Did you know peak proposal season is just around the corner? Every year between November and February (around all the big holidays), photographers see an influx of inquiries due to the increase in proposals. The beautiful fall foliage, family home for the holidays, or whatever the reason, it is a popular time to say yes!
Are you ready for it?
Now is the time to make sure your systems are ready to go to show potential couples why you are the perfect choice. And it all starts with the contact form. This page on your website is the gateway for you to start the conversation. It’s them letting you know they are interested to learn more. This is where you can stop their search for a photographer and make it an easy step to say hello.
That’s why this week on the blog we are talking about three things to have on your contact page!
1. Email Address
The first and most missed piece is providing them with YOUR email address. There are times a contact form doesn’t work or the embedded link has an error. You don’t want that to be the reason a potential client doesn’t contact you and moves on to someone else. Add your email address to the page and ask them to reach out to you, in case there are any issues while submitting. You could even have them send you an email, in addition to the form. Just in case an inquiry is lost in translation, they don’t think you are ignoring them. For me, when couples send both, I know they are my ideal client because they want to make sure I hear from them.
2. Contact Options
On the flip side, make sure to get a second way to contact them. Through my CRM, every inquiry email address is collected. I also ask for their phone number and Instagram handle. Not only does it let me connect with them socially, but I love to send them a video text just saying hi, so they can put a face to the name. It’s so important to get back to them as soon as you can. You don’t know how many photographers they are reaching out. If you can be the first to respond, it will help keep you top of mind.
Plus, if you noticed they haven’t opened your initial email, you can reach out to them on a different platform to make sure you have the correct email. It’s so easy to hit the wrong key on the keyboard.
3. Budget
Lastly, have a space for them to tell you their budget. If you do custom packages, this is a great way to know what to offer them without being too high for what they can afford. If you do standard packages, knowing the budget lets you know up front if you should take the time to chat with them or refer them to another photographer that is closer to their price point. For example, if your pricing is around $4,000, and a couple inquires with a budget of $1,000, you can pretty much bet they won’t book you, compared to someone with a budget at $3,000, that if they fall in love with you, could be more inclined to pay more than they were planning to have you as a part of their day.
Our time is valuable so make everything you do worth it.
Bonus tip: In the spot where they would enter their own budget, add in preview text with a price point around your average booking or do a drop down of price ranges around your booking rate. This indirectly reminds them what your price point is as they officially inquire with you.
Booking season is crazy. Make sure you are set up to bring in the most promising inquiries, so you can maximize your time and have a higher conversion rate with bookings. Implement these three pieces into your contact form and make sure to follow up if you don’t hear back from them right away. They are probably sending out tons of emails, and you don’t want them to miss the chance to work with you because your email got lost in the shuffle.
If you found this helpful and want to see what else you should implement to set yourself up for success during this booking season, click here to grab my free 45 Goals for Your First Year in Business guide.
XOXO ~ Heather Marie
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