CLIENT COMMUNICATION FOR EQUINE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Sometimes It's Not What You're Doing. It's What You're Saying.
You know exactly what you want to say.
Then you sit down to write the email.
And suddenly every word you've ever known leaves your brain.
Or the words come out sounding nothing like you.
The same thing happens with inquiry responses, pricing conversations, follow-ups, website copy, client guides, and all the other places your photography business expects you to know exactly what to say.
Which turns out to be a lot of places.
Because running an equine photography business involves a surprising amount of talking and writing for a job you probably chose because you wanted to photograph pretty horses.
You don't need to become a copywriter.
You just need to communicate in a way that sounds like you, gives your clients the information they need, and makes it easy for them to understand what happens next.
COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS
What Are You Struggling To Say?
Most of the time, you know what you want your client to understand.
It's figuring out how to say it that's the problem.
You sit down to answer an inquiry and somehow turn a three-sentence response into a 20-minute project.
You need to talk about money and suddenly everything feels awkward.
You realize you've typed the exact same instructions for the fifteenth time this month.
Or, you read your website and think, "I know what this means, but would anybody who doesn't live inside my head know what this means?"
Those are different communication problems.
Let's figure out which one is making your life harder.
I Don't Know What to Say to Inquiries
Someone finally reaches out.
Excellent.
Now you need to respond in a way that answers their questions, sounds like you, and actually helps them take the next step.
Without staring at the blinking cursor for twenty minutes first.
I Keep Writing the Same Things Over and Over
What to wear. How to prepare the horse. Where to meet. What happens if it rains. When they'll see their images. What happens next.
If you're typing the same information for every client, it's probably time to stop reinventing it every time someone books.
Sales Conversations Get Awkward
Talking about money. Answering objections, Following up. Asking someone to make a decision.
You know what you want to say right up until an actual human being is sitting in front of you.
Let's make those conversations considerably less uncomfortable.
My Website It's Saying Enough
Your website can be pretty and still leave potential clients wondering what you do, who it's for, and why they should choose you.
The photographs may get their attention. The words still have a job to do.
WHEN SOMEONE INQUIRES
Getting the Inquiry Is Only The First Step
Someone filled out your form. Yay! 🎉
Now you have to respond. And, there's more to that response than, "Thanks for reaching out. Here's my pricing."
A potential client may be wondering:
Do you photograph horses like mine?
Can you photograph me with my horse even though I hate having my picture taken?
How does this whole thing work?
What does it cost?
What do I get?
What happens next?
And what do you do when the entire inquiry consists of: "How much?"
Your first response doesn't need to answer every question they could possibly have between now and the delivery of their artwork or images.
It does need to answer their questions that matter right now, make they feel like you actually read their inquiry, and give them an easy next step.
Because your job isn’t to write the world’s greatest inquiry email.
Your job is to keep the conversation going.
NOT SURE WHAT TO SAY BACK?
If every new inquiry sends you back to a blank screen, you don't need to keep reinventing the response.
Copy Without Cringe helps you figure out what you need to say in inquiries, emails, follow-ups, and other client communication without handing you a pile of canned scripts that sound nothing like you.
Because having a starting point is a whole lot easier than staring at a blinking cursor.
AFTER THEY BOOK
Your Clients Shouldn't Have to Wonder What Happens Next
Booking the session isn't the end of the communication. It's really just the beginning.
Your client still needs to know what happens next.
How should she prepare her horse?
What should she wear?
When and where are you meeting?
What happens if it rains?
Should she bathe the horse the night before or will that practically guarantee he rolls in something disgusting five minutes before you arrive?
When will she see her photographs?
How does ordering work?
When will everything be ready?
If you don't answer those questions before your client has to ask them, you're going to spend a lot of time answering the same emails over and over.
And your client is going to spend a lot of time wondering whether she's supposed to know something nobody actually told her.
Good client communication isn't about sending more emails.
It's about giving people the right information at the right time so they know what they need to do, what you're doing, and what happens next.
That makes the experience easier for them. And considerably easier for you.
IF YOU'RE EXPLAINING THE SAME THINGS TO EVERY CLIENT...
You probably don't need to keep typing them.
Clients Without Chaos helps you build a more consistent client experience so the information your clients need isn't living entirely in your head or being recreated every time someone books.
WHEN YOU HAVE TO SAY THE THING
Sometimes You Have to Say the Uncomfortable Thing
Not every client conversation is about what to wear or where to meet. Sometimes you have to talk about money. Enforce a policy.
Follow up on an unpaid invoice.
Explain why the session can't be rescheduled for the fourth time because Thunder might not be having his best hair day.
Tell someone that no, you can't just send the unedited files.
