This is an excerpt from what I posted on myspace:
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You know how you clean the house right? Bit by bit, room by room. Pick up what you see is wrong, clean what is most dirty. It keeps it clean & neat but not perfect. So what do you do? You spring clean right? You tear the house apart room by room and really THOROUGHLY change the appearance and the reality of things. The other way to really truly clean is to move out right? You change homes, change apartments and WHOA - I found this, I did that...

Over the last few years we've added, changed, added, changed, fixed, updated, fixed, changed...and although we're moving forward quickly, we want to do something different.

Every year we learn 100 things that will help us. What we're going to do is take all that knowledge, close the doors and blow ourselves up from inside out. EVERYTHING will be new. EVERYTHING. We'll be changing our product offerings, our lab, our blog, our site organization - if it's not perfect right now, when we come back it should be. We will have pricing that makes more sense, portrait products that you will be excited about! We'll be sitting down with this for the next few weeks then relaunching our entire site, image, all advertising - everything.

We're really excited about the chance to do this - we can blow Picture Infinity up, and rebuild it like a new home - in the image we now have for ourselves.
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So far we've changed our website colors (you can't see it yet, it's behind the scenes), changed our splash page, changed our blog (first the service, then the template, then the colors, now basically the integration with our site). We've changed our client login page to be my.pictureinfinity.com (as well as the old links).

Here's a SAMPLE of what's left to do:

New images for site? Choose on emotion, cool factor, not nec. details/art.
- Portrait galleries (new & better)
- Wedding galleries (new & better)
- Trailer 2007

Update the slide on the blog

New pricing
- New products (interactive page)
- DVD Slideshows
- Pricing
- Product photos
- Descriptions

New portrait services/pricing

New marketing materials
- New price sheets
- New business cards
- New ads utilizing our "passion, vision, infinite possibilities"
- use what's believable and where our image is going

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I had no idea rebranding us, going a different, hopefully most effective direction, would take SOOOOO MUCH work!!!!!!

But I'm glad we're doing it!

Right on Matt!! That sounds awesome. And it was really great to meet you at WPPI.

I know what you're saying. I'm trying to do most everything you're doing, exept for the first time. And it is ALOT. But so worth it to get it all dialed.

I can't wait to see your new shabang when its all said and done.

You sure are up late.

Shawn

That's a big task! Can't wait to see your new look!

for some reason i did this twice last year. ugh. i feel for you brother.

Way to go Matt and Sarah - this is so exciting!

Can't wait to see everything that you come up with....I'm sure it will be fantastic!

Can't wait to see everything Matt & Sarah!

Sweet man!

Can't wait to see it when it's finished. We've been doing this process since last fall. So far we've got the new site, the new blog, new branding stuff is ALMOST done (we almost into the actual production process), and the new studio should be coming, maybe this fall.

It's a long tough process, but it's great to re-examine yourself and figure out what needs work!

Kudos for you for doing this!

Hey Matt we are going to be doing the same thing soon I am working on the images and we are looking for someone to help with a new Logo, business cards and advertising. I think it's going to take us the better part of a year to get this going but we will get it done.

I came away with one major thing from Wppi what sets us apart from all the other photographers in our area? once I work that out then I can get the rest done.

Fisrt thing is website.
sf

That is a lot of work...but you know what. When you are all finished it is going to be sooo worth it. I really can't wait to see what you guys have in store. Do you know what your ETA is on all of this?

April 15th is the goal.

It's after a few days - you start second guessing everything. "Do I still like these colors? Well someone made fun of this thing... Do we REALLY want to change that?"

Like our Pictage decision today - holy freaking 8 hour decision!



Chris - your new stuff looks sweet man. I can't wait to be done with ours to show it off but let's just say that I had a really great chat with a really great friend and what I came up with was simple - you have to do what fits you. Be believable. DJ is believable as is, Gino is believable, Buissink is believable. They are all VERY different but in their own ways, you trust that each one is very much as they portray. Our old site is so "corporate" and "boring" because of my legal background. I'm the type who thought "business" = "don't offend people" and ya know, screw it. It's MY business, and since *I* offend some people, my business should too or it's not believable. Same "offense" that people may take to a Joe Photo, Gino or Jeff Woods - I want to be ME and that's the way it's going to be. Sarah and I are really going to turn this thing into OUR business, not everyone else's communally. (though we do thank for the ideas along the way! )

I know what you mean...just do what you want to do...not what someone else thinks you should do and it will be amazing. All my best - Eric

If you start with the experience in mind, the rest will follow. I can't wait to see what you end up doing!

Looking forward to your new look. I'll take a look when you're ready for us to look at your new look.

Luv,
Looky Red Hen

oh man, I totally am in the process of this right now. I finally got the website and blog done, and now I just need to work on getting samples and stuff for my new offerings, so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. lol

The trigger hath been pulled on Pictage. That's one facet of our change.

Matt!

I'm feeling ya man! After WPPI I'm feeling like I need a major revamp too. Good luck with everything. It's a huge task!

Congratulations Matt! Your excitement is palpable. I can't wait to see the results!

Lori

go get 'em!

Wow! I just saw Chris's new blog and site, it is off the hook.

I'm excited to see what changes you make, but more importantly, I look forward to hearing WHY.

I, too, feel like I am trying to please everyone and appeal to the masses but it just ends up being boring and generic, I think. I guess it takes some soul searching to find your voice, your niche, what you're all about, and ultimately, what sets you apart and makes you stand out and be remarkable!

Being remarkable (so that people make remarks) is probably the hardest thing to "get"...

Your going to seriously busy Can't wait to see it.

LMAO

We just named our blog archives "Annal Retention"



Now that's us! If I have to change it, I will - but for now, it stays!