After all my talk about branding, I suppose I need to acknowledge that you don't have to buy "brands". The truth is most people don't. Commodity products sell on price (low price), and of course some brands do too ("The Warehouse, Where Everyone Gets a Bargain"). But what Queensberry sells is "packaging", and the purpose of packaging is to enhance the product. When the packaging is albums and the product is your photography, it's important to ask how much enhancing will be going on if you buy on price. It could be that much harder to avoid selling on price as well. Cheers, Ian To View More >>

Some time ago a client came to us seeking advice on his newly drafted wedding pricing and packages for a brochure. We did a bit of work on it which basically resulted in simplifying. We cut the word count in half, more tightly defined his packages to adhere to the good, better, best principle, helped him decide on the best way to charge for albums, and tightened up the language. Later we received this email from him: A few months ago you were kind enough to help me as I prepared my wedding documentation and pricing. I've shot two weddings since then - one using my document before you edited it To View More >>

It's that time of year when we take stock, make resolutions and ask questions ... like how can we make this year a winner? Are there too many photographers? Why do we ask our competitors for advice? What can we learn from musicians? And the big one: How much are our images worth? Sadly, that's not just about how good they are or how much time we spend on them in post-production. Our latest client newsletter is below. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment here or emailing Ian directly. Cheers, Nigel How much are your images worth? We received this present from our design consultants, To View More >>

Andrew Gardner posted a thoughtful comment on a recent post of mine in which I talked about a member of the public asking if I would sell her a Queensberry album. He's concerned that Queensberry's aim to build their brand amongst brides might turn the albums into a commodity and encourage discounting (eg "click here for cheapest QBY albums!") His thoughts probably reflect the concerns of many photographers. He says, Obviously we can't be complacent and we should always be thinking of unique and original ways to make ourselves stand out. But I have a niggling feeling that what Queensberry thought To View More >>

I always enjoy Tom Fishburne's Brand Camp, and his latest cartoon makes a timely point. We've just finished Queensberry "Sales Week", where we we bring together our Account Managers and Support People from round the world to talk with the Design and IT teams, the Bindery, the Lab and Order Processing - and to each other of course. Like many of our clients, some of our people work alone most of the time and they enjoy the chance to mix it up. If that's the right expression – actually I admire the way everyone works so well together! But it's hard work for them. I was with them for a day, and To View More >>