Email Marketing for Photographers: Real Examples, Templates, and Tips

If you’re a self-employed photographer, you know that taking pictures is only a fraction of the job. As a small business owner and entrepreneur, you also need to find clients, build your brand, and grow your business.

That’s no small feat.

So, how can photographers set themselves up for success?

Email marketing should definitely be part of your strategy. With an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent, it’s a powerful way to boost your photography business.

Want to learn the basics of email marketing? We'll explain everything in this article. We'll also share tips, templates, and real-life examples from other photographers to make it easier for you.

Let's dive in.

Benefits of Email Marketing for Photographers

Email marketing has many benefits, especially for small business owners like photographers. Here are some advantages you can expect from investing in email marketing:

Cost-Effective for Small Businesses

Email marketing is very affordable if you’re a smaller business with a small email list. There are a number of cheap email marketing software platforms that cater to the needs of small businesses. There are even a few free email marketing platforms to try out if you have a low subscriber count.

For as little as a few dollars a month, you can send targeted messaging to clients and potential clients. And, unlike on social media, there's a high probability people will receive your marketing message. And if you compare email marketing to other types of push marketing, like paid ads, it's a real bargain.

Complete Control over Your Marketing

Because of its visual nature, many photographers do a lot of marketing on social media, which is a great strategy.

The major drawback of social media is that you're building a following on a platform you don't own. Changes in algorithms can drastically affect your traffic and, as a result, your business.

Your email list, on the other hand, is entirely yours. You own it, and its success is completely under your control.

Connect with Clients and Build Your Brand

Email marketing is a great way to get people's attention. Over time, this can help you build your brand.

By reading your emails, clients and potential clients can get to know more about you, your philosophy and what you have to offer. This will help you stand out from competitors and keep you top-of-mind for when they, or someone they know, needs a photographer.

Showcase Your Best Work

About 60% of people say that marketing emails have influenced their purchases. This is your opportunity to showcase your visual creativity and make an impact.

Share some of your best shots or link to your online portfolio in your emails. This keeps your audience aware of your work and makes them more likely to choose you when they need a photographer.

Educate Clients About Your Services

Speaking of your work, email marketing is an excellent platform to educate your clients about what you do.

If you're a wedding photographer with a unique approach, share that with your audience. Explain how your style sets you apart from the competition.

Or, if you specialize in professional headshots, use your emails to highlight the options you offer and provide tips on how to pose for a great professional photo. This builds trust and showcases your expertise.

Boost Revenue During Slow Seasons

Most freelance photographers juggle between slow and busy seasons. If you want to get more work during slower months, email marketing can definitely help.

You could announce discounts or promotions on photography services, or run physical print promotions. You could even consider testing out some affiliate marketing.

Once you have an engaged email marketing list, it’ll be up to you to decide what might be of interest to your audience and how you can leverage that for greater revenues.

Increase Client Bookings

Choosing a photographer for a major event or milestone is an important decision for many people and can take months to finalize.

Regular communication from you can enhance their perception of your business. You'll increase the likelihood that they’ll choose you when they’re ready - or even refer you to a friend!

Email Marketing Campaigns for Photographers: Tips to Get Started

Are you ready to give email marketing a try? Here are some tips to get you started.

Choose Email Marketing Software

Email marketing software makes it easy to design and send your emails. It also allows you to track their performance and monitor your marketing goals. Choosing the right software depends on your experience level, budget, and email marketing needs.

We researched and tested more than 230 email marketing software platforms to come up with the best email marketing software based on a number of key factors, including pricing, ease of use and key features.

You can also check out our list of best email marketing platforms just for small businesses!

Grow Your Email List

To start email marketing, you first need a list of email addresses to market to. Building this list takes effort, but it's worth it. Once you find what works, your list will continue to grow over time.

Below are a few options to try. We also have a full list of email marketing lead generation tips and techniques.

Your Website

If you have website traffic, add a newsletter opt-in form to capture visitors' email addresses. Offering something valuable, like a downloadable tip sheet relevant to your target audience, can entice people to share their contact information.

Your Social Media

If you have engaged followers on social media, use these platforms to promote your email signup form. Add a signup link in your bio or host a giveaway that asks participants to sign up.

Events

Photographers often work face-to-face with clients. Offer options for people to sign up for your newsletter at shoots and consider attending local events to build your brand and grow your email list.

Segment Leads

Once you have some emails to market to, it’s time to do what’s called “segmenting” your leads. This means to divide your audience into segments based on certain criteria or shared characteristics. According to data from Hubspot, segmented emails drive 30% more opens and 50% more clickthroughs than unsegmented ones.

For example, if you specialize in professional headshots and event photography, each audience should get different messages. Similarly, prospective clients and past clients need personalized content.

Most email marketing software makes it easy to create groups based on how and where people subscribe, so you can market to them separately.

Develop Clear Goals

If you’re starting email marketing for your freelance photography business, you likely have specific goals in mind. Are you looking to increase product sales, nurture existing customers into repeat clients or referrals, or boost brand awareness?

Each email campaign should have a clear purpose. This will help you determine the type of content to use and the most effective call to action.

Whatever your goals, write them down and revisit them as your audience and business grow. Consider using the S.M.A.R.T approach to goal setting to ensure your objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.

A few examples of goals you might set for your email campaigns:

• Book 10 clients from email marketing this quarter.
• Generate $1,000 in revenue from email promotions this month.
• Get three referrals from email marketing this month.

Create Engaging Content

Finally, it’s time to start sending out some emails. As a creative professional, this part might be enjoyable and easy for you.

While there’s no guaranteed formula for creating beautiful emails that convert, there are a few email design tactics that can help increase your open and clickthrough rates. Focus on:

• Creating a clickable subject line.
• Building a beautiful email with engaging copy and photos.
• Having a clear call to action to ensure people move farther along in their journey with your brand.

