Customer Service Tip – Tips to Keep in Mind When Creating a Price List

Creating a studio price list is one of the most important steps in the uploading process. This list aids in determining the size and amount of reprint orders you receive, as well as how much additional profit your studio will earn from your events. In order to help you make the most of your hard work, we have compiled this list of tips to consider when creating a price list in collagesDesktop software.

1. Price your products according to their perceived value. Don’t skimp on the price tag of your product because of its low cost to you. If it looks expensive, price it accordingly!

2. Offer bulk discounts on orders over a specific dollar amount. Don’t be afraid to use the discount tool in collagesDesktop. If customers see that they will receive a discount if they spend a certain amount, they are more likely to place larger orders.

3. Provide accurate product descriptions in the spaces provided. If a customer is apprehensive about a product, he or she more than likely will not order it. Make sure to provide specific product details to eliminate confusion.

4. Use the Special Comments box. If there is anything on your price list that you can’t specify in the product description, specify it in the Special Comments box! This can help to clarify questions your customers might have.

5. Use the 15% button. Created to save you the trouble of manually adding 15% to your prices, the 15% button ensures that the prices of your prints cover our service fee while still providing you with your desired profits.

6. Don’t forget about the Black and White and Sepia options. Even if you do not choose to charge your customers for these options, they are helpful in providing your customers with a visual reference to what their finished print will look like.

Holiday Re-Launch Success!

For some holiday shoppers, finding the perfect gift isn’t always easy. That’s why we, at Collages.net, offer the Annual Holiday Re-Launch – to make gift-giving simple and effortless! We kicked off this year’s re-launch in October, allowing procrastinators plenty of time to get their orders in. See what these studios and customers had to say about the Collages.net 2007 Holiday Re-launch:

“Kudos to you! Brilliant idea to re-launch expired websites. Great for your business and great for mine. I'm excited!”

Deidre Lingenfelter
Photography by Deidre, Danville, CA

“We wanted to THANK YOU for re-launching our weddings for our brides and grooms and their families and friends! We REALLY APPRECIATED the gift to us and to our customers! We LOVE using Collages.net and our brides love it too! Thank you so much from us at Stapleton Photography!”

John and Heather Stapleton
Stapleton Photography, Tulsa, AZ

“Yahoo!!! Merry Christmas - thank you so much. You have no idea what this does for my business!!”

Jodi Hauptman-Drannen
JHD Photography, Murray, NE

“Sweet!! I’ve been trying to think of something to get my family for Christmas!!!”

Collages.net Event Site Visitor

“Re-posting all of our 2007 events for the upcoming season’s holidays is such a great idea. Thanks for always being the best and always ahead of the rest!”

Eugene Kam
Eugene Kam Photography, Honolulu, HI

Want to add your own feedback? Leave us a comment and tell us your own Holiday Re-Launch success stories!

Collages.net's Annual Holiday Party

Once again, Collages.net’s annual company holiday party was a smashing success. Employees and their guests eagerly arrived at CEO Kevin Casey’s decked-out home early Friday evening. As singer and guitarist Jim Rollins provided live holiday music, Collages.net employees sipped on their drinks, enjoyed the wonderful company, and basked in the all-around holiday cheer.




After enjoying the delicious meal prepared by caterers Marie and Chelsea, CEO and COO Kevin and Norm brought their lively employees together in the heated tent to recognize Collages.net’s progress in 2007. “It would be impossible for me to name just one employee of the year,” announced Kevin. “Everything we’ve accomplished in the past year has been such a team effort.”
Under the guidance of Director of Marketing and Product Development Deirdre Gillin, Collages.net employees worked tirelessly to release a complete product line to our photographers in 2007. These products, which include albums, gallery wraps, proof books, and high-end cards, were made possible by Deirdre’s positive attitude and commitment to providing our customers with the highest-quality products. Because of her ceaseless efforts, everyone at Collages.net was pleased to join Kevin in presenting Deirdre with the well-deserved Director of the Year award!
Following the awards ceremony, the guests refilled their cups with Kevin’s infamous Christmas punch and gathered in the tent to play the annual company game. This year, employees were asked a series of work-related, humorous yet tasteful “yes” or “no” questions. Each question an employee answered positively entitled that employee to place his or her name in a basket for a chance to win the grand prize. The more positively answered questions, the greater the chance of winning! This year’s grand prize winner was Erik Matey of Customer Service, who took home a 7.1 megapixel Canon PowerShot A560. Congratulations, Erik!

As the games and excitement drew down, the evening came to a close. Partygoers collected their coats, each remembering to take a gift from the grab bag before he or she departed. Although we are disappointed that this year’s party is over, we are reassured by our anticipation that next year’s Christmas party will be bigger and better, with even more reasons to celebrate!
Thank you to all of our photographers for a fantastic 2007 – here’s to wishing you a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy, and successful 2008!

collagesDesktop Customer Service Tip

How do I fulfill an in-studio print order? With Collages.net you can manually build any in-studio order and fulfill it through it collagesColor™. All of the print sizes and lab options are available for you - you just select the desired template, browse your computer for the image, and send it to collagesColor™. You can have it shipped to your studio or drop shipped to your customer. For more information, including downloading collagesDesktop™, click here. For more information on collagesColor™, click here.

