Montana Diaries Creative Business Blog
creative business resources, Shownotes, extra media, and links from the pod!
Building a brand that has NO competition ft. Eden Strader!
Eden Strader is a six figure photographer turned business coach who inspires creative entrepreneurs, artists, and makers to build a life of artistic growth, wealth, and personal power with carefully curated strategies in marketing, mindset, sales strategy, and self care through excavating her client's unique brand of magic. Everything Eden Strader is based on the concept that we should be building our dream businesses in order to have our dream lives - not stopping at the business as the final destination.
calling all photographers!
join me for my FREE masterclass: HOW TO UPLEVEL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS USING VIDEO
EVERYTHING you need to know about integrating video into your photography biz without buying new equipment, getting super techy, or wasting your precious time!
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…
1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy
2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment
3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!
HOW TO BUILD A BRAND THAT HAS NO COMPETITION
psssttt…
join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!
MEET EDEN STRADER
Eden Strader is a six figure photographer turned business coach who inspires creative entrepreneurs, artists, and makers to build a life of artistic growth, wealth, and personal power with carefully curated strategies in marketing, mindset, sales strategy, and self care through excavating her client's unique brand of magic. Everything Eden Strader is based on the concept that we should be building our dream businesses in order to have our dream lives - not stopping at the business as the final destination.
Build a brand that has NO competition!
Welcomeeee back to the pod — I’m so stoked to present this conversation with the lovely Eden Strader. Eden and I align so much on our values in business, it’s honestly insane. We both believe in building businesses that enable your dream LIFE. In this candid conversation, we chatted all about the evolution Eden’s business + brand andddd how she found her voice in the industry AND her life. This is a MUST listen.
A chat w/ Eden Strader:
We chat about Eden’s progression from good-girl mormon/Utah wifey to openly queer NYC badass creative
Finding your unique voice
Showing up online + being polarizing
Vanity metrics vs. bookings
Soooo much in between.
hey, photog friend!
If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!
Dropping the "D" word in 2023 ft. DEI Expert Meshayla Cox!
“I am a proud black woman born and raised in southern California and molded in Montana. I have fiercely advocated racial equity in Montana for nearly a decade. During this time, I have educated and impacted over 1,700 people in the public and private sectors - from philanthropy & technology to conservation. I regularly deliver workshops and trainings on racism, equity, DEI, and organizational transformation nationwide—including as a TEDx speaker.”
calling all photographers!
join me for my FREE masterclass: HOW TO UPLEVEL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS USING VIDEO
EVERYTHING you need to know about integrating video into your photography biz without buying new equipment, getting super techy, or wasting your precious time!
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…
1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy
2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment
3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION W/ MESHAYLA COX!
psssttt…
join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!
MEET MESHAYLA COX
“I am a proud black woman born and raised in southern California and molded in Montana. I have fiercely advocated racial equity in Montana for nearly a decade. During this time, I have educated and impacted over 1,700 people in the public and private sectors - from philanthropy & technology to conservation. I regularly deliver workshops and trainings on racism, equity, DEI, and organizational transformation nationwide—including as a TEDx speaker.”
Dropping the "D" word in 2023 ft. DEI Expert Meshayla Cox!
I’m so honored to have the Bozeman-based owner of CoEquity Consulting on the pod! Meshayla is your “co-conspirator in your personal and professional anti-racist transformation.” Her firm CoEquity aims to create a society where racially marginalized people are empowered and valued for their inherent dignity. In this conversation, we chat about the word “diversity,” shifting to “equity,” our personal hang ups around money and legacy, community, and sooo much more. Meshayla is truly one of the most thoughtful women I know, and I KNOW you’ll get as much out of this conversation as I did. Be sure to check out CoEquity Consulting and follow along on Instagram.
hey, photog friend!
If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!
