Business naming help needed - complicated situation...

Matthew Saville · October 12, 2006

Alright, I got a little side tracked by those business card topics, but now I'll get to what I came here to do-

I'm going to split my SmugMug account into two, because wedding photography and fine art nature photography are just getting too big for one pro account. So, I'm going to have ww.matthewsaville.smugmug.com, and then another one. But there's a handful of nasty details that I need help sorting through:

For fine art photography, I think I'm going to "take the plunge" and use a power account instead of a pro account, selling mounted prints via PayPal links or simply via mailing checks, etc. I figure that if my work is good enough, people will find a way to buy it. After posting a vertical panorama on my main page, I've gotten 3 requests for a mounted & matted 10x30", which I've had to custom-make of course. But I"m getting off topic. The point is, I want to have one pro account and one power account, for wedding photography and nature photography, respectively.

Optimally, I think ww.matthewsaville.smugmug.com for fine art and ww.matthewsavilleweddings.smugmug.com for weddings (duh) would be perfect, but here's the kicker:

The account I have now is a $100 pro account, not a $150 pro account. If I create a new account for weddings (which I want to be a pro account), I'll have to jump up to $150 ON TOP OF adding the $60 power account. Not the end of the world, but definitely not optimal.

So my other idea is to leave the pro account as my wedding photogrpahy site, and just think of a super cool name for a nature site.

Here are a few names I liked:

ww.mountainlight.smugmug.com (but that's galen rowell's site, so I don't know if I'd get scoffed at for such blatant copy-catting, even though he IS my hero...)

ww.alpenglow.smugmug.com (Taken, but I'd be willing to purchase that name from the owner if Smugmug allows that...)

ww.throughmyeyes.smugmug.com

ww.adventurephotography.smugmug.com

ww.mothernature.smugmug.com

etc. etc. etc.

So, what do you think would be the wisest business move? Right now my girlfriend's input is to stick with the $100 pro account, (weddings) and get ww.thrumyeyes.com, but I feel like the "myeyes" part might be too big a mouthful...

Thanks for your help,
-Matt-

PS- here's a couple images that are typical for my style, in case that helps you think of an account name:

http://matthewsaville.smugmug.com/photos/90473895-O.jpg

cmason · October 12, 2006

So I see your work posted above, and think "Wide Open Spaces"

(ah crap, now I have that Dixie Chicks song in my head....)

Bendr · October 12, 2006

I'm pretty sure there is an option to change the name on your account

Go into control panel, and under "account Settings" it lists

name: Your name | nickname: Your Nickname | displayed as: How it Shows up |

Next to that is a button titled "Change" Click on that and it will allow you to change your nickname, which will change your url...

Have Fun!

Matthew Saville · October 12, 2006

Bendr wrote:

I'm pretty sure there is an option to change the name on your account

Go into control panel, and under "account Settings" it lists

name: Your name | nickname: Your Nickname | displayed as: How it Shows up |

Next to that is a button titled "Change" Click on that and it will allow you to change your nickname, which will change your url...

Have Fun!

Hi Bendr,

I'm aware that I can change my Nick, or my name, but I'm pretty sure that actually changing my URL is not allowed. I mean, EVERY single page and image tag from the old URL will go bad! I contacted help@smugmug a few days ago and asked them about changing my account name, and they said I probably couldn't do that without changing to $150 per year...

-Matt-

Bendr · October 12, 2006

You are correct, it does make the old links go dead, but if you are creating a new account to go at the current url, it shouldn't be hard...

If you still don't believe me...

Next to the nickname field it says:

"required, changing this will change your SmugMug URL http://nickname.smugmug.com"

The help text for the field says this:

Pick a nick

Your SmugMug nickname is unique to you.

It creates your personal address on the internet.

www.nickname.smugmug.com

You can always change it, but like changing your phone number
you'll have to update your friends after.

This was one of the features I really loved about smugmug, unlike most sites, if you decided your current url wasn't working, you could change it!

Try it!

Ben

Bendr · October 12, 2006

Wait a sec... I kinda see...

If he changes his nickname/url, that shouldn't raise his price to the current price should it???

Ben

Stustaff · October 12, 2006

Grandeview or Grandview for a name?

Very nice pics btw

bham · October 12, 2006

One idea is with the second one just do matthewseville2.smugmug.com

Not sure if you have purchase a .com from godaddy or the such, but you could have 2 different .com's one go to the front page and the other directed to go to a category or subcategory. I have tested this and it does work. I wanted a seperate .com just for my weddings part of my page but didn't want to split the two because I do get cross business, they come for one thing get that but then see I do wedding, etc and that produces other business.

Or you could do a .com and make an external page to smugmug that they choose to enter the wedding part, which would go straight to the wedding category or choose the fine art part and that could go to that category. In your 2 category page customize it with a header, etc to make it look like a main page.

Just an idea, but its your call. If you do choose to do two I would still link the two somehow.

Stustaff · October 12, 2006

oh yeh thats how mine will work once its done! one smugmug account but 2 different addresses and 2 different pages!

www.belperphoto.co.uk will eventually link to my pro site clicking on Galleries from there goes to - http://stuarthill.smugmug.com/Photography

and then my private site has a 'vanity URL which links to - http://stuarthill.smugmug.com/Family

both on the same account but show different headers and links etc so appear seperate to anyone viewing! would also save you some $$'s

Matthew Saville · October 13, 2006

bham wrote:

One idea is with the second one just do matthewseville2.smugmug.com

Not sure if you have purchase a .com from godaddy or the such, but you could have 2 different .com's one go to the front page and the other directed to go to a category or subcategory. I have tested this and it does work. I wanted a seperate .com just for my weddings part of my page but didn't want to split the two because I do get cross business, they come for one thing get that but then see I do wedding, etc and that produces other business.

Or you could do a .com and make an external page to smugmug that they choose to enter the wedding part, which would go straight to the wedding category or choose the fine art part and that could go to that category. In your 2 category page customize it with a header, etc to make it look like a main page.

Just an idea, but its your call. If you do choose to do two I would still link the two somehow.

Hi Blam,

I'll definitely have links between the two in my titlebar.

And you're right, if I could set it up to stay contained within one Smugmug account, that would be fine. What I really want is to have two different URL's for people to go to, and not see both weddings and fine art on the same main page.

But in the end, I think that what would limit me in that respect would be the fact that I can only have categories and subcategories, and I'd be "wasting" categories to immitate having a "different" URL. That would leave me with only subcats to organize all the thousands of photos I have online...

-Matt-

Stustaff · October 13, 2006

Exactly!

thats what I have a category each for the two different sites and then subcategories to organise everything into.

Matthew Saville · October 13, 2006

Stustaff wrote:

Exactly!

thats what I have a category each for the two different sites and then subcategories to organise everything into.

Hi Stu,

I'd actually feel a bit restricted if I had only Subcats to organize all of my photos. I'll have to think it through first, but I don't think that the amount of photos I have online can be contained within just one level of categorization...

-Matt-

bham · October 13, 2006

Matthew Saville wrote:

Hi Stu,

I'd actually feel a bit restricted if I had only Subcats to organize all of my photos. I'll have to think it through first, but I don't think that the amount of photos I have online can be contained within just one level of categorization...

-Matt-

It was just an idea. Sounds like you have thought it thru and decided that you need 2.

I don't blame you I already have 2 smugmug pro accounts.

I don't really have any great ideas for a different name for the fine art part. I think I would use my name on both. Something like Matthew Saville Fine Art Photography, God creates the beauty I just capture it, or something like that. If you have 2 distinct names, then even though you are doing both I think there is a disconnect, whereas having your name on both can benefit you.

Zanotti · October 14, 2006

Matthew Saville wrote:

Hi Stu,

I'd actually feel a bit restricted if I had only Subcats to organize all of my photos. I'll have to think it through first, but I don't think that the amount of photos I have online can be contained within just one level of categorization...

-Matt-

I went through much of the same thinking and came to the same conclusion that I wanted/needed two Smugmug accounts. Dont forget you can "give" yourself a coupon to reduce the cost of the second site.

Matthew Saville · October 14, 2006

Zanotti wrote:

I went through much of the same thinking and came to the same conclusion that I wanted/needed two Smugmug accounts. Dont forget you can "give" yourself a coupon to reduce the cost of the second site.

Hi Zanotti,

Yes, I'm on the verge of doing that now.

I just need to decide between "throughmyeyes.smugmug.com", "mountainrain.smugmug.com", and "wideopenspaces.smugmug.com"... (suggested here, thanks!)

-Matt-

Business naming help needed - complicated situation...

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