Interest rates remain historically low and even though housing prices are increasing in many areas, the market still offers lots of opportunities to become a homeowner. But what"s holding many back is saving enough for a downpayment.
6 Tips To Save To Buy A Home
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Thursday, July 31, 2014
6 Tips To Save To Buy A Home
What’s Is A Drone and Johnny Dronehunter
The last couple of days I ran across these two humorous drone videos that I can’t resist passing on: The first is one called What is a drone featuring Raphael Pirker, Josh Bixler, Brendan Schuleman and the hilarious Josh Scott. And the second is one from an article over at Motheroard.vice.com called Johnny Dronehunter. Enjoy!
What’s Is A Drone and Johnny Dronehunter
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eBay’s Head of SEO Takes on New Role at Searchmetrics [INTERVIEW] by @mattsouthern
Searchmetrics, an enterprise SEO platform company based in the US and Germany, announced today that Jordan Koene has left his position as eBay’s head of SEO and Content Development to join Searchmetrics as their Evangelist. From the press release: Koene, who was responsible for developing and planning eBay’s strategic SEO programs in North America and Europe, will be reporting to Searchmetrics’ founder and CTO, Marcus Tober. His new role involves working with enterprise businesses, helping them understand and plan how to maximize the value of search in their marketing mix with the help of Searchmetrics’ technology. Koene will act as the interface between […]
The post eBay’s Head of SEO Takes on New Role at Searchmetrics [INTERVIEW] by @mattsouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
eBay’s Head of SEO Takes on New Role at Searchmetrics [INTERVIEW] by @mattsouthern
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How Are Search Marketers Using Twitter in 2014? by @jaysondemers
For anyone looking to understand or reach professional search engine marketers (SEMs) online, Leadtail’s latest report, Social Media Insights: How Search Marketers Engage on Twitter provides a wealth of valuable information. Based on data collected from over 500 North American search marketers, the report gives us insight into what and whom SEMs are tweeting about. The report includes data about: Popular hashtags used by SEMs Which apps and platforms drive Twitter sharing among SEMs Popular sources of shared content Most retweeted and mentioned publishers and individuals This information is marketing gold for anyone involved in the search marketing industry including publishers looking […]
The post How Are Search Marketers Using Twitter in 2014? by @jaysondemers appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
How Are Search Marketers Using Twitter in 2014? by @jaysondemers
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Free Yourself from the Grindstone: Getting an Edge with Outsourcing by @KevinHenrikson
I fell in love with tech 15 years ago, when I got my first job as a Javascript developer. It was like a puzzle, putting parts together to create something bigger. Piece by piece, it came together into a working application, which was amazing to me. I stuck with tech as a career, and since then I’ve been involved with three startups and two public companies. I’ve also angel invested and/or advised a handful of startups. I’m now a co-founder at my fourth startup, Acompli. But I didn’t start out in tech. In fact my work history is all over the place… First Job: Chief Slopper at my family’s […]
The post Free Yourself from the Grindstone: Getting an Edge with Outsourcing by @KevinHenrikson appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Free Yourself from the Grindstone: Getting an Edge with Outsourcing by @KevinHenrikson
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Discussing Outliers by Malcom Gladwell With The #SEJBookClub by @dantosz
Editor’s Note: This is the third in a monthly series of book reviews by the Search Engine Journal editorial team. Join us each month to discuss our picks on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ using the hashtag #SEJBookClub and via the comments below. Outliers by Malcom Gladwell challenges how we view successful people and how we look at ourselves. It asks the question “Is success a birth right or is it earned?” And not just small successes, like earning a really awesome link or getting a ton of traffic on a killer infographic, but extraordinary success like Bill Gates or the most […]
The post Discussing Outliers by Malcom Gladwell With The #SEJBookClub by @dantosz appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Discussing Outliers by Malcom Gladwell With The #SEJBookClub by @dantosz
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Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Three Reasons A Buyer Chooses The Home They Did
There are three reasons a buyer chooses to buy a home: Location, Condition, & Price. If you don’t get an offer within a couple of weeks, or whatever period is normal for your area, there’s something wrong. Let’s take a look at each three.
