4 Tips to Respond to Photography Inquiries (That Actually Work!)

I’ve always said, there’s an art to responding to photography inquiries. You wouldn’t think there would need to be an art form for this, right? The truth is, once someone inquires about your photography services, getting them to hop on a consultation appointment with you can be challenging. 

But getting people onto consultation calls is crucial! It’s a lot easier to convert an inquiry into a booked client if you can get them on a consultation call.

We’ve talked about the do’s and don’ts of client follow-up emails before, but today we’re going to go beyond just email and discuss how to get a new prospective client inquiry on the phone with you.

So, if you’re struggling to get photography inquiries to book a consultation, keep reading.

How to go from photography inquiry to consultation call

Respond to inquiries quickly

I’m going to start with one of the most important tips on this entire list – you need to respond to clients faster. That’s one of the secrets I teach my students (and anyone who will listen) about booking more photography clients. 

Once someone inquires with you on your website, according to a 2018 statistic from Honeybook, you have a 10-minute window to respond. Ten minutes! That can be really challenging if you’re working a 9-5 or if you’re in the middle of a photo shoot.

Your best bet is to set up an auto-responder email every time a new prospect fill out your contact form. This will give allow you to respond right away without having to go crazy trying to respond to people at all hours of the day manually. Make sure that email has an invite to book your consultation call (and explain what a consultation call is).

Send a personalized text response

Another great way to make an instant connection with people is to send a personalized text message to your prospective clients. Even if you have an auto-response to inquiries, sending a text is a nice, personalized way to greet new people. It helps people feel like you’ve gone the extra mile to cater to them.

What you say in that text really depends on what type of photographer you are (I have a script for what to say in each of my email templates). But the important part is to remember to invite them to a consultation call if they haven’t already booked one from your auto-response email.

Send a video text

Ok, now we’re going to be extra. If you’re ready to start converting the majority of your photography inquiries into consultation calls then start sending personalized video text messages. I’ve tested this with several of my coaching clients and it works! 

Each one was able to increase their inquiry to consultation call rate. In fact, it works so well that I added a script for video text responses to my email template workflow as well. 

The key is to keep it short and mention any important details from their contact form. For example, if you’re a wedding photographer mention the person who inquired with you and their fiance. If you’re a newborn photographer, mention both parents’ names.

These little details go a long way to make people feel seen and start building that connection.

Send multiple follow-up emails

No one wants to be seen as pushy, but if your prospective client hasn’t booked a consultation after the initial email response and texts then you need to follow up. Flip the script on how you view follow-up emails from pushy to helpful. People get busy. It’s important to give them several opportunities to set up that consultation call.

I have definitely been told by clients that people have waited until the 5, 6, and even 8th follow-up before actually responding to them. Why did it take so long? It could be that they got busy or maybe your initial email gave them enough information and they didn’t realize they needed to schedule you so far in advance. By sending multiple emails providing that link to book a consultation, you’re just reminding them of something on their todo list.

The key is to communicate

Now that you have some new ideas on how to respond to potential photography client inquiries you need to test them! The key to converting inquiries to consultation calls is to keep communicating. Go back and make sure you’re following up with clients. Make a list of how long it’s been taking to you respond to people throughout the process. Then start tracking your results for each one of these tips. If you need help knowing what to say in any of these emails or text messages, check out my 40+ step client workflow templates in the shop! Each one contains a all the email templates, text scripts, and timing you need to succeed.