Why Flodesk is the Best Email Marketing for Photographers

Let’s talk about why I believe Flodesk is the best email marketing for photographers.

I’ve been a Flodesk user since it was in beta. That’s like six or seven years now. And I’ve continued to use Flodesk throughout it’s growing stages because I could see the vision for the company. For full transparency, I am a Flodesk partner and would receive commission if you use my link.

I love their mission: “Level the playing field for all small businesses”.

Why Email Marketing is Important for Small Businesses

When I first started out in my business, almost 15 years ago, I didn’t even know what email marketing was. However, a few years in, I needed a way to stay in contact with my clients and I heard about this “email marketing” thing. I started with a free plan from another email marketing platform. I remember it was clunky and hard to use. And another one I checked out was mostly text-based. But it was one of the few options for a small business. I wasn’t a huge conglomerate with a gigantic customer base.

However, when Flodesk came onto the scene, I knew I had to check it out. When it was offered in beta, I went for it because it promised good design and ease of use. And let me tell you, compared to other platforms, it delivered. I consider myself fairly tech savvy, and the other email marketing providers felt like a foreign language when it came to configuring things.

Should Photographers Use Email Marketing?

As a photographer, we care about how our photos look. Most photographers care (sometimes too much) about aesthetics and design. And when it comes to email marketing, we want our photos to shine and the design to be beautiful as well.

Flodesk delivers on all these things and makes it easy to design (or fill in a template) to be able to send beautiful emails.

Another unexpected benefit from Flodesk has been growing my email list. When I first signed up for Flodesk, I had fewer than one hundred subscribers. I wondered if it was even worth continuing. But as my business evolved and I got into offering digital products and coaching, I knew that having an email list would be essential.

Is Flodesk a Good Email Marketing Platform for Photographers?

Flodesk has pre-built forms that you can customize that will help you build your list. About three years ago, I created a form that I embedded on my blog, about “How to Start a Photography Business“. I published the blog post and over the course of 24 months (without any active marketing on my part) and good SEO of the blog post itself, I grew this segment to over 200 subscribers. The people subscribing were looking for “How to Start a Photography Business” and opted into my lead magnet.

An amazing feature that Flodesk finally added was the ability to segment a subscriber to a list based on their actions. So this means that I could ask the subscriber to click a link within the email and it would automatically add them to a segment, without them having to subscribe to another form. This is GAME CHANGING! It allows you to hyper target your readers for specific offers or help you identify subscribers who are local (big deal if you’re a local service based business!)

As I slowly pivot my offers to include coaching and other digital products, I can build segments within my email list to speak directly to the prospective buyer. The emails to the segment feel tailored and written specifically for them, because they are!

If you’re a photographer who is considering an email marketing platform (you totally should!), then I cannot recommend Flodesk enough. Flodesk enables you to look as professional as you know you are when it comes to sending out emails.

Best Way to Use Email Marketing for Photographers

If you’re a photographer who is kind of frustrated when it comes to marketing because you started a photography business to take pictures. Not to be a marketing guru. But I’m guessing if you’re like me, you quickly realized that if you don’t market your business, you won’t have any business to conduct.

And if you’ve heard about blogging, but the idea of it sounds overwhelming or like “too many words” then let me introduce you to the idea of email marketing and how you can repurpose your content.

Think of your email list as your “captive audience”. People have chosen to join your email list because they wanted your lead magnet or other offer of value. Chances are, this audience is your warmest group of leads. You don’t have to convince strangers on the internet that you’re great (like with social media), you don’t have to repeatedly introduce yourself to strangers in real life (like with networking). The people on your list know you.

So here’s how I would use email marketing as my primary marketing channel if everything else sounded like too much.

• Write a biweekly newsletter to your list
• Share a valuable tip that they can apply to their life/business (depending on your audience) right away
• Make a soft pitch at the end for any upcoming offers (like mini sessions or a workshop)
• Take that newsletter and publish it to your blog.

And there, you’ve just created 4 weeks of content with 2 days of effort.

Here’s How I Use Flodesk as a Photographer

As a photographer, I have a main lead magnet where most of my leads come from, mainly from SEO and people landing on my website. They opt into receiving a Personal Branding Photography Checklist. People who join this list then get a nurture sequence where I introduce myself and offer more resources to them.

Whenever I have limited time offer like brand mini sessions or a headshot day, I’ll create a waitlist using Flodesk. This is a two-pronged approach. It builds a waitlist of warm to hot leads, AND they are also local to me. This means that even if they don’t book a spot during my promotion, I can still continue to market to them through regular emails.

How Photographers Can Use Flodesk

If you’re a photographer who offers seasonal mini sessions, having a Flodesk form to collect interested leads in the form of a waitlist can be game changing for your mini sessions! You’ll be able to launch your mini session days to a list who has already expressed interest in your offer.

Flodesk also has a feature called Checkout. This is great if you have a digital product or want to be able to sell something like coaching, digital products, or a membership straight from your email. You can create a checkout page that links from your emails and create a seamless experience for your customer. (This is an additional fee on top of the Flodesk subscription, but if you need a checkout/payment platform, it’s one less login!)

And with Flodesk’s new pricing plan, you can build your email list FOR FREE before you ever send out an email!

Ready to check out Flodesk?

If you’re ready to give Flodesk a spin, then you can use my link to get 25% off your first year.

Flodesk now has 3 new tiers to fit your budget and growth!

Lite: $19/month – unlimited emails, unlimited forms, limited time bonus: 1 workflow

Pro: $25/month – unlimited emails, unlimited forms, unlimited workflows, limited time bonus: 1 checkout

Everything: $49/month – unlimited emails, unlimited forms, unlimited workflows, and unlimited checkouts!

Use my code (CATIER) to get 25% off your first year of Flodesk!