Shopping Cart

Why Are So Many Shopping Carts Abandoned?

Sep 15

by Lee Syrjanen. The other day I came across an article about shopping cart abandonment and the contributing factors that really, for some reason, stuck with me. Over the course of my online shopping history I know that I’ve certainly been guilty of loading up an online cart only to leave it. I’m sure many Continue Reading…

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Inc. Magazine’s 7 Tips for Being Authentic Online

Sep 14

by Shag Chowdhury. Over the last couple of months, I’ve been plugging away at a small series of pieces dealing with how to improve eCommerce conversions. The very first installment of said series was dedicated to building trust with the consumer. This month, Inc. Magazine published an article that nicely reinforces some of the points Continue Reading…

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Improving Your E-Commerce Conversions, Part 3: The Product Page

Aug 28

by Shag Chowdhury. Pretend you’re blind. And deaf. And as it happens, an accident has left you with a strange nerve condition, which slightly numbs your sense of touch, taste and smell. In other words, you can’t see and hear, and your other senses can’t help you much. But you’re a consumer. We all are. Continue Reading…

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Maximize Your Mobile Barcode Campaign

Aug 27

by Lee Syrjanen. The other day I was walking through the Patagonia store with a friend of mine that I would call “behind the technology curve” when I saw a jacket I liked. All of the store clerks were busy with other customers and I couldn’t seem to find a price tag on the jacket. Continue Reading…

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UGC

User Generated Content – What’s Yours is Mine

Aug 25

by Alisha O’Loughlin. As a user of your product, I can photograph and post and whatever I am feeling at the time. This dawned on my just the other day when I was making french toast on my new griddle. Six pieces of french toast, two for me and four for my husband, sizzling nicely Continue Reading…

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Helpful Tips to Reduce Email Unsubscribes

Aug 24

by Lee Syrjanen. A few days ago we posted an article on our social media pages that went over some great tips on how to reduce email unsubscribes. I know that many of you check out our blog but aren’t connected to us through our social sites (shame on you), so you might have missed Continue Reading…

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Three Ways to Secure a Good Relationship With Your Retail Partners

Aug 24

by Morgan Funke. It’s no secret that the two main user groups in shotfarm right now are manufacturers and retailers. The relationship that exists between the two is an important one; it’s a symbiotic relationship where the manufacturer and retailer both benefit from the other. The manufacturer needs its retailers to sell their products, and Continue Reading…

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On Steve Jobs’ Resignation

Aug 23

by Shag Chowdhury. Obviously, the last week has been a turbulent one, what with Hurricane Irene’s East Coast approach and the storming of Libyan rebels into Tripoli. But, arguably, one of the biggest, most life-changing news stories this week—for techies, stock market analysts, corporations, and average Joes alike—was the resignation of Steve Jobs as CEO Continue Reading…

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When Traditional Marketing and Technology are Friends

Jul 26

by Alisha O’Loughlin I found this article on word-of-mouth marketing extremely eye opening. I love to see good ol’ traditional advertising infuse itself in today’s tech world. Prior to reading this article, I truly thought the internet was squashing traditional advertising altogether. It turns out the Internet is now the leading source of information for Continue Reading…

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Shotfarm’s “Tell Us What You REALLY Think” Customer Survey

Jul 26

When it comes to developing a software product, there’s no more important perspective than the customer’s. That’s why we’re begging (er…asking politely) that you take just a few minutes to tell us what you think of shotfarm. We really WANT to implement your suggestions, so we just need to know what they are! What would Continue Reading…

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tcommerce

5 Strategies for T-Commerce Success

Jul 26

by Lee Syrjanen Recently, I’ve been reading more and more about tablets. I must admit when tablets first came out I didn’t know how long they’d last, but as my research has continued it’s become pretty apparent that I was wrong. Very wrong. A recent Forrester poll indicates that many online retailers report seeing as Continue Reading…

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Googleplus

Will Google+ Send Social Media Running In Circles?

Jul 26

by Shag Chowdhury Around this time last year, Facebook had a reach of 500 million people worldwide. In the year since, its growth leaped by a staggering 30% to a global user base of more than 700 million people, leaving every other social media site/application even further in the dust. Enter Google+. While Facebook’s reach Continue Reading…

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Improving Your E-Commerce Conversions, Part 2: No Cart Left Behind

Jul 25

by Shag Chowdhury Many of you beloved Shotfarm partners are retailers, with brick and mortar stores in which customers roam through the aisles to browse and buy. Now, imagine that, in one of your physical stores, one hundred people push their carts to the checkout section and get in their various checkout aisle of choice. Continue Reading…

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Strengthen Customer Relationships with a Mobile App

