Sales Funnels for Photographers: Supercharging Your Business

A sales funnel may not be the first tool you would think of to grow a photography business, but in today’s digital age, it is essential. A sales funnel is the process of turning a casual website visitor into a paying customer on autopilot, and it’s perfect for a photographer looking to book more clients!

RELATED: What is Sales Funnel and Why Every Business Needs a Funnel

The most important part of a sales funnel is the lead magnet, which is what entices a website visitor to sign up for your email list or download a freebie in exchange for their contact information.

Once you have their contact information, you can then nurture that relationship and eventually sell them your products or photography services.

So if you’re a photographer who is looking to grow your business, here are 8 photography sales funnel ideas that you can use to attract more clients:

Sales Funnels for Photographers

1. Create a free downloadable checklist sales funnel

This is a great way to provide value to your potential customers and get them to sign up for your email list. Your checklist could include things like a packing list for a destination wedding, a list of must-have shots for a newborn session, or a list of questions to ask a bride before her wedding day.

📌 How to set up your free checklist download:

• Create your checklist using a Canva template (save as a pdf).
• Create an email capture form for your checklist sign-up.
• Create a landing page for your checklist sign-up.
• Add a link to your checklist landing page to your social media, email signature, and other marketing.
• Create a pop-up on your website offering your checklist in exchange for their email address.
• Set up an automatic email that delivers the checklist via email.
• Add the new subscriber to your welcome sequence.
• Add the new subscriber to your weekly email list.

🛠 Tools to use: Canva to make the checklist, Kartra or Constant Contact for email marketing

🚀 SMART shortcut: use this freebie funnel template

Need more lead magnet ideas? Check out 20 Lead Magnet Ideas for Photographers

2. Create a free e-book sales funnel

This is another great way to provide value to your potential customers and get them on your email list. Your e-book could be a guide to posing couples, a how-to guide for starting a photography business, or an editing tutorial.

Offering a free e-book is a great way to show your expertise and get people interested in working with you.

📌 How to set up an ebook download:

• Create your e-book using a Canva template (save as a pdf).
• Create an email capture form for your e-book sign-up.
• Create a landing page for your e-book sign-up.
• Add a link to your e-book landing page to your social media, email signature, and other marketing.
• Create a pop-up on your website offering your e-book in exchange for their email address.
• Set up an automatic email that delivers the e-book via email.
• Add the new subscriber to your welcome sequence.
• Add the new subscriber to your weekly email list.

🛠 Tools to use: Canva to make the checklist, Kartra or Constant Contact for email marketing

🚀 SMART shortcut: use this e-book sales funnel template

RELATED: What exactly is a Landing Page?

3. Offer a free mini-course sales funnel

This is a great way to show off your expertise to your target audience and get people on your email list. Your mini-course could be a series of videos or blog posts that teach someone how to use their DSLR camera, how to edit photos, or how to start a photography business. By offering it for free, you will showcase your expertise and grow your email list.

📌 How to set up a free mini-course download:

• Create your mini-course using Kartra or Kajabi.
• Create an email capture form for your mini-course sign-up.
• Create landing pages for your mini-course sign-up.
• Add a link to your mini-course landing or sales page to your social media, email signature, and other marketing.
• Create a pop-up on your website offering your ebook in exchange for their email address.
• Consider paid traffic ads for your mini-course.
• Set up an automatic email that delivers the mini-course sign-in via email.
• Add the new subscriber to your welcome sequence.
• Add the new subscriber to your weekly email list.

🛠 Tools to use: Kartra or Kajabi for email marketing and mini-course delivery

🚀 SMART shortcut: use this course sales funnel template

4. Offer a discount code sales funnel

This is a great way to entice people to buy from you. You could offer a discount on your wedding photography package, family portrait session, or headshot package. By offering the code upfront, you can use it as a way to grow your email list with those that are interested in your service.

📌 How to set up a discount code:

• Create an email capture form for your discount code sign-up.
• Create a landing page for your discount code sign-up.
• Add a link to your discount code landing page to your social media, email signature, and other marketing.
• Create a pop-up on your website offering a discount code in exchange for their email address.
• Set up an automatic email that delivers the code via email.
• Send the new subscriber a welcome sequence.
• Add the new subscriber to your weekly email list.

🛠 Tools to use: Kartra or Constant Contact

5. Offer a contest

This is a great way to get people engaged with your brand. You could offer a contest for the best wedding photo, the best family portrait, or the best headshot. The prize could be a free session with you, a discount on your products or photography services, or a gift card to a popular photography store.

