A while back I wrote a Weekly Business Tip titled “Email Marketing is Not Dead. Here are 8 Tips to Help You Build a Successful List”. I truly believe email marketing is an effective way to stay in touch with past and future clients. It’s a soft-sell approach to keep in front of them on a regular basis so when the need arises to hire a photographer you will be the first one they think of.
Hopefully those who read that article took my advice and created a list of your current clients and prospects and started your email marketing campaign. For those of you who didn’t or if you are just coming on-board now, there’s no better time than the present.
If you’ve been running an email marketing campaign for a while you may find yourself getting frustrated with the results. You spend the time creating your newsletters, company updates, special offers, etc. but are seeing very little return on your time investment. Don’t worry this is normal! On average if you are getting a 20% open rate you’re doing good and remember that the 20% who are opening your emails may not necessarily be in the market to hire a photographer at that time.
Unless you are a commercial photographer doing repeat work with advertising agencies, graphic design studios, etc. the need for a professional photographer doesn’t come up on a daily basis. But if you’re a wedding photographer who also shoots portraits you could find yourself getting new work from existing clients as their lives change. You may start with their wedding, then roll in to baby portraits, then yearly holiday family portraits. The objective with email marketing is to stay in front of your past clients so when these life changes happen you’ll be there to capture them.
This is where the “Nudge Effect” comes in. People priorities their inbox by opening and reviewing emails that need immediate attention first and then filing the rest to look at later if time permits. Unfortunately your emails may fall into that “if time permits” category but that’s ok. Just seeing your business name in the From field and then reading a catchy subject line is often enough to keep them thinking of you.
Studies show that email marketing is the perfect tool to keep your brand (a brand that your past clients know and trust) in front of them so when the need to hire a photographer arises, your repeated emails will Nudge them into making the decision to call you.
The key is to create compelling emails that people will want to stay subscribed to and write effective subject lines that will make them retain the message to review later. An example would be a special time sensitive offer around a popular photography season such as Christmas. The subject line might read “Christmas is Coming, Get 2 – 8×10 Prints Free if You Book by November 1st” or “Christmas is Coming, Call Now to Book Your Family Portrait and Get 2 – 8×10 Prints Free”.
The goal of your email campaign and subject line is to promote your brand, create a call to action to encourage opens and click throughs and to drive traffic to other channels such as calling to make an appointment. You want to get enough information in the subject line so the reader knows what they are supposed to do without even opening it and when the time is right, it will Nudge them to pick up the phone and call you.
Next Steps…
- If you haven’t already, start your email marketing campaign
- Build a list of past clients and add them to your email list
- Come up with a theme for your email campaign that your clients will want to receive and stay subscribed to.
- Focus on your subject lines to include a call to action that will make them retain your email to review later.
- Take advantage of the Nudge Effect by sending emails out on a regular basis to stay on top of mind.
Sources: Alchemy Worx and MarketingProfs
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Founder of Current Photographer, co-host of The Digital Photography Cafe Show, Designer, Photographer, and overall tech geek.