41. $49,300 in Bookings from Referrals: My Exact Breakdown

Are you tired of spending hours on Instagram or running ads just to keep your calendar full? What if I told you there’s a simpler, more effective way to book dream clients—without the constant hustle?
🔑 Key Takeaways
Why referrals are so much more powerful than social media or ads
The simple referral-building steps baked right into my workflow
How you can start planting referral seeds this week

If you’ve ever felt stuck in the feast-or-famine cycle, this episode is your roadmap to creating consistent, reliable bookings.

🎧 Listen now to learn how to stop hustling for leads and start building a business that works for you.

More Resources:

Join the Referral System Sprint now for just $97
Grab the free Referrals on Repeat guide here
Follow along for more tips at @thatchangedeverything

Successful Creatives make the world brighter. Follow @theewingsstudio on instagram for weekly tips and tricks to uplevel your bookings and increase profits so that you can accomplish all of the goals on your heart.

Transcript

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Hi, I'm Erica Ewing, photographer, educator and founder of the Super Tractor System. And this is, well, that changed everything. This is a podcast about the moments, mindset shifts, and strategies that actually move the needle in your creative business. Because if you're anything like me, you didn't start this business just to chase bookings in burnout. You started it for freedom, for fulfillment, to build something beautiful that supports the life you really want. Here we talk about what it really takes to get there, aligned messaging, trust-based sales, systems that create ease, and the stories behind the scenes of success. Sometimes it's a strategy tweak. Sometimes it's a deep aha moment. Sometimes it's that one bold move that changes everything. So if you're ready to attract your dream clients, throw your business with soul, and let it all feel way easier than you've been taught, it starts here. Let's talk about the things that change everything. I am thrilled about the very first topic that we're going to talk about on the newly branded podcast. We've gone from successful creatives to, well, that changed everything because I really want this podcast to be a place of not only inspiration, but also action and really pull back the curtains on what's working in business today. Because so, so often, the things that are going to propel your business forward and are going to feel easy are actually just small shifts. They're small, whether it be mindset shifts or strategies or tweaks in the things that you're doing in your business that make all of the difference that really change everything. And so that is the goal moving forward of this podcast just to breathe some ease into everything that we're doing. I think right now things really feel heavy everywhere. And so this, the goal is for this to feel later and to help to bring some lightness into your business. And today we are talking about one of my most favorite topics. I haven't chatted about it in a while and to be honest with you. I think it's because I've sort of taken it for granted in my business and that is creating referrals, creating a stream of referrals within your business. So if you're tired of spending hours on social media, if you feel like you're running ads constantly just to keep your calendar full. And I told you that there's a simple more effective way to book the clients that you really want without just feeling like you're on that hamster wheel of the constant hustle. Then this episode is 1000% for you. We're going to talk about why referrals are really the ultimate lead source for wedding professionals. And it's something that you have to focus on right now, whether you're in the middle of busy season or not in all and I'll share tips for how to make it easy if you are in the middle of busy season. I'm going to share the three biggest reasons that referrals really outperform ads and social media and how you can start building your referral system right now. So if you've ever felt stuck in like the roller coaster of leads or I'm getting a ton of leads right now and then next month there's nothing. This episode is really your roadmap to creating consistent, reliable bookings. In the last episode I shared a really honest peek into our lives this year and we've had some serious struggles. We've had a harder year than possibly ever and it's all outside of our business, right? Like the struggles that we're going through right now are all in our personal lives. But that spills over and if you're an entrepreneur, you know that there is, you know, ideally you have a separation between your personal life and in your business. But that line can be very wavy, especially if you work out of your home like we do. In last week's episode, I shared that we were really incapacitated much of spring indefinitely, like definitely this summer where we had very limited hours to actually work in our business because of what we were dealing with in our personal life. And so that meant that our efforts were solely on serving our existing clients. And so marketing got left completely by the wayside. But the crazy thing is and what a blessing it is is that during the month of July and the first couple of weeks of August, I didn't post on social media. I didn't run ads. I mean, I don't run ads. I haven't paid for any of our leads in many, many years. And so I was basically completely silent from everything online, right, July and August. And in a basically a month and a half, I booked $49,300 in bookings. And so I want to start this episode with a breakdown of exactly what that looks like. And then we'll transition into how you can create this momentum in your own business too. Because referrals have truly been a part of my business from the very beginning. I jump started my business growth with some trade shows. Once I had a certain level of weddings within, you know, my portfolio, I completely switched to referrals and SEO as being the way that I got my inquiries. They are so much higher quality because