📌 How to set up a discount code:

• Use Rafflecopter or Gleam.io to run your contest.
• Connect contest entries to your email marketing service.
• Send the new subscriber a welcome sequence.
• Add the new subscriber to your weekly email list.

🛠 Tools to use: Gleam.io or Rafflecopter for contest, Kartra or Constant Contact for email marketing

6. Offer a referral program

This is a great way to get people to promote your business for you. You could offer a discount on your products or services for every person that they refer to you who books a session. You can work in referrals to your follow-up emails or thank you cards to keep the momentum going.

📌 How to set up a referral:

• Check out this article on how to set up a referral program.
• Add past clients and referral partners to your referral email list
• Send referral information at least monthly to your referral list

🛠 Tools to use: Kartra or Constant Contact for email marketing

7. Host a webinar

This is a great way to show off your expertise and to get people interested in your products or services. You could host a webinar on wedding photography tips, family portrait tips, or headshot tips. To make this even easier, you can record the webinar and put it on autopilot using the Smart Automated Webinar Funnel template.

📌 How to set up a free webinar:

• Create your prerecorded webinar video
• Use EverWebinar or this Automated Webinar Template to set up your webinar
• Create an email capture form for your webinar sign-up.
• Create a landing page for your webinar sign-up.
• Add a link to your webinar landing pages to your social media, email signature, and other marketing.
• Create a pop-up on your website offering your webinar in exchange for their email address.
• Consider running an ad for your mini-course.
• Set up an automatic email that delivers the webinar via email.
• Add the new subscriber to your welcome sequence.
• Add the new subscriber to your weekly email list.

🛠 Tools to use: Kartra or Kajabi for email marketing and mini-course delivery

🚀 SMART shortcut: use this automated webinar funnel template

8. Give away a freebie

This is a great way to get people to sign up for your email list or to download a freebie in exchange for their contact information. Your freebie could be a guide to posing couples, a how-to guide for starting a photography business, or an editing tutorial.

People who sign up for your freebie will be added to your email list, where you can continue to grow a relationship with them, guiding them through the customer journey to purchase.

📌 How to set up your freebie download:

• Create your freebie using a Canva Template (save as a pdf).
• Create an email capture form for your freebie sign-up.
• Create a landing page for your freebie sign-up.
• Add a link to your freebie landing page to your social media, email signature, and other marketing.
• Create a pop-up on your website offering your freebie in exchange for their email address.
• Set up an automatic email that delivers the freebie via email.
• Add the new subscriber to your welcome sequence.
• Add the new subscriber to your weekly email list.

🛠 Tools to use: Canva to make the freebie, Kartra or Constant Contact for email marketing

🚀 SMART shortcut: use this freebie funnel template

Promote Your Photography Sales Funnel

Once you have your photography sales funnel and lead magnet set up, it’s time to promote! That means getting it in front of as many qualified people in your target audience as possible.

What makes a person qualified?

• They want your product or service
• They can afford your product or service
• They are located where they can access your product or service

Some great places to promote your photography sales funnel and lead magnet are:

• Your website
• Email list
• Social media accounts
• Google ads
• Facebook ads
• Instagram ads

When you’re promoting your sales funnel or lead magnet, make sure to:

• Include a call-to-action (CTA)
• Use persuasive language
• Include a link to your sign-up page or landing page
• Make sure your ad is targeted to the right audience

🚀 Here are a few examples of CTAs you could use:

• “Get my free guide to starting a photography business”
• “Download my free cheat sheet of the best poses for couples photography”
• “Get my free guide to the 10 most common mistakes new photographers make (and how to avoid them)”
• “Sign up for my free webinar on how to take better family portraits”

With a great CTA, you can entice people to sign up for your freebie, which will help you grow your email list and get more leads!

Grow Your Photography Business with a Sales Funnel

Most photographer websites are leaving money on the table by not getting visitors into their sales process with a lead magnet. By offering helpful content to and lead magnets, you’ll be able to attract new customers and grow your photography business on autopilot.

Check out my favorite sales funnel software and sales funnel templates that make building sales funnels even easier!

And remember, you don’t need crazy tech skills, buckets of cash, or a dedicated staff to market your business; in fact, you don’t even need a lot of time. What you need is to be smart. And a sales funnel is definitely smart for your photography business!

Want to know more about having a smart sales process for your photography business? Check out the Smart Marketing Quiz.