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STOCK
PHOTO NEWS from A-Z FOTOS
No.
25
The
first Modern eZine combining Stock Photography and
Marketing - Published since 1999
'Equally
important for picture buyers and image providers.'
March
2007
=============================================
CONTENT
*
From the Editor
*
Do one thing each day to strengthen your online presence
*
New stock photo agency - Stock photos of wines and wineries
*
Sell With Photos Online
By Kevin Nunley
*
All About Title Tags
By Jill Whalen
*
Online Shoppers Ask for More Detailed Copywriting
by Karon Thackston
*
Suggestions for turning your photos & videos into cash
*
Videos on websites to communicate with your visitors
By Kim Komando
*
Since Last Stock Photo News
*
HispanicShots.com Launches a New, More Convenient and
Less Expensive Source for Ethnic Stock Photography
*
White-list Stock Photo News
........................................................
Archive of earlier issues of Stock Photo News at
http://www.StockPhotoNews.com
>>>
Subscription information at the end of this ezine.
........................................................
FROM THE EDITOR
This
issue of Stock Photo News (SPN) is exceptional rich
in information that will benefit your online success
concerning use and marketing of pictures.
Firstly
you will get some quick action steps to improve
every online presence, whatever you run a Fortune 500 site
or a more modest site.
In
addition you will get three guest articles by people
I regard as very professional in website issues.
Interspaced
you will see some flashes of the changes in
the online world well worth taking into account.
As
this issue is no 25 I can celebrate this small
anniversary with you my persistent reader - Thanks so much.
Looking
back since I started in 1999 lots of things have
happened online - many things we just couldn't imagine.
One of the really big things is the use of video on
websites and I bring you a few hints to get started.
Enjoy
reading Stock Photo News!
Soren
Breiting, Editor.
----------------
A-Z FOTOS
"Find Stock Photos from most of the World"
http://www.azFotos.com
----------------
Comments,
tips and relevant articles are appreciated. Send
email to sb@TAKETHISAWAY-azfotos.com (please remove the
inserted part added to avoid email harvesters).
***
Important note: I will not sell or rent the email
addresses belonging to our subscribers - I respect your
privacy. This mail list will only be used to send you the
monthly ezine. - This ezine uses opt in addresses.***
Soren Breiting
........................................................
DO ONE THING EACH DAY TO STRENGTHEN YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE
You
are very, very busy every day, I am sure. Too many duties
and too little time to plan and create new ideas. And too
little time to actually follow the nice plans you manage
to make from time to time. The following will help you to
achieve some substantial progress without any sophisticated
speculation.
Just
do ONE of these things every day and you will be sure
to grow your business:
-
Get a link to your site from an external website.
Or
- Write an article for your site.
Or
- Write an article for free distribution with a link back
to your site.
Ad.
Linking
Search for other sites that compliment your site, better
than sites like your own.
You can read the most important tips and tricks in this free
ebook:
(just save it to your desktop). http://www.stockphotonews.com/seo/
If you don't want to give away your email, just don't click
for updates at page 2 - the version you downloaded is the
newest
version.
Ad.
Writing articles for your own site
Write relevant and focused articles to increase the content
of
your site. Whatever your site is about, even a photo gallery,
you need good focused and written content. Search engines
don't
understand the content of pictures. You have to formulate
the
content in words, especially in good keywords and key phrases.
See
http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/
Ad.
Writing articles for distribution
Write articles that give the readers a reason to go to your
site.
Upload the articles to directories for free articles for
distribution.
You
will find a list of some of the best article sites at
http://www.jubiii.com/free-articles-directories.htm
(The number of stars signals the page rank in Google).
If
you read Danish you can use my new article portal:
http://www.GratisArtikler.com
When
you write good content-rich articles you will brand
yourself as a knowledgeable person in the field.
........................................................
NEW STOCK PHOTO AGENCY - STOCK PHOTOS OF WINES AND WINERIES
The
first stock photography site focusing solely on the wine
industry with Royalty Free Images from the wine industry:
http://www.Vinografia.com
........................................................
