We loved seeing what you did with our last batch of social network templates and couldn't help making more! Please enjoy our newest free download and tell your friends!
All templates are layered Photoshop files. While sample data is included, you'll need to insert your logo and images. A basic knowledge of Photoshop and working with layers is recommended. Although Marathon cannot provide support for modifying these files, each PSD file should give you a great start!
Instructions:
- Download the design you wish to use. Within the downloaded ZIP file, you will find files marked for use on Facebook and Twitter. Please open the PSD file that matches the social networking site you are working with.
- Select the layer of the image placeholder you wish to drop your first photo in to. Open the new photo you want to use to replace it, then drag or paste your photo directly over the image placeholder. Right click your photo and select "Create Clipping Mask". From here you can resize, rotate or drag your photo into it's desired position using the move tool. Continue repeating this process until all image placeholders are filled.
- Hide the logo layer and drop in your own logo. Feel free to add any additional design elements you want such as your tagline, address and/or phone number. Once you achieved your desired look, save as a .jpg file and upload to either Facebook or Twitter.
- For help with Twitter, log in and go to "Design." Which is found under Settings.
- If you need help updating your Facebook picture, try reading the documentation in the Facebook Help Center.
If you have a question about the Package Website designs these templates are based on, please visit our website or contact a websites and services representative by calling 800/228.0629.
For more information on social network media marketing, be sure to look into The Professional Photographer's Guide to Marketing Success by Ann K. Monteith.
Categorized In:
downloads
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internet
Once you have done the hard work necessary to craft your business concept, select your target market, and establish your marketing advantage, you are ready to clarify your market focus. The most straightforward way to do this is through the creation of three key identity components for each product line:
- A Mission Statement
- A Sustainable Competitive Advantage
- A Unique Selling Proposition
Because the market segments that a single studio serves can be so different, it is wise to create these statements for each market segment. Doing so is difficult work, but it will pay off in terms of the quality of the marketing that flows from them.
Creating A Mission Statement
The purpose of a Mission Statement is to help the business stay on course. Well-managed organizations look to the company’s Mission Statement when approaching strategic decisions by asking: Will this action be consistent with our Mission?
Most Mission Statements take the form of a brief paragraph that directly addresses three elements (in any order):
- The Purpose: What opportunities you address.
- The Business: What you do to address these needs.
- The Values: What principles or beliefs guide your work.
The best Missions Statements are those that are:
- Easy to understand.
- Free of jargon or wordiness.
- Appealing and convincing.
- Brief enough to be easily repeated by employees of this market segment.
Bear in mind that it is far easier to craft a Mission Statement for each of your major product lines if you have done a thorough job of completing the activities suggested in the first three chapters of this Guide.
Following is a Mission Statement for Persnickety Pet Portraits that includes a parenthetical explanation of each of its components:
Mission Statement
Our mission is to reflect the joy pets bring to the lives of our clients (the purpose) through personalized, decorative art and accessories (the business) that honor the compelling bond between pets and the people who love them (the values).
The Professional Photographer's Guide to Marketing Success
by Ann K. Monteith.
Categorized In:
quick marketing tips
These backgrounds can be used with any of our 2009-2010 Package Website designs. For more information on these backgrounds and Package Websites, please contact a Websites & Services representative at 800/228.0629.
To view all available backgrounds, click here!
View HTML Package Websites. | View Flash Package Websites.
Package Websites are the perfect solution for photographers whose goal is to create an impressive web presence with only a small investment of time and money. Package Websites feature a variety of Flash and HTML designs created with the professional photographer in mind. Simply choose your favorite template, then provide Marathon with your images and text, and your website will be up and running in about two weeks! All development is managed by Marathon’s team of professional web designers, so you can be assured of a great-looking, well-functioning, attention-getting website.
Categorized In:
internet
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package websites
Here's a new batch of blog header templates to help you promote spring sessions in style. We've sized them to to work specifically with Marathon's Blog Software, but you can use them however you like. Just like before, these templates are absolutely free. We'd love to see how you use them. Enjoy!
All the header templates are provided as layered Photoshop files. We've included some sample data, but you'll need to insert your logo and images. A basic knowledge of Photoshop and working with layers is recommended. Though Marathon cannot provide support for modifying these files, these PSD files should give you a great start! Each design comes in three sizes with matching sample color schemes to fit the available layouts of Marathon's Blog Software.
Want them all? Download here.
Instructions:
- Download the blog header design you wish to use. Within the downloaded ZIP file, you will find three different template sizes. Please open the PSD file that matches the blog layout you have selected.