A copywriter's take on business, branding, and collaboration ft. Sydney Ludden
A copywriter's take on business, branding, and collaboration ft. Sydney Ludden
calling all photogs + videographers for a free online class — INSIDE LOOK: Our exact strategy for year-round elopement and destination wedding bookings
EVERYTHING you need to know to get fully booked year round by diversifying your portfolio, up leveling your customer experience, networking with purpose, and building a business that supports your dream life
HERE’S JUST SOME OF WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS FREE CLASS:
Booking high ticket ($10,000+) destination weddings and elopements (yes, even during a recession)
Portfolio building w/ purpose: how to build a portfolio that helps you book dream weddings
Nurturing vendor relationships, collaborating, and growing w/ your community
Getting the max return on investments in your business: making the most of every dollar you spend to grow your biz
A copywriter's take on business, branding, and collaboration ft. Sydney Ludden
psssttt…
join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!
MEET SYDNEY LUDDEN!
“I’m a corporate dropout and former brand director with over a decade of experience working in social media, public relations, brand management, and advertising. In 2019, I started my own creative company, Back Label Branding, to help women entrepreneurs launch and scale their marketing efforts. Because of my background, I bring a holistic approach to the picture and love offering advice on marketing strategy. As a copywriter and content creator, I often find myself collaborating with other creatives and it's something I'm deeply passionate about. This is what ultimately led me to also co-found Alinea Collective, a full-service branding agency built on the value of collaboration.”
A chat w/ Sydney Ludden
Hellooooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so stoked you’re here as always — today’s episode is features a chat with Sydney Ludden. Sydney is a copywriter and the owner of Backlabel Branding, as well as the co-founder of Alinea Collective. Be sure to let us know what you think of the pod, and scroll down to get allll of the links discussed in this episode!
hey, photog friend!
If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!
LAZY MARKETING 101 ft. SEO blogging expert Danielle Johnson!
LAZY MARKETING 101 w/ SEO BLOGGING EXPERT DANIELLE JOHNSON: Learn how to blog with SEO in mind in a way that feels doable, approachable, and empowering using Danielle’s tried & tested strategies! Set yourself up so that your website is bringing you new leads + new money behind the scenes without you even touching it.
calling all photographers!
join me for my FREE masterclass: HOW TO UPLEVEL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS USING VIDEO
EVERYTHING you need to know about integrating video into your photography biz without buying new equipment, getting super techy, or wasting your precious time!
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…
1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy
2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment
3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!
Live with danielle johnson: ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT BLOGGING AND SEO + DOIN’ IT THE LAZY WAY
psssttt…
join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!
MEET DANIELLE JOHNSON
“I'm a wedding photographer turned creative copywriter, specializing in SEO-optimized blogging for small businesses! Most businesses put blogging on the bottom of their to-do list (if it even makes the cut) because there’s a huge misconception that it’s outdated, or simply because it can be incredibly overwhelming at first. But, not blogging (or blogging without strategy) is costing you a lot of potential customers and company awareness. I write copy & craft SEO-optimized, strategically-planned-out blog posts for small businesses who are finally ready to trust their blogs in the hands of an expert. I also teach entrepreneurs how to blog for themselves & their businesses in a way that gets them results (AKA gets them onto page 1 of Google)!”
LAZY MARKETING 101 w/ SEO BLOGGING EXPERT DANIELLE JOHNSON
Welcome to the very first LIVE episode of the Montana Diaries podcast! SEO blogging expert Danielle Johnson came back to the pod to field questions LIVE — this was SUCH a fun format, and I would love to do it in the future with other guests to give you a chance to ask our guests questions related to their expertise in real time!
This episode was dedicated to what Danielle calls LAZY MARKETING! Learn how to blog with SEO in mind in a way that feels doable, approachable, and empowering using Danielle’s tried & tested strategies! Set yourself up so that your website is bringing you new leads + new money behind the scenes without you even touching it.
Danielle now offers blogging templates in her shop and she was kind enough to give Montana Diaries listeners a discount code! Head over to defycreativeco.com to check out the services and shop her offers, and use code MONTANADIARIES at checkout. I got early access to a few of the templates and they’re golddddd — not even kidding, it saved me hours of time to use Danielle’s template instead of fumbling around on my own. This girl knows her shit.
A chat w/ Danielle Johnson, founder of Defy Creative Co.
Danielle explains SEO + “keywords” like I’m five!
