From Livebooks to Photoshelter

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Archive 2012 · From Livebooks to Photoshelter

andylaiphoto
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p.1 #1 · From Livebooks to Photoshelter

Thinking about leaving livebooks for photoshelter. Anybody else made this jump and are you happy? Seems that Photoshelter has more tools for the same price and I'm tired of livebooks nickel and dining me for every option.

Mar 28, 2012 at 06:29 PM

Mr Joe
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p.1 #2 · From Livebooks to Photoshelter

Andy - What is it that LiveBooks isn't doing for you that you think PhotoShelter can?

When I think these kinds of things over, I typically make a list of all of the site features that are important to me, and which ones are the dealbreakers if a service doesn't have them or isn't doing them well.

Mar 28, 2012 at 11:41 PM

andylaiphoto
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p.1 #3 · From Livebooks to Photoshelter

Well the livebooks setup doesn't let me change my template/appearance with out paying, can't sell prints, and the SEO tools are very very basic.

I going to shoot events again now that my schedule permits it and being able to sell from the same site is nice. Before I found Photoshelter I was going to open an account on Smugmug for the events pics. I might end up marketing event work under a different name and do that anyway but having the option is nice to know.

Photoshelter let's you integrate a Wordpress blog into your site free, also something that I have on my list of to do's but was going to have to pay fees with Livebooks.

Those are a few things that come to mind. I was going to sit downand jot down all the differences between the two soon before making a move. Just wanted to see if anybody had experience with the same thing.

Mar 29, 2012 at 03:27 AM

photohombre
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p.1 #4 · From Livebooks to Photoshelter

Andy, I have been researching sites/hosts/pages/etc for the past two weeks, to the point of being bleary-eyed. There are so very many options available to us (photographers) now and choices are difficult to make. After listing all my pros, cons and maybes I contacted several of the prospective hosts. Several never too the time to respond to my email, a few just had an automated response. One bordered on arrogant in their response. Photoshelter took the time to personally answer, addressed all of my issues and gave me a contact person if I had further concerns. I've sat on this info for several days so as not to make an emotional or erratic decision and now am ready to leap into the world of Photoshelter. I'll do the two week trial to start. That will give me a better understanding of their services. Also, their very informative videos on both youtube and vimeo have been very helpful. I'm sure impressed by the knowledge and "downhome" attitude of their CEO, Allan Murabayashi. He, as well as the individual who responded to my email (Chris Owyoung) are a prime example of the concept of putting the customer first & opening the doors wide enough to get a full look, not just a small peek. I hope you are able to implement your vision and plan with a company that meets all (or at least almost all) of your needs. Good luck. Richard

Mar 29, 2012 at 03:43 PM

musicphotog
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p.1 #5 · From Livebooks to Photoshelter

Richard - Thanks so much for your feedback. I'm not part of PhotoShelter's normal Client Services team (I work in Marketing) so I'm very glad that I was able to help. I've been using PhotoShelter for my own photography business since 2008, and I originally chose the give the service a try based on many of the factors that you mentioned. While I can't say that every aspect of the service is flawless/the best/etc., I can tell you that every single member of the PhotoShelter team cares deeply about photographers (and photography as an art), and wants to build a service that helps its members find success and support online. As a result, we're big on the videos, big on the business guides, and big on support. We're currently working out the kinks from the largest software upgrade in the company's history, so the phones have been a little nuts, but on any other weekday, you can call us at 212-206-0808 and get help from a real person.

Andy - Thanks for considering PhotoShelter. If you want to learn more about us and how the product works, our vimeo page is a good place to start - https://vimeo.com/photoshelter

Since we just completely redesigned the back end of the product, I'd be happy to set you both up with a 30-day trials instead of the normal 14 days. Just email me directly.

Mar 29, 2012 at 06:48 PM

andylaiphoto
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p.1 #6 · From Livebooks to Photoshelter

Thanks for the offer Chris. I'll reach out to you with questions a little bit later.

Great work on your site.

Mar 29, 2012 at 09:27 PM

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