These elements require hard work and practice to perfect, so take the time to dive deeper and learn more about them. Increasingly, AI tools are being used in email marketing to help make these tasks faster and easier.

Monitor Results and Adjust

Once your first campaign has been delivered, it’s time to analyze how it performed and what you can learn from that to help you achieve your goals. Most email software platforms make this easy, as they provide analytics and reporting to help you understand how people are engaging with your content.

At a minimum, most platforms will provide details like:

• Open rates
• Click-through rates
• Conversions
• Unsubscribes
• Spam complaints

This will help you better understand what your subscribers respond to, and how to improve your strategy over time. If you're confused by the terms, we explain everything in our list of email marketing terms.

Email Marketing for Photographers: Real-World Examples

If you’re looking for some examples of email marketing that actually drove business results for photographers, here are a few standouts to consider:

Boosting Bookings with an Email Waitlist Strategy

Nina Mace, a photographer who focuses on family photos, used anticipation and a sweet deal to boost overall bookings.

The approach created buzz around her mini shoots, ensuring that the initial slots were quickly filled, and boosting overall bookings once the dates were opened to everyone.

She did it like this:

• Used an email campaign focused around a waitlist and offered early access to those who signed up.
• Focused on inviting existing/previous clients and social media followers to join the waitlist for exclusive access to the deal.
• Launched mini shoot dates to these potential clients, providing them with a link to a dedicated landing page to book their slots.
• Used a sense of scarcity to encourage people to book.

A Wedding Photo Nurturing Sequence with a 20% Conversion Rate

Jeffrey Wang, director at Perfect Moment Photo and Video, used a well-planned nurturing campaign to bring in more business. The following email series garnered a 15-23% conversion rate and the strategy improved open rates by 40% across the board.

He did it like this:

• Searched through past clients, potential clients who had enquired but not booked, leads generated from wedding expos, and leads from social media campaigns.
• Segmented the email list to ensure content was being sent to people who would actually be interested in seeing it.
• Added the recipient’s name to each email for personalization.
• Designed beautiful, professional emails with professional images, real stories, and a concise ask.

Read: Email Marketing Success Stories

8 Email Marketing Ideas for Photographers

If you’re looking for email ideas to engage and nurture your subscribers, here are a few options to consider:

Welcome Email

This is an email that goes out to each new subscriber. According to Hubspot, more than 80% of people will open a welcome email, which makes this a great opportunity to introduce yourself to your new subscribers and start building that relationship.

New Product/Service Email

If you have something new to offer, chances are you’re adding a service because you see a demand for it in the market. Email can be a great way to start to spread the word about that new service and plant the seed with potential customers.

Appointment Confirmation

Appointment confirmation emails are more practical than promotional. Use them to strengthen your client relationship by offering your clients helpful tips for their shoot, linking to your blog, and inviting them to sign up for your regular newsletter.

Discounts and Promotions

Offering discounts and promotions can be an effective way to boost your revenue. If you need more bookings to meet next month's target, a last-minute promotion might encourage prospective clients to book your services.

Educational Emails

A key part of keeping people engaged with email is making it about them. That means providing something of value via your content. For photographers, this could mean providing tips for an upcoming event, tips on preparing for a shoot, or any kind of content that would be of value to your target audience.

Regular Newsletter

A regular newsletter, whether weekly, monthly or anything in between, can be a great way to build brand awareness and help your audience get to know you and your services. You could share stories or photos from a recent event, promote your latest blog post, or send out discounts, tips or other elements you think will engage them.

The key with a regular newsletter is to get into a rhythm with content that people are engaging with. Your audience will come to know what to expect from you, which should improve your open, clickthrough, and conversion rates over time.

Prompt for a Review

Email is a great place to request a review for your services. This is an easy automation to set up in most email marketing platforms. This will help ensure that you get those valuable reviews, which will help you build your client list and business over time. It can also be a nice way to thank clients for their business. (If you want to do a deep dive into email automation, check out our guide to email marketing automation strategy.)

Celebration Email

Many photographers shoot big events or celebrations. Email can be a way to re-engage previous clients and keep you and your services top of mind.

For example, if you’re a wedding photographer, your email marketing could include a one-year anniversary email to former clients, and even a discount for additional photos.

Email Marketing Templates for Photographers

When it comes to putting together a great marketing email, design is everything, especially when you work in a visual field like photography. Fortunately, there are lots of great email marketing templates for photographers out there.

All you have to do is find the ones you like and customize them with your own images, colors and branding. It’s as easy as that! Here are a few great places to find email templates:

1. Your Email Marketing Software: Most of the best email marketing software platforms provide free templates you can adjust to your liking.

2. Etsy: Yes, you really can buy anything on Etsy, including templates designed by photographers for photographers. Most of these templates are relatively inexpensive and are designed to be edited in Canva, which is also cheap and easy to do.

3. Email Design Software Provider: Email design software providers like Unlayer, Stripo and BEEFree are no-code options for designing beautiful emails. They also offer more than 1,000 templates you can easily copy and adjust.

Compare Your Email Marketing Options

We hope we've provided you with everything you need to start email marketing for your photography business.

Remember, choosing the right email marketing software is one of the first and most important steps to your success.

At Softailed, we've done the hard work for you by researching and testing over 230 providers to identify the best email marketing software. We categorize these based on various factors to ensure you find the perfect fit for your needs.

If you’re unsure where to start, try our Finder Tool. Answer a few key questions, and it will suggest the best email marketing software for your needs.

Check out our guide on the basics of email marketing for more helpful tips. You can also read about how other professionals, like lawyers and dentists, are successfully using email marketing.