A photographer welcome packet is a must-have for any business. Most of us are running brands and families all at the same time, so we have to make sure we’re taking steps to protect our time and maximize our brand collateral.
When it comes to building a welcome packet, I actually recommend that you have two different ones: a pricing guide to send to potential clients immediately following an inquiry and a welcome packet to send to booked clients once they’ve booked.
Sending a properly laid out, professionally designed pricing guide and welcome packet helps you:
- Impress potential clients by elevating the experience they have with you
- Create a well-rounded and informed experience for potential and booked clients
- Cut back on the “back-and-forth” communication and save time
- Clearly lay out your boundaries and answer frequently asked questions right away and
- Communicate more personally than on your website with potential clients and build a stronger connection
The First, Most Important Thing About a Photographer Welcome Packet
The most important thing about including a welcome packet in your client experience is that it has to be a completely branded package. This means it has to involve more than just shoving your logo into a template, adding text, and calling it “ready to send.”
Your pricing guide is like opening up your physical business door and holding it open to invite potential clients in. It sets the tone for your business. When it’s not cohesively branded or doesn’t fully jive with your website or social media profiles, potential clients notice.
What Your Photographer Pricing Guide and Welcome Packet Should Include
These guides include all the information that you would like to share with a potential client and a booked client. This might be areas that include: about you, your services, your process, what to expect, what to do at the end of a session, how to order, log-in details for your client portal, etc. We’ll break it down further below.
Pricing Guide
A pricing guide is typically what you send out to potential clients who inquire about your services. This provides a little bit more information about your photography packages than your website does or is a recap of what can be found on your website in case the potential client did meticulously read every single page LOL.
This should include sections such as:
- A heartfelt welcome note – A short and sweet welcome note that thinks the potential client for inquiring and let’s them know what they can expect to find in the guide. This letter should detail the “benefits” the potential client will receive from working with you and end with a call to action to keep reading to learn more.
- What your experience is and an overview of your process– Give a brief overview of what working with you is like, and how you work (do you use Trello, Dubsado, Honeybook [this is my affiliate link you will save 50% off your first year], an online photo gallery, etc). Tell potential clients the steps in your client intake process ( i.e. – once they’ve read the welcome guide, what’s next? Once they’ve had a call with you and decide to book, what’s the next step? etc.)
- Your packages, pricing, and payment terms – Even if you list your packages, pricing, and payment terms on your website, you should include them in the welcome guide here. If you provide completely custom and tailored quotes, you might perhaps list a starting price or go into further detail about how you quote, how soon after speaking with you a client can expect to receive a custom quote, etc.
- Testimonials – Share your past client love. Sprinkle past client testimonials throughout your welcome guide or keep them all in one section. Make sure you showcase testimonials that really sell you and your experience.
- About you or bio – You can take this copy straight from your about page on your website or you can expand on it and go into a more in-depth bio. Either way, you want to remind people who you are and make sure they’re able to build a connection.
- Frequently Asked Questions – Cover frequently asked questions you typically get when you speak to a potential client on the phone or information that potential clients need to know before they book you. This will cut back on the time you spend explaining during an initial phone call and on back and forth emails.
- Call to Action with your Contact Details – Include a call to action that encourages potential clients to reach out to you to schedule an introductory phone call to further discuss their needs.
Welcome Packet
or can also be called a new client guide
Your welcome packet is a branded document that should either be electronically sent or printed and handed out to every new client who books your photography services. This should include everything your client needs to know to have a successful experience with you. It should also include everything you need your client to do in order to ensure your photoshoot or project goes off without a hitch.
- A heartfelt welcome note – Again, welcome your client to the “family” and thank them for booking you. Include a call to action that encourages clients to read this welcome packet in detail and complete the necessary steps to ensure you have a fun and successful working relationship.
- Office hours and communication policy – Let your clients know what your office hours our ( even if you work remotely) or when you’re available to take phone calls and answer emails. If you don’t prefer text or messenger communication, mention that here. Completely lay out your boundaries for communication – whether your strict or super laid back and have no problem returning client texts at 8p.m. on a Saturday night.
- Client portal details and client expectations – Include information about how clients can access their client portal ( including a website URL if necessary). If your clients will receive their log-in details and password via email once they’ve been set up, mention that. Also include any client expectations you have, such as they need to arrive 15 minutes early for their photoshoot or send you inspiration and location information at least 5 business days before their scheduled shoot date.
- Your experience from here – Let your client know what the next steps are and what they can expect from you from here on out. Will you touch base with them a week before their photoshoot? Let them know what you’ll do from here and remind them of important information, such as how soon they’ll get their proofs after a photoshoot, what they should bring, etc.
- Final payment information – If you accept deposits or take final payments later down the line, remind your client when final payments are due and how they can make those payments ( check, Paypal, debit/credit).
- Must-Know Tips or Inspiration – Share important tips and inspiration with your clients to add extra value. Share a style guide or information on how to pick outfits or colors for photos. Include location inspiration or other fun tips that your client will appreciate.
- Frequently asked questions – Cover any frequently asked questions you typically get from clients once they’ve booked or are further into the process. Go back through past client emails and look for things clients inquired about during the process, if you’re struggling to come up with to cover.
- Next steps and call to action – Encourage your client to log into their client portal and start providing information as soon as they get their details or provide a step-by-step checklist of what you need them to do next.
Hopefully, that helps you create your pricing guide and welcome packet with ease!
Welcome packets are some of my most favorite brand collateral to design because my background is in print and layout design. Brand collateral is so important and really builds your experience and shows you care. Plus you look uber professional so that is always a plus!
If you are looking to add a welcome packet to your client experience be sure to check out the templates available in the shop! These templates include the Canva template layout as well as professionally written copy so you will know exactly what to say and when to say it!
Click the image to buy the photographer welcome packet in the template shop!
hearts and hoorays!
