I was wondering, do you and other contributors have favourite companies that you’ve found reliable and good for printing marketing materials? I have used Sim 2000 and found them to be very good for cd sleeves, I’m also addicted to Moo.com, a very reliable company who do multiple image business cards and mini cards and such. At the moment I need to sort out my post production presentation products, such as CD cases, compliment slips and so on. Inspired by this article http://uk.moo.com/ideas/packaging-is-a-gift.html on moo.com, I want the unwrapping of my wedding products to be an exciting moment and part of the marketing of my brand. I was wondering who other photographers use and recommend?

Fiona

Get off to a great start and when you need the extra push or advice on which path to take you know where to find me.

Damien.

Here’s proof already that I followed up your advice.

I am deepy impressed by the quality of your website blogs and looking forward to putting some of the ideas into practise for a turbo charged 2010. I particularly like the statement “build your business on trust, honesty, integrity and wow”. That’s a great antedote to cynicism and is my bible.

Cheers.

Thanks for your enthusiastic comment. Monitor calibration and preparing files for print is a big subject and one that needs a video rather than words alone. We will shoot the video this year for sure.

I’m glad my post triggered some activity. Great ideas are not thoughts they are actions.

Damien.

Hi Luis,

I would use the words ‘reassuringly expensive’ to describe my products and services. The language of retail is very important and I feel a blog post coming on just that subject.

Great comments, Thanks.

Your point about filtering your clientele is refreshing. I like the idea of tailoring your services to the the needs of your client (it seems so elementary now that I wrote it but many seem to automatically start at the bottom or the top of their package offerings and then concede down or up sell their clients to another offering that is almost certainly uncomfortable for them.

I am thinking that staying squarely within your client’s financial comfort zone is key to gaining referral business and staying profitable. If you are pushing the upper bounds of that zone, the perceived value of your services is diminished and you’re labeled “expensive” (which I’ve always considered a term reserved for things one can’t afford.) Underpricing is a different issue entirely, IMHO one should always avoid being labeled “cheap,” regardless of the circumstance. If I were able to choose the words that client’s use to describe my services when being recommended, I think I would choose…

“Worth every penny.”

There’s a sense of value and satisfaction in that phrase that makes me think of it as a goal to strive for. What are your thoughts?

Regards,

Luis

Another point on that is to be sure and add detail shots to your blog and highlight/link to the vendor that created that detail. They will love you for it and reciprocate in their blog.