How + WHY to half-ass your blog content
Making the GOOGLE GODS happy
Why blogging is the LAZY way to market (spoiler alert: IG + TikTok are wayyyy more work)
I reveal to Danielle that my top lead source this year is GOOGLE thanks to her!
Danielle ended the episode by fielding REAL blogging + SEO questions from listeners!
hey, photog friend!
If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!
JOIN DANIELLE’S BLOGGING BOOTCAMP w/ CODE “SHAYNA”
FREEBIE: 50 Free Blog Post Ideas!
FREEBIE: SEO Anatomy of a Post!
GET 20% OFF DEFY CREATIVE TEMPLATES w/ CODE “MONTANADIARIES”
FREE Starter Guide for Photographers Ready to Learn Videography
FREE Premiere Pro Editing Guide for Beginners!
The fastest way to grow an elopement photography and videography business in 2023
The fastest way to grow an elopement photography and videography business in 2023
Hellooooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so stoked you’re here as always — today’s episode is features a chat with my dear friend Devin of Backcountry Bohemians. Devin and I are obsessed w/ what we do andddd we’re hosting a content retreat in New Mexico this June! In this conversation, we go over the obstacles that are holding our fellow elopement photographers + videographers back from growing their businesses and finding the sucess they so desperately want…and that we want for them!
calling all photogs + videographers for a free online class — INSIDE LOOK: Our exact strategy for year-round elopement and destination wedding bookings
EVERYTHING you need to know to get fully booked year round by diversifying your portfolio, up leveling your customer experience, networking with purpose, and building a business that supports your dream life
Join Devin + Shay Thursday April 20th at 8PM Mountain / 7PM Pacific to blow upppp your elopement photography/videography business.
HERE’S JUST SOME OF WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS FREE CLASS:
Booking high ticket ($10,000+) destination weddings and elopements (yes, even during a recession)
Portfolio building w/ purpose: how to build a portfolio that helps you book dream weddings
Nurturing vendor relationships, collaborating, and growing w/ your community
Getting the max return on investments in your business: making the most of every dollar you spend to grow your biz
The fastest way to grow an elopement photography and videography business in 2023
psssttt…
join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!
TWO FULL TIME ELOPEMENT PHOTOGRAPHERS/VIDEOGRAPHERS GET REAL
In this episode of the Montana Diaries Podcast, I chat with Devin allll about investing in growing our businesses, money fears, client experience, values, and finding community.
The fastest way to grow an elopement photography and videography business in 2023
Hellooooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so stoked you’re here as always — today’s episode is features a chat with my dear friend Devin of Backcountry Bohemians. Devin and I are obsessed w/ what we do andddd we’re hosting a content retreat in New Mexico this June! In this conversation, we go over the obstacles that are holding our fellow elopement photographers + videographers back from growing their businesses and finding the sucess they so desperately want…and that we want for them!
Andddd we want to continue this conversation in our free class, and in our New Mexico content retreat! I hope to see you at both!
hey, photog friend!
If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!
Perfectionism is literally ruining your life and business lol
2023 Content Marketing Strategy for Creative Business — Hellooooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so stoked you’re here as always — today’s episode is on literally my favoirte topic in the universe when it comes to creative business, which is creative business content creation strategy— I really just want to dive deeepppp on content in 2023, and I want to go hard on quantity and on service, so truly helping people on the photo/video side of my business and the business education side — I am such a huge believer in content marketing and I think brands will win when they go hard on content — can you tell I’m deep into Gary V’s universe!? I’m so bought in though, and if I can get you to buy in just a little I really really really think we can majorly impact the success of your business.
calling all photographers!
join me for my FREE masterclass: HOW TO UPLEVEL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS USING VIDEO
EVERYTHING you need to know about integrating video into your photography biz without buying new equipment, getting super techy, or wasting your precious time!
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…
1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy
2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment
3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!
PERFECTIONISM: TASTE VS. TALENT, PROCRASTINATION AND FEAR, MESSY ACTION, AND MORE!
psssttt…
join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!
PERFECTIONISM IS LITERALLY RUINING YOUR LIFE LOL
In this episode of the Montana Diaries Podcast, I share multiple stories revolving around perfectionism in creativity and business, why I’m so passionate about “messy action,” and other creatives’ perspectives on perfection.
