sparkle and shine

Everyone getting ready for the “Wrap Battle” kickoff on Friday? Here’s some inspiration (and a giveaway)!

Wish I could say I was ready — but I am so behind. I still haven’t sent out any of the e-mails that need to be sent in advance. I haven’t even read half my e-mails today yet! As such, things may be rocky until mid-week next week when I get more holiday cards finished and off to the printers, ordering galleries complete and e-mailed to clients, packages wrapped and off with my “bend and snap!” man, plus get myself through another column debut and new deadline… Oh yeah, and I guess I should fit my kids and husband in there somewhere as well. Shall I continue? It’s the same song and dance we all do every November / December and ask ourselves “WHY?!?”

But even so – even with a 39th birthday under my belt this week – I still took the time to “show you mine”. Now you get ready to show me yours!

I’m sending these “gift wrap kits” with client orders I know contain gifts so it’s easy for them to turn around and re-gift the contents to their families.

Never fear! To make sure we all get through the holidays alive, the contest entry deadline won’t fall until the week between Christmas and New Year’s. When hopefully this will all be a distant memory thanks to the spiked eggnog!

     How do you get the above? Here are the vendors:

     1.  Custom boxes – HB Photo Packaging
     2.  Eco Tote Bags – HB Photo Packaging
     3.  Custom logo stamp – Ampersandity
     4.  Alphabet letter stamps – Michael’s $1 bin
     5.  “Merry Christmas” stamp – Martha Stewart Crafts Scandinavian Set
     6.  Christmas buttons – Dress It Up
     7.  Button stickers – Martha Stewart / EK Success Woodland Buttons
     8.  Santa hat stickers – Jolee’s / EK Success
     9.  Clear Bags – ClearBags.com
     10. Holiday Ribbon – Michael’s
     11. Satin Ribbon – Paper Source
     12. Christmas stickers and labels – Moo.com (free templates here)




And what’s a Paperie post without a cool vendor and a little summin’-summin’ you can win? One of my favorite knitters Boondock Studios Fiber Arts has launched a fun tiny little division called “Narrow Wear” and they’re here for a quick guest post!

Narrow Wear makes funky and eclectic skinny scarves, from a huge variety of fibers and textures. Use them as hip accessories for older kids and teens, or wrap them around / pile under newborns for texture and color.

And now one lucky Paperie reader can win the “Mrs. Claus” by Narrow Wear.

How do you win? Easy! Just leave a comment here and let us know what your favorite item in the Narrow Wear Etsy Store is (or what you’d like to see)! That’s it. The winner will be picked this weekend with Random.org, and the winner will be contacted within 48-72 hours of the winner-announcement to claim their prize. Good luck!




Packaging supplies out. Cameras up. Ready? Set. Go!
-Robyn & Todd

the total package

BrandSushi is back today for another guest / vendor post and giveaway – up for grabs is a copy of their eBook “Total Package Pricing“.

How did you arrive at your current price list?

What’s your hourly rate (and how did you calculate it)?

Is your photography business turning a profit, or leading you down a path to the Poor House?

What message do you want your photography brand to convey, and what steps are you currently taking to maintain and build upon that message?

Are you 100% confident in your current pricing and package options?

If you’re having trouble answering these questions, it might be time to take a step back.

When I first started my photography business, I spent many long nights working out pricing, packages, brand and marketing strategies and budgeting for all sorts of things I hadn’t anticipated. I’m lucky enough to have a background in brand strategy, advertising and marketing, but many photographers (both new and established) don’t have that luxury, and find themselves overwhelmed with their pricing, collections, and marketing endeavors. We’re about to fix that!

Enter TOTAL PACKAGE PRICING, the pricing and collection building guide for wedding and portrait photographers who don’t want to go broke.