they're here for you. They're not just here for your price list. They already have a certain level of trust with you, which means that they book faster. They have more trust throughout the process of working with you. They're not going to be those micromanaging couples. Referrals are just a better quality lead in booking all around. It's like you're getting started on the right foot and they're already expecting a beautiful experience. And so then when you deliver on that, they are absolutely thrilled. Okay, so let's circle back to the almost $50,000 in wedding bookings that I booked while I was basically away from my business. So what that actually looked like was five weddings that I booked over the span of, I think it was about five weeks. And they ranged from everything from a last minute allotment for $2,800 to a $15,000 over $15,000 package photo video wedding for next year. Okay. And so of those five weddings, let me break down exactly where these referrals came from. So you can kind of see how this might work in your own business. And then we'll switch into the tips that I've got for you so that you can start to create this. Okay, so five weddings hang on. Let me pause and just get my list so I can tell you exactly where they are, who they are and where they came from. All right, I'm looking at a screenshot in my CMS right now. And I'll just walk you through each of these five weddings and kind of tell the backstory of them. So the first one came in the first week of July. And that was actually a past client who has worked with us. So this is actually kind of crazy. This is my first family portrait that turned into a wedding booking. So the groom is a son that I've been photographing for a long time. This means we realize how long I've been in the business. But they are a repeat client. So this is basically a client referral, right? It was this mom who's been really happy with our services and her son has now hired us for that first wedding. And so that is a 2026 wedding. Then the next wedding was the second week of July. And this was from one of our most favorite venues and we're on their preferred vendor list. I should go back. I should do an episode that just breaks down this one relationship because they have sent us. I'm going to say at this point hundreds of thousands of dollars of wedding referrals. We were added to their preferred list the very first time we shot a wedding at this venue. It was it's like a wish list venue. You know those venues that you just look at. You see them online and you love them and you're like, man, I would really love to shoot a wedding there. Well, that is this location. We photographed our first wedding there in 2019. They put us on their preferred vendor list back then. And so six years later, we've enjoyed six years of referrals. This has been through different sales team changes over their coordinator changes. Throughout all of it, we have persisted to be on their vendor list through all of these years. I am so incredibly grateful for them. And so that is where our second wedding of this 49,300 group of weddings came from was from the being on the preferred vendor list at this venue that we absolutely love. Okay, the third one is from that same venue. And this is a last minute intimate wedding that I'll be shooting next week. Right now we're in a about to be leaving for corporate event down in Newport, Rhode Island. Then we're jetting off to Martha's Vineyard for a weekend of wedding festivities. And then next week, I'll be headed up to Maine for this wedding, this allotment wedding. Now this was a little booking, but it's a last minute little gift to the bride. I adore we were like very fast friends completely aligned. And I'm so excited to be a part of that day. And I was really, really grateful for this last minute booking that came in from our favorite venue. Okay, number four, booking number four was over $10,000 booking. This is at a really beautiful venue that we also love. And this referral came from Google. And so yes, I do sort of refer to SEO, organic SEO as referrals because it's a referral from like the wizard behind the screen on the interwebs, right? So if Google serves you up as one of the best solutions for something that someone is actively searching on, they're going to be a higher qualified inquiry than if they just stumbled on you on social media, liked your work and asked for more information, right? Because think about someone's mindset when they are getting referrals is they're asking people that they know who they should reach out to to get a solution to what they're need is, right? So whether that come from their venue or a friend or coworker or they're reaching out to Google who they know has all the answers to all of the things. And this now extends to like chat GPT, chat GPT almost like works in tandem with Google and search engines to help make recommendations that are going to solve the user's problem, right? In this instance, Google was the source of that referral for the fourth wedding. And the fifth one was the one that came in in August. This was over $15,000 and it's at a different venue where we're on their preferred vendor list. Now this one we've photographed at, we've worked out a few times in the past and it was probably like the second or third time we worked there. They added us to their preferred vendor list and I want to say this one, we've been on their list for, I'm going to say maybe since 2017 or even 2016, it's been a really, really long time. And this is one where we really do very, very little to maintain the relationship. And sometimes I wonder, huh, I wonder if we're still on their preferred vendor list. And then all of a sudden in inquiry comes through and it is, you know, they're saying that they heard from us on this preferred venue list. So this was over $15,000 booking for a relationship that we set up years ago and we do very little to maintain. And that is actually our first 2027 wedding booking was through this venue. Oh, and actually when I think about it, if we've been on their preferred vendor list since 2017 and we just booked a 2027 wedding there, this has