A new designer in the Start Your Own Gift Basket Business online course asked me if it’s wise to protect her website’s gift basket photographs.

Is this something you’re concerned about?

In the late 1990s, a San Francisco-based company had a terrific software program that protected online photos. Unfortunately, it closed when the dot com boom went bust.

One option still available today is watermarking photos similarly to the way artists protect their online art photos.

Whether you protect your photos from copying or don’t, one thing is true: whoever uses your pictures to sell gift baskets will fail. They cannot create designs that match the photos. Clients will be disappointed and tell their friends not to order from that person.

What’s your stance on photo protection?

Shirley George Frazier

No related posts.

How do you plan to capture the joy and happiness on customers’ faces when they receive holiday gift baskets delivered locally?

Taking pictures of recipients receiving gift baskets is a topic I mentioned last year, and it’s time for a reminder because you won’t get a second chance to capture smiles, laughs, and giggles when the door opens and the recipient greets you with arms open wide for gift basket grabbing.

Such a photograph is not only great for your portfolio, it’s also an unexpected and valuable post-order gift for your customer.

So, here’s your photography and follow-up plan:

1. Charge your digital camera battery, and check the charge every day, especially if you’re in a cold climate.

2. Ask your delivery person to capture a photograph with a secondary digital camera you purchase for his/her use.

3. Ask the recipient for permission before taking the picture.

4. Email the photo to the customer. They will be thrilled, overwhelmed, and elated, leading to more sales and referrals.

5. Let prospects and customers know, in your literature, that this service is available.

When do you plan to start capturing delivery photographs, and how do you believe it will increase your business success?

Shirley George Frazier

Related articles:

1. Boost Your Image (and Sales) with a Business Card Photograph
2. Where Do You Share Comments from Happy Customers?
3. The One Thing to Do Before You Ship that Gift Basket

It’s done.

That first gift basket order that arrived in your office through your website or by telephone is finished, and it’s a masterpiece.

Now it’s time to pack the design for delivery.

Into the box it goes, all wrapped in bubble wrap and labeled properly so it arrives at the right door, on the right floor, and at the right time.

But wait. You forgot one thing. There’s no photograph of this gorgeous gift basket!

When creating my list of what to do before, during, and after an order is placed, the last entry on my list is “take a picture.”

That photograph isn’t just for creating a scrapbook of memories; it serves as confirmation to potential customers that you produce works of art that express the emotion they wish to convey.

The photography page at GiftBasketBusiness.com will soon be updated with information that designers are mastering now to create great pictures for their marketing campaigns.

So, the next time a gift basket order arrives in your office, what’s the last thing you’ll do before that basket leaves for its destination?

Shirley George Frazier

No related posts.

Today’s electronics makes capturing photographs so easy that you can take pictures of finished designs in your studio and, if delivering gift baskets to customers, snap more photos of recipients holding their baskets upon delivery.

Wouldn’t the delivery photographs be fantastic and memorable to send to clients?

Here’s what such pictures can produce for your business.

1. Repeat sales.
2. Multiple referrals.
3. Word of mouth promotion.
4. Great photos, reprinted with permission, for your website and print catalog.
5. Orders from others who see the photos and want the same results.

How else does your digital camera increase customer satisfaction and sales?

Shirley George Frazier

No related posts.

A florist in New Zealand was recently highlighted as one that Emails photos to clients showing the bouquet arrangement before it’s mailed or delivered to recipients.

Many of us have practiced this for years.

In fact, lots of designers mailed a photograph of the requested gift basket to each client along with a note of thanks when the Internet didn’t exist.

If this isn’t a habit you practice, perhaps now is the time to include a photograph by mail or Email each time you thank clients.

This is one of the reasons why photography, discussed on this page at GiftBasketBusiness.com, plays a huge part in marketing your business.

You don’t need to set up a photo studio in your workspace, although it may be helpful. Setting the gift basket on a table in front of a solid-colored wall is adequate.

The picture also acts as a great reminder when clients call and ask questions about previous designs create for them.

There are six more ways that I’ve turned each photograph into a revenue generator. How has photographing your completed designs generated new business?

Shirley George Frazier

No related posts.

Taking this picture outside of a New York City-based gift basket and flower shop was no easy feat.

The shop is located on Broadway, and if you’ve never walked on that street, you can imagine how busy it is during rush hour (when the photo was snapped) or any other time, especially since it’s a few blocks north of Macy’s.

It’s almost impossible to take a street-level picture with people walking past the window every two seconds. Thankfully, there was a brief lull in traffic, and my camera was poised and waiting for that moment.

The photo was captured not for competitive reasons but to ask you the following question.

How many times have you seen a gift basket design inside a competitive store and wanted to take a picture to remember the technique?

The consensus on doing this is don’t. It’s considered as rude and simply not permitted on private property.

I remember reading, on a now-defunct message board, how one new designer was shocked that she was escorted out of a gift basket shop because of her in-store picture taking. She couldn’t understand why the owner didn’t let her take pictures “in the spirit of camaraderie.”

We’ve talked about taking pictures inside of other people’s shop at Ask The Gift Basket Expert, where you’ll find many insightful comments about this practice.

Even public photography can be viewed as dangerous. Although you’re outside on the street, the proprietor may still not be pleased with picture taking, as they don’t know if you’re friend or foe.

What’s been your experience with someone taking pictures of your gift baskets?

Shirley George Frazier

No related posts.

Have you created a fabulous design, closed it in a box or handed it to the courier, and five minutes later realized that you forgot to take a picture?

“Oh no!” was once a popular phrase in my workspace, but no more.

It’s very important that you to start and continually expand your gift basket design photographs, and the holiday season is a crucial time to capture digital images of your creativity.

Rather than shouting “Oh no!” as the courier drives away, the task of picture taking is now planted firmly on my customized check sheet that ensures no part of each order is overlooked.

This check sheet is followed step by step, from documenting the order to sending a note of thanks by mail (part of post-order marketing) immediately after delivery.

You’ll find tips about choosing a camera on the Photography page.

What one-of-a-kind design did you create that left your workspace before you committed it to digital memory?

Shirley George Frazier

No related posts.

If you see gift basket displays anywhere that you can legally take photographs, capture those pictures as soon as possible.

Decorations will soon be dismantled and with it your chance to collect ideas to merge with your own next season. That means there’s not much time to snap photos, but you can still get it done.

Also, consider handing the project to your partner, child, family member, or another person who loves picture taking. This is how I collect ideas for business and to share with you, and it’s an easy process because of digital photography’s cost, which is really an investment in your future.

Photographs don’t have to focus solely on gift baskets. Displays of all types are open; just be sure that you’re not on private property as you snap.

This type of picture taking is just as important as the photos taken of each gift basket you make before it’s delivered to customers and recipients. Before long, you’ll have a gallery of shots that shows your expertise and increase sales.

You’ll find more about gift basket photography on this page.

Shirley George Frazier

No related posts.