hurray for coupons and packages
I really, really hope this is a feature that is coming soon. I am extremely happy with Smugmug, and don't want to leave, but I had a half hour chat with a woman from photostockplus this morning, and if I was to leave it would be because of their extremely robust system for setting up packages and coupons, which would be very, very helpful to me as a money maker. I used to offer print packages to my wedding clients, but it has become such a hassle that it's hardly even worth my time to deal with it. If I could offer either a % off to my brides, or sell a print package at a price reduced from the regular gallery prices, that would really help out my bottom line, as would being able to pass out coupons at the wedding offering 10% off all prints ordered within a week or two weeks of the wedding.
I really don't like the way photostockplus looks, and I think Smugmug does an incredible job, but this is a feature I've wanted since I joined up two years ago, so I do hope it is coming soon.
Ok, I am sorry for joining this discussion so late...
Percentage Off AND $$ Value Coupons (aka gift cards)
Public Coupons AND Private (registered to site 'customers' - maybe an extension of the email list - allowing site visitors to register)
Unlimited / No Restrictions, Minimum Spend, Maximum $$ Discount, Threshold for kickers - 10% on first $500, 15% on next, and 25% after $1000, expiration dates
Open to all products, restricted to certain products, only good for bundles - here is a coupon for the standard sports package (prepaid $$) and the opportunity to save an additional 10% on additional orders through December 15, 2009...
Electronic distribution and scheduled reminder system (hey did you know you had a coupon, better use it before it expires...)
The ability to select a background picture for the pdf coupon 'card' with a few lines of personalized text.
A unique alphanumeric code system for the coupon so that they can be tracked.
A site owner set campaign code system for the coupon so that the event / marketing campaign can be tracked.
The ability / option to store a credit card number with a registered site user's profile - much the same as amazon does where credit cards can be stored for "one click" checkout - mind you, this is not my site credit card, but for registered customers.
Having some experience developing databases I am fully aware of what I am asking for. I also know that, even if all of the features are not offered initially, setting the data structure is like laying the cornerstone of a building - it can either support or handicap.
I do a lot of event photography - tons of sporting events - and it would be great if parents / friends could give the gift of smugphotos in $50 or $100 increments.
I think coupons have the ability to drive massive amounts of revenue for all concerned.
Ann McRae just referred me to this tread. I'm among those who have eagerly seeking coupons with SmugMug for the past 2 years and have recent begun pursuing alternatives due to continued absence of this functionality.
I like all the features listed by jmarkworth1. Great list.
To help the developers, my priorities:
1a. Print Package - client enters coupon and my credit card is charged for purchase up to coupon amount. (I already was paid session package price up front by client using Check, Cash or Credit Card via Google Checkout)
1b. Provide me 3 delivery options for each coupon code a) pre-configure product delivery address to myself (use address on record with SmugMug- this so I can hand deliver product to client), b) to a pre-defined address I enter as part of the coupon code, c) as entered by client when promoted in the checkout process.
1c. Provide ability for client to pay additional amount in excess of coupon value if they choose to purchase more products than included in the coupon value. Charge balance owning to client credit card.
1d. Provide ability to configure "Print Package" coupon to also add x% off of purchases exceeding coupon amount made the same day only (this to stimulate the client to purchase more product the first time around in the Gallery)
1e. Preserve existing gallery features such as proof delay and notifying me by email when purchase is made when purchases are made using coupons.
2. Flat Amount Off - get x% off or $x off when coupon used by z date.
3. Percent Off - get x% off when purchased over $y by z date.
---
Nice to have...
4. Combo Coupon - Buy one and get second of same kind at 50% off.
5. Custom response messaging - Give me option of entering a predefined message that is displayed to the client after they have used my coupon. Allow different message per coupon code. Provide option to use existing 'standard' response message.
Thank you. My time is running short for this feature- I really hope the coupon feature comes out in some form in the next month or two. Hard choices to make. Sales automation is needed to help slowing business
coupons and packages
I think the coupons and packages need to be w/SmugMug ASAP ,my clients are asking for it.I am asking for this option. SmugMug Heros please work on it as quick as possible. Thank you.