Perfectionism is literally ruining your life lol
Hellooooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so stoked you’re here as always — today’s episode is centered around one core principle that I know in my bones is true and I hope you can internalize: perfectionism will literally ruin your life and business. Fun!
A CONVERSATION ON PERFECTION:
Real stories from my life + business centering on perfection
Taste vs. Talent
Ira Glass on “The Gap”
Messy action
Liz Gilbert: “Done is better than good.”
Okay, friends, that’s really what I have for you for this episode — I really really really hope you’ll leave this episode with a new perspective on perfectionism and you’ll, like…knock it off and just take some sort of messy action today, just make something, literally anything.
hey, photog friend!
If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!
In-Depth Q/A Business Coaching Call w/ Videographer Alexandra
Alex is a beautiful soul + a new videographer on the scene — she attended my very first content day last fall and she’s always had the most thoughtful questions on business, client relations, and creativity, so I knew she’d be the PERFECT first live coaching call on the Montana Diaries podcast. Alexandra serves the Missoula, MT area + beyond and you can follow along with her work + business journey at the links below!
calling all photographers!
join me for my FREE masterclass: HOW TO UPLEVEL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS USING VIDEO
EVERYTHING you need to know about integrating video into your photography biz without buying new equipment, getting super techy, or wasting your precious time!
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…
1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy
2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment
3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!
LIVE COACHING CALL w/ ALEXANDRA: ACTION ITEMS TO DO EACH DAY/FIGURING OUT A SCHEDULE, WHAT TO DO IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF BUSINESS, OVERCOMING PERFECTIONISM AND EGO, WORKING FOR FREE, AND SO MUCH MORE
psssttt…
join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!
MEET ALEXANDRA DONALDSON
Alex is a beautiful soul + a new videographer on the scene — she attended my very first content day last fall and she’s always had the most thoughtful questions on business, client relations, and creativity, so I knew she’d be the PERFECT first live coaching call on the Montana Diaries podcast. Alexandra serves the Missoula, MT area + beyond and you can follow along with her work + business journey at the links below!
In-Depth Q/A Business Coaching Call w/ Videographer Alexandra
Helloooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries Podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so stoked you’re here today because we have my very first live coaching call on the podcast with a really beautiful soul + up and coming videographer Alexandra Donaldson. Alex attended my very first content day last fall and she’s always had the most thoughtful questions on business, client relations, and creativity, so I knew she’d be the PERFECT first live coaching call on the Montana Diaries podcast. Alexandra serves the Missoula, MT area + beyond and it’s been such a pleasure to follow her growth as an artist and business owner so far, I know there’s so many amazing things coming her way because honestly this girl just works her ass off and implements like no other.
If you listen to this episode and you love it then apply to be on an episode like this yourself to ask alllll of your burning creative biz questions — just DM me at @shayna_lloyd or email me at shayna@montanadiaries.com to apply
APPLY FOR 1x1 COACHING WITH SHAY: montanadiaries.com/coaching to apply; My coaching clients can expect personalized PDFs recapping what we go over in our calls after each session, complete with super specific, actionable homework to help you get closer to your goals. I’m a business coach for action takers — no over-researching or learning as a form of procrastination. If that sounds like your thing, then go to montanadiaries.com/coaching
Alsoooo if you want to get on the wait list to be the first to know about my in-person education and content days, aka how I met Alex, then info on that can be found at montanadiaries.com/content-days — Everyone who signs up to that list also gets a free educational PDF called Portfolio Building with Purpose…anndddd, ya know, it’s exactly what it sounds like. I teach you how to build your portfolio with strategy in mind.
AN-DEPTH Q/A W/ AN UP-AND-COMING VIDEOGRAPHER
ACTION ITEMS TO DO EACH DAY/FIGURING OUT A SCHEDULE
WHAT TO DO IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF BUSINESS
OVERCOMING PERFECTIONISM AND EGO
WORKING FOR FREE
WHAT DOES “IDEAL CLIENT” EVEN MEAN??