Three Reasons A Buyer Chooses The Home They Did
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How To Deal With A Pest Nightmare: Termite Infestation
The summertime sun is shining, birds are chirping and … the termites are chomping away at your house. Just as you begin your cleaning routine, you rub-a-dub your way to uncovering a termite infested home. Don’t beat yourself up, you’re not alone.
How To Deal With A Pest Nightmare: Termite Infestation
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Real Estate Photography Q & A – Zillow and Sony Mirrorless?
David’s Question: Came across this article today on the zillow acquisition of Trulia. I’m sure you are already aware of the rumors. I am curious what your thoughts are about such a team up and it’s impact on real estate photographers / photography? My guess is that if this particular teaming doesn’t pan out that there will […]
Real Estate Photography Q & A – Zillow and Sony Mirrorless?
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Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 – The New Real Estate Photography Lens
I got a great reader question today from Felix that deserves it’s own post. His question was: In May you mentioned the Canon EF-S 10-18mm was coming. Now that it is here, has anyone evaluated it against the Canon 10-22 for Real Estate? I presently have a Canon 600D with a Sigma 10-20 lens. I’m […]
Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 – The New Real Estate Photography Lens
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FAA’s Cease-And-Desist Orders To Drone Pilots Are Bogus, Appeals Court Rules
Jason Koebler over at Motherboard.vice.com reported that today three judges with the Washington DC Court of Appeals ruled that, “…Flying drones for search-and-rescue purposes is legal, and all the cease-and-desist orders the government has sent drone pilots are bogus, an appeals court judge ruled today… In other words, because the FAA’s letters to the group (and to all […]
FAA’s Cease-And-Desist Orders To Drone Pilots Are Bogus, Appeals Court Rules
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Success In Real Estate Photography Requires More Than Being Creative
What does it take to be successful at starting your own business? Besides all the usual technical photographic stuff that we usually talk about here, there are a handful of very important other things that are central to the success of starting and running your own real estate photography business. Look around at the successful […]
Success In Real Estate Photography Requires More Than Being Creative
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FAA Special Rule For Model Aircraft Comment Period Ends July 25
Chuck Spaulding reminded me yesterday that Friday, July 25 is the last day to give comments to the FAA on their Interpretation of the “Special Rule for Model Aircraft” and for people who care about using small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (sUAS) this is an important issue. My understanding of the central issue is that this […]
FAA Special Rule For Model Aircraft Comment Period Ends July 25
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What Real Estate Agents Need To Know About Photography
Because Scott Hudspeth invited me to speak next Tuesday at his real estate agent Mastermind webinar. I decided to update what I used to call the Realtors Photo Guide. I’ve changed the name of this free ebook that I give away on the blog (the white Free Download ad on the left side-bar). I changed the […]
What Real Estate Agents Need To Know About Photography
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Congratulations To Ling Ge July PFRE Photographer Of The Month
Congratulations to Ling Ge of Irvine, CA, who has won this months Photographer of the month contest with his photo at the right. Click the image to see a larger version. Again this month, a bunch of great images! The competition is intense! Here is the jury’s voting results: 35 points, #10, Ling Ge - irvine, CA. 27 points, #15, Matt Harrer - St Louis, MO […]
Congratulations To Ling Ge July PFRE Photographer Of The Month
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Lets Have More Discussion Of Winning PFRE Photographer Of The Month Photos/Video
I got an email today from Bill Baughman that raised an issue that I think is worth discussing with everyone. Here is Bill’s comments: I love looking at the Photographer-of-the-Month entries but have always wondered whether it might be of additional learning value for PFRE-ers to know more about the production process used in creating […]
Lets Have More Discussion Of Winning PFRE Photographer Of The Month Photos/Video
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This Week In Real Estate Drone Photography News
News that affects real estate drone photography is happening so fast these days that it is hard to keep up with it all. I’m trying to keep these drone related posts to a minimum because I know not everyone is interested in them. As I mentioned a while back, I keep up with what’s going on […]
This Week In Real Estate Drone Photography News
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First PFRE Photographer Of The Month Hangout – Live 7/28 At 12 Noon Pacific
Today, Monday 7/28 at 12 noon Pacific time 7pm GMT/UTC, we had the first PFRE photographer of the month live Google hangout. The video for the complete discussion is now on YouTube. This was a beta test of the idea that Bill Baughman had that I talked about on 7/24. The idea was to talk about what jurors consider when […]
