Sounds a bit extreme, but this literally can change your life.
I shoot a lot of weddings a year. When I'm talking about a lot, I'm saying a lot 50-80 per year depending on the year.
If you are shooting a shiz ton of sessions or weddings, and you're not using a management system, WTF are you thinking, you need to do this.
You need to do this for your clients and you need to do this for yourself, get your life back already!
I use ShootQ. (They have a free trial- DO IT)
They literally save me at least 15-20 hours of emails a week, and that's NO exaggerating.
I can't even imagine how much time they would save me if I actually watched all their tutorial videos and set up my workflow the way they say to! AH!
Basically here's what I have ShootQ set up to do. I input a new wedding contact who's booked, I can do all my contracts online, can do all my payments online.
No more waiting on them to figure out a fax machine or a scanner or waiting on mr. post man to deliver my contract and check.
From there I have different workflows set up. For my weddings I have it set up where it sends my clients automatic emails: (see below)
- thanks for booking email
- email about where to find answers to commonly asked questions
- engagement session scheduling
- engagement sessions tips/location ideas/what to wear
- engagement session reminder
- wedding questionnaire (oh yeah, you can make these AWESOME questionnaires, asking your client everything you could possibly want to know and then some, all completely customizable. Get this, my pre-event consults used to last 30 mins to an hour right? Talking with the bride about everything she wants, and the schedule and this and that. NOT ANYMORE. I literally do all of them on the phone and it takes me get this. 15 mins at the MOST. I've got some done in 7 mins. 7. Do you hear that? Heaven's angels singing the hallelujah chorus. Yeah, thought so.
- Guest Book Album how to guide email (if they purchased one)
- pre-event consult scheduling
- pre-event consult reminder
- wedding questionnaire reminder (I have my clients make sure to fill it completely out 3 days prior to the wedding, so I'm aware of all changes.)
- day after wedding email congratulating them
- 2 day after email, telling them how long it will be before prints/products/cd's
- After wedding email about how to pick out their photos for their albums and where to find the order form and how to guide
- annual anniversary/holiday/birthday (working on updating the birthday) email
THAT'S A TON OF EMAILS. Get this, I'm working on setting it up where my contacts go directly thru there and then I can assign categories to the contacts like this:
- new lead
- stale lead
- dead lead
- TLC lead (those that aren't exactly dead leads but they aren't banging down your door either)
Then every time you make a lead a different category, it can send them a new email. FLIPPIN' FABTASTIC if you ask me.
So take all those emails times the clients I have per year not including clients that book a year - 2 years in advance like most of my clients and that's a whole LOT of emails.
It keeps me organized. It gives me my life back. It helps my clients keep organized and its a great selling tool when you are trying to sell brides. I don't know that many people who have a client site that can send out automatic invoices, receipts, and reminders. Uhhuh.. does that too.
The downside, unfortunately it must have taken some really smart computer gurus to create it, so it does cost money. Some things are worth the investment and I for one am mad that I wasted so much of my time in the beginning on emails when I could have been spending time w/ my baby boy.
$39 A month is worth me spending a few extra hours a day with my son.
On the up side - they do have a killer referral program. So check that out too!
Another thing, if you sign up for the free trial... it's a lot to handle at first. The best thing I can tell you to do is to just take 10 mins and watch the tutorial videos, it will explain everything super easy. I didn't even begin to mention all the things this amazing program can do, so watch those so you don't get overwhelmed. I almost stopped using it bc I was in confusion land alas, once you get the hang of it - it's easy peasy baby.
Note: I am not endorsed by and do not get paid to say these things about ShootQ, I just appreciate the time they have given back to me and am showin' then some photo bloggin' love.
let's go shoot some people,
brooke
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