Today we are talking about something super important for your photography business: building an email list! 💌✨ Now, I know what you might be thinking – “Do I really need another thing on my plate?” But hear me out because this could be a game-changer for your biz. 🚀 In last weeks email I shared about how I use and love Flodesk as my email marketing platform and today I am diving into the HOW I leverage email as a tool to increase bookings, connect with my clients, nurture warm leads and… make more money.

Here’s the thing – relying on social media alone to get your books filled is HARD, you are always battling to find the ideal post times, hashtags and algorithm changes just to HOPE that your ideal clients end up seeing the content that takes you hours to create… can you relate? Your stunning photos might get lost in the feed abyss, leaving you feeling discouraged and taking a hit to your confidence. 😩 With an email list, you’ve got a direct line to your community – no algorithm drama, no feed frenzy. It’s like having a VIP lounge for your biggest fans! 💌🎉 You can share recaps from your latest shoots, offer exclusive deals on your photography services or announce openings in your calendar for sessions/minis.

Let’s just start with the data… Instagram had an average reach rate of 9.34% in 2023, 😳 that means that LESS THAN 10% of your audience is seeing the content you are creating on Instagram. Now, lets look at email: my Education Insiders email last week had an 81% reach rate and out of the people that read my email, 10% clicked through to take action!!! (aka more conversions)… 🤯📈💰

But having an email just doesn’t just increase your reach, it also helps you build trust. By delivering killer content straight to your subscribers’ inboxes consistently, you’re showing them that you are someone they can trust and should invest in. So, when they’re ready to book their next shoot or refer a friend, guess who they’ll think of first? Hint: It’s you! 😉

My Platform of Choice: Flodesk is by far my preferred platform for creating aesthetically pleasing emails. It has so many beautiful done-for-you templates, making it so easy to communicate with my community consistently. Check out Flodesk today and save 50% off your first year – using this LINK.

My Strategy: I have different “Segments” for my different audiences (like Education Insiders Community, Full Client List, Warm Leads…etc.) so I can create emails that target specific audiences. Flodesk makes is so easy to create a landing page (example HERE) that you can have linked in your IG bio where people can subscribe and my CRM, 17hats also makes it so easy to export email lists to easily import into Flodesk. So whether you’re opening spots for your mini sessions and you want to let all subscribers know, promoting a new service for your existing clients or just geeking out over the latest camera gear, your email fam is there for you every step of the way. 

My Top Tips:

1. Consistency – come up with a regular cadence you can keep up with so that your community knows when they can expect to hear from you in their inbox (like you know that every Wednesday is Education Insiders day). This boosts your reach rate and establishes your credibility and reliability. P.S. You do NOT have to send emails weekly, a monthly newsletter may make more sense for you and your business. Whatever you decide, stick with it.
2. Repurpose your content as much as possible – I often use the content from my emails to create reels or carousels that will also target my IG community – remember, its all about getting the biggest return on your time investment. Don’t spend hours creating content that no one will see.
3. Design a banner on Canva you can use on all of your emails and keep your emails consistent with your brand colors, fonts and overall vibe (Flodesk makes it so easy to do this). This boosts brand recognition and creates a more elevated client/reader experience.
4. Duplicate your emails so that you can reuse the templates over and over again #worksmarternotharder (as you have probably realized, every Education Insiders email is using the same template, which makes crafting these emails easy peasy).

So, what do you say, friend? Ready to take your photography biz to new heights with an email list by your side? Check out Flodesk today and save 50% off your first year – using this LINK. Hope this was helpful! 🚀✉️