For years we’ve heard how difficult it is to create a wraparound cover. With all of the cropping and sizing issues we saw our clients having, we knew something had to change.  So in order to save you time (and your sanity) we hope our free wraparound cover design service helps to further boost your productivity and maybe even give you a little extra free time!

How does it work: We have added an online form to the Zookbinders website, which will walk you through submitting your wraparound cover order. (Click here to check it out)  First you will have a choice between 3 different cover styles. Then choose your cover sizes(s) – yes, we’ll design covers for all sizes you need in your order (as long as they’re the same ratio). After a few more questions, upload the image(s) you’d like on your cover.  Within 48 hours you will be emailed a digital file to upload with your normal album order.

It’s the easiest way to get your wraparound cover designed for your PhotoBook, PhotoBook Plus or Lustre Book. And best of all, it’s free!

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This month, we’re shining the spotlight on David Huber Photography! David Huber Photography started in 1981 in the small town of Worland, Wyoming where David also met his lovely wife Heidi, that same year. David tells us that in such a small town as Worland, specializing in one specific genre is nearly impossible, so he continues to not only focus on weddings but also portrait sessions and sports. David says he has chosen to work with Zookbinders because he can count on us to keep him way ahead of all the other competition he continues to see.

What is your dream location to shoot? My dream location shoot would be any warm beach in an exotic locale. When I go to conventions I get a lot of photographers from California or other beach states saying that I have it made being close to the mountains; I think they have it made being close to the ocean!

What excites you about being a photographer? After shooting over 800 weddings, I still get excited for the wedding day photography. Everyone is in a good mood and since most of the weddings I photograph are in different towns, the scenery always changes, keeping things fresh.

What is your favorite image editing tool? Since the inception of Adobe Lightroom, I have been doing the majority of my editing with that program ( LR4 ). I still use Photoshop ( CS5 ) , but not as much.

What or who has inspired you? I have gotten most of my inspiration from old school photographers like Monte Zucker and Don Blair. Unfortunately, most of the digital generation never knew/heard of these exceptional photographers/teachers.

What’s your favorite F-stop? My favorite f-stop is 2.8, all the Canon lenses I have are 2.8 or faster.

What do you do when you are not photographing? When I’m not holding a camera, I have been a volunteer EMT with our local ambulance for the last 16 years. Sometimes I spend more time with the ambulance than doing photography! I have always said, regardless of how bad my day is going, if someone is calling the ambulance, they are having a worse day!

Do you have any advice for amateurs? My advice for people starting out is learn the craft; don’t depend on “A” for automatic for everything.

What’s the best tip or trick you have learned along the way? The best thing I think I ever learned, to improve my photography, is off camera flash.  I was doing this in the 80′s with 50 foot PC cords!

Thanks to David Huber Photography for sharing with us! All images Copyright David Huber Photography. If you would like to learn more and see more images please check out his website http://huberphoto.com/

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More recently, the “Tupperware Party” mentality has spread to everything from jewelry and knives to lingerie and massages. Photographers have now jumped on the bandwagon in many creative ways.

Zookbinder’s customer Andrea Murphy of Andrea Murphy Photography in Tulsa, OK has been able channel this sort of network by offering “portrait parties” in an effort to maximize sales, and introduce new customers to her studio. Andrea’s studio offers parties for kids and families, who typically buy prints, cards and wall portraits as well as the more lucrative maternity and boudoir parties where party goers pay a higher session fee to join the party and who are more likely to purchase upgraded albums or prints.

Here’s how it works: Each portrait party will have a host who is responsible for providing the location, inviting guests (their friends) and possibly serving snacks or providing fun activities. For kids and families, the studio suggests creative themes like birthday parties; holiday or seasonal themes like Valentines Day, Halloween, Christmas, spring/fall, mother’s day / father’s day, etc. The studio even provides party hosts with attractive postcard invitations to send to their friends to promote the party.

Boudoir parties are especially popular with young newlyweds and brides-to-be. Boudoir books make great anniversary or Valentine’s Day gifts, and boudoir sessions also make the perfect bachelorette party! It’s a fun, sexy night out for the bride-to-be and her friends and bridesmaids, and what better gift for a bride to give to her husband on their wedding night!