Jul 25

by Morgan Funke I forgot my cell phone at home today, and I feel naked without it. How am I supposed to know what day it is, what time it is, what my friends are doing, how to get home or what to have for dinner? Okay, I’m being dramatic, but really it’s a lesson Continue Reading…

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Little Independent

Independent Retailers Join Forces Online

Jul 25

by Shag Chowdhury After a long weekend (and week) of celebrating our country’s independence, I thought I’d shine a bit of light on our country’s “independents,” the mom & pop, brick and mortar stores that I seem to frequent less and less these days, me being an internet shopper and/or plain lazy. According to the Continue Reading…

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360 spin photography

The Great Debate: Spin Photography vs. Video

Jul 25

by Alisha O’Loughlin As a retailer, you understand how important it is to provide that “in-store” experience to your online shoppers. It seems both 360 spin photography and video are moving online shopping in that direction. I met a very interesting woman, Colleen, at IRCE (Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition) a few weeks ago. She Continue Reading…

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IRCE

Shotfarm’s Top Four eCommerce Trends from IRCE 2011

Jun 23

The shotfarm crew descended on San Diego last week to spread the good news of the Product Image Exchange to the attendees of the 2011 Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition. If you’re unfamiliar with IRCE, it’s an incredible resource for both retailers and manufacturers to get up to speed on current trends in ecommerce and Continue Reading…

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ecommerce

Improving Your E-Commerce Conversions, Part 1: A Matter of Trust

Jun 9

by Shag Chowdhury You’re a consumer, sitting around your house in your sweatpants, thinking about buying an item you really want, when someone knocks on your door. You open it, and on the other side is a person you’ve never met or necessarily even heard of—a complete stranger. That person is selling the exact product Continue Reading…

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Simple Steps to Better DIY Product Photography

Jun 8

by Alisha O’Loughlin I have recently dedicated some time to research product photography. Quality high resolution images let potential customers see what the product looks like and can help them decided whether to buy. I am always preaching the importance of quality product photography so I want to provide some simple steps to make them Continue Reading…

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High-Resolution and Multiple Product Images Can Make Or Break A “Sail”.

Jun 7

By Shag Chowdhury I’m going to tell you the story of how I almost died as a result of poor product photography. So, a few weeks ago, I began training for a sport called Match Racing with the Chicago Match Race Center. Essentially, once I know what I’m doing, I’ll be working amongst a crew Continue Reading…

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communication

Three Ways Internal Communication Can Improve Your External Business

Jun 1

by Lee Syrjanen Most of us know the importance of strategic communication with our customers. In the first three quarters of 2010 businesses spent more than $94 billion in advertising alone (that’s a lot of bread). One thing that is sometimes overlooked, however, is how important internal communication is to our business. The way a Continue Reading…

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File Sharing: Finding The Right Process

May 19

by Alisha O’Loughlin There is a process for just about everything; applying for college, dying your hair, having a baby, or sharing product images. In every situation we have many options, and it’s important that we find the best one. When we fail to choose the right process for ourselves or our company we risk Continue Reading…

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SuperNamer

What’s in a name? That which we call a convention by any other word…

May 17

…wouldn’t really be called a convention at all. Unfortunately, there is no “correct” way to name a product image file because every company has a slightly different workflow and therefore slightly different file naming need. Bed, Bath & Beyond, for example, would love for all of its manufacturers to name their files by UPC. E-commerce Continue Reading…

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Join shotfarm at IRCE 2011 and get $100 off!

May 15

Shotfarm will be making a repeat appearance at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition 2011. We’re looking forward to a trip to balmy San Diego from June 14-16 and we’d love to see you there! We’ve joined the IRCE 2011 Exhibitor Partnership Program in order to give you, our favorite customers, a break on the Continue Reading…

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new

New Features: Brand shotfarm with your logo, get site badges and check out our new Help Desk!

May 13

In the last two weeks we’ve added two new features to help strengthen the tie between shotfarm and your brand: Customize your shotfarm portal with your company’s logo! You can upload your company’s logo on the Settings and Invitations page in the My Company’s Settings tab. Once you’ve got your logo uploaded, just click the Continue Reading…

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Tips

Shotfarm Tip: Using Public LightBoxes

May 11

Last newsletter we mentioned the pending release of Public LightBoxes. This new feature 1) allows manufacturers to prepare specific LightBoxes for their resellers and co-workers (think “Spring 2001 Collection” or “Lifestyle Images”) and 2) allows retailers to prepare specific LightBoxes for their co-workers. Now that they’re launched, here’s a quick tutorial on how to use Continue Reading…

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Chat Your Way to Better Customer Service With Shotfarm

May 9

By Shag Chowdhury Over the last year, I know there’s been a lot written in this space about customer service—in general industry terms, as well as more specific terms regarding shotfarm’s practices. That said, I have question for our partners, members and potential partners and members: have you ever used the chat feature? You know Continue Reading…

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potato-peelers

Using the right tool for the job

May 6

By Lee Syrjanen Anyone who’s even remotely connected to today’s world has certainly leveraged some sort of online file sharing tool. From the old school days of Napster, file sharing has evolved into so much more today. Nowadays there are a plethora of file sharing services for whatever your needs may be. From personal to Continue Reading…

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spring-cleaning

Spring Cleaning!