I really, really hope this is a feature that is coming soon. I am extremely happy with Smugmug, and don't want to leave, but I had a half hour chat with a woman from photostockplus this morning, and if I was to leave it would be because of their extremely robust system for setting up packages and coupons, which would be very, very helpful to me as a money maker. I used to offer print packages to my wedding clients, but it has become such a hassle that it's hardly even worth my time to deal with it. If I could offer either a % off to my brides, or sell a print package at a price reduced from the regular gallery prices, that would really help out my bottom line, as would being able to pass out coupons at the wedding offering 10% off all prints ordered within a week or two weeks of the wedding.
I really don't like the way photostockplus looks, and I think Smugmug does an incredible job, but this is a feature I've wanted since I joined up two years ago, so I do hope it is coming soon.
I think the coupons and packages need to be w/SmugMug ASAP ,my clients are asking for it.I am asking for this option. SmugMug Heros please work on it as quick as possible. Thank you.
You would think that SM would have got this done quite awhile ago. I can't imagine how much money they are loosing. I sold way more self made packages through Costco then single photos sold through SM in this years soccer season. It is extra work but that is what the parents want and I have to keep telling them that I can't do it through SM.
Coupons
I just want to ask just how long it takes to develop a coupon? I have not seen any of the even cheap off the shelf shopping cart programs that don't have coupon functionality and other photo sites offer coupons.
Coupons need to have percentage discounts, dollar discounts and have the ability to offer a specific product for free (ie: I can give participants in a event I shoot a free 5x7 to get them to come into the site or they can choose to take a 10% discount on a larger order). THIS ABSOLUTELY needs to be gallery specific. I need the coupon to get people to come into the site, and have agreeemnts with the event organizers to provide the gift to their participents. I dont want them coming in at any time and purchasing something that was not from that event. The goal is to promote the specific event...
This is critical functionality, I CAN NOT USE SMUGMUG for events without the coupons, I have to use another service to sell prints to these events until you have it ready for release!
I don't think that's a fair comment... Andy this past month (in THIS thread) said the following about the status of this feature:
"It's been asked again in the Bay Photo announce thread, too - we just had a major big release for us, the addition of a new lab. Coupons are going to be done by one of the engineers that was on that effort. So, it's getting much, much closer."
Unless you know more about internal feature development than Andy, saying that we're no closer now than 2 years ago is a bit harsh... :thwak
I have to agree that it's not much closer. With all due respect to SM, this is still vaporware to me. Promises are nice, but I can't sell on promises. They won't even hint at when it will be available, other than soon.
Unless I see something concrete to the contrary, I'm inclined to believe that they are miles away from this, and are saying it's close to keep us from jumping ship.
Chris MacAskill himself promised to call me to talk about it, but never did. I'm very disappointed in that.
Please make me out to be nothing more than paranoid!!!
I BEG them to prove me wrong on this. If not, I'll be gone by summer.
I'm inclined to believe that they are miles away from this, and are saying it's close to keep us from jumping ship.
Tom, you know us way better than this. We don't roll this way, you know this personally from the numerous discussions we've had over the years. Please don't be sensationalist Lee is working on Coupons. Period, full stop. They're getting closer every day.
I'll find out why Baldy didn't get back to you. If you have some input on Coupons, we'd love it. It's never, ever ever too late.
That's fine, Tom. Lee just showed you a bit of what he's working on.
Hang in there.
Just checking back to this thread to see if there was any progress other than a screen shot.
I know I sound frustrated, and I am. But I don't think I'm being unfair. The years I've been a SM pro we've only progressed from "thanks for the suggestion" to "we're working on it". I'm not being trying to be petty or punitive with my argument that this has taken too long. I know many pros that went over to EM for this reason, and I think the fact that I'm still here proves I like you guys. But when I hear things like "stop by our office for a chat about it", and I email to see if you'd like to talk with me (it's a little far for me to stop by), I'm encouraged when I hear I can expect a call from Chris Macaskill and Gabriel Harrison. But when he cancels and promises to call me later, but never does, I feel a bit like a jilted lover. Input like this needs to be in the form of a dialogue, not a bullet point email.
My fear is that if and when this does come along. it's going to be a partial solution. If there's a string out here with a list of what might be in the proposed solution, I've missed it.
Some may feel that since I've only generated a measly $5,000 in gross revenue for Smugmug (that's not my gross sales, that's the portion of my sales they have retained), my voice isn't as loud as others. But with a way to pre-sale photos for sporting events, I can promise that number could increase. I posted the following for Markham on the Texas Photo Forum back in December:
As well as coupons, a great feature would be store credits or gift certificates to provide customers.
