Four Ways To Build a Better Photography Business

I’m sharing four ways you can build a better photography business and stand apart from the competition (friendly, of course!)

Before I was slingin’ websites and copy around, I was a professional photographer for over a decade. I shot everything from weddings to newborns to specializing in studio boudoir sessions my last years (so much fun).

Through all those years, I was fearless in trying new things and making changes to improve my business and become the go to in my area.

You can take these ideas and level up your business both in the backend and where people find you so that you can build a business you both absolutely adore (you & your clients).

1/ If you don’t have something Dubsado, Honeybook, or 17Hats working for you, you and your clients are missing out.

I had a coaching call the other day and asked if she used any client management programs and she said that she didn’t and felt like she was drowning in the back and forth of choosing dates and invoices. I suggested she sign up for Dubsado, because within those platforms, clients can choose the dates you offer right from your contact form and then Dubsado can throw them into a ‘workflow’ to automatically send deposit invoices, questionnaires, contracts, and more.

Knowing that your backend is running on autopilot is a total game changer (or.. business changer..) and could help you take hours back in your week.

Not only that, but clients that book photographers who have their sh*t together are overall more impressed, happier, and willing to pay higher prices because of that professionalism and ease.

Imagine being a client who has to e-mail back and forth for a week before being able to book your session, then wait another week to see a random invoice pop up in your inbox. That would be so annoying, honestly.

You can get 20% off Dubsado with my link as a Dubsado discount code.

2/ Offering prints is not enough anymore, you have to talk about them!

Another way to stand out in a crowded industry is to be a photographer that actually cares about your clients’ end product beyond the online gallery.. Whether your specialty is albums or loose prints to keep in a keepsake box, talk about it often. This will increase your gallery or in-person sales easily, because the clients that book you will be reminded of the importance of prints and getting those images off of computers and file folders that can corrupt and disappear.

Programs like Pic-time make it easy for your clients to print right from the gallery.

3/ Upgrade your website, upgrade your business – they’re one and the same.

If you’ve been trudging along for a few years using the same Squarespace website from when you first started, it’s time to level up your online game. Now that I’m a photography client instead of a fellow photographer in the industry, I am even more aware of how a website can make or break our small businesses.

I can bet your prices are higher and your images are more beautiful now than they were when you created your first website, but your site doesn’t feel or work like it should to properly show off your work and your rates.

I suggest switching to Showit, grabbing an amazing template from one of my favorite designers, and either DIYing your new site or hiring a Showit designer! I often customize Showit website templates for photographers and love it!

You can view my site customization service, here!

4/ Start your e-mail list and watch your books fill up.

Really want to level up your business? You have got to shift some focus over to e-mail marketing. Just yesterday, my friend messaged me to tell me that she booked five out of her eight mini sessions with an e-mail.

Before that, I had another friend tell me that she booked up her mini sessions through e-mail when on her social media posts were crickets.

The truth is, e-mail is so much more powerful than social media, because you aren’t competing for their attention in an overstimulated space – rather, you’re right there next to e-mails from their child’s school and they can take the time to open and read your e-mails instead of continuously scrolling past your posts.

I use FLODESK, because it is the most beautiful and easy-to-use platform, along with being super affordable at half off with my link.

Which one of these instant-biz-boosters are you going to implement this year?! Let me know in the comments or reach out to me on Instagram (@coyotebrands) so we can chat about it!

Til next time!