SELL WITH PHOTOS ONLINE
By
Kevin Nunley
Recently
I found an interesting piece of real estate on the
Web. I emailed the realtor to find out more about it. When
he learned I was interested, he used a digital camera to take
photos of the property. He then put them up on a web page
with my name on it.
The
whole process probably only took him a few minutes,
yet he was able to provide a CUSTOMIZED advertising
page directed to my specific interests. That is targeted
marketing at its most powerful.
Pictures
are the classic way to sell a product. From cars, to
houses, to furniture, to gum, it is MUCH easier to make a
sale if your marketing materials include photos.
Try
the personalized photo page approach for customers
who can't view your product in person. Place a short
descriptive caption under each photo.
Prices
of digital cameras and software have come way
down. Or, do it the "old-fashioned" way with a scanner.
Online photo sites like shutterfly.com will put your pictures
on a web page. Simply mail them the film.
---
Kevin Nunley at http://DrNunley.com
Kevin's famous All-Out Promotion Package is now more powerful
and a better bargain than ever! You get your own press release
for media, your own article sent to 20,000 ezines and sites,
a page of sales copy, and a classified ad in my newsletter
to
14,000. Get it 75% off at http://drnunley.com/123.htm
........................................................
ALL ABOUT TITLE TAGS
By
Jill Whalen
The
title tag has been -- and probably will always be -- one of
the most
important factors in achieving high search engine rankings.
In fact, fixing
just the title tags of your pages can often generate quick
and appreciable
differences to your rankings. And because the words in the
title tag are
what appear in the clickable link on the search engine results
page (SERP),
changing them may result in more clickthroughs.
Search
Engines and Title Tags
Title
tags are definitely one of the "big three" as far
as the algorithmic
weight given to them by search engines; they are equally as
important as
your visible text copy and the links pointing to your pages
-- perhaps even
more so.
Do
Company Names Belong in the Title Tag?
This
is one of the most common questions asked about titles. The
answer is
a resounding YES! I've found that it's fine to place your
company name in
the title, and *gasp*, even to place it at the beginning of
the tag! In
fact, if your company is already a well-known brand, I'd say
that it's
essential. Even if you're not a well-known brand yet, chances
are you'd like
to eventually be one. The title tag gives you a great opportunity
to further
this cause.
This
doesn't mean that you should put *just* your company name
in the title
tag. Even the most well-known brands will benefit from a good
descriptive
phrase or two added, as it will serve to enhance your brand
as well as your
search engine rankings. The people who already know your company
and seek it
out by name will be able to find you in the engines, and so
will those who
have never heard of you but seek the products or services
you sell.
Title
Tags Should Contain Specific Keyword Phrases
For
example, if your company is "Johnson and Smith Inc.,"
a tax accounting
firm in Texas, you shouldn't place only the words "Johnson
and Smith Inc."
in your title tag, but instead use something like "Johnson
and Smith Inc.
Tax Accountants in Texas."
As
a Texas tax accountant, you would want your company's site
to appear in
the search engine results for searches on phrases such as
"Texas tax
accountants" and "CPAs in Texas." (Be sure
to do your keyword research to
find the best phrases!) You would need to be even more specific
if you
prefer to work with people only in the Dallas area. In that
case, use
keywords such as "Dallas tax accountants" in your
site's title tags.
Using
our Dallas accountant's example, you might create a title
tag as
follows:
Johnson
and Smith Tax Accountants in Dallas
or
you might try something like this:
Johnson
and Smith Dallas CPAs
However,
there's more than enough space in the title tag to include
both of
these important keyword phrases. (I like to use about 10-12
words in my
title tags.)
One
way to do it would be like this:
Johnson
and Smith - Dallas Tax Accountants - CPAs in Dallas, TX
I've
always liked the method of separating phrases with a hyphen;
however,
in today's competitive marketplace, how your listing appears
in the SERPs is
a critical aspect of your SEO campaign. After all, if you
have high search
engine rankings but your targeted buyers aren't clicking through,
it won't
do you much good.
