Question - is the restriction on creating cards to SM subscribers a tech or policy limitation?
My reason for asking is I'd like to market this to a group of some 300 car owners I did some work for this past summer, and it'd be nice if they could do the up-front work of selecting the image and building the card on their own instead of my having to create each one of them myself.
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I don't really see the big benefit. I mean the customer still can't design and order a card if he wants to. The photographer still has to do the work and setup many card samples in order to get the customer to choose and order one. Why can't the customer do this on its own without involvement of the photographer?
I'm sick and tired of the cards problem and I'm going to take this completely off my site. I'll never ever touch cards again (until it has become user friendly). This is too much work and trouble.
I don't really see the big benefit. I mean the customer still can't design and order a card if he wants to. The photographer still has to do the work and setup many card samples in order to get the customer to choose and order one. Why can't the customer do this on its own without involvement of the photographer?
I'm sick and tired of the cards problem and I'm going to take this completely off my site. I'll never ever touch cards again (until it has become user friendly). This is too much work and trouble.
Thanks for the feedback. Not sure what you mean by 'cards problem' now - Most pros I know show the photos to their customer, let them choose the one they want, and pick a design. They can choose from all the examples we have on cards.smugmug.com. Then it's 90 seconds - maybe a couple minutes for you the pro to make a card and another minute to email them a link to buy said card, at your pro prices. I'm not seeing how that's difficult?
The card maker is fully functional - it's just for you to use only.
This is a perfectly appropriate model for a high-touch one-on-one situation where the pro is working directly with a single customer to deliver a final product.
However, when pursuing a low-touch market where contact between the pro and the customer may be minimal or non-existent (like over the internet), and/or the pro is marketing to a large customer base (such as the owners of 300 vehicles at car show), an other-than-self-serve solution won't scale.
If control over the pro/self-serve building of cards could be done on a per-gallery basis, SM customers could go after both markets at the same time.
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Thanks for the feedback. Not sure what you mean by 'cards problem' now - Most pros I know show the photos to their customer, let them choose the one they want, and pick a design. They can choose from all the examples we have on cards.smugmug.com. Then it's 90 seconds - maybe a couple minutes for you the pro to make a card and another minute to email them a link to buy said card, at your pro prices. I'm not seeing how that's difficult?
The card maker is fully functional - it's just for you to use only.
Hi Andy -
I'm going to have to say ditto to Redneck about allowing the customer to design and order their cards. I think providing that option would be helpful for the following reasons:
* Customers are used to doing this since they can do it at every consumer printing spot I know (walmart, walgreens, costco, shutterfly, etc).
* Better quality - sometimes the best picture doesn't do with the best design. Giving them the option to put them together allows for creating results that aren't so obvious.
* At every step (them choosing the picture and the design, calling me, me putting it together, emailing them,etc.) there is an opportunity for the sale to fall through the cracks
* Fewer chances for error - what if I get the wrong design or the wrong text? If they enter it, then at least they can be responsible.
* It saves me time (even if it is only two minutes).
* Much higher "cool" factor if customer can do it themselves. And we know that all photographers really want to be cool.
I think think what you have done is a very big step and I thank you for it. But in the end, I really would like to see that next level of functionality.
Swapping cards
And just as a follow up - I'm looking at creating my own thank you cards. I'm playing with the different templates and swapping out different pictures. Unless my client is sitting with me at the computer, they won't be able to do that.
ok, let me see if i have this straight..i'm supposed to do a Xmas card shoot this weekend...is this the process to get the cards: upload photos, select EZ Prints as the lab and price the cards accordingly?
if that process is correct, how do the clients see the cards available? do i direct them to the cards link at SM, or do i create a gallery for these? i created a few galleries (like Andy's), but these don't obviously show all cards available...i guess i'm just trying to figure out how to display the card choices to clients...
ok, let me see if i have this straight..i'm supposed to do a Xmas card shoot this weekend...is this the process to get the cards: upload photos, select EZ Prints as the lab and price the cards accordingly?
if that process is correct, how do the clients see the cards available? do i direct them to the cards link at SM, or do i create a gallery for these? i created a few galleries (like Andy's), but these don't obviously show all cards available...i guess i'm just trying to figure out how to display the card choices to clients...
that's exactly what i did...but doesn't that only show the "Holiday" cards? i used that code (a few weeks ago) and it gave me 4x8 and 5x7 Holiday cards..i had to create a gallery on my own to get 4x8 Christmas cards...what i did was save all the cards from the SM link, and uploaded those to my gallery...that gave me the Xmas cards...
