STOCK
PHOTO NEWS no. 4
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December 2000 issue
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Stock
Photo News is an opt-in Newsletter from A-Z FOTOS
Hi subscriber to the Stock Photo News,
Happy New Year! Your December edition of the Stock Photo
News is ready.
You will find valuable information in this issue to help
you get the most of your search for stock photos, and an
important guest article by David Riecks about how to transfer
pictures and other files online. You will also find tips
for your internet marketing and web site management.
This issue covers the following topics:
* The stock photo giants might lose photographers.
* Guest
article “How to send and receive pictures
online”.
By David Riecks.
* Search engines and web site positioning - once again.
* E-book fever.
* Web site promotion.
* The newest in press release from the stock photo industry.
* Guest
article "Would
You Rather Be Rich or Famous?
This is Not a Trick Question"
About the power of news releases.
By Mark Joyner
* More Tips
To visit the latest edition of the Stock Photo News go to:
www.stockphotonews.com
FROM THE EDITOR
Yes, what a time lapse! Sorry for being so much abroad for
photographic trips, without taking proper care of new and
old readers of this newsletter. I apologise for this irregularity,
due to photographic work in Vietnam, Hungary, Southern Africa,
Italy (Rome), Switzerland (Luzern), USA (Texas) and Thailand,
all since February 2000.
In fact an important reason for this long delay is also a
very serious problem I have had with a transfer of the email
list to a new mail list provider. The short version of the
story is, that we lost around 300 of our valuable readers
of the Stock Photo News. I have tried in many ways to rebuild
the list, but failed totally.
Therefore, if you have any ideas of friends or colleagues
or others who could have been subscribers earlier to this
newsletter or you think would find it useful as new readers,
PLEASE send them an email by going to this url !
and Click to Recommend-It (r). - You could win 10.000 dollars:
Enjoy reading!
Soren Breiting
A-Z FOTOS
Comments
and tips are appreciated, please email me personally sb@
azfotos.com
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THE STOCK PHOTO GIANTS MIGHT LOOSE PHOTOGRAPHERS
In the
last few years we have seen overwhelming signs of concentration
in the stock photo business. The whole stock
photo industry is a 5 billion a year thing – and therefore
interesting for a Bill Gates and the like. Bill Gates is
holding the one conglomerate with Corbis as a main brand
name. The perspective is to take the full harvest of globalization
made possible with the digitalization of the original transparencies
and with the Internet as the distribution channel.
Putting millions of dollars in advertising is not an indication
of willingness to please the photographers who deliver the
substance.
According to the newslist at many “old” stock
photographers at Bill Gate´s stock photo libraries
and at the other big player, Getty´s, are unhappy with
the treatment they experience from the (partly new) owners.
In the long run such a reputation for a stock photo business
could undermine the possibility in the future to keep up
with current demands, because the talented photographers
flee elsewhere.
Age Fotostock is such an alternative stock photo agency which
has understood to take the need of the photographers seriously
and to offer reasonable conditions for the photographers.
In the future it will be interesting to see how much this
will also move the picture researches away from the two giants.
Read more here about the Getty issue:
A new star on the stock photo sky is the British Alamy
They call them “The image brokers” and their
concept is also alternative and promising. This online photo
database is under establishment, searching photographers
for submissions of digitalized pro photos only. The prices
are worthwhile checking for the budget conscious picture
researcher. For the pro photographer this initiative seems
to be a welcome renewal in a time of bad news for the stock
photo providers. Send Alamy your email address and be informed
to follow this initiative. It is scheduled to be fully operational
in the early 2001.
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HOW TO SEND AND RECEIVE PICTURES ONLINE AND OTHER
FILE TRANSFER METHODS
- By David Riecks
There are a number of ways of getting your digital images
to clients or end
users, and each have an upside as well as a downside.