Holiday Deadline for High-End Holiday Cards

Today, December 5, 2007, is the 2007 holiday deadline for our high-end cards. To ensure you receive your card orders by Friday, December 21, 2007, make sure you place your orders today. There is nothing that will make your studio more memorable this holiday season. Click here for more information.

However, if you miss the deadline or would like to earn more revenue, remember that in addition to high-end holiday photo cards, our cards are also perfect for baby announcements, wedding invitations, graduations, greeting cards, baby showers, bridal showers, thank you notes, birthdays, and all other types of occassions suitable for elegant photo greeting cards.

This product will amaze your clients, as they will always remember the studio that provided them with these exquisite, unforgettable photographic memories. Collages.net high-end, exquisite photographic cards are also well-suited for framing.

Holiday Deadlines

With the holidays around the corner, Collages.net wants to make sure that you and your clients receive everything you want before this year's holiday season. Please refer to this holiday deadline chart to ensure that you receive all of your products by December 21, 2007.

You'll see that with Collages.net, there is no need to wait weeks or even months for beautiful products for your studio. For more information on gallery wraps, high-end cards, hard cover and soft cover proof books, albums, and all of our products, click here.

What's New With Other Photographers?

At this time of sharing and giving thanks, we wanted to share with you what a few other key industry players are up to:

Marissa and Weston of Boucher Photography were recently honored with the 2007 Best Wedding Photographer in San Diego. John and Tamsin of Aquario Studio also made the best list - coming in fifth place. Both studios have absolutely amazing work and have been recongized nationally for their accomplishments in the industry. For more information, click here.

Brett Chisholm of Brett Chisholm Photography in Texas is holding the 2nd Annual Fashion Show and Fundraiser, along with Chloe Dao of Project Runway’s Season Two Winner, on December 6, 2007. Proceeds are benefiting SNAP.

Erin Kenly of Erin Kenly Photography is the featured speaker for the Arizona Professional Photographers on December 4, 2007. Erin will be explaining her adopted “One for Thee, One for Me” theory, discussing strategies to help photographers stay creative, and demonstrating how she creates award-winning images.

Mitche Graf will be hosting Boot Camp Tour 2008. He will be discussing everything from sales to marketing to pricing, teaching you how in the photography industry not only must you be a great photographer - but you also must be a master of business. For more information, visit http://www.mitchegraf.net/.

Easy Album Templates, Quick Turnaround Time

Did you know that you can receive the industry's finest flush mount albums in 15 business days or less? Follow these four easy steps, and you will receive your beautiful, hand-made, leather album in no time.

1. Click the link below to download the PSD template for your selected size of album by clicking here.

2. Design your spreads on the template in Photoshop or a program of your choice. Drag and drop the pre-designed spread onto the template to check the trim lines. If everything is verified and print ready, you are ready to upload your spreads.

3. Place your album order by clicking here.

4. Upload your spreads to your unique FTP site using the log-in information provided to you by a Collages.net digital artist. Please note this information will be provided once you place your order.

With Collages.net’s print and bind album solution, you have the ability to quickly and easily order the finest albums in the industry. With the highest quality, the most competitive prices, and our exceptional turnaround time, there is no need to wait weeks or months for your beautiful albums. Capitalize on our exceptional service, watch your customers smile, and watch your holiday profits rise!

Save on Sample Card Albums - this week only!

How can you start selling cards this week and boost your 2007 revenue? This week only, Collages.net is offering free FedEx 2Day shipping on our Sample Card Albums. Purchase a Sample Card Album and start showing your clients cards this week.

The sample album is a beautiful presentation of the cards that allows you to sell your clients elegant cards using your images this season. Collages.net's High-End Card line features over 100 different cards that fit every occasion and taste. These unique cards feature images printed on photographic paper and then mounted on fine art papers.

To order now,
click here.

High-End Card Ordering System - launched!

Our high-end card is launched, enabling you to place your clients’ photographic card orders directly on our website! This web-based, cross-platform ordering system further streamlines your workflow, making it easier for you to fill your customers’ needs faster.

The ordering system is complete with a search function - allowing you to search for cards by color, occasion, category, or keyword. After you easily choose your photo card and fill in the necessary information, all you need to do is upload your chosen image(s) to Collages.net - it's just three simple steps!

Our high-end card collection includes over 100 styles of cards, featuring fine art papers with mounted photographs and an extensive variety of customizable options. All card orders include corresponding envelopes, verses (including custom, non-holiday verses), name imprinting, mounted photos, and FedEx Ground shipping. We also offer studio name and logo imprinting, envelope imprinting, and the option of ordering an additional card for studio marketing purposes - all at an additional charge.

