Introducing Urban Crossroads // New Product

Say hello to Urban Crossroads, the new senior layflat book design from The Modern Collective! Need that perfect product to impress your senior guys? This 20 page book design will do the trick! Included with the design is theMC's exclusive Album Splitter Action. The Album Splitter Action allows you to export your design for any of WHCC's square book designs in less than five minutes! Sizes include 5x5, 8x8, 10x10, and 12x12 books! Easy, simple, done! 

You can see larger images of this design's layouts, HERE.

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Grad Announcement for Senior Guys // Product Spotlight

Last week we featured two of our favorite grad card designs for the senior girls. We thought it wasn't fair to leave the guys out, so today we are featuring Liam + Sean, two of the senior grad card templates from the 2013 Grad Card Collection! 

These two designs are modern, masculine, and filled with plenty of style for those senior guys that want something different! Plus, these designs will make their mom happy too! We all know that is who we really are trying to impress!

Like all templates in The Modern Collective Shop, designing with these grad card templates is as easy as dragging and dropping your images and changing the text to match your client's party details! Quick, easy, and DONE!  

Featured Templates:  Liam 5x7 Flat Grad Card Design  //  Sean 5x7 Flat Grad Card Design

Design Trend // Gold Foil - Is it here to stay?

We've been seeing gold foil ALL OVER lately! It seems to be all the rage on design blogs. We've even spotted it on clothing and housewares in our most recent trip to Target. (oh Target.... how we love you!) Gold foil is luxurious, it's sexy, it's modern, and it's a little funky too! No wonder it's so popular! Below are a few of our favorite gold foil finds on the internet!

SOURCES:  | 1 | Drop It Modern  | 2 | Anagrama  | 3 | Ben Sherman   | 4 | Lara Casey Shop

We've been inspired and thought we better join the fun and use the new gold foil love on a few of our products here at The Modern Collective! Of course, in our Modern Collective fashion, we simplified the trend and incorporated the gold foil in two of our 2013 Grad Card designs! The Zoey and Taylor grad announcements are oh so trendy! :)

So, what do you think... is gold foil here to stay?

Template Remix // A Creative Use For Your New Template

We design all of our templates to be easy to use for customers who don't have a lot of Photoshop knowledge, but our templates are completely layered for those customers who want to jump in and pick the template apart. Providing a layered PSD gives our customers the flexibility to rework, change up, and customize the templates for their needs. Today we are featuring a creative use for the I'm New Here Birth Announcement Template. Although the template itself isn't changed a whole lot, the card is being used for a unique purpose.

Our client came to us looking for a birthday invite for a joint party for her son and daughter. We needed something that was gender neutral and a design that coordinated with party's farm theme. Our client requested to have a lot of images on the invite as well. 

With these requests in mind we went to work and decided the I'm New Here Birth Announcment was the perfect fit for the client's needs. The modern wood texture blended well with the farm theme and the design was neutral enough to showcase the photos of her children. We changed up the text and added a little "see y'all there" farm talk. With that we had an invite design that our client loved! With a simple change, we had a whole new use for a cute and versatile birth announcement template! 

CARD DESIGN  //  CUSTOMIZED (farm birthday party invite)

CARD DESIGN  //  BEFORE (as sold in the shop):

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Click the link below for more info about the I'm New Here Birth Announcement design

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3 things you can do right now to increase your average sale // Tip Tuesday

We decided to start a new weekly blog feature called Tip Tuesday. Every Tuesday we will share a helpful tip. Some will be more in depth than others but all with be little tips that we hope you find useful! This week we start the conversation with three things you can do RIGHT NOW to increase your studio's average sale. Read on! 

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1) Simplify Your Investment Guide

Have you ever gone into a restaurant with a menu that is five pages long? You instantly get overwhelmed with the choices but you try to narrow it down. After looking you finally get it narrowed to about five different menu items but you still can't make a clear decision. Finally after much hesitation, you resort to the "safe" option. You choose the meal that you've previously ordered that you were satisfied with. But what if you would have chosen one of the other menu items and found a new favorite?

This same situation applies to your investment guide. Although you may have over twenty portrait products that you offer to your clients, it isn't the best idea to list every option on the initial investment guide you originally present to your clients. Overwhelming your clients will only result in your client choosing the product that they've always known, just as you did at the restaurant. Most often that product is small gift prints for your client. Instead, limit the the investment guide to your most popular products or the products you want to sell. Organize the investment guide to showcase the products you want to sell first, then list the smaller add-on products later. If you feel your client would benefit from a product not listed on the invesment guide, then provide them with information on the product at that time. 

Having a well organized investment guide can easily entice clients to try new products and increase your average sale! Need help organizing your investment guide? The Modern Essentials Marketing Set includes the perfect 5x5 trifold template to simplify your product offerings to increase your portrait sales! 

2) Share Your Client's Finished Portrait Art On Your Facebook Page

You have gorgeous finished products going through your studio door every day! Take a few extra minutes and photograph the products before delivering them to your clients. Share these photos with your facbook followers or even on Twitter and Instagram! People love to see what their friends are buying and it will more than likely result in your future clients wanting the same products too! It only takes a little time but it could be time well invested if it convinces someone to step outside the box with their portrait art!

3) Present Portrait Products On Your Client's Walls 

Showing your client's product pre-designs on their wall will change the way you sell to your clients. Presenting pre-designs in their space with their room's decor will eliminate a lot of the objections that most clients have. Let's be honest. We've all heard our clients say, "I need to measure my wal firstl" or "I don't know if this will match my room's decor". Showing your client a product pre-design directly on their wall eliminates all of these objections and increases your chance of upselling custom portrait products. 