This three-part eBook series takes you through every facet of pricing your photography for profit, discovering — and utilizing — your CORRECT hourly rate, building a strong group of collections and packages that you’ll feel confident selling, and turning your business into a full-fledged brand. Here’s a run-down of what’s included:

BOOK 1 – Intro to Business and Brand Strategy : What’s in a brand? Learn how to position yourself and your products for top results. We’ll cover business structure (and why you can’t be everything to everybody); pricing and sales (learn not only WHAT to place in your collections for maximum profit, but HOW and WHY clients choose the way they do); perceived value and the inherent risks involved with discounting your way into the Poor House; and how to identify and utilize your brand’s “face and voice” to build a solid foundation on which to launch (or re-launch) a winning photography business and brand. Wherever possible, real-world examples are given and geared toward both Portrait and Wedding photographers, so everyone should be able to take something tangible out of the workbooks, regardless of their clientele!

BOOK 2 – Hourly Rates and Product Pricing : This volume will guide you toward the answer to that ever-elusive question: What are you worth? Learn the real way to calculate your hourly rate (I’ll give you a hint: it’s probably a LOT higher than you think it is!) and implement a price list that will set you up for success, and won’t leave you digging into your couch cushions when Tax season rolls around. You’ll also receive a set of Excel Spreadsheets that are already set up to do ALL THE HARD WORK (i.e. calculations) for you! But, if you don’t have Excel, never fear! All calculations are thoroughly explained in the workbook, and blank PDF templates are included so you can also do all the work by hand to get the same results! This workbook also comes with two sample price lists (one for wedding photography and one for portrait photography), as well as my personal product catalog and price list for comparison!

BOOK 3 – Building Profitable Collections : From deciding what to offer in your packages and collections to tallying their final prices and values, this workbook will leave you with a solid understanding of what goes into collections for maximum profit and confidence. You’ll also receive an Excel Collection Builder that calculates everything for you (as well as instructions on how to calculate everything by hand if you’d rather do it the old fashioned way!). We’ll cover scenarios for both wedding photographers (whose packages include service hours) and portrait photographers (whose collections are product-based).

And here is a basic list of the items included in this set:

(3) Excel Templates — each with multiple tabs (.xlsx format). These WILL also work in Apple’s Numbers, although some formatting might appear slightly different than in the screenshots. The Excel Templates were created in Excel 2010 and will work with recent versions of Excel on both Mac and PC. Compatibility with older versions of Excel or Numbers, or other spreadsheet programs is not verified.
(1) Instruction booklet to help you get started using the Excel Templates.
(3) PDF workbooks totaling over 50 pages of insider branding, business and pricing tips in clear, concise, and easy-to-understand terminology with real-world examples to get you thinking and keep you learning.
(1) Blank PDF line sheet with a quick pricing formula “cheat sheet” in case you’d rather do the calculations by hand.
(1) Sample Price Catalog from my own studio for reference.

Important Note: This workbook’s purpose is to give you a solid foundation and understanding of pricing and budgeting structures; it’s always a good idea to consult an accountant or tax professional to make sure you’re keeping everything in order! These workbooks do not provide financial advice — their purpose is to teach you tested pricing methods, and the psychology behind presenting those prices and packages in a way that will maximize profitability with your client sessions and orders.

And during this giveaway, all Paperie readers will receive 20% off at BrandSushi with the code PAPERIE20!

How do you win the eBook “Total Package Pricing“?

1. Tweet the following on Twitter (and tell us where you did it):
Win the “Total Package Pricing” eBook from BrandSushi.com / @brandsushi over at @paperieboutique / PaperieBoutique.com – http://is.gd/YsVq50

2. Post the following to Facebook (and tell us where you did it):
Win the “Total Package Pricing” eBook from BrandSushi.com over at PaperieBoutique.com – http://is.gd/YsVq50

3. Like brandsushi on Facebook: facebook.com/brandsushi

4. Follow @brandsushi on Twitter: twitter.com/brandsushi

Each entry requires its own separate comment. (In simple terms: If you want FOUR chances to win, you have to do all four things listed above, and then make four separate comments here telling us how you did them.)

Comment(s) must be posted here by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 12th. You can enter up to four times total. Post that you have met all four requirements in separate comments to have multiple chances to win!

You can enter / post up to four times total – one entry each for the options listed above. (PLEASE NOTE: Comments are held for moderation and may not appear immediately. Please be patient! They will show up eventually.)