The one people think of using most often - e-mail - is probably
not the best
method. If you are only including thumbnails or small samples
you'll
probably be OK. I've had enough problems delivering larger
files that I only
do this if the client specifically requests it, and confirms
with their IT (Information Technology) folks or ISP (Internet
Service
Provider) that they can receive large files and note the
upper limit on file
size. If they are on AOL I flat out refuse unless the files
are under 800K.
Many mail servers are set to reject large attachments as
they slow down
service for others, and could contain a computer virus.
The major problem with e-mail is that because most of the
problems occur
once the files have left your hands, you don't know if the
file got there or
not. If the client's ISP blocks files over a specific size
your message with
attached file may get killed. You don't receive an error
message or any
indication that there has been a problem, and the client
never gets the image.
In addition, if the receiver checks this same account from
multiple
locations (like office and home), they may be a bit upset
to receive a 10mb
attachment at both locations. If they happen to be travelling
and check
their e-mail with their laptop on the road (like when they
are connected
over a low bandwidth modem in their hotel room!), they may
have to wait for
quite a while your attachment downloads. Again, it's best
not to send
unsolicited attachments to an e-mail.
If a
client requests a delivery via e-mail I first send a "pre-message"
before sending the file attachment. It's just a simple message
that says,
" the file(s) you requested should follow in a second, separate
e-mail
attachment. If you should only receive this message (and
not the second one
with the attachment) contact me for alternate delivery arrangements." If
I
will be out of the office during this time, I may also post
the file to a
hidden directory on my website and include the URL for the
file in the first
message. If the second message with attachment never arrives,
they can go to
the site and download the file using a standard web browser.
If your
webserver allows it you may wish to provide security by establishing
a
username and password for the hidden directory. If you don't
have this
ability, ask for the client to notify you when they have
successfully
downloaded the file, so you can delete the files from the
website.
If you are sending several files, or concerned that the
file header might
get stripped from the file, you may want to use a program
such as
Aladin's "Stuffit" or the PC file compression utility
PKZIP. Stuffit is cross
platform, while ZIP is PC only, so it helps to know what
platform your
recipient is using before sending the file. There are ways
to compress your
files with these utilities that are "self-extracting" but
this feature
creates a slightly larger file. If you know that the client
already has one
or the other of these utilities, you can simply used the
standard
compression encoding. If they are a client that you will
be exchanging files
with on a regular basis you could include where they can
download the
freeware utility to open the files, as this will keep the
download times to
a minimum.
Making the file available via FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
or on your
website allows the client to download the files at their
convenience, when
they choose to do so. Downloading the file via FTP is a more
secure and
stable way to transfer files. However many clients may think
that this is a
difficult procedure, or may be unfamiliar with using the
FTP software. If so
putting the file on your website in a hidden directory, or
in a password
protected directory will provide similar security, but the
HTTP (Hyper Text
Transfer Protocol) transfer may not be as stable. In either
event you will
only want to leave the high resolution file on your webserver
till the
client has completed the download. Even if you aren't limited
by server
space, you should remove the files from the server directory
for security
purposes if the directory is not password protected.
David Riecks is an assignment and stock photographer, digital
imaging
consultant, and co-owner of Zillionbucks.com, a webhosting
services
provider. Contact him via e-mail or visit
or .
...........................................................................................................
David Riecks * david@riecks.com
701 W. Washington St * Midwest/Chicago ASMP
Champaign, IL 61820 USA *
ph/fax 217-239-FOTO(3686) *
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BUILD A WEB SITE FOR SELLING
Ken
Evoy – a well known marketing expert – has
just released a new easy solution to how to create web sites
which are optimised for getting a lot of traffic through
the search engines related to specific key words. The system
is called Build It and you will find thought provoking information
about the whole idea at http://contact.sitesell.com/buildit/
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SEARCH ENGINES AND WEB SITE POSITIONING - ONCE AGAIN
As search
engine managers compete to make their search engines more “intelligent”,
a number of features are incorporated in the algorithm
which decides the ranking your
web site will get after a relevant search. You have to be
aware of the growing importance the number of links to your
site has. Another factor is the number of surfers who click
on your site from the search listing.
