Email Marketing for Photographers: Building Relationships with Clients

Well, they want results quickly!! Many photographers I know have given up on using email marketing because they expect results almost immediately.

📈Checkout out our Latest and in-depth blog about 🌐The Ultimate Guide to start, grow and Make money in Photography Business

And when they can’t find the magic happening, they throw in the towel. When other photographers see this, they decide not to pursue photography at all.

The world of photography is currently experiencing a significant change, and I am unable to maintain my silence any longer.

When I first started to Click it Up a Notch, I committed the same major marketing mistake that I see other photographers making, and I have to admit that I did the same thing.

When people first begin a business, regardless of whether it is a photography business, a blog, or something else entirely, the primary focus is on establishing a strong presence on social media.

We spend a greater amount of time on Facebook exchanging “likes” or determining which hashtag will assist us in locating the greatest number of customers on Instagram.

They are not to blame in my eyes. Some of us have become so accustomed to the instant gratification that we get from social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and others that we consider email marketing to be a slow, unsexy, and money-losing channel.

However, that is not the case.

When you use email marketing, rather than letting a platform control who sees your content, you own both the list and the audience.

• It is not necessary to rely on a computer program in order for people to view your work or read your story.
• Once your audience opens your email, they will give you their complete and undivided attention.
• You can save time with automation because the email marketing platform will take care of welcoming your new subscribers and sending them emails to remind them about you if they stop engaging with you at any time. This allows you to focus on other aspects of your business.
• You will receive actionable data on who is opening which links, what time of day your audience is most engaged, and other relevant information.
• Email marketing is considered by some to be quite pricey. Is that the case, really?

However, I am pleased that you have found your way to this page and are finally contemplating the use of email marketing in order to transform photography from a hobby into a profitable business.

In this guide, we will provide you with actionable strategies to build your list, ideas that will align with your business in a profitable way, and some of the best practices that have been tried, tested, and proven to ensure that you don’t get stuck.

How To Get People In Your Email List?

This is a Mil Dollar Question…

There are several ways to build an email list as a photographer:

1. Offer a lead magnet: Provide a valuable incentive to encourage people to sign up for your email lists, such as a free guide, a discount on a photo shoot, or access to exclusive content.
2. Use opt-in forms on your website: Add sign-up forms to your website, and make it easy for visitors to join your list. You can place forms in different locations, such as your header, footer, or sidebar.
3. Collaborate with other photographers. Make connections with people who work in niches that are analogous to yours or photography magazines that have email lists. Ask these people to interview you or feature you on their platform with a call to action that directs people to your website. In exchange, you can offer to do the same thing for them.
4. Gather attendees’ e-mail addresses at workshops: Put a sheet of paper or an iPad on a table at the entrance or exit of the next event or workshop you host to collect attendees’ contact information. After the event is over, you should go around to each person and enquire if they would like to be included on the list. Provide an incentive in exchange for email addresses, such as a free postcard featuring your best photo or a discount on the next event you organise, for example.
5. You can create content by writing quality blogs and guides associated with photography as a skill, or you can talk about other photographers that you find inspiring. You can also ask your followers on other channels for feedback about what they would like to hear from you and use that information.
6. Run a contest: Organize a contest that requires participants to sign up for your email list to enter. This is a great way to attract new subscribers.
7. Host a workshop or event: Use events as an opportunity to collect email addresses and connect with potential clients.
8. Collaborate with other businesses: Partner with other businesses or organizations to cross-promote each other and expand your reach.
9. Use social media: Promote your email list on social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, and ask your followers to sign up.
10. Offer a referral program: Encourage current subscribers to refer their friends to your email list by offering them a reward, such as a discount on a photo shoot.
11. Use in-person networking: Attend networking events and collect email addresses from the people you meet.
12. Offer Gated content: When people visit your website, offer them a collection of your presets or printable postcards of your favorite photographs. This will encourage them to stay on your site longer. In exchange, you can enquire about getting their email address. It’s called the principle of giving and taking (when someone does something nice for you, you will have a deep-rooted psychological urge to do something nice in return)
13. Bring in new customers from other channels by diverting their attention here: If you look at the social media channels of any successful company, you will notice that each one of them leads to collecting your email address and making you a part of their ecosystem. This is true regardless of the industry in which the company operates. You are also capable of doing that. Provide an incentive for people who follow you on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to sign up for your email list. For example, you could offer them a behind-the-scenes look at your photography, an in-depth look at your business strategies, or even free workshops.
14. Keep your bio up to date: Put a link to your signup form or website on social media, on dating profiles, and on your business cards, and then display a subscription form when someone visits your website. This will increase the number of people who sign up for your newsletter.

