I’m a communication nut- I love email, phone, Twitter, Facebook, texting, and smoke signals. I firmly believe that the largest contributing factor to my business’s growth over the past year is due to the different facts of communication I employ. That being said, this is what works for ME. Totally cool if you do things differently :).

Communication is something I’ve found a lot of artists struggle with. Actually let me rephrase- TIMELY communication is something we struggle with. We’re great at chatting with people, expressing visions and working business meetings. But when it comes to the logistics of everything, we let things fall off our radar. E-mails slip through the cracks, phone calls go unreturned, and it’s only natural that our clients get frustrated. After all, they’re excited to be working with us! When we fail to respond it feels like we’re holding something hostage that they desperately want.

My personal policy is that no email should go for more than 24 hours without a response. There have been times where I’ve missed the mark, but when it comes to answering client inquiry emails I’m 99% of the time dead on. This all started when I made my first email address for my photography, and I checked it OB.SESS.IVE.LY, dying for someone to email me with an inquiry. So I’d refresh and resfresh the page, responding with lighting speed whenever I did get an email. It’s become a sort of habit now- I check my email no less than 30 times a day. I know that sounds ridiculous, but when you spend as much time in front of a computer as I do (editing and such) it’s only natural to keep refreshing your inbox, so whenever I get a new message I immediately reply.

When it comes to inquiry emails, think of it like this: a bride’s just finished ogling your blog, gets excited and emails your for your pricing and availability. You take six days to get back to her? She’s moved on. She’s found another photographer who also made her excited, who answered her email within a few hours, and they’ve already met for coffee and signed a contract. You missed out of what could have been a great opportunity because of timing.

All that isn’t to say you need to email her back within 3.6 minutes, but keep in mind that clients are usually excited and want to get moving on whatever they’re emailing you about. Drag your feet and they’ll find someone else who can do it faster, I promise. I know because I do the same thing- I’ll get excited about working on a new project so I’ll email a particular vendor, but if I don’t hear back within a day I start looking for others.

Perfect case and point- a month and a half ago, I started emailing around to a few graphic designers for price quotes and ideas about a new website (I’m switching to ShowIt!). I was excited!! A new website, an overhaul of my brand, that’s a big deal! I wanted to get started as soon as possible. So after research each designer’s work, I sent an introductory email , describing what I wanted, expressing how excited I was about each designer’s different talent and artistic vision.

Of the four-five designers I emailed, I received two responses within 5-6 hours- Rachael of Earl and Layne blew me away with how attentive she was. She always responded to my questions, often within an hour or two.

The other 2-3 designers? A couple never emailed me back. One of them took three weeks to get back to me. By then, I’d already signed a contract, given my deposit and filled out my client questionnaire with Earl and Layne. If I’d heard back sooner, it’s possible we could have worked together, but because I never received a response from them I assumed they weren’t interested in my business- simple as that.

Don’t sweat it if you’re not as email-obsessed as I am- you can LEARN to be a great communicator! It just takes a little bit of discipline. If you struggle with communicating in a timely manner, think of it this way: responding quickly to emails GROWS your business. Because we live in a world that’s networked 24/7, people are naturally going to expect things to come easier and more quickly. An email is usually the first time you interact with a prospective client- by being attentive to your inbox, you’re showing your clients that you care about their questions, their ideas and their business.

If it’s really difficult for you to be disciplined about emails, set aside a certain amount of time per day to devote solely to your inbox. Don’t let inquiry emails go unanswered, and if you have questions that can wait a couple of days, put them into a folder labeled “Questions To Be Answered.” I know that a massive list of emails waiting to be returned is daunting, so by whittling away at it each day you’ll bring it down to a manageable size.

I realize this entire post of kind of vague, so if you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments section and I’ll do my best to answer them!

Happy Tuesday!