4 Things to DIY In Your Photography Business
You’ve heard the phrase, “in order to make money, you have to spend money.”
A lot of the time, this is in conjunction with outsourcing and delegating tasks within your business
But here’s the deal: this advice doesn’t consider those just starting in photography and don't have money to pay anyone to do those tasks.
Outsourcing, also known as delegating tasks in your business, means passing it on to somebody else to complete in exchange for payment.
For established businesses, outsourcing may be a fantastic idea because it frees up time and enables them to focus on their specialty or start new projects.
However, outsourcing is not an option for those who don’t have the extra money to pour into their business. When time is a limited resource, it’s easy to get spread thin over your commitments. You're not alone if you feel like you're treading water within your photography business.
Today on the blog, I’m sharing four DIY photography business solutions to help you regain time in your business when you cannot afford to outsource (yet).
When you batch your content for Instagram, it enables you to be a lot more intentional with the call to action (also known as CTA) in your captions.
It’s also easier to do things like organize how many times a month you want to post booking information, share a freebie with your audience, or share a styled shoot or wedding information.
This enables you to cover those topics and spread them out over the month without feeling overwhelmed or salesy.
I personally use the desktop version of Planoly for planning and scheduling my content. Within the platform, I’m able to create a system for the time of day, hashtags, etc. for all of my posts. I highly recommend drafting and scheduling your post on desktop and using the mobile version when it comes time to actually publish.
In a recent video I made about the number one thing that you can do to be productive in your business, I discuss how to unplug from social media by using specific social media apps on desktop rather than your phone.
When you’re able to build everything out on the computer, you can disconnect from the distractions of using a phone (like endlessly scrolling on Instgram instead of writing captions).
Some alternatives to Planoly are tools like Trello, Google Sheets, or Canva.
Think of Canva as a simplified version of photoshop in which you can plug in your branding colors and information, create information graphics, and design weeks of Instagram posts in a single document.
One last note— batching content can flow into other areas of your business, but I recommend you start with Instagram. Try creating a week’s worth of content instead of posting day-by-day. I guarantee that it will improve your productivity and protect you from burnout.
Draft canned responses for social media
A canned response is just a pre-written answer to a frequently asked question. However, it enables you to reply to potential clients in a very professional and speedy way.
Start by downloading the Google Doc app, creating a document for canned responses, and then favoriting that document to your bookmarks bar. Next, search your Instagram direct messages for FAQs and start drafting detailed responses that you can then use as templates.
Something to note is that Instagram does offer customizable quick responses and pop-up FAQs so that when someone clicks on a question, your canned reply will be sent to them.
I personally don't use the quick responses or the FAQs any more. Instead, I'll go through my DMs and respond to any questions or inquiries that I get via my canned responses I have logged in my Google Doc.
Pre-written, canned responses allow you to provide both consistency and detail to all of your clients. Sure, you'll probably have to make slight adjustments to the messages, but overall, it will help you maintain a clear brand voice and gain some of your time back.
Now, when logging into Instagram, you are simply there to post and reply with canned responses.
4) Use an automated client management program.
In my own business, I use the automated client management program, HoneyBook , but there are a ton of great options out there such as Dubsado. I love HoneyBook because it’s easy to set up and super user-friendly. You can start very simple and slowly build out more features. The interface is very user-friendly. They have an abundance of tools that you can learn later on that go beyond the booking process.
The idea is that before you even physically log into the computer, they've already entered into an intentional and thorough client experience. Booking a photography client no longer relies on your schedule.
Resources:
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