First PFRE Photographer Of The Month Hangout – Live 7/28 At 12 Noon Pacific
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Pole Photography 101 – How To Build A Better Pole – By Rich Baum
Rich Baum just pointed out the post he just did explaining what he uses to shoot elevated real estate shots and I think it has a lot of good information. He says: So you might think this shot is a nice exterior but what you may not know, this was shot from 18? up on […]
Pole Photography 101 – How To Build A Better Pole – By Rich Baum
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Consumers Are More Receptive To Mobile Ads, Study Shows Mobile Ad Engagement Increasing by @mattsouthern
A new report from the 3rd Annual U.S. Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study was released by xAd and Telmetrics which shows today’s mobile shoppers are increasingly receptive to relevant ads. According to the report, nearly 50 percent of mobile shoppers say mobile ads are informative/helpful, up 113 percent from 22 percent in 2013. In addition, 40 percent of those surveyed report clicking on ads and nearly half of those take secondary actions such as viewing the referring website and searching for additional product information. Key Takeaways For Internet Marketers Among the study were several key takeaways for internet marketers. The first is […]
The post Consumers Are More Receptive To Mobile Ads, Study Shows Mobile Ad Engagement Increasing by @mattsouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Consumers Are More Receptive To Mobile Ads, Study Shows Mobile Ad Engagement Increasing by @mattsouthern
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Instagram Officially Launches Snapchat Competitor Bolt Outside The US by @mattsouthern
Last week, information leaked that Instagram may be working on an app called Bolt that appeared to be a Snapchat competitor. Today, that information was confirmed to be true as Instagram has officially launched Bolt in select markets outside the US. Only Singapore, South Africa and New Zealand will get this initial rollout of the iOS and Android apps. Unfortunately, the download links won’t work if you’re not in one of those three countries. According to TechCrunch, Instagram says those countries were chosen because they meet a unique set of criteria. Each country features: High Instagram usage Deeply interconnected communities High […]
The post Instagram Officially Launches Snapchat Competitor Bolt Outside The US by @mattsouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Instagram Officially Launches Snapchat Competitor Bolt Outside The US by @mattsouthern
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Why Dynamic Sitelinks Will Decrease Your CTR by @AndrewLolk
I hadn’t seen anything about the new Dynamic Ad Sitelinks before the first reports came out. Therefore, it took me a couple of days to take it all in and think of the consequences, as well as the benefits, of all advertisers getting ad Sitelinks. My first thought was: “Why has Google made clicks on Dynamic Ad Sitelinks free?” To me, this reminds me of a retention specialist who mindlessly cuts pricing when their clients cancel. If Google is willing to give away clicks on dynamic ad Sitelinks for free, I honestly don’t have much faith in the value of ad […]
The post Why Dynamic Sitelinks Will Decrease Your CTR by @AndrewLolk appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Why Dynamic Sitelinks Will Decrease Your CTR by @AndrewLolk
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9 Ways to Use Your Online PR Effectively by @yummytork
When I start working with a new company who wants PR, I usually have to spend at least a few hours training them on how to get the most out of the work I will be doing for them. So, I figured it was about time to put all that training into a simple easy-to-understand Guide to Getting the Most Out of Your Online PR Efforts. SEO There are lots of good articles about how PR affects organic rankings, so I’ll leave that statement as fact. You don’t really have to do anything extra with any online PR you get for […]
The post 9 Ways to Use Your Online PR Effectively by @yummytork appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
9 Ways to Use Your Online PR Effectively by @yummytork
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11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website
How is your portfolio website like a car door? Give up? At PhotoShelter, we like to use this analogy to explain how people perceive the experience of interacting with a website in ways that you may not realize or expect.
It is common for car shoppers to slam a car door and make judgments about the car based on the sound the door makes. In many cases, they have no idea that they are making a judgment when they hear that sound, but they are.
Similarly, people are judging you based on your portfolio website. Although you may expect to be judged on your images, you may not be expecting to be judged on the experience of using the website itself. Not paying attention to a few commonly overlooked details could result in fewer jobs for you.
We’ve made a list of the 11 most important considerations for any photography portfolio website. This comes from lessons learned while working with photographers and photo buyers over the past decade.
