5 Ways to Boost Bookings
Welcome back! Today I am writing this in January, (January 3rd to be precise!) and generally, for us makeup artists, January-March can be a bit of a slower time. It’s during this time I see a lot of scarcity creep in. I get a lot of messages about how to boost bookings, or worrying about money and things like that. So I thought today, I would do a post on how you can boost those numbers, in 5 little hacks!
1) Create Scarcity.
A lot of people feel icky with this one - but I’m telling you, it doesn’t have to be. Once upon a time, I was obsessed with buying the latest MAC collections. Every single one, I would rush to my local MAC store and queue up in order to get the blusher with special packaging, or the super limited highlighter. Why? Because they were LIMITED. When something is limited or scarce, it makes it more desirable. It makes you want it more. And this is the same for bookings. If your client knows you are in demand, or that the dates will go, or the product will sell out - that desire, that need for it, increases. So how can you put this into practise? Shout about your bookings. Shout about your availability. Have your email list in the know, have a waitlist. Make it desirable. Remember, you have the power to do this. And it doesn’t have to be false. You don’t have to be saying there are only 3 spots available when there are really 10. But you can shout about the bookings you have, the dates you already have booked. This will increase, that need, desire and make you seem and feel, in demand.
2) Learn to Sell.
Another thing makeup artists and in general, freelancers feel icky about - is selling. But here’s the thing. Learning to sell, is one of THE most important skills you can have for success in your business. Being unapologetic about your service, knowing by selling it - you are doing good in the world, you are providing something worth selling - THIS is why you need to learn to sell. The thing with selling, is you are aligning with those who need your service, and un-aligning with those who don’t. Being able to sell, is sometimes the simple difference between fully booked and not. Being able to sell is often the difference between 30k and 100k. Try to learn to be comfortable with what you offer. Really know in your soul what you bring to the table. And scream about it.
3) Be your own Cheerleader.
This one ties a lot into the above, but being able to sell and being your biggest hypewoman - they go hand in hand. You need to back yourself. You need to be able to unattach the emotion from business. By doing this, you will unapologetically show up. You will post the amazing reviews, the limited availability. You will evolve, adapt and overall you will win. Back yourself, before anyone else does. You can always rely on you.
4) Go online.
Makeup can be a bit of a dinosaur. By this I mean, I still see paper calendars, paper diaries. I still see manual booking in. I still see old school ways of running your business when we need to evolve and innovate, if we want our business to last and thrive. One of the ways of doing this, is going online. Accepting online bookings. Nowadays people want to book in at the push of a button. They don’t want to call, they don’t want to DM and sometimes, they don’t even want to email. They just want to book in, because we are busy and if Covid taught us anything, it’s how to rely on our phones and the internet. If your ideal client is one of these people, you need to innovate your business. take online bookings, get a mobile friendly site and generally update your booking practices.
5) Improve your SEO.
SEO is how people find you online and this is very, very, important. If you are on TikTok, Instagram, or Google - you need visability in order to be booked. SEO should be a part of your weekly routine, it should most definitely be a high priority. SEO can’t be changed overnight unfortunately. But by working on it now, slowly you will start to reap the rewards of it, and future you will thank you. Start collecting reviews and dedicating even just 30mins a week to cleaning up your SEO. By making yourself more visibile on these platforms, you will have more eyes on your work!