These
days I try to write compelling titles as opposed to simply
factual
ones, if I can. But it also depends on the page, the type
of business, the
targeted keyword phrases, and many other factors. There's
nothing wrong
with the title tag in my above example. If you were looking
for a tax
accountant in Dallas and saw that listing at Google, you'd
probably click on
it.
Still,
you could make it a readable sentence like this:
Johnson
and Smith are Tax Accountants and CPAs in Dallas, TX
I'm
not as thrilled with that one because I had to remove the
exact phrase
"Dallas Tax Accountants," as it wouldn't read as
well if it said:
Johnson
and Smith are Dallas Tax Accountants and CPAs in Dallas, TX
It
sounds redundant that way, as if it were written only for
the search
engines.
In
the end, it's really a personal preference.
Don't make yourself crazy trying to create the perfect title
tag, as
there's just no such thing.
Most likely, either of my examples would work fine.
The
best thing to do would be to test different ones and see which
rank
higher and which convertbetter.
It may very well be that the second version doesn't rank as
well,
but gets clicked on more, effectively making up the difference.
Use
Your Visible Text Copy As Your Guide
I
prefer not to create my title tags until the copy on the page
has been
written and optimized. I need to see how the copywriter integrated
the
keyword phrases into the text to know where to begin. If you've
done a good
job with your writing (or better yet, hired a professional
SEO copywriter),
you should find all the information you need right there on
your page.
Simply choose the most relevant keyword phrases that the copy
was based on,
and write a compelling title tag accordingly. If you're having
trouble with
this and can't seem to get a handle on what the most important
phrases are
for any given page, you probably need to rewrite the copy.
I
recommend that you *don't* use an exact sentence pulled from
your copy as
your title tag. It's much better to have a unique sentence
or a compelling
string of words in this tag. This is why you have to watch
out for certain
development tools. Some content management systems (CMS) and
blog software
such as WordPress automatically generate the title tag from
information you
provide elsewhere. In WordPress, for example, the default
is to use your
blog name, plus whatever you named the page. The problem is
that this same
info is also used as the headline, plus in the navigational
link to the
page. Depending on your setup, it could also be the URL for
that page.
Very rarely would you want all those to be the same.
The
good news is that most of today's CMS and blog software have
workarounds
so that you can customize your title tags. For WordPress,
I recommend
installing the "SEO Title Tag" plug-in developed
by Stephan Spencer:
<http://www.netconcepts.com/seo-title-tag-plugin/>.
It works like a charm
on all my WordPress sites.
---
Jill Whalen of High Rankings® is an internationally
recognized search engine optimization consultant
http://www.highrankings.com/
and host of the free weekly
High Rankings® Advisor search engine marketing newsletter
http://www.highrankings.com/advisor/
. Jill's handbook,
"The Nitty-gritty of Writing for the Search Engines"
teaches
business owners how and where to place relevant keyword phrases
on their Web sites so that they make sense to users and gain
high rankings in the major search engines.
Jill
specializes in search engine optimization, SEO consultations,
site analysis reports, SEM seminars and is the co-founder
of
Search Engine Marketing New England (SEMNE) http://www.semne.org/
a local networking organization.
........................................................
ONLINE SHOPPERS ASK FOR MORE DETAILED COPYWRITING
By
Karon Thackston
I
found out quite by chance. I noticed a research brief in my
inbox
entitled, "Bad Web Experience Impacts Brick and Mortar
Shopping." Being
primarily focused on Internet business, I really didn't pay
it much
attention. But then I noticed it made reference to a customer's
online
experience, too, so I read on.
Allurent,
Inc. gave the following details from their Online Customer
Experience Survey. A total of 82% of consumers who participated
said having
a frustrating online shopping experience would make them less
likely to
revisit a retailer's site. That's expected. The survey continued
by saying
if the experience improved, visitors would be open to buying
more from the
offending sites. Logical. But what does this have to do with
copywriting?
It's what I read next that caught my attention.