Custom card verses and envelope imprinting have proven to be a large selling point for many of our photographers’ clients, as these features create a more personalized product. With our new online ordering system, you can add that personal touch with minimal effort – your clients will love you for it!

Photo Plus 2007 - such a success!

The Photo Plus Exposition was held again this year in New York City, and for the first time in 2007, Collages.net displayed all four of our new product lines together. The show was from October 18th – October 20th – and the Collages.net crew had a wonderful time showcasing new products and meeting many new faces!


We had such a great response from all of our products - albums, gallery wraps, high-end cards, and proof books – and of course, we loved featuring our photographers’ beautiful work! We featured gallery wrapped canvases with the work of Brett Chisholm Photography and The Shooting Gallery and large-scale prints from collagesColor featuring BLR Life Photography and Boucher Photography (check out their blog about Photo Plus).

We also displayed several albums, guest signing books, proof books, and photographic greeting cards, which included the work of numerous more of our very talented photographers.




We enjoyed a very busy and successful show – as we were so excited to exhibit our product lines, and our photographers were just as thrilled! Even though the show is over, our excitement is still thriving – but we’ll be at many more shows this year, and Photo Plus will be back again next year. For our trade show schedule, check out On the Road. For more information is available on our product webpage.

For a complete product catalog, contact Customer Service at (877) 638-7468 or customerservice@collages.net.

An Addition to our Album Line - Guest Books

Our Guest Book Collection, available in 8x8 or 10x8 with a page length of your choice, displays images on the left side and parchment paper on the right for guest signing.

Our guest books share the same industry-leading features as our albums: fast turnaround time and competitive pricing, studio samples are always 30% off, handcrafted leather in over twenty colors, excellent lay-flat properties, customizable options including embossing and spine hubs, and an easy-to-use, PC and Mac compatible ordering system.

Our innovative album solution is perfect for filling a variety of studio needs. Collages.net guest books are a great way to capitalize on your clients’ engagement sessions – use your beautiful photographs to create a personalized wedding guest book for your clients.

High-End Holiday Photo Cards

Now is the perfect time of year to have your customers start ordering their annual holiday cards. Our high-end cards not only feature the finest artistic paper, but also prominently display professionally printed photographs in striking ways. To make the ordering process simple for your studio, Collages.net offers sample high-end card albums, which contain a select assortment of our finest cards.

These card albums are a strong selling point for you – as your clients, while sitting in your studio, flip through the sample card album - our sample card albums are sure to impress and make the sale of these high-end cards practically effortless.

Furthermore, with their purchase of these cards, they will be sending a beautifully crafted greeting as well as a precious keepsake photo that their friends and family can treasure forever. The advantages to your studio are far-reaching, and the prospects are endless; as friends and family receive cards and put them on display in their homes, your studio will gain free and widespread exposure – all without any additional effort on your part!

Order your sample card album today – and start your holiday profits.

Show Samples - Sell More

Increase your studio sample collection to include at least one of every new product you offer, especially those that may be unfamiliar to clients, like gallery wraps, metallic prints, and high-end cards. With Collages.net’s studio sample special - 30% off studio sample products - marketing the quality and presentation of your studio's products is simpler and more inexpensive than ever.

Consumers are driven by visual, tangible incentives, and your clients are no exception. It is a proven fact that customers are more likely to buy when they can see and feel a physical product rather than simply read descriptive text on a page. When brides and parents flip through sample wedding albums or new mothers see sample baby announcement cards, emotions run high, and oftentimes this enthusiasm is converted into a high-profit sale for your studio.

Collages.net offers a 30% discount on studio sample albums and proof books, first-time gallery wrap orders receive 30% off, and sample card albums are available at reasonable prices as well. In addition, many professional photographers have found it beneficial to have sample large-scale and metallic prints on hand, as many clients are not familiar with such products.

For more information on our products, click here. To learn how one of our photographers, Drew Lane from Meadow Lane Photography, uses studio samples to his advantage, click here.

September's Newsletter

Learn how you can boost your year-end sales with our Annual Holiday Re-launch, find out how you can fulfill your next reprint order for free, and read the success stories from three incredible studios – all in September’s Newsletter.

You will also find that we have updated our Product and Services Catalog – which includes an addition to our album line, and this newsletter edition is filled with marketing tips, focusing on how to jump start your studio’s holiday sales. To read this month's edition, click here.

A Message from Abbey

When I ask our clients what they look for in a vendor, their answer is always excellent customer service. As Customer Service Manager, I can honestly say that Collages.net has always made customer service the heart of our company.