The portrait party is a win for all involved. Party guests receive a mini portrait session with a professional photographer in a familiar environment for a low price. Moms need not worry about spending hundreds of dollars in session fees only to have their kids misbehave or be frightened of the photographer or the studio. Portrait parties are also a lot of fun and everyone has a great experience. Guests also benefit from a level of professional photography they just won’t find in a mall studio. Those who participate in boudoir parties say it makes them feel sexy and desirable days and even weeks after the session as well as every time their mate looks at their album! For their efforts party hosts receive studio credit equal to a percentage of the total orders generated by the party.

For the photographer their is great upside potential. Portrait parties allow them to do what they do best: take pictures! They are the perfect fit for what is largely seasonal wedding, bar/bat mitzvah, and senior business allowing photographers to stay busy during their “off season”. The party format maximizes the photographer’s time allowing them to shoot several subjects in a short amount of time with a comparatively high rate of sales afterward. It also introduces the photographer to people who might later book or refer full portrait sessions, or even bar/bar mitzvah or weddings down the road.
To be successful with portrait parties requires proper planning. Andrea has an assistant work with her to help wrangle kids, manage equipment and paperwork. Session fees range from $50 per participant for kids in a park setting to $200 for boudoir parties that may include a few prints. Parties work best with 5-10 guests who will be in front of the camera for 15 or 20 minutes for kids and families to 30 or 40 minutes for boudoir, which generally would include 2 or 3 different outfits. Andrea reports some boudoir parties being quite elaborate, even renting a hotel suite and having a hair and makeup person come in!
Andrea typically posts kids’ sessions online allowing customers to purchase loose reprints from her website. For families, seniors and maternity sessions, Andrea invites attendees to come to the studio individually for the sales session where she has projection presentation of their images. She and her staff are prepared to sell wall portraits, canvas gallery wraps and albums. For the boudoir crowd, albums are the most popular purchase and they are almost always for gift giving. It’s not hard to up-sell customers with more images, larger books with leather of fabric covers.
Here is where Zookbinders can help! Our lay-flat, hard cover PhotoBooks are perfect for kids’ portraiture and are available from $77 for a 6×6 with up to 20 sides. Upgrade your customer to a 10×10 PhotoBook plus with a leather cover for under $200. You can sell your brides-to-be a luxurious photographic album with an 8×8 LustreBook for her boudoir session. Our new fabric back and spine treatment (say, in sexy red Crimson) will only cost you $165 with up to 20 sides.
To see more of Andrea Murphy’s work, visit her website at www.amurphyphoto.com.

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On April 1^st we proudly announced the launch of Zook Rewards, a customer loyalty rewards program for Zookbinders and zookie pro customers. We know that there are so many other album companies you can to choose from and we want to show you how thankful we are that you continue to choose us!

Since the launch photographers are wondering how does it work?

It’s pretty simple. The more you spend each year, the more rewards you earn. It doesn’t matter which product you order, you will benefit from any purchase made within the year! The reward redemption is based on calendar year sales and you can redeem your rewards when your yearly sales volume reaches one of the various five levels. Your rewards can be redeemed immediately or saved for a time that best suits you. All rewards must be redeemed by the end of the calendar year. Repairs, tax, and freight do not count towards your annual sales and annual sales are counted post-discount.

Now that you know how it works, let’s dive into the rewards! First, you can read below and check out each level and the benefits you can earn and then you can log directly into your account to see what rewards level you are currently at!

How do you log in to see your rewards?

First log into your account in the Zookbinders website. Once you are logged in, and are in the Customer Center links under “Custom” you will find the “Zook Rewards” link. A screen will come up showing you your sales for the year and the benefits you currently have and also the rewards you can choose from. If you find one you would like to use, a redemption code is available in the right column for you to enter during your next order. A screenshot image has been provided for you in this post or click here for a flickr image as well.