I'm going to have to say ditto to Redneck about allowing the customer to design and order their cards. I think providing that option would be helpful for the following reasons:
* Customers are used to doing this since they can do it at every consumer printing spot I know (walmart, walgreens, costco, shutterfly, etc).
* Better quality - sometimes the best picture doesn't do with the best design. Giving them the option to put them together allows for creating results that aren't so obvious.
* At every step (them choosing the picture and the design, calling me, me putting it together, emailing them,etc.) there is an opportunity for the sale to fall through the cracks
* Fewer chances for error - what if I get the wrong design or the wrong text? If they enter it, then at least they can be responsible.
* It saves me time (even if it is only two minutes).
* Much higher "cool" factor if customer can do it themselves. And we know that all photographers really want to be cool.
I think think what you have done is a very big step and I thank you for it. But in the end, I really would like to see that next level of functionality.
Thanks,
Joey Chandler
Very well said, and I have to agree. I was expecting this to be something the customer could handle without me.
I envisioned cards being added into the Merchandise tab, so that they would be enabled regardless of Lab choice. Making 2 galleries - 1 for print orders and 1 for cards seems like it would come across as redundant and disorganized to clients. Is this a future possibility?
I'm going to have to say ditto to Redneck about allowing the customer to design and order their cards. I think providing that option would be helpful for the following reasons:
* Customers are used to doing this since they can do it at every consumer printing spot I know (walmart, walgreens, costco, shutterfly, etc).
* Better quality - sometimes the best picture doesn't do with the best design. Giving them the option to put them together allows for creating results that aren't so obvious.
* At every step (them choosing the picture and the design, calling me, me putting it together, emailing them,etc.) there is an opportunity for the sale to fall through the cracks
* Fewer chances for error - what if I get the wrong design or the wrong text? If they enter it, then at least they can be responsible.
* It saves me time (even if it is only two minutes).
* Much higher "cool" factor if customer can do it themselves. And we know that all photographers really want to be cool.
I think think what you have done is a very big step and I thank you for it. But in the end, I really would like to see that next level of functionality.
Thanks,
Joey Chandler
Thanks (and to redneck, all) - for the feedback. It won't change for this holiday season - but we'll surely consider it for the future!
Lots of valid suggestions in this thread, but for 2009 it is what it is... and it is a big improvement over 2008.
If we create a slideshow of cards in a gallery, per Andy's instructions from 2007, I have two questions:
1) What code should we use to show the holiday cards? Is there different code for the 4x8 and the 5x7 cards, or will the code show all of the holiday cards available? It appears to be showing a mix, but I can't tell if it's showing everything....
2) How can customers identify which card they want? Is there a way for the slideshow to display a filename along with the image, or something?
+1 on the above...that's what i was getting at earlier...i added the code from Andy a while ago...now there are new templates and categories...i originally created a Xmas gallery, but i'm not sure if all the cards are being shown, etc...
is there a simple way to have a slideshow, like Andy has shown, for ALL cards and categories, or do i have to make those myself just like i did with the Xmas cards?
...
is there a simple way to have a slideshow, like Andy has shown, for ALL cards and categories, or do i have to make those myself just like i did with the Xmas cards?