1) Clean and simple wins. Always.
Website by Travel Photographer Gavin Gough
If people are constantly praising the design of your portfolio website, then you are probably doing something wrong. Your photos are supposed to be the star of the show, so don’t clutter it up with useless design elements. If people notice the design of a site over the photography it contains, that’s a problem. The design of a website should fade into the background and not be noticed.
There is a growing trend among photographers who want to show their images at full screen. This is a departure from the past, where photographers were worried about image theft, so they intentionally made their images small. Today, it’s all about impact and getting the assignment. Larger images, they feel, make a bigger impact.
A clean website also takes things out of the way when they aren’t being used. For example, next and previous buttons can fade away until the user wants to move to the next image. They would do this by moving their mouse pointer to the left or right edges of the photo.
Another way to decrease clutter on your website is to be careful about how you watermark your images. Protecting your images from being stolen is important for many photographers, but it’s important to realize the implications of going too far. If a watermark is so large that it obscures the image, destroying the experience of viewing it, the photographer may be doing more damage than they think.
Photo by Chris Owyoung
Keep in mind that there are people out there who want to buy or license your images, and you should make it as easy as possible for them to do it. An aggressive watermarking strategy could backfire on a photographer because it could result in the image not being selected for consideration based entirely on the watermark.
2) Navigation, links, gallery titles must be easy to understand
Don’t turn your portfolio into a game of mystery. Make sure that categories, sections, labels, and navigation makes sense to everyone. Getting clever with these things might seem like a fun idea, and a way to be different, but it creates a frustrating experience for your users.
Instead, choose a word that tells a person exactly what’s on the other side of that link without even clicking on it. You should stick to terminology and wording that is familiar to the industry you are targeting.
This, of course, means that you need to know your target audience. For example, if you specialize in shooting images of insects, you should include the scientific names and classifications of them because the audience most interested in them expects to see this level of detail.
If you are a wedding photographer, for example, stick to the terms and structure that brides are familiar with. “Ceremony” and “Reception” are better choices for a collection of images than “Commitment” and “Joy.” What you think of as “clever” may end up being vague or puzzling to your users.
3) Be responsive
These days, there is more to life than a web browser. It’s important that your portfolio website functions properly across all modern devices — desktop computers; very small laptops; tablets; and mobile phones. To do this, your website should be responsive. This is a term that refers to a design approach where a website can adapt to the device being used to view it.
In other words, your website should look one way on a desktop computer, and entirely different on a mobile device. This is important because what works on a desktop computer, where there is plenty of space, will not necessarily work well on a mobile phone, where space is very limited.
A person who is visiting your website on a mobile device may have a different set of needs and expectations than a person using a desktop computer. They won’t be expecting to see your images really large because this isn’t possible. Instead, they may be looking for your contact information. Or, they may want to quickly scan your images from the comfort of their couch at home, with the intention of looking at your portfolio on a larger size screen using their computer at work the next day.
4) Edit tightly, and consider having someone else do it for you
Photographers are their own worst editors. We bring all sorts of emotional baggage to the editing process that we simply cannot be objective about our own images. How difficult it was to create an image doesn’t matter. The end result is what matters. That’s why we encourage photographers to have someone else, preferably a client instead of another photographer, edit their portfolio. An objective perspective is valuable information. And remember, ”Your portfolio is only as good as your worst picture.”
In most cases, less is more. Edit tightly and remove anything that’s not your best work.
5) Contact information should be everywhere
If the goal of your portfolio is to land you assignments, then make sure a client knows how to contact you so you can actually get one. The easiest way is to include your contact details on every page of your website — including your portfolio.
Contrary to common belief, most visitors of your website don’t start their visit with your front page. Most visitors find you through search engines and end up on some inside page deep within the site.
We’re not suggesting that you make this big and bold so that it distracts viewers from your images. Include something small and subtle at the bottom of the screen that doesn’t take attention away from the images, but is there when a client decides to pick up the phone.
6) Don’t just show pictures; show that you love what you shoot
Photo by commercial photographer Jonathan Gayman
Have you ever noticed that people with passion, energy, and drive are people that everyone else wants to work with? They tend to be more optimistic and fun. Your portfolio should convey this. If you’re not 100% into what you’re shooting, then start shooting something else that is near and dear to your heart.