You have four chances to win, but only one chance PER OPTION – please do not post the same link multiple times. Duplicate links will be removed. Each entry requires its own separate comment to have multiple chances to win!

Comments on this entry will be numbered in order of posting. The winning number will be chosen by Random.org, and the winner will be contacted within 24-72 hours of contest’s end to claim their prize.

Good luck!

Thanks to BrandSushi for another awesome giveaway!

the perfect host

Full disclosure: I am a Hosting Matters client (since 2001) and they host this WordPress blog Paperie Boutique.

I had a popular blog almost a decade ago. That blog was regularly FARK‘ed and MeFi‘ed – in addition to being frequently featured on Tech TV (now G4 Network) – and would sometimes receive 75.000+ unique visitors per day.

I needed a host that not only kept my site online, but was available for all the mini-crises that develop with a site of that nature. Hosting Matters has always been that host for me, and then some. When I joined Hosting Matters in 2001, I had already dumped three other webhosts that year. It’s now 2011 and I’ve never left HM. They literally host every. single. website. that Todd and I own – big and small. Including Buttons and Bows Photography with a template by Blu Domain, and my Snap-Button blog with a template by ProPhoto Blogs. (Trust me, we own a lot of websites!) You don’t get a better testimonial than that!

Now please welcome Hosting Matters for a guest / vendor post and giveaway!

Tired of hosts who promise the world and don’t deliver? Who radically change policies without notice? Who treat customers as a number instead of a name? Whose technical support people are nameless and don’t seem to care?

Get hosted with Hosting Matters, and we’ll change the way you view web hosting providers forever. We provide 24/7 support by real people, never outsourced, and proactively monitor our servers and network to ensure the highest level of performance possible.

No fine print, no asterisks next to offers: real packages, sensible pricing, and great hosting. We’ll even help you move in! What more could you ask?

Hosting Matters is currently offering a tremendous special for Paperie readers looking for better hosting than they currently have. The first person who signs up, and two others to be chosen at random at midnight on Sunday, March 6th, will receive a credit equivalent to three months of hosting.

So how do you win these great prizes?

First, sign up for hosting at Hosting Matters. Then come back here in the comments and tell us you did it.

The first person to post in the comments (who has already signed up) will win the first prize – three months of hosting.

Everyone else who posts (who has already signed up) will be eligible for the two drawings on Sunday, March 6th.

Want extra chances to win? Sign up for hosting at Hosting Matters, then post in the comments you’ve done so.

After you’ve signed up, you can also do the following things and post you’ve done so in the comments:

1. Follow Hosting Matters on Twitter: twitter.com/hostingmatters

2. Like Hosting Matters on Facebook

3. Post the following to Facebook or Twitter (tell us where you did it):
    I want to win 3 months free hosting from
    hostmatters.com / @hostingmatters and
    @paperieboutique / PaperieBoutique.com -
    http://is.gd/i2IVEI

Each entry requires its own separate comment. (In simple terms: If you want THREE extra chances to win, you have to do all three things listed above, and then make three separate comments here telling us how you did them.)

Comment(s) must be posted here by midnight EST on Saturday, March 6th. Post that you have joined Hosting Matters – and after that if you’d like extra chances to win, also that you’ve followed their Twitter stream, “liked” their Facebook fan page, and/or posted to Twitter or Facebook (with a link to where you did it).

ATTENTION: All links you post must direct to public-access accounts. We cannot verify links on private, friends & family only, or passworded accounts and they will not be eligible to win this item. If we have to subscribe to your feed, a website, or forum – or request permission to see them – your entry will automatically be disqualified.

Please do not post the same link multiple times. Duplicate links will be removed. Each entry requires its own separate comment to have multiple chances to win!

Comments on this entry will be numbered in order of posting. The second two winners will be chosen by Random.org, and the winners will be contacted within 24-72 hours of contest’s end to claim their prize.

Good luck – and thanks to Hosting Matters for such a fantastic giveaway!

it’s a nice day for a white wedding

It’s been a great week at Paperie and I’m very excited to wrap things up on a high note with one of my favorite things — the packaging features. Not only is Gail Werner Photography‘s work and presentation absolutely stunning, there’s a double-bonus because I learned about a couple of new vendors myself! So grab a Coke and a smile, kick your feet up because it’s almost the weekend, and enjoy today’s guest post!