Level One is reached once you have spent $1,000. This benefits package rewards you with:

Your choice of:

• (2) Upgraded Packaging or
• (2) Free Shipping or
• Free Rush Service or
• Free Design Service

Level Two is reached once you have spent $4,000. This benefits package rewards you with:

(2) Free Design Service AND a choice of:

• (2) Upgraded Packaging or
• (2) Free Shipping or
• (2) Free Rush Service or
• (1) $100 Credit towards Sample Album

Level Three is reached once you have spent $7,000. This benefits package rewards you with:

(3) Free Design Service AND a choice of:

• (2) Upgraded Packaging or
• (2) Free Shipping or
• (2) Free Rush Service or
• (1) $100 Credit towards Sample Album

Level Four is reached once you have spent $10,000. This benefits package rewards you with:

(2) Free Rush ,(3) Free Designs ,(1) Free Sample Album (Zook Book or Matted) with Parent Albums (PhotoBooks or Lustre) PLUS your choice of:

• (2) Upgraded Packaging or
• (2) Free Shipping

Level Five is reached once you have spent $15,000. This benefits package rewards you with:

(2) Free Rush Services, (3) Free Designs, (2) Free Sample Album (Zook Book or Matted) with Parent Albums (PhotoBooks or Lustre), and a Frame, PLUS your choice of:

• (2) Upgraded Packaging or
• (2) Free Shipping
• (1) $150 credit towards Sample Album

We know this is a lot of information, but let’s admit….it’s a lot of GREAT information! Feel a little confused after ready through the levels? Here, let me explain a little further:

Let’s say Client A has annual sales of $8,000.  This means that Client A is a Level Three. This also means Client A will receive benefits from Level 3, 2, and 1. (How great is that!)

An example for product redemption’s for client A would be:

• (5) Free Designs (Free Designs from Levels 2 and 3)
• (2) Free Rush Service (Level 3 choice)
• (2) Free Shipping (Level 2 choice)
• (2) Upgraded packaging (Level 1 choice)

So we hope that sums it up a little bit for you! Although if you have any further questions please feel free to call our customer service team weekdays 8am-4pm.

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Sometimes vendors will even personalize their products with your branding, like our studio stamp dies!  For a one-time $40 fee, you can have your logo in all the albums you order with us so all your clients friends know you were the artist behind the beautiful pictures!

Last week we featured a Zookbinders customer who revealed to us, a talented vendor she had previously worked with during a wedding shoot in North Carolina; Tre Bella Florist.  So this got us to thinking about vendors and their importance in the photography business…

Vendors are there to help you, wouldn’t you agree? Their purpose is to help you grow your business. In some cases, the products and services offered, assist you in your ability to create a unique and worry-free day for your clients. Other vendors help you with the work done after the event, for example: providing you the finishing touch on a stellar print job. Point being, vendors are there to help you shine. Their help is essential to your work and to your success. Your ability to foster great working relationships with your vendors will also play a vital role in the success of each and every client you service. Miscommunications or even lack of communication with a vendor could seriously hinder any word-of-mouth marketing in your future. So in the end, make sure you are building great relationships. A good vendor knows that your success is just as important to them, as their own.

Wondering how to create better vendor relationships, or start new ones? Dont worry,  we wouldn’t leave you without a few quick tips!

• Call your vendors and touch-base with them. Tell them your needs. See how they can better help you!
• Vendors can be a great referral tool! Introduce yourself, interact, and give them your contact info.
• Keeping it local has its benefits too! Stop by your neighborhood florist, tuxedo rental, etc.
• Swap business cards at conventions, workshops, or local events.
• Call vendors you may have only used once or twice. See if they have anything new to offer.

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Today’s Feature Photo of the Month comes to us from a very creative and talented Zookbinders customer out of Richmond, VA: Beth Furgurson of Beth Furgurson Photography. While talking with Beth she told us that the bride in this image was actually a childhood friend. Both of their mothers have shared a lifelong friendship, in return, creating a special bond between their daughters. Now Beth, a mother herself, still remains close friends with the bride and says “I was honored to document her day. She was a gorgeous bride!”

What really stood out to us in this image was not only the creativity in the setup of the shot, but also the incredibly interesting moss-letter props used! So we asked Beth about them, as we tried to wrap our own minds around how exactly those were created… or what they were even made of for that matter. Beth said, “The letters are made from green sheet moss over styrofoam and hung from double face satin ribbon.” Although she takes no credit for the creation of these unique decorations, we did get word of the secret “floral Einstein”, Tre Bella Florist (also friends with the bride), who she proudly boasts of and tells us is located in Durham, NC.
To see more of Beth’s work please visit www.furgphoto.com.

