Your Web Presence * Contest: Win a Show It Web Pro or a Show It Site
David Jay’s company Show It Fast helps photographers take control of their websites. With Showit Sites photographers can create something completely unique and continually show their clients who they are and what they do in a way that is 100% their own . Artists need to show how they are different and unique. A template website just can’t do that.
Showit Web slideshows allow photographers to create stunning slideshows in minutes and upload them onto to the web. Having the ability to display your work quickly to the masses is best way to get people to start talking about your work first. Here is an example of a slide show – showing the MCP Action Set “All in the Details.”
I am very excited that ShowIt Fast has donated 2 very generous prizes for me to give away on the MCP Blog:
- Show It Web Pro (an amazing, easy way to make slide shows) – $199 value
- Show It Sites (1 full year of Show It Site website service) - $468 value
One winner will be picked for each prize. I am making this an easy contest to enter. Just comment below on ”How important is your Website and/or Blog is to your Photography business? Explain if you feel you have full control of your web presense? What would you change about your current site and/or blog if you could?” Winners to be picked at random on Sunday the 29th.
When I announce the prize, anyone who has commented will be eligible for nearly $50 off Show It Web Pro and almost $100 off a Show It Site. So check back for your code to save LOTS OF $$$.
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I like my blog, but my main website is a template. boo! It makes me sad that I can’t make many changes and I hate when I go to another photographers site and see that they have the same template!! My site needs a major overhaul. My favorite part about the Show It sites is that you really can let your personality shine through. Show It is amazing-I just can’t afford it yet.
As someone that is just starting out and doesn’t have a blog yet (and would love a Showit Site!), I feel this will be one of the most important parts of my business. Having the ability to post images from recent sessions and personalize my blog to represent me and my style are so important. Your blog can give your potential clients a sense for your photographic style and can determine whether or not you will be a good fit.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! That’s how I feel about putting my website together. I bought a cheap flash template on the advice of a friend, and it has become a NIGHTMARE. Those stupid templates must be slapped together by website sweatshops overseas because the FLA file is horribly organized and overly complicated. I’ve been asking favors of friends to help me configure it, and even so, the CMS that came with the site takes FOREVER to load images individually. Once the images are loaded, I CANT change their order! I lost my job and do not have the resources to spend money so I’ve been trying to make it work with this template… I’ll probably run around the block screaming if I won a Show It Site!
I’m just getting started with building my photography business and was aleady leaning towards using Show It Sites to create my website, so a discount would be great! I really like the fact that I do not have to have the technical knowledge but will still have complete control over my website design. I don’t think it is possible in today’s day for a photographer to grow his or her business at all with out a web presence.
Our photography website’s is our walking/online/media resume. How can we as photographer’s, print / web designers, etc. show that we ‘can do’ without a site that says that? CAN DO!
I have the flash and the blog, I know my next step is the slide shows – and Show It Web Pro is who I’ve been looking at, this couldn’t have happened at a better time!!
Show It Slide Shows would be awesome for my Senior and Portrait market and would be a most welcome addition to my website, it’s an awesome marketing tool when letting the customer show their friends and family their session!
I just started my business so any site would be great. Slide shows? Who would not love slide shows on their blog?!
I like my website and think it’s extremely important to my business. I like my blog too, but wish I had more traffic. I think that many of my clients don’t even know about it and I am working on changing that. I have heard great things about ShowIt Web and would love to try out the slideshows!
How cool is that? I had heard about them- but never really looked before. What a great tool to have access to!
The website sooo important; the blog too. I just started my blog, and my website is in desperate need of a new look to go with it!
I am just portfolio-building, so I don’t have a real website yet. I have a blog, and I’ve only just started that. I feel so overwhelmed at the idea of starting a website…I just have not done it yet. If I win…I’ll see it as a sign.
If I could change my current blog or site I would love to easily show video clips mixed with my photographs to introduce myself to my clients in the flesh so to speak. I don’t feel I have control because I am not as comfortable writing as I am talking or showing images. This Show it software looks amazing! David jay has some posts on his blog that are show it productions? Very cool.
I think music and photography together brings a vibrant and emotional experience to the viewer. This is exactly what I want to provide for my clients each timethey come to my website and blog.
