We all know that third party endorsements are more credible than singing your own praises. As a photographer, what better way is there to get endorsements than to provide them with a sample album from an event on which you collaborated? They’ll be thrilled to show off a sample of their work, and when they do, each and every one of their clients will see your work as well. This pre-qualifies those prospects by introducing them to your work.

Zookbinders offers a few different ways to make the album design and display process as easy and affordable as possible for you. Our Digi-MatZ® templates are designed as a “plug-in” for Adobe ® Photoshop® to help you create beautiful album designs. Once you’ve created your album design through either Digi-MatZ or your own software, Zookbinders’ ROES system completes the process by making the order process for your sample albums a cinch.

Here are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind when creating your sample book for your vendor:

1. Be aware of where faces or other focal points of the photo land on full-page spreads and panoramas. While most Zookbinders products lay flat, some do not (i.e. Soft Cover Press Book), causing the crease to possibly hinder the design.
2. Watch your margins to ensure nothing important is cut off during trimming (a 1/8 inch is trimmed off the top and bottom and a 1 /4 inch is trimmed off each side of a PhotoBook two-page spread).
3. Create an eye-catching design that will appeal to a wide range of your clients.
4. Remember who you are designing these books for; your layouts should feature your best, most creative work and that of your vendors rather than what your bride may select for her own book.
5. Use your name and logo, as well as the vendor’s name and logo, in the book.
6. Leave business cards or photo cards with your contact information along with your album so brides have an easy way to contact you.

Once your design is done, you can order these vendor books as samples and receive Zookbinders standard sample discount (50% off Zook Books and 25% off PhotoBooks) with no annual limit on the number of samples you order. These vendor samples are an investment in your future. For less than $100, you can have a beautiful album of your work at a vendor’s store selling your photography services each and every day. These images and the referrals from your vendors can add up to thousands of dollars in new business for you. That’s money well spent.