Best Tools to Run A Photo Business

When you are starting out as a photographer, there is so much to figure out. No one ever teaches you how to run a business but that’s about to change. It takes so much time to figure out the best way to send Contracts, accepts payments, gets in touch with your clients, looking professional, the best way to deliver images, managing social media, blogging, and keeping track of yourself.

Tools Every Wedding Photographer Should Know About

If you are just starting out, let me help you. By the end of this, you are going to be way more than a professional photographer. You will have all the tools to be a marketing manager, a web designer, secretary, and customer service rep. I know I know, it sounds like a lot. But that’s because it is. Don’t let that scare you away from your dreams of photography though. One of my favorite quotes of all time is, “Fear kills more dreams than failure every will.” Don’t let fear kill your dreams, let your dreams kill fear. Take a deep breath and enjoy learning about all the tools you can use to simplify your life. That’s right, I have them right here. So keep dreaming. Keep working. Keep reading.

You’re welcome.

Honey books

The #1 struggle when starting out is figuring out how to take payments AND keep a record of that. Excepting cash and check is great lets be real, Its 2019. You have to take credit cards too! Honeybooks is the answer to your prayers! This is what I use to automate my bis.  Contracts, invoices, questionnaires, contact forms, it does it all. And at the end of the year, I just email my income report, through honeybook, makes) to my accountant (along with my expenses that I keep track of in a spreadsheet). It’s that’s easy! It’s probably the most important and highly recommended tool. HERE IS 50% off your first year. Making it a grand total of .66 cents a day to keep your business thriving. #WORTH IT

 Playnoly

Have you sold your soul to Instagram??  We all do.  But this is the Instagram planning app that will give you your life back! Heres how it can improve your business. It lets you plan ahead, set posts to autopost, and is set up so hashtag groups are made easy. If you’re looking to bring in the clients, and boost advertisement, Playnoly is one of your new best friends.

Check it out here! 

Tailwind

Ah yes, the lovely and vital tool used to make planning for Pinterest easy. It’s the Planoly of Pinterest. Link your blogs, photos, instagram, and pin to as many boards as you want. Tailwind lets you schedule your pins, and pin as many pins at a time as you want to. It also collects data to let you know which pins are doing best, and which are not doing so hot. This is important information because it allows you to change up your pins in order to reach a higher pin turnover and increase visitation to your website. Boo-yah.

Here is a link to a free webinar on pintrest marking 

 

 

Showit and WordPress

A drag and drop Website Design platform partnered with  Showit! This is how I create my site and blog. AND I LOVE IT. There is a little bit of a learning curve, and I pay about $300 a year. (Spend money, make money. Am I right ladies?) If you are just starting out and can’t afford it, check out   WIX or Squarespace. I started out with Wix and always had awesome feedback from my site!

 

Pixieset

How do I deliver beautiful photos? Pixieset! Easy and affordable storage. Pixieset connects to a number of professional print labs. I can even send my client’s gift cards and discount codes so they can order pictures from me. But I really dont have to do any of the work. Yup. That’s right. The order goes straight from Pixieset, to the print lab, to their door! BOOM it’s that easy.

Here is a link to 250mbbonus storage

Energize

OK- this isn’t really a business tool but it’s something I like to start my day off with.  So, it’s more of a life tool.. haha! I don’t drink coffee or soda… so this is my caffeine fix!  Every morning I wake up, eat a small breakfast, and then mix up some Energize in my water bottle as I do a little bit of work. It’s tasty with no artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives.

Click here to see more of my morning routine.