smugmug pro tips

Andy

Now on the SmugMug Wiki!

Mike Lane

andy wrote:

so folks, let's here your tips!

• Post high quality pictures.
• If you've got a blog, get on a long blogroll list. Mention your site lots. Get people to talk about it. Soon you'll be on the top (or above the "fold" at least) of the google list for all kinds of searches. (Google Mike Lane Photography, thailand native photography, or colour photography old woman Those are just from my last 100 hits too!)
• Get into webdesign;)

Andy

download sales details
you can go to control panel>pro sales>sales details>download

you get a .csv file, that opens in excel, or other spreadsheet-type application. there are shareware/freeware programs that will open these files as well.

this data was always there, but it's very cool to have the download capability now.

Nikolai

RE: download sales details

andy wrote:

you can go to control panel>pro sales>sales details>download

you get a .csv file, that opens in excel, or other spreadsheet-type application. there are shareware/freeware programs that will open these files as well.

this data was always there, but it's very cool to have the download capability now.

Not to blow my own horn, but standard issue SM sales download feature is kinda limited. For the active event/action photogs with hundreds (or even thousands) of sales each month downloading the ever growing single csv file will become a logistical nightmare after a second month.

OTOH, it's free and works for every browser:-).

S*E is not free and win32 only, but it will get you this:

• smart time-based selection (download new data only, or redownload some old stuff)
• "live" sorting/filtering (see who bought what/when)
• instant email to customers (Andy is right as always, this is very important!)
• live access to pictures (curious what you just sold 100 copies of?)
• MS Access-based reports
• and, for those who *really* want to know how they are doing biz-wise:
  pretty good analysis
  (of course, via excel, but try to get there from std download)
  (actual data courtesy of S*E pro customer)

I guess, in a pro world, you're always end up getting what you paid for:-)

Thank you for mentioning that sales info, Andy:-)!

HTH

Andy

keywords
use 'em. you can bet i keyworded the heck out of these galleries

Nikolai

Gallery-level keywords: ETA?

andy wrote:

use 'em. you can bet i keyworded the heck out of these galleries

Did you guys discuss the opportunity to specify gallery-level keywords (as well as geography) that would automatically apply to every image within? That would save GOBBLES of time...

gus

So just for the big dumb guy...if i own wadjelaphotography.com.au (which i do) can i be rid of the word smugmug in my URL name ?

Nikolai

Redirection/domain forwarding

Humungus wrote:

So just for the big dumb guy...if i own wadjelaphotography.com.au (which i do) can i be rid of the word smugmug in my URL name ?

Yes, many people do that, check www.photosocal.com for example:-) It's the same old http://nik.smugmug.com, but with my own URL.
However, it needs to be done at your domain control panel (or whatever that place is called in case of your domain provider). Look for "redirecting", or "domain forwarding". If still at loss contact the techsupport (of the said domain provider, not SM!) and explain to them that you want your www.xyz.com be forwarded to http://xyz.smugmug.com. They should be able to help very fast.

HTH

Andy

Humungus wrote:

So just for the big dumb guy...if i own wadjelaphotography.com.au (which i do) can i be rid of the word smugmug in my URL name ?

yes, see this help page, 'gus

Andy

Don't forget business cards!

Andy

I just spoke with Paul at Charlston Picture Company. What a great idea he has - he does food events :eat :eat amongst other things -- and he sells "print ads" for a healthy fee to local merchants, and puts them inside the galleries that the community goes to to order pics from the local festivals and things.

nice idea, extra $$ is good, too.

Andy

Give 'em a little extra help in your print galleries

Andy

Many pros who offer the whole product line, or nearly all of it, will prominently feature this page on their site.

Andy

Amuse Bouche
Just like in a fine restaurant, give your clients and would-be clients a little "amuse bouche" that little treat of an appetizer or palate opener that the chef in a Michelin 3-Star restaurant would send to your table while you are perusing the menu. :eat :eat :eat

Event Shooters - give away a little taste, a sample

Example here at Hoofclix I love this idea, it's a fantastic way to bring 'em in and build a great customer base.

Ann McRae

andy wrote:

Example here at Hoofclix I love this idea, it's a fantastic way to bring 'em in and build a great customer base.

That is a winning strategy!!!!!

