Hands-Off Service: Introductory Message
Hi there! Thanks for your interest in Align's Hands-Off Service! We look forward to taking some of the middleman duties off your plate! That includes the task of sending the album design proofing link to your client and welcoming them to the process.
The following is our default template for that introductory message (which will be sent through the AlbumExposure interface rather than regular email). Please let your designer know if you'd prefer to add any customized bullet points to this list.
Examples: describing the album size/type they ordered, rules/prices for adding spreads, deadlines you've set, etc.
The following is our default template for that introductory message (which will be sent through the AlbumExposure interface rather than regular email). Please let your designer know if you'd prefer to add any customized bullet points to this list.
Examples: describing the album size/type they ordered, rules/prices for adding spreads, deadlines you've set, etc.
Hi (CLIENT'S FIRST NAME),
My name is (DESIGNER'S NAME) and I'm the designer for your (STUDIO NAME) album. Looking forward to working with you!
To access the design go to:
https://____________
Password:____________
A few things to keep in mind:
- If you like the design as it is, go ahead and hit the Approve button! :) Otherwise you can use up to (NUMBER OF ROUNDS, typically 3 minus any the photographer used) rounds of revisions. Beyond that, additional rounds of changes will be $50/round, so please use each round wisely.
- To request changes, just type your comments in the boxes next to each spread. If you aren't quite ready to send your comments right away, don't worry, they'll be saved for later. When you're ready to submit ALL of your comments, push the "Post all comments" button and our team will be notified and we'll make the changes that you've requested.
- Please provide specific filenames or image numbers when requesting an image change. Also please keep in mind that it's best to change vertical images for vertical images and horizontals for horizontals, otherwise the layout may need to completely change.
Let me know if you have any questions! I'm excited to hear what you think!
(DESIGNER'S NAME)
Album Designer
Samples of customized bullet points
• (If printing through Align AND using our COVER FINALIZATION service) Please note the very first spread in your design currently shows your cover options. Your package comes with ______________ (fill in cover specs ie. leather/linen/photo/up to 2 lines of text). On this spread, please leave a comment indicating the following: Which (leather/linen) cover material you'd like, which cover photo you'd like (image will be cropped square and inset), which font & foil color you'd like as well as the exact wording for (1 or 2) lines of text. I will then take your selections and mock-up your cover design for approval in the next round of revisions. (If there are any upgrades that you want to offer with pricing (i.e. package only comes with photo OR text, but they can have both for an upgraded price), please make sure to customize this text bullet to include those as well.)
• While the album in your collection comes with ___ spreads, we ended up designing it with ___ extra to tell the best story. You can either choose to narrow down the layouts to __ by deleting or combining spreads OR upgrade your album by purchasing the extra spreads at $___/spread. If you wanted to purchase the ___ spread album as it is now, it would cost an additional $____
• While the album you originally purchased includes ____ spreads, we ended up designing it with ___ extra so as to make the best book possible. We can always bring it back to ___. No problem, just ask. :) For reference, each additional spread is $______.
• Keep in mind that the finished album will be ___ by ___ inches, so the small images on your screen will look quite a bit bigger in person. The online presentation displays the design as if the book were open on your lap -- so what you see will be ___ inches across by ___ inches high.
• The album will be ___ by ___ inches with thick board-like pages that lay flat with a fold (no gap) in the center for binding.
• This album presentation will be available for ____ months or until approved, whichever comes first. (NOTE: Align is not responsible for enforcing this deadline, but we can definitely share the message with them up front).
• Please approve your album design by ___(date)____, otherwise the base price of the album will increase by $______ at that point. (NOTE: Align is not responsible for enforcing this deadline, but we can definitely share the message with them up front).
• (If printing through Align AND using our COVER FINALIZATION service) Please note the very first spread in your design currently shows your cover options. Your package comes with ______________ (fill in cover specs ie. leather/linen/photo/up to 2 lines of text). On this spread, please leave a comment indicating the following: Which (leather/linen) cover material you'd like, which cover photo you'd like (image will be cropped square and inset), which font & foil color you'd like as well as the exact wording for (1 or 2) lines of text. I will then take your selections and mock-up your cover design for approval in the next round of revisions. (If there are any upgrades that you want to offer with pricing (i.e. package only comes with photo OR text, but they can have both for an upgraded price), please make sure to customize this text bullet to include those as well.)
• While the album in your collection comes with ___ spreads, we ended up designing it with ___ extra to tell the best story. You can either choose to narrow down the layouts to __ by deleting or combining spreads OR upgrade your album by purchasing the extra spreads at $___/spread. If you wanted to purchase the ___ spread album as it is now, it would cost an additional $____
• While the album you originally purchased includes ____ spreads, we ended up designing it with ___ extra so as to make the best book possible. We can always bring it back to ___. No problem, just ask. :) For reference, each additional spread is $______.
• Keep in mind that the finished album will be ___ by ___ inches, so the small images on your screen will look quite a bit bigger in person. The online presentation displays the design as if the book were open on your lap -- so what you see will be ___ inches across by ___ inches high.
• The album will be ___ by ___ inches with thick board-like pages that lay flat with a fold (no gap) in the center for binding.
• This album presentation will be available for ____ months or until approved, whichever comes first. (NOTE: Align is not responsible for enforcing this deadline, but we can definitely share the message with them up front).
• Please approve your album design by ___(date)____, otherwise the base price of the album will increase by $______ at that point. (NOTE: Align is not responsible for enforcing this deadline, but we can definitely share the message with them up front).
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Blog post written by: Denise
Blog post written by: Denise
Now offering wedding and family yearbook albums direct to consumers!
We LOVE our professional photographer clients and our primary focus has been, and always will be, serving them well.
But today we are excited to announce that we are NOW OFFERING CUSTOM DESIGNED WEDDING AND PORTRAIT ALBUMS TO CONSUMERS as well!!
We often get inquiries from brides and grooms whose photographer either doesn't offer albums, or is no longer available to them (they're retired or out of business) asking if we can create an album for them. And now the answer is YES!
We have two different products available to consumers: a wedding album, and a family yearbook album. These will be offered in standard packages that are all-inclusive of the design, revision rounds, printing, binding & shipping. We know there are options out there for consumers where they can DIY books themselves, but we want to offer those who don't want to go the DIY route an option to create a completely custom album.
But today we are excited to announce that we are NOW OFFERING CUSTOM DESIGNED WEDDING AND PORTRAIT ALBUMS TO CONSUMERS as well!!
We often get inquiries from brides and grooms whose photographer either doesn't offer albums, or is no longer available to them (they're retired or out of business) asking if we can create an album for them. And now the answer is YES!
We have two different products available to consumers: a wedding album, and a family yearbook album. These will be offered in standard packages that are all-inclusive of the design, revision rounds, printing, binding & shipping. We know there are options out there for consumers where they can DIY books themselves, but we want to offer those who don't want to go the DIY route an option to create a completely custom album.
We are VERY conscious of not wanting to undercut or take ANY business away from our current clients or professional photographers as a whole. So we will be doing two things to ensure this:
1 - We will be asking all consumers who place a wedding album order who their photographer is on the order form. If they are working with one of our clients, we will refer them back to their photographer to purchase their album. We will also be asking them to provide proof of rights to print and use their high res images.
2 - Our pricing will be more in line with what a photographer might charge for a custom album. Think of our pricing for photographers as "wholesale pricing"; our pricing for consumers will be "retail pricing."
Our Family Yearbook Albums are something we are REALLY excited about! These come standard as 8x8 linen albums with either a cover photo or engraving on the front and with 40 spreads (approximately 150-200 images):
1 - We will be asking all consumers who place a wedding album order who their photographer is on the order form. If they are working with one of our clients, we will refer them back to their photographer to purchase their album. We will also be asking them to provide proof of rights to print and use their high res images.
2 - Our pricing will be more in line with what a photographer might charge for a custom album. Think of our pricing for photographers as "wholesale pricing"; our pricing for consumers will be "retail pricing."
Our Family Yearbook Albums are something we are REALLY excited about! These come standard as 8x8 linen albums with either a cover photo or engraving on the front and with 40 spreads (approximately 150-200 images):
The idea behind these albums is to combine ALL of your family memories from one year in an album -- professional photos, photos you took on your camera phone -- EVERYTHING!
I had a couple of these created for my own family and I am IN LOVE! I can't wait to add one to my collection every year going forward! I shot a short 1 minute video to give you and idea of what these look like here:
We are SO excited about these new offerings and hope you will keep us in mind and refer others to us if they are in need of an album!
Click here to find out more about our albums for consumers! (Our Consumer Books can be accessed through the link in the upper right corner of our home page!)
We are SO excited about these new offerings and hope you will keep us in mind and refer others to us if they are in need of an album!
Click here to find out more about our albums for consumers! (Our Consumer Books can be accessed through the link in the upper right corner of our home page!)
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Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
GIVEAWAY! >> Free content to help you sell albums to past clients
It's been a tough month. Weddings have been cancelled or postponed. Shoots aren't booking. Money has stopped coming in.
Ugh.
Our hearts are breaking over all that is happening as a result of this virus and the impact it's had on you, our beloved clients.
But we have an idea for you.
What if you took this time to reach out to your past clients who didn't purchase an album and offer them one at a deeply discounted price -- maybe 40-50% off? Give them a deadline -- one week to submit payment? -- and see what happens! Call it your '"Quaran-time to Celebrate the Love Special"? (or something better -- haha!)
This could accomplish two things:
1 -- You could bring in some much-needed income while you're stuck at home.
2 -- Your clients could get a break from the bad news and be reminded of what matters most -- their love and the people who mean the most to them. Albums connect people and we need connection now more than ever!
Here's where we come in -- We are GIVING AWAY everything you need to make this album sale campaign happen. We've packaged up all of the following:
>> A blog post with all the sale details
>> An email campaign that will walk your clients through the process and deadlines
>> Social media posts complete with graphics
You are welcome to customize any of it of course, but the groundwork is DONE FOR YOU -- all you have to do is plug in the content and press publish and send!
Click here to download our FREE Album Sale Campaign Content and use this time stuck at home to generate some income while serving your clients well!
And please consider sharing this blog post with any of your photographer friends who could benefit! We'd love to work with them, but anyone is welcome to use this free content even if they aren't clients of Align!
We hope you find it helpful!
And guys -- We WILL get through this!!
xo
Ugh.
Our hearts are breaking over all that is happening as a result of this virus and the impact it's had on you, our beloved clients.
But we have an idea for you.
What if you took this time to reach out to your past clients who didn't purchase an album and offer them one at a deeply discounted price -- maybe 40-50% off? Give them a deadline -- one week to submit payment? -- and see what happens! Call it your '"Quaran-time to Celebrate the Love Special"? (or something better -- haha!)
This could accomplish two things:
1 -- You could bring in some much-needed income while you're stuck at home.
2 -- Your clients could get a break from the bad news and be reminded of what matters most -- their love and the people who mean the most to them. Albums connect people and we need connection now more than ever!
Here's where we come in -- We are GIVING AWAY everything you need to make this album sale campaign happen. We've packaged up all of the following:
>> A blog post with all the sale details
>> An email campaign that will walk your clients through the process and deadlines
>> Social media posts complete with graphics
You are welcome to customize any of it of course, but the groundwork is DONE FOR YOU -- all you have to do is plug in the content and press publish and send!
Click here to download our FREE Album Sale Campaign Content and use this time stuck at home to generate some income while serving your clients well!
And please consider sharing this blog post with any of your photographer friends who could benefit! We'd love to work with them, but anyone is welcome to use this free content even if they aren't clients of Align!
We hope you find it helpful!
And guys -- We WILL get through this!!
xo
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Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
FREE ONLINE TRAINING: Transform this wedding season!
I remember the first time I made $8,000 on a wedding....
and I hadn't raised my prices.
How?
I sold an album. A BIG one. $2,500 to be exact.
If you are ready to up your album game and increase your profit PER EVENT by a MINIMUM of $1,000 this upcoming season...
Then I have something you're going to be really excited about!
I'm doing a FREE ONLINE TRAINING next Wednesday, February 26th and in it I'm going to cover...
To date, I've shot over 200 weddings, sold over 100 albums, and made $200,000 on albums alone over the course of my career.
Are you next?
Are you ready to increase your profit AND the PERCEIVED VALUE OF YOUR BRAND for the upcoming season?
CLAIM YOUR SPOT!
FREE TRAINING: The EASIEST and FASTEST way to start selling albums
Wednesday, February 26th at 10am PST
Hope to see you there!
and I hadn't raised my prices.
How?
I sold an album. A BIG one. $2,500 to be exact.
If you are ready to up your album game and increase your profit PER EVENT by a MINIMUM of $1,000 this upcoming season...
Then I have something you're going to be really excited about!
I'm doing a FREE ONLINE TRAINING next Wednesday, February 26th and in it I'm going to cover...
- The #1 Key to Selling Albums - It can be intimidating to sell a high-priced product. Learn how to sell albums in a "non-salesy" way.
- How to Help Your Clients See the VALUE of Albums - Overcoming this one obstacle will help you get albums into the hands of ALL of your clients!
- How to Increase Your Profit by at Least $1,000 per wedding - Every day that goes by, you are losing money by not selling albums! Learn how to maximize your profit per client!
- How to Simplify the Album Process - You can send HOURS behind the computer, or you can use my proven process to save time AND give your clients a stellar experience!
To date, I've shot over 200 weddings, sold over 100 albums, and made $200,000 on albums alone over the course of my career.
Are you next?
Are you ready to increase your profit AND the PERCEIVED VALUE OF YOUR BRAND for the upcoming season?
CLAIM YOUR SPOT!
FREE TRAINING: The EASIEST and FASTEST way to start selling albums
Wednesday, February 26th at 10am PST
Hope to see you there!
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Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Align's 2019 Holiday Deadlines
'Tis the season for all things cozy, yuletide cheer ... and the mad dash to get everything done before HOLIDAY DEADLINES! Aren't you happy you're a photographer right about now? :)
Your clients know that albums make amazing Christmas gifts, but do they know how long the album creation process takes? We want to help YOU help THEM have their albums in hand by the holidays, so here's a refresher on our design turnaround times and an announcement of our holiday print deadlines:
Turnaround times for DESIGNS:
Due to the back-and-forth nature of the design and revision process, there is no one-size-fits-all estimate for how long the design process will take from start to finish. Please allow yourself and your client ample design time (multiple weeks) by placing your design order AS SOON as possible.
Initial designs - Within 4 business days of receiving your order form, deposit, and images
Revision requests - 2 business days after we've received the comments and any additional images or clarifications needed
Final file delivery - 1 business day after the album has been approved AND the final balance has been paid (**see note at bottom of this page)
Our business days for designing are Monday through Friday except for the following holidays:
Thanksgiving - Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29, 2019
Christmas - Tuesday, December 24 and Wednesday, December 25, 2019
New Years - Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Deadlines for PRINTING:
If you'll also be printing through Align Legacy Books and wish to receive your album in the mail by December 21, 2019, you must send your album to print (i.e. fill out the custom Print Confirmation order form we email you after the design service is paid for) by the following dates:
Monday, November 25** for standard production turnaround times
Sunday, December 8** for rush production turnaround times (extra $100 per album)
Orders placed before 11:59pm November 25 will ship within 15 business days of the order date
Orders placed between November 26 - December 7 with a RUSH FEE will ship by December 19
Orders placed between December 8 - January 1 with a RUSH FEE will ship by January 10
Orders placed between November 26 - January 1 without a rush fee will ship by January 23 (at the latest)
Orders placed after January 1 will ship within 15 business days of the order date
Please note that our production facility will focused on rush orders throughout December and then be closed for the holidays. So non-rush orders placed in December (even if you don't need them by Christmas) may not be started until January 2nd, making the estimated ship date January 23rd (at the very latest).
**Important Advice Due to the back-and-forth nature of invoicing, please plan for about 48 hours in between when your design is approved and when you will receive your final files (if you are printing elsewhere) or the link to your custom Print Confirmation order form (if you're printing with us). To skip the invoicing steps and speed up the process, you can:
PHEW! That is A LOT of detail! We're SO excited to help you serve your clients well this holiday season!
Your clients know that albums make amazing Christmas gifts, but do they know how long the album creation process takes? We want to help YOU help THEM have their albums in hand by the holidays, so here's a refresher on our design turnaround times and an announcement of our holiday print deadlines:
Turnaround times for DESIGNS:
Due to the back-and-forth nature of the design and revision process, there is no one-size-fits-all estimate for how long the design process will take from start to finish. Please allow yourself and your client ample design time (multiple weeks) by placing your design order AS SOON as possible.
Initial designs - Within 4 business days of receiving your order form, deposit, and images
Revision requests - 2 business days after we've received the comments and any additional images or clarifications needed
Final file delivery - 1 business day after the album has been approved AND the final balance has been paid (**see note at bottom of this page)
Our business days for designing are Monday through Friday except for the following holidays:
Thanksgiving - Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29, 2019
Christmas - Tuesday, December 24 and Wednesday, December 25, 2019
New Years - Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Deadlines for PRINTING:
If you'll also be printing through Align Legacy Books and wish to receive your album in the mail by December 21, 2019, you must send your album to print (i.e. fill out the custom Print Confirmation order form we email you after the design service is paid for) by the following dates:
Monday, November 25** for standard production turnaround times
Sunday, December 8** for rush production turnaround times (extra $100 per album)
Orders placed before 11:59pm November 25 will ship within 15 business days of the order date
Orders placed between November 26 - December 7 with a RUSH FEE will ship by December 19
Orders placed between December 8 - January 1 with a RUSH FEE will ship by January 10
Orders placed between November 26 - January 1 without a rush fee will ship by January 23 (at the latest)
Orders placed after January 1 will ship within 15 business days of the order date
Please note that our production facility will focused on rush orders throughout December and then be closed for the holidays. So non-rush orders placed in December (even if you don't need them by Christmas) may not be started until January 2nd, making the estimated ship date January 23rd (at the very latest).
**Important Advice Due to the back-and-forth nature of invoicing, please plan for about 48 hours in between when your design is approved and when you will receive your final files (if you are printing elsewhere) or the link to your custom Print Confirmation order form (if you're printing with us). To skip the invoicing steps and speed up the process, you can:
-Authorize us to automatically charge your saved credit card (find this setting at the bottom your Edit Profile page).
-Or pre-purchase Align Credit (in any amount) on your Account Balance page which will be automatically applied to your balance.
PHEW! That is A LOT of detail! We're SO excited to help you serve your clients well this holiday season!
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Blog post written by: Alaine
Blog post written by: Alaine