been 10 years of wedding referrals. And like this is, this is why I really wanted to do a whole episode about this because the power of referrals is something that is so overlooked. We, I think there's like a sentiment. We've all been taught that Instagram is where our couples are or maybe even TikTok now. I haven't even, okay, I'm just not a social media person. So TikTok is not even a place where I spend my time personally. So I, I had no nothing about who was showing up there because I don't need to because of these referrals. So I wanted to talk to you about this today because if you think about how much time and just like space you're giving to social media and your calendar and even just in your thoughts in your brain, feeling like this is the place, the easiest way for you to get the inquiries that you want and the easiest way to get in front of clients, I tell you it is not. I have never relied on social media to grow my wedding photography, videography business. Never. It has never been my primary source of leads. And when I hear people really struggling with ghosting and with price shoppers and with clients who don't value them, a big part of that is the place that their inquiries are coming from. Your lead source, okay. And so if you're dealing with any of these things, like I just want to lovingly reach through and just give you a gentle shake and say like, hey, let's look at doing things a little bit differently this year because it is the easiest way to grow your business. It is the way that feels really good, especially if you're someone who doesn't love to show up on social media, growing your business through referral. I'm going to call it referral marketing. It's really like connection through building connections and we'll talk more in a minute about this, but building your business in this way to me just feels really easy. I'm not trying to fight any algorithms. I'm not paying for any ads. I'm not chasing down inquiries that really are just looking for a great deal, right? Instead, I'm building connections. I am serving clients. I am surprising and delighting. I'm just like spreading joy and through that, that becomes a really powerful marketing tool that grows my business almost for me. And obviously this year was an extreme example of just how powerful having a referral system set up in your business really is because when I couldn't show up for my business, my referral system did show up and kept us going. It kept the revenue coming in when we needed it more than ever. It maximized my time so that instead of hustling for leads and posting on social media and tweaking my ads and tweaking my website and updating my pricing, I didn't have to do any of that, any of the common things that I hear people saying when they're thinking about marketing and growing their business, instead I was able to solely focus on serving my clients and also serving those inquiries that came in through the sales process that I have set up through my super attractor system. And so it just made bookings really, really efficient and easy and let me focus on what I really wanted to be doing, which was serving my clients and creating beautiful work. Let's bust through a couple of myths before we get into really, you know, the three ways to grow your business with referrals. And then I also want to give you three ways, three simple tips that you can implement now to get referrals going. Now, here are the myths that I want you to just dig in and see if you believe any of these because if you do, they're probably holding your referrals back. Number one, referrals take a long time. So referrals are the long game, right? And yes, they pay off for a long time, but they don't necessarily take a long time to happen. They can literally be overnight. So we get client referrals from people who's from couples who's weddings, we haven't even shot yet. Okay. And we've been added to about a dozen preferred vendor lists. And most, if not all, were the very first time that we worked there. Okay. So think about that. If you've got a dream venue that you were finally going to be working at this year, imagine how powerful that would be. If you showed up, you worked at that wedding and you were added to their preferred list, literally the very next day. And then you were, you maintained your spot on that list for 10 years. Imagine how powerful that would be for your business. Referrals last for years and years and years. And they don't take a lot to maintain them. Once you sort of establish the connection in the right way and you do, you know, a certain set of intentional steps periodically, they can last for years and years and years. Another myth is that referrals are complicated or you have to ask for them or that you have to pay for them. This is not true. It's really so incredibly simple. We don't pay for any of our referrals. I actually had a planner one time ask me if we would pay her a cut and I politely said we just don't, we don't do that because we want all of our inquiries and our bookings to book with us because it's in alignment for our venue, our venue partners, our vendor partners and ultimately our clients. And so we don't pay for referrals and we definitely do not ask for referrals. This is something where people feel uncomfortable about asking. Yeah, same right here. I would feel so horrified to ask for referrals. I've done it one time in my business and it did not go well and it was just such an icky, icky feeling. Okay, the last myth is that you have to be an extrovert. You have to be hustling at events, getting yourself in front of all of these people making small talk, being really great at small talk to get referrals. And yes, I will tell you that in person events, 1000% help because they can start connections, they can start conversations. But you don't need to be there. You don't need to be outgoing. You don't need to be an extrovert. You don't need to be selling yourself in order to get referrals. It is way easier than that. And it's something that you can build into the process of the clients that you're already serving in the venues and vendors that you're already