Dec 20, 2024
Is email marketing for photographers in or out? Is it worth spending your time and energy on? Spoiler alert: Yes! It absolutely is! We’re diving deep into why email marketing isn’t just relevant—it’s thriving. Back in 2023, I made over $10k in dream bookings by sending just one email a month. And in 2024 and beyond, my students are seeing similar results.
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I’ve been thinking a lot about what works for photographers when it comes to marketing, especially with all the buzz around social media. So, we are going to talk about something that might seem a little old school, but it’s actually more powerful than ever, and that’s email marketing.
Email marketing is truly so much more reliable and powerful than social media for booking your dream clients. What’s great about email marketing is that it can also be used in conjunction with other marketing channels.
While I feel as though we as photographers and entrepreneurs should be appreciative of free marketing channels like Instagram and Facebook, I want to give you some stats so you can truly understand why email marketing is not out.
For email marketing, the industry standard is around 21.5% for open rate, and for creative professionals like us, these open rates can be anywhere between 30%-50%. I can vouch for that myself because, for my email marketing newsletter, my open rates were anywhere between 50%-70%. When it comes to my education newsletter, my open rates are also generally around 50%-70%.
So, while social media is great, people are watching hundreds of videos per day, which means your content can easily get lost in seconds. With Pinterest, while your pins may stick around longer, you’re still competing with over 14 billion pins for attention. And yes, SEO is amazing for long-term growth, but it takes time to grow.
However, with email, the moment you hit send, you’re reaching people who have already said yes to hearing from you. They are there because they want to hear from you and there’s nothing like creating content for people who want to hear from you.
I started email marketing back in 2020 by using a very simple, yet helpful wedding planning spreadsheet. That was a freebie potential clients opted into from my website. There was also a popup on my website, as well as a box at the bottom of my site for people to opt into my emails.
I had a very simple nurture sequence, which if you don’t know what I mean by that, it’s just the first few emails that people get whenever they join your list. After they received those, I only sent one email every single month. That monthly email showcased my recent work through a blog that I had posted that month. There was also a vendor spotlight in the email, a little educational spotlight, and then an invitation to inquire with me.
From those emails, I ended up getting 2 dream bookings. I’m talking gorgeous Colorado venues I had been wanting to shoot at. These 2 bookings brought in over $10k in revenue just from essentially writing 12 emails a year.
How would that feel for you? Would it feel worth it to you to only write 12 emails a year and set up the very simple funnels in the back end to potentially get half of your bookings for the year? It’s 100% possible, my friend!
I want to share a few more stats with you to make my case for how email marketing is definitely still in.
First of all, you own your email list. Instagram could disappear tomorrow or your account could be hacked, but your email list is staying with you. Nobody can take that away from you.
Second, email is like being invited to someone’s house versus shouting at them from across a crowded street, which is basically what we’re doing on social media these days. When someone gives you their email, they are saying they want to hear from you. They know what offers you have and they want to be sold to. How powerful is that?!
Third, which is my personal favorite, there is no algorithm. When you click send, you know that email is going straight to a potential client’s inbox. You don’t have to pay for reach or hope the algorithm is putting it in front of the right people. Once it’s sent, they have it. That’s such a good feeling to know that the work and effort you’re putting into your email marketing lands in the right place every single time.
If you haven’t jumped on email marketing yet and you’re now sold, let me share the first 3 steps I would take:
First, you need to join an email marketing platform. I personally recommend Flodesk. They have beautiful templates and it’s so easy to use. They literally have everything you need when it comes to email marketing. And if you use my code CLAIREHUNTEDUCATION, you will get 50% off.
The next thing I would recommend is to have a welcome and nurture sequence. As soon as someone does opt into your freebie, you’re going to want them to get those emails. This is something I teach in-depth inside of my mentorship program Book It. I even show you examples of specific emails that I send and how I even make the ask that does result in inquiries and bookings.
This leads me to my last point, which would be to create some sort of freebie. Simply having a “join the list” form at the bottom of your website isn’t enough for people to exchange their information with you because they know if they’re getting on your email list, they’re probably going to be sold to. So, we want to let them know right away what they are getting. Even if it’s just a small PDF, think of a freebie to offer that really targets your dream client, where it would be a no-brainer for them to give you their email.
Email marketing provides an unmatched opportunity to reach and nurture your ideal clients. It’s more personal than social media, and its ROI is far superior. Remember, your email list is a valuable asset that no algorithm change can take away from you.
Resources mentioned in this episode
Flodesk for email marketing – Use my code CLAIREHUNTEDUCATION to get 50% off.
The Secret to Scaling Your Photography Business Freebie
Attract and Book Dream Couples Free Workshop
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