For example: I shoot a lot of HS football. Parents always request I shoot their son, but a lot of them never buy prints. By the end of the season my list is a mile long and impossible to use effectively, so I wind up shooting just the players whose parents have been ordering. Then the other folks gripe after the season is over because they didn't get enough photos.
If I were able to sell them a gift certificate good for $$ credits towards prints, and ask that they purchase at least x dollars in order to request I shoot their kid, that would do several things:
1. Make them have some skin in the game when it comes to requesting I take photos
2. Make my shoot list more manageable/profitable
3. Drive incremental sales for smugmug
Sounds like a winner to me. Can you guys deliver this?
The feedback received from Markham was:
Yes, gift certificates are on the list as well. I am not sure whether we'll get GC's out in the first phase with Coupons, but they are definitely on the list.
Then someone posted this in response to my post above:
Oh yes - this would really work! I get very tired of parents asking me to take shots of #12, then never buy. I waste time and energy. Gift certificates would be a great way to do help me be more efficient and take shots for dependable customers, not "requesters" . Also, I often get requests to shoot something different than the usual HS game, such as a junior high game. I ask for a deposit now, but with a gift certificate, that could be the "deposit" and I'm covered.
Would SM set it up so people could buy gift certificates on our sites?
Then Markham replied:
That is part of the discussion we are having. Nothing is yet decided or set in stone on Gift Certificates.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
Which is a bit less encouraging. I need a gift certificate solution like the one described above by Summer. If, as I understand, there are other vendors offering that today, then a switch is imminent.
I'm not being sensationalist, I'm not making threats, I'm making a business decision based on the information (or lack thereof) at hand. If you guys choose to "roll that way", then I'll have to roll in a different direction.
Just checking back to this thread to see if there was any progress other than a screen shot.
Hello Tom. Yes, we've made progress, but it's only 3 days since your last post, so no, there's nothing public to show you. I'm really sorry. I'm pinging Chris again for you as well.
Hello Tom. Yes, we've made progress, but it's only 3 days since your last post, so no, there's nothing public to show you. I'm really sorry. I'm pinging Chris again for you as well.
Thanks.
I'm not being sarcastic, but since I have no idea what SM's idea of "soon" is, I'm checking back often.
No more rants, I promise. I think that would be a waste of my time and yours.
I replied to one of Chris's original emails; perhaps he'll get back to me.
bigWebGuy is thoroughly exhausted after releasing the shopping cart and he has some tuning to finish, like banning the color button for pros.
But... Then he's ready to work coupons. We wanted to check that we're up to date on the latest coupon feature list. Far as I know, it's:
1. The ability to set fixed dollar amounts or percentages.
2. Ability to set an expiration date. I heard a little rumbling about wanting to set a number of uses/coupon. Is that important?
3. Ability to withdraw coupon amounts from pro profits and if the reserve isn't high enough, then charge the card on file to make up the difference.
4. Some reporting.
We hope you're not asking to make coupons gallery-specific, because that's hard.
Your thoughts.
The ideal coupon for my situation would be to allow for bulk purchasing. For example, I cover an event that highlights the marching band at a local high school. The booster club president wants to buy all 100 shots for the end- of the-year banquet PowerPoint presentation. (That's as opposed to a parent who wants to buy just the three shots that feature her daughter, Susie.) For the person who wants to buy bulk, I would like to offer a coupon code that allows for a discounted price.
Another situation will involve a site sponsor or partner, who in turn for that sponsorship and partnership, receives a discounted price for pictures purchased in all -- OR IN CERTAIN -- galleries.
I'll be happy with whatever is offered. Just offering some thoughts from my perspective.
Does anyone have a list of competing services that offer coupon functionality?
I know Miller's has coupons...
Exposure Manager (www.exposuremanager.com). Coupons, pre-sales, packages, volume discounts, sales and specials, self-fulfill option, ability to define your own products to sell, proof delays on prints, digital downloads with proof delay, ...
1. YES to Both Percentages & Fixed Dollar amounts so that we can offer either say a % off for an order above $100 etc. or just a % off when placing an order in general. This would also allow us to give a paying client a % off their order because they spent 'x' amount of dollars on a portrait session, wedding package etc. The fixed dollar amount is a great tool for anyone who is going to be placing an order for being a client or potential client as a GIFT from us the photographer for being loyal customers or to drum up new print business.
