If you’ve been a photographer for a while (or you’re just observant!), you’ve probably realized there are seasons where engagements become really popular. New Year’s, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day are big ones, but truly, Fall to early Spring will bring you lots of inquiries!
So what do you do to prepare for proposal season? We’ll go over all the basics today. This kind of reminds me of planning for hurricane season in New Orleans – it’s a lot of prep, but your future self will thank you for it!
1. Prepare Your Website
When couples are trying to decide who to hire as their photographer, I promise they’re ALWAYS going to look at your website. 💻
Make sure the images on your website are up-to-date, and they are your strongest images that will draw in your ideal client. Additionally, if you want to rank high in SEO, I’d highly recommend Ryan Moreno, an SEO specialist. He has recently spoken to our Wedding Photography Society to talk about SEO!
Some of his tips included:
- Make the first words on your website clear about who you are, what you do, and where you’re located. For instance, “New Orleans Photographer” is at the top of my website.
- Sprinkled throughout the website should be keywords to help you rank higher in Google.
- Make sure your text and images are all optimized and resized. Showit will do it for you, but you have other options as well!
We personally use Showit for our website. If you want to try Showit, the affiliate code MAGIC will get you 10% off.
2. Streamline the Back-end of Your Business
As you prepare for proposal season, you want to make sure the back-end of your business is streamlined and organized. We use a program called Dubsado (use this affiliate link for 20% off your subscription!). Dubsado is a client management system, and it’s so great for storing contracts, canned emails, and creating workflows to keep everything running smoothly.
In those busy seasons, you may be getting several inquiries a day. You don’t have time to spend an hour per inquiry creating proposals and sending emails! You want to have everything loaded in and ready to go.
If you want to dig into the nitty-gritty of canned emails, wedding contracts, or portrait contracts, we do offer these resources in our education shop.
If your photography business isn’t quite ready for Dubsado, then Google Docs, Forms, and so on will work. Whatever you choose, just make sure you have SOME kind of system in place before things get busy!
3. Have Featured Weddings on Your Website
I recommend having 2-3 featured weddings on the portfolio page of your website. These weddings should really speak to your style, your ideal client, and what you love to photograph.
I like the idea of having your top 2-3 weddings on your website, and having a few extra recent weddings on your blog. If you’re early in your career and only have a few weddings under your belt, 2-3 featured weddings is perfectly fine.
I’d recommend having 15-20 images per wedding. I wouldn’t exceed 50 images in a featured wedding – that’s a whole lot! Check out features and publications, such as Sell Me Pretty, Brides, Over The Moon, Vogue, etc. Look at what types of images and how many they’re publishing. You’ll want to include more portraits than they do, but it’ll give you an idea of how they lay out their photos.
As an artist, you want to show your absolute best work. Your portfolio is only as strong as your worst image. If there’s an image you’re on the fence about, DON’T include it!
4. Update Your Social Media
You definitely need to update your social media as you prepare for proposal season. One of the first impressions a potential client gets of you is your social media. This could be Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc. – they should all be up-to-date and a true reflection of your business.
In addition to the images you share, you also want to include:
- Where you’re from
- What you do
- A little bit about yourself
- A headshot of you (yes, really! This will help people feel like they know and trust you)
If you don’t post often, maybe post one photo and pin it to the top of your Instagram posts.🤳🏻
5. Send out an Email 📧
A great way to stay top-of-mind during proposal season is to send out an email to your email list. Personally, our email list is compiled of current clients, past clients, and anyone who has logged into our galleries in Pic-Time and Zenfolio (if you’re interested, here’s an affiliate link for 30% off of Zenfolio, or use code 634klw for a free month at Pic-Time!) . Download and organize those lists so you can stay in contact with them.
Even if people on your email list don’t need a photographer, they’ll be able to recommend you when their friend does!
6. Send Gifts
Gifts are another great way to stay top-of-mind. I’ve been in business for 15 years, and there have definitely been times we’ve sent gifts to current clients, past clients, and vendor partners!
There’s a wide variety of gifts you can send. We’ve sent:
- Flowers
- Chocolate-covered Oreos
- Champagne
- Ring dishes with engraved names
- Planners
- Nice dinners
- Coffee gift cards
- A nice, hand-written note
However, I truly believe that at the top of people’s needs are (1) stellar services and (2) excellent images. So I will say that improving your business organization and client experience is the first thing you should do before giving gifts.
7. Create Space in Your Calendar for Inquiries
If you know there’s a time of year where a lot of inquiries will come in the door, it’s a smart idea to put space in your calendar for those things.
For instance, we set aside time around lunch for our inquiry meetings. For us, that usually means 10 AM – 2 PM on Monday-Wednesday. When you block that time out in your calendar, you’ll be able to dedicate time and attention to your new clients – who will appreciate feeling taken care of!
Is Your Pricing Up-to-Date?
While you prepare for proposal season and update your website and social media, you want to make sure your pricing is up-to-date as well!
Do you ever struggle to price your products? Do you use other people’s pricing without really being sure WHY or if those prices are right for you? 😓
You can grab our 1-hour Intensive on Profitable Pricing to increase your bottom line and become more profitable, all while better serving your clients.
You can also grab our Pricing Guide freebie to learn how to create your base prices.
I created my Pricing Guide to help you:
- Understand the WHY behind your base prices
- Decide what to charge for your photography
- Cover your expenses to remain profitable and sustainable
Check it out below ⤵️
