Are you having a hard time booking clients even though your inbox is full of inquiries? It can be so disheartening to hear crickets when you’ve replied to a new potential client email asking about your prices and we start to wonder what went wrong. Did the email hit their spam folder? Were my pics offensive? Did they not like my client experience? Before you freak out and completely overhaul your business, hold up and try these changes first. 

Here’s 5 steps to writing an inquiry response email that works: 

1. Personalize your response: nobody wants to feel like they’re communicating with a bot. Type out their name even if the rest of the response is on auto. This will make them feel like your response was written for them and like you took time out of your day to respond to them personally.

2. Bullet what they’ll find in your client magazine: quickly outline all the value points in your inquiry response magazine so they will know they’ll find what they’re looking for in that awesome resource! 

Here’s what that looks like for my own visual booking motivator: 

• what makes AHP different from the rest
• details about our organic editing process
• the AHP portrait timeline
• frequently asked questions
• testimonials from previous clients
• session & product pricing

3. Share available months you’re booking with a twist of urgency: let them know exactly what months you’re booking for, and let them know how quickly you sell out to create a sense of urgency to book with you! If you’ve sold out of a specific month recently, let them know that too, as it sets the pace for your bookings.

4. Include your freebie offer: don’t miss out on an opportunity for a newsletter sign up! Offer your best converting freebie inside your email to let them sign up to continue to consume your portfolio and high value content. For me, that would be my “What NOT to Wear” freebie. 

5. Follow up within 3-7 days: I like to follow up within 3-7 days of an unanswered inquiry with reminders of my booking availability, and a helpful list of free resources they can find on my site in the form of blog posts and more freebie offers. 

Speaking of following up, here’s a few quick tips to maximize your booking chances: 

1. I like to reiterate my booking season with a twist of urgency: something like, “I’m currently booking for November and December, but those dates are selling out rather quickly.” usually gets them to respond. 

2. I remind them that I’m 100% open to answer any questions they may have. Sometimes potential clients may have questions about what they read in the client magazine or other questions to help them make their final decision.

3. I bring focus back to my visual motivator (my client magazine): your inquirers may need more time to go through your client magazine and simply reminding them that it’s there when they’re ready may be what they need. 

4. I point them to a few helpful resources on my site, in the form of blog posts: I like to compile a short list of high value blog posts I’ve written that not only hit their pain points, but show off my expertise as a senior photographer in my area! 

For me, that looks like this: 

Don’t forget, you can find FREE senior session resources on my site! Here’s our most popular links:

• 5 Things You Should NEVER Do Before Your Senior Session
• 8 Reasons to Book Your Senior Portraits Early
• Which Senior Session Season is Right for You?
• A Look Inside: Our Editing Process
• How to Get the Most Variety out of your Outfits

5. I offer them my freebie via newsletter sign up one more time, in case they missed it the first time. This will get them on my subscribers list and started on a welcome sequence I’ve set up to automatically nurture them over time.

So tell me, does your inquiry response need a little work after reading this?! Give yourself a few days to overhaul your email and then get to work using it! It really can hold a lot of power when it comes to booking your photography clients!

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You need this suite if you…
+ don’t use your e-mail signature capabilities to their fullest potential
+ your current e-mail signature doesn’t encourage potential clients to book with you
+ feel like you’re missing the mark when communicating with your clients
+ want a done-for-you e-mail system with all the answers
+ want to further entice your inquiries to experience your brand