When you decided to become a wedding photographer, what was it about this career that enticed you? For several, it’s because they love taking photos. Here’s a fun fact – only about 12% of your time is spent actually taking photos! The rest of the time is dedicated to marketing, accounting, sales, networking, and more. As a wedding photographer, you actually signed up to be a business person for most of the time!
Managing a business is no easy feat and can quickly become overwhelming. One key to being successful is ensuring that you have the proper organizational tools in place to keep your priorities on track. To help you with this, we’ve put together 5 tips to help you better organize your business.
1. Use office management programs
Whether you work from home or have a studio, having a solid system to manage the ins and out of your business is vital. There are several options to explore, from hiring a studio manager to using a studio management software. A great virtual studio manager is ShootQ, which was developed by photographers for photographers. It allows you to keep your workflow organized from the moment a prospective client contacts you until the final product is delivered. Because everything is managed online, you can easily access the information whenever you need it.
Related: 10 Things That Help Your Business Go Fast
2. Prioritize Emails
With up to 30% of your workweek being dedicated to organizing emails and your inbox, it is imperative that you prioritize emails. When your communication techniques are organized, it will be easier for you to reach out to potential clients and business partners! Each morning, filter through your inbox, and prioritize and delegate the emails you have to others on your team.
Creating automated responses is also a great way to reduce your email time. If you continually compose emails about your pricing, create an email template. By doing this, you no longer have to write out the entire email every time you want to talk about pricing, which will save you time!
3. Schedule Social Posts in Advance
Staying active on your social media platforms and blog is one of the best ways to keep you connected with current and future clients. Rather than writing blog posts, Tweets, and Facebook posts right before you want to post them, create time in your schedule to write all of them for the month. From here, schedule them in advance using programs such as WordPress and Hootsuite. Not only will you not have to worry about remembering to actively post each day at the right time, but you will be able to effectively plan out exactly what you want to share on each social platform in advance!
Related: 3 Facebook Tricks to Double Your Exposure
4. Delegate Tasks to Others
While it can be easy to do everything on your own since you know your business the best, it’s time for you to delegate tasks! It can be challenging to let go of areas of your business, but in order to stay organized and grow, you need to delegate to other people or companies. Have a pro help you with SEO, outsource color correction, and assign someone else to respond to emails. Taking the time to train and work with others will free up your time to work on areas of your business that only YOU can work on.
Suggested Read: Top Reasons You Need To Outsource Photo Editing
5. Keep a Calendar
A calendar, one of the most simple tools, will be your best friend (especially during busy season!). Having a visual of all of your shoots and client meetings will be a lifesaver when you are trying to figure out when you can squeeze in some time for coffee with a vendor you have been wanting to network with. Use a calendar that can be accessed and synced on your phone and computer so you always have the most updated schedule – the last thing you want to do is double book yourself for a wedding!
By keeping your business organized, you will be able to focus on areas of your business that you want to optimize and grow. For additional ways to organize your business, download our Guide, Recharge Your Business!
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