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You’ve probably just settled back into the normal routine of things from WPPI. Whether you were there for the entire week’s events and classes or just a few days—it’s a whirlwind of information and excitement.

The Zookbinders booth was no different—we had great conversations with current and future clients and learned A TON about what matters to photographers:
To no surprise, our satin paper option for all PhotoBooks and PhotoBook Plus was a big hit among our booth’s visitors. This option is a cost-effective way to get the look of photographic paper in a press-printed product. Photographers couldn’t believe it wasn’t real photographic paper and were amazed by the thickness of this press paper! We even had a few people confused thinking they were looking at our photographic product, The Lustre Book!
The display cases at our booth showcased our new fabric covers, which seemed to catch everyone’s eye! Our customers were thrilled to see a new modern cover option for all PhotoBook and Lustre Book products. The Cinnamon color seemed to be a fan favorite! (Click here to request complimentary fabric swatches)

The huge take-away from the three days at the tradeshow was that at least 75% of the photographers we spoke with were looking for a way to ease their workflow. Whether they were looking for a company to host their images, or a cost-effective way to get albums designed quickly, the majority seemed to have one common theme: they want to spend more time shooting and less time with all the “extra” work. They also didn’t want to work with five different vendors to fulfill all their business needs. The Zookbinders booth was packed as CEO/Founder, Mark Zucker, explained to these photographers that working with Zookbinders would fill that void of the needed business partner. Many listeners were unaware of all of the features our in-house design system includes—image color correction, design turnaround in just 2-3 days, designs averaging just $60-$80, and a completely customizable shopping cart that features photographer’s branding as an easy way for your clients to upgrade and purchase additional products—at no extra work for you!
Plus, we’re currently building Zook Ware—a new ordering system that will have countless capabilities—including all of the upsell features in zookie pro, be extremely interactive and most importantly, user-friendly. We learned even MORE from photographers when Mark discussed this new addition, coming in May, and have added those requests to our IT team building Zook Ware.

All in all, this year’s show was fantastic. We launched our new customer loyalty program, Zook Rewards, showed off our great new product line-up and learned so much from all the photographers with whom we spoke. Whether you took a full load of classes, or just enjoyed walking through the tradeshow, we hope you found new resources and better solutions to help your business grow. Give us a call today, because that’s exactly why we’re here: to help your business grow.

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We realized that to know and understand what photographers want and need, we have to ask them! So we assembled an even dozen of our customers from across the country, from Philly to Maui, from Seniors and weddings to boudoir, high volume studios to one-(wo)man shows, 40 year veterans to only-ever-known digital photographers. They have graciously agreed to participate in quarterly, formal meetings as well as being available as sounding boards and virtual crash test dummies for all things Zookbinders. They’ve told us what we’re doing right as well as what they’d like to see changed about our company. They are becoming like the best friend who’ll be honest and tell you, yes, you DO look fat in that dress.

Partly in response to what we’ve learned, Zookbinders is now offering extended customer service hours in the form of Live Chat. If you just have a quick question about products or need a simple answer that does not require a phone conversation, you can click on the Live Chat icon on our website and reach one of our customer service agents–the very ones you would talk to if you picked up the phone and dialed Deerfield, IL. It is available from 8:00am to 8:00pm Monday through Friday.

Another big initiative for 2012 is our new customer loyalty program we’re calling Zook Rewards. The program is designed to reward repeat customers by offering real benefits based on actual sales. For every dollar spent, Zookbinders customers will earn points that can be redeemed for such things as free album designs, album upgrades, free shipping, or sample albums. The program launches some time in second quarter 2012, so stay tuned!

Listening is, as they say, why we come equipped with one mouth and two ears! From sales to billing to customer service reps, we are refocusing our attention to listening to what drives photographers’ businesses, and shifting our approach from being merely reactive to problems to being more proactive in identifying solutions and how we can help make photographers lives easier and their business more profitable. At the end of the day, good business is less about how many transactions you execute, and more about the relationships your build.

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The average album leaving our factory has a date on the cover that is 9 months ago!  This means that the customer is selecting their photos 6 months after the event, when their interest and motivation has dropped considerably.

When brides are making the selections within a few weeks, photographers share the following benefits: ecstatic customers, larger orders, more upgrades, and of course higher profits!  They also noticed a HUGE increase in referrals.  So before you think of all the reasons why this can’t work, here’s the secret:  pre-select the photos you recommend should be in the album.  Simply create a grouping of 100 photos and call them: “photographers favorites” or “photographer’s choice”.   Rather than presenting 1000+ images with no guidance, this gives your clients a ‘head start’ in choosing the photos they want for their album.

You are better equipped than your bride both technically and artistically to choose the images best suited for an attractive album. Why not get the ball rolling and make the selections for her? You can breeze through hundreds of images in pro software, make quick side-by-side comparisons, and flag the images you know will best tell the story. If you were behind the lens on the wedding day, then you know who the key players are, and the most memorable parts of the day. Even if your selections are not 100% right, it will be much easier for the bride to simply tweak your selections than start from scratch.

Consider this process an up-sell opportunity as well. Let’s say you’ve pre-sold your couple on an album with 85 images. Present them with 85 plus 20 or 30 more you think really add to the narrative, and be ready to tell them that it will only cost $__ to keep the added images in their album. If they bite, you’ve just increased your sale!

We talk to many photographers who are frustrated by waiting for their clients to choose the photos.  Many still take a “wait and see” approach and even warn brides that they have a limited time to order their album before prices go up. Often these approaches only exacerbate an already stressful and overwhelming task for brides. She might struggle for hours to open each of her 1,300 images in some picture viewer program trying to figure out if jpg 672 is better than jpg 673 on her (uncalibrated) computer monitor. It’s time consuming, frustrating and just might lead to her procrastinating.  …Which is why you want to make it easy for your customers to order.

If you’re not already using our album design service, then here’s a way to further improve your workflow and your bottom line: Once you and your bride have agreed on the final images for her album, you’ll do any necessary retouching and then just upload them to us for design. We’ll turn around a stunning, modern album design in a matter of days that your customer is sure to love.

Once she has approved her design, you’ll have even more up-sell opportunities.  Our customized shopping cart feature that was designed to tempt your customers with album upgrades, clone copies for parents, even ready-to-hang framed pieces featuring their favorite page spread. Click the “Need help with album design?”  link from www.Zookbinders.com or visit www.zookiepro.com for more details.

So don’t let extra income from album sales slip right through your fingers. I challenge you to make it your company’s stated goal to not only deliver beautiful wedding images, but to put a finished wedding album in the hands of your customer within two months of their wedding. A happy customer with one of your albums is the best sales rep a photographer can have! She’ll show off her album to all her friends who’ll be paying MUCH closer attention if she just got married a few weeks ago rather than several months ago.

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And mom in her ‘kerchief , and I in my cap
won’t have any time for a long winter’s nap.
Designing an album can be such a pain.
Hours in Photoshop can drive you insane!

When all of a sudden I arose from this fright,
and remembered that Zookbinders can do this stuff right!
They’ve got a design service just for us pros
they’ll make this so simple, no need to use ROES!

To start a new order set up your account
no need to make phone calls or lay anything out.
Two design styles to choose from, just tell those clever elves
they come in three sizes: get 8’s, 10’s or 12’s.

First answer some questions about how you roll
so our designers can exceed your creativity goal!
And what to my wondering eyes should appear
but an e-mail from Zookbinders – just three days and it’s here!

I followed the link to a virtual album
that to my delight was perfectly awesome!
So classy, so chic, so remarkably quick;
I could ask for revisions, or approve with a click!

‘Twas the photographer’s New Year, and January’s snows
had only just arrived when the Fed-Ex man showed.
From the jumble of parcels wedged into his van
Out came a Zookbinders package so grand!

I cut off the tape and threw open the box,
and what I saw next just made my jaw drop!
“So finely crafted”, I said with elation.
The album surpassed my high expectation.

I just could not help look it over and over.
What I quite liked the most was the ReflectionZ cover.
In this new sample, my work looks so great!
I even got 25% off with thier sample discount rate!

The brides who see this, will all be inclined
to hire me at once and sign on the line!
My 2012 bookings will now reach new heights!
So Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

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