Since 2010, I have grown an incredible business that I is a well-oiled machine at this point. Over the years, I have tried and tested so many different apps and software programs that were designed for small businesses like mine.
Time Saving Apps Every Photography Business Needs
17hats
Back in 2014, I remember hopping on a webinar for a new program that was designed to help small businesses manage their client experience, while also keeping track of the finances. Listening to that webinar changed the course of my business in a way I never thought possible: it gave me my life back.
Over the last 9 years, 17hats has continued to grow and evolve into my one-stop-shop that keeps my head on straight. Without 17hats, I would be utterly lost trying to keep up with all the things that my business requires to run.
What does 17hats do?
- lead management and tracking
- Automated workflows that are customized to each type of session I have, from initial contact to a final thank you email when the project is complete
- Automatically invoices clients and is synced with Stripe (and PayPal) for easy payment options
- Bookkeeping management that my CPA loves; easy to understand profit and loss statements, upcoming receivables and sales tax reports so you can easily find out how much to remit with a simple click of a button.
- Questionnaires for my clients to fill out so that I can provide the best service possible
- Calendar tracking that syncs with Google
- Time management so you can track how much time you’re spending on each project
At this point, the only thing 17Hats does not do is offer a newsletter list. But, knowing how innovative the team is, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is something that’s going to be available down in the future.
I have been a 17hats Ambassador since before that was even an official thing! If you would like to save 50% on your new subscription, use my exclusive 17Hats coupon code chkhsdcsgb or just click on this link.
Showit
In the creative business industry, especially for photographers like me, having an incredible website and online presence is a must. It’s really not an option if you want to be successful, you have to have a website. And not only do you have to have a website, but it needs to be killer looking, SEO optimized and if you’re as busy as I am, easy to design, customize and regularly update.
There are a few options out there for what we call “drag and drop” website design apps, and Showit is a leader in the industry. Squarespace is another contender, but, I personally preferred Showit because of the community around being a Showiteer. Being a solo entrepreneur is hard enough, but being part of the Showit family has made me feel less alone.
Not to mention, it’s SO easy to use that even a novice website designer can create something beautiful. They have easy to use templates ranging from free to a few hundred dollars in their design store, but there are also some incredibly talented designers that can create something custom for you.
For Showit designers, I highly recommend:
If you’re shopping for a website design app, Showit is the best. Want a free month for your new subscription to Showit? Use my exclusive Showit coupon code yv7585dy or just click on this link.
Canva
I have never been so happy to not use photoshop in my entire life, Long gone are the days of having to use vectors and complicated layers, and trying to make your graphics look awesome.
Canva is where I make all of my graphics that I use on my blog and share on social media. They have a ton of pre-made designs that are easily customizable with your brand colors, fonts and style.
There is a free version of Canva that is definitely awesome to use, but, I prefer to use the paid Canva Pro version. It’s only $12.99 a month and the amount of time and stress it saves me is worth it’s weight in platinum gold.
Are you catching on to the idea that I love apps that reduce my stress and the amount of time I spend working behind the scenes? 😂
Planoly
Planoly is an app that is used to plan out social media posts. I can load the photos straight into Planoly from my desktop (or laptop or my phone) and schedule out my photo posts.
There are two options for publishing: automatically or push notification. With automatic posting, it’s very easy to be actively sharing on social media but not be glued to your phone. This option is wonderful if you’re going on vacation! The downside to it is that you still have to go in and engage with your audience before and after the post, so you can get engagement on whatever it is you’ve just shared. Another downside is you have to have a business or creator account on Instagram as well as a coinciding Facebook business page to take advantage of auto posts.
My preferred method is to post from Planoly with a push notification. Planoly will alert you on your phone that you have a scheduled post, and it shows up as a push notification. You can then share directly from Planoly onto either Instagram, Facebook or both. I prefer this method because then I can also engage with people who post comments and share to my stories.
And last but not least:
SCRL
Just like with Canva, I love anything that reduces the amount of time I need to be in PhotoShop. Have you ever wondered how people have shared a carousel of images on Instagram that are hodgepodged together in a collage? Or maybe how they have one photo spread seemlessly over two pages in the carousel?
I’ll fill you in on a little secret: it’s the SCRL app.
SCRL has predesigned templates for up to 6 images, or you can create your own templates. I take advantage of both options regularly!
For only $39.99 a year, you can save hours of time out of PhotoShop designing aesthetically pleasing posts for your Instagram. Unfortunately I don’t have a discount code for you, but for the price of one family trip to Starbucks, it is an easy time-saving investment into your business marketing.
Ashley Durham is a longtime creative business owner devoted to helping small businesses thrive with as little stress as possible.
To learn more about what Ashley has shared, check out the Photographer’s Resource Guide.