Anndddd that was a live Q/A with videographer Alexandra Donaldson— how amazing is she!? I really do love how thoughtful and intentional this woman is, and I encourage you to go give her a follow on IG to follow along with her business journey. I expect great things from her! Remember to email me to be on a live coaching episode, applying for real intensive 1x1 business coaching with me complete with actionable homework, getting on board with an in-person education event, you know…all the things. Links are below!
hey, photog friend!
If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!
2023 Content Marketing Strategy for Creative Business
2023 Content Marketing Strategy for Creative Business — Hellooooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so stoked you’re here as always — today’s episode is on literally my favoirte topic in the universe when it comes to creative business, which is creative business content creation strategy— I really just want to dive deeepppp on content in 2023, and I want to go hard on quantity and on service, so truly helping people on the photo/video side of my business and the business education side — I am such a huge believer in content marketing and I think brands will win when they go hard on content — can you tell I’m deep into Gary V’s universe!? I’m so bought in though, and if I can get you to buy in just a little I really really really think we can majorly impact the success of your business.
calling all photographers!
join me for my FREE masterclass: HOW TO UPLEVEL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS USING VIDEO
EVERYTHING you need to know about integrating video into your photography biz without buying new equipment, getting super techy, or wasting your precious time!
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…
1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy
2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment
3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!
2023 CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY FOR CREATIVE BUSINESS: Defining your marketing goals, crafting consistent value-packed long form content, focusing on quantity for short form content
psssttt…
join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!
2023 Content Marketing Strategy for Creative Business
Hellooooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so stoked you’re here as always — today’s episode is on literally my favoirte topic in the universe when it comes to creative business, which is creative business content creation strategy— I really just want to dive deeepppp on content in 2023, and I want to go hard on quantity and on service, so truly helping people on the photo/video side of my business and the business education side — I am such a huge believer in content marketing and I think brands will win when they go hard on content — can you tell I’m deep into Gary V’s universe!? I’m so bought in though, and if I can get you to buy in just a little I really really really think we can majorly impact the success of your business.
DON’T FORGET TO SNAG THE FREE PDF GUIDE THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE!
CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY FOR CREATIVE BUSINESS
CREATIVE BUSINESS CONTENT CREATION
What is your goal? What do you ultimately want people to buy/do?
How can you serve your audience related to what you want them to buy/do? What questions do they have? What problems? What do they need to know?
Craft 1 piece of long form content each week related to the above
Break it up into a tonnnn of content for short-term marketing platforms like IG, TikTok, etc.
Email bby
Download the guide above to follow along with the episode!
hey, photog friend!
If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!
Turning a cancer diagnosis into a hero's journey to health w/ Erin Soto
Erin Soto’s entire life came to a crashing halt when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Colon cancer in 2019. Everything was uprooted; not just her identity but her entire life. Upon receiving her life-changing diagnosis and throughout her treatment and recovery, Erin dedicated herself to making meaningful and sustainable changes to improve her physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Now cancer-free and with her personal experiences in hand, she is committed to helping others take charge of their health. Her book, The Mother of All Fights, is endorsed by Gina Kirschenheiter, TV Personality of Real Housewives of Orange County. Erin has been featured in Thrive Global, The Brave Enough Show, It's Time for Coffee, and The Direct Dish.
calling all photographers!
join me for my FREE masterclass: HOW TO UPLEVEL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS USING VIDEO
EVERYTHING you need to know about integrating video into your photography biz without buying new equipment, getting super techy, or wasting your precious time!
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…
1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy
2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment
3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!
ERIN SOTO: NAVIGATING A CANCER DIAGNOSIS, RE-PRIORITIZING HEALTH FOR HERSELF AND HER FAMILY, FINDING PURPOSE IN EDUCATING OTHERS + FACILITATING COMMUNITY
psssttt…
join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!
MEET ERIN SOTO
Erin Soto’s entire life came to a crashing halt when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Colon cancer in 2019. Everything was uprooted; not just her identity but her entire life. Upon receiving her life-changing diagnosis and throughout her treatment and recovery, Erin dedicated herself to making meaningful and sustainable changes to improve her physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Now cancer-free and with her personal experiences in hand, she is committed to helping others take charge of their health. Her book, The Mother of All Fights, is endorsed by Gina Kirschenheiter, TV Personality of Real Housewives of Orange County. Erin has been featured in Thrive Global, The Brave Enough Show, It's Time for Coffee, and The Direct Dish.