I have been using animoto-which is cool but a bit small screen wise- it seems to make parts of an image look blown out when in fact it isn’t and you can’t sync the slides to the music.
Looks like show it is on my list of must haves…..saving my pennies.
How important is your Website and/or Blog is to my Photography business?
It is the MOST important thing after my camera, my computer and my editing software, no doubt about it.
I do have full control over my web presence because I have a SIS website. When I saw that they were coming out with the sites and David Jay was coming to my state, I put off purchasing a website in order to see his presentation and explanation of the software before making my decision. I signed up immediately and have not regretted it. I am constantly told how fresh and different my site is, and even get asked who designed it.
I hope I’m still eligible to win, though, ‘cuz it is costly and I would absolutely love to win a year of SIS!
My website is most important because I’m just getting started and it helps to get my name out there! I like that I’m new at this photography this and I have a lot to learn from everyone else…my website lets me showcase some of what I’m learning!!
My website is pretty important, and my blog is VERY important to my business. People come to look when they know they will see their picture or the picture of someone they know! No, I don’t think I have full control of it because there is so much about it that I don’t understand. I wish my current site had larger photos, and more pages, slideshows would definitely help!
My site is my backbone of my business -its my portfolio for existing and prospective clients. I would love to start putting together slideshows as I think that will take my biz to the next level. I’ve been eying show it for awhile. Thanks! Andie
Your website is usually the FIRST impression a client gets from you. When I first started I had a cheap website design and was rarely getting clients. When I upgraded I couldn’t believe the difference it made. I actually had to pass clients on because I was overwhelmed. I honestly feel if I had a showit site I’d be able to quit my part-time day job & do photography full time…yes, it’s THAT vital to your business. A blog is also very vital. It allows clients to get to know you through your words. Clients love when you show them off and potential clients love to hear what you have to say. I feel I have an average web presence…if I had a better site & blog I know things would be a lot better. If I could make changes I would prefer to have a more custom site & blog, I’d add more features like video.
When we were shopping around for our wedding photographer over 2 years ago…if a website was low quality or looked like it was not well-maintained I would equate that to the quality of their service as a photographer. It’s sad but true–if your website isn’t regularly updated and doesn’t look top of the line, then your services may be compared like that.
Since becoming a full-time photographer–we had purchased a web site that left us very limited for where we’ve grown to. We now have video and other media of us we would like to include in our site–but our template does not allow for that without buying a brand new template. We would like the freedom to change our site as quickly as our services change and as we grow as a business.
Another aspect that has limited us is that when we bought our template–we found that 4 other photographers in our area picked the very same template. We were stuck. We could only change colors and images, rather than be able to change the look and structure to our website. Our goal is to stand out and be different from other photographers, especially in our own area. Those limitations can truly affect our business.
Our blog and our website are the difference between someone coming by and glancing at our site and someone coming by and being drawn in to our images–hoping that they will have an opportunity to work with us. Our blog and website are beyond just important to us–they are our lifeline to our business–and lacking full control of them cripples our ability to reach those in need of our services.
Thanks so much for your blog! I often wait till my hubby is with me to read it–b/c I don’t want him to miss out on all of the tips you share!
my website and blog is my only portfolio. i have everyone go through my work online to be certain that i have the photography style they are looking for before i book them.
website is super important – i am actually hoping to redo my website with a showit site- ive just been trying to get all my ducks in a row before taking on that task too! i would love to integrate both with showit software – the full control it allows me to have is exactly what ive been looking for! the website i currently have hasnt been updated since i purchased it – YIKES!
I am just starting out. Portfolio building if you will. I think your website is an extemely important part of building your business. A well made website can make all the difference in the world.
As I sit here with major website issues, I would say that a website is paramount to a business and one’s growth. This is your face to your prospective customer. Many times would be your initial interaction. The online relationship continues through the order process. If one could hope for referrals it would be best to have this be a smooth and effortless process for the client. In the age of technology, clients know good web design and are privy of interacting with large business websites. They do not understand the time and effort it takes to create them, but they do know a good site when they interact with it. If I could change my site I would have two one for the children’s portraits and one for the weddings. I would also have a different shopping cart system because mine now has taken me over a week this time just to upload pictures from my last wedding! Sorry for the exclamation but I think that is ridiculous. My blog so far I am pretty happy with it, but I would move it to it’s own server so it had it’s own URL as well vs. under mine which now is at site/blog. As you can see I have quite a few things I need to change. I wish I had funds to do so, but I am also wondering it I have funds to not do this. I believe I will have to change. I thought I could work with what I had and slowly move over, but when what you have does not work at all one must remember would they work with a photographer who had a site that was so not user-friendly? For me the answer is no, and I know I must change as soon as I can to grow – heck even survive.
