Chances are, you’re reading this in a bit of a hurry. There are many things that can get in the way of an enjoyable life, can cause undue stress, and eventually lead to burnout….  I’m speaking of course of brides…  NOT REALLY..
I believe at the root of burnout, discontentment, aggravation, and exhaustion is HURRY!

Now I’m not talking about being busy, I’m talking about being hurried…  What’s the difference?  

I’d define it as this–
Busy is having a lot to do.  Webster says “full of activity”.  We all have a lot to do and are full of activity.
Hurry is having a lot do, but mixing up priorities.  Webster says “to perform with undue haste”.

A favorite author of mine, John Ortberg, in his book “The life you’ve always wanted” stated that “We suffer from what has come to be known as ‘hurry sickness.’ One of the greatest illusions of our day is that hurrying will buy us more time.” We live in a day where hurry is the norm and many times, even encouraged as a mark of success. So here is a little test to see if you struggle with hurry. Drum roll please…

Top 10 ways to know you have “hurry sickness”

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There are a few reasons to convert an image to black and white…   First of all, many times, we’ll shoot an image with B&W in mind.  Shadow, line, form, etc. can be emphasized with a good black and white conversion.  Secondly, we convert to black and white to remove distractions. Color, pattern, etc. can be minimized if changed to black and white.  (Remember that mother-of-the-bride with the fuscia sweater…)  Also, one of the main reasons to convert to a monochromatic image is to hone in on your primary subject, emotion, etc.  Color can sometimes detract from the moment taking place.  Another reason why you may want a black and white is for a certain feel or look (think classic, vintage, etc.)

So, we’ve covered the “whys”, now to the “hows”.  What is the best way to convert a color image to black and white?  It depends on who you ask.  There are numerous ways to convert an image to black and white, but we’ll just look at a few…  Click play on the video below to view the tutorial..  (please allow for a few seconds for the video below to load)

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Here it is, one week before Christmas and the fall-off of studio business has probably begun. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could maintain the high-traffic that we have the four to six weeks prior to Christmas? You know, hardly any place to park in front of the building, phone ringing off the hook, emails flying all over the place?

But this week before Christmas is almost depressing – like all of a sudden some nasty girl at the next locker told all the other kids that you had bad breath.

That’s when you have to stop looking at small ideas and grasp a big idea. And who better to provide a big idea than the big players themselves.

I happened through the McDonald’s drive-thru the other day. (Ed. note: I love McDonald’s, not because their food is good for me but because they are marketing giants. Regardless of who is trying to shut them down – the government, health food people, whoever – they continue to make money. That’s marketing genius in my book.) So I decided to head to McDonald’s and see what holiday gimmick they had come up with to battle the Christmas-Is-Almost-Over Syndrome. On the giant Golden Arches sign was a message – “Buy A $10 Gift Card, Get A Hot Drink FREE.” Since I’d been wanting one of those yummy-looking peppermint hot chocolate drinks and it was cold outside and my kids should always have a McDonald’s gift card, I bought not only one gift card, but four. In return, I got four yummy, peppermint hot chocolates. (Ed. note: I only drank one on the spot, saving the other three for subsequent cold days.)

Realizing I’d fallen head-first into the McDonald’s marketing trap, I scurried back to the studio and created my own version of this marketing idea.

“Buy $20 in studio gift cards – get $5 free.”

We posted it on the website and sent out a mass email, even offering free shipping. The next day, the phone began to ring and the email heated up again. We were popular again. Our offer not only appealed to our regular customers who knew what a great deal they were getting, but we appealed to those “last minute shoppers” who were wanting to get loved ones something more than a gift card for cheese or gasoline.

That’s why – when my marketing tank runs on low – you’ll generally find me in the McDonald’s drive thru line.

I love saying thank you to my best clients. I also love marketing while I’m at it. *wink*

I wish I could take credit for this idea. But, like many businesses I rely on other avenues sometimes.

The amazing people with Design Aglow have you covered for fun and fresh ideas.

Today I thought I would share the idea of giving a thank you gift to your best clients and marketing your business at the same time!

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As we’ve been enhancing the NEW Store Sites, we have put great effort into developing methods that would make sales easier and faster for you as a business owner. One area that we have significantly expanded compared to any other e-Commerce solution available in the photographic industry is the “Coupons and Discounts” section.  In this blog, I’m going to show you:

1. What we have offered in the past
2. The NEW features that are available for you as of today
3. Give you exclusive access into a webinar where we give an inside look along with tips on how to use them!

Knowing that there are unlimited types of discounts that a seller might want to offer, we did some research within our customer base as well as other online stores to find what the most needed discount types are. We are excited to announce that we have even more options for you to use now with the PhotoBiz Store than any other solution out there in the photographic industry!   Further, you can create an unlimited number of coupons in your Store, and customize them to your business’ needs.

Below we have listed the different types of discounts with their descriptions and an example of a coupon you can create with each, along with screen shots!

Register for our Webinar

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