Nothing is working

[JustStef2016]

Hello this isn’t a negative post just looking for support if that’s okay please . I started my training as a Mua & beauty level 2 therapist in 2015 finished 2016. During the time I of course practiced a lot and after the course . I fell ill in pregnancy 2016 it was difficult for me to do clients /friends family and I did the best I could . In 2017 my illness came to head and I had to have my gallbladder out and had it out 2018 jan. after this experience and my child being older I wanted to make a go at trying to be the best I can . I managed to get a part time job in a salon and still there now . Last summer I made my Facebook page and kept updating my Instagram . I did a photo shoot , put a post out for models and created a website . I have joined a networking group , donated to raffles , done pampering evenings in schools , done fairs and events and joined Facebook directories . None of this helped to grow my business I know it takes time . I also paid a business consultant to help with my business but that has just become a expensive mistake . In terms of advertising /marketing I have tried the following raffles , fairs , pamper evenings , buying and selling sites , networking , Facebook directories , yell, hitched , star now , Facebook page , Instagram , putting price lists in shops , on supermarket boards . I do sometimes get enquires but nothing happens with them . I am out of ideas and have looked through ways to promote your business for ideas . I am out on hope , ideas , faith , patience and it has affected my health to the point that I am depressed . Not sure where I can go from here I feel like nothing is working maybe I am just no good . Sorry for the post being long

 

[aliceemily]

Hi have you done work on your website SEO to make sure you're being found in your area when people are searching for services you offer? Might also be worth doing a social media competition where people enter by sharing your page and commenting on a post, this would build your audience up.

 

[JustStef2016]

Thank you for your reply . I have done maybe one competition but I need to do another . I looked into the seo but it was going to cost about £500 a month to increase . Someone said I need to be more visible online go on more free websites .

 

[BannerPenguin]

Thank you for your reply . I have done maybe one competition but I need to do another . I looked into the seo but it was going to cost about £500 a month to increase . Someone said I need to be more visible online go on more free websites .

What’s your website? I might be able to offer some tips.

 

[RD Beauty]

Thank you for your reply . I have done maybe one competition but I need to do another . I looked into the seo but it was going to cost about £500 a month to increase . Someone said I need to be more visible online go on more free websites .

Try googling free Seo some sites let you post you website link for free and let you know the errors and how to fix them.

 

[Semt]

Hello this isn’t a negative post just looking for support if that’s okay please . I started my training as a Mua & beauty level 2 therapist in 2015 finished 2016. During the time I of course practiced a lot and after the course . I fell ill in pregnancy 2016 it was difficult for me to do clients /friends family and I did the best I could . In 2017 my illness came to head and I had to have my gallbladder out and had it out 2018 jan. after this experience and my child being older I wanted to make a go at trying to be the best I can . I managed to get a part time job in a salon and still there now . Last summer I made my Facebook page and kept updating my Instagram . I did a photo shoot , put a post out for models and created a website . I have joined a networking group , donated to raffles , done pampering evenings in schools , done fairs and events and joined Facebook directories . None of this helped to grow my business I know it takes time . I also paid a business consultant to help with my business but that has just become a expensive mistake . In terms of advertising /marketing I have tried the following raffles , fairs , pamper evenings , buying and selling sites , networking , Facebook directories , yell, hitched , star now , Facebook page , Instagram , putting price lists in shops , on supermarket boards . I do sometimes get enquires but nothing happens with them . I am out of ideas and have looked through ways to promote your business for ideas . I am out on hope , ideas , faith , patience and it has affected my health to the point that I am depressed . Not sure where I can go from here I feel like nothing is working maybe I am just no good . Sorry for the post being long

What’s your Facebook & Instagram page? I can look at content & give you some advice. I built 2 salons from scratch with social media so have some ideas

 

[JustStef2016]

Makeupbystephaniefrances instagram and www.facebook.com/mrsandr thank you so much and well done for your success

 

[JustStef2016]

Try googling free Seo some sites let you post you website link for free and let you know the errors and how to fix them.

Thank you I will take a look at that thank you

 

[JustStef2016]

What’s your website? I might be able to offer some tips.

Thank you www.stephaniefrances.services

 

[BannerPenguin]

Thank you www.stephaniefrances.services

Hi Stef,

Your logo I can't really make out and all the animations are a bit much.
Also, why .services? It's very unusual for users to use these new TLDs and they're likely not to understand it. Especially as the .co.uk is available I'd strongly recommend switching to this.

Can I ask a question... by any chance was this site and/or the business development coach American or international?