Can you tell I think this is one of the most important items for a provider of a service, in this case photography and the sales of such, to help their client? You have also asked this question at quite a serendipitous time for me because of the issue I listed above as well as others. Thank you for offering this contest, and more importantly this time to really make each of think about how important our image (not images) is.
My current website (I use a template version) basically only allows me to sell my work. That in itself is fine, but I feel my work is only at its best and truly reflects who I am when I connect on a personal level with my clients. For that to happen, I need to sell myself as well. For now, this is where my blog comes in. My goal through my blog is to give potential clients a chance to know me And my style. I want my clients to like me, and the art I create; to know my personality, and the way I will interact with them. I realize not everyone will like me, and that is okay. My goal is to be able to make my website more personal; it’s personal connections that make perfect clients, and allows me the freedom to be my best. I feel having a website and a blog is like a marriage; it takes two and together they become one. Using a template website is easy to use, however, I feel it does not give me full control to represent who I am. It holds many limitations. That being said, my goal is to break out of these limits and use a site that truly reflects Me. No two photographers are the same, at least they shouldn’t be, and neither should their websites be.
My website is my ONLY connection to my clients. I am a freshman photographer with lots of mad skills and super-human ideas. Unfortunately, I work out of a small (and I mean miniscule) corner of my master bedroom . . . not exactly client-impressing. I presently use Photobiz for my website because it does give me some control over my content and, most importantly, it has proofing and sales capabilities. However, with a more kick-ass site, I know I could dramatically improve my position. Please consider me (I’m even typing on my knees)!
Since I am just starting, my blog is the only marketing that I currently have so it’s very important to me. I currently just use a free wordpress blog and template and it leaves alot to be desired in terms of the brand and image I am trying to establish. I would love to use Showit Web in the future when I start making the money to fund it!
My website and blog are my first impression on clients and potential clients. I get to display my best work to all visitors. Having to learn CSS to make changes has been a hassle and I still do not have everything I want in my web presence. I have been looking into Show It sites, and love them. The changability and customization are exactly what I need to make my web presence perfect in my eyes. Thanks!
My website and blog are vital to my business. It is the first place people go when checking me out. It gives me a brand and style that attract the right clients my way. (And ShowIt Sites and SHowIt Web make it very easy to have a cool website).
My blog is often my first point of contact with my clients. It allows them to get to know me and my style before I even meet them. While I love what it has done for my business, I know I’m missing out by not having a website. My blog was totally self-customized, but it was hard to do. It still needs work as I want anyone who visits it to feel like they know me as a person. I also want a website to reflect my personality as well as show off my work.
WOW! What an incredibly generous offer.
It just so happens that I’ve spent my last two late nights bouncing between ALL of the template sites and not quite finding anything that I can “pull the trigger on” so to speak. I have had my info all filled out several times, only to close the page, due to uncertainty.
I feel in this day and age, that web presence is extremely important AND extremely competitive. It is very hard to stand out from the crowd and GET NOTICED!! I want my site to be a reflection of ME, of who I am as an artist and a person. I want it to encompass everything that I am…my style, my beliefs, MY ideas. What I am finding is someone else’s ideas are close, but not quite ME. In order for my customers to know what they are getting and what to expect, their first impression, I feel needs to be 100% ALL ME!
I am currently sending samples to clients I find via word of mouth, but it just isnt enough. They deserve more, and I as a photographer, EXPECT more.
I believe that a persons website and blog is a direct communitcation with potential clients. Its a way to update and show your continual work, your personality, your attitude and your way of conducting business.
I do not have complete control of my web presence and and it is a goal and something I have been working on the last few months.
I believe I do need to change and revamp my entire site. I need to get away from the templates and do something that will make me stand out from the next guy. I need my site and blog to be up to date and leave a lasting impression of my style, my work and who I am.
