Photography studio owner John Glaser generates hundreds of leads each month, primarily through ads on Facebook and Instagram. With studios in Houston and New York City, he kept a busy schedule in 2023.
One of the last things he wants? To feel like he’s wasting money on leads. He doesn’t want to micro-manage those leads either.
But that’s exactly what can happen without a clear, reliable process for getting in touch with leads.
Fortunately, John’s got the answer for studio owners dedicated to growing a photography business and building relationships with clients. All without constantly stressing over leads.
Automating the Busywork to Grow His Photography Business
John knew the power of texting his leads and clients before Skipio. The platform and process weren’t easy though. “It was a pain,” John admits.
That other platform and system required 11 steps on the backend before just one text would send. To set up a single marketing promotion, it took 30-45 minutes every time. If anything went wrong, “it’s like finding a needle in a stack.”
Doing text messaging that way also cost John $3,000-$4,000 per month. Just for text messaging.
When photography studio owner and colleague Brian Kellogg told him about Skipio, John eagerly tested it. It didn’t take long to be convinced.
Instead of taking 30+ minutes to set up automated drip campaigns, with Skipio and Zapier it takes less than 10. It’s basically a copy/paste any time John sets up a new campaign.
“Skipio makes it a lot faster and easier to get in contact [with leads]. That to me is gold. Time is money.”
Beyond the setup, Skipio saves him time and headaches because the follow-up with leads happens without friction.
John wants as many leads as possible to schedule a photography consultation. So it’s not just one automated text message he sends. Leads who don’t respond continue getting personalized outreach from John over the course of a week — all automated by Skipio.
“Every time we get a new lead, they go straight into Skipio. And they start going through an automated process … to help get them ready to talk to us and then schedule a call … and do a consult that eventually leads to booking.”
The automations alone don’t get leads to become clients, though. It’s John’s attention to personalization that fits perfectly with Skipio’s focus on the conversational.
John adds photos and videos to his follow-up messages, introducing himself and the studio. His clients get to know him and his associate photographer before they ever step foot into a studio. This sets a welcoming tone for working with him and sets his business apart from everyone else — including other photographers and businesses trying to text people.
Going From Inefficient Communication to Conversations That Convert
John could have kept using his 11-step system to start text message conversations with leads. But in order to grow his photography business, John knew he needed to leave those time-consuming systems behind.
By building his outreach and follow-up into Skipio, John takes care of every lead and fills his calendar in the process. Plus, every lead and client feels taken care of because they get to personally know him. Yes, even through automated text messages.
The payoff? In less than four years he’s gone from under $50k a year to $1 million in sales. John’s certain Skipio can “work well with every photographer” too.
“I’ve truly grown my business because of Skipio. The texting has been a game changer. I think it works well … no matter how many clients you have because you’re nurturing those [relationships] all along the way.”