2. YES: An expiration date on a coupon code IS important to me. This way we don't have to keep track of our coupon codes & go in MANUALLY when we want them to no longer be valid which would cut down on our workflow and gives us less to worry about taking care of from a sales point of view. For me having a SET # of uses isn't really important since I don't do that high of a volume where I have to worry about 1000 people trying to use the same coupon, BUT for those who DO sell large volumes of prints/gifts this might be an important option to have available.
3. I would hope a photographer doesn't give out more in coupons then they would take in on a sale but I would imagine if this occurs having the option to withdraw the amount from Pro Sales or Charged to their CC would be helpful (for SM anyway). Personally I would never have more Coupon GIVEAWAYS then I would PROFIT so I don't think this maters much to my business. I think the important part of the coupon itself is for SM to be able to subtract the amount of the coupon from the Pros PROFIT MARGIN at the end of the sale and as the photographer/business making sure they do not give away more in coupons then they have profit on a given sale which would be counter active and certainly a disastrous business move!
4. Absolutely having REPORTING available to us is KEY to knowing how a particular Coupon has worked for MARKETING purposes and knowing how much sales has increased due to a particular coupon issue. Also knowing the figures allows us to know how much profit was Lost / Made because of the coupon. Having basic figures available to us would be fine, IMO off the top of my head just knowing - How MANY Coupons were used, Amount of those Coupons, DATES they were used on, Total AMOUNT that was saved by the customer (Lost by the photographer) and the Total amount of the sale AFTER the Coupon was applied are just some of the basic figures that would help a lot in doing our books and knowing how effective a coupon campaign was to our final numbers.
5. Having coupons GALLERY SPECIFIC is certainly not needed for my business BUT a quick check box added to each gallery set up in (Gallery Customize mode) having the ability to check a box ALLOWING or DISALLOWING coupons to be used in that gallery would be helpful so that issued coupons could not be used in say a gallery that is set up with One of a Kind art pieces that sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars or photographic art that is high priced for what ever reasons. This way we could just check a box ACTIVATING the coupon mode in an gallery we want and NOT allow coupons to be used in others which should be simple enough to create. It's just turning ON or OFF the coupon mode in any of the galleries we have.
Also if we were able to set up or even generate our own coupon #'s so they can be tracked and traced as to who we give them to and the amount of the coupon (like a UPC Code for tracking purposes) and in that mode we could set up the number of uses ie. coupons that are available for that specific amount. This would also allow us to generate a sale campaign to draw new business in or send out a coupon to our loyal customers via email so they could buy say another portrait package less the coupon amount or get some extra printed gifts for a wedding party etc. Just an idea as to the use of being able to generate coupon codes as simple as using"BPP10%" "BPP25BUCKS-001" etc.and in that generator being able to set coupon expiration date or how many times that code can be used.
New Jersey Photographer Professional Photographers Association & National Photoshop Professionals Member www.billpador.com
Exposure Manager (www.exposuremanager.com). Coupons, pre-sales, packages, volume discounts, sales and specials, self-fulfill option, ability to define your own products to sell, proof delays on prints, digital downloads with proof delay, ...
They really have just about anything you need in that area. They do lack some of the sexy bells and whistles of SM, though. You have to decide if switching is worth it to you.
The ideal coupon for my situation would be to allow for bulk purchasing. For example, I cover an event that highlights the marching band at a local high school. The booster club president wants to buy all 100 shots for the end- of the-year banquet PowerPoint presentation. (That's as opposed to a parent who wants to buy just the three shots that feature her daughter, Susie.) For the person who wants to buy bulk, I would like to offer a coupon code that allows for a discounted price.
I'd like to be able to do that, too. You can on Exposure Manager, as Merc mentioned.
I'm sure hoping I see some progress and answers from SM soon. Lately, all I hear is...
They really have just about anything you need in that area. They do lack some of the sexy bells and whistles of SM, though. You have to decide if switching is worth it to you.
that site looks interesting. i am going to sign up for a free trial. i was hoping they had some example pages so i can see the layout and UI. do you have a gallery there?
that site looks interesting. i am going to sign up for a free trial. i was hoping they had some example pages so i can see the layout and UI. do you have a gallery there?
Granted I haven't used the site since 2006 and a lot I've taken down, but there's a little bit to show you. Hopefully some other EM users have something more substantial for you to look at:
This is what I want, what I've been asking for since before I signed up in 2007, and what my school is waiting for before they'll get on board and maybe finally give LifeTouch the boot.