working with. And so this is really, really important because when we think about lead source, so where your inquiries are coming from, we've got a few of the big buckets, right? It's referrals, which is word of mouth marketing. There's social media. There is SEO. There's paid ads. There are trade shows and in person events. Of all of those, 92% trust a personal recommendation over anything else. So your ideal client could be scrolling Instagram right now and maybe they see a few of your competitors and they like their work and they ask for information. But their best friend or their venue gave them a short list of like two or three to go check out and you're on that short list. Who do you think is going to take priority in their attention and who do you think they're going to feel the most excited to talk about someone they randomly stumbled on and asked for a price list and get back like a generic email with price list and availability or someone who was personally referred to by them. Well, the fact is 92% of people would trust the personal recommendation from their best friend or their venue more than randomly finding you on Instagram. And beyond that, referrals invest more 16% more. So if you were in a position where you're craving higher paying clients, you're looking to get yourself to like the next price jump, but you just feel like you you're not very yet. Look at your lead source. Referrals invest 16% more. Okay. Well, let's talk about how to get referrals because in theory, you already know how to, right? Referrals, word of mouth marketing is not rocket science. There's basically three steps. It's create connections. It's deliver a beautiful client experience. And it all boils down to essentially serving those around you. If you want referrals, you've got to basically show up for others in a way that makes them feel special and cared for. And here's an important distinction. And I think it's something that really has been the key to our success with referrals is that you want to do it for them, not for you. Okay. And this is why asking for referrals doesn't work is because you're stepping into that conversation for a mindset of what's in it for you. But you've really got to step back and look at how you can serve other people, how you can make them feel special and cared for for them. How can you make their lives better? How can you make their lives easier? How can you bring more joy into their lives? And when you show up in a place that is really, really genuine and honest in that heart of serving, this is how referrals just start to flow into you. Okay. So the big question that I hear is, yes, Erica, get it. Create connections, deliver a beautiful client experience, serve those around you with a genuine heart. But how do I do this? Is this like, you know, just paying for pricey gifts? Is this trying to get, you know, trying to take planners out for lunch? Like how do I do this? Here are three tips to start creating your referral system today. First, you've got to keep it simple. Build intentional steps into your existing workflow. So what you can do here is take a look at your current workflow right now and look for ways and places that you can create deeper connections with venues and vendors while making your clients feel even more special and cared for. And the key to actually getting this done is what can you do to create these moments without adding more work to your plate? I know you are already busy enough. We're talking about trying to get less work on your plate by removing like some of the pressures of social media and managing ads and all things. So in order for, you know, referrals to happen, they've got to be woven into your existing workflow without adding more work to your plate. Let me give you an example of one of the things that we do within our workflow. So one thing that we do is we deliver sneak peek of our favorite pictures within about two to five days of the wedding. This is pretty standard, I think. If it's not, you should definitely do this right now because the time when your client is the most excited in the most, especially if you're a photographer, hang on, side-to-side note, if you're a photographer or a videographer, honestly, I think a lot of anything visual, if you could do this as a florist, as a designer, anything that you, you know, have created around the time of the wedding, deliver a sneak peek of that. Okay, it doesn't necessarily have to be professional pictures. And your client is going to be thrilled because the moment that they are the most excited about their wedding is like literally the next day where they're feeling like, wow, that was amazing. I can't believe that just happened. What just happened? I can't wait to see pictures. And so you as the professional photographer or even as, you know, the planner or the florist, whatever content you have from the wedding day that you can share, share it with your clients, they are going to be thrilled. But here's the twist. Okay, so don't just send it to your couple. Share it with the venue in the planner too. And now I'm not talking about just a tag on Instagram, but a really intentional email. This is something that will take you a couple of minutes to do. And it really creates a referral connection while you're checking off a deliverable that you're already doing. So you're already creating that sneak peek for your client. Add this extra email on to create a special connection that serves the venue in the planner as well. And the reason that you want to do this with an email and not just tagging them on a post because yes, a tag on a post is the easiest way to go. It's also the easiest thing to forget about. This is something that is so so common, right? Like we're all posting and tagging vendors and venue teams and it gets loved on for about a minute and then they move on. Whereas an email feels really pointed and intentional in a way to serve them and show them that you actually care about, about working with them in the connection that you've created. So take this sort of idea and list out your current workflow and then brainstorm ways that you can add value