Say no to a request that doesn't work for your business.
Or respond when something has gone wrong and you really wish someone else could handle the conversation.
Unfortunately, pretend I didn't see that email is not a particularly effective communication strategy.
The goal isn't to find some magical combination of words that guarantees nobody will ever be unhappy with you.
It's to be clear, professional, and kind without apologizing your way through every boundary you've ever set.
You can say no without being rude.
You can talk about money without sounding defensive.
You can enforce a policy without writing a six-paragraph explanation of why the policy exists.
And you can handle an uncomfortable conversation without spending the next three hours rewriting the email.
KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO SAY BUT NOT HOW TO SAY IT?
Talk Like a Pro helps you handle the conversations that get awkward fast, from pricing and objections to policies, boundaries, problems, and saying no.
Because sometimes you don't need another communication theory.
You just need to know what the heck to say.
YOUR WEBSITE HAS TO USE WORDS TOO
Your Photographs Can't Do All the Talking
I know, I know. It would be considerably easier if you could put a bunch of gorgeous photographs on your website and call it done.
Unfortunately, your photographs can't explain everything. They can show someone what your work looks like.
But, they can't tell a horse owner what a session is like, what you offer, how the process works, or what she needs to do if she wants you to photograph her horse.
And they can't explain why you're the photographer she should choose when she's comparing you to three other equine photographers whose websites also have beautiful photographs.
That's where the words come in.
Your website copy doesn't need to sound clever.
It doesn't need to sound “professional” in that weird way that somehow makes you sound like a completely different person.
And it definitely doesn't need to say things like capturing timeless memories you'll treasure forever.
It needs to sound like you and help the right client understand:
This is for me.
This photographer gets it.
I know what to do next.
That's the job.
KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN BUT CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO SAY IT?
Copy Without Cringe helps you turn what you're trying to say into words that actually sound like you, whether you're working on your website, emails, inquiry responses, or other client communication.
No corporate-sounding nonsense required.
Communication faqs
A Few Things You Might Be Wondering...
What does client communication include in a photography business?
Pretty much every place where you need words to move a client through the experience.
That includes inquiry responses, emails, pricing conversations, session preparation, client guides, follow-ups, policies, sales conversations, website copy, ordering information, delivery, and the occasional, "Well, I guess I need a policy for THAT now" situation.
Good communication helps your clients know what to expect, what they need to do, and what happens next.
Do I need scripts for all of my client emails?
No. And I don't think every photographer should be sending identical canned emails either.
But, you also don't need to start with a blank screen every time someone asks what to wear or what happens if it rains.
Having a solid starting point for the things you say repeatedly saves time. Then you can personalize it when the situation or the client calls for it.
How do I talk about pricing without feeling awkward?
First, stop treating your prices like something you need to apologize for.
You don't have to defend them, give someone your entire cost-of-doing-business calculation, or start talking faster because you've reached the uncomfortable part of the conversation.
Your client needs to understand what you offer, what it costs, and what happens next.
And yes, talking about money gets easier when you've already figured out what you're going to say before somebody asks.
What should I say when a potential client stops responding?
It is completely okay to follow up. Seriously.
People get busy. Emails get buried. Someone can be genuinely interested in hiring you and still forget to respond because their kid got sick, the dog ate something it shouldn't have, or Tuesday happened.
A friendly follow-up isn't automatically pushy. Give them an easy way to continue the conversation and, when appropriate, a clear point at which you'll close the loop rather than following up forever.
How much information should I give clients?
Enough that they know what they need to know when they need to know it.
Your newly booked client probably needs to know how to prepare for the session. She does not necessarily need every detail about artwork delivery before you've even photographed the horse.
Giving clients the right information at the right point in the process is usually far more useful than dumping everything on them at once and hoping they remember the important parts.
Can you help me figure out what to say in my own business?
Yes.
If you're looking for something you can work through yourself, Copy Without Cringe and Talk Like a Pro can help with different types of client communication.
And if the problem is more complicated than “What should this email say?”, mentoring gives us room to look at your communication in the context of the rest of your business and figure out what's actually happening.
COMMUNICATION ISN'T ACTUALLY THE PROBLEM?
Let's Figure Out What Is.
You know something in your business isn't working the way you want it to. You're just not convinced it's the words.
Fair enough.
It could be your marketing. Your pricing. Your workflow. Your client experience. Or one of those annoying problems where everything is tangled together and you can't tell which thing you need to fix first.
That's what the Start Here Page is for.
Answer a few questions about what's giving you trouble, and I'll point you toward the Unbridled Business resources that make the most sense for where you are right now.
No 47-step plan required.
Rein in the Chaos. Grow Unbridled.
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