5 Tools to Help Your Photography Business

Today I am going over my five favorite business tools. I don’t know what I would do without these tools at this point and honestly if I had these earlier in my career I would have become more successful faster. So let’s dive in…

One: Honeybook

Honeybook is a client relations platform where each client gets their own portal and all of their invoices, emails, contracts, and questionnaires, are stored in the same spot. This means no more searching around your inbox and messages for all of your client’s information. As a wedding photographer I have to communicate with the bride, the groom, and the coordinator sometimes and with Honeybook I can add multiple contacts to one client portal and have all of those conversations in the same place. Honeybook also allows you to create email templates and set email automations that will save you tons of time! Email automations are a series of emails that are going to be scheduled to automatically send to your client after you create their client portal. For example, after a client books with me I create their portal and an email will automatically send them me guide to What to Expect When Booking. Then over the course of the next few weeks leading up to their session they will receive a questionnaire to fill out, a “just checking in email”, and a Five Tips for Your Upcoming Session guide. Honeybook also supports your entire invoicing process as well as stores your contracts and allows clients to digitally sign them. But my favorite feature of Honeybook that I use every single day is that calendar!!! I can see my entire schedule at a glance and its all color coded. All of my meetings and photo shoots are visible at a glance and easy to manage.

Two: ShootProof

ShootProof is an online gallery system where you can send your clients their images. I use ShootProof for all of my clients because it’s a straight forward platform and is visually gorgeous to look at. Within their gallery clients can favorite images, print from the shop I have selected, or just download the digital images. Within ShootProof I can set my own printing costs, charge for taxes if necessary, collect email addresses as people view galleries, and place a proof over images that have to be purchased to download. Once you have created a gallery you can share a link to that gallery with your client which they can then share with whoever else they’d like. I love sharing my images via ShootProof and I don’t think that will ever change.

Three: Flodesk

Flodesk was created in the last couple years and I honestly wish they had created it ten years ago! Every time I open this platform I get inspired to create. With Flodesk is an email marketing system where you can create gorgeous emails, email list opt-ins, and guides. You can also store your entire email list in Flodesk. My favorite feature about Flodesk is that when I create a guide I can share a link to that guide with my clients through my email templates in Honeybook. Flodesk forms allow you to create pop-ups that grab emails from your website. Once you have to form they way you like it then all you have to do is embed the code in your website and you can start grabbing emails and growing your list. The other amazing thing about Flodesk is that it allows you to organize and segment your email list. This means that if you want to send an email just to your wedding clients, then you can choose to send it to just your wedding segment rather than your entire email list. I highly recommend Flodesk to all photographers but especially those who are just starting their email list journey!

Four: Canva

Canva is a really cool system where you can create stunning story templates and advertising material. There is a free version where you can honestly do a lot, but there is also a paid version that gives you access to more pre-made content. With Canva you can create advertisements, logos, ebooks, guides, and so much more. Canva is super user-friendly and I use it on the daily for the LMP Collective and my educational content! If you are constantly creating as much content as I am then Canva is also really nice because it allows you to organize all your projects into folders on your home screen so its easy to find things.

Five: Podcasts

I know podcasts doesn’t really sound like a business tool, but I'm telling you, it is because of the podcast I listen to that I am so inspired to teach everyday. They are also the reason why I am furthering my business and I am so entrepreneurial. I am constantly learning! Friend, never stop learning. Ever! Always continue your education, especially as a business owner and as a content creator. I make it a point to listen to a couple podcasts every day! As a photographer I am always on the go so listening to something is always the best option for me! I listen to podcasts when I am driving, working out, feeding the horses, and doing chores! I love to continue learning and increasing my knowledge on how to run my business. But, sometimes I even learn some personal things. There is so much information out there that can enrich your life and I really really encourage you to go find it!

As always if you have any further questions please head over to the LMP Collective Facebook group where I am answering questions and providing daily educational content.