(Often, my candids are my best shots!!!! )

Great tip, thanks andy!

ann

Andy

Referral Link in Footer
Smugmug can be free for you

Put your referral link in your site footer!

A great idea, Pat Kane uses it and thanks to John Friend for the code to do it!

Andy

Sometimes stating the obvious really helps. I recently had a pro's customer complain about a large print. After investigating the actual file, I found that it was being printed from a 750px by 500px file. Not good! I know I'm probably stating the obvious, but to get the best printed output, please upload the full size file. In your gallery customization, you can always disable originals, password protect, watermark, right click, etc.

But your customer deserves the best print possible

Andy

Of Box Tops, and New Featurs etc for your site
We're constantly innovating (thanks onethumb and jt!!) - how cool is that - new features coming out all the time.

Many of our pros customize their homepages completely - totaly "non-smugmug" look and feel - and yay isn't that great? We give you a lot of control and power with your site.

So, for example, if you have this code in your css:

.boxTop {
	display: none;
}

you'll not see the boxes, and the "show/hide" buttons on your home page for the various features. Great - so far. BUT - when we come out with a new feature (like show/hide timeline for example) as we did this week, you'll see it on your homepage (logged in or out) and won't be able to "hide" it if you wish.

And so, the workaround, is to put this code in your stylesheet CSS:

.loggedIn .boxTop {
	display: block;
}

This code, will allow you to see the "show/hide" buttons of these features while you are logged in only so that you can "hide" or "show" as desired. Your clients/visitors will NOT see this.

I hope this helps,

Andy

Event Shooters: A Must Read
Please have a look at how Bill Jurasz does big events and galleries, keywording, and more. He's really got it down!

Mercury Photograpy

Andy

Event Photograpers: Keywording
See how Pat Kane does it:

Koala Playhouse

Andy

Customized Right-Click Protection in 5 seconds
It's super, super easy. See this thread. Just copy, paste (and modify to taste) the code in John Friend's excellent post.

Thanks to JT and Onethumb for coding it, and to John for making that post!

LiquidOps

Check The Weather
Always be sure to check the weather ahead of time when doing an on location shoot. It's best to be prepared than to be surprised when you get there. It's also helpful to advise your client/customers/photo subjects of what to wear according to weather

Just my thoughts.


Steven

mercphoto

LiquidOps wrote:

Always be sure to check the weather ahead of time when doing an on location shoot. It's best to be prepared than to be surprised when you get there. It's also helpful to advise your client/customers/photo subjects of what to wear according to weather

Along the same veins bring along drop cloths for people to sit/stand on. You don't want nice clothes to get dirtied by that lovely grass they are posing in or sitting in. Or maybe they are sitting on a nice park bench, which of course hasn't been cleaned in some time. Etc.

Andy

Learning to fish, part one
:nono not here, Ya gotta go to my blog for this one.

Andy

Learning to fish, Part II
Learning to Fish, Part II

Andy

Event / Wedding Shooters: Set up Ahead of Time!
I found this on another board:

Dadoffour wrote:

Make sure you pick a smugmug name you are happy with. I see that yours matches your own domain, so that is good. Once you pick a name, people expect to find their images there.

Before you go to an event, create a new gallery so that you may tell/show participants its location. Within that new gallery, put a "Coming Soon Image", so that clients know that they have at least reached the correct destination.

You also need to create a heirarchy, and stick with it, using Categories and Sub categories.

I.E.
Weddings
Smith&Jones
Harris&Baker

Reunions
abc
xyz

Smugmug allows 3 levels of heirarchy, so you could use
Weddings
Smith&Jones
Rehearsal
Getting ready
Wedding
Reception

etc.

Great tips.

Andy

Get Referrals, your SmugMug subscription can be $0
Check out how Matt Saville gets his referrals!

Nice Job, Matthew!

DavidTO

Andy wrote:

Check out how Matt Saville gets his referrals!

Nice Job, Matthew!

So my question is: how effective is it?

Andy

DavidTO wrote:

So my question is: how effective is it?

Combined with other techniques, I bet very effective.

Andy

Flash This!
:nono You've got to see my blog for this one

Andy

Pimp Your Ride
Some CSS Tricks to add some bling-bling to your SmugMug site.

Enjoy!