I’m excited to dive into it and tell you why I think it is so important to give sneak peeks and how it helps drive more clients to my business. So for me personally, when I get my pictures done by another photographer, I am immediately in this honeymoon stage. I’m so excited to see them.

On July 3, we went and had our pictures done. I was so excited to see them. It was with an incredible photographer/ I knew the next day was a holiday. As a photographer and business owner, personally, I was really not expecting her to send me any sneak peeks.  She blew me out of the water. She had sent me sneak peeks like a handful of images. It was not just one or two. She sent me like a solid five or six Sneak Peek images inside of a gallery before 10am on July 4. And that just spoke volumes to me. 

I was truly amazed how she had dedicated her time, even knowing that it was a holiday for me that meant so much to me, I felt so valued and so seen and so cared for. And I took that experience with me to remember that that’s how I want my clients to feel. 

I want you to ask yourself, How can I go above and beyond for my clients?” And I promise you that one of the number one ways you can do that is by delivering sneak peeks.

Most of the time, your clients aren’t just going to hop on social media and talk about the experience itself. If you can give them an image that you know they’re going to love within 24 to 48 hours, then they are probably going to repost it and talk about their experience right away. I promise my clients that they will receive one sneak peek fully edited within 48 hours of their session.

I make my expectations super clear, so that there is no confusion. I’ve already told them this in an email and at this session when we’re leaving. Then, I deliver their Sneak Peek within typically 24 hours. That is my personal goal, but just in case something’s going on or I get too busy or something happens, I want to make sure that I’m able to honor the 48 hour promise. This is one of the ways that you under promise and over deliver with a sneak peek. 

I’m just trying to paint this picture for you. I think a lot of the problem is that you’re giving your clients way too much control. You need to take hold of those reins, pump the brakes, and take back control of what you’re doing. 

For you, and we’ll just have to move on and take that on a case by case basis. But sneak peeks really do help exceed client expectations, they help your client experience. And the best part, your clients are more likely going to market for you when you give sneak peeks versus if you do not. And that’s what I’m going to talk about right now. 

The last piece that I want to cover is how these sneak peeks actually drive more traffic to my business. And almost every single time I post a picture or a sneak peek from someone’s session on social media, I typically get a booking or a referral because of that, and I want to tell you how I’m doing that. I typically aim for one or two fully edited images, okay. And I give that back within 48 hours, I try to give it back at 24. But 48 hours is my deadline and my promise. 

If you can at least get it to them 24 hours after their session, you will start to see some traction on referrals happening immediately after that, but clients are most likely to share and talk about you and rave about you after they had a pleasant and positive experience with you and you give them something to market with. That’s why people don’t flock to social media all the time, and talk about the experience in itself. 

Okay, I hope I convinced you, but if I didn’t, it’s totally okay. You own your own business owner. You get to decide what you want to do, but this is where I stand on this controversial topic. I know that it works and my clients appreciate me. I know that I get repeat clients, because they know that not only are they going to have an amazing session, but they’re also going to get an image or two in their hands quickly. Then, of course, for the gallery delivery, I give a super quick turnaround time as well.

They are promised a full gallery within two to three weeks after their session. I hope that that helps you and that you will implement sneak peeks into your business. If you have questions or comments or want to talk about this, come inside the Social Selling for Photographers group.

Ready to see your business grow as you book even more clients? Then, head over to the Book More Clients podcast. You can also find the podcast on iTunes and Spotify.

Don’t forget to connect with me on Instagram!