Perhaps Smug could add the keyword "showallcards" to every card and you
could then use a keyword feed for the show.
something like that would be great! i know Andy created a "workaround" to show specific cards, but i'm sure i'm not alone when i say i'd like to be able to show ALL cards available, without sending clients to another site (cards.smugmug.com)...it'd be really nice to keep it all "in-house" so to speak...
something like that would be great! i know Andy created a "workaround" to show specific cards, but i'm sure i'm not alone when i say i'd like to be able to show ALL cards available, without sending clients to another site (cards.smugmug.com)...it'd be really nice to keep it all "in-house" so to speak...
wouldn't that be confusing? I've made a feed of all holiday cards, 4x8 and 5x7. It's in post#1 of the how-to thread.
here's the problem i see...like i said in a few posts up, i've done what you suggested in that other thread, but that only gets holiday cards...now, unless i'm missing something (and that's quite possible) in order to get Xmas cards or any of the other categories, i've saved the cards and uploaded them to my own gallery, and then created a slideshow for those galleries just like you did with holiday cards..
now, if there's an easier way to show the other card templates in a slideshow (by changing other keywords as you suggested) do tell, cause i'm not sure how to do that...
We send about 200 cards a year, so I was thrilled to see SM offering such a nice simple way to design them. It's been torture in previous years with other vendors.
So I bought 10 cards as a proof and they look great. Just one snag. The wife wished we could use a jazzier font, "maybe script?" There doesn't seem to be any control over this. Am I missing something?
We send about 200 cards a year, so I was thrilled to see SM offering such a nice simple way to design them. It's been torture in previous years with other vendors.
So I bought 10 cards as a proof and they look great. Just one snag. The wife wished we could use a jazzier font, "maybe script?" There doesn't seem to be any control over this. Am I missing something?
Thanks.
I guess I better clarify. I want a simple 5x7 folded card with my photo on the front full bleed with nothing else. You guys do that great with this, using the second Anything design. But there seems to be no control over the fonts.
I guess I better clarify. I want a simple 5x7 folded card with my photo on the front full bleed with nothing else. You guys do that great with this, using the second Anything design. But there seems to be no control over the fonts.
Save the created card and add/change the text in PS and re-upload.
I guess I better clarify. I want a simple 5x7 folded card with my photo on the front full bleed with nothing else. You guys do that great with this, using the second Anything design. But there seems to be no control over the fonts.
John, you're a PS whiz - you can just make your own card, too:
here's the problem i see...like i said in a few posts up, i've done what you suggested in that other thread, but that only gets holiday cards...now, unless i'm missing something (and that's quite possible) in order to get Xmas cards or any of the other categories, i've saved the cards and uploaded them to my own gallery, and then created a slideshow for those galleries just like you did with holiday cards..
now, if there's an easier way to show the other card templates in a slideshow (by changing other keywords as you suggested) do tell, cause i'm not sure how to do that...
i'm gonna bump on my post above...can someone please answer these two simple questions:
1) Andy's fix (which i did long ago) only shows holiday cards, correct?
2) does it show all the holiday cards, including the new ones?
3) is there a simple way to show all cards, including Christmas cards?
Ok. I couldn't wait for a solution to the problem about how to let clients indicate which card they want. So I created my own gallery, with my own filenames:
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Matt Dudley Photography
Nashville child photographer
Twitter: @mattdudleyphoto
Facebook: facebook.com/mattdudleyphotography
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Question - is the restriction on creating cards to SM subscribers a tech or policy limitation?
My reason for asking is I'd like to market this to a group of some 300 car owners I did some work for this past summer, and it'd be nice if they could do the up-front work of selecting the image and building the card on their own instead of my having to create each one of them myself.
I don't know how to say this other than it's just a decision we've made at this time - owners make cards. Anyone can buy 'em.
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I'm sick and tired of the cards problem and I'm going to take this completely off my site. I'll never ever touch cards again (until it has become user friendly). This is too much work and trouble.
The card maker is fully functional - it's just for you to use only.
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However, when pursuing a low-touch market where contact between the pro and the customer may be minimal or non-existent (like over the internet), and/or the pro is marketing to a large customer base (such as the owners of 300 vehicles at car show), an other-than-self-serve solution won't scale.
If control over the pro/self-serve building of cards could be done on a per-gallery basis, SM customers could go after both markets at the same time.
