Your next PC or Mac should be a 64-bit model. If your computer is more than a few years old, it is probably a 32-bit model, and it is probably time to upgrade.

Why?

32 bit and 64 bit refer to the size of the packets of data a modern computer communicates with. Think of it like a language with only 5 letters in the alphabet compared to a language with 26 different letters. 64 bit computers aren’t just twice as powerful – they are exponentially more powerful than their 32 bit counterparts.

Most modern software programs like Photoshop CS5 are capable of running in native 64-bit on both Mac and Windows. This means Photoshop can address all the RAM you can afford (instead of just 4 GB). The results are speedier operations – in some cases, up to 10 times as fast. The bigger the file you’re working on, the bigger the difference.

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“We Have Great Customer Service.” If your business is like mine, you not only strive for great customer service, but you believe it is one of the reasons customers should want to do business with you.

The problem is, “great customer service” is what our customers should say about us, not what we say about ourselves. Once we say it, bragging about customer service loses its meaning. That’s bad.

Here are two ways to promote your customer service without saying it:

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An all day workshop with Master Artist Kathy Falls

Class size is limited. Reservations must be made by May 30th!
Call JD Photo Imaging at 888-858-8084 today to guarantee your place.

Offered for the FIRST time you will have in in-depth, hands-on workshop that will teach you how to embellish your inkjet canvas and water color fine art pieces. Kathy will take you to the next level showing the latest techniques for creating ‘embellished giclees’ (enhancing your inkjet canvas image with painting techniques).   You will learn these  techniques using pastel paper, exotic papers, water color paper, and inkjet canvas.

This will be a hands-on learning experience using fine art products with painting and drawing applications. You will not be working with a computer, this will be painting directly on the finished image. Kathy will show you the appropriate materials to use for each substrate and how to finish them that will preserve the artwork and the image.

At the end of the day, you will take home two 11×14″ inkjet canvas and one watercolor image that will be artistically painted by you! Kathy will provide the images that you will embellish, a $115 value!

Kathy has utilized these techniques and has had her work in many galleries in Michigan and Indiana. Most recently Kathy was awarded “Best of Show” in the 2010 Hillsdale County annual juried art show for an embellished giclee, and one Loan Print in the Professional Photographers of America 2010 International Print Competition, which she created using these techniques.

Details:

The workshop will be held on Monday, June 6 from 9 am. to 4 pm.

Registration begins at 8:30 am. Please be on time.

Lunch is included.

Cost of the workshop is $120, and will be held at JD Photo Imaging in Flint, Mi.

All materials will be provided. Class size is limited.

Kathy Falls is a Master Photographer, Master Artist, Master Electronic Imaging, Photographic Craftsman, PPA Certified Photographer, Certified E.I., Certified Photographic Specialist

Handling online customer complaints immediately pays off.

That was the conclusion of a recent Harris Survey, which found that responding to customer complaints posted online was more beneficial than ignoring them.

When customer complaints were immediately answered online and dealt with, here’s what the original complainer did:

• 33% turned around and posted a positive review
• 34% deleted their original negative review

For years, marketing companies have reported that up to 80% of potential customers research your business online before calling. This means that if someone complains about you online, potential customers will likely read it before they call. Unanswered online complaints will result in fewer customer calls, and will impact your bottom line.

How do you know if past customers are talking about you online? The easy solution is to set up a Google Alert to notify you if your studio name is mentioned on the Internet. Have the alert come to your inbox, and act on it immediately. Create several alerts for different variations on your name and your studio name.

Bottom line: respond to online complaints immediately. If you do, you have a 67% chance of turning them around. If you do nothing, you will have a negative comment online about your studio that will live forever.

If you’ve been thinking about creating a custom business (or fan) page in Facebook but didn’t know how to get started, Tim Ware has created the best “step-by-step” instructions I’ve found on the web. He shows you graphically what changes you can make to your Facebook business page so that it can become a virtual website for your business.

Did I say website?

What we learned during the recent photo contest was that some photographers have started using Facebook instead of a regular website. This is a new, growing trend. While there are good reasons to have both, there is some logic to focusing on Facebook. If you only have the time and energy to keep one site constantly updated with new information, why not use Facebook as your main marketing site?

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If you aren’t ready for mobile phone users to find you online, you need to get started. Here’s why:

• By 2013 — 50% of web traffic will come from mobile devices
• 74% of smart phone users made a purchase based on a phone search
• The US population is approximately 306 million. 69 million have smart phones now

“Mobile” is growing faster than any other aspect of computing. If you expect your customers to be able to find you online, you need to be ready for mobile.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a video you should watch.

So what can you do to get ready?

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The right mouse button is the most overlooked tool on your computer, but computer programmers know all about it. In every software program written for the PC, the right mouse button displays the most commonly used menu options for the object selected. It is much faster to right click than to select something on the screen, then click on the top menu.

Most folks don’t right-click because they aren’t sure what the difference between a left-click and a right-click is. Then mention “double-click” and their eyes gloss over. However, knowing the difference can save you lots of time on your computer.

Here are the rules:

• Left-click to highlight something
• Left-double-click to select something
• Right click to see more options

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Kodak has a new service on their website that matches up consumers with professional photographers.

If you are a JD customer, I’d encourage you to sign up for this service. The hot link from the Kodak website to your website’s home page will push you higher on Google, and you might get a new client too!

The image “Sisterly Love” by Michelle Garcia at Country Rose Designs was selected by Eastman Kodak as a finalist to be shown in Times Square, New York City.

Here’s the page on the Kodak website with all the winners. Michelle’s photo is listed under “Infant/Children.”

Kodak informed Michelle this week by email that her image had been selected. She is still waiting to find out exactly when it will be displayed. She plans to travel to New York City to see it.

The contest is part of Kodak’s “Connect with Pro Quality” initiative. The goal of the project is to remind consumers the importance of selecting a professional photographer to record important life events. .In addition to the photo contest, Kodak has produced a series of short videos featuring professional photographers talking about the benefits of Kodak labs (we’re one!) and Kodak products (we rely on Kodak paper).

Congratulations to Michelle, and too all our other winners too.

I’ve never liked banks. I keep my savings in a credit union. But on the advice of a friend, about a year ago I opened a free checking account at the local bank. I was waited on by Bob, a helpful young man with an easy smile who asked about my business, where I lived, and told me a bit about his young family. By the end of the meeting, I not only had a new checking account, but a new friend in the banking business.

Every few months I’d get a quick email from Bob, asking about business, and asking if there was anything I needed. No pressure – just a reminder I still had a friendly banker.

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