- Select the layer of the image placeholder you wish to drop your first photo in to. Open the new photo you want to use to replace it, then drag or paste your photo directly over the image placeholder. Right click your photo and select "Create Clipping Mask". From here you can resize, rotate or drag your photo into it's desired position using the move tool. Continue repeating this process until all image placeholders are filled.
- Hide the logo layer and drop in your own logo. Feel free to add any additional design elements you want such as your tagline, address and/or phone number. Once you achieved your desired look, save as a .jpg file and upload into your blog via your Dashboard.
More about Marathon's Blog Software
With Marathon's Blog added to your website, you'll be able to present your most up-to-date studio news at the push of a button. Share your favorite photographs, announce your recent promotions, or tell a story! It's all about making a connection between you and your favorite people: your clients!
Marathon's Blog has been designed and developed by Marathon's own team of programmers with the needs of the professional photographer in mind. That means you'll receive Marathon's superb technical support rather than having to turn to a third party developer when you need assistance.
Features include:
- Customization through multiple layouts, color changes and a header image.
- A much wider aspect ratio to support today's larger/wider screens.
- Categorize your posts with easy to use Tags.
- Schedule posts to publish in the future.
- Link up to your profiles on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.
- Security features such as re-Captcha to prevent SPAM posts to your blog.
- Include videos and/or slideshows to posts from embed features found in YouTube.com, Animoto.com, or even Slide.com.
To start your own Marathon blog, contact a Websites Account Representative directly at 800/228.0629.
Categorized In:
blog
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downloads
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holiday
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internet
The Importance Of Defining Your Approach To Hospitality Branding
The term “hospitality branding” has evolved from the recognition of smart marketers that quality products and competent customer service are no longer sufficient to attract and retain clients. When today’s savvy consumers purchase custom products, they expect to do so within the context of an interesting, pleasant or exciting experience. Creating a viable brand today is as much about the courtesy you provide and the appreciation you express to clients as it is about providing them with compelling products. To assure that you are doing your best in this vital service area, list specific ways that you intend to provide clients with hospitality and the ways in which you expect to create a memorable client experience through all aspects of your dealings with them. Following is an example of Persnickety Pet Portraits hospitality branding activities:
- At each session provide for the needs and comfort of the pet by offering water and providing a place to groom and exercise the pet.
- Surprise dog owners with a Persnickety pet bandana, then create a few extra images with the bandanna to post on the studio’s website or blog.
- After the session, present a goodie bag for the pet.
- Make the preview session an event by serving appropriate refreshments.
- When the order is completed, provide the client with the studio’s choice of a 4x5 portrait attached to a “Preview” note card to take home and enjoy until the finish portraits are ready.
- When clients come to pick up their finished images, present them with an unexpected gift such as wallet images or a collection of note cards featuring the pet.
The Professional Photographer's Guide to Marketing Success
by Ann K. Monteith.
Categorized In:
quick marketing tips
Studios that wish to maximize Internet marketing are wise to integrate social networks into their Internet strategy. To help you get a stylish and professional look on Facebook and Twitter, we've created the following templates based off our newest Package Websites and they're downloadable for free!
All templates are layered Photoshop files. While sample data is included, you'll need to insert your logo and images. A basic knowledge of Photoshop and working with layers is recommended. Although Marathon cannot provide support for modifying these files, each PSD file should give you a great start!
Instructions:
- Download the design you wish to use. Within the downloaded ZIP file, you will find files marked for use on Facebook and Twitter. Please open the PSD file that matches the social networking site you are working with.
- Select the layer of the image placeholder you wish to drop your first photo in to. Open the new photo you want to use to replace it, then drag or paste your photo directly over the image placeholder. Right click your photo and select "Create Clipping Mask". From here you can resize, rotate or drag your photo into it's desired position using the move tool. Continue repeating this process until all image placeholders are filled.
- Hide the logo layer and drop in your own logo. Feel free to add any additional design elements you want such as your tagline, address and/or phone number. Once you achieved your desired look, save as a .jpg file and upload to either Facebook or Twitter.
- For help with Twitter, log in and go to "Design." Which is found under Settings.
- If you need help updating your Facebook picture, try reading the documentation in the Facebook Help Center.
If you have a question about the Package Website designs these templates are based on, please visit our website or contact a websites and services representative by calling 800/228.0629.
For more information on social network media marketing, be sure to look into The Professional Photographer's Guide to Marketing Success by Ann K. Monteith.
Categorized In:
downloads
|
internet
Whether your business has operated for many years or is just starting up, the place that it occupies in the market is based on how well you have positioned the business through your marketing activities and the word-of-mouth reputation generated by your clients. Achieving a favorable market position begins with a general understanding of your competition’s strengths and weaknesses, where you stand in the market today, and three key elements that will form the basis of your market-positioning efforts:
- Your artistic style
- Your product focus
- Your approach to hospitality branding
Assessing your Competition
For each product line that you offer begin by determining how important competition is in that specific market segment. Several key questions to answer are:
- Who are your competitors?
- Do your competitors do a good job of marketing?
- Given the competition, is this a market that you can dominate?
- If you cannot dominate the market, how do you wish to compete?
It is easier to dominate a market when there is little or no competition or if existing competition is not doing a good job of marketing. However, if your market includes one or more good photographers who do a competent job of marketing, then you must decide on the best method of competition to engage in based on the market position you wish to achieve and the time and money you are willing to spend.
Defining Your Place in the Market
Self-assessment is vital in creating a successful marketing plan, but for most business owners self-assessment is very difficult. Just as in life, we rarely see ourselves as others do, and we often underestimate our strengths and hold ourselves back because of our self-perceived weaknesses. Nonetheless, it is vital to identify and understand your business strengths and weaknesses. If necessary, invite several clients or friends to help you look at your business objectively, making sure that you do so in a way that prevents them from telling you what they think you want to hear.
Once your strengths and weaknesses are enumerated, make a list of them, then write sentences or bullet points that turn your strengths and weaknesses into selling features. These selling features will become key elements of your marketing plan, and ultimately they will be used for copywriting. You might expect that strengths would easier to develop as selling features than weaknesses, but it might not be as hard as you think to create great copy from a weakness turned into a strength. Following are some examples of both:
Strength: Excellent posing and lighting skills.
Selling feature: We make you look great!
Strength: Great reputation.
Selling feature: We are proud that our business has grown through the referral of satisfied clients.
Strength: Ability to make people feel at ease.
Selling feature: You’ll love the relaxed, homey environment of our studio. We guarantee that you’ll feel at ease in front of our camera.
Weakness: We don’t have an easy-to-find retail location.
Selling feature: Our picturesque environment offers countless settings for relaxed portraiture.
Weakness: We are brand new to the market.
Selling feature: We’re not your grandma’s portrait studio!
Weakness: No one knows us.
Selling feature: Have you heard the buzz about Smithville’s hip new portrait studio?
Defining Your Artistic Style
It is easier for consumers to recognize photography when it has an identifiable artistic style. Style is often the reason why buyers are attracted to a given art form, and that includes photography. A style usually does not develop overnight, and sometimes it’s not easy for a photographer to describe his or her style so that it can be put into words for marketing purposes. A good place to start the process is to select a collection of your favorite images, or those that clients admire, doing so by product line. Look at those images and begin jotting down words or phrases that describe what you see. If you hit a roadblock, ask clients or friends to help you complete this task. Here’s an example of the process based on the following pet portrait images created by Persnickety Pet Portraits, a division of Countryhouse Studios in Annville, Pennsylvania.
Words and phrases:
- painterly
- heartwarming
- pleasing as wall portraiture
- well composed
- well-regulated, dimensional lighting
- backgrounds and settings appropriate for the pet
Next, turn these words and phrases into sentence form to describe your artistic style, as is done below in portraying the style of the Persnickety Pet Portrait images shown on the previous page. We approach pet portraiture in the same artful manner by which we photograph people: selecting settings, compositional elements and lighting that are appropriate for the subjects being portrayed in order to achieve dimensional art pieces that serve as heartwarming decorative focal points for the home.
The Purpose of Defining Your Product Focus
As important as style is in attracting consumers, you have nothing to sell to them until you create products for them to purchase. One way to look at the difference between style and product focus is this: Style is your wings. Products are your landing gear! Your style can attract attention, but it takes products to get your style into the hands of clients in the form of something they can identify as useful or desirable. Many brilliantly artistic photographers fail in business because they don’t understand this important principle. A good way to assure that your product line has an appropriate product focus is to begin by writing down your key products categories, indicating how those products are used. Following is an example of this exercise for Persnickety Pet Portrait products:
- Individual portraits or collections of portraits that serve as decorative focal points for the home
- Composites that serve as decorative wall accents
- Black-and-white fine-art panels available in variety of sizes and framing options, including canvas wraps
- “Fun Week” specialty sessions and products for wall display and calendar collections
- Virtual paintings for featured wall decor
- Specialty products and accessories to carry, wear, mail and display
You will find that a similar listing for your major product lines will serve as a helpful reminder when performing numerous marketing tasks ranging from creating studio displays to preparing content for marketing materials.
The Professional Photographer's Guide to Marketing Success
by Ann K. Monteith.
Categorized In:
quick marketing tips
Kristin Schmit commented on April 16th, 2010
Love the idea of the facebook templates, but I can't open zip files, help! Thanks