smugmug pro tips

Andy · February 10, 2006

Bilinqual Site
Kudos to Sebastian Hosche for his great job on his bilingual site. I blogged it here:

http://blogs.smugmug.com/pros/2006/02/10/a-bi-lingual-site-why-not/

and more great examples of other cool sites here:

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=27713

Andy · February 13, 2006

Another example of helping your clients BUY FROM YOU by Miles Boyer:

http://www.milesboyer.com/gallery/1176545/1/55932890/Large

Andy · February 19, 2006

Some good pro extras, right here on Dgrin
SmugSales Hack:
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=28206

Scott's excel sheet:
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=27700

Nik's Star*Explorer:
www.starexplorer.com

Maureenpic · February 19, 2006

Questions on your tips
Thanks for pointing me to this posting. I had looked at it before, but don't know how to implement some of them - including the first one. I feel like I'm a bit out of my depth here on some of this. Do you set up the "contact me" button in SMUGMUG? I couldn't find anything that would give me that info on how to do it. I thought it would be easier for people to locate my pictures in the site than it is.

Andy wrote:

this thread is for your best tips, for smugmug pro accounts. it's not for customization, co-branding, or css stuff - those can go in the smugmug customization forum. i'm hoping to compile a listing of the best tips to enhance your pro site, make it easier for your customers to find your site, and hopefully, get more business!

i'll start off with a few, please post yours!
have a prominent "contact me" button

if you have a business phone number, use it

an info page - who you are, etc. your credentials

listing references on your site is a big plus

be sure and change your site name in control panel>customize

use captions and keywords to your advantage (google search)

always validate your pricing by logging out, and looking as if you were a client

list the guarantee prominently

if you want absolutely all print sales to be reported, even "at cost" you must add .01 to the pricing (yes i realize this makes it technially, "not" at cost...

check your control panel>print sales daily and send a thank-you email to your customers immediately after you receive an order.

so folks, let's here your tips!

Andy · February 19, 2006

Maureenpic wrote:

Thanks for pointing me to this posting. I had looked at it before, but don't know how to implement some of them - including the first one. I feel like I'm a bit out of my depth here on some of this. Do you set up the "contact me" button in SMUGMUG?

Allow me to introduce you to the Customization forum:
http://www.dgrin.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31

And the FAQ there:
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=26043

And the "Dummies" Series:
http://www.dgrin.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31

And here's some threads to get you started, you can go from "simple" and put it in your BIO box, to more complex and have a contact me page:

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?p=159265

http://www.moonriverphotography.com/gallery/729391
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=25368&page=2

Andy · March 4, 2006

Post-processing is part of our job, too
Post-processing is part of our job, too

http://blogs.smugmug.com/pros/2006/03/04/pop-this/

Andy · March 25, 2006

Keywords, keywords, keywords
On March 4th, I added new keywords to my site
http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=261234&postcount=3
as an experiment.

On March 25th, here's the result, page 1. And many other searches for similar stuff (family portrait, bar / bat mitzvah, portait, headshots, etc) all turn up on p2 or better.

Keywords are your friend. Use them. Embrace the keyword-y goodness

gcarl · April 4, 2006

add print page to my site

Andy wrote:

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

Andy, how do i add this page to my site?
Thanks,
Gene
gcarl@g2photos.net

Andy · April 4, 2006

Wedding and Portrait Pros - Attention:
Have a look at Tony's site:

http://www.tonyschreiber.com/gallery/1335365

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=31312

Andy · April 4, 2006

gcarl wrote:

Andy, how do i add this page to my site?
Thanks,
Gene
gcarl@g2photos.net

Hi Gene,

welcome to Dgrin!

It's listed in my FAQ,
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=26043

it's an HTML Only page:
http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=186127&postcount=19

If you'd like help setting one up, just make a post in the customization forum, and we'll be glad to help!

http://www.dgrin.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31

Andy · July 13, 2006

Cool Tip on Searching Numerical Keywords
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=38113

Andy · July 18, 2006

Don't Be Dumb.
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?p=346381#post346381

'nuff said.

Andy · July 30, 2006

Digital Downloads
Don't forget to change any specific wording you have on your site for "prints only" now. For example, my navbar used to say "Buy Prints" it now says "Buy Photos" and I also updated gallery description language.

Andy · July 30, 2006

Help Your Customers Buy Digital Downloads!
A great tip, from Celso Diniz:

http://bestphotostuff.smugmug.com/gallery/1720420

mrcoons · August 3, 2006

Downloads

Andy wrote:

Don't forget to change any specific wording you have on your site for "prints only" now. For example, my navbar used to say "Buy Prints" it now says "Buy Photos" and I also updated gallery description language.

On this note will the page http://www.smugmug.com/prints/catalog2.mg be updated at some point to list downloads?

Andy · August 3, 2006

mrcoons wrote:

On this note will the page http://www.smugmug.com/prints/catalog2.mg be updated at some point to list downloads?

See the product description page, listed here:
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=39261

mrcoons · August 6, 2006

Andy wrote:

See the product description page, listed here:
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=39261

Thanks Andy!

:

Andy · September 14, 2006

Be up front about YOUR privacy policy

Andy · October 13, 2006

Some really good site & shopping cart help:
http://www.worldviewimages.smugmug.com/gallery/1768931

sbressler · September 25, 2007

Andy wrote:

Don't forget business cards!

This thread can't be found anymore?

SloYerRoll · September 25, 2007

gus 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 ?

So what if you don't own an URL? Do you have to purchase one to have a custom domain name then?
Jsut go to joker.com (or wherever) buy the domain if avaiable and then your in business?

denisegoldberg · September 25, 2007

SloYerRoll wrote:

So what if you don't own an URL? Do you have to purchase one to have a custom domain name then?
Jsut go to joker.com (or wherever) buy the domain if avaiable and then your in business?

Yes, if you want a custom domain name (as in one that doesn't include "smugmug), you do have to purchase one.

They can be very inexpensive though, depending on where you register the domain name. Several of the registrars are listed on this page: http://www.smugmug.com/help/professional-accounts.

--- Denise

smugmug pro tips

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