Sadly, most photographers are really screwing up how they are responding to these emails coming in asking about their prices and services. Are you?
Here's a 6-step, proven plan, for responding to these email inquiries:
1. Subject head - this is the most important part of the email - and yet most photographers are just hitting "reply" to the incoming email - which simply copies the subject head from the incoming email! BIG MISTAKE!
If the subject of the email isn't right, the recipient my not even open the email, so all the work you put into your photography marketing, as well as this response, is wasted - as she never even saw what you wrote to her!
Here's a good email subject head: Jennifer - your family portrait that brings tears of joy to your eyes!
First, obviously, this includes her first name, so now she knows you actually read her email and know her name. (almost all people who send emails asking about your prices will include at least their first name. But if they don't, then simply take the name out of the above subject head, and use the rest of it as written.)
Secondly, this subject head is going to really appeal to what I call the "Warm Fuzzies" - people who are emotional, right-brain dominant people who want something that is sensitive & shows the relationships & feelings of those in the photograph. (These are my "Target Market" people! I have NO desire at all to work with "Cold Pricklies" who only care about how cheap and fast I am! Life is too short!)
2. A friendly greeting and salutation - once she opens the email, you want the email to begin just like a personal letter to her. So you're going to say" "Hi Jennifer! How great to hear from you, and thanks for your inquiry." This is friendly, polite & enthusiastic.
Your photography marketing got her to inquire, now don't blow it by not being friendly & polite.
3. Attractive use of photos & testimonials - you always want AT LEAST 4 of your BEST photographs (of the same type that Jennifer is inquiring about.) And RIGHT UNDER each of these fantastic photographs (only show your very best work - always!) is a wonderful testimonial, from that specific family, in quotation marks, and italic type, and ending with the FULL NAME, city & state of that family or person.
It's just shocking how few photographers do this! Sure, they will use some photos in their marketing, but they don't use testimonials with them! And they mess this up in their email response, too - and yet using photos & testimonials is the single most PERSUASIVE thing you can do in your responses to her email. Who cares what you say - but what your clients say is hundreds of time more persuasive!
(Important note - yes, these are REAL testimonials from these people! Never, ever make them up. Use real clients, with their real names & photos. Just be sure you get permission from them to use their photo and testimonial! Best way: call them on phone & talk with them personally, to get their testimonial & their permission.)
4. Your Guarantee - EVERY email you send out should have you talking about your 100% money-back guarantee. If you want someone to make a decision, or to take the next step, it's important for them to understand they are taking NO RISK at all.
Again, this is extremely powerful (it's called "risk reversal") and yet hardly any photographers use this in their marketing! (Which is a great thing, as you will now stand out from all the other emails she receives from other photographers who she sent her email to.)
5. Call to action - what do you want her to DO NEXT? It's important you ask her to take action in your email.
What you want her to do is to pick up her phone & CALL YOU! (Telephone calls are between 8 & 12 times more effective than email - so you always want to get her off her computer, and onto her phone, so she can hear your enthusiasm and passion for what you do, and show her how much you care about her by asking her great questions.)
6. Sequence - this is a proven principle in Direct Marketing - (and yes, your email is MARKETING - don't forget it!) So what you do is this:
If you haven't heard back from her within the next 12 to 18 hours or so, you send her a second email. (Different words from the first, and with different photos & testimonials in it.) And if she doesn't respond to that second email within 12 to 18 hours, you send her a third email, and then a forth. Sequencing, when done right, will DOUBLE your response rates!
If you will implement these 6 key secrets into EVERY email you send out to someone who has emailed you, asking about your prices, you will book many, many more of these people! That's money in the bank for you! For free! Photography marketing is difficult, so let's make sure when someone responds to your marketing, you don't lose them because you didn't follow a proven plan for responding to her!
About the Author
Why are some photographers having all the customers they could ever want, while others are struggling? Charles Lewis has created the *ultimate* guide - "The TOP 33 Photography Marketing Secrets" free E-Course reveals the secrets for getting new customers - FAST - regardless of your town, or whether you work on main street or out of your home. Click Here: Marketing Photography
Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Charles-Lewis/62111
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