Remember, the key to building an effective email list is to offer value and make it easy for people to join. Make sure that you clearly explain the benefits of signing up and follow best practices for email marketing.

Email marketing for Photographers – Quick Tips

Define your target audience: Determine who your ideal customer is and what their requirements and concerns are as a first step. Your email marketing efforts will be more effective if you tailor them to them using this information.

Personalize your emails: Make the email feel more personal by including the recipient’s name in the subject line as well as the greeting. This will increase the likelihood that the email will be opened.

Give something of value: The emails you send to your subscribers ought to give something of value to them, be it in the form of advice, exclusive content, or special promotions.

Make use of images of high quality: As a photographer, you should capitalize on the power of visual content to attract the attention of your subscribers and showcase the work you’ve done.

Keep it brief and to the point: Because people’s email inboxes are frequently overflowing, it is important that the messages you send them be succinct and get right to the point. Employ language that is understandable and uncomplicated, and stay away from lengthy blocks of text.

Test, measure, and improve: On a consistent basis, you should test and measure the success of your emails in order to determine what is working and what is not working. Make adjustments and improvements to your strategy based on this new information.

You should segment your list by dividing the people on your email list into smaller groups according to the behaviors and interests they exhibit. This enables you to send messages that are more specifically targeted and pertinent to the recipient.

Maintain legal compliance: When sending marketing emails, ensure that you comply with all applicable laws, such as the CAN-SPAM Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), to ensure that you maintain legal compliance and protect the privacy of your subscribers.

Make it simple for people to unsubscribe by including a link to do so in all of your emails. This will make it much simpler for people to stop receiving your emails if they decide they are no longer interested in reading them. Because of this, it will be easier to keep your brand’s reputation in good standing.

Buy Email Marketing Templates

Email marketing templates can be purchased from various online marketplaces and websites. Some popular options include:

1. ThemeForest: A digital marketplace for website templates, including email templates, with a wide range of options for different industries and purposes.
2. Envato Elements: A subscription-based service that provides access to a large library of email templates, as well as other digital assets like graphics, videos, and more.
3. Creative Market: An online marketplace for creative assets, including email templates, which can be purchased on a one-time basis or through a subscription.

When purchasing an email template, it’s important to consider factors such as the design, compatibility with your email marketing platform, and ease of customization. Before making a purchase, be sure to review the template’s demo and read the product description to ensure that it meets your needs.

Here is the list of My fave Templates from CreativeLIVE

• Photographer Email Templates from Signature Edits
• Family Photo Marketing Bundle
• Newsletter email template-id06– AIW solutions
• Email Newsletter Templates For Canva– By Misia

What Kind of Emails To Send?

As a photographer, there are several types of emails that you can send to your subscribers to keep them engaged and build a strong relationship with them:

What kinds of emails they can anticipate receiving from you, and why?

1. Newsletters: Share updates about your latest photoshoots, new services or products, and any other news that you’d like to share with your subscribers.
2. Send Welcome Email: It’s the equivalent of giving someone a cordial greeting when you see them for the first time. Introduce yourself, but don’t give them too much information at once; you don’t want to give the impression that they already know everything there is to know about you. You should thank them for signing up for your list. After that, you are free to share:
3. Sales & Promotion Email: It is now time to build a transactional relationship with the audience after you have first cultivated your relationship with them by providing them with free content, advice, and tips, among other things.
4. You could offer workshops, your own photography class, or a collection of photography how-to guides. A series of emails sent out over the course of four to eight days (depending on the offer and price point) is the most effective method for carrying out a sales campaign. The vast majority of email marketing software will offer a function to automate the sending of this string of emails.
5. Invite them to join your social media channels if they haven’t already, and if they don’t, ask them to do so. You can also ask them to add your email address to their contact list so that your messages aren’t marked as spam.
6. Behind-the-scenes content: Give your subscribers a sneak peek into your creative process and share your experiences as a photographer.
7. Special offers and promotions: Offer exclusive discounts and promotions to your email subscribers, as a way to reward them for their loyalty.
8. Educational content: Provide tips, tricks, and tutorials that are relevant to your subscribers and their interests.
9. Portfolio updates: Showcase your latest work and encourage subscribers to book a photoshoot.
10. Customer appreciation emails: Send personalized emails to thank your customers for their business and show your appreciation for their support.
11. Event invitations: Invite your subscribers to events, such as workshops, exhibitions, or photoshoot sessions.
12. Surveys and feedback requests: Ask your subscribers for feedback and opinions on your work to help you improve your offerings and better meet their needs.

