Updated: Aug 7, 2025
- Prioritize the Reader’s Perspective: Photographers should address the “What’s In It For Me?” (WIIFM) question to ensure your email marketing resonate with your audience.
- Keep Content Concise: Short, straightforward emails are more likely to be read and appreciated by busy clients.
- Use a Single-Column Layout: This format enhances readability across devices, ensuring your message is accessible to all recipients.
- Incorporate Visuals: Showcase your photography to captivate readers and highlight your work effectively.
- Repeat a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA): Including the same CTA multiple times guides readers toward the desired action without overwhelming them.
- Implement Email Sequences: Utilize drip campaigns to tell a story or guide clients through a journey, enhancing engagement and conversion rates.
Email marketing – and specifically email automation – lets you keep your marketing engine running without needing more of your time.
Marketing and business growth on auto-pilot – sounds good, right?
You already have a solid strategy for email marketing. If not, you should check out our article 5 easy examples of how to use email marketing as a photographer. So now, let’s get into the nitty gritty tactics and make sure that you’re putting your best foot forward with each and every email you send.
Here are 6 quick and easy tips for massive success with email marketing that we’ll go over:
- Answer – WIIFM; why would someone care?
- Keep it simple and short
- Use a single-column text
- Add a lot of visuals – show off your work
- Add 1 call to action multiple times
- Tell a story with a sequence of emails
The types of email marketing and why you should automate it
Let’s first define the 2 different “types” of email campaigns you can create:
- Email blast
- Email drip sequence
Email blasts
An email blast is a 1-off type of email marketing that you write, create and send one time. A good example of this is a newsletter, a promotion, an announcement or a flash sale. If you’re using Sprout Studio to do your email marketing for your photography business, we call these Email Blasts, and it works exactly as you’d expect – you choose your filters for the email, write 1 email and then send it or schedule it.
Examples of email blast email marketing:
Wedding Photographers:
Subject: “Now Booking 2026 Weddings – Let’s Make Magic Together!”
An announcement-style blast to notify past leads or newsletter subscribers that you’re opening your books for a new wedding season.
Portrait Photographers:
Subject: “Mini Sessions Are Back – Limited Spots Available!”
Promoting an upcoming round of portrait mini sessions with urgency and a clear call to action to book.
Family Photographers:
Subject: “Fall Family Sessions – The Countdown to Cozy Begins 🍁”
A seasonal email blast announcing availability for fall family photo sessions with limited weekend slots.
Videographers:
Subject: “Now Offering Highlight Films for Engagements & Proposals 🎥”
Announcing a new service or package, with a teaser video embedded or linked.
Creative Entrepreneurs:
Subject: “You’re Invited: Headshots & Brand Sessions Day – One Day Only!”
A special one-day branding/headshot event for small business owners and creatives, focused on scarcity and value.
Email drip sequence
An email drip sequence is meant to be an ongoing, (potentially) multi-email campaign. A good example of this is a lead magnet follow-up, a series or a sales sequence. Again, if you’re using Sprout Studio to send email marketing, you can set this up to automatically add new clients based on a set of filters, and you can create multiple emails separated by hours, days or weeks apart. This is the best way to put your email marketing on auto-pilot because you build it once, set it live, and never have to worry about it again.
Examples of email drip sequence email marketing:
Wedding Photographers:
Campaign: “Just Engaged? Here’s What’s Next 💍”
A 3–5 email sequence that nurtures newly engaged couples. It might include tips for planning their wedding timeline, real wedding galleries, your pricing guide, and a final call to book a consult.
Portrait Photographers:
Campaign: “What to Expect from Your Portrait Experience”
An onboarding-style drip that walks clients through the portrait session process—from what to wear, to how to prepare kids, to how ordering prints works afterward.
Family Photographers:
Campaign: “Memories That Matter: Your Family Photo Journey”
A value-driven series for cold leads or newsletter subscribers. It includes storytelling about the importance of family photography, how you make sessions stress-free, and a session guide to warm them up.
Videographers:
Campaign: “How to Get the Most Out of Your Wedding Film”
An educational drip that helps booked clients understand how to prepare for their video coverage. Includes things like shot lists, lighting tips, and sneak peeks of recent highlight reels.
Creative Entrepreneurs:
Campaign: “Build a Brand You’re Proud Of – It Starts Here”
A lead magnet follow-up sequence for brand photography clients. Begins with a free guide or quiz result, then moves into educating them on personal branding, sharing success stories, and inviting them to book a session.
6 tips for email marketing success as a photographer
1️⃣ Answer – WIIFM; why would someone care?
When strategizing, outlining, and writing your email content, always consider the reader’s perspective. WIIFM stands for “What’s in it for me?” It’s a crucial question your audience is silently asking.
To address this, highlight the benefits they will gain from your emails. Are you offering exclusive insights, special promotions, or showcasing photography tips? What are they going to get out of it? Make sure you have that planned ahead of time, and then make it clear right from the subject line and the opening paragraph.
This ensures that your emails capture attention and provide value, making them more likely to be opened and read.
2️⃣ Keep it simple and short
In today’s fast-paced world, brevity is key.
Your audience likely receives dozens of emails daily, so respect their time by keeping your content concise. Focus on delivering a clear message without unnecessary fluff. Use short sentences and paragraphs, and avoid jargon or overly complex language.
Aim for readability and clarity, which will help maintain your audience’s interest and encourage them to engage with your content. If you can convey your message effectively in a few lines, you’re more likely to keep your readers hooked.
3️⃣ Use single-column text
A single-column layout ensures emails are easily read on any device, particularly mobile phones.
Multi-column layouts can be challenging to navigate on smaller screens, leading to a poor user experience. A single-column format helps to maintain a clean and organized look, making it easier for readers to follow your content.
It also directs the reader’s attention smoothly from one section to the next, ensuring they don’t miss any important information. Consistency in layout can significantly improve the readability and effectiveness of your emails.
With the Sprout Studio Designer Email tool, you can add content as a one-column, two-column, or three-column layout. While both the two- and three-column layouts are pretty and look like a newspaper (on desktop), it’s still probably a better user experience for your audience to have content streamlined in a one-column layout.
4️⃣ Add a lot of visuals – show off your work
As a photographer, your visuals are your strongest asset. Obviously!
Use images to capture the reader’s attention and showcase your best work. Visual content is not only more engaging but also helps to break up text and make your emails more visually appealing.
With the Sprout Studio Designer Email tool, there are many layouts that include images. Vary it up to keep things interesting, and let your images do some of the heavy lifting!
5️⃣ Add 1 call to action – multiple times
A clear and compelling call to action (CTA) drives engagement.
To increase the chances of your readers taking the desired action, include the same CTA multiple times throughout your email. This could be a button to book a session, a link to your portfolio, or an invitation to follow you on social media.
Place CTAs strategically at the beginning, middle, and end of your email. Repetition reinforces the action you want them to take and ensures that even if they skim the email, they won’t miss your CTA.
6️⃣ Tell a story with a sequence of emails
A single email can only do so much.
Instead, think of your email marketing as a story that unfolds over a series of messages. This approach, known as an email drip sequence (above), allows you to nurture your audience over time.
Start with a welcome email, followed by a series of emails that gradually provide more information, build interest, and encourage engagement.
Using email drip sequences in your campaigns is easy with Sprout Studio. You can add multiple emails and separate them by hours, days, or weeks to ensure they drip out with appropriate gaps between them.
How to send email marketing campaigns and newsletters as a photographer
You obviously can’t just open up Gmail on your phone and start bulk-emailing dozens or hundreds of clients. You need an email marketing platform and system.
There are many great email marketing platforms for photographers. For example:
- Flodesk (built specifically for photographers)
- Mailchimp
- MailerLite
- Brevo
- Klaviyo
Want an even better solution for your email marketing? Sprout Studio offers email marketing, too! The best part is that it’s a part of your CRM, so not only do you not have to sign up for and pay for another software, but you can easily filter existing clients based on shoot date, status, and so much more!
Email marketing automation can transform how you interact with your clients, saving you time while enhancing the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. By implementing these six tips, you can ensure your email marketing not only reaches but resonates with your audience, building stronger relationships and driving more business.