According
to respondents, visitors want specific "interactive and
engaging
features" when they shop online. One of those "engaging
features" included
better copywriting. Specifically, "68% want the ability
to 'feel'
merchandise through better imagery, more product descriptions
and details."
Just
exactly how do we accomplish that? It's really not difficult.
Use
More Descriptive Adjectives
Break
out your thesaurus and find words that impress, inspire and
convince
your customers more effectively. Look at the examples below
to see what I
mean.
=======
Before
=======
Great
Top for Hot Summer Days
When
it's hot outside, this top will help keep you cool. Made of
cool nylon,
you'll love how it stops moisture. Available in four pastel
colors.
=======
After
=======
Perfect
Tank Top for Hot Summer Days
When
the temperatures are steamy outside, this tank will help keep
you
remarkably cool. Made of breathable 100% nylon, you'll love
how it sheds
moisture. Available in four spring-fresh colors.
============================
See
the difference? The latter paints a more vivid picture of
the tank top
than the former. It also gives more detail. It's not a nylon
blend, it's
100% nylon. They aren't just any colors, they are spring-fresh
colors.
Create
a Sensory Experience
Site
visitors are looking for an experience as close as possible
to standing
in the brick and mortar store. That means you have to create
copy that
plays on all five senses to bring the products to life.
See
if this example makes you hungry:
============================
Definitely NOT Grandma's cinnamon rolls! Bake them fresh right
in your own
oven. As the aroma begins to waft through the air, your nose
will start to
tingle and you'll immediately know they are worth the wait.
The scents of
freshly ground cinnamon and yeast begin to merge as the dough
rises and the
cinnamon, sugar and butter begin to bubble. Open your oven
door to reveal
one of the largest sweets you've ever seen. Drizzle the homemade
frosting
over the top to complete your warm, gooey treasure. Your taste
buds will
praise you with every bite!
============================
Do
you notice the detail? With the exception of hearing, all
five senses
were addressed here. Smell the aroma. See the largest cinnamon
roll you've
ever seen. Taste the gooey treat. And the description of warmth
brings in
the sense of touch.
Rather
go on vacation than eat sweets? How about this?
===========================
As your day begins, enjoy a gourmet breakfast prepared by
your own private
staff -- at your disposal 24 hours a day. A gorgeous view
overlooking your
own crystal-blue freshwater pool welcomes you to another exciting
adventure
in Hawaii. A morning stroll along your private, white-sand
beach is the
perfect way to welcome the day. A fun-filled outing can consist
of splashing
in the surf, sunning on the beach or napping in an authentic
hand-woven
hammock that cuddles every curve of your body. At the end
of the day, you'll
have sun-kissed shoulders, a glowing bronze tan and a phenomenal
appetite!
Unwind poolside at the gazebo as you prepare for a world-class
dinner that
rivals any five-star restaurant. Refreshing after-dinner cocktails
are
especially enjoyable when sipped on the terrace as nature
provides an
amazing display of sunsets and a soft, caressing breeze you
won't soon
forget.
============================
Now,
isn't that better than:
============================
Rent our two-bedroom condo right on the beach!
You'll have a private staff
to meet all your needs.
Pool, hammock and gazebo are on site.
Gourmet chef will cook all your meals to order.
This is the best vacation house you've
ever seen!
============================
The
next time you begin to write copy, think about every aspect
of the
product. How can you entice the visitor? How can you help
him or her
touch, smell, see, taste or hear what you have to offer? The
more real you
make the experience, the better your conversions will be!
---
By Karon Thackston C 2007, All Rights Reserved.
Copy not getting results? Learn to
write SEO and online copywriting that impresses the engines
and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com.
Already know how to write copy, but need help with using keywords?
Check out Karon's report "How To Increase Keyword Saturation
(Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)" at
http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.
........................................................
SUGGESTIONS FOR TURNING YOUR PHOTOS & VIDEOS INTO CASH
By
Kim Komando, Gannett News Service
The
Internet is exploding with photos and videos.
Amateurs create much of what you see, so if you think
you can't cash in on the trend, you're wrong.
