Finding the best CRM for wedding photographers can be a game-changer for managing your clients, contracts, and schedule. I know firsthand the difference quality tools like this can make. I went from managing my photography business using a Gmail inbox and sticky notes, to having a streamlined system. Honeybook stands out as the top choice for many reasons and in this post I’m going to share why I chose Honeybook to manage my wedding photography business and help with managing client relationships using CRM systems.
What’s a CRM? Does your business need one?
“CRM” stands for Client Relationship Management Tool. This is basically how you handle your leads before they become clients, all the way to the deliver of their wedding photos. It’s one of the first things I recommend photographers invest in when they’re getting serious about their business. It’s *possible* to run a business without one, but you’re limited in your automations, workflows, and project management, and it will take a considerable amount of time to piece everything together without a CRM system.
Why Honeybook is the Best CRM for Wedding Photographers
First, be sure to grab a free trial account of Honeybook right here (and get 30% off your subscription with this link.) You’ll be able to follow along with all the tools and features in this post.
Running a creative business is unique and wedding photography is no different. Working with clients that range from 6 months out to 18+ months out means you need a CRM software that can organize your clients and help you stay on top of tasks, due dates, and client payments without going crazy. Many times as a wedding photographer you may be in your busiest season of shooting while also booking new clients for the following year. Which means your need for systems and organization is paramount.
The Pipeline Feature of honeybook allows you to completely customize your customer journey to reflect what you uniquely do in your wedding photography business. You can set up your Honeybook to follow the cadence you set.
You get to decide how your Honeybook pipeline looks and how many stages it has.
Key Features of Honeybook for Wedding Photography Business
The Scheduler Feature
Included in Honeybook is a scheduler that allows you to hold meetings, and schedule sessions as needed. You can have unlimited calendars and block of certain days and times so that you can offer your availability to your clients as you wish.
The scheduler tool is my favorite way to schedule consultation calls, sessions, and even vendor connection meetings. Honeybook also integrates with Google Calendar and others so you can see your booked times on your personal calendar.
Honeybook is an all-in-one tool for wedding photographers
The biggest thing you need to know about Honeybook is that it is basically the last tool, client portal, or studio management software you will need to book your clients and take care of them well.
It’s an all-in-one tool that covers your inquiry process, client communication, proposals and contracts, as well as getting paid and scheduling your calendar. It’s full of incredible tools for each step in your client experience journey and allows you to shine as the photographer.
You wont need another tool for reminding your clients about upcoming sessions or meetings (Honeybook even as SMS text reminders!) or anything like that.
I’m going to outline some of my favorite features that I think every wedding photographer should know about, but keep in mind there are even more once you’re inside Honeybook. Give Honeybook a try HERE.
The Honeybook Contact Form Website Embed
Using the Honeybook Contact Form Embed Code on your website, you’re able to capture your leads directly from your website and have them brought straight into Honeybook. This saves you time, allows for you to set up automations such as an initial email to be sent out letting them know their inquiry has been received, and keeps all your clients in one place.
Automatic Payment Reminders
The last thing you want to be doing as a wedding photographer is tracking your clients down with payment reminders and trying to remember who’s payment is due when. With Honeybook your wedding payments become so simple. You can even set up your proposals to have your clients “auto pay” with the payment method of their choice, so they don’t have to remember.
Like any CRM for photographers, there are pros and cons to each. To read more about the pros and cons of Honeybook, read this detailed article.
The Mobile App
The app allows me to pull up any client information on the go. Once when I forgot to print a questionnaire and family formal list before a wedding I was able to review the questionnaires straight through the app.
Get Contracts Signed and Paid Faster
The experience you create for your clients before they book with you is just as important as the one you create after and using a studio management tool like Honeybook ensures this process is seamless. You want the process of reviewing the agreement, signing the contract, and providing the details about the wedding to be easy. This is another reason why Honeybook takes the cake in my opinion! No more back and forth via email, or using different software for signing the agreement and a totally different one for getting paid. With honeybook, it’s all in one.
Flexible Ways for your Couples to Pay
When you use Honeybook to process your wedding collection payments, your clients will have multiple options for payment methods. They can use a credit card of their choice, ACH bank transfer, or by using Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Financial Reports for your Wedding Photography Business
Understanding the cashflow and revenue in your business is important as you make decisions about investments, taxes, and what you can pay yourself. Wedding Photography tends to be a seasonal business which means your income will fluctuate and having good financial reporting is HUGE for understanding where you’re at.
Honeybook provides an all-in-one tool for wedding photographers to handle the booking process and all around client experience for their businesses. After 7 years of using this in my own business, I have experienced first hand the way this customer relationship management system has helped me brand myself and book more clients for my photography services.
Give it try! Create a free Honeybook account here and get 30% off your first year using this link.
What does Honeybook Cost?
Honeybook is an affordable client management system for Photographers with 3 pricing tiers.
- Starter plan @ $16/mo ($8/month with my discount code)
- Essentials plan @ $32/mo ($16 with my discount code)
- Premium Plan @ $66/mo ($33 with my discount code)
Want more Honeybook Info? You might also want to read these posts:
The Pros And Cons of Honeybook For Photographers
Honeybook Smart Files Walk Through Tutorial
Getting Started With Honeybook – Setting Up Your Account
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