Welcome to Your Business Command Center

Experience ZENTRUM, the next generation of ShootQ. 

It's your central platform to create a purposeful, profitable business. Zentrum comes from the Latin word "centrum" — the center, core, hub of your photography business.

Centralized Calendaring & Scheduling

• A new integrated calendar gives you convenient monthly, weekly, & daily views of your schedule & your staff's schedules.
• Quickly browse available time slots in weekly or daily views. Then, click anywhere to schedule appointments or events!
• Outsource scheduling. Simply select a duration & send your client an invitation to schedule an appointment or a shoot. Sit back & relax while they choose a time that suits your schedule.
• Protect your personal time. After your client chooses an appointment time, you can review & accept or decline.

Introducing the Help Hub & Q-Lounge

• The new Help Hub includes updated training resources, video tutorials, knowledgebase & simple support ticketing.
• Need help fast? Now you'll have one-click access to support from anywhere within ShootQ. Also, you can reply to help requests via email instead of logging into ShootQ.
• The Q-Lounge is your new community forum. Share tips, tricks and answers with other photographers who are using ShootQ to streamline their business.

Sometimes, Bigger is Better

• ShootQ’s native screen resolution has increased a whopping 25% for an incredible view! Photographers with massive monitors can take advantage of additional screen real estate.

Confident Correpondence

• Improved email sending infrastructure gives you increased deliverability & less pesky spam!
• Studio & Hub members can track email bounces, including explanations of the cause.

Other Cool Stuff

• Create a branded experience for your clients by uploading background images in the Colors & Themes settings.
• Filter Mad Mimi & relationship exports by birthday & anniversary month (e.g., “Show me all brides with an anniversary in August…”).
• When marking a lead "dead," you can provide a custom reason.

Dynamic Duo Luke & David Edmonson

 

ShootQ's Community Concierge Katie Van Buren was thrilled to join talented father-and-son duo Luke and David Edmonson this week in Austin, TX. 

The Edmonsons presented to a great group of photographers at the Austin PPA Guild Meetup. The evening was a unique opportunity for them to share their experience shooting weddings and taking superlative care of their clients. They have a big business, but more important, big hearts! If you'd like to get to know The Edmonsons, check out the Livebooks RESOLVE Blog. 

Thanks for inviting us along guys!

 

It's hot!

It's hot here in Atlanta, our iPhone App is hot, and Twitter is hot with complaints about ShootQ's iPhone App price.

Here are a couple favorites: 

 "$40 for a service I already pay for monthly is a rip off..."

"C'mon ShootQ, quit nickel and diming us…"

"When did ShootQ become $hootQ?!?!"

Ouch!

Here's my take, for what it's worth.

Most iPhone apps cost a couple bucks; the expensive ones are $9.99. So, an app for $39.99? That seems pricey.

We expected this reaction. When Rachel released the announcement, I looked at our team and said "Brace for Impact!"

Let's all cool off and consider a few things:

1) This app does a lot. When you compare the robust functionality of the ShootQ app to the limited functionality of other iPhone apps, you'll realize why ShootQ's app requires a higher investment. Maybe we could charge even more if it made fart sounds. :)

2) This app simplifies business. You'll have quick, on-the-go access to your clients' information, which allows you to serve your clients better. Happy clients make your business grow!

3) This was an expensive app to create. To recoup our expenses, we must sell nearly 3,600 copies of the app. Yes, that adds up to $100,000, and remember that Apple takes 30% of what we sell.

Apps like DoodleJump or iFart sell 3,600 every hour. That's because there are millions of potential buyers for these apps. For ShootQ, there's a limited audience. We won't break even on the ShootQ iPhone app for quite awhile.

4) Have you ever had a customer complain about the price of your 8x10s? If you haven't had complaints, you're probably losing money on prints. At LaCour, we charge $30 for an 8x10, which is nearly the price of our iPhone app. Please keep in mind the business decisions – and business models – that factor into pricing.

5) Consider other stuff you routinely buy for $39.95: one tank of gas, two months of toilet paper, eight frappucinos.

We're in business to serve our customers, so our customers can better serve their customers. We try to keep fees accessible to professional photographers, but as a highly specialized Software as a Service company, ShootQ will not be the cheapest online tool for professional photographers. We will, however, always strive to be the best, most innovative business partner for you. 

We hear you. You don't like paying $39.99 for an iPhone app. 

Would you be willing to join the conversation by posting comments here? We'd love to hear your ideas about bringing the iPhone app to you for a lower fee. Maybe an ad-supported version? Raising subscription prices across the board and offering the iPhone app for free? Creating a limited, lite version for $9.99? You're the most creative minds we know; let's brainstorm here together.

Please know this was not a money-grab. We sincerely want to empower photographers to be profitable and purposeful.

 

Andrew Niesen

ÜberQ