I’m just about to purchase a Show It Website, so this is so cool! I’ve had my blog up for months now and my current clients check in often, but I so far haven’t gotten a website up and running. I know it’s something I REALLY need as I’m about to start advertising, and for potential clients (especially brides), a website is the very first introduction to who you are as a photographer, both the quality of your work and almost as important – a glimpse into your personality. Until I have designed and published a website, I definitely don’t have full control of my web presence, and every day that I don’t have a website (and a good website that shows a bit of who I really am), I’m potentially losing out on business. I love my blog, but I also really need to get a website up and running.
Thank you so much for this Jodi, you’re so amazing at teaching and sharing information!!
I set up my third website since the start of my business 5 years ago last summer. It is my “best looking” but I am still not fully satisfied. I went with a very popular host but their customer service stinks!! You can’t talk to anyone in person and I have had problems from the get go. I depend on my website for everything! It is where future clients can view pricing and information, it is where my current clients view thier sessions and it is where I can show off what I think is my best work on galleries. I think websites soooo important to a photographer this day and age!!! I would love to have a David Jay site! That would be AWESOME!!!
wow!!! what an incredible opportunity!!! i agree that an awesome site makes ALL the difference when marketing yourself and your talents. this is so ironic b/c i just heard of Show It for the first time yesterday and then you have this goin on on your blog…serendipity!!!! thx for the chance to win a little sumthin! ;D
What a great offer! Yea!!! My website is fairly new – and in building it, I found there were a lot of things that I had to conform to rather than making it my own. I searched for a long, long time to find something that was unique and felt like my style. The website and blog are detrimental to my business because I do not have a “bricks and mortar” studio. The website IS my first impression and essentially my store front.
I don’t have a web site yet but would LOVE to have one. I am often visiting various photographers’ web sites and I have strong opinions as to what works and what doesn’t. I think it should be sleek, easy to navigate and have no distracting elements so that the photography really shines.
I love your blog, Jodi!! Thanks so much for all that you do!
I think my blog is the most important part to showing clients your work as well as your personality. Being able to have a way to give them an insight into how you work on top of who you are as a person. Since I’m just starting out my blog is very simple but if I had the opportunity to make it better I would love to have the ability to display bigger pictures and make it more of my own. I’d get rid of the generic template
I believe that for a photographer a website is extremely important. This give potential clients a chance to view your work and decide if your style of photography is what they are looking for. Also with a website people that don’t know about you may stumble across your site while doing a websearch. Without a site those people would hire someone else.
I would love to be able to customize my website more than the templates allow. I would also like a site that is easier to bring up the SEO ratings on as I have heard that it’s harder to do with a flash only site. This is an awesome contest and whoever wins is going to be so lucky. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed.
What a great giveaway Jodi! and how wonderful of “Show It” to donate this. I love how slideshows deliver a very concrete feel of someones work fast. Slideshows can tell a story and convey the heart of a photographer in seconds. Thankyou for the opportunity to enter.
~Beth
First it shows in color (or black and white) the kind of photographer you are, natural light or studio, formal or candid, right off a client can see if their desires match your personality. A website is the best way to showcase your portfolio and share your proofs with your clients. I’m just getting started and my web presence is sort of a mess and I don’t have a means to show proofs in a private gallery, but you have to start somewhere.
The other great thing about a website is inspiration for other photographers. I am just getting my feet under me and I love to look at other photog websites and especially blogs to get tips on composition and new angles and cropping. I love it when established photographers blog about how that perfect shot was an accident, or the lighting was horrid and they salvaged it this way, or one who said she bought some grumpy kids donuts!
A photographer’s web presence can make or break his/her business. I know many wonderfully talented photographers whose sites, well, are subpar. And I also know of many newer photographers who have learned to showcase only their very strongest work on their awesome website, thus creating the illusion of always being able to provide incredible images.
I’d LOVE to win this, and to finally have a blog!