ERIN SOTO
Helloooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries Podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so stoked you’re here today because we have the lovely Erin Soto joining us to chat all about her journey to health — from her stage 3 cancer diagnosis to research on cancer and chronic illness prevention to remission to today, where she supports others through their own health journeys in really beautifully supportive way that honors community and emotional health and creativity — as well as nutrition + health practices guided by science. Erin is a beautiful soul and is so ridiculously intelligent, I know you will get a ton out of this conversation, and if you make it to the end she is super generous with her gifts to you as a member of my audience and I’m so grateful. (Linked below under resources!!)
A chat w/ Erin Soto, author of “The Mother of All Fights”
Erin describes how her life “came to a halt” when she found out she had stage 3 colon cancer — she says it was a wake up call to take care of herself, prioritize her health, and value her life
50% of cancer deaths are caused by lifestyle habits — Erin has committed herself to teaching others how to reduce their risks of chronic illness
Erin Soto’s book “The Mother of All Fights” is an Amazon bestseller detailing her journey through her cancer diagnosis.
We chat about Erin’s grieving process and how she navigated through imagining the worst case scenarios.
From isolation to finding community + leaning on loved ones
Erin’s relationship with toxic positivity
Anndddd that was Erin Soto — how amazing is she!? My favorite part of the episode is when Erin was talking about her nurse’s point of view on mindset, how those who have a positive outlook tend to fair better and go into remission….I actually wanted to tell you that I just listened to an episode of Amy Porterfield’s podcast on this exact thing and it pairs with my conversation with Erin super well. It’s titled Science-Backed Data On How Thoughts Influence Your Success and features Michael Hyatt, who just had a heart attack last fall and talked through that experience. I’d really love to hear your thoughts on this topic — head over to the Montana Diaries Podcast Facebook group and write a post to continue this discussion, or just introduce yourself over there. And if you loved this episode then please share it to your IG story and tag me at shayna_lloyd so I can say thank you! Don’t forget to leave your honest review on the Apple Podcasts app — it helps us get more amazing guests like Erin and I’ll give you a shout out on a future episode. Don’t forget that Erin left you a discount code and a free copy of her book in the shownotes that go along with this episode! I’ll catch ya next time, thank you as always for your time and attention! Byeeeee.
hey, photog friend!
If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!
Tracking the health of your creative business in 2023
Tracking the health of your creative business in 2023: A biz + life update from Shay, all about process oriented vs. product oriented tasks, KPIs, and more!
calling all photographers!
join me for my FREE masterclass: HOW TO UPLEVEL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS USING VIDEO
EVERYTHING you need to know about integrating video into your photography biz without buying new equipment, getting super techy, or wasting your precious time!
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…
1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy
2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment
3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!
Tracking the health of your creative business in 2023: A biz + life update from Shay, all about process oriented vs. product oriented tasks, KPIs, and more!
psssttt…
join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!
TRACKING THE HEALTH OF YOUR CREATIVE BUSINESS IN 2023
I’m so stoked to present this episode allllll about tracking the health of your creative business in 2023 — join me as I pull back the curtain on my life + business in 2022, my big plans for 2023, how I plan to track all of my goals, and how YOU can implement a strategy for doing the same in a way that aligns with your unique business.
BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE GUIDE THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE:
TRACKING THE HEALTH OF YOUR CREATIVE BUSINESS
TRACKING THE HEALTH OF YOUR CREATIVE BIZ:
I get v personal w/ pulling back the curtain of my life + biz in 2022
Process oriented vs. Product oriented
KPIs — Key Performance Indicators
Don’t forget to snag the free guide above and follow along!
hey, photog friend!
If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!
TikTok Queenie Kelly LaVallie on aging, beauty, communication, and business!
