Skip to main content

So far, I'm loving Honeybook!



Heads Up: This post contains affiliate links!  If you buy something through one of these links, you won't pay a penny more (in fact in this circumstance, you'll get a 20% discount), but I'll get a small commission, which helps keep the lights on.  Please note that I have not been given any free products, services or anything else by this company in exchange for mentioning them on my site.  The only consideration is in the form of affiliate commissions.  Thanks!


As my photography business has been growing, I've started to feel unorganized and out of control.  I have been using an app called Remember The Milk for my to do list for the last few years, but I felt that I needed to step up my game and try out something that includes some automation: HoneyBook.  

I signed up for the HoneyBook 7-day free trial.  No credit card needed - that's a huge plus!  I was sold in the first day on HoneyBook and didn't waste time signing up!

My initial reaction: I will admit that diving into HoneyBook is overwhelming.  But, I waited until after my kiddos were in bed and I eagerly got started.  

It didn't take me long to figure out how HoneyBook is organized.  The interface is user friendly and intuitive to me.  I found this video from HoneyBook that helped get me acclimated to HoneyBook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2027&v=6UnPkPaHVmg.

I spent about 4 hours getting HoneyBook configured to my liking.  It's more time than I wanted to spend, but I do feel that the time was well spent and here's why:
  1. Automations! I edited the provided brochure within HoneyBook to include my information and pictures.  I removed all pricing from my website.  Now, when someone wants to know my prices, HoneyBook will automatically send an e-mail to them that includes my pretty brochure AND it let's me know that I have a new inquiry.  A follow up e-mail will be sent to that person 3 days later to check in with them.  These two things are being done FOR ME!  Even better is that I have one brochure for each type of photography that I offer.  HoneyBook will send out the correct brochure based on the inquiry's interest!
  2. MORE Automations!  Once a new inquiry is created in HoneyBook, it adds the inquiry to my project area.  HoneyBook will send a questionnaire as a follow up to every inquiry to gather more details about their photo shoot.  This questionnaire is specific to the type of shoot (eg, one for events, one for portraits, one for seniors).  Gathering information at this stage helps me learn more about their expectations and makes the booking process less daunting because it's one more thing they have already completed.  My old process was to provide the questionnaire, contract and retainer invoice all at once which many clients said was overwhelming for them.
  3. Contracts are electronically signed!  Standard contracts are provided that you can use, edit or replace completely.  Once you have your contracts setup, it's easy peasy to click the send button.  The client receives the contract by e-mail, reviews it and digitally signs it for you.  And...another automation!  HoneyBook will send an e-mail reminder a few days after a contract is sent but still unsigned to help with obtaining the signed contract back!
  4. Scheduled invoices!  When a contract is generated, you have the ability to create the related invoices to be sent automatically (which your client can pay online with credit card or their checking account through Stripe!).  If you require multiple payments for each photo shoot, this is a game changer.  No more remembering who you sent an invoice to or who has paid (or not).  Schedule is once and forget it!
These are just my top 4 things I love about HoneyBook!  If you are a business owner in the creative industry, why don't you take HoneyBook for a test drive to see how it will improve your life?  Sign up for your free 7-day trial and if you decide to sign up, you'll get a 20% discount on your first year's cost by using this link: FREE HoneyBook Trial + 20% off!

PS - Added bonus - When you register and pay your initial payment with HoneyBook, they will give you a chance to do a one-time upload your contracts, invoices, item descriptions, and packages to them where they will do their magic to input the data into your HoneyBook for you!  This alone saved me hours of time!
୫  ୫  ୫  ୫  ୫

My mission with photography is to capture the moments of your life: belly laughs, smiles, excited faces, hugs, tears of joy, and loving glances.  Let's have some fun!  Click on the button below to schedule your photo shoot with me.  It's quick and easy!

Labels:
Location: Fairlawn, OH 44333, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Three Things I'm Loving Right Now: Summer 2019 Edition

I have a guilty confession to make...here are my top three things I'm loving right now! BH 90210 - The Beverly Hills 90210 reboot series has only aired a few episodes and I'm so thrilled with how they did it!  It's not a typical reboot that picks up almost 30 years after the original series ended.  The original cast play themselves in a distorted reality-based way.  If you were a fan of the original, it's worth checking out this reboot!  "The Art of Racing in the Rain" (Movie Edition) - OK - I'm a "This is Us" fan (Milo 😍).  And, I love dogs (especially golden retrievers)....and well, I love Kevin Costner and Ferraris too!  But, I finally had a chance to watch this in the theater and let's just say I'm so very glad there were only a few other people in the theater as I silently sobbed from the first 30 seconds to the very last 30 seconds.  I have not read the book.  So, I don't know how they compare, but this movie was so beauti...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Generation Without A Photo Album?

As I work on the business plan for my photography studio, I am stuck on defining my target client.  Which has me thinking: do I completely write off Generation Z as a bad fit for my studio?   The fact that Gen Z has always owned electronic devices with cameras installed and their devices are always "connected" so their photos and videos can easily be shared with family and friends on a variety of social media accounts with one touch, leads me to conclude that these are not my target clients.  But, it's hard to write off a potential 73 million clients that easily! Surely, the easier and cheaper it has become to take photos in the digital age, we seem to take more photos than the film generations before us did.  The very nature of the film age of photography required photographs to be printed to be shared!  And even in the early days of digital photography, photographs were still being routinely printed for albums and wall art.  Combined with cheap s...
Post a Comment
Read more

What To Wear To Your Family Photography Session (and What To Bring!)

After booking a session, the biggest issue I hear from my clients is deciding what to wear or bring to their session.  Well, here's some of my top tips to fix that dilemma! What To Wear Keep clothing simple. Try to choose solid colors for your photo session. Make sure you coordinate clothing from head to toe with everyone in your group. Darker clothing slims. Choose shades of black, brown, blue, dark green and other jewel-toned colors. Scoops or v-necks flatter shorter necks and full faces. Turtlenecks or high-necked garments flatter longer necks and slender faces. Keep clothing consistent. Dress everyone in your group in the same style. Don't mix casual and formal clothing in photos. Add accents. Show your style in small accents. Save stronger colors and patterns for accessories like scarves and neckties. Consider the background of your photos especially for indoor photos.  For example: Wear light on white. Light pastel or white clothing looks best...
Post a Comment
Read more