for your clients and for other potential resources, potential referral sources throughout the process. Tip number two, the number one thing that people want is simply to know what to expect. Everybody just wants to know what's coming. So for this tip, what questions can you answer before they ever ask? So this is one of the tips that I put in my free referral guide. If you haven't grabbed that yet, definitely grab it from the show notes. Simply being proactive with people and letting them know what to expect in the process is a huge service to clients, to venues, to vendor partners. And so throughout my workflow, this is something that we think about the entire way. I just got this email from one of the bookings that I discussed earlier in this episode. And she said, I was trying to schedule a call with her to go over the wedding details. And she said, though it's a small wedding, I am behind on everything. I hope you know you have been the literal only one consistent in getting back to me. So I sincerely appreciate that. Nowadays customer service, I feel like kind of stinks all around. It's customer service is at an all time low. So when you can be the person who is being proactive, that goes really, really far in terms of making clients feel really special and helping them want to refer you to the people that they love. Right? Like if you're the person who is going out of your way to think about what their needs are and to be proactive in working with them, they're going to really love that experience of working with you and they're going to want to tell people. Tip three is to include everyone who might refer you. Most wedding pros really focus on the couple, right? Like their clients when you're thinking about referrals. But your top referral sources go way beyond that. And I hope that the actual like receipts that I showed at the beginning of this episode help to prove that. Like I'm talking venues, vendors, parents, comp competitors, yes, even chat GPT, Google, AI, they're the internet's referral engine. They all play a role. And the key is really to create a system that serves each of those groups in a way that really feels natural and beneficial to them. You want it to almost feel like mutually beneficial that you've shown up and served them in such a genuine way that they genuinely want to serve you back and share your name with other people. They want to see your business grow and they want to help you grow. So one key question here is to ask yourself, what would make them want to share your name? Without ever being asked, what would make your clients, venues, vendor partners, parents, competitors, Google chat GPT, what would make them want to share your name? And when you can answer this question, you'll unlock endless referrals without ever having to ask. Now let's talk about when to get this referral system set up. Right now we're in the middle of busy season. Like me, you might be feeling like you are spending all of your time working with clients, getting through your edicute, serving and posting to social media and everything. But the reality is that engagement season is right around the corner. And it is harder to get referrals after the fact. The experience really hovers right around the wedding day. It starts just before, during and just after. And so if you miss the window, you're going to be waiting likely for up to a year to get on that venue's preferred list. So you've got a plan for them right now, like literally carve out time and start executing right now during busy season. Use those three tips that I just gave you and get to work. You've also really got to capitalize on those connections that are happening right now. So you're connecting, you're interacting with a lot of people who could be really powerful allies for your business. The key is to strike while the iron is hot. It is so much easier to make a connection with a venue when you have just recently worked there when you are about to work there. Then when you're circling back months later in the slow season to try to spark that same level of connection. It is possible, but it's not as powerful as when you do it now. So if you're in the middle of busy season, carve a little bit of time to get your system up now. If you've got a window where things are quiet, then you have absolutely no excuse. And I really urge you to get your referral system built right now. And if you want the shortcut, if you want my referral system with the exact plug and play templates and all of the step by step handholding to get it done in just three days in an hour or less a day, then I would love to invite you to my referral system sprint. This is a brand new program that I'm offering because this year just reconnected with me with how powerful or referral system truly, truly is and how grateful I am that it saved my business. I want you to be able to get yours set up so fast. I'm offering the referral system sprint for a limited time for just $97. It is happening September 30, 30th through October 2nd. And within three days, you will have your entire referral system set up in your business so you know exactly what to do and when what to say and when and you'll get my entire template installed into your business. If you want to grab this at $97, jump in now, click the link in the show notes or DM me on Instagram and I will get you hooked up with that. I am so excited about this and about the change that I know it will bring to your business when you get your referral system set up. It will be potentially overnight and potentially last a decade or longer. So commit to doing this work right now, commit to it. Set aside time of time in the next couple of weeks to getting this work done. And if you want my help for $97, limited time only, I will do this with you for three days and have your referral system complete by the first week of October. And then you're going to have that lean back energy of having a system that brings inconsistent high quality leads into your business without the hustle, without spending a dollar. This is how marketing starts that feel really easy and referrals get really exciting.[MUSIC]