There
are many opportunities to earn cash from your photos
and videos. You won't get rich, but you can supplement
your income nicely.
There's
one obvious caveat: You must have talent.
Your work will be competing with that of many others.
Stock
photography
Stock
photos appear on the Internet and in print publications.
Publishers license the photos for a specific use. They use
stock photos instead of hiring a photographer.
Before
you start seeing dollar signs, there are some considerations.
Your photos must be impeccable. The composition, lighting
and
technical quality must be outstanding. The photos should be
high-resolution and free of noise.
You
can photograph any subject, but some subjects are in higher
demand. For example, travel photos and photos of people sell
well.
You
can list your photos on sites like iStockphoto
(www.istockphoto.com),
Dreamstime (www.dreamstime.com) and BigStockPhoto
(www.bigstockphoto.com).
They'll take a cut of sales.
Upload
as many photos as you can. Post on multiple sites, provided
there is no exclusivity clause in the sites' terms. This increases
your ability to sell.
Photography
contests
Some
photo contests award cash or other prizes. Read the rules
carefully before you enter.
Some
contests have separate categories for amateurs and professionals.
Others are limited to amateurs. Selling stock photos may disqualify
you as an amateur.
You'll
find many different types of contests. National Geographic
and other publications of the National Geographic Society
(www.nationalgeographic.com) sponsor photo contests. The Everyman
contest
(www.theeveryman.com) awards cash prizes. So does Smithsonian
magazine
(www.smithsonianmagazine.com).
You'll
find more contests online or in your favorite photography
magazines. Make sure they're reputable. Some charge entry
fees and
are probably legitimate, but I would not pay for the privilege
of
entering a contest.
News
organizations
News
organizations are beginning to accept individuals' photos
and
videos. This is true of local, national and international
news outlets.
This
trend is still in its infancy and many publishers do not pay.
Reuters pays for photos it distributes for publication.
Reuters has partnered with Yahoo for user-submitted video
(http://news.yahoo.com/you-witness-news).
The
photos and video can be shot with your camera phone.
Quality isn't as important as with stock photos or contest
submissions.
The work must be newsworthy.
You must catch an event at the right moment.
This could prove difficult.
If
you're going to a sporting event or concert,
visit SpyMedia (www.spymedia.com)
first. It is similar to stock photography sites.
Buyers can request photos of particular events.
The event you're attending could be included.
You also can post photos in your collection.
Video
sites
YouTube
is one of the hottest Internet sensations. Visitors upload
and share
their videos for free, but that could soon change.
YouTube
plans to start sharing advertising revenue with its members.
Revenue would be generated by an advertisement at the beginning
or end
of a video. It could happen as early as this year.
Other
sites have beaten YouTube to the punch.
Revver (http://one.revver.com/revver) is a video-sharing site
that
splits advertising revenue evenly with the video's creator.
Brightcove (http://brightcove.com) also shares 50 percent
of ad revenue.
In addition, you can sell your videos for syndication on other
sites.
Source:
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 02/14/07
http://www.app.com:80/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070214/LIFE/702140353/1006
........................................................
Press Release
HISPANICSHOTS.COM
LAUNCHES A NEW, MORE CONVENIENT AND
LESS EXPENSIVE SOURCE FOR ETHNIC STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
Los
Angeles, CA -- (Market Wire) -- February 14, 2007
The
Explosive Growth in Marketing Efforts Targeting Hispanic
Consumers Has Generated a Need for Quality Communication
Materials That Can Be Developed Quickly and Inexpensively;
Companies Seeking to Develop Print Materials Now Have a
Graphics Solution: HispanicShots.com
HispanicShots.com
now offers quality Hispanic stock photography
available online, 24 hours a day. With a single visit to
HispanicShots.com, advertisers can select, purchase and
download images to use in all marketing and advertising applications.
Available images include individuals, couples, families and
children,
providing a variety of options for all graphic applications.
