Tools to Grow your Creative Business
I wanted to share the tools I have been using to grow and set-up my business for success. These tools aren’t free; however, with them, you’ll be able to save time, so you can focus on other areas that will make more of a difference, such as more time serving your customers/clients and connecting with them. A few of these tools offer free trials so that you can try them out for yourself first!
I have been shooting for many years, but I have taken the plunge to turn it into a full-time photography business this year. I needed to improve my systems and educate myself in all areas, including customer relationship management system (CRM), email marketing, and accounting to name a few. It was a no-brainer for me to spend money on these subscriptions as I can already see the value they’re adding to my business and, most importantly, my client experience.
Scroll down for resources to grow your creative business…
EDUCATION
Since April 2020, I have been involved in Jai Long’s education community in the Six-Figure Business Map, Posing and Lighting, and Album Academy courses. Here are my thoughts on them.
Six-Figure Business Map
The Six-Figure Business Map course has been fundamental for my business. It has given me all of the tools, formulas, and roadmap I need to succeed, which means working with my ideal clients and governing my own working hours, allowing me more time to spend with my family.
Mindset is a main theme in the Six-Figure Business Map. The positive you will succeed message resonates throughout, and it’s infectious! I know and believe I have all the tools now to succeed in my business. Yes, I feel that confident, and I believe that you will too.
The Facebook community is incredible too. Members ask questions about pricing, unusual situations they might be in or feedback on their websites, etc. Everyone in there is so open, encouraging, motivating, and giving with their advice and time. There’s no competition or comparison, no negativity or bullying. It’s a beautiful and valuable community to be a part of and, I think, one of the many drawcards of the course.
Here are a few of the areas covered in the course: creating your ideal client personas, drafting up a business plan and creating the roadmap on how to get there, marketing tips and tricks with deep dives in Pinterest and Instagram, pricing and money (my favourite as I now feel in control of my finances!), productivity, branding, Google and workflow. The breadth that this course covers may sound overwhelming, but I assure you that each element of the course is broken down into bite-sized segments that you will be able to manage without any trouble. If you do have questions, you can always ask the Facebook group! Also, you have one year to complete the course so you can work at your own pace.
Now don’t think that just because you sign up for the framework that all of the hard work is done for you. Yes, the course outlines all of the areas that are needed to set-up and grow your business, but it’s up to you to implement them and make it your own.
Lastly, I want to mention that this course is not only fantastic for wedding photographers, it would also suit videographers, other wedding vendors, and even other creative businesses. While it does include wedding photographer related examples and provides a few wedding photography specific templates, e.g., Wedding Questionnaires and email response templates, the majority of the other resources can easily be adapted to your own business.
Interested to hear more? Email me if you’d like to know anything else about it. Click here to use my affiliate link! *These are affiliate links
Posing and Lighting
This course goes through how to guide and direct your clients to get the best possible images. This easy to watch course runs through different ways to guide your clients, including techniques depending on their personalities, and takes you on a few real-life shoots with couples to see how it’s done. I feel confident that I will be able to shoot beautiful portraits with my clients, and they will feel comfortable and even enjoy the experience! Click below to receive 20% off the course. *This is an affiliate link
ALBUM ACADEMY
Designing albums is notoriously time consuming so I knew that investing in a course which outlined the best and most efficient way to create beautiful bespoke wedding albums for my clients was worth it! It has certainly paid itself off. *This is an affiliate link
WEBSITE
SQUARESPACE
I’ve used Squarespace for about six years now. First for my blog, Lei Lady Lei and now for my photography website. I love the clean, professional templates and intuitive platform. It also has ability for ecommerce as well as email marketing so you’re in need of a one stop shop then it’s great for that. My branding agency are also able to customise my Squarespace CSS so I can stay with the platform but I can have a unique look.
EMAIL MARKETING
FloDesk
When I started out I used Mailchimp and then I moved to Squarespace’s inbuilt email marketing system. However the cost and cap on how many emails and subscribers I could send a month seemed a little excessive. Recently I came across women-owned startup Flodesk and immediately fell in love with their ready-to-send templates, easily explained workflows and automation tools. Email marketing can be daunting but Flodesk makes it so easy. Within minutes you’ll be ready to send your first email. Create your account, fill in your images, edit the text and branding and voila! You have your first newsletter! There’s even sample text you can use so you have a starting point to work from or don’t have to think up everything from scratch. It costs $39USD/month no matter how many subscribers you have (which is perfect if you have a large email list!) or you can sign up through my affiliate link below to receive a 30-day free trial and 50% off your subscription making it $19USD/month!
Customer relationship management (CRM)
Studio Ninja
Studio Ninja has been a game changer for me when it comes to client management. You can link up your Quickbooks or Xero (accounting software), keep track of weddings and other jobs in the calendar, send automated emails, questionnaires and store all of your client information. It has made the overwhelming task of CRM manageable and allows me to focus on building strong client relationships which is so important in my business. Also Studio Ninja originated from Melbourne, Victoria (my hometown!) and I am all for supporting local grown talent.
USE CODE: ASYB228F2Y4CEC FOR $5AUD OFF YOUR MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION. *This is an affiliate code
INSTAGRAM STORY TEMPLATE APP
Unfold APP
Unfold is the best app for creating the most beautiful and engaging Instagram stories. Don’t have time to make IG stories in Photoshop? No need! Unfold is the app for you. What really drew me in was the elegant and minimal templates, font choices and background textures so you can really make your stories look on brand. Annual subscription is $38.
CANVA
CANVA is a new favourite of mine. I’ve created many of my recent Instagram posts with Canva. I have recently upgrade to the paid version so I can input my brand logo, icon, colours and fonts however the free version is great if you don’t want to pay for the Pro version.
CREATIVE MARKET
While we’re on the subject of design and creation I have to mention Creative Market “the world’s marketplace for design”. It sells everything from Instagram post and IG Story templates, Instagram highlight designs, website templates, PDF designs, fonts, illustrations and the list goes on. Anything design-wise you can think of search through Creative Market and no doubt someone will have created something for that purpose.
CLIENT GALLERIES
Pic-Time
Pic-Time online gallery offers a visually beautiful and simple way for your clients to view and download their files as well as ability for them to purchase fine art prints, framed prints and albums among other products through their personalised in-built client store. The automated sales is great feature to bring in passive income without having to do much at all!
I used to be with Pixieset, and while I liked that platform I felt the Pic-Time had better printing partners, their interface looked more on brand for me and I liked their sales automation tool. The newly added ‘Art Gallery’ has been great for selling my prints too. I also have unlimited storage which is really helpful for client back-ups.
My clients always comment how seamless Pic-Time is to use and order from which is great to know. Here’s a great video to show you more about the platform.
USE CODE: 6S4B35 FOR ONE FREE MONTH WHEN YOU UPGRADE TO A PAID PLAN*
*This is an affiliate code
ACCOUNTING
Quickbooks
I knew that I wanted to sign-up for an accounting system to manage my business cashflow. I initially signed up to Rounded for the simplicity it offered, but it turned out to be too basic: I’d need to upgrade to another system in time as my business grew. My accountant recommended Quickbooks and I’m very happy with it. It took a little getting used to but after watching some video tutorials I now can see where my finances sit. Xero is another well-known account system you may want to look into.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I only share about companies that I truly believe in.