This dedication is not only seen in our customer service team, but it is readily present throughout all of our departments. Our product development team is devoted to delivering quality products to exceed the expectations of our photographers and their clients. Our marketing team is constantly promoting our photographers through featuring their work throughout all of our marketing materials – from our website’s homepage to our direct mail campaigns to our tradeshow displays. Our information technology team is dedicated toward building the most user-friendly and well-designed ordering systems, enabling our clients to further streamline their post-event workflow. Our sales team is extremely committed toward providing our photographers with the latest product and service information – as well as tending to all questions and concerns.

And, of course, our customer service department is devoted to our customers. We constantly ask ourselves what can make our team even better. We are proud to say that our customer service department has met an 80% live answer call rate for the past 5 months, and we make every effort every day to answer even more calls.

At the same time, our customer consultants give our clients personal attention, catering toward each person’s specific needs. We are dedicated toward making sure our representatives are knowledgeable and able to answer your questions – as we hold training and review sessions on a reoccurring basis. And, when you have a technical issue, we are committed to resolving this in a timely manner, as we have IT representatives dedicated to solving technical issues. These are just a few of the many ways we strive try to meet and exceed our customers expectations each day. Always keeping this in mind has made our customer service department what it is today. We also recognize that our photographers want to find the information they need online, so we have built an extensive support center for both photographers and their clients. This center is filled with FAQs, online tutorials, and troubleshooting information.

With all of these resources, we still love to hear from our customers. Tell us how we are doing, or how we could do better. Please leave a comment below or email feedback to us at customerservice@collages.net. We are available from 8:30 AM – 8 PM EST Monday through Friday.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Abbey Saloiye

Collages.net's Catalog

This year, with the launch of several product lines, Collages.net has unveiled our product and services catalog. Within our catalog, each of our products and services are clearly detailed with pricing information, turnaround time, shipping methods, file information, and everything else you need to know. We also have included several proven marketing tips, designed to help you generate even more revenue.

A large section of our catalog is dedicated to our collagesColor™ products and services – artistic proofs, event cards, lab services, large-scale prints, and metallic prints, and an even larger section to our Collages.net products and services – albums, gallery wraps, proof books, high-end photographic cards, online posting, and studio marketing.

With our new product and services catalog, we have all of the information you need – from turnaround time to file requirements to marketing advice - clearly detailed in one place, helping you to further streamline your post-event workflow.

For your copy of our product and services catalog, contact Customer Service today at (877) 638-7468 or customerservice@collages.net.

Sharing with the Industry

Would you like to share your story, thoughts, or advice with others in the industry? If you have an article you have written, would like to share how you have incorporated Collages.net into your studio, or have anything else you would like to share with other photographers, Collages.net would be honored to hear from you! Simply e-mail us at customerservice@collages.net.

To read what others are sharing, check out our Industry Articles, Professional Tips, and the collagesNewsletter to see what other Collages.net photographers are sharing.

Three World Class Photographers

In addition to working our around-the-clock schedules, the professionals at Collages.net set aside some time to spend in the greater community, stepping outside of Langhorne, PA and into the professional photography environment. We traveled to New York, Newark, and also just down the street to Philadelphia to attend the Hanson Fong, Mary Fisk-Taylor, and Jamie Hayes photography seminars.

Hanson, Mary, and Jamie, three-world class photographers, have been on tour together for the summer – visiting large U.S. cities and sharing their secrets of success. Their extraordinary success is backed by accomplishment, as Hanson’s work has been displayed in the Hall of Fame and the Epcot Center, and Mary and Jamie own a very profitable studio.

Several of our employees attended the seminars including

representatives from our sales, customer service, marketing, and product development departments.

We arranged a Collages.net table, with all of our products displayed – high-end cards, albums, gallery wraps, proof books, and professional prints. It was great to share our overall enthusiasm with our local photographers and newly-met neighbors, for we truly enjoy what we do and we love when we get to share it with you. With trade show season just around the corner, stay posted for our On the Road updates. For more information on our products, click here.

Get more for your money!

If you are looking to get more for your money, Collages.net’s Yearly Unlimited Upload Plan gives you the most. This $699 plan gives you two free months of posting; plus, we will provide you with the option of activating your sites for 60 or 90 days. Many Collages.net photographers currently benefit from uploading unlimited events with as many images as they wish for the entire year. Call or e-mail us today - (877) 638-7468 or customerservice@collages.net.

This Month's Newsletter

Collages.net has just released the most recent collagesNewsletter introducing even more of our high-end product lines. This month’s newsletter shows you how to move your business to the next level with Studio Samples and Power Marketing E-mails, and one of our photographers shares his product-selling success stories.

Our Special Savings section is full of tips on how to get discounted rates on all of our products and how to print a sample order with collagesColor™ for FREE. With everything that’s been going on at Collages.net this summer, the August collagesNewsletter is not to be missed!

Along the Delaware - Collages.net's Tubing Excursion

In between launching six new product lines, programming software, and developing our future product releases, the Collages.net team took a few hours out of their hectic schedule to float down the Delaware River. Despite some absent team members, our tubing excursion was a huge success with beautiful weather, warm water, and only a couple of lost T-shirt casualties.

