E651: After 7 years building their business, they just hit $10 million annual revenue and $1 million net income. Most founders would’ve quit long before - but they stuck with it.
One of their biggest setbacks: iOS 14.5 took their cost per acquisition from $20 to $200.
As a result, they taught themselves real marketing.
Programmatic SEO, conventional SEO, email marketing, remarking, public relations, conversion rate optimization, and much better Meta ads and Search Engine Marketing.
Still testing new marketing ideas and hoping to double the business in the next year.
This is their playbook after constant testing and a lot of success.
⭐️ About Shoott (https://shoott.com): the AAPI female-run, NYC-based startup Shoott provides “Insta-worthy” mini photo sessions with talented local photographers where the sessions are free to book and clients only pay for the photos they love! A 4.9-star rated experience on Google, Shoott's mission is to democratize access to professional portrait photography by disrupting the traditional business model for freelance photographers. Shoott's business model works because they aggregate demand at specific locations, which allows them to pass along the benefit to both clients and photographers. Shoott is proud to offer their photographers a minimum pay guarantee per shooting hour, flexible scheduling, tips and regular paychecks.
Shoott IG: https://www.instagram.com/shoottphotos
Jennifer Tsay IG: https://www.instagram.com/jenjentsay
Jennifer Yeh IG: https://www.instagram.com/rebelthis
Jennifer Tsay LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-tsay/
Jennifer Yeh LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mhjenniferyeh/
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Introduction and Revenue Milestone
00:44 The Business Model of Shoots
02:34 Early Challenges and Market Validation
03:33 Impact of AI on Photography Business
07:12 Scaling Up: From 800K to 10.2 Million
09:18 Navigating the Pandemic and Remote Hiring
12:58 Marketing Strategies and Facebook Ads
18:05 Experimenting with Different Advertising Channels
21:24 Customer Reviews
24:58 The Free Photo Shoot Hook
27:32 Building a Scalable Booking System
32:15 SEO and Local Marketing Tactics
45:06 SEO Interlinking Strategy Discussion
47:43 Backlink Strategies
48:03 Press and Media Features
48:45 Share Features and User Engagement
50:10 Affiliate Programs and Partnerships
58:15 Impact of iOS 14.5 on Business
59:15 Navigating Financial Challenges
01:00:51 Finding the Right Marketing Agency
01:02:24 Building Custom Data Trackers
01:03:20 Feedback and Adaptability
01:07:10 Founding Story and Early Challenges
01:15:16 Email Marketing Strategies
01:21:20 Final Thoughts and Advice for Entrepreneurs
The Edward Show. Your daily digital marketing podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#entrepreneurship #indiehackers #digitalmarketing