I have had an overwhelming response to my request for people to join my happy dance! (THANK YOU) One of the common responses I have been receiving is an interest in trying to setup your own Pro account. I know there are lots of venues out there and I have received quite a few questions on this. Of course, I think you need to pick what works for you but I setup shop using www.godaddy.com to purchase my domain name (www.autumneden.com) and have my photography page setup through www.smugmug.com. I did quite a bit of research before making the big leap and wanted to find a solution that could work for me on a long term basis. I chose SmugMug because:
The cost of the site is reasonable and I like that they give you a monthly option to pay for your site if paying for it all at once is too much for your wallet.
They offer a free 14 day trial with no credit card required.
They support you as if you are a paying customer from day 1. They offer their support through email but I have found their responses arrive within a couple of hours and are handled efficiently. I was never made to feel that a question was dumb or that I was bothering anyone.
The control you have over your albums/pricing/coupons is awesome!
Their 15% commission is reasonable and they account for it in the pricing so when you see your profit, that is your actual profit!
If you go with GoDaddy and SmugMug and need help with getting the two to place nicely together, let me know. The domain configuration is a little funky but I got it figured out and can either talk you through it or send you a document with screenshots to get it done if you like.
Finally, this is by no means a sales posting. I am just responding in a public forum in order to help answer a number of questions I have been getting all at once. If you think you are ready to make the leap, I wish you luck! If you have any questions, let me know and I will do my best to answer them. =)
Thanks for this info Autumn! I forgot all about getting in touch with you; my daughter is getting married in a month, so my mind is a little pre-occupied. Can I still contact you (maybe after the first of the year) if I have any further questions after all this?
Thanks for taking the time to post this; and of course I wish you a ton of success with your website!
Wow, your site is lovely. Do they actually take care of the printing as well? Do you set the pricing? Seems like you're really taking off. I wish you all the best.
@shutterbug0810 Absolutely! I understand busy!!! Next month is the start of my own very busy season and will continue through January since I provide phone support for accounting software but you are welcome to contact me when you are ready. I will get back to you as quickly as I can. Just email me at info@autumneden.com. And thank you! =D
@crappysailor Yep! You actually have your choice of two different printers, too but I have selected Bay Photo since I love their print quality and the products they offer. You set your own pricing and you can set the pricing on a gallery by gallery basis which is cool but a bit tedious to set up. They offer some really great products but I am super excited about their metal prints. I want to order several of my Hipstamatic shots on the metal prints. Between the luminous nature of the metal to the intense color of the prints, I am sure they will be huge WOW pieces. You can learn more about the metal prints here: http://www.smugmug.com/prints/metalprints
@autumnseden - thats great! Printing (for me atleast) is always a problem. And like you said, the fee you pay to take care of the tedious work is well worth it.
@bill_d Wow! No surprise to see you have so many beautiful albums out there based on what we see here each day. Beautiful!
@gingersanders Congratulations! And my apologies for not replying sooner! I did receive your email but work and life have been keeping me going pretty consistently the past few days. I will be replying today. =D
Write a Reply
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
Thanks for taking the time to post this; and of course I wish you a ton of success with your website!
@crappysailor Yep! You actually have your choice of two different printers, too but I have selected Bay Photo since I love their print quality and the products they offer. You set your own pricing and you can set the pricing on a gallery by gallery basis which is cool but a bit tedious to set up. They offer some really great products but I am super excited about their metal prints. I want to order several of my Hipstamatic shots on the metal prints. Between the luminous nature of the metal to the intense color of the prints, I am sure they will be huge WOW pieces. You can learn more about the metal prints here: http://www.smugmug.com/prints/metalprints
Sorry, was confused for a minute :P
The GoDaddy was the hardest part but it was because paypal wasn't playing well so I finally gave up and paid cc.
OK so... http://www.livingstonatlarge.com
More galleries coming tomorrow!
@gingersanders Congratulations! And my apologies for not replying sooner! I did receive your email but work and life have been keeping me going pretty consistently the past few days. I will be replying today. =D