There are several options over at Printroom, including volume discounts, discounted packages, and free/prepaid print/package redemption. The latter in particular is exactly what I'm after. It's prepaid, so I don't have to deal with a credit card charge (I donate the site fees to my school -- they get the profit, I get the expense -- so I'm not too keen on getting charged for print discounts). We could set up any kind of packages we want, take orders for them in advance, and buy the coupons all prepaid. Then people could use their coupons to buy whatever combination event/action/portrait prints they want, any time during the school year. That's a perfect fundraiser for the school's AV club. That's coupon/package Nirvana for me, and Printroom had it before I signed up with Smugmug.
What Smugmug has over Printroom (aside from their heroic response and sparkling personalities ) is disk space. In my situation (as a volunteer), I want to upload full-sized finished photos and never return to them, but let the school keep them online for years if desired. With Printroom, that would be cost-prohibitive. I don't want to hassle with proofs.
So I wait, but it's getting to be too late in this case. Without any concrete information about coupon/package availability, I can't make a proposal for the school to take over the site and profit from it after I'm gone. My kid graduates this year. The irony is that now people are asking about getting senior portraits through the school's SM site, just as I'm figuring it's not really worth it to continue shooting and publishing when the site won't support an organized fundraiser.
I love Smugmug, but I really wish they had prioritized coupons and packages a lot higher than they have. Today there's a note in the control panel about new, improved statistics. I'm sure that will be nice, but was it really more important than coupons and packages? Statistics don't make sales....
Edit: Looks like Printroom now offers unlimited disk space too, at the top level. So SM's edge is really the heroic service and sparkling personalities -- which do count for a lot in my book.
272 Days
Just some facts to stir the pot. When I am not getting the job done timely, you can bet my boss lets me know about it.
272 Days since first message in this thread or 8 months and 29 days. Almost 9 months folks. This is in addition to any time that coupons consumed prior to the first posting.
5. Having coupons GALLERY SPECIFIC is certainly not needed for my business BUT a quick check box added to each gallery set up in (Gallery Customize mode) having the ability to check a box ALLOWING or DISALLOWING coupons to be used in that gallery would be helpful so that issued coupons could not be used in say a gallery that is set up with One of a Kind art pieces that sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars or photographic art that is high priced for what ever reasons.
It's also useful to those of us who have galleries of low-or-no-profit images. I take photos at club meetings and other gatherings that I would be attending anyway, and have started putting them up at SmugMug for $.01 over cost so the members can buy them directly rather than me paying for prints at Walgreens. Giving coupons that work in those galleries would be like handing out cash.
Additionally, I'd like to see the ability to attach full or partial alternate pricing structure based on cost (rather than the set price) to a coupon. For example, a coupon that would give the user x% over cost on all of a type of item in a gallery, (conditional; don't want them charged more for using a coupon if they're buying a penny-over item) rather than whatever the prices are set to already. This way, a club historian or event sponsor could get a coupon that lets them get their larger numbers of prints cheap, while participants' families pay full price for the one or two each they'll buy, with less post-event interaction from the photographer.
Blog - updated irregularly Photos - still under construction, suggestions welcome
I'm getting really close to the point where I could really use a coupon. I'm wanting to charge the client an up-front fee (portrait photographers would call it a sitting fee). That up-front fee would be considered a credit on purchases of actual prints and/or files once the images are post-processed and uploaded.
The alternative is to drastically lower the print prices, and the sitting fee is exactly that --- just a sitting fee.
Comments
I really, really hope this is a feature that is coming soon. I am extremely happy with Smugmug, and don't want to leave, but I had a half hour chat with a woman from photostockplus this morning, and if I was to leave it would be because of their extremely robust system for setting up packages and coupons, which would be very, very helpful to me as a money maker. I used to offer print packages to my wedding clients, but it has become such a hassle that it's hardly even worth my time to deal with it. If I could offer either a % off to my brides, or sell a print package at a price reduced from the regular gallery prices, that would really help out my bottom line, as would being able to pass out coupons at the wedding offering 10% off all prints ordered within a week or two weeks of the wedding.
I really don't like the way photostockplus looks, and I think Smugmug does an incredible job, but this is a feature I've wanted since I joined up two years ago, so I do hope it is coming soon.