When I first began marketing my photography 2 years ago, my blog was all I had to advertise with. I believe my blog really helped get my name and work out to the public. I do have a website now and I have done the best I can to spruce up my blog, but I do not feel as though I have 100% control of what I would ultimately like to portray through my website/blog. I would love to incorporate more of my personality, style and tastes through my website and also through my blog. Using pre-made web/blog templates allows me very little flexibility with changing texts, layouts & formats, however, there is always the possibility that someone else will have a similar website and/or blog. I actually received a comment on my blog from another photographer a few weeks ago and she was letting me know that our blogs were the same…just a few different colors. So, I went and looked at her blog and sure enough it was the same…and I was a bit frustrated. I am one to appreciate my style and tastes as an artist. I long to be unique…to stand out in the crowd just by being myself. I would really love the opportunity to create who I am through a new show it website, hence creating the unique, strong web presence that I really desire.
Hi! I’m so excited about getting my business started. The website I currently have is not ample for what I need to start my business. I believe that getting my own site is going to be paramount to my success. Besides having great photos (& Awesome actions to make those photos even greater!) I need a great site to showcase them and take my business to the next level.
I’ve checked out the featured galleries & LOVE the way the Show It sites look! The ease of use for the customer & the slide show of photos is a great way to show off the talent of a photographer.
With my husband being in construction & laid off for 6 months, it is difficult to find the means to advertise like I need to. Currently I have business cards but sometimes I’m hesitant to give them out as the only site I currently have is not as proffessional as most. I know that when I get the website I need, I will be handing out business cards like crazy!
My website is important, as is my blog — and both are subpar. Time is probably the biggest culprit — budget, too. I would like my web presence to have some personal WOW, but be quick & easy to maintain — and easily changed because we’re always taking new photos!!
I think that a photography website is a definite necessity anymore. It gives the viewer a chance to recognize your style, to see if it matches what they are looking for and to get a sense about the photographer that you are. Then they can decide if they want to contact you. I couldn’t imagine going to a photographer, sight unseen, and just hoping for the best.
If I could change my website/blog, I would switch my blog to one that is searchable by Google and others. I know there are blogs out there like that, I just have not been able to make the switch. As for website, I love the ones that look totally different than everyone elses, to be set apart like that is amazing…
My website is super important. It is the way most people see what I do. I also use it for proofing and ordering. I don’t have a blog yet but plan on having one ASAP. The only thing I would change about my site is to have it more optimized for web searches.
My blog is important for my photography business. I use it to post my latest shoots so that clients and their friends and family can view my photos and for potential clients to go and see my work. I wish I had a web-site with all the bells and whistles. I think I could do a lot more with my business with a better web-site. Time and money are the biggest things holding me back right now. Someday…
I am just starting out so a new website would be a great starting point. I am inspired every day by the fabulous photographers that have summoned the courage to turn their talent into something that is enjoyed by many others. I love photography and I am excited about the unlimited potential.
Just starting out so I have not really invested the money for a good website. This could really help me launch my business. I love the business and enjoy looking at other’s sites, so maybe one day, someone will enjoy looking at mine.
Web presence is super important. our clients today are web saaaavy and go there for everything! i would love to have a site that is completely my own. I have the slideshows and they totally rock!
Awwww one day late
bummer. I would have had a blast with this showing customers more of my work!
I love a amazing post, wonder how you came up with this really amazing insight.
I think website is very important especially starting off. It is the first thing that made me feel professional. It is possibly the first glimpse clients have of my work so I want it to be done right. I did a really quick customized blog but I would love to have a website page as well.
I hate my current set up. The main site was created with some free software which is still so trouble prone that I have to wait for my husband to have time to change and update it-then the galleries are made using adobe lightroom/bridge/photoshop; which means we have limited control over the look of that without knowing better how to tweak the html code under the templates adobe provides. It’s schizo and tedious and worst of all , changing anything-which I BADLY need to do, is like waiting for Christmas to come again.
A website is an extension of you and your business personality
My site IS everything. I can’t afford advertising and if I could, my home studio couldn’t handle volume or huge groups so my web presence hones in on the folks who need someone in my area, have a specific need, and see that need met in my online presence. My big problem is that the current ‘free’ gallery options and sites are clunky and prefab and my web tech skills are about a 5 on a scale of 1-100 so I’ve had to rely on others who have much more skill but are doing it for free for me. I need the whole web package with the ability to change text, pricing and add new images without having to go through others or use terrible free, awkward and barely customizable presets. I need a real solution but don’t have the real money now so winning this would help more than you know.