After the river trip, the team headed back for one of CEO Kevin Casey’s infamous deck parties, complete with grilled chicken, Eileen’s cookies, and, of course, live guitar music from Jim Rollins. As always, everyone enjoyed themselves immensely, and, after an invigorating weekend, we are more ready than ever to continue bringing you the best products and services at breakneck speed!

Shoot with your final print in mind!

While your images candidly capture the spontaneity of your clients’ special day, the presentation of your finished product should reflect a carefully crafted, well thought-out design. The best images to use for creating beautiful prints and products are those taken with the final result in mind; thinking ahead will give you plenty of room for flexibility and creativity when considering your post-shoot options.

Leaving some extra space around the edges of your images is one of the best ways to guarantee a wide selection of choices for possible products. Gallery wraps provide one of the clearest examples of the benefits of photographing with the final print in mind. Rather than framing your subject(s) perfectly, leave some background space available as image bleed to wrap around the edges of the wooden frame. You can always crop out extra space later on, but digitally stretching the background of a closely-shot image requires a good amount of time and effort.

Planning ahead and shooting images with extra background room can also save you a lot of headache when customers order prints online. If you use our Full Service Workflow option and have your reprint orders fulfilled automatically by collagesColor™, guests are prompted to review and modify the crops of their images before they place their order. Oftentimes customers will order a print size that does not correspond with the ratio of the dimensions of the ordered image; in this case, if they fail to crop the image manually, the resulting image will sometimes be cut off in unwanted areas. Shooting your images with extra background space leaves room for careless cropping and customer error.

Learn more about collagesDesktop™ and Collages.net’s Full Service Workflow option.

For more information on all of our products, including gallery wraps, visit our products page.

A tip from Collages.net Customer Service

When sending customizing your event notification e-mails, make sure that you include a url in the message body to either your studio website (if it has a view an event listing) or www.collages.net. Otherwise, the guests will not know where to enter the event log-in information that is automatically provided in the e-mail. This can prove to be detrimental to your studio; if guests don’t know where to log in to the event, they cannot view the photos, and you will ultimately miss out on potential reprint orders.

For more information on customizing your event notifications, check out build your brand - a portion of our website completely dedicating to helping our photographers market their studio.

Fulfill your next reprint order on us!

At Collages.net, we are always looking for the best, fastest, most innovative workflow solutions to save our photographers time and money. Sending everything you print through collagesColor™, our integrated, full service professional color lab, is one such solution that will change the way you do business.

In fact, we are so sure that printing with collagesColor™ will revolutionize your studio’s workflow that we want to print your next reprint order FREE! For a limited time, we are offering $25 print credit to be used with collagesColor™ so that you and your clients can experience our unbeatable quality and incredible turnaround time.

To take advantage of this valuable offer, contact our live Customer Service representatives at (877) 638-7468 or customerservice@collages.net.

Also, be sure to check out our lab products page for the expansive list of products and services available through our collagesColor™ pro photo lab!

Another Photo Shoot - High-End Card Gallery Coming Soon

A few days ago, we held yet another photo shoot at the Collages.net studio. This shoot was focused on capturing the unique brilliance of our high-end cards. As each card had its turn in the spotlight, our photography professionals beautifully captured every card in our collection – which includes more than 100 styles.

The finished photographs truly illustrate each card’s fine art papers, exquisite design, and hand-mounted professional photographs. As you can see, we are very excited about this product, and we are sure that you are going to love our high-end cards too. The photographs taken at our recent photo shoot will soon be posted in our online high-end card gallery.

Our sample card albums are ready for ordering. For more information or to order, click here.

We’ve added another product! – Introducing Sample Card Albums

Check out Collages.net’s sample card albums, just launched today! These albums feature an assortment of our finest high-end cards tastefully arranged in a black portfolio. They are completely editable, and we offer four different levels of service in order to fit the specific needs of your studio. Click here to log in to our user-friendly card ordering system and learn more about our sample card albums.

There is no better way to impress your clients than by adding our high-end cards to your studio’s product line, along with the rest of Collages.net’s brand new products. Made of the highest-quality fine art papers, our cards come mounted with an image printed on photographic paper. Perfect for holidays, baby announcements, wedding invitations, graduations, baby and bridal showers, thank you notes, save-the-dates, and birthdays, our high-end card line includes over 100 style and color choices to appeal to every taste and occasion.

Order your studio’s sample card album now to begin marketing your new beautiful, high-end card line before the busy holiday season arrives. Your clients will thank you!

collagesColor™ – your end-to-end workflow solution

Did you know Collages.net has a full service pro photo lab? If you still fulfill your reprint orders manually through an outside lab, check out collagesColor™ and discover the benefits of using Collages.net's fully integrated professional printing solution.* collagesColor™ is our state-of-the-art professional photo lab and has 50 years of industry-leading printing experience.












