getting referrels

lynny

iam new to smugmug and would like to know how i can get referrels for my smugmug page ,,, i would like to continue to stay with smugmug ,, but if i cant get referrels i cant afford it ,,, any help would be appreciated thanks lynny

https://lynny.smugmug.com/

jfriend

My five steps to referrals

lynny wrote:

iam new to smugmug and would like to know how i can get referrels for my smugmug page ,,, i would like to continue to stay with smugmug ,, but if i cant get referrels i cant afford it ,,, any help would be appreciated thanks lynny

https://lynny.smugmug.com/

My five steps (I have several hundred referrals on two accounts):

• Take interesting pictures
• Post the good ones to your site
• Tell lots of people (friends, family, etc...) about your site
• When you get feedback on your pictures, tell them that they too can have a site like this and you can get them a special deal with a discount code
• Talk about photography with lots of people and when appropriate, tell them about your experiences with Smugmug, why it's been a good solution for you and that you could get them a special deal

Some guidelines I try to follow:

• Do NOT talk bad about competitive services, but rather focus on the positive attributes and strengths of Smugmug
• Try to not come across as pushy or salesy, but try to be informative and helpful. For example, I would never just respond with "Try Smugmug, here's a discount coupon" as many people do. I would respond with "Here's why I like Smugmug 1)... 2)... 3)... 4)... 5)... and if you want to give it a try to see for yourself, here's a coupon that can get you discount. In my here's why I like Smugmug, I would teach them about a bunch of the strengths of Smugmug, offering real value in my answer.
• Make sure you tell people that there's a 14-day free trial period so they have nothing to lose by trying it themselves. Something like 8 out of 10 who try it sign up which both says that it's a good service and says that you just need to get them to try it and they will probably like it.
• Point out that Smugmug has awesome online tech support either my email or via online forum and cncourage folks to check out dgrin by giving them the URL so they can see the activity and/or ask questions themselves.
• Be familiar with the best features of Smugmug that set it apart from other competitive offerings (unlimited storage and bandwidth, awesome customer service, 100% satisfaction guarantee for prints, full customizability, upgrade available for pro features, etc...).