Having a Flodesk Email List As a Newborn Photographer

I'm Josephine

Email marketing for photographers isn’t just about selling

There’s a lot of advice out there about email marketing for photographers. You are told to send more emails, send them every week, always have a link to what you sell, keep it short, and so on.
Some of it might work, but all those pieces of advice are not always applicable when you are a newborn photographer.
To make it easier to understand what I mean, think about how your newborn photography business works so differently compared to, let’s say, Apple.
You can’t send out emails like them.
Because you have a business whose foundation is a deep and very personal connection with the mothers you work with. And yet, most of the business and marketing advice out there is made for bigger corporate businesses, not small intimate ones.

Newborn and family sessions happen during emotional and vulnerable moments

When you have a newborn session, the mother is right in the middle of it, everything that it means when you have just had a baby.
Her body is sore, she’s exhausted in a way she hasn’t felt before, and her hormones are all over the place. She can cry one second and feel completely fine the next.
She’s healing, holding her new baby, and trying to function at the same time.

You know this already, and I’m sure it’s also a part of why you love what you do so much. You know how to take care of her.
The tricky part is to make her know that too before her session.

Before she even books a newborn photographer, she needs to know that when she is in that fragile moment with her newborn, she needs to know she can trust that you are her only option for a newborn session, that you will not only take pictures, but also care for her.

When she is looking for a newborn photographer, she might be unaware of how it will feel at the time when her baby is here.
But that doesn’t matter if you have already made her trust you and feel connected to you. And this is where your email list comes in.

Why email marketing feels hard for photographers

It can feel like the only time to send an email is when you have something to share, like mini sessions coming up, or when you desperately just try to fill your calendar.
But between that, you stay silent, even if you know you should be showing up more, because it’s hard to know what to write about when you’re not selling.

A lot of email marketing advice focuses on numbers, timing, and getting attention fast. That approach doesn’t match the kind of connection you want with your clients.

How to use email marketing to build trust with your photography clients

Email gives you something different from social media. People don’t just scroll looking for something quick and fun, and don’t really have time for reading captions anymore.
Even if you feel that you are just adding more noise to their inbox, our brains are more open to actually reading when it comes to email.
Yes, some people will delete your emails before reading them and also unsubscribe, but there are also those who want to read them. Especially if you write and share things that make them feel something and give them something of value.

But how to do that, I’m pretty sure you are thinking.
Instead of thinking about what to send to get bookings, it helps to think about what she needs to understand about you before she reaches out.

What to write in your email list as a newborn photographer

You don’t need to come up with something spectacular. You just need to show what it’s like to work with you in ways that make sense to her.

Take her behind the scenes from one of your sessions
Instead of saying you had a session and showing the pictures, tell what actually happened. A baby who needed time to settle, and how you handled that. A mother who came in tense and relaxed as things went on. These details help her understand how you work and how a session with you can feel.

What you take care of during a session
There’s a lot you handle that she hasn’t even thought about yet. How you guide, adjust, and keep things moving without pressure. Writing about that helps her feel like she won’t have to manage everything herself.

Small pieces of your own life
If you’re a mother, you already have examples. Not big stories, just real moments. Something that didn’t go as planned, something your toddler said. Everyday moments from life that are just small stories, but that others can recognize themselves in.

How to include booking links in your emails without sounding salesy

I would actually say that this is the last type of email example above that you will send the most of. But the thought of having a new email list is not just to be someone’s pen pal, you also want to book sessions.
There should always be a link in your email to your website and your sessions, even in the ones you just send as a glimpse into your own life. But you don’t always have to let it be the main topic. See it more as a PS at the end of the email.

I’ve created two Flodesk email templates for you that make it easy for you to do just this. You can download them here.

Why personal emails help you stand out as a photographer

I know that many of you feel it’s difficult to have an email list as a motherhood photographer, as many of the mothers you want to have sessions with are in different stages of motherhood. Some have just found out they are expecting a baby, and another is looking for a family session for her five children.

But my advice is to start focusing on Newborn sessions when you think of your email list, because trying to do all at once will just make you exhausted and overwhelmed.

Why I advise you to start focusing on your newborn session is because that’s where most of it begins. If you connect with a mom who is expecting and she trusts you enough to book a session, and after taking part in the experience you give her that made her feel wonderful, she will come back. And in the meantime, you nurture her and build a strong bond over time.

Because that is what your email list is, long-term marketing.

Flodesk email templates for photographers freebie

If writing emails still feels like a lot, starting is usually the hardest part. That’s why I created my Flodesk email templates. They give you a starting point so you’re not looking at a blank page every time. You can follow the structure, adjust the words, and make it yours.
You can download them here and start using them right away.

And if you’re ready to set everything up inside Flodesk, you can also use my link to get 25% off your first year. It’s the platform I recommend when you want your emails to feel like something she actually wants to read.
You can also read more about why I recommend Flodesk in my other blog post “How to Use Flodesk to Write Emails Your Photography Clients Enjoy Reading“

Yes, you guessed right, this is an affiliate link and I earn a small commission when you use it.