By providing superior quality print products and unbeatable turnaround times, we give you, our professional photographers, the tools you need to reach new levels of efficiency in your business. In addition, our competitive pricing, customized options, and consistent service make collagesColor™ a reliable and cost-effective lab partner, while still leaving plenty of room for flexibility.

• All images are professionally printed on Kodak™ ENDURA photo paper.
  


• Print orders are shipped in industry-leading turnaround times.
  


• Photographers are provided with a color correction option.
  


• collagesColor™’s product line includes specialty features such as artistic proofs, event cards, metallic prints, various sprays and textures, digital retouching, and custom mounting.

collagesColor™, combined with our new extensive product line, gives you the ability to centralize all of your business dealings in one trusted company, thus streamlining your workflow and greatly simplifying the way your studio operates.

Read how PW Photography has benefited from taking maximum advantage of all that Collages.net has to offer in the Professional Tips section of this month’s collagesNewsletter. collagesColor™ is available through our collagesDesktop™ software. Contact Collages.net Customer Service to download the software for free and to learn more about collagesColor™ and our promotional printing offers.

*Currently, collagesDesktop™ is in beta testing using Parallels on Macs with Intel processors.

A Newsletter to Remember

Today we rolled out yet another collagesNewsletter. For quite a few years now, we have been sending monthly newsletters to our photographers, and each edition always contains an abundance of valuable information, reflective of that month’s growth and innovation. This past newsletter, however, was one to remember – indicative of months of around the clock deliberating, developing, and implementing, as we unveiled several all-new, exciting product lines – albums, high-end cards, press printed books, our full service pro photo lab, and gallery wraps.

In revealing these products, we were so focused on bringing you the highest quality, the best turnaround time, the most competitive pricing, and the easiest, most intuitive ordering systems, that we thought we’d save some of the work for you – naming our products! Also announced in our newsletter is our Product Names Contest. If your idea is chosen, you win that product – completely customized with the images of your choice. This contest is described more thoroughly in the newsletter, and the first round began a few days ago – with an e-mail to you.

If you would like more information on any of our products, please visit our products page, our newsletter, or do not hesitate to let us know. If you have suggestions, ideas, or feedback, as always, we would love to hear from you. And as we continue onward with our product lines, we promise that we will deliver nothing less than the best.

Images Copyright 2007 BLR Life Photography, Boucher Photography, PW Photography, Sarah Merians Photography & Company.

Power market your studio

Collages.net is proud to introduce yet another time-saving and money-making device! Our Power Marketing E-mail samples provide you with a variety of creative and profit-boosting marketing e-mails sent out by professional photographers just like you. These ideas can help you to increase referrals and build your brand, as well as offer specials that event guests would not otherwise receive. So instead of spending precious time brainstorming for your next studio promotion, take a look at these e-mail samples and enjoy the benefits that our Power Marketing E-mail Tool has to offer.


Not familiar with the Power Marketing E-mail Tool? Click here to learn more.

Name That Product…Coming Soon!

We at Collages.net have been working hard to get you the products you’ve been waiting for, and they’re finally almost here. There’s just one problem…they don’t have names yet!

We have decided to let you, our professional photographers, name our products this time because, let’s face it, our all-new product lines are all about YOU and their names should reflect that fact. From beautiful, hand-sewn, hardcover books to luxurious high-end greeting cards, our brand new product offering is unparalleled. Our survey gives you the opportunity to get a sneak preview of these fantastic innovations while you contribute first-hand to their creation, and, just to sweeten the deal, the photographers who suggest the winning names will receive a customized version of the product that they name.

Look for the first part of our “Name That Product” contest, coming early next week. Until then, check out our products page to get a taste of what we now offer, including gallery wraps and albums. We will be anxiously awaiting the release of all of our new products, and hope that you are as excited about them as we are!


Images Copyright 2007 Boucher Photography, PW Photography, Kelly O'Keefe Photography, Andrew Nock Photography.

Customer Service Tip – Online Discounts

Today we have a post from one of Collages.net's Customer Service Representatives, Sharon Racine. Sharon offers insight into the advantages of offering special discounts on reprint orders placed on consumer sites.

For all of you collagesDesktop™ users out there – have you tried the discount option yet? By placing a small discount on orders over a specific dollar amount for a limited time, you create a sense of urgency in site visitors. This urgency provides an incentive for them to place larger orders sooner. These small discounts can also serve as deciding factors for folks who aren’t sure if they want to order, because who wants to miss out on a limited-time offer? Essentially, providing limited-time discounts can help you to score more reprint orders and more profit for your studio.

New Product – Albums!

Collages.net welcomes one of its new arrivals – albums! We know that you’ve been waiting a long time for these to become available, and they’re finally here. We’ve developed a unique, cutting-edge print and bind flush-mount album with two different types of leather and over 20 different colors to choose from.