The general photographer population is growing larger and larger and competition is fierce. Many photographers are able to succeed in this environment because they concentrate on a niche, and carve out their own segment of the industry where there is very little competition.
Photographers often feel like they should be as general as possible with their portfolio website because they want any assignment that comes their way. They worry that someone will be scared away thinking that they aren’t capable of a particular assignment. In this situation, I suggest creating multiple portfolio websites based on a single theme or niche. If you have multiple specialties, then create multiple portfolios.
Your portfolio and your website should be able to show that you are a motivated expert in your chosen niche. You should be 100% authentic about your interest in the subject, have passion, energy, drive, and focus. Do what you love, and let that shine through in your work. People CAN see this.
If the subject doesn’t motivate you, you shouldn’t expect your viewers to be either.
7) Make sure the portfolio works on your audience’s terms
Who should be looking at your work, and what are they like? What monitor size is most common? Are they using mobile devices? What software are they using all day long, and what does their workflow process look like? Find this out, and then incorporate these things into your website design.
For example, many photo editors use software that allows them to edit images at a very quick pace using the keyboard. They are comfortable with this process. Therefore, it would be wise to make sure that they are able to advance through your portfolio by using the left and right arrow keys on a keyboard.
Photo editors and art directors have often told us that they don’t like being forced to send an email through a web form in order to contact the photographer. Instead, they want to use their own company email system to send the email because they want to be able to keep track of what they sent you, and when.
Putting your email address on a website may increase the amount of spam you receive, but ask yourself what’s more important – fighting spam, or landing an assignment.
They already have a system in place so you should fit into it instead of expecting them to fit into yours.
8) Use Captions! Text is your friend
Website by Johan Peijnenburg of NiO Photography
Don’t be afraid to put text next to your images. If you are a bad writer, ask someone for help – but do not avoid captions for your images.For starters, text is critical for search engine optimization (SEO). Text is the foundation of all search engines. Without it, you cannot be found.
Captions can also give important factual information about an image and can be used to underscore the importance of the subject matter. If you can color in the facts for the viewer, they’re more likely to understand and relate to the image.
A good caption can also contain useful information about how you work. If you’ve overcome obstacles, or were able to perform beyond expectations for a client, you can indicate this in your captions. From a client’s perspective, photographers are either problem solvers, or problem creators. Indicate that you solve problems and you’re likely to attract more clients. Captions are the perfect place for this.
9) People are impatient – don’t make them wait
In a recent photo buyer survey we conducted, What Buyers Want from Photographers, we learned that nobody likes to wait around for images to load. There is a general expectation that your website will be fast enough to keep up with whatever pace they normally maintain.
If they are forced to slow down and wait, even for 1 second, this is noticeable and it will count against you.
Test things for yourself. How long does it take for images to load?
Images should be snappy, and show up immediately without delay. Consider pre-loading the next image in a sequence while the person is looking at an image. When they hit that “next” button, the new image loads instantly. That’s a much better user experience.
10) Let people know where they are
People like to know where they are in any process or sequence. When they have this information, they feel more comfortable with the overall experience. That’s why it is important to let them know where they are in your website, and in your portfolio galleries.
Your website navigation should contain ‘breadcrumbs’, which allow them to link directly back to the start of the portfolio gallery, or back several levels to a gallery index, or even the front page of your website.
Likewise, they should know where they are in a sequence of images. If you have a portfolio gallery with 26 images, then you should let them know where they are in that sequence as they advance through it. (Example: Image 6 of 26; Image 7 of 26; Image 8 of 26; etc.)
11) Let people know where YOU are!
Don’t fall into the trap of not mentioning where you are based out of fear that you’ll never get a sweet location travel assignment. Make your home base plainly obvious, and indicate to which places you commonly travel.
Your clients want to know this information because they need to be able to manage their budget. Sometimes a photographer who is local is required and you risk being not considered for a job simply because you didn’t disclose your location.
Now take a look at your website with a fresh pair of eyes. Open and slam the door, and truly experience it. Figuring out what it’s saying about you could make a difference in your bottom line.
Want more tips to amp up your website? Check out our guide, 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website.
11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website
http://www.engage360.me
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