Ann McRae just referred me to this tread. I'm among those who have eagerly seeking coupons with SmugMug for the past 2 years and have recent begun pursuing alternatives due to continued absence of this functionality.
I like all the features listed by jmarkworth1. Great list.
To help the developers, my priorities:
1a. Print Package - client enters coupon and my credit card is charged for purchase up to coupon amount. (I already was paid session package price up front by client using Check, Cash or Credit Card via Google Checkout)
1b. Provide me 3 delivery options for each coupon code a) pre-configure product delivery address to myself (use address on record with SmugMug- this so I can hand deliver product to client), b) to a pre-defined address I enter as part of the coupon code, c) as entered by client when promoted in the checkout process.
1c. Provide ability for client to pay additional amount in excess of coupon value if they choose to purchase more products than included in the coupon value. Charge balance owning to client credit card.
1d. Provide ability to configure "Print Package" coupon to also add x% off of purchases exceeding coupon amount made the same day only (this to stimulate the client to purchase more product the first time around in the Gallery)
1e. Preserve existing gallery features such as proof delay and notifying me by email when purchase is made when purchases are made using coupons.
2. Flat Amount Off - get x% off or $x off when coupon used by z date.
3. Percent Off - get x% off when purchased over $y by z date.
---
Nice to have...
4. Combo Coupon - Buy one and get second of same kind at 50% off.
5. Custom response messaging - Give me option of entering a predefined message that is displayed to the client after they have used my coupon. Allow different message per coupon code. Provide option to use existing 'standard' response message.
Thank you. My time is running short for this feature- I really hope the coupon feature comes out in some form in the next month or two. Hard choices to make. Sales automation is needed to help slowing business
Ted
I think the coupons and packages need to be w/SmugMug ASAP
SmugMug Heros please work on it as quick as possible.
Thank you.
www.inmyviewnow.com:barb
Agreed. This thread started 9 months ago.
My outdoor season starts in 3 weeks.
Needs to be settled real soon.
http://www.knippixels.com
DMunsonPhoto
MaxPreps Profile
Sports Shooter
I just want to ask just how long it takes to develop a coupon? I have not seen any of the even cheap off the shelf shopping cart programs that don't have coupon functionality and other photo sites offer coupons.
Coupons need to have percentage discounts, dollar discounts and have the ability to offer a specific product for free (ie: I can give participants in a event I shoot a free 5x7 to get them to come into the site or they can choose to take a 10% discount on a larger order). THIS ABSOLUTELY needs to be gallery specific. I need the coupon to get people to come into the site, and have agreeemnts with the event organizers to provide the gift to their participents. I dont want them coming in at any time and purchasing something that was not from that event. The goal is to promote the specific event...
This is critical functionality, I CAN NOT USE SMUGMUG for events without the coupons, I have to use another service to sell prints to these events until you have it ready for release!
I have to agree that it's not much closer. With all due respect to SM, this is still vaporware to me. Promises are nice, but I can't sell on promises. They won't even hint at when it will be available, other than soon.
Unless I see something concrete to the contrary, I'm inclined to believe that they are miles away from this, and are saying it's close to keep us from jumping ship.
Chris MacAskill himself promised to call me to talk about it, but never did. I'm very disappointed in that.
Please make me out to be nothing more than paranoid!!!
I BEG them to prove me wrong on this. If not, I'll be gone by summer.
I'll find out why Baldy didn't get back to you. If you have some input on Coupons, we'd love it. It's never, ever ever too late.
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You guys are nice guys. I'd love to go out and have beers with you. But you have not yet delivered on this, nor given us an idea of when you will.
Facts are facts until they change, and they haven't yet. I keep saying I hope you guys prove me wrong, and it's not a figure of speech.
Hang in there.
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Just checking back to this thread to see if there was any progress other than a screen shot.
I know I sound frustrated, and I am. But I don't think I'm being unfair. The years I've been a SM pro we've only progressed from "thanks for the suggestion" to "we're working on it". I'm not being trying to be petty or punitive with my argument that this has taken too long. I know many pros that went over to EM for this reason, and I think the fact that I'm still here proves I like you guys. But when I hear things like "stop by our office for a chat about it", and I email to see if you'd like to talk with me (it's a little far for me to stop by), I'm encouraged when I hear I can expect a call from Chris Macaskill and Gabriel Harrison. But when he cancels and promises to call me later, but never does, I feel a bit like a jilted lover. Input like this needs to be in the form of a dialogue, not a bullet point email.