Unique
in concentrating exclusively on Hispanic images,
HispanicShots.com includes a selection of settings that
lend themselves to a variety of uses such as magazine and
newspaper advertising, collateral, brochures, direct
response and internal communications materials, among many
others.
All
the images have been specifically cast and created to meet
the needs of marketers for everyday, slice of life executions
featuring real people of all ages.
The
purchase of images is easy and convenient. In one single
transaction on our secure server, the purchased images are
available for download as a high-resolution JPEG file.
Images are available for non-exclusive, royalty-free usage
for one year at a reasonable cost. Industry-specific and
custom photos are also available.
........................................................
VIDEOS ON WEBSITES TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR VISIORS
To
see how smart the video is to communicate with your
website visitors take a look here for your inspiration,
implimented by the most successful and trustworthy marketing
person, I know.
And this website makes it easy to set up.
http://contact.sitesell.com/buildit/
........................................................
SINCE LAST SPN
When
publishing issue no. 25 it is a time for me to think
back a little and reflect on my learning experience with
publishing a newsletter. 25 issues aren't that many for a
publisher and Stock Photo News is just a rather small
electronic newsletter.
On
the other hand as English isn't my mother tongue this
in itself is a challenge - and too often easily visible
in the text I am afraid.
In
the first issues I always went for someone to check my
language. But it is slowing down the whole process so in
later issues I have dared to send SPN without language
check trusting the acceptance by my readers of spelling
mistakes and strange formulations.
So
what mistakes have I learned from the first 25 issues?
My
biggest mistake was during the first years when I lost
my subscriber list because I didn't have back up, and the
hosting company closed my account by accident. This was
terrible depressing as it is a quite challenging process to
get subscribers in the beginning.
In
the beginning I made some mistakes that forced me to
resend issues - that isn't looking professional.
I
would like to publish an issue on a more regular basis,
but mainly due to my many travels abroad this hasn't been
possible.
I will consider doing this better in the future, as I know
this is good for the subscribers as well as for myself.
It
took me some issues to divide the newsletter into sections,
and that is a must, I think.
I
should also work with a longer planning horizon and plan
issues with specific themes for half a year ahead.
And
finally I should always remember to upload the online
version before sending out the email version.
Looking
forward serving you as my reader for the next 25
issues of SPN!
Soren
........................................................
WHITE-LIST STOCK PHOTO NEWS
Hotmail:
Place the domains azfotos.com and
StockPhotoNews.com on your Safe List, so that you can
receive our e-zines and e-mails. The safe list can be
accessed via the "Options" link next to the main
menu tabs.
AOL:
Place the domains http://www.azfotos.com
and
http://www.StockPhotoNews.com
in your Address Book.
Yahoo!
Mail: If one SPN issue is filtered to your 'bulk'
folder, open the message and click on the "this is not
Spam" link next to the "From" field.
The
same goes for support e-mail. Some spam filters: Place
the domains azfotos.com and StockPhotoNews.com on the
filter's white-list. You may need to search a filter's
help for how to do this -- and depending on
software/version, they may call it a "white-list,"
a "good
list" or similar name.
Other
ISPs: If one of your Stock Photo News issue is being
filtered, add the "azfotos.com" and "stockPhotoNews.com"
domains (or SPN´s 'From' or 'Reply-to' address) to your
address book or contact list. THANK YOU! / Soren
........................................................
Copyright
2007 by Soren Breiting, A-Z FOTOS.
http://www.azFotos.com "Find Stock Photos from most of
the
World" Email me at: sb@ azfotosTAKETHISAWAY.com (email
spaced etc to avoid email harvesters).
You
are welcome to forward this newsletter to a friend or
to post it on your own website as long as you keep ALL
content, including the copyright notion and contact
information, intact and keep all links.
Stock
Photo News is 'in principle' a monthly newsletter
edited by me, Soren Breiting. Due to many travels abroad
it is impossible for me to keep the schedule of the issues
strictly fitting to each month. My intention is to bring
quality information that isn't outdated a month or two
later.
To
sign up for Stock Photo News:
Go to
http://www.stockphotonews.com/subscribespn.htm
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