In her day job, Kelly LaVallie, CPA helps women navigate the financial implications of divorce from understanding the family finances to negotiating and structuring the financial settlement. In her book, Untying the Knot, Kelly shows you how to manage your thoughts and feelings so you can untangle your finances with a clear head and calm heart. Kelly also brings her professional and personal experience to her candid sharing about life, from money to fitness, to aging on her social media platform.
calling all photographers!
join me for my FREE masterclass: HOW TO UPLEVEL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS USING VIDEO
EVERYTHING you need to know about integrating video into your photography biz without buying new equipment, getting super techy, or wasting your precious time!
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…
1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy
2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment
3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!
TikTok Queenie Kelly LaVallie on aging, beauty, communication, and business!
psssttt…
join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!
MEET KELLY LAVALLIE
In her day job, Kelly LaVallie, CPA helps women navigate the financial implications of divorce from understanding the family finances to negotiating and structuring the financial settlement. In her book, Untying the Knot, Kelly shows you how to manage your thoughts and feelings so you can untangle your finances with a clear head and calm heart. Kelly also brings her professional and personal experience to her candid sharing about life, from money to fitness, to aging on her social media platform.
KELLY LAVALLIE
Welcome to my life coaching session w/ TikTok sensation Kelly LaVallie haha! We riff on this a bit at the beginning of the pod, but I seriously just reached out to Kelly and told her I could really use a conversation with her and she graciously accepted. Kelly is exceptionally wise, funny, and beautiful -- all of this is just to say that I appreciate her perspective on life and I figured you would too! I hope you love listening to this episode as much as I loved recording it.
A chat w/ Kelly LaVallie, CPA + TikTok Creator
I don’t even know how to introduce today’s conversation with Kelly Lavallie except to say that I deeply admire her eloquence, perspective on life, and her grace, intention, and consistency around content creation — I found her on TiKTok and I just wanted to TALK to her, plain and simple, and I also wanted you to hear what she has to say on vitality, aging, beauty, communication, and her career. Here’s what we covered:
Kelly speaks to her philosophy on saying YES
Aging as a woman: the exterior package, mindset, and attention from men!
How to not be an “old fucker”
Judgement vs. Discernment
Being a CPA specializing in divorce
hey, photog friend!
If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!
SEO Blogging for Creative Business in 2023 w/ Danielle Johnson
DANIELLE JOHNSON
Helloooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries Podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so freaking stoked you’re here because on today’s episode we have the incredibllleeee Danielle Johnson, a blogging + SEO queenie who basically gave us a freaking masterclass during this podcast episode. Danielle is a wedding photographer turned blogging expert for creative business owners — she calls herself the “solution to your ‘shit, i should really work on my blogging’ problem” and that’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. She’s magic. This might be my favorite episode of the pod…ever? I’m not kidding, it completely embodied everything I ever wanted for this podcast haha — I feel like I put Danielle through the ringer, but she was so game — it was a trojan horse of “come talk about blogging and SEO!” except, more like, “unpack your self growth journey and purity culture trauma and then also give me a 40 minute personalized business coaching session.” Ha!! All kidding aside, Danielle BROUGHT IT with the tangible step-by-step instructions on the anatomy of an SEO-friendly blog post and every. single. creative. business. owner. NEEDS. THIS. EPISODE!
calling all photographers!
join me for my FREE masterclass: HOW TO UPLEVEL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS USING VIDEO
EVERYTHING you need to know about integrating video into your photography biz without buying new equipment, getting super techy, or wasting your precious time!
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…
1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy
2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment
3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!
DANIELLE JOHNSON: Growing a business in your twenties, navigating transitional periods in life and business, letting go of purity culture, blogging + SEO, and so much moreeeee (It’s the bat-shit business girl chat of my dreams)
psssttt…
join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!
MEET DANIELLE JOHNSON
“I'm a wedding photographer turned creative copywriter, specializing in SEO-optimized blogging for small businesses! Most businesses put blogging on the bottom of their to-do list (if it even makes the cut) because there’s a huge misconception that it’s outdated, or simply because it can be incredibly overwhelming at first. But, not blogging (or blogging without strategy) is costing you a lot of potential customers and company awareness. I write copy & craft SEO-optimized, strategically-planned-out blog posts for small businesses who are finally ready to trust their blogs in the hands of an expert. I also teach entrepreneurs how to blog for themselves & their businesses in a way that gets them results (AKA gets them onto page 1 of Google)!”