 

[Semt]

Makeupbystephaniefrances instagram and www.facebook.com/mrsandr thank you so much and well done for your success

I just had a quick look there.
First thing I notice is your FB banner is bags....I would change it to the best shots of your hair & nails. This is like your shop front window. This pic doesn’t tell me what you do.
The next thing is the about section...make it more concise & about what you can do for your client. Client don’t care about what quals you have etc as much as what you’re going to do for them.
If you do vegan makeup promote this as vegans have a hard time finding a makeup artists & vegan stuff is selling big & becoming more popular right now.
The biggest thing is your photos. You need to work on the way you take them to show off your work as much as you can. A lot of distributors will do day courses in this. Or google some articles on how to take the best images on your phone. Get up closer & find the best angles. Take a pic that makes me stop scrolling like the one on your banner at that trade fair (I know it’s a professional shit but you can take them yourself if you know hoe). Take a scroll through some of your fave pages & compare them to yours.
Social media is image based & 90% of ppl don’t read the post so you gotta make them stop scrolling with a great image. Same with your nail pics. Cross their hands, centre them in the camera frame, clean background, fingers together & don’t cut off the fingers or put words over them, make sure there is good lighting.
See if there are social media courses run in your area. It’s the best & cheapest form of advertising.
Is this a business page? If not, change it to one. It allows you to do an advertising campaign. Only 3% of your followers see your page if you don’t have done form of advert running.
Get the best pic of your work, make the wording simple & run an ad....it can cost as little as £5 & will be the best money you spend. But you gotta have a good image.
Hope this helps a bit.

 

[JustStef2016]

Thank you , I am having this pain in the arse business consultant that is suppose to be designing a banner and doing a photoshoot so I can have better images of my nails . Photography isn’t my strongest point . I think a photography course would help me as I don’t feel my photos give the wow factor . Again I am getting e fliers from this pain in the arse woman so that I can run a Facebook ad. I think what I can do now is research other make up artists and beauty therapists pages then think how I can create something similar . Thank you for your feedback very helpful . Did you look at my Instagram page ? When I update it I can message you again x

 

[Semt]

Yes had a look there & pretty much the same thing. I find ppl book more through Facebook so get that really good first
Yes you can of course, message me when you’ve updated it. You can find some tips on Instagram photography that you can look up & practise in the mean time cos then you won’t have to rely on other (I hate being held ransom waiting for ppl lol)

 

[JustStef2016]

I know me too don’t like relying on others to do stuff for me . I have been putting my work In different albums so it is clearer. I will research formats for other therapists and Muas . Hopefully it will be mainly done next week

 

[nickysnails200]

hey hun have you had a look at the type of make up that other make up artists in your area offer for example where I’m from everyone wants full glam or ‘soft glam’ buy even soft glam is a full coverage foundation Kim k style look. If that’s what clients in your area want advertise for models and do this style of look and get loads of photos and post them regularly. If it’s a different type of look you like to do for example ultra natural take a look at who likes that sort of look mostly older clients and get models in who fit that category. Make sure all your photos are your best work. On instagram use relevant hashtags and always # your area, my biggest pet hate right now is going on social media seeing someone’s work and clicking onto their social media and not knowing where they are based if I can’t see where you work in the first 5 seconds I will not look any further. Look at all the salons in your area on fb,ig and websites and always be thinking would I book them? Why? What do I like about them? Etc and use that. All photos of your work should be clear no messy backgrounds it’s so off putting. If you don’t have any new pictures to post take pictures of your set up etc. Run competitions. When you do pamper events in school do you promote yourself .ie. have pricelists, business cards etc a sign saying people can book appointments directly with you, do you chat away to people when you’re there? Do you dress professionally etc. If you do nails always make sure your nails are eye catching people will stop you and ask about them. I rarely go out without someone stopping me to tell me they love my make up and wanting to know what I used or where I got it done this is the perfect opportunity to promote yourself, NEVER leave the house without business cards.
Sorry for the bible but I hope some of that helps you might already be doing it all .
Also if you think the business consultant is useless why are you still using them?xx

 

[JustStef2016]

Hello quick reply about the business consultant I got sucked into the “whole I can help your business grow for do this , this & This “ she was very unprofessional kept using the fact she knows my sister to get me to pay for her services “discounted “ up front and taking her time to deliver . I am trying to sort things out with her at the moment very stressful . All the local make up artists that get booked up do VERY heavy cakey make up full glam look . Main clients I have attracted in the past Is very minimal make up wearers which is very niche & rare now days. I do need to get in some models and do heavier looks to prove that I can offer that as an option to my style . With reply to the pamper events I do take all the bits but didn’t mention them rebooking , I could do next time Is say they get 20% off if they book within a month & take their details worth a shot . I ran a competition at a wedding fair that was good to collect emails losing brides got a 20% discount for entering the competition . I have started re doing my nails and haven’t been wearing make up everyday . When I go to events or have clients I do my nails & wear make up . I agree I need to be a walking poster . I am trying to get help for depression & anxiety which started a few months ago .This puts a dampener on my grooming as I just feel so low all the time . I have been using the advice on here & will wear different types of make up & nails with business cards. Going to give my Insta & fb page a make over. I do have a Website but not sure if I will have it next week because of this business consultant. Thank you so much for taking the time to write a message . I am so grateful for everyone’s support & kindness

 

[nickysnails200]

I problem hun I totally understand I have had depression and sometimes feel like I’m sinking back into it and it’s so difficult to even wash your face never mind put make up on etc but It’s a massive confidence boost when people ask about it. Yeah definitely try and get them to book while you’re there or they’ll walk away look at the other stalls and not really think about it again. Natural make up is definitely a niche market just now a lot of people don’t really want it except for weddings but if you get a couple of older models for that style of make up a lot of them love it but feel intimidated going to someone who has a face book page filled with 18 year olds glammed up to the max cause they don’t think they’ll get what they want just keep it varied but if you can get models for heavy glam you’ll probably find your party bookings go up. Try to stay on top of trends right now neons are the in thing. If you ever need to talk feel free to message hun and keep your chin up. Good luck xx

 

[TheDuchess]

Hi Steph

Well done for getting this far. Keep hold of your dream but also hang on to your part-time job. This will keep your skills fresh and stop you getting too lost in self doubt.

You've had done excellent advice so far. My two pennyworth's are
1. rebrand with one name across your website, Facebook and Instagram. It's confusing to have several different names.
2. Decide what services you are going to promote and choose a name to works for this mix. Makeup by SF is confusing as a name when you clearly offer other Beauty services as well. Maybe Beauty and make-up by SF? Or SF beauty and make-up?
3. Your website kept crashing when I tried to view it on my mini iPad. That's a problem. Hardly anyone surfs the Internet from a pc nowadays, it's all mobile platforms. Your photos were blurred for ages before they came into focus. It looks as though you have bought a website which is intended for text based pages rather than several photos per page.
4. Try having a format for your posting on Facebook.
If you are attending an event
A. take a close up photo of a poster and post it in advance. Make sure it can be read. Post to say you'll be there. Say what you will be doing.
B. Take a photo of some products that you'll be taking- spend some time taking pics, close up's are usually best. Post to say something like "really looking forward to Date and Time fundraising event to support Y. Such a great cause! Can't wait to see you there for (insert services and prices)
C. Take a photo of something that you did at the event, ideally get someone to take one for you, post it and say something like "great event at X to support Y fundraising. (Insert no eg) 10 happy ladies enjoyed (insert fab sounding list of treatments eg) gorgeous sparkly manis with Brand X Polish. Thank you everyone for making it such a successful night, we raised over £££ altogether"
5. Posts to showcase your work can be very simple. Pick a colour of polish that you haven't sold much of, paint one hand beautifully, take a photo with you holding the polish so the brand name can be seen. Post the pic with a caption saying "so in love with (name) by Brand X"
6. Post some brand love. If you use a brand with its own marketing imagery, repost it on your Facebook. You can often do a screen shot off a website, edit it and repost. Just make sure that you aren't infringing copyright - it's ok to use the brand's own promotion material - just don't repost other people's oroginal work without permission.

I hope this is helpful. Good luck

 

[JustStef2016]

Thank you for the reply I am changing the name to just Stephanie frances as the branding isn’t clear and confusing that I do beauty . The website is a car crash to say the least . I am going to have to start again and work on improving my photography skills so I can get better photographs . Thank you kindly for all your suggestions very helpful . Judging by the suggestions and feedback I heave a lot to do to improve . Which is great and I will write down all the suggestions & get to with and hopefully in 6 months I will be in a much better place & everything will look amazing . I am going to be working with a photographer who will do a workshop with me on how to take good photos as it is something I need to work on not being my greatest skill at all . I will take everything on board and get to work trying to show my best side . This week I can focus on taking photos of shellac nail colours on me etc. I am going to hold back on my blog until I have made progress with this current work. So kind for the feedback and greatly appreciated. After all these issues I have had with my business consultant thank you . I am over whelmed thank you kindly .

 

[JustStef2016]

I problem hun I totally understand I have had depression and sometimes feel like I’m sinking back into it and it’s so difficult to even wash your face never mind put make up on etc but It’s a massive confidence boost when people ask about it. Yeah definitely try and get them to book while you’re there or they’ll walk away look at the other stalls and not really think about it again. Natural make up is definitely a niche market just now a lot of people don’t really want it except for weddings but if you get a couple of older models for that style of make up a lot of them love it but feel intimidated going to someone who has a face book page filled with 18 year olds glammed up to the max cause they don’t think they’ll get what they want just keep it varied but if you can get models for heavy glam you’ll probably find your party bookings go up. Try to stay on top of trends right now neons are the in thing. If you ever need to talk feel free to message hun and keep your chin up. Good luck xx

I am planning on doing a photoshoot with make up trends over the summer . I am going to be doing mini videos on make up & beauty trends the next few weeks as well . I am hoping to update everyone in the Next couple of months with hopefully better images and content . I am getting a camera that should hopefully help . Can I have a look at your insta or Facebook page please?