May 2

by Morgan Funke This week, shotfarm moved offices. It was time for a bigger and better space, and today I am writing this from our swanky new home. Some of the improvements include: an entire wall of windows that allow for plenty of natural light; exposed brick, pipes and beams; more space to work; and Continue Reading…

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Centralizing Your Digital Assets Lets Them Go Wherever You Want, Whenever You Want

Apr 27

by Shag Chowdhury Last week, Shotfarmer Lee Syrjanen wrote about his trials in contacting key personnel from various manufacturers, to discuss centralizing “the image exchange portion of their business.” He articulated in detail about the difficulties of explaining that Shotfarm is a free service that gives great value, which some points of contact—if he could Continue Reading…

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Quality Product Photos Lead to More Sales

Apr 26

by Alisha O’Loughlin Did you know people actually purchase vehicles off the internet? What ever happened to that shopping experience where customers touch the product, feel its texture, smell that new car scent? I remember when I purchased my first car I went through that sucker with a fine tooth comb, inspecting every nook, interrogating Continue Reading…

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free

The Challenge of Selling a Good, Free System

Apr 21

by Lee Syrjanen Recently, a large portion of my day has been devoted to trying to contact my retail clients’ manufacturers to explain the benefits of centralizing the image exchange portion of their business. During this time two major realizations have occurred to me. The first dawned on me immediately, and was the realization that Continue Reading…

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The Online Retail Industry Is Mobilizing . . . Quickly

Apr 19

I know that over the past year, we Shotfarmers have published a few words here and there about the coming future of increased mobile e-commerce traffic, what with the rise of smartphone sales an’ all. Well, while flipping through the online pages of Connected World Magazine the other day, I noticed a blurb which hinted Continue Reading…

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atlantaactivewear

New Member Spotlight: Atlanta Activewear

Apr 13

by Morgan Funke One of the cross training activities I participate in for my running and rowing efforts is called CrossFit. CrossFit is comprised of constantly varied, functional movement performed at high intensity. Sounds crazy, right? I thought so too, until I became hooked. Now I spend almost as much time at the gym (or Continue Reading…

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Light Up Your DIY Product Photography

Apr 11

A few months ago, in this blog, I wrote a piece about DIY product photography. I gave a few general tips about research, cameras, and other accessories that would be useful in getting your product photos to shine (without obnoxious glare) while YOU worked the shutter. And while I definitely felt good about highlighting camera Continue Reading…

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Announcing Shotfarm’s Plugin Store!

Mar 9

At long last, Shotfarm is thrilled to announce the launch of its new Plugin Store! We’ve spent the last year working to make sure that shotfarm simplifies image transfer and now we want to help you solve even more problems. Over the next few months, you’ll see several brand spanking new offerings in our Plugin Continue Reading…

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NEW! Host Your Product Images Directly From Shotfarm

Mar 8

With the launch of shotfarm’s new Plugin Store, you can now host images on your website straight from shotfarm’s image library! Never again will you have to deal with the manual process of downloading, renaming, resizing and transferring files to a separate hosting provider. Shotfarm’s new HTML5 viewer lets you showcase alternate images, deep zoom Continue Reading…

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March’s New Features

Mar 6

Live Help Got a question about how to do something in shotfarm? We’ve installed live help inside the application so you can chat with one of us any time you need to. Just click the Live Help link at the top of your screen–we’ll be waiting! Original Filename Download You told us you hated something Continue Reading…

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comingsoon

Coming this week!

Mar 6

Our developers have a few things in the pipeline that are just around the corner…and we just couldn’t wait until next month to tell you about them. Look for these new features later this week! New Thumbnail Display In the same vein as keeping original filenames, we’ve been hearing that you need to be able Continue Reading…

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flower

International Home + Housewares Roundup

Mar 5

by Lee Syrjanen This week shotfarm exhibited at the International Home and Housewares show at McCormick Place convention center. When I first walked into the convention center I was amazed at how large the show was. I never expected to see two huge rooms absolutely filled with exhibitors, little did I know there were two Continue Reading…

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