My fear is that if and when this does come along. it's going to be a partial solution. If there's a string out here with a list of what might be in the proposed solution, I've missed it.
Some may feel that since I've only generated a measly $5,000 in gross revenue for Smugmug (that's not my gross sales, that's the portion of my sales they have retained), my voice isn't as loud as others. But with a way to pre-sale photos for sporting events, I can promise that number could increase. I posted the following for Markham on the Texas Photo Forum back in December:
For example: I shoot a lot of HS football. Parents always request I shoot their son, but a lot of them never buy prints. By the end of the season my list is a mile long and impossible to use effectively, so I wind up shooting just the players whose parents have been ordering. Then the other folks gripe after the season is over because they didn't get enough photos.
If I were able to sell them a gift certificate good for $$ credits towards prints, and ask that they purchase at least x dollars in order to request I shoot their kid, that would do several things:
1. Make them have some skin in the game when it comes to requesting I take photos
2. Make my shoot list more manageable/profitable
3. Drive incremental sales for smugmug
Sounds like a winner to me. Can you guys deliver this?
Would SM set it up so people could buy gift certificates on our sites?
I'm not being sensationalist, I'm not making threats, I'm making a business decision based on the information (or lack thereof) at hand. If you guys choose to "roll that way", then I'll have to roll in a different direction.
Hopefully we can still have beers one day.
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Thanks.
I'm not being sarcastic, but since I have no idea what SM's idea of "soon" is, I'm checking back often.
No more rants, I promise. I think that would be a waste of my time and yours.
I replied to one of Chris's original emails; perhaps he'll get back to me.
The ideal coupon for my situation would be to allow for bulk purchasing. For example, I cover an event that highlights the marching band at a local high school. The booster club president wants to buy all 100 shots for the end- of the-year banquet PowerPoint presentation. (That's as opposed to a parent who wants to buy just the three shots that feature her daughter, Susie.) For the person who wants to buy bulk, I would like to offer a coupon code that allows for a discounted price.
Another situation will involve a site sponsor or partner, who in turn for that sponsorship and partnership, receives a discounted price for pictures purchased in all -- OR IN CERTAIN -- galleries.
I'll be happy with whatever is offered. Just offering some thoughts from my perspective.
Thanks,
Linda
www.MyPaperNow.com
I know Miller's has coupons...
I'm generally happy, tall, and fuzzy on the inside.www.NickensPhotography.com
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
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2. YES: An expiration date on a coupon code IS important to me. This way we don't have to keep track of our coupon codes & go in MANUALLY when we want them to no longer be valid which would cut down on our workflow and gives us less to worry about taking care of from a sales point of view. For me having a SET # of uses isn't really important since I don't do that high of a volume where I have to worry about 1000 people trying to use the same coupon, BUT for those who DO sell large volumes of prints/gifts this might be an important option to have available.
3. I would hope a photographer doesn't give out more in coupons then they would take in on a sale but I would imagine if this occurs having the option to withdraw the amount from Pro Sales or Charged to their CC would be helpful (for SM anyway). Personally I would never have more Coupon GIVEAWAYS then I would PROFIT so I don't think this maters much to my business. I think the important part of the coupon itself is for SM to be able to subtract the amount of the coupon from the Pros PROFIT MARGIN at the end of the sale and as the photographer/business making sure they do not give away more in coupons then they have profit on a given sale which would be counter active and certainly a disastrous business move!
4. Absolutely having REPORTING available to us is KEY to knowing how a particular Coupon has worked for MARKETING purposes and knowing how much sales has increased due to a particular coupon issue. Also knowing the figures allows us to know how much profit was Lost / Made because of the coupon. Having basic figures available to us would be fine, IMO off the top of my head just knowing - How MANY Coupons were used, Amount of those Coupons, DATES they were used on, Total AMOUNT that was saved by the customer (Lost by the photographer) and the Total amount of the sale AFTER the Coupon was applied are just some of the basic figures that would help a lot in doing our books and knowing how effective a coupon campaign was to our final numbers.
5. Having coupons GALLERY SPECIFIC is certainly not needed for my business BUT a quick check box added to each gallery set up in (Gallery Customize mode) having the ability to check a box ALLOWING or DISALLOWING coupons to be used in that gallery would be helpful so that issued coupons could not be used in say a gallery that is set up with One of a Kind art pieces that sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars or photographic art that is high priced for what ever reasons. This way we could just check a box ACTIVATING the coupon mode in an gallery we want and NOT allow coupons to be used in others which should be simple enough to create. It's just turning ON or OFF the coupon mode in any of the galleries we have.