Hi Andy -
I'm going to have to say ditto to Redneck about allowing the customer to design and order their cards. I think providing that option would be helpful for the following reasons:
* Customers are used to doing this since they can do it at every consumer printing spot I know (walmart, walgreens, costco, shutterfly, etc).
* Better quality - sometimes the best picture doesn't do with the best design. Giving them the option to put them together allows for creating results that aren't so obvious.
* At every step (them choosing the picture and the design, calling me, me putting it together, emailing them,etc.) there is an opportunity for the sale to fall through the cracks
* Fewer chances for error - what if I get the wrong design or the wrong text? If they enter it, then at least they can be responsible.
* It saves me time (even if it is only two minutes).
* Much higher "cool" factor if customer can do it themselves. And we know that all photographers really want to be cool.
I think think what you have done is a very big step and I thank you for it. But in the end, I really would like to see that next level of functionality.
Thanks,
Joey Chandler
San Francisco Portrait and Wedding Photographer
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I'd like to incorporate them into my site (check the "holiday cards" link at the bottom of my site). There's no real easy way to do this...
Any chance for a zip file or something?
Matt Dudley Photography
Nashville child photographer
Twitter: @mattdudleyphoto
Facebook: facebook.com/mattdudleyphotography
And just as a follow up - I'm looking at creating my own thank you cards. I'm playing with the different templates and swapping out different pictures. Unless my client is sitting with me at the computer, they won't be able to do that.
Joey
San Francisco Portrait and Wedding Photographer
If you are in the Bay Area, join us for the monthly SmugMug User Group
if that process is correct, how do the clients see the cards available? do i direct them to the cards link at SM, or do i create a gallery for these? i created a few galleries (like Andy's), but these don't obviously show all cards available...i guess i'm just trying to figure out how to display the card choices to clients...
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=76819
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or am i missing something here?
Very well said, and I have to agree. I was expecting this to be something the customer could handle without me.
I envisioned cards being added into the Merchandise tab, so that they would be enabled regardless of Lab choice. Making 2 galleries - 1 for print orders and 1 for cards seems like it would come across as redundant and disorganized to clients. Is this a future possibility?
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If we create a slideshow of cards in a gallery, per Andy's instructions from 2007, I have two questions:
1) What code should we use to show the holiday cards? Is there different code for the 4x8 and the 5x7 cards, or will the code show all of the holiday cards available? It appears to be showing a mix, but I can't tell if it's showing everything....
2) How can customers identify which card they want? Is there a way for the slideshow to display a filename along with the image, or something?
Thanks...
Matt Dudley Photography
Nashville child photographer
Twitter: @mattdudleyphoto
Facebook: facebook.com/mattdudleyphotography
is there a simple way to have a slideshow, like Andy has shown, for ALL cards and categories, or do i have to make those myself just like i did with the Xmas cards?
could then use a keyword feed for the show.
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http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=76819
You can modify it with other keywords, if you like, from the list on http://cards.smugmug.com
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now, if there's an easier way to show the other card templates in a slideshow (by changing other keywords as you suggested) do tell, cause i'm not sure how to do that...
So I bought 10 cards as a proof and they look great. Just one snag. The wife wished we could use a jazzier font, "maybe script?" There doesn't seem to be any control over this. Am I missing something?
Thanks.
I guess I better clarify. I want a simple 5x7 folded card with my photo on the front full bleed with nothing else. You guys do that great with this, using the second Anything design. But there seems to be no control over the fonts.
My Website index | My Blog
http://wiki.smugmug.net/display/SmugMug/Make+your+own+photo+cards
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1) Andy's fix (which i did long ago) only shows holiday cards, correct?
2) does it show all the holiday cards, including the new ones?
3) is there a simple way to show all cards, including Christmas cards?
http://mattdudleyphotography.smugmug.com/Holidays/cards
Matt Dudley Photography
Nashville child photographer
Twitter: @mattdudleyphoto
Facebook: facebook.com/mattdudleyphotography
Thanks, Andy, I'll give it a try. It wasn't obvious how to do it from what I could find before.
I loved the look of the photo on the proof I ordered, and you can't beat the service. My wife is just fixated on a fancier font.