with time blocking. There's two approaching to time blocking - Taking personal days off for work/life balance Batching work tasks & projects We're giving you all the details on how we use time blocking in our businesses, and the tools we use to automate it. Tool Time - TidyCal   Links: Leave a review in Apple or on Spotify Get Ali...

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