(P.S. Don’t forget there’s a contest going on — there’s just over 12 hours left to win a slot in the “503 Photography Workshops for Kids & Teens“!)

Like everyone else here on this site, I’m a big believer in the power of a positive brand experience. But it wasn’t until I felt comfortable with the brand I’d developed for myself late last year that I began to want to invest in marketing materials that reflected it.

When I started researching online to find resources on where to go for those materials, ooh boy, was I confused! Then a photographer I follow, Heather Garland, blogged about being featured here on Paperie Boutique and I couldn’t believe how awesome both Heather’s marketing products were – but also what a resource there was to be found here on this site!

First I wanted to make sure that when my clients opened their package from me they had a second, more beautiful package waiting for them inside.

I ordered these boxes from The Container Store, with each ranging in cost from $4-$10, depending on size. They are heavy and glossy white.

The ribbon is from from Hobby Lobby. The stickers are from Zazzle.

[Note from Robyn: Paperie has a free template for Zazzle stickers available for download here.]

One of my latest inspirations for my business is sharing my clients’ stories in a new and unique way that reflects my past as a journalist, so with each order, I’m including a copy of their story with their digital files / prints, etc. Here is the story of Michele and Eric. (Theirs is the story you can see pictured here in a frame — also bought at Hobby Lobby.) These frames are $4 each, and perfect for this little personalized touch to their package (I wrap everything up in black tissue paper before it goes in one of my Container Store boxes).

My thank you cards feature a quote I found online about giving thanks. Simple and, in a way, a reflection of me, because I am a quote NUT. My copyright releases were printed up on 5×7 cards from WHCC. My letterpress business cards were made by a letterpress / design company called The Mandate Press. At Mandate, if you are making black and white letterpress cards only, it’s $95 for 250 cards. They are gorgeous! My DVD cases come from DNL Photo and my DVDs (which I love because they have such a great polished look to them that’s so professional) were printed by Discmakers. I cannot say enough wonderful things about Discmakers‘ customer service. Every time I emailed them with a question, I had a response within hours. SUPER company to work with!

My Post-It notes are from 123Print and I LOVE them. Who doesn’t want personalized Post-Its for their business, right?

[Note from Robyn: Paperie has a free template for Post-It notes from VistaPrint available for download here.]

I made my initial client packets using folders and envelopes from Paper Presentation. On the outside of the white folders, I adhered a custom-designed branded sticker, printed by WHCC. This was more cost-effective for me than getting something custom made but still a nice personalized touch! The black mailing envelopes have my branded mailing sticker on them as well. These stickers were also printed by WHCC and custom designed by me. Inside each of the presentation packets, I include my pricing information, sheets with tip information (varies for portrait or wedding client) and a copy of the contract / model release. I wanted to keep these packets as print-outs for now as I’m at a point in my business where my prices will continue to change in the months to come and I didn’t want to invest in printed pricing booklets for that reason.

I hope you all were able to take away a few ideas for your own marketing from this post. Once I finally decided on what I needed and what companies I’d order from, it was a pretty quick process (a few hours) to get all the items you see here ordered and taken care of. So if I can do this, I promise you anyone can!

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful packaging and resources Gail! Everything looks amazing! You can also catch Gail at her blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

You have until 11:59 p.m. EDT tonight Friday, April 30th to win a spot in the 503 Photography Workshops for kids and teens! Check out Wednesday’s post for more details!

ATTENTION VENDORS: We tuck business cards, coupon inserts, and promo pieces inside of our prize packages. If you are interested in having yours included, please contact me (my e-mail is in the sidebar and is robyn @ this domain – or you can leave a comment). Also contact me if you are interested in having your business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured on Paperie Boutique.

ATTENTION PHOTOGRAPHERS: Show us your packaging! If the features here have helped you pull together your own look, please share with the class and pay it forward. Contact Robyn (e-mail link in the sidebar / robyn @ this domain) to be added to the posting schedule.

If you are interested in advertising with Paperie Boutique, please contact todd @ this domain.