Client Relationship Management (CRM):
If you want to stay organized and provide a consistent experience for each of your clients, then a CRM is a must. There are tons out to there to choose from and always new ones popping up. While it is often a desire to have everything in one place, I've yet to find a program that meets all my needs well so in an effort to provide an excellent experience for my clients, I have different programs. I use 17hats as my CRM that allows me to create workflows (hello automation and consistency!), utilize online scheduling (which allows me to set boundaries with my time and cut down on the back and forth trying to find a date/time that works for the client and myself) and includes bookkeeping too! This is NOT just for photographers. No matter what type of small business you run, you can benefit from a CRM.

17hats*
Some others to consider are Dubsado, Picsello, Tave, Sprout Studio, Session, Pixieset Studio Manager

Culling & Editing:
If you take photos in RAW, you have so much flexibility in post production. I use Adobe Bridge to cull then use Lightroom for 95% of my editing. If I need to do a little more extensive editing (an additional charge to clients), then I'll pull an image into Photoshop. Bridge is included if you have the Photography package of LR and PS which is a little under $11.

Adobe Bridge, Lightroom & Photoshop
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Gallery Host:
A common question I see is "How should I deliver photos to my clients?" Thankfully, we live in a digital world so no need to buy a USB, load it with photos and then ship it to your clients. You can choose from a multitude of gallery hosts but I've been with Pixieset since I started and you can get 250MB of additional storage added to your 3GB of free storage by using my link!

Pixieset*

Alternatives to consider are: Pic-Time, Shootproof, Zenfolio
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Content Creation:
In a world where we are not just photographers but also content creators, we are looking for tools that allow us to create templates that are sized just right and can be used to keep our online presence consistent and easy to keep up with (as a business owner, it can be hard to keep up no matter how many amazing tools we have).

Canva*

Content/Posting Scheduling:
There are so many options here too! You will need to decide what your preferred platforms are and that will help you narrow down your choices depending on your budget and preferences.

Hootsuite

Other great options include Later, Planoly, and Tailwind.

Print Lab Options for Professional Photographers:
I recommend choosing a lab to connect to your preferred gallery hosting site. Some really great ones are Millers and WHCC. If you want to point your clients to a self-fulfilled print option, I highly recommend mPix* because it is the closest to a professional print lab that I have found.
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*This is an affiliate link that helps me support my business and in turn, my family.

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