We've developed a new product at The Modern Collective that can help you sell wall art by presenting pre-designs in your client's space. The Canvas Collection Templates take you step by step through the process and will help you increase your studio's average sale by giving your client a solid visual of the product in their space! 

Give these three things a try and let us know how it goes! If you have any simple tips to share, we encourage you to share them in the comments below! 

Check back next week for another Tip Tuesday!

P.S Just a reminder that everything is 30% OFF now thru April 1st to celebrate the launch of our new shop! Use code LAUNCH at checkout to apply the discount! 

Canvas Collection Templates // change the way you sell to your clients

We've been selling canvas collections to clients for over three years at Adam Hommerding Photography, and we've received numerous requests from fellow photographers for a product that outlines our canvas sales process. Well, it is finally here! The new Canvas Collection Templates from The Modern Collective have simplified the canvas design process and will change the way you sell wall art to your clients!

Watch this video for an inside look at the canvas design process using the Canvas Collection Templates!

What is Included:

- 25 PSD Canvas Collection Templates
- 12 Single Canvas PSD Templates
- ProSelect templates of each collection for ProSelect Users
- 24 page How-To Sales Guide that details the canvas collection sales process from start to finish
- Collection Quick Reference Guide
- Collection Pricing Worksheet (Excel document)

The included How-To Sales Guide details every party of the canvas collection sales process! Topics covered in the guide are:

- Pre-Consultation: starting the conversation
- The Session: shoot for the sale
- In-Home Consultation: prepare for the pre-design
- Make it Happen: put the collection templates to work
- Setting the Price: pricing tips
- Present the Designs: how to create the most impact as you present
- Installation Prep: products we use to make installation easy
- Installation: our install process and what to bring along
- Client Inspiration: Marketing for future canvas sales

PLUS: We include two how-to videos to get you started with the pre-design process.

Yep, it is packed with info! But there are plenty of photos throughout the guide to give your brain a creative break! 

 
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Valentine Freebies Just for You! // theMC Freebie Share

Hello friends! We have two new freebies available for a limited time over on the facebook page! Head on over there before the valentine candy is gone and you are left with just the tin foil wrappers and those nasty chocolate covered cherrys.

Oh Sorry. Here's the link:  www.facebook.com/themoderncollective

NEW PRODUCT // 2013 Triangle Calendar Set

Looking for the perfect gift for your top spending clients in 2012? We have a product for you! The new 2013 Triangle Calendar Set is an inexpensive product that looks like a million bucks! Quickly drop in your client's images and deliver a full calendar that they can use in their home or their office! The best part is your work will be shared with their friends and coworkers every time they need to schedule a date or a meeting!

SET INCLUDES //
• 12x18 2013 Calendar
• WHCC Wallet Accordion Album Calendar

(both templates are Jan. to Dec. 2013)

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The 2012 Holiday Card Collection is Now Available! // The Modern Collective

We've been holding these cards hostage for a couple of weeks. We've been perfecting them, designing cards for our own clients with them, and making sure they were 100% perfect for all of you! And all honesty, we were just looking for some spare time to get them all loaded in the shop!

Good news! We found the time and they are ready for you! All ten designs are the high quality and easy to use templates that you come to expect from The Modern Collective! They are super simple to use for those of you that want to jump in and create a stunning design but the templates still have numerous layers for those of you that want to get your hands dirty and create something completely unique!

So, head on over to the shop and check them out! Individual cards are also available, but you can't go wrong having the entire collection in your tool belt!

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Buy Now

And the Winner Is..... // $900 template giveaway

Well guys, what do you think? Wasn't this birthday bash fun? We had a lot of fun and we are so thankful you all were able to join us! Thanks to all who shared our giveaways with your friend and all who have supported us over the last year! Here's to many more fun + modern template filled years! :)

Okay, okay... I know you are all saying "Enough with the sappy stuff! Who WON?" Well first things first. We need to announce the Daily Template Giveaway Winner from yesterday!

JUNE 23RD DAILY GIVEAWAY WINNER! //

Congrats to Kristin Allen you won the Senior Year Lay Flat Book Template from yesterday's giveaway!

GRAND PRIZE $900 TEMPLATE GIVEAWAY WINNER! //

Here's what you've all been waiting for! Out of 103 giveaway entrants the winner of the Grand Prize $900 Template Collection is......................
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RACHEL MAZZAFERRO!!

Wooo Hooo! Congrats Rachel! Enjoy all of your new templates! Didn't win? Read on for a few other surprises below! (ahem... surprise discount codes!)

 

SURPRISE ONE TIME 50% OFF DISCOUNT CODES + 25% OFF SHOP SALE! //

Bummed that you didn't win? Below are five one time use discounts worth 50% off your entire shop purchase. They can only be used once. Once they are used up, they are gone! So act fast if you have something in the shop that you are dying to get your hands on! If the first code doesn't work, move on to the others. We will post on our Facebook page when all codes have been used!

THE CODES //

SURPRISE1

SURPRISE2

SURPRISE3

SURPRISE4

SURPRISE5

All codes claimed! 25% off still available until the end of the day with code HAPPYBIRTHDAY!

 
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All the codes taken? We have everything in the shop 25% off until midnight today! Use code HAPPYBIRTHDAY at checkout to receive this discount!

 
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Thanks for celebrating with us!