In this episode of Workflows, Host Scott Wyden Kivowitz sits down with Erica Thompson Beck, a multi-faceted photographer specializing in weddings and boudoir photography.
Erica is a wife, mom of two boys, nurse, and photographer. Her passion for photography began unexpectedly during a 4th-grade field trip to Gettysburg. Erica is dedicated to continuous learning and improvement and prioritizes creating stunning visuals for her clients. Her mission is to empower women and ensure they feel beautiful and special in front of her lens.
Erica shares her approach to managing her photography business efficiently while traveling. She discusses the importance of client communication and personalized interactions, emphasizing the role of automation tools in streamlining processes and maintaining high-quality customer service.
Why You Should Listen
- Gain valuable insights on how to keep your photography business running smoothly, even when you’re on the road.
- Discover essential workflows, systems, and automations for maintaining a successful photography business, no matter where you are in the world.
- Get actionable tips on client communication, incorporating text messaging into your workflow, and the significance of personalized interactions.
- Learn how to use automation tools like Lead Savage to save time and provide personalized customer experiences.
Resources
Tune in to the Workflows podcast to learn invaluable tips for managing your photography business on the go and optimizing your workflow for success.
Show transcription
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Workflows Photography Podcast. I'm your host, Scott Wyden Kivowitz, and today we're talking about how to keep your photography business running smoothly. While you're on the road, discover essential workflows, systems, and automations to ensure your business stays on track no matter where you are in the world.
Let's dive in and make your photography business road ready. Welcome to the special episode of Workflows on the Road.
We are here at
ImagingUSA in Louisville, Kentucky.
and you have a, boudoir business back at home. And what was the other thing you photographed?
Erica Thompson Beck: Weddings.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Weddings, weddings
and boudoir
back at home Delaware?
Yes. And you currently here
[00:01:00] traveling, for event, but general, if you're traveling, you've got this business at home, what doing? What workflow systems and do you have in place?
To keep
your running efficiently
while you're on the road.
Erica Thompson Beck: Okay. So obviously it's very important for me to still be able to keep in touch with my clients, and respond to inquiries and everything like that. So for me, I use Lead Savage, which is an automation company. It's, you set everything up in the system and. I should also mention I'm kind of a one woman show.
So there's nobody else to answer emails. Yeah. There's nobody else to answer phone calls, text messages, all that. So, once everything gets set up in there, that system, it, it pretty much runs itself. my clients can. Get responded. They send an email, they get a response, it'll take 'em to a page where they can, find a time to connect with me so that we can talk about their session and their needs.
And then, so that is super helpful for me, to be able to still. Run my business when I'm away.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: So [00:02:00] you're
your, most
of
your leads through email, then following up email, you're following up. 'cause Lead
Savage do everything, Yes,
yes. you
typically following up through email or are you incorporating
text messaging
into
this now
or so?
I absolutely incorporate text messaging because most of clients today, especially your younger clients, are gonna wanna, you know, communicate with you through text message because they don't really. Respond to emails. it the age group you're, you're dealing with. Right. So, I kind of meet them wherever they meet
me.
So
you're asking them ahead of time, what do you
Erica Thompson Beck: prefer?
I can, I can do that. Okay. Or, if they reach out via text I'll text them back. Got it. If they reach out via email, I'll email them back. Right. I try not to go through Facebook Messenger. I, you know, usually prefer to do email or text
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: message. Yeah. Yeah. I don't blame you. It's a
Facebook messenger. I
feel like.
there
is a. a time and a
for, for it. it gets a little tricky at times. Facebook can be unreliable at times with, with its notifications and
stuff. Exactly, exactly, So Plus,
if somebody sends you a message.
and
you're not,
[00:03:00] a ready friend, it
goes into this message request box that you have to manually go every once in a while
Erica Thompson Beck: and check for Yes. And I have actually missed opportunities that way. Yeah. So that's why I try to gear
my
conversation, email or text or phone call. So, and Instagram's
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: doing that now as well.
So like there, or have always, I guess, put
it in the same thing so they're in the same boat in that front. But I don't think Lisa average works with Instagram at the
moment.
Erica Thompson Beck: they do, but I they do don't. Okay. I can't, I couldn't tell you exactly how. Okay. Yeah, yeah. I could get the answer for you, but
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: I can't tell you how. So, so
as a one, one woman show using Lead Savage, are you using their pre-made, templates and stuff to get to get going? Are you, using it, modifying? Are you building
your own? How are you doing that?
Erica Thompson Beck: both. Okay. I have built some of my own and I've had help building and they are also starting to come out with templates. they're getting ready to do a big update, which is gonna have a lot of templates.
Nice. So, at that point I go in and then I make it my own. I've used my branding colors, I use my logos, I use my Imageners. So, I may be working with something, a [00:04:00] skeleton, but I'm putting all of my details into it. Yeah.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: So that's great. That's great.
I'm going Imagen it's going to save a lot of time, of back and forth and back and forth
and,
Erica Thompson Beck: it's gonna allow me to continue to run my business by myself for a longer period of time before I have to bring on more help.
So, yeah. that, and that's a big deal, you know, when you're watching your bottom line.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: So, and is
this, so we're, we're in 2024
now, Uhhuh, which is crazy. Still kind of crazy. is this like your. Your main goal for 2024 is it, get this all fully in place and done
and, you know,
take that, take that load off you and,
just make things easier. That's, that's your goal for
2024?
Erica Thompson Beck: Absolutely. Work smarter, not harder. Yeah. and that's where. Imagine has really helped me out a lot. so yes, that's my goal, to things, but to touch so that way it might be an automated email, but I'm still responding to them.
It's still gonna have their name. It's, it's still gonna be personalized. It's not gonna be looking like some mass market [00:05:00] email that you get from every store out there that you just ignore. Yeah. and yes, so. Awesome.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Well, thanks for
sharing what you do when you're on the road.
I know that
everybody who's listening and
to,
probably walk away with some idea of like what they can do, especially
if they're a one man, one woman or
whoever show, you know, there's a lot of
people in a situation that need to find a solution and yes,
Erica Thompson Beck: yes. Because if not, you think you can't attend things like this because you can't leave your business for that period of time when you know there's programs out there that will help you to be able to do that.
So, totally. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you.
[00:06:00]
