I'm so ready to pull back the curtain and let you in on the top 5 tools I use in my business. If you've been around a while these may not be a surprise, but it's a great refresher! All of these will be linked so you can use them too. I have discount codes for most and others are free! Now, before digging into these photography business tips, I do want to mention a FREE class I know you'll benefit from. It's called “Keys to Effective Family Posing” no more awkward and stiff! If you feel like posing is your weakest link, maybe you're not super confident or clients are a bit awkward and stiff… this class is for YOU! In the class I talk through some of my go to poses, things to look for when posing and just some building blocks to creating a natural/comfortable pose. On to the top 5 tools I use in my business…
This is a free online business management tool and it's how I keep EVERYTHING in my business organized. It's an alternative to asana and to me it's much more visual. Trello is incredibly flexible and we literally use it for content management, launches, to-dos, etc! It's similar to Pinterest in that it functions in “boards”. Within these beautiful boards you can create checklists! As I began adding team members I needed the workflows and processes to live somewhere other than in my head. (If you've never written out your workflows/processes is vital for future or current outsourcing!)
We use this as our client relationship management tool. It's our CRM and it is houses our contracts, invoices, any communication between us and the client and workflows! I literally don't know where I would be without it, definitely one of my favorite photography business tips. I've tried plenty of CRMs and this one has the best automations in my opinion. If it weren't for this platform I would lose track of clients which is not ok! I do have a discount for Dubsado that you can access HERE!
Our gallery delivery system here is wonderful. It's user friendly, helps assist our clients and is so pretty! You know I am a big believer in upselling and this platform allows us to do it well! I do have an affiliate link, which sadly doesn't give you a discount. But it does give me a small kickback which just helps with running a business and making this podcast possible! You can start using Shootproof at a small rate and increase as you need to with their packages.
I am a huge fan of Google calendars and to be honest we probably use WAY too many! I separate promotional campaigns like Christmas in July because it just makes it easy visually. It also integrates beautifully with Dubsado, so when I book a client with Dubsado I have it synced with Google calendars so it automatically adds it! I use it with my associate team which consists of 18 photographers and each of them uses it for multiple things!
This is our email marketing system and it's literally the Canva of email platforms. It's so easy to use and absolutely beautiful! I've used a few and this one just takes the cake. Flodesk has templates, easy drag and drop options and more. I do have a discount code for this one you can grab HERE. What's the difference between emails sent in Flodesk vs. Dubsado… I say Flodesk is best for mass emails whereas Dubsado is the one on one communication for clients. That way I can keep track of specific convos. I'm a huge believer in email marketing and have another podcast on why Flodesk is worth getting, you can listen HERE!
I hope hearing these photography business tips was helpful for you. There's obviously more I use, but these are my faves! Reach out if you have any questions or suggestions!
Trello (2:49)
Dubsado (6:20)
Shootproof (7:22)
Google Calendars (8:25)
Flodesk (11:25)
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