Also if we were able to set up or even generate our own coupon #'s so they can be tracked and traced as to who we give them to and the amount of the coupon (like a UPC Code for tracking purposes) and in that mode we could set up the number of uses ie. coupons that are available for that specific amount. This would also allow us to generate a sale campaign to draw new business in or send out a coupon to our loyal customers via email so they could buy say another portrait package less the coupon amount or get some extra printed gifts for a wedding party etc. Just an idea as to the use of being able to generate coupon codes as simple as using"BPP10%" "BPP25BUCKS-001" etc.and in that generator being able to set coupon expiration date or how many times that code can be used.
Professional Photographers Association & National Photoshop Professionals Member
www.billpador.com
In addition to Millers, I know:
They really have just about anything you need in that area. They do lack some of the sexy bells and whistles of SM, though. You have to decide if switching is worth it to you.
I'd like to be able to do that, too. You can on Exposure Manager, as Merc mentioned.
I'm sure hoping I see some progress and answers from SM soon. Lately, all I hear is...
that site looks interesting. i am going to sign up for a free trial. i was hoping they had some example pages so i can see the layout and UI. do you have a gallery there?
Crescent City Prints
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A former sports shooter
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And Printroom... They have what I think is the absolute perfect ideal system for coupons and packages.
http://printroom.com/info/Packages_Promotions.asp
This is what I want, what I've been asking for since before I signed up in 2007, and what my school is waiting for before they'll get on board and maybe finally give LifeTouch the boot.
There are several options over at Printroom, including volume discounts, discounted packages, and free/prepaid print/package redemption. The latter in particular is exactly what I'm after. It's prepaid, so I don't have to deal with a credit card charge (I donate the site fees to my school -- they get the profit, I get the expense -- so I'm not too keen on getting charged for print discounts). We could set up any kind of packages we want, take orders for them in advance, and buy the coupons all prepaid. Then people could use their coupons to buy whatever combination event/action/portrait prints they want, any time during the school year. That's a perfect fundraiser for the school's AV club. That's coupon/package Nirvana for me, and Printroom had it before I signed up with Smugmug.
What Smugmug has over Printroom (aside from their heroic response and sparkling personalities
So I wait, but it's getting to be too late in this case. Without any concrete information about coupon/package availability, I can't make a proposal for the school to take over the site and profit from it after I'm gone. My kid graduates this year. The irony is that now people are asking about getting senior portraits through the school's SM site, just as I'm figuring it's not really worth it to continue shooting and publishing when the site won't support an organized fundraiser.
I love Smugmug, but I really wish they had prioritized coupons and packages a lot higher than they have. Today there's a note in the control panel about new, improved statistics. I'm sure that will be nice, but was it really more important than coupons and packages? Statistics don't make sales....
Edit: Looks like Printroom now offers unlimited disk space too, at the top level. So SM's edge is really the heroic service and sparkling personalities -- which do count for a lot in my book.
Just some facts to stir the pot. When I am not getting the job done timely, you can bet my boss lets me know about it.
272 Days since first message in this thread or 8 months and 29 days. Almost 9 months folks. This is in addition to any time that coupons consumed prior to the first posting.
It's also useful to those of us who have galleries of low-or-no-profit images. I take photos at club meetings and other gatherings that I would be attending anyway, and have started putting them up at SmugMug for $.01 over cost so the members can buy them directly rather than me paying for prints at Walgreens. Giving coupons that work in those galleries would be like handing out cash.
Additionally, I'd like to see the ability to attach full or partial alternate pricing structure based on cost (rather than the set price) to a coupon. For example, a coupon that would give the user x% over cost on all of a type of item in a gallery, (conditional; don't want them charged more for using a coupon if they're buying a penny-over item) rather than whatever the prices are set to already. This way, a club historian or event sponsor could get a coupon that lets them get their larger numbers of prints cheap, while participants' families pay full price for the one or two each they'll buy, with less post-event interaction from the photographer.
Photos - still under construction, suggestions welcome
Thanks.
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The alternative is to drastically lower the print prices, and the sitting fee is exactly that --- just a sitting fee.
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu