using accordion books for word-of-mouth advertising

<p>I recently did a portrait session for a family. The loved the work and asked what they can do to promote me. I said "tell all your friends" and based on their response, I really believe they will do this, so I made them a little gift.</p>

<p>I ordered some accordion books from my local lab <a href="http://www.bayphoto.com/photo-books/wave-accordion-books/">http://www.bayphoto.com/photo-books/wave-accordion-books/</a> and will give them to the family this weekend. They just arrived from the printer and I am really pleased with how they display my work.</p>

<p>I think the accordions will be great marketing because they are inexpensive (only $6 each) and easy to carry. They fit in purses, so the girls can show them to all their friends.</p>

<p>In my haste to get them done for this family, I put only photos on the 10 pages. No logo or even my name. Yeah, stupid of me, but I know they will show these to everyone and recommend me. I also couldn't think how to do it without compromising aesthetics.</p>

<p>I plan to do another set of accordions for another client as a gift -- photos from the engagement shoot, 1 book for every member of the wedding party (lots of bridesmaids, many possible future weddings). The wedding is in just 2 weeks, so I have to design and order them soon. This time I'm going to get it right!</p>

<p>The accordion book gives me space for 6 photos on 1 side and 4 on the other. I could put my logo or contact info/URL on each page, but the repetition would look ugly. I could burn one complete page with my logo and info. If I do so, I should probably burn another page with their names and date. That leaves me only 4 photos on 1 side and 4 on the other. I want to do square photos on one side and 2x1 panoramas on the other side, so that would be only 6 photos. The ideal solution would be if I could imprint the cover, but Bay Photo doesn't offer that. Is there another lab with a competing product that allows a cover imprint? (I really like Bay Photo.)</p>

<p>Any recommendations for how to get my info in the book but still make it beautiful?</p>

<p>Allan,</p>

<p>I seem to be missing something. Why don't you simply create a simple, attractive image to use as the cover of the book? Use Photoshop or Acorn or whatever to create an image with the right dimensions. Put your logo and/or your name on the image. Put the client names and the date on the same image. Add your website in small print. Color the background, add a texture, or leave it white, as you like. You could even place thumbnails on the cover image in some pleasing way. Save it as a JPEG, and use it as the image for the cover. </p>

<p>Why wouldn't that work?</p>

<p>Will</p>

<p>Allen, ACI offers an accordion book with printable covers:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.acilab.com/products/press/accordion-books/">http://www.acilab.com/products/press/accordion-books/</a></p>

<p>I haven't ordered this from them, but I've been pleased with other products they've done for me.</p>

<p>But I do notice that Bay Photo does, indeed, offer "a custom Photo Cover with Satin or Glossy Laminate." So, as William says, perhaps I am missing something in your question, too!</p>

<p>William, Noreen -- thanks for the idea. I'm doing exactly that and just placed the order. I put my info on the back cover in white text.</p>