When Should I Reply To A New Wedding Photography Inquiry?

I think we can all agree that getting a new wedding photography inquiry never gets old! More than ten years in and I still jump for joy every. Single. Time.

When a new inquiry does come in, how quickly should you reply?

Here’s what I think:

Pick What Works For You

Everyone has their own way of doing things. Just because your photog bestie replies to their emails within 5 minutes, doesn’t mean you have to as well. (And – spoiler alert – that’s not a sustainable practice in the long run.)

When your calendar is fully booked out 6 months to a year in advance, you don’t have the time to sit and watch your inbox every minute of the day. It’s also important to set client boundaries and expectations right from the very beginning. If you’re always replying to an email within 5 minutes or less, and then one day you get sick or have a fully booked weekend and can’t reply for two days… More than likely, your client is going to feel like you’re ignoring them.

A lot of wedding photographers will also say they’re replying immediately so the couple doesn’t have a chance to talk to anyone else. They want to be the ones to book that couple! But can I let you in on a little secret? There are PLENTY of clients to go around – more than one person could ever serve on their own. Here’s your permission to step out of that scarcity mindset and live in abundance instead!

Personally, I aim to respond within one business day, but my auto-responder lets everyone know they can expect a response within 2 business days. Speaking of auto-responders…

Use Auto-Responders

Long-gone are the days of boring, stuffy, useless auto-responders. Using a CRM system like Honeybook, you can send out fully branded and personalized emails, questionnaires, and so much more, giving your potential clients instant access to you no matter what time of day it is, or what your office hours are. I use this in every aspect of my business! Like I mentioned above, my auto-responder lets people know they can expect to hear back from me within 2 business days. It also informs them of my regular office hours, and for a new wedding photography inquiry, it includes a questionnaire to help me pre-qualify things like their budget. This gives me a head start on directing them to the exact service they’re looking for. It’s been a total game-changer and my clients love it!

Keep It Simple

There are so many ways for someone to get ahold of us – text, phone, email, various social media and messaging platforms… It’s easy to want to make yourself accessible any place a potential client may find you. But it can also be a recipe for disaster!

When your calendar is booked out and you’re managing 5, 10, even 20 or more clients at a time, you want to make sure all important info is in one place to be able to refer back to whenever I need it. This is why I stick with email communication with my clients! If they message me on social media, I just ask if we can continue the conversation over email so I can ensure proper response times and so I can easily add any important information to their client file. It’s never been a problem for my clients, and they appreciate that I’m taking the time to make sure nothing falls through the cracks in the name of convenience!

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Looking for something to help with your next wedding photography inquiry? Get my FREE Auto-Responder email template! Click Here

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