DANIELLE JOHNSON
Helloooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries Podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so freaking stoked you’re here because on today’s episode we have the incredibllleeee Danielle Johnson, a blogging + SEO queenie who basically gave us a freaking masterclass during this podcast episode. Danielle is a wedding photographer turned blogging expert for creative business owners — she calls herself the “solution to your ‘shit, i should really work on my blogging’ problem” and that’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. She’s magic. This might be my favorite episode of the pod…ever? I’m not kidding, it completely embodied everything I ever wanted for this podcast haha — I feel like I put Danielle through the ringer, but she was so game — it was a trojan horse of “come talk about blogging and SEO!” except, more like, “unpack your self growth journey and purity culture trauma and then also give me a 40 minute personalized business coaching session.” Ha!! All kidding aside, Danielle BROUGHT IT with the tangible step-by-step instructions on the anatomy of an SEO-friendly blog post and every. single. creative. business. owner. NEEDS. THIS. EPISODE!
I also want to tell you at the top here that Danielle now offers blogging templates in her shop and she was kind enough to give Montana Diaries listeners a discount code! Head over to defycreativeco.com to check out the services and shop her offers, and use code MONTANADIARIES at checkout. The link is also in the shownotes if you want to come back to it later. I got early access to a few of the templates and they’re golddddd — not even kidding, it saved me hours of time to use Danielle’s template instead of fumbling around on my own. This girl knows her shit. I’m going to be the goober using my own discount code to buy all of them this winter, not going to lie. Okey that’s enough me time for now, let’s get into the episode.
A chat w/ Danielle Johnson, founder of Defy Creative Co.
BTS of why Danielle calls herself a “proud college dropout”
Transitioning from being a wedding photographer to a general virtual assistant, before niching down to blogging
We talk alllll about the insecurity that comes with outsourcing, and how that tied together with Danielle’s own personal self-growth journey navigating her early twenties in her personal life and business
I interrupt Danielle a lot because I get too excited about deconstructing our childhood and beliefs lmao sorry Danielle but good job giving it back to me
We end the chat with an obnoxious 40 minute personal business coaching session that’s legitimate golddddd and every creative business owner should honestly have to pay Danielle to listen to it — if you want to DIY what people pay Danielle a lot of money for then she literally tells you how
Anndddd that was Danielle Johnson — isn’t she the absolute best? I know I always share one key takeaway after these interviews, but there are so many things sticking with me from this conversation even a couple weeks later. Some things present-day-Shay has been mulling over: the transitional periods we go through in our twenties as we come into ourselves, and how that is reflected in our personal brands and businesses…I think a lot about what it takes to change a mind and how a lot of the time that’s viewed as a weakness, but I never want to lose the ability to do so. I think Danielle is so good at respecting her present self and the mindset changes she’s going through naturally as a young woman, and in doing so she also puts a lot of trust and respect into her audience by allowing them to go along with her during her pivots and changes. I also can’t stop thinking about the integrity behind doing so well for your clients that they don’t need you anymore — as my business evolves into selling more educational resources, I reallllyyyyy think about this a lot. Finally, I just really believe in the longevity of blogging and SEO and while it isn’t crazy sexy, it's vitalllll for creative business. I’m so stoked that Danielle has options at every price point now, so if you want templates on the cheap for more of a DIY style experience then head over to defycreativeco.com and use code MONTANADIARIES at checkout to make the templates even more stupid cheap than they already are, or if you’re a bit further along in business then I would honestly highly highly highly recommend hiring Danielle for her done-for-you service. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topics we discussed here— head over to the Montana Diaries Podcast Facebook group and write a post to continue this discussion, or just introduce yourself over there. Don’t forget to leave your honest review on the Apple Podcasts app — it helps us get more amazing guests like Danielle and I’ll give you a shout out on a future episode. Please go create something today, friends, and I’ll catch ya in the next episode.
hey, photog friend!
If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!