Here at liveBooks, we love providing creative professionals with the tools they need to express themselves, their brand, and their work. We are starting up a new weekly series where we will feature a different liveBooks website each week with details from the site’s owner about what went into its creation. We look forward to seeing the amazing things each of our clients can do with their liveBooks site!

This week we are featuring Mike Adrian, a destination wedding photographer who travels throughout Hawaii, California, Mexico, and Canada.

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

MA: Clean, Elegant, Romantic.

Q: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

MA: Photos need to represent a powerful moment of connection between the couple. I want potential clients to be able to place themselves in the photo – let them feel that this can be their moment too.

Q: How often do you update your website?

MA: Photos are generally updated every three months. Galleries are added or removed based on location, venue, or event style.

Q: What is your favorite feature that liveBooks offers?

MA: The customer support is the best. I can have ideas for the website and the technical team is there to make the ideas become a reality. The ability to update the look and feel of my site based on my business needs is amazing.

Check out more of Mike’s site here: www.mikeadrianweddings.com

Interested in having your website featured? Email us at social@livebooks.com.

After all the lead-up to WPPI in Las Vegas last month, it seems strange that it’s really over. But as I look into the rear view mirror, I see it getting smaller and smaller as we drive our brand forward toward new product launches and what will likely be a healthy wedding season.

This was my first WPPI and everything that I was told to expect turned out to be true. The crowds were massive, the energy was high, the sessions were informative, and Las Vegas was the perfect town (and the MGM Grand the perfect locale), to host the event.

Unlike Imaging USA in Atlanta last January, Pinhole Pro’s presence at WPPI was as an integrated brand beneath liveBooks, Inc. and alongside Fotomoto. For the most part those who were looking for us managed to find us just fine, and when they did they were pleased to note that all of the Pinhole Pro products they’d come to love were on display to touch and feel.

You Asked. We Delivered.

WPPI also marked the unveiling of our brand new Horizontal Panoramic album, which is now available in Pro Studio. Log on to check it out now. You can even save 25% off it and all other Pro Studio product through April 15th when you use promo code PROWPPI. Enjoy!

All-Star Speaker Lineup

We were fortunate enough to have a wonderful lineup of speakers at this year’s event, including Wedding Photographers Stacie Kirkwood, Barrie Fisher and Jared Platt, commercial photographers Michael Grecco and Mark Wallace, and liveBooks CEO Andy Patrick. Our own Patrick O’Connor walked attendees through all the great custom tips and tricks available to all of us in Pro Studio, and Fotomoto Product Manager Piam Kiarostami spoke about the benefits of Fotomoto. Speaking of which….

Start Selling with Fotomoto

Trade shows are nothing if not an opportunity to sample and demo product, and one of our major points of discussion at WPPI was the integration of Fotomoto into liveBooks websites. It was great to see booth attendees’ faces continually light up as we showed them how they can sell photos through their liveBooks websites for free. Think of it as an extra source of revenue that you can set and forget.

For a sample of what I’m talking about, visit Jared Platt’s site and click the ADD TO CART button at the bottom of the screen. If you like what you see, and I think you will, I’d be remiss if I didn’t let you know that you can now save 50% off a Professional predesigned liveBooks website, which includes the integrated Fotomoto shopping cart option, by visiting liveBooks.com and entering promo code LBWPPI at checkout.

Our next major industry event will likely be the PhotoPlus Expo in New York in October, but we are looking into creating a trimmed down booth experience for smaller shows throughout the spring in summer. Please be sure to ‘Like’ us on Facebook and check our Events tab to stay abreast of our upcoming appearances.

Joe Franklin is the Director of Marketing at liveBooks and Pinhole Pro. When he’s not sending emails, optimizing landing pages and organizing events, he’s running the trails of the SF East Bay Regional Park district or shooting photos of whatever catches his eye.

Many people think that branding is a logo, a website, and some stationery.  In actuality, branding is the feeling that people have when they come into contact with your business.  It is a combination of your company’s mission statement, core values, principles, philosophies, and reputation.  Your branding identity – the logo, website, etc. – is the imagery that represents your brand.  Branding identity can have a very powerful impact on the emotion of your customers and potential customers.

First Things First

When we are defining our company’s branding identity, we often create a design based on our preferences.  We like red and such our identity becomes a red logo.  Or, the trend color is turquoise and the website becomes turquoise.  The problem with creating branding identity based on these preferences is that it is built on the surface of a business.  This type of identity doesn’t represent what runs deep in our business.

Building Your Brand

Want to build a strong brand that best represents your business?  Sit down and define the following:

• What is your mission statement?
• Who are you?  What is your business about?
• What are you values and your company’s values?
• What do you want to be known for?
• What is your specialty?

From here, work to define the identity that will draw people to your company.  Powerful identity will work to link the customer’s eye with your business inside and out.

Go Beyond Branding Identity

Branding is so much more than your logo, website, and stationery.  It is in the way you answer the phone, the way you dress for a meeting, the way you present your porfolio.  Branding that is carried through all aspects of your business will create a consistent experience for your customer.  It is this consistent experience that makes your brand strong.  These factors are what makes a brand become instantly recognizable and highly valuable.

Wanna learn more?  Visit Sage Wedding Pros’ blog for more on mission statements, values, and branding.

It’s hard to pass up on buying new gear, new equipment.  There is always something cool and cutting edge out there.  And, we feel compelled to keep up with our competition.  We hope this will improve our work, give us something unique to offer the client.  So, we purchase and run with it…. Only for a few months… Until the next big thing.

Guess what?

The client could care less.  Sure – they want quality and they want delivery.  But ultimately, there is only ONE thing the client cares about: YOU!

The client wants to know that you are listening and want to meet his or her needs.

The client wants a RELATIONSHIP.

We all want this.  We all want to know that whomever we hire for whatever we need is listening to what we say.  We take our car to the mechanic.  Do we care what tool he is using to fix the thinga-majigger?  Nope.  All we care about is that he is listening to our needs.  We care that he is trustworthy and dependable and is quoting us a fair price for the work done.  We want to know that he is looking out for our best interest.  I had a mechanic like this when I lived in LA.  I still dream of driving my broken down car 3000 miles cross-country just to have John do the repairs.  Why?  Because I know he listened to me.  And, I trusted him.  And, I liked the guy.  I wanted (and still want) to do business with John.

When you stop to think about this, the client’s needs are quite simple.  The client wants a relationship with YOU.  Sure, your work will impress him.  You bet that she’ll want to know you can deliver.  But ultimately this all boils down to WHO YOU ARE.  Are you listening to him?  Are you helping them?  Are you kind?  Are you trustworthy?  Are you fun?

We are in the business of selling relationship, nothing more.

Wanna learn more?  Visit Sage Wedding Pros’ blog for more on sales to the wedding and event industries.