Our albums feature excellent lay-flat properties and the smallest page break in the industry, not to mention an excellent turnaround time. The customizable options, which include cover cameo, embossing options, and spine hubs, allow you to get a little creative and design a keepsake that’s sure to win over your clients!

These books’ versatility allows you to expand your product selection and offer albums not only for weddings, but also for babies, children’s portraits, maternity shoots, and senior portraits. Click here for more information on Collages.net albums.

Once you have logged in to the ordering system, you can see a full selection of sizes and pricing for all of our albums. With such a wide range of options, you’re sure to find something to suit every one of your clients. Stay posted for updates!

Photography Blogging Techniques

Take your studio to a new level by blogging. We have found that one of the best ways for photographers to market their studio is through blogging. With a blog, you are able to reach a large audience, maintain a significant, inexpensive web presence, and instantly and easily add new content to your website.

A blog technique that many of our successful photographers use is capitalizing on their clients' enthusiasm. There is a certain amount of lag time between shooting and posting an event, and during that time your clients are overly anxious and excited to see their images. Why not benefit from this – use your blog to give your clients a small preview of their event! In your blog entry, post 2-4 images that will WOW them, write about how you enjoyed photographing their wedding, and post the Collages.net log-in information. Your clients will love seeing a preview of their event and will undoubtedly send your blog’s link to their family and friends, giving your studio instant exposure and immediate referrals!

When deciding which few images to post in your blog, choose wisely. Post images of which you would like your clients to buy large scale prints, post images that illustrate your style, post images that others will find inspiring! The first images your clients see are the ones they will want. Also, don’t forget to mention the actual Collages.net event site and the date you will have it posted – this will ensure your readers will remember to view the entire gallery.

To read more about the benefits of blogging, see our Studio Marketing webpage. If you aren’t yet a blogger, creating a blog is a quick, simple process and will do wonders for your business.

Website of the Week Graphic

Collages.net recently designed a website of the week award for our photographers. Now when studios are honored with website of the week, they will receive this honorary graphic that can be posted on their website or in their blog. This allows photographers' current clients, potential clients, and colleagues to see that they have been recognized for their outstanding work!

The graphic links to Collages.net's website of the week page. There is also a choice of two graphics with two backgrounds. If you were featured as website of the week in the past and are interested in this graphic, please e-mail Eileen Rafferty at erafferty@collages.net.

In case you aren't familiar with website of the week, every week Collages.net features two exceptional websites to showcase the incredible work of Collages.net photographers. Our marketing department carefully reviews all posted websites and, with the photographer’s permission, chooses one wedding and one portrait session for weekly presentation.

Important Search Engine Optimization Tips

This morning we have a post from Collages.net's SEO Advisor, Tiffany Miller. She compiled the five most important search engine optimization tips for professional photographers.

1. Content

It is important to remember that your customers are not the only people that read your website – search engine robots do as well. For that reason, your content should be full of keywords and rich text. Also, duplicate text is not indexed by search engines, so make sure your content is unique to your site.

You can also add lots of solid content by adding articles to your site; you can write them for yourself or for other photographers, just be sure to add as many keywords as possible.

2. Keywords

Keywords are used when people search for information about a certain topic. Most photographers’ websites are in Flash, which doesn’t add any keywords to your site. You can add keywords to the backend of your website that search robots will be able to index. Every site is different, but your website administrator should be able to add these for you. When adding keywords, think of words that are not only relevant to photography but are also specific to the area in which you specialize, making you unique as a photographer.

3. Linking

Have as many links coming into your site as possible. When you have several links from other sites linking to yours, it tells search engines that you have a lot of worthwhile content to read. There are many sites in your area that will link to you free of charge because you offer a service (i.e. local chamber of commerce, local wedding retailers, any partnerships, your blog, clients’ blogs). Be sure to stay away from link farms or any service that requires you to pay for a link - these are usually viewed as spam.

4. Good title bars

It is important to title every page on your website. This helps search engines categorize your site. Your title should be a descriptive word or phrase about the page. You can also use your tagline by using a dash to separate the title and the tag line.

5. Do your research

Go to a major search engine and type in “Photographers in [Your City]". Take a look at what your competition is doing so that you can differentiate yourself in the search engines. Copying your competition will have no benefit and may be harmful in your search results. Look at the keywords and structure of their sites and see how you can make your site unique, not only for your clients but for the search engines as well.

June Newsletter

Yesterday we sent our collagesNewsletter to all of our photographers. Each month our newsletter includes a wealth of information, and whether through workflow advice or marketing technqiues, we cater our content toward helping our photographers.

This month we wrote about how to increase your product offerings and impress your clients with our latest product line - gallery wraps. We also alluded to several new product lines which are coming soon.

In our Market your Studio section, we touched upon our Build your Brand website, focusing on how to learn ideas and techniques from others in the industry. We also included an incredible article in Professional Tips, by Jill and Lauren of Person + Killian Photography, in which they share how their studio experiences marketing success. Furthermore, we featured the words and work of Val Westover Photography, who won our Power Marketing E-mail of the Month.

As you can see, June's newsletter is not to be missed! Be sure to check out this edition; we e-mailed it to all of our photographers on Tuesday. It can also be found on our newsletter webpage.

Impress your clients by personalizing their sites!

It's the little details that your clients notice, so why not build your event site to match the bride’s colors or add music that corresponds to your client’s fun-loving personality?

Collages.net provides you with plenty of personalization options: a custom color picker, more than 40 font choices, numerous graphics, and a variety of music options. These customizable choices give you the opportunity to bring a sense of familiarity to your customers, and just as you remembered their little details, they will remember your top-notch service.

A great example is our wedding of the week taken by Tiffanny Francisco of Francisco Photography.



To view more of our websites of the week, click here.

Unique Ideas - Portrait Parties

We have received a tremendous response from an article in our April Newsletter. One of our photographers, Tina Gwynn of Kristina Gwynn Photography, shared how her studio has profited from an innovative idea – Portrait Parties. Tina detailed how the idea started, how the parties are held, and how her studio has experienced success. In her article, she also included a sample portrait party posted on Collages.net, which we have extended indefinitely due to the positive response.

To read Tina's article, click here. Also, if you have an article you have written or would like to share an idea that you have found to be successful, we would love to hear from you!

Building YOUR Brand

In an effort to help you build your brand, Collages.net does not include our company logo on any of your event websites or event notification e-mails. Your studio logo is the only brand that appears. When your customers log in to their event websites, they see your studio logo prominently displayed in the top left corner.

Your studio logo is a powerful marketing tool as it builds your brand, attracts additional clients, gives your event sites your personal look and feel, and makes your studio memorable.

To learn how to design an effective logo, visit our studio marketing website. To send Collages.net your logo, simply attach the jpeg file to an e-mail and send it to customerservice@collages.net.

A powerful marketing e-mail

We recently received a powerful marketing e-mail, sent from a Collages.net photographer to his clients. He sent a message promoting one of the products he offers - Collages.net DVD slide shows - to all of his wedding guests. Within his e-mail, he included helpful information about the product and how to order. Even though his clients were previously sent e-mail notifications about the event site, this specific e-mail was catered toward providing information and awareness about a product the photographer really wanted to sell.

If you aren’t familiar with power marketing e-mails, this tool that Collages.net offers is a quick, easy way to reach out to your current and potential customers. When event guests log in to their event, their e-mail addresses are automatically stored. You can then send an e-mail to a selection (or all) of these event guests.

A lot of our photographers use the power marketing e-mail to remind their clients to order prints, notify their clients about their new website or blog, or offer specials such as free shipping.

The power marketing e-mail is a tool that has dramatically changed studios. Collages.net realizes this and consequently highlights one such studio each month who has sent an effective power marketing e-mail and honors them with our Power Marketing E-mail of the Month Award. Their words and their work are featured in the collagesNewsletter, which is viewed by thousands.

If you would like to learn more about Power Marketing E-mails, visit our Build your Brand website.

New Product - Gallery Wraps!

Last Thursday we sent the collagesNewsletter, featuring an exciting announcement: the launch of our new product line – gallery wraps! Gallery wraps are beautiful canvas prints in which the image itself continues along the sides of the canvas. The continued image frames the canvas, creating an awe-inspiring display. This unparalleled product gives our photographers the opportunity to create tremendous value for their art. If you would like to hear how other studios, including BLR Life Photography and Ahava Photography, are incorporating gallery wraps into their product lines, read our Testimonials page.

If you stopped by our booth at WPPI, Imaging USA, or any of our most recent trade shows, we showcased several of our gallery wraps, including our infamous baby in a bucket taken by Brittany Hanson of BLR Life Photography.

In our newsletter, we also announced the launch of our all-new studio marketing website. Collages.net offers numerous marketing tools that are highly successful in helping our photographers increase their business, and we incorporated all of these techniques into our website for our photographers to easily access. Centered on building your studio’s brand, the site covers topics such as using your studio logo, driving traffic to your website, and developing and maintaining your competitive edge. Not only are all of our marketing tools free with your Collages.net account, but they will dramatically change the way you do business, just as they have for studios across the country!

As you can see, we have a lot of great things happening at Collages.net!

Welcome!

Welcome to Collages.net's blog - a portion of the web completely dedicated to our photographers. Collages.net's blog is our way of bringing together our passion for helping photographers make a lasting impression on their clients with your passion for photography.

Future entries will include: studio success techniques, announcements about our latest products and services, ongoing specials, industry news, articles, advice and images from professionals, and just about anything else that has to do with photography.

We love what we do, and we want to share it all with you. Let's start a conversation.