You can check the number of links, e.g. in AltaVista.com
by writing links:www.yoursite.com in the search box. You
can also use the test at
Try to do the same with your competitors who have a higher
ranking than you, and you will probably see the effect
of the number of links. I expect that you have already
done what is possible to maximize your key word relevance
and META Tag optimisation. If not take a look here:
A rather
smart way to increase the actual number of links to your
site is through participation in a link program.
You need to renew the link
pages once a month. Remember to make use of the most important
keyword(s) when you sign up with a name.
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E-BOOK FEVER
The production and the potential of e-books are one of the
hottest issues on the Internet now. The benefits are obvious:
they can be sold and distributed through the net without
costs. The publisher compiles the content and put it into
a proper attractive format. The reader can read it on his/her
computer. With a smart lap top computer or e-book reader
device the book or a whole library is available wherever
you are. No bulky piles of heavy paper to carry with you.
Just the electronic files.
We must expect an important demand for professional stock
photos for e-books in the future.
E-books are very suitable for different promotional aims.
Book publishers can distribute teasers of their newest releases
or background information of authors or features. Magazine
publishers can offer e-books as special treats to people
signing up for the full year through the net, etc.
In all branches it is possible to offer valuable e-books
for free or for a modest price, and when they are spread
they will live their own life and remind the customers about
the business behind the promotion.
Probably the best book about how to produce and benefit from
e-books is “Make your Knowledge Sell”. I have
learned a lot from it. You find it here:
Corey
Rudl and his people have developed a professional program “Ebook pro” for
handling and distributing paid e-books. It sounds very
promising and professional.
You should be able to find it here:
A freeware ebook compiler: EbookBuilder 4, is available at
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THE NEWEST IN PRESS RELEASE IN THE STOCK PHOTO INDUSTRY
Take
a search with AltaVista by going to NEWS and type some
words related
to “stock photo”. This time of
the year might be low on press releases, so eventually try
later. See also next article.
Fuzzy Images, Focused Ideas
Artist Uta Barth employs blurry visuals in her camera work
to make ordinary background settings the center of attention
in the 'In Between Places' exhibition at University of
Washington.
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Guest article about news releases:
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" WOULD YOU RATHER BE RICH OR FAMOUS? THIS IS NOT A TRICK
QUESTION"
- by Mark Joyner
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"Champagne
wishes and caviar dreams..."
Our
fascination with the "Lifestyles of the Rich and
Famous"
kept us riveted to the TV screen for 9 years as Robin Leach
entertained us with mouth-watering glimpses of how the rich
and
famous live.
Most of us yearn for wealth and fame, and yet secretly believe
that those commodities are beyond our reach -- that they
are
reserved for others, not us.
What if I told you that most of the rich and famous people
in
the world became rich and famous simply because they knew
how to
ethically influence the media? And what if I told you that
if
you could learn their publicity secrets, wealth and fame
are
yours for the asking?
The truth is, there is no method more powerful or less costly
for creating fame or fortune than publicity.
Publicity starts with a news release. The news release is
one
of the world's best marketing tools, but is also that wretched
thing that often shatters the hopes of all who dare to seek
publicity. But stick with me and I'll show you how to get
the
upper hand that will put you far ahead of all others who
have
tried and failed.
Most experienced business people have a story to tell about
their attempts at getting publicity -- and it always ends
with the
same question: "Why do I even bother?"
The fact is that millions of dollars worth of publicity
is
available to anyone who knows how to get it. One person I
know
who has the best batting average at getting publicity is
Paul
Krupin. Paul's PR client list consists of the largest roster
of
rags-to-riches people and companies ever to be assembled
in one
place.
Paul reveals the sobering fact that 90% or more of the news
releases received by editors end up in the trash. According
to
Paul, nothing annoys busy editors more than news releases
that
are poorly written. More particularly, there are 3 mistakes
--
and these are serious, fatal errors that most people make
with
news releases.
1) Your news releases talk about you too much. They say
me, me,
me -- or my product, my product, my product.
2) Your news releases are an advertisement. They sell, sell,
sell.
3) You're sending your news releases to the wrong media.
Okay, so you've made some or all of these mistakes at one
time
or another. But don't worry, it's not just you. Most people
fail to focus on the needs of the editor. They don't create
information that is aimed at the editor's audience. So they
fail to get the editor's attention, and ultimately fail to
get
publicity.
How then can you make sure that your news release does not
end
up as a statistic?
Your news release should be about one thing only -- news.
If you
have a newsworthy angle, it hooks the editor into reading
every
word of your news release. Make the subject of your headline
sound as big and as startling as possible. You need to make
a
huge impact because you just don't know what other news releases
you may be competing against at any given time.
Your product can then ride on the strength of the news angle.
Use the soft sell approach so that your news release will
not be
regarded as an advertisement.
Never tell the whole story in your news release. Instead,
generate a curiosity that must be satisfied. This is the
principle of cognitive dissonance that I teach in-depth in
1001
Killer Internet Marketing Tactics. If you create dissonance
in
the mind of the editor with an unanswered question, the editor
must resolve that conflict by seeking the answer; i.e., by
calling you.
Before you send out your news releases, hand pick your target
media with surgical precision. This is crucial. Getting
publicity is not a numbers game. It's not how many copies
of
your news release you can broadcast at once, but whom you
send
it to that matters. The most well-crafted news release will
be
trash-bound if you send it to the wrong segments of the media.
Do yourself a big favor. Do not read those mediocre how-to
books on publicity that are available everywhere. The only
thing you'll learn from them is how to get your news release
thrown into the trash. My theory is that a few decades ago,
some misguided person from the school of "Those who
can, do --
those who can't, teach" wrote a book on how to write
news
releases. Then someone else took the same myths and fallacies,
and wrote yet another version of the book. Pretty soon, there
was a flood of how-to books on publicity -- all rehashing
the
same old dreary methods that simply don't work.
Instead, study the PR campaigns of those who have been extremely
successful at getting publicity. Study their news releases
to
find elements that you can emulate for your purposes. Find
out
the media targets they sent their releases to.
It is immensely easier, faster, and less expensive to learn,
model, and achieve success by following in the footsteps
of
those who have been successful than it is to learn how to
succeed by trial and error. Don't buy into publicity theory.
Go
with the hard facts -- those strategies that have been proven
to
work.
Paul Krupin is a guy who's made all the mistakes that can
possibly be made in seeking publicity. As a result, he has
amassed an entirely unique approach to publicity, most of
which
is light years ahead of all other information that you've
read
on the subject. Paul has emerged as one of the leading PR
and
Media Consultants, and has authored the definitive guide
to
achieving publicity, "Trash Proof News Releases."
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MORE TIPS
If you are eager to increase the traffic to your web site
in a dramatic way, take a look HERE:
All
E MarketingTips: www.allMarketingTips.com
You will find a news list for people working with professional
dog photography at
The Digital Journalist can be found at:
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PLEASE REMEMBER !
If you have any ideas of friends or colleagues or others
who could have been subscribers to this newsletter or you
think would find it useful as new readers, PLEASE send them
an email by going to this url !
and Click to Recommend-It (r). - You could still win 10.000
dollars:
www.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=848535
THANK YOU for reading and recommending Stock Photo News.
See you in next Stock Photo Newsletter!
Soren Breiting
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Soren Breiting. A-Z FOTOS.
Copyright 2000 by Soren Breiting, A-Z FOTOS.
Email
me personally on sb@ azfotos.com
You are welcome to forward this newsletter to a friend as
long as you keep all the content, including the copyright
notion, and contact information intact and keep all links.
To sign
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