Remember to keep your emails focused and relevant, and always include a clear call-to-action to encourage subscribers to take action, such as booking a photoshoot or visiting your website.

Tips to Succeed With Email Marketing as a photographer

Here are some tips to help you succeed with email marketing.
Know your audience: The key to successful email marketing is having a solid understanding of your target demographic. Determine their requirements and areas of interest, and adapt the content of your emails to meet those.

Be consistent: When it comes to email marketing, consistency is absolutely essential. Send emails to your audience on a regular basis, at a frequency that is appropriate for that audience, to keep their interest.

You’ll be able to send more relevant and personalised messages if you segment your list. To do this, divide your email contact list into a number of smaller, more specific groups.

Put more emphasis on quality than quantity: rather than having a large list of inactive subscribers, it is preferable to have a smaller email list that is highly engaged. If you put your attention towards developing relationships with your subscribers, they will be more likely to open and interact with the emails you send them.

Make it visually appealing: As a photographer, you have the unique opportunity to utilise visual content in your emails. You should take advantage of this opportunity and make it visually appealing. You can grab the attention of your subscribers and showcase your work by utilising images and graphics of a high quality.

Maintain a straightforward and understandable structure: Stay away from long blocks of text and focus instead on using language that is clear and precise. Make it simple for your subscribers to skim through your emails and get the gist of what you’re trying to say in a short amount of time.

Optimize for mobile devices Since many people check their email on their smartphones, you should ensure that your emails are formatted appropriately for viewing on mobile devices.

Try Out things out and see how they turn out: Maintain a regular schedule of testing and measuring the efficacy of your emails and then put the insights you gain to use in order to enhance your overall strategy.

Make your e-mails more personable by including the recipient’s name in the subject line and greeting, and by adapting the content of your message to reflect their specific concerns and pursuits. A significant increase in the likelihood that your email will be opened and acted upon can be achieved through the use of personalisation.

Ensure that you comply with laws and regulations, such as the CAN-SPAM Act and the GDPR, in order to ensure that your emails are compliant and to protect the privacy of your subscribers. Best practices for email marketing include the following:

What Should I Do Now?

Creating an email list comprised of people who have visited your website and followed you on social media gives you a golden ticket to remain at the forefront of these individuals’ minds.

If you don’t put any of the advice and suggestions we just gave into action, they won’t be of much use to you. Therefore, I have some homework for you to do:

Create your very first email newsletter after signing up for an email marketing software service and doing so.

I would suggest signing up for an Email marketing tool GETResponse.. Why?

Getresponse: You won’t believe how simple and straightforward it is to use the platform once you’ve signed up for it.
It offers all of the useful templates and features that a photographer would require from an email marketing platform and it comes standard.

• Within minutes, you will have your very first campaign ready to go.
• With the assistance of an autoresponder and automation software, you will be able to cultivate a solid relationship with the people who follow and like your content.
• The email marketing software designed specifically for photographers ensures that all of your messages are delivered directly to the recipient’s inbox rather than the spam folder.
• It won’t set you back more than the price of a pint every single month.

Marketing your Photography Biz- Blogs

• 🌐The Ultimate Guide to start, grow and Make money in Photography Business
• How to make money with Photography skills
• Start Your Photography Journey: A Curated List of Essential Gear for Beginners
• Email Marketing for Photographers: